Friday afternoon: Just like that, Paul Vallas is gone. Even his supporters, education reporter Jacqueline Rabe Thomas wrote, concede that the nationally known Vallas -– who has been acting leader of the Bridgeport school system for two years — has been “a polarizing figure“ in Connecticut. Friday afternoon, Part 2: In another quick move (that actually […]
Bridgeport Schools, Mental Health, Achievement Gap, 2013 CT Elections
Posted inNews
Post-election CT budget outlook worsens, even as current finances improve
The state budget shortfall awaiting the winner of next year’s gubernatorial election appeared to worsen Friday, even as the outlook for the current budget improved. The legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget agency issued a joint report that lowered expected revenues for the 2015-16 fiscal year by $163 million. […]
Posted inEducation
Vallas to step down as leader of Bridgeport schools
Paul Vallas — who was recruited by the state’s education commissioner to run Bridgeport Public Schools — is stepping down as the district’s superintendent to be the running mate of Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.
Posted inNews
Nation’s Report Card: CT continues to show largest achievement gap
For years, Connecticut has had the worst achievement gap in the nation between its minority students and their peers in learning to read and do math — and according to the results of a major test given periodically, not much has changed. While Connecticut students overall test very well in math and reading when compared […]
Posted inNews
Small businesses remain wary of Hartford-area economy’s future
Small businesses in the Capital Region are sending mixed signals about the future of the state’s economy, according to a new analysis. But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy told about 300 small business leaders gathered Friday at The Hartford Hilton that the climate for economic growth is gradually improving. Just 35 percent of the firms surveyed […]
Posted inNews
Gay rights in Connecticut: big impact, few cases
Connecticut’s passage of a law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has produced just a trickle of cases over the past two decades, not the flood of frivolous complaints predicted by opponents then and cited as a reason now to block a federal law. The state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities has […]
Posted inNews
Blumenthal pressures federal agencies on mental health parity rule
Washington –- Cathy Morelli, a mother from Southington, told a panel of senators Thursday about the nightmares her family lived through when their insurance company repeatedly denied coverage for the treatment of her 13-year-old daughter’s mental illness. She spoke of her daughter’s repeated slashing of her arms and legs and of attempts at suicide. “My […]
Posted inEducation
Vallas running for office in Illinois, future as Bridgeport superintendent unclear
Paul Vallas — who was recruited by the state’s education commissioner to run Bridgeport Public Schools — is running for lieutenant governor in Illinois as the running mate with Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.
Posted inHealth
Feds finally move on mental health parity
Washington — Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Friday that the Obama administration has finalized regulations that would bar insurers from treating mental illnesses differently from other ailments. Parity has been a longtime issue for mental health advocates, especially since Congress approved a law in 2008 that barred insurance companies from discriminating when it came to the treatment of mental illnesses.
Posted inNews
LIVE STREAM REPLAY: CT Mirror Tour – Measuring Good Teaching in Connecticut
LIVE STREAM OF THURSDAY’S EVENT AT THE QUICK CENTER ON THE CAMPUS OF FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY The state’s new teacher evaluation system has proponents and skeptics alike, but do core relationships still exist to create the most effective learning environment? Watch the replay of administrators, teachers and policy analysts discussing the view from the front of […]
Posted inNews
Senate approves bill that prohibits discrimination against LGBT workers
Washington — The Senate voted by a 2-1 margin Thursday to pass civil-rights legislation that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but the House Republican majority has no plans to take up a bill that’s been before Congress in various forms for 17 years. Ten Republicans joined all Democrats, including Sens. Richard […]
Posted inHealth
CT’s exchange store is open to sell Obamacare insurance
New Britain — Connecticut’s first health insurance “storefronts” are open for business, and so, officials want you to know, is the state’s health insurance exchange.
Posted inNews
Investigators ask about Metro-North rail cars, track inspections after CT accidents
Washington — A day-long hearing Wednesday by federal investigators on the collision of two Metro-North commuter trains in May delved into possible weaknesses in both track inspection procedures and in new rail cars that are considered among the most advanced in train technology. The May 17 crash near Bridgeport injured dozens of passengers and cost […]
Posted inEducation
UConn’s ‘rape trail’ is symbol of school’s larger problem
Storrs — About 6 feet wide, winding through the woods behind the University of Connecticut’s campus, the half-mile paved path starts at the back of a commuter parking lot and leads to off-campus apartments. Lined with trees and bushes with orange and red leaves this time of year, it’s an often-used shortcut between campus and student housing complexes.
Posted inNews
Bewigged attorneys argue, ultimately, for teaching more civics in CT classrooms
In a new historical video drama created for Connecticut schoolchildren, producers turned to actors more likely to be found in a courtroom than on a theater stage. The stars of a re-enactment of a debate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention include actors such as Connecticut Superior Court Judge James Abrams. “I had a lot of […]