A proposal to expand casino gaming outside of Connecticut’s Indian reservations advanced Thursday. But while the state legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee endorsed the measure by a wide margin, it narrowly rejected an amendment that would have barred the state from offering loans, grants or other economic aid to preserve casino jobs.
Gaming expansion bill clears committee
Posted inEducation
3 will be interviewed to become state’s next education chief
Three candidates vying to become the state’s next education commissioner are set to be interviewed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Posted inNews
Park Service moves ahead on Coltsville National Historical Park
WASHINGTON – Transformation of Hartford’s Coltsville neighborhood into a national park showcasing industrial innovation is a vision that’s slowly coming into focus.
Posted inNews
Op-Ed: Bilingual education in Connecticut an issue of social justice
Bilingual education is an issue of social justice. Across Connecticut, bilingual education (English and Spanish) is now offered to all students elementary through high school in affluent communities, but the communities that serve the largest populations of native Spanish speaking students, like Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and New Britain, do not offer comprehensive bilingual education to all students.
Posted inNews
Op-Ed: Parent explains why she can’t allow her children to take the SBAC test
After doing her own research for months, a Fairfield parent explains why she has no confidence in the state’s use of the SBAC test or that student privacy is adequately protected in the use of the test data. She has elected for her children not to take the test.
Posted inHealth
Op-Ed: Connecticut needs transparency in health care
Without transparency of quality data and health care costs, patients cannot make informed decisions nor be fully engaged in their own health care.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Legislative panel keeps tolls debate alive
The legislature’s Transportation Committee kept the prospect of restoring tolls to Connecticut’s highways alive on Wednesday, but the issue remains far from settled.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Troopers agree to phase out longevity pay
Four years after most state employee unions agreed to phase out controversial “longevity” payments, Connecticut’s state police have done so as well.
Posted inHealth
The end-of-life debate
Should doctors be allowed to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients who request it? As Connecticut lawmakers consider the issue, scores of people weighed in Wednesday, with testimony that was often emotional. Here’s a recap of our live coverage.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
School officials should not interfere with opting out of SBAC tests
Gov. Dannel Malloy, Interim Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell and all superintendents of schools should cease their obstruction of the rights of parents to decide whether to allow their children to sit for the SBAC test.
Posted inPolitics
Courtney leads Democratic push to cut student debt
Washington – Backed by key Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, returned to an old theme on Wednesday — how to cut the college student debt — by introducing a bill that would do just that.
Posted inMoney
Malloy to Wall Street: Expect state borrowing to jump 40 percent this year
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy recently warned Wall Street the state plans to increase borrowing dramatically over the next year. But while Connecticut uses borrowing primarily to finance capital projects, Republican legislative leaders fear the planned spike also signifies that a disturbing trend of borrowing to cover day-to-day expenses will get worse.
Posted inPolitics
Rowland sentenced to 30 months
John Rowland has earned a second term — a second term behind bars. Rowland, a 57-year-old former Connecticut governor, received a 30-month sentence Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court in New Haven for conspiring to hide work he did for a failed 2012 Republican candidate for U.S. Congress, Lisa Wilson-Foley.
Posted inNews
Op-Ed: Today in Connecticut it’s National Ag Day
Connecticut’s Farm Service Agency is part of National Ag Day being marked today as a time to pause and honor the American farmer. America’s farmers are the most productive and efficient in the world, with each one helping feed more than 144 people.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Connecticut oil dealers battle cold, snow, prices and policy
A cold winter and low oil prices help a little as Connecticut oil dealers fight to remain relevant in the face of state policy that encourages people to switch from oil to gas heat.