State Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo distanced himself Thursday from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, calling his fellow Democrat’s emergency budget cuts premature and warning they could harm the state’s economy. A top administration official shot back, “We are making those tough decisions when we must, not shirking our responsibilities for political convenience.”
Lembo joins dissent over Malloy’s emergency budget cuts
Posted inHealth
Middlesex Hospital joins Mayo Clinic’s clinical network
Middlesex Hospital is joining a clinical care network run by the Mayo Clinic, an arrangement designed to give doctors at the Middletown hospital access to consultations with Mayo experts, hospital officials said Thursday.
Posted inEducation
Seven UConn students expelled for sexual assault last year
The University of Connecticut last year expelled seven students on charges of sexual assault, it reported Thursday. A number of other complaints were investigated but dismissed, it says in a report it is required to provide to federal and state officials.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Restore the alarming hospital funding cuts
On Sept. 18, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered $103 million in cuts to the state budget, which had taken effect just three months previously. As reasons, the administration cited downward revisions in projected revenues due to unexpectedly low tax receipts and stock market weakness. In other circumstances, the rescission order might look like reassuring fiscal […]
Posted inEducation, Money
UConn begins labor contract talks with cost savings as goal
With an extremely tough budget year on the horizon, officials representing the University of Connecticut have started negotiating a new contract with some 4,000 professors and other unionized staff with the goal of cutting costs.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Pentagon slams Lockheed’s bid to purchase Sikorsky
WASHINGTON – While the Justice Department has given Lockheed Martin’s proposal to purchase Sikorsky Aircraft the thumbs up, the Pentagon on Wednesday frowned on the deal, saying it would lead to too much consolidation in the defense industry.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Despite Malloy’s assurances, last CT budget closes in deficit
It’s official. State government finished the last fiscal year in deficit, despite assurances from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that this would not happen. Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo officially closed the books Wednesday on the 2014-15 fiscal year – which ended June 30 – determining it finished $113.2 million in the red.
Posted inMoney
CT continues to lead nation in income, but wealth poorly distributed
WASHINGTON – Connecticut continues to lead the nation when it comes to personal income, federal economists say, but other reports show the state is also No. 1 when it comes to the uneven distribution of that wealth between the very rich and everyone else.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Fight over Malloy’s cuts to social services turns personal
Her name is Jessie. She is autistic, intellectually disabled and about to turn 21. Her mother told reporters Wednesday that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is “doing his best to take her future away from her.” With those words, Jessie became the face of opposition to $103 million in emergency budget cuts ordered by Malloy.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A healthy sign: more teachers and parents are opposing the Common Core
It takes a lot to oppose the Common Core State Standards when they are said to offer reform, rigor, high academic standards approved by states and matched by other high-powered nations, a guarantee to close the achievement gap and college and career readiness! What red-blooded American could say no to this promise? You might think […]
Posted inEducation, Justice
The state of Connecticut juvenile incarceration in 17 charts
Each year about 3,000 children enter Connecticut’s juvenile justice system after being convicted of breaking the law. Here, in graphical form, is a historical overview of what happens to youth after they are found guilty, including details on the jails where about 200 youths each year are sent to live.
Posted inEducation, Politics
7 hours of video released from inside CJTS and Pueblo Unit
Under fire for what has been called improper restraint and seclusion of youths at state-run juvenile correctional facilities, the Department of Children and Families has released nearly seven hours of surveillance video in an effort to provide the public a more complete picture of its operations.
Posted inPolitics
It’s Foster, Finch and a fusion campaign in Bridgeport
This city’s mayoral election sharply veered into unchartered waters Tuesday as Mayor Bill FInch, the loser of a Democratic primary, endorsed a fusion campaign to elect Mary-Jane Foster and stop the return to City Hall of the fallen former mayor, Joseph P. Ganim.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Aetna, Anthem merger plans under scrutiny, again, by Congress
WASHINGTON – Members of both political parties expressed increasing skepticism Tuesday when they continued their scrutiny of the proposed mergers of insurance giants Aetna and Humana and Anthem and Cigna.
Posted inHealth
Specialty drug prices threaten health care affordability
The state employee health plan has tailored its design to encourage people to manage chronic conditions, get preventive care and avoid emergency room visits. But costs are being driven up by the rising expense of specialty drugs for conditions including Hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and cancer. It’s a challenge that’s not unique to the state employee health plans, health care experts said Tuesday.