Connecticut is poised to ban minors from buying or using e-cigarettes.
Governor expected to sign e-cigarette ban for minors
Posted inEducation, Energy & Environment, Health, Money, Politics
Legislature adopts financing for education, job initiatives
The Legislature approved a major financing bill late Tuesday that dramatically expands pre-school programs in public schools, and tackles overdue repairs and renovations at the state universities and community colleges.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Op-ed: Mental health treatment is not perfect, but it can be life-saving
There is ample evidence from many research facilities that conduct brain research that mental illness is a biological disease.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Op-ed: Unless Senate acts now, years of litigation loom for Connecticut
The Senate should not let HB 5221 — commonsense and necessary legislation — wither and die again.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Climate change and us: What you need to know
The Northeast is already suffering pronounced effects from climate change according the National Climate Assessment. And it faces daunting challenges to keep those effects from getting worse.
Posted inHealth, Politics
End-of-life care proposal wins final passage
The House of Representatives has given final passage to a proposal aimed at creating a formal process for people with terminal illnesses to discuss their end-of-life care options with a health care provider and document their choices in a medical order.
Posted inHealth
Time running short on for-profit hospital proposal. What then?
Time is running out for legislators to address one of the most complex and controversial issues they’ve faced this session: whether to craft a new regulatory and statutory framework for nonprofit hospitals to convert to for-profits. What if legislators don’t take action? It’s a question with no clear answer.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Op-ed: Justice, public safety should trump politics
I do not pretend to understand Connecticut politics. But I do understand sentencing policy, and the “Second Look” bill about sentencing for juveniles is a sound one.
Posted inPolitics
Mikutel to end 22-year career in state House of Representatives
A 22-year veteran of the state House of Representatives, Griswold Democrat Steve Mikutel announced Tuesday he would not seek re-election.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Op-ed: Giving APRNs the right to practice independently was the right move
Health care is more than ordering tests and handing prescriptions to patients.
Posted inHealth, Politics
SEIU 1199 wins fight for CT nursing home transparency law
SEIU 1199 New England, a union closely allied with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, won final passage early Tuesday of new financial reporting rules for nursing homes, a reaction to the union’s long, continuing fight with HealthBridge Management, a company that has claimed financial distress to escape contract obligations.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
CT Senate endorses moratorium on disposal of fracking waste
The Senate approved legislation Monday that imposes a three-year moratorium in Connecticut on the disposal of waste generated by hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” a method of extracting natural gas that has opened some Northeastern states to a new energy boom.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Op-ed: Adult English language programs are flourishing – and need volunteers
If you choose to volunteer, it’s likely you will find students to be self-directed, highly motivated people who want to get a better job, learn a trade, be able to read to their children in English or seek higher education.
Posted inPolitics
The frenetic last days of the ’14 session? Not so much
The General Assembly moved languidly Monday as the Republican minority stretched out debates in both chambers, a delaying action they say will continue until Democrats produce a budget implementer bill that the GOP suspects will be packed with political goodies.
Posted inMoney
Web-based taxi cab competitors hit streets of New Haven
New Haven — One trip, with a new Web-based service in town called Lyft, represented the future. The other, with an old-school taxi, represented the past
