A trade group representing the firearms industry filed a federal lawsuit Monday using legislative procedural grounds to attack the lawfulness of the Connecticut gun-control law passed in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which is based in Newtown near the elementary school where 20 children and six educators […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy presided over a bipartisan bill-signing ceremony Monday to mark the latest in what his administration says are underappreciated steps to reform how energy is procured, priced and delivered in Connecticut. The ceremony reflects Malloy’s emphasis of energy policy since taking office in January 2011 — and his administration’s belief in the […]

Thousands more children are showing up for school each year in need of a free- or reduced-priced breakfast and lunch. And while 28,008 more students over the last 10 years are now being fed at free or reduced rates during the regular school year, state officials are trying to also boost the number of children […]

The state Department of Social Services is going through a leadership shake-up as it prepares to roll out major changes in how it deals with clients and handles paperwork. The agency is getting a new deputy commissioner and has new officials in charge of finance, human resources, field operations and the effort to modernize the […]

The state budget finished moderately in the black last week after officials struggled much of the just-completed fiscal year with red ink. But whether state government remains free of deficits in the new budget year — and in the next few to come — could hinge on how realistic officials are about Connecticut’s gradually recovering […]

A once and future Republican candidate for governor, Tom Foley greeted a lunchtime audience drawn by what promised to be a withering and irreverent take on Connecticut legislative politics: “Going Down the Toilet and Picking Up Speed.” But Foley shared nothing of his own opinions or ambitions. His role was to introduce the speaker, Chris […]

A foster child in state custody needed eyeglasses, but the agency didn’t make it happen. An abused child needed counseling but faced delays in getting an appointment. These children are not alone, reports the federal court monitor of the state’s Department of Children and Families. Of the 55 children in state custody whose cases were reviewed […]

Washington -– What do a historic immigration bill and Stratford-based helicopter-maker Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. have in common? Plenty, it seems. As the Senate finished debate last month on a bill that would give 11 million undocumented immigrants an eventual path to citizenship, Republicans proposed a $38 billion amendment aimed at strengthening border controls and luring […]

Norman Rockwell prints hang on the walls of Dr. Douglas Gerard’s office, and the New Hartford primary care doctor says his practice would fit into that era. Gerard is the only medical provider in the office, so he’s the one who takes patients’ vital signs and medical histories. His files are all on paper, and […]

More students than ever are about to have the chance to enroll in a charter school in Connecticut. Not only has the State Board of Education approved increasing enrollment at the state’s 17 existing charter schools by 9 percent for the upcoming school year, but four new charter schools are also expected to open over the […]