Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s challenge to legislative leaders to participate in bipartisan budget talks is less a cry for fiscal help than an effort to alter a political narrative that’s failed him in recent months, driving his approval rating to a new low.
Malloy seeks new storyline with budget gambit
Posted inPolitics
Senate blocks immigration bill that would strip CT of federal policing money
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday derailed an effort to strip federal policing grants from “sanctuary” cities and states like Connecticut that protect residents from deportation.
Posted inPolitics
Jepsen no longer recused from role in Anthem-Cigna merger
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen will no longer recuse himself from the review of a proposed $54 billion merger between Anthem and Cigna, his office revealed on Tuesday.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers raising plenty of campaign cash
Washington – Although most of them are running unopposed, members of Connecticut’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives have raised plenty of campaign cash this year.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
State budget cuts threaten the mentally ill and addicted
I am opposed to the recent ill-advised budget cuts made in the areas of health care, social services and education, and I am engaged in a touch advocacy effort to see these cuts rescinded. Our most disadvantaged residents will be disproportionately affected by these draconian cuts. I urge you to advance the concerns of those we care about most.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Court upholds post-Newtown gun laws in Conn., N.Y.
A federal appeals court Monday upheld the central provisions of the sweeping gun control laws passed by the New York and Connecticut legislatures in response to the mass murders of 26 children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Malloy calls for bipartisan talks as budget hole deepens
Declaring that weak income tax receipts opened the second major state budget deficit in two months, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy took a new approach Monday, calling for bipartisan negotiations to cut spending, stabilize state financing and address the deeper question of how much government Connecticut can afford.
Posted inMoney
Unemployment down, but so were jobs in September
It was a contradictory monthly jobs report issued Monday in Connecticut: Unemployment fell to 5.2 percent in September, but the state also recorded a net loss of 7,600 jobs, the first drop in five months.
Posted inMoney
Questions about the last recession complicate CT’s budget woes
As Connecticut officials try to balance the state budget, they grapple with a question many other states and the federal government still can’t answer: How much damage was done to the economy during the last recession?
Posted inPolitics
Koch brother hosting fundraiser for Blumenthal rival
WASHINGTON — Billionaire industrialist David Koch is hosting a high-dollar fundraiser Monday evening for August Wolf, a Republican who is running against Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Bloomfield: We use our state Alliance funds well – and get results
Over the past two years, 98 percent of the state Alliance funds provided to Bloomfield Public Schools – approximately $1.7 million – have been invested in education-reform programs. An Oct. 8, 2015 story published by CT Mirror (“Schools Redirected Money Intended for Reforms, Officials Say”) was misinterpreted by some of our constituents who surmised that Bloomfield was among the districts allegedly misdirecting funds. I would like to reaffirm that Bloomfield Public Schools is in full compliance with how those Alliance funds are spent. Also, any budget carry-over money connected to those funds is invested in reform-related programs, specifically our Extended Learning program, which features 20 additional days of summer school.
Posted inHealth
Mental health funding tradeoff draws criticism, praise
To avoid cutting $4.7 million from mental health and substance abuse treatment, the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services is delaying new programs, including funding for a care coordination program intended to help patients who frequently end up in the emergency room.
Posted inHealth, Money
CT’s hospital spending and taxes, explained
As state lawmakers debate the state’s treatment of hospitals, here’s a look at what Connecticut spends on hospitals, how it’s changed over the years and what the governor’s recent cuts to the industry affect.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Social emotional learning reduces suspensions and makes schools safer
Out-of-school suspensions are indicative of gaps in supportive services that must be present to ensure students have the necessary supports to thrive and succeed. Social emotional learning drives down high rates of suspension, expulsion, class disruptions and chronic absenteeism and improves school safety
Posted inPolitics
CT kicks in nearly $3 million to presidential candidates
WASHINGTON — As a group, Republican candidates have the edge in campaign fundraising over Democrats in Connecticut, but individually Hillary Clinton continues to lead the pack with more than $1 million raised in the state.