Miguel Roman, who served 20 years, six months and 10 days in prison for a murder the state concedes he did not commit, was awarded $6 million Monday by the state claims commissioner. DNA evidence exonerated him in 2008 and convicted another man in 2011.
State to pay innocent man $6M for 20 years in prison
Posted inPolitics
Merrill pitches making voter registration ‘automatic’
With about 30 percent of eligible voters unregistered, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill is asking the General Assembly to enable people to automatically register as Connecticut voters when they do business with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Residents who didn’t opt out would be automatically be registered.
Posted inHealth, Justice
Malloy, state health officials sued over Ebola quarantine policy
People quarantined in Connecticut during the height of the 2014 ebola crisis sued Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and state health officials on Monday, saying the quarantine policy the governor imposed is unconstitutional.
Posted inHealth
116,019 CT residents signed up for Obamacare plans
Updated at 6:50 p.m.
In all, 116,019 Connecticut residents signed up for private insurance through the state’s health insurance exchange, Access Health CT, during the open enrollment period that ended last week, officials said Monday.
Posted inMoney
Ayers tapped to head CT’s nonpartisan budget office
A 20-year veteran of the legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis, Neil A. Ayers of Simsbury, was tapped Monday to head the nonpartisan agency, the Office of Legislative Management announced.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The SAT: Should Connecticut students opt out, or not?
Last year, hundreds of 11th-grade students across Connecticut refused to take the mandated SBAC test. Knowing that they had no control over independent-minded 11th-graders, the governor and State Department of Education sought a waiver from Washington, D.C., for permission to offer what they hoped would be a more palatable test: the SAT. It is a test […]
Posted inPolitics
3 GOP challengers looking to oust Esty
WASHINGTON– Rep. Elizabeth Esty’s latest Republican challengers may not have Andrew Roraback’s name recognition or Mark Greenberg’s wealth, but they are all determined to win the right to represent the 5th District in Congress and change the composition of Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation. They are Matt Maxwell of Sandy Hook, Clay Cope of Sherman and John Pistone of Brookfield.
Posted inHealth
Trying for a breath of fresh air in treating asthma
Asthma affects Connecticut residents at higher rates than the nation’s population as a whole, and it’s on the rise. Several local efforts are trying to make headway in changing the course of the disease, using approaches some say could serve as a model for addressing other chronic illnesses that are more heavily influenced by what happens in a patient’s daily life than treatment in the medical system.
Posted inNews
Blumenthal has big war chest; Kudlow friends raise money
The latest reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission show that Sen. Richard Blumenthal ended 2015 with nearly $4 million in his campaign account. Supporters of conservative commentator Larry Kudlow have established a “testing the waters” PAC called “Jobs for Connecticut.”
Posted inNews
Key CT lawmakers open to making women sign up for the draft
WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Joe Courtney, both members of armed services committees in Congress, say they are open to requiring young women to sign up for the draft. The issue has come under debate after two senior military officials said they supported extending the draft to women.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
On budget cuts: Service advocates must do what they can to be heard
I used to say this practice — drastic budget cuts balanced on the backs of those who truly need services and support and who are the most vulnerable — was unconscionable. However, after experiencing this again and again, regardless of Gov. Dannel Malloy, I am also — as a mental health professional — now struggling with my own sense of helplessness as I wonder “How much meat is actually left on the bone?”
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Recognize or repurpose CT Juvenile Training School, don’t close it
Putting children’s needs first means using the Connecticut Juvenile Training School and the Walter G. Cady School as part of the toolbox. It appears that some, including those in positions of advocacy and legislation, would carelessly ignore the programs that are in place while trying to create a new and unfunded system.
Posted inJustice
Questions about a $16.8 million award — and the meaning of innocence
State Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. and his role as the sole authority over how Connecticut reimburses the wrongly incarcerated faces questions at the State Capitol after his award of $16.8 million last month to four former members of a New Haven street gang, the Island Brothers. Are the standards clear? And should his awards be subject to review?
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy: Increase charter school, cut neighborhood school funding
Charter schools have escaped Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget axe and are slated for a $9.3 million boost in his proposed state budget. But the Democratic governor wants a $52.9 million cut on funding for special education, after-school programs, reading tutors and other services in low-performing public schools across the state.
Posted inEducation
Legislators press DCF on errors in child-risk assessment
Updated Feb. 5 at 4:10 p.m.
The Department of Children and Families faced intense scrutiny from state legislators Thursday morning for not identifying a number of high-risk child abuse cases, and several top officials acknowledged the department’s shortcomings and described steps that have been taken to improve.