Mark Ojakian, president of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities CSCU President Mark Ojakian pushed back Monday against faculty allegations that the college system is “under assault” by his adminstration. “We are not looking to destroy public higher education,” the governor’s former chief of staff said during a lengthy interview on WNPR. “We are not looking to minimize […]
CSCU President: Savings needed from faculty
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Bridgeport election sparks anxiety over big environmental plans
BRIDGEPORT — With Mayor Bill Finch leaving office soon, there is concern for the incomplete environmental projects in his BGreeen 2020 initiative. Some worry that Mayor-elect Joseph P. Ganim, who campaigned on cutting taxes, could choose to pull the plug on some of the projects – especially those that involve city money.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CT prof on CSCU’s Ojakian: Scorched earth, not warm feelings
The Mirror’s recent article on CSCU President Mark Ojakian portrayed him as a good listener, a mediator, a reasonable man, and a really nice guy. But the warm feelings engendered by the Mirror’s puff piece should not be allowed to obscure the fact that the contract proposals put forward by his Board of Regents are nothing short of a scorched-earth attack on the faculty of Connecticut’s four state universities and the students they serve.
Posted inHealth
Unlike UnitedHealth, Aetna, Anthem say they will stay in ACA exchanges
WASHINGTON — UnitedHealth may quit the nation’s insurance exchanges, but Aetna and Anthem say they are staying and will work on problems with the marketplaces.
Posted inMoney, Politics
House Democrats hope to resolve deficit by Christmas
Leaders of the House Democratic majority said Friday they expect the General Assembly to return for a special session before Christmas to pass a deficit-mitigation plan, despite differences with Senate Democrats and the Republican minority.
Posted inNews
Paris attacks, Syrian refugee policy dominate Congress
House and Senate negotiators did manage to finish work on an education bill that will take the place of the “No Child Left Behind Act,” but the week in Washington was dominated by the Paris attacks and debate in Congress and across the country over Syrian refugee policy.
Posted inHealth
Public Health Commissioner Mullen leaving for federal post
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Jewel Mullen is leaving to take a senior post with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Posted inNews
Himes, Courtney defy Obama, vote for bill pausing refugee program
WASHINGTON — The debate over U.S. policy on Syrian refugees that has roiled the nation and Congress split the Connecticut delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday over a measure that would effectively suspend entry of refugees from Syria and Iraq until the screening process is strengthened.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Rell: Dems proposal eviscerates election law spirit and letter
I am profoundly disappointed that legislative Democrats would turn aside, through budget cuts, the public campaign financing program many of us worked so hard to put in place to prevent political corruption scandals. The Democrats have effectively eviscerated the spirit of the law since 2011 and now they are looking to overturn the actual letter of the law altogether.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Senate Dems break with House, go own way on deficit
Senate Democrats issued their own deficit-mitigation plan Thursday, pressing for a retirement incentive plan opposed by House Democrats and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as damaging to the state’s overburdened pension system.
Posted inHealth
New Access Health customers skew younger, lower-income, so far
More than 5,400 new customers have bought private insurance through the state’s health insurance exchange since Nov. 1, a group that includes more young adults and more people who qualify for subsidized coverage compared to the current customer base.
Posted inMoney
Unemployment drops to 5.1%, but state loses jobs
Connecticut posted a contradictory jobs report Thursday for the second consecutive month, showing that the unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a point to a post-recession low of 5.1 percent in October, despite the loss of 2,200 jobs.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The vital importance of the Citizens Election Program
Running an election campaign costs money. The people running for political office always want more money because they equate spending it with improving their chances of winning. Someone is going to be paying for the cost of elections; and while it may not seem it, we in the public have an incredible interest in being the people who do.
Posted inPolitics
Democrats’ campaign finance cuts lose steam
Few trial balloons at the State Capitol have deflated as quickly as a proposal this week by Democratic legislative leaders to save $11.7 million by suspending Connecticut’s groundbreaking system of publicly financed campaigns.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Tax big box stores, millionaire mansions, marijuana to close the budget deficit
Democratic legislative leaders have joined Gov. Dannel Malloy and the GOP in calling for across-the-board budget cuts to deal with the budget deficit. All sides are now calling for spending cuts. Advocates are bracing for cuts to mental health services, cuts to schools, cuts to job training, cuts to hospitals, cuts to transportation, and cuts to aid for cities that will put overstretched agencies and programs at risk of catastrophe. To seriously close the budget gap, we need to look at more than spending cuts. We must rejuvenate our cities as centers of industry so that our economy can grow and our budget is less reliant on Fairfield County.