The state’s unemployment rate would approach a gloomy 11 percent if more than 64,000 people hadn’t left the workforce since mid-2010, the University of Connecticut’s economic think-tank reported Monday. And while the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis recognized Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s efforts to grow the economy, it said the budget deficits that have been […]
CT jobless rate: near 11% had 60,000 not left workforce
Posted inNews
Nappier to seek fifth term as Connecticut treasurer
Denise L. Nappier, the state treasurer since 1999 and the first African-American woman elected to statewide office in Connecticut, announced late Monday afternoon that she would seek a fifth term. Nappier, 63, a Hartford Democrat, made a low-key announcement about the 2014 elections through a two-page statement emailed to the news media. “I’ve worked hard to […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Governor’s budget chief to town leaders: No cuts in state aid expected next year
Ben Barnes, the governor’s budget chief, has told municipal leaders not to expect any cuts in state funding for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Malloy: Regardless of federal investigation into UConn, problems need to be addressed
Regardless of the outcome of a federal investigation into how the University of Connecticut responds to allegations of sexual assault from its students, much work remains for the state’s flagship university, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Monday.
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Sound off — The Connecticut Mirror wants to hear from you!
Are you a businesswoman? A doctor? A mayor, plumber, teacher, storeowner, college president or student? Maybe you’re even a state legislator. If you live and/or work in Connecticut — The Mirror wants to hear from you. We’re publishing a special online publication in January, and we want to include as many comments, suggestions and complaints […]
Posted inNews
From one disgusted Connecticut resident
Unless Connecticut gets its financial house in order, we will continue to be last or close to last (meaning bad), in many financial aspects such as debt, underfunded pensions and health care, gas taxes, property taxes, population growth, etc. After just having the largest tax increase in history, we are looking at huge deficits of […]
Posted inEducation, Politics
Connecticut sets post-Sandy Hook school building standards
State officials announced new school construction protocols Friday in response to the Newtown tragedy, including exterior surveillance, blast-resistant entryways and classroom door locks — all features that might have stopped or slowed Adam Lanza’s assault on Sandy Hook Elementary a year ago.
Posted inHealth
Connecticut’s Obamacare exchange chief: Expect a ‘clunky’ Jan. 1
As the next big milestone for the federal health law approaches, Connecticut’s health insurance exchange chief is once again warning that things aren’t likely to go smoothly.
Posted inNews
Feds announce new option for insurance customers facing cancellation
The federal government on Thursday offered a new option to people whose health plans are being discontinued, allowing them to purchase “catastrophic” insurance policies with high deductibles that the federal health care law prohibits most people from buying.
Posted inEducation
Connecticut’s early education plan gets a C, no federal funds
Gov. Malloy visits a preschool in Meriden with his director of early education and education commissioner The U.S. Department of Education has rejected Connecticut’s request for $37.5 million in Race to the Top funds aimed at overhauling day care centers and preschools by attempting to ensure they are safe and providing educational value. “The State […]
Posted inNews
College enrollment declines in Connecticut
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 […]
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 […]