We were taken aback by Governor Malloy’s recent comments at a back-to-school event for magnet school teachers and staff, where he reportedly expressed satisfaction with this year’s interim benchmark in Sheff v. O’Neill requiring that 41 percent of Hartford resident children be placed in desegregated school settings (see CT Mirror story here). The governor’s reported […]
Sheff Movement to Gov. Malloy, ‘Help us expand what has become the most successful education reform in Connecticut history’
Posted inNews
Murphy grills Kerry on plans to attack Syria
Washington – President Obama sent Secretary of State John Kerry and top military officers to Capitol Hill Tuesday to sell a plan for an airstrike on Syria. But many lawmakers, including Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, aren’t necessarily buying. “We wonder if there is a limit on the ability of the American military power to influence […]
Posted inNews
Minnie Gonzalez loses appeal in ballot case
The Connecticut Appellate Court on Tuesday ruled against state Rep. Minnie Gonzalez, D-Hartford, in an absentee ballot case in which she was fined by the State Elections Enforcement Commission. The commission imposed a $4,500 civil penalty on Gonzalez for four counts of election-law violations, concluding she was “knowingly present” while four voters filled out absentee […]
Posted inHealth
Connecticut officials trying to redesign health care system, but advocates wary
State officials and representatives from the health care and insurance industries are developing a plan to redesign how health care is delivered and paid for in the state, an initiative aimed at affecting the vast majority of Connecticut residents.
Posted inNews
Lembo sees ‘cautious optimism’ in $400M state budget surplus
State Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo announced a nearly $400 million surplus Tuesday for the fiscal year that ended June 30. But while Connecticut’s chief fiscal watchdog called that surplus “a sign of cautious optimism for the future,” he also noted some weaknesses tied to the state’s job market that remain to be resolved. Though a […]
Posted inNews
Obama calls, but Murphy skeptical on Syria
U.S. Sen. Christopher Murphy said Tuesday he returns to Washington a skeptic of military intervention in Syria, despite a personal phone call Sunday from President Obama seeking the support of the freshman Democrat from Connecticut. “The president told me this weekend that he firmly believes we can keep this strike limited, and that this will […]
Posted inEducation
Another year of state intervention in Windham and New London schools
The State Board of Education is expected to vote Wednesday to extend for another year the state’s intervention in the operation of Windham and New London public schools. The state board voted in 2011 to intervene in Windham schools by appointing a “special master” backed with the authority to make management and governance decisions. The following […]
Posted inHealth
DSS extends benefits for people receiving cash assistance
The state Department of Social Services has extended cash assistance benefits to people at risk of losing them this month, a protective measure meant to ensure that people don’t wrongly lose their benefits as the department grapples with problems related to a major change in how it handles paperwork. The department announced last week that […]
Posted inHealth
Access Health call center opens to take Obamacare insurance questions
The Access Health CT toll-free call center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It can be reached at 1-855-805-HEALTH (4325).
Posted inPolitics
The cost of lobbying in Connecticut
Lobbyists spent $32.9 million lobbying state lawmakers last year, the Office of State Ethics reports. The office updated their numbers last week after discovering their initial report double-counted many expenditures. In total, $42 million was spent on lobbying activity in the state, of which nearly three-quarters went to compensate lobbyists and the remainder to cover TV campaigns, […]
Posted inNews
Connecticut dairy farmers lose their safety net
Correction: The final paragraph in an earlier version of this story should have said that dairy farmers are paid per 100 pounds of milk. The present version uses the correct unit measure. Washington – Because Congress failed to act on a farm bill before its summer recess, Connecticut’s dairy farmers lost their federal assistance over […]
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A Labor Day message: Economic security is very much a women’s issue.
Connecticut was among the first states to enact Labor Day legislation in 1887, a full seven years before the U.S. Congress made it a federal holiday. Labor Day was created to recognize trade unions, secure workers’ safety and generally honor the contributions of laborers everywhere. And yet, more than 100 years after its passage, how well do we, as a society, really honor our workers?
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut: Time for a higher standard of government
Connecticut is in serious trouble. You can’t pick up a newspaper without reading another negative headline about our state’s dire economic condition. Connecticut has the heaviest tax burden in the country, one of the least friendly business climates, the nation’s highest per capita debt, dangerously unfunded pension liabilities, and the dubious distinction of being the […]
Posted inNews
A Labor Day message: Economic security is very much a women’s issue.
Connecticut was among the first states to enact Labor Day legislation in 1887, a full seven years before the U.S. Congress made it a federal holiday. Labor Day was created to recognize trade unions, secure workers’ safety and generally honor the contributions of laborers everywhere. And yet, more than 100 years after its passage, how well do we, as a society, really honor our workers?
Posted inNews
Connecticut lawmakers face ‘whale of a fight’ when Congress returns
Washington — When Congress returns from summer recess, it will once again find itself on the brink of disaster. Unless Congress acts, the federal government will shut down Oct. 1, and the nation will run out of cash to pay its bills by mid-October. Congress must figure out a way to avoid these disasters, and under […]