The resignation of Rep. David Scribner, R-Brookfield, prompted a quick exchange of text messages between former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who once held the seat, and her son, Michael. In a text, the mother asked, “Are you considering it?”
Michael Rell will not seek his mother’s old seat in House
Posted inHealth, Politics
Obamacare mandate hits some CT firms harder than others
WASHINGTON – Connecticut businesses must begin complying with the Affordable Care Act this year, but the new Republican-led Congress is trying to blunt the impact. Most efforts to change the ACA, however, will put Congress at loggerheads with the White House.
Posted inPolitics
Reviews of Malloy’s speech, as gathered by Malloy’s staff
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s staff had praise for his transportation initiative teed up before the governor delivered the first words of the 2015 State of the State Address.
Posted inMoney
U.S. House approves terrorism risk insurance
Washington – To the relief of the property and casualty insurance industry, the House on Wednesday approved legislation that would reauthorize a program that serves as a backstop for insurers when they are faced with large claims resulting from a terrorist attack.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy outlines transit goals, puts off cost for another day
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy opened his second term Wednesday with a warning of a sclerotic Connecticut whose economy and quality of life are threatened by crumbling and clogged highways and inadequate and underfunded mass transit. The solution will be expensive, but how expensive was a topic for another day.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy takes oath for second term: ‘I most assuredly do’
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s second term as Connecticut’s 88th governor began Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. as Andrew McDonald, the state Supreme Court’s first gay justice and the governor’s former legal adviser, administered the oath of office in the cavernous drill shed of the State Armory. Asked if he would swear to uphold the duties of the office, Malloy raised his right hand and replied, “I most assuredly do.”
Posted inPolitics
Scribner resigns from House for state liquor control job
Rep. David Scribner has resigned from the state House of Representatives to become a state liquor control commissioner. Scribner, a Republican, has represented Bethel, Brookfield and Danbury for the last 15 years. He has been the ranking Republican on the legislature’s Transportation Committee since 2003.
Posted inPolitics
Maynard’s unexpected return upstages an inauguration
The General Assembly opened its 2015 session Wednesday on an emotional note as the Senate welcomed the surprise return of Sen. Andrew M. Maynard, D-Stonington, who was re-elected without campaigning after sustaining a traumatic brain injury last summer.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy gets two extra weeks to solve next budget deficit
Despite insisting throughout the campaign that state government really wasn’t facing a deficit next year, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy asked for and received legislative approval Wednesday to postpone his next budget presentation by two weeks until Feb. 18.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Fiscal issues in forefront as Malloy, legislators start new terms
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is to focus on how to modernize the state’s aging web of highways, bridges and railroads in a State of the State Address as he begins his second term today, but he and the General Assembly will be facing significant fiscal challenges in 2015. An overview of the key issues confronting the 2015 legislative session.
Posted inHealth
Hospital reports of surgical, medication errors climb
Connecticut hospitals reported record numbers of patients killed or seriously injured by hospital errors in 2013, with large increases in the numbers of falls, medication mistakes and perforations during surgical procedures, a new state report shows.
Posted inEducation
School choice: Future of new magnet schools uncertain
When state legislators placed a moratorium on building new magnet schools outside the capital region five years ago, they wanted to know if these schools were worth the large investment before boosting enrollment further. So they ordered the state education commissioner to assess magnet school performance and submit a plan for their future. That plan is now four years late, magnet schools approved before the moratorium will probably be full by the start of the next school year, research is incomplete on their impact and many legislators are reluctant to open new schools.
Posted inNews
Capitol security gets new test on Wednesday
The state Capitol complex’s security system, which was activated after the 2014 session, will get its first serious test Wednesday when hundreds of visitors arrive for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s inauguration and the opening of the 2015 General Assembly session.
Posted inPolitics
Ohio joins dustup over claim by Connecticut to be ‘first in flight’
The Ohio state legislature has introduced a resolution disparaging Connecticut’s claims to be “First in Flight,” reigniting a fight over whether the Wright brothers or Gustave Whitehead, a German immigrant who lived in Fairfield, were the first to fly a powered aircraft.