The sexual assault controversy hovering over the University of Connecticut underscored much of the news coverage this week. As Mirror Education Writer Jacqueline Rabe Thomas reported: UConn President Susan Herbst said she hadn’t intended to dismiss the accusations of students who said they’d been assaulted — her comments had been “misunderstood.”
UConn, Obamacare and a projected $1.1 billion deficit for Connecticut
Posted inNews
Where does Connecticut fit in the clean energy economy? – CT Mirror Tour Event, Nov. 18
Over the last decade, more businesses have taken notice of environmentally friendly options, but can this be a growth sector for New Haven County and Connecticut? Please join the Connecticut Mirror, the state’s award-winning public policy news organization, and its partner, the Tremaine Foundation, in this lively discussion with lawmakers, environmentalists, engineers and business leaders on Monday, […]
Posted inEducation
In sexual assault cases, do UConn athletes get special treatment?
When it comes to sexual misconduct, are University of Connecticut athletes treated differently than other students? Is there a “locker-room mentality” that fosters or at least tolerates a “rape culture” on campus?
Posted inHealth, Politics
Esty votes for GOP plan on Obamacare
Washington – Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, was the only Connecticut U.S. House member to vote for a GOP bill Friday that would allow insurers to renew individual insurance policies and sell similar policies to new customers next year, even if they don’t provide the comprehensive coverage required by the Affordable Care Act.
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Nonpartisan analysts: $1 billion deficit awaits winner of CT’s gubernatorial election
The projected hole in state finances awaiting the winner of the next gubernatorial race surged dramatically Friday, exceeding $1.1 billion and raising the specter of another tax debate at the Capitol. The red ink estimated by the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis is 50 percent larger than the gap estimated five months ago as […]
Posted inHealth, Politics
McKinney calls for special session to prevent Obamacare insurance cancellations
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, introduced Obamacare as a gubernatorial issue Friday by challenging Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to call a special legislative session to allow insurance companies to extend insurance policies slated for cancellation at the end of the year.
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A chance meeting on the way to Dec. 14
It’s a small state, and discussions about Sandy Hook and the Second Amendment rarely remain abstract, even at a University of Connecticut School of Law forum with the title, “Up in Arms: The Second Amendment in the Modern Republic.” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy delivered introductory remarks Friday, then briskly departed to applause, ready to begin […]
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Donovan scandal leaves questions, not reforms
When U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton imposes sentence Monday on Ray Soucy, the self-described political fixer who became an FBI cooperator, she is likely writing the coda to a campaign-finance scandal that tilted a congressional race and tainted the Connecticut General Assembly. Barring unexpected developments, the federal investigation of an attempt to bribe former […]
Posted inEducation
‘Not just UConn’: Many colleges struggle with how to respond to sexual assault
It’s not just UConn. “After coming forward, I was blamed left and right. Why did I keep it to myself? Why didn’t I report it right away? Why was I drinking and underage? These were all the questions shot at me rapid fire from a panel of college officials,” a college student at a Fairfield […]
Posted inHealth
Access Health says 13,128 people signed up for Obamacare coverage
As of Thursday, 13,128 people had signed up for coverage through Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange.
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Nonprofit says 40 percent of CT families can’t afford winter heating bills
Nearly 40 percent of Connecticut households can’t afford to pay their energy bills this winter as aid from the federal government shrinks, according to a new report from a nonprofit advocacy group. Operation Fuel also said these households will face, on average, $2,363 in bills they won’t be able to pay this winter. “Many Connecticut […]
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Obama says insurers don’t have to cancel non-ACA compliant health insurance plans
Washington – President Obama on Thursday announced that health insurers who sent cancellation letters to hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people can continue the policies for another year, even if they don’t meet Affordable Care Act requirements. The president was responding to a political firestorm that developed as people learned in recent weeks that […]
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Connecticut Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit questioning Vallas’s qualifications
The Connecticut Supreme Court has dismissed the lawsuit challenging whether Bridgeport Superintendent Paul Vallas is qualified to lead the the state’s largest public school district. The decision comes one week after Vallas announced he plans to step down to run for lieutenant governor in Illinois. The lawsuit challenged whether Vallas had completed a qualified school leadership program, […]
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Solar panels, other technologies, present new firefighting hazards in Connecticut
Those benign-looking solar panels — the darlings of the renewable energy world — may appear to be nothing to worry about as they turn sunlight into clean power, but it’s a different story if you’re a firefighter. Solar panels can be dangerous, if not deadly, to firefighters because when there’s light hitting the panels, they […]
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Tanya Hughes can drop ‘interim’ from CHRO title
Tanya Hughes, who had been the interim leader of the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, has been formally appointed as executive director of the civil-rights agency. “The Commission voted both unanimously and enthusiastically to appoint Tanya Hughes as executive director because our goal is to solidify our position as the nation’s leading governmental […]