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, […]
Connecticut lawmakers donate salaries to charity
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 […]
Posted inHealth
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.
Posted inNews
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 […]
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 […]