Washington — Despite receiving billions of dollars in last-minute contracts before the federal government shut down this week, UTC, parent company of Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky Aircraft, tonight announced it would be “forced to furlough thousands of workers” because of the shutdown. Just hours before the shutdown, East Hartford-based Pratt received a $2.5 billion […]
UTC says government shutdown will mean furloughs for thousands of workers
Posted inNews
Please Support The Connecticut Mirror and Non-Profit Journalism
Since I started five weeks ago, I make it a point to ask people why they visit The Connecticut Mirror. Their answers always go back to one reason – The CT Mirror offers news and information that no one else in the state is producing. This is exactly why The Mirror exists. We thank you […]
Posted inHealth
Connecticut’s uninsured begin shopping for Obamacare coverage
New Britain — Elly Banos set out just after 7:30 Tuesday morning with a mission: Find health insurance. The New Britain woman knew it was the first day to enroll in coverage that’s becoming available as part of the law commonly known as Obamacare. She’d been waiting for it.
Posted inEducation
Safety violations found at all 20 home day care centers audited in CT, federal report says
Photo of day care cited for safety violations When parents search for day care, many trust that because a center or a home is licensed by the state, it must be safe. But a federal audit of 20 home day care providers in Connecticut tells a different story. “We determined that all 20 of the […]
Posted inNews
Connecticut lawmakers donate salaries to charity
Washington — With Congress’ approval ratings at an all-time low and their staffs furloughed or working without pay, dozens of lawmakers – including some from Connecticut – plan to donate the salaries they earn during the federal government shutdown to charity. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., plans to give his wages to the Wounded Warrior Project, […]
Posted inHealth
Access Health’s day 2 stats: 99 processed applications, 1,328 calls
On its second day of accepting enrollment, Access Health CT, the state’s new health insurance marketplace, received 1,328 calls, 45,000 website visitors, and processed 99 applications. Wednesday’s activity brings to 373 the number of applications processed for coverage through Access Health, which connects people to both private insurance and Medicaid.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT’s bond rating: Sign of the times or same old news?
Republican gubernatorial contenders seized on a cautionary note from a bond rating agency this week about Connecticut’s credit card, calling it Wall Street’s response to new criticisms of the state’s finances. The problem, though, is the note released by Fitch Ratings Service isn’t new.
Posted inEducation
Local budget crisis could close Winchester’s 4 schools
Winchester Public Schools are set to run out of money in December. The district’s superintendent told the State Board of Education Wednesday that the town’s finance director was arrested for financial fraud, and the municipal board is refusing to levy a new tax to pay the school district’s bills.
Posted inNews
Computer issues — and demand — hamper debut of state health insurance exchanges
Washington – One thing was predicted: Obamacare insurance exchanges would fall prey to massive computer failures on Tuesday, their opening day. But this was not predicted: An unforeseen number of Americans tried to use the websites, sometimes causing or exacerbating the technical disasters at some exchanges. New York alone had more than 2 million hits […]
Posted inEducation
Deadline passes for agreement on reforms to desegregate Hartford schools
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 […]
Posted inNews
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. […]
Posted inHealth
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.
Posted inNews
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, […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]