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 […]
Connecticut begins to close wide racial and ethnic gaps in prison population
Posted inHealth
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.
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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.
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inHealth
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.
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.