A student attending Newington Public Schools through the Open Choice Program The deadline has passed for state officials to reach an agreement on how to desegregate Hartford’s predominantly black and Hispanic public schools. “As of right now, we don’t have an agreement,” said Martha Stone, the lawyer behind the school desegregation lawsuit that led to the […]
Deadline passes for agreement on reforms to desegregate Hartford schools
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Guay, a flashpoint in Malloy’s struggle with watchdogs, takes new post
David L. Guay, the gubernatorial appointee who embodied the Malloy administration’s tense relationship with the state’s three major watchdog agencies, is stepping down as executive administrator of the Office of Government Accountability for a new government post. Guay will become the first executive director of the Contracting Standards Board. He starts the new job Oct. […]
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Access Health gets first Obamacare enrollment amid website woes
The website has been spotty, but Access Health CT, the state’s new health insurance marketplace created by the federal health reform law, enrolled its first member shortly before 9:30 Tuesday morning and had 44 by early afternoon.
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Federal shutdown, health care costs and shrinking sales tax loom over CT budget
State government’s finances are in balance early into the fiscal year — for now. But the state’s chief fiscal watchdog warned Tuesday that the federal government shutdown, continued strong demand for health care for the poor and declining sales tax receipts, could erase the budget’s black ink very quickly. Technically Kevin Lembo, the state comptroller, […]
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CT officials renew call for probe after NU confirms plans to outsource IT jobs
State officials renewed their call for a review of Northeast Utilities operations after company officials confirmed plans Tuesday to outsource about half of its 400 information technology jobs. But a company spokeswoman also said about 40 of the 200 affected workers likely would be rehired by branches in the northeastern U.S. of the two India-based companies […]
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Federal government shuts down
Washington — The federal government shut down today at 12:01 a.m. after a day of high drama on Capitol Hill and the failure to end a partisan impasse over a series of short-term spending bills. “This is a sad day for America,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Beginning today, about 7,000 federal workers in Connecticut […]
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Obamacare insurance enrollment begins as officials warn of potential glitches
The state’s new insurance marketplace opens for enrollment Tuesday, and officials are marking the occasion with a warning: Be prepared for glitches, or even a system shut-down if problems are bad enough.
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Connecticut begins to close wide racial and ethnic gaps in prison population
Connecticut has begun to reduce the disproportionate number of blacks and Latinos in its prisons. Since 2008, the numbers of black and Hispanic inmates have fallen by 15 percent each, while the number of white prisoners dropped by a slower 6 percent. The drop is relatively small, but because of policy changes, shifting attitudes and […]
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Obamacare Q&A, part 3: Medicare, erratic income, and small business options
This week’s reader questions on the federal health reform law center on the options for people with Medicare, how people with erratic income can tell if they qualify for discounted insurance through the state’s new marketplace, and whether small businesses can buy coverage for their employees through the individual market to save money.
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Larson gets noticed with a full-volume speech
U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, is getting notice Tuesday for his midnight rant about the federal government shutdown. “Do you stand with your country?” Larson yelled on the floor of the House. “Do you stand for your country? Or do you want to take it down this evening? Stand up for your country. Stand […]
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Quinnipiac poll: Americans blame GOP for shutdown
Washington — Americans may be divided about the Affordable Care Act, but most did not want the federal government to be shut down in an attempt to block implementation of Obamacare, a new Quinnipiac poll shows.
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CT’s reaction: Dems shout, GOP shrugs
The debate over the looming federal government shutdown Monday was one-sided in Connecticut as Democrats aggressively tried to brand Republicans as irresponsible, while the GOP had no coordinated response. U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy each held press events reinforcing the message and strategy of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, who opposed making […]
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Connecticut’s poor most likely to feel shutdown impact first
Washington – Connecticut’s poorest and neediest citizens are likely to feel the sting of a federal government shutdown before most of the rest of the state’s population. Connecticut receives more than $1 billion each year for federal nutrition programs (from food stamps to school breakfasts), more than $2.5 billion from Washington to run Medicaid, the […]
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Prolonged federal shutdown could damage Connecticut’s fragile economic recovery
As the federal government stood at the brink of a shutdown, state and business leaders were most wary Monday of a prolonged stoppage. Though many of the 9,000 federal employees residing in Connecticut could be furloughed shortly after the new fiscal year begins Tuesday, a potential lag in billions in federal dollars earmarked for the […]
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Pitching Obamacare in Hartford, home of 34,000 uninsured
With about 3.4 percent of the state’s population, Hartford is home to close to 10 percent of Connecticut’s uninsured.