Alex Tettey Jr. and his friends face a dilemma common to many students trying to finish college: Should they attend school part-time and work to cover some of their expenses? Should they put off enrolling until they can afford the costs? Or, should they take out thousands of dollars in student loans? “I was able […]
College enrollment declines in Connecticut
Posted inNews
Access Health releases instructions for getting a catastrophic plan
Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange, released instructions Friday evening for people whose health plans are being discontinued and who want to buy a catastrophic policy for 2014. Catastrophic plans have lower premiums and higher deductibles than other policies sold on the exchange. They were intended only for people under 30, but the […]
Posted inNews
Blumenthal rails against Bills vs. Dolphins blackout
The blackout of the Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins game Sunday prompted Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., to press his campaign to end the blackout of sports games on television. In a joint press conference Friday with Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat who represents Buffalo, N.Y., in Congress, Blumenthal said an “outdated, really dinosaur” federal law from the […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
More than $500 million available for election-year state budget
There could be more than $500 million available to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the legislature this spring as they prepare the final state budget before the 2014 elections. According to the regular monthly report filed by Malloy’s budget staff with Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo’s office, this fiscal year’s budget is on pace to run $273 million in the black.
Posted inNews
CT unemployment rate drops to 7.6%
The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.6 percent in November as a surging retail sector helped Connecticut gain about 4,000 jobs, the state Labor Department reported Thursday. The jobless rate, which stood at 7.9 percent in October, also was down compared with the 8.3 percent unemployment rate in November 2012. But while education, health services […]
Posted inPolitics
Malloy road-tests a stump speech for 2014
The soft opening of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s unannounced re-election campaign is under way. Over the late summer and fall, Malloy has honed the elements of a 2014 stump speech, road-testing themes and images calculated to create a quickening sense of progress after decades of stagnation.
Posted inNews
Lawmakers: Time to replace Metro-North?
While several legislators said Connecticut should find a new operator for its commuter rail service to New York City, the state’s top transportation official said replacing Metro-North isn’t a viable option right now. Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker defended the rail service, noting that while changes must be made in light of recent crashes […]
Posted inHealth
Insurers extend Obamacare payment deadline to Jan. 10
People who sign up for health plans through state insurance exchanges by Dec. 23 will have until Jan. 10 to make their first premium payment and receive coverage effective Jan. 1, the insurance industry announced Wednesday. Previously, federal officials had announced that people would have to make their first payment by Dec. 31 to be […]
Posted inEducation, Health
Little help for Connecticut’s many homeless youths, advocates say
Chancharay Tyson: "I had nowhere to go. It was scary." It’s been a rough four years for Chancharay Tyson who, at 18, “aged out” of state custody after years of living in numerous group homes as a foster child. A year later, with nowhere to live after leaving her abusive boyfriend, the Norwich 19-year-old again […]
Posted inNews
Donate and support The Connecticut Mirror today. Win a tablet – or two.
Today is The Connecticut Mirror’s last single-day donor drive of the year. The winning proposition is threefold – your tax-deductible donation supports quality nonprofit journalism at its finest; you receive a gift; and you are entered to win a Samsung Galaxy Tablet (two will be given away). Click here to donate at any one of […]
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal, Murphy vote for budget deal
Washington — Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Democrats, were among the majority in the Senate to approve a budget deal Wednesday that avoids another government shutdown and rolls back across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester.
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Blumenthal hails FCC consideration of sports blackout rules
Washington — Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and John McCain, R-Ariz., hailed Wednesday’s decision by the Federal Communications Commission to consider a proposal to eliminate 40-year-old sports blackout rules that prohibit cable and satellite providers from carrying a game if it is blacked out on television due to insufficient ticket sales. “The FCC’s action today is […]
Posted inNews
GOP senator wants hearing on Access Health CT problems
The top Republican on the legislature’s insurance committee wants the head of Connecticut’s health exchange to answer more questions — publicly — about problems with the system. And Sen. Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, also wants lawmakers to conduct a public hearing to allow consumers to vent their frustrations with Connecticut’s efforts to implement the federal Affordable […]
Posted inNews
Merrill files papers for re-election campaign
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill created a candidate committee Wednesday, becoming an official candidate for re-election in 2014. Merrill said she once again will participate in the voluntary Citizens Election Program, which will limit her to maximum contributions of $100 in return for public financing. It was a low-key launch for the first-term Democrat. […]
Posted inNews
HHS’s Sebelius thanks Blumenthal, 6 other senators
Washington — Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius thanked Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and six other Senate Democrats for pressing the White House to hire an experienced CEO to take over operations of the troubled HealthCare.gov website. Sebelius Tuesday announced the hire of Kurt DelBene, a retired Microsoft executive. “Kurt, who most recently served […]