With about 3.4 percent of the state’s population, Hartford is home to close to 10 percent of Connecticut’s uninsured.
Pitching Obamacare in Hartford, home of 34,000 uninsured
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Malloy wants to end Metro-North’s use of single power lines
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Monday called for an investigation into whether the Metro-North rail line should ever rely on one power line to service the trains responsible for transporting thousands of commuters. “Since we now know what a catastrophic event looks like based on what’s happened in New York, I don’t want to see that happen anywhere else on the line and certainly don’t want to see it happen in Connecticut,” Malloy told reporters during a Monday morning press conference at the State Armory in Hartford.
Posted inPolitics
Congress moves closer to shutdown
Washington — Congress moved closer toward a government shutdown Saturday as House Republicans planned to vote on a temporary spending bill that would postpone implementation of the Affordable Care Act for a year, something neither the Senate nor the White House will accept. In the latest chapter of the partisan standoff, the Republican-led House rejected a […]
Posted inHealth
Senate strips budget resolution of Obamacare provision
Senate Democrats on Friday voted for a temporary spending bill that would fund the federal government until mid-December.
Posted inNews
Climate change report blames humans — a conversation with Gary Yohe
Friday’s release of the latest international assessment of climate change has more firmly than ever placed its cause at the feet of humans. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment stated: “Human influence on the climate system is clear. “Human influence has been detected in warming of the atmosphere and the ocean, in changes […]
Posted inNews
Bond panel OK’s financing for Bridgeport development
The State Bond Commission approved $31 million in financing Friday to allow leading sporting goods retailer to locate in the long-planned commercial development on Steel Point in Bridgeport. And though the commission unanimously approved the financing for Bass Pro Shops, that endorsement came amidst an ongoing partisan debate over Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s handling of […]
Posted inNews
Connecticut prison population starts to drop after summertime spike
An unexpected spike in the state’s prison population this summer has leveled off, and the population seems to have returned to its overall five-year decline. The number inmates in Connecticut prisons rose steadily every month since April, but dropped slightly for the first time in September and now stands at 17,134, Michael P. Lawlor, Gov. […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Connecticut bets on keno, maybe more slots
The Connecticut Lottery took a step Thursday toward bringing keno to bars, restaurants and other outlets next year, while legislators in Hartford began a study of the feasibility of introducing video slots to pari-mutuel facilities in Bridgeport, New Haven and Windsor Locks.
Posted inNews
UConn board to vote on student fee increase for new recreation center
The University of Connecticut’s governing board is expected to vote in November to further raise the cost of attending the state’s flagship university in order to pay for a new recreation center. Students are already slated to pay $1,112 more by 2016 than they are paying this year to cover the cost of hiring dozens […]
Posted inNews
Computer snags, other problems may dog health exchanges
Washington – Less than a week before the opening of state insurance exchanges nationwide, no one is sure how this key element of the Affordable Care Act is going to roll out. The Obama administration is hoping for a seamless debut. But even Obamacare’s biggest boosters predict there will be problems, though there’s debate as […]
Posted inNews
Lawmakers press Northeast Utilities to address rumors of job cuts
More than a dozen state legislators are pressing New England’s largest utility to detail immediately any plans to reduce staff as part of an ongoing merger. House Majority Leader Joseph Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, also insisted that Northeast Utilities respond to rumors that some information technology work would be outsourced to other countries. But NU responded Thursday […]
Posted inNews
Task force looks into banning Connecticut pet shops from selling commercially bred puppies
A new legislative task force on puppy mills decided Wednesday it will research and hold public hearings around the state on whether to ban the sale of commercially bred puppies in Connecticut pet shops. During an organizational hearing at the state Capitol, the task force announced it would send a report by January in time […]
Posted inNews
Esty asks for congressional hearing on Metro-North disruption
Washington — Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, wasted no time in asking colleagues on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to request a congressional hearing on the Metro-North failure that will keep that commuter train line out of operations for weeks.
Posted inMoney
Malloy suspends routine highway work to ease traffic crunch along Metro-North corridor
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered the state Department of Transportation on Thursday to halt all routine road maintenance work in lower Fairfield County to ease traffic congestion. Vehicular traffic was expected to rise sharply after Wednesday’s power failure on the Metro-North rail line knocked out most service between Stamford and New York City for at least three weeks.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Web tool assists with landscaping for shoreline protection
Madison – Heather Crawford was incredulous. “Look at that, they’re irrigating,” she said as sprinklers soaked a perfect green grass lawn on top of a beachside seawall. Water dripped down the side leaving a large and expanding stain on the wall, which had been rebuilt after Tropical Storm Irene destroyed the previous one.