It’s been a contentious legislative session here in Connecticut. But legislators were able to agree on a few things. For instance: German immigrant Gustave Whitehead was the first to fly in Bridgeport in 1901 — two years before the celebrated Wright brothers made so-called history in Kitty Hawk, N.C. So now, in a holiday known […]
Bipartisan support to Whitehead, state polka, and a second state song
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Lembo hopeful incentive transparency effort can be revived
State Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo’s bid to enhance transparency in state economic assistance to businesses fell short when the 2013 General Assembly session adjourned Wednesday. But the state’s chief fiscal watchdog said Friday he remains hopeful that some of the mandates he sought could be incorporated voluntarily into economic assistance programs. “My next set of […]
Posted inPolitics
From Alaska to Hartford, a pol’s bitter fight over…$20,000?
Washington –- Hartford has become the unlikely setting for a story about Alaska politics, a bitter legal fight, honor and fancy stationery. Our saga begins in 2008 when a failed Republican candidate for an Alaska U.S. Senate seat decided not to pay a bill for the services of a Hartford–based political consulting firm owned by Tom D’Amore and John Doyle, two former aides to Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr., because he didn’t like their work or the way he was treated.
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Free dental clinic draws hundreds to Bridgeport
Bridgeport – Beth Carter was in pain from the oral surgery. She’d spent the past night outside. She was on the verge of crying from the pain, except she couldn’t stop praising what she’d just gotten: her first dental care in nearly a decade. “I’ve been preparing for this day for a whole year,” said […]
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Childcare providers worry their money held hostage by politics
Early childcare providers are concerned the money they currently receive from the state to care for thousands of children is going to stop flowing in three weeks, because the state budget legislators transfers money to an office that doesn’t officially exist. The state budget shifts $127 million in funding from various state agencies into a new […]
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Obama picks law professor for Connecticut federal court seat
Washington — President Obama on Friday nominated Quinnipiac University law professor Jeffrey A. Meyer, who is also a visiting professor at Yale Law School, as a judge of the U.S. District Court in Connecticut. Meyer was senior counsel to the Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, […]
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Dean vs. dean, or Dingell vs. Mushinsky
If you read political sites like this one, then you’ve probably heard or read stories this week about U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Michigan, the dean of Congress. On June 8, he will pass the late Sen. Robert Byrd as the longest-serving member in the history of Congress. He took office in 1955, the same […]
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GOP gets ammo in report showing shrinking CT economy
A federal agency reported Thursday that Connecticut was the only state with a shrinking economy in 2012, a campaign-ready talking point that one likely Republican challenger quickly turned against Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. “Just today, we learn from the Bureau of Economic Analysis that Connecticut is the only state in the country where our economy […]
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The post-session spin: Dems, GOP fight to define the state’s fiscal health
For the past four months, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has struggled to frame the next state budget. A sluggish recovery, antagonistic opposition leaders with an eye on his job, and a huge tax increase just two years in the rear view mirror, the Democratic governor vowed to hold the line. There would be no new […]
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Malloy looks to 2014 as he closes legislature’s annual session
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy brought the 2013 session of the General Assembly to a close minutes after midnight Wednesday with a seven-minute speech that framed a difficult session as a success, an assessment the Republican minority already is contesting with an eye toward the 2014 election. Malloy, the first Democratic governor in 20 years, opened […]
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Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s closing speech
TEXT AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY Lt. Governor Wyman, Speaker Sharkey, President Williams, Leaders McKinney and Cafero, distinguished legislators. It’s always an honor for me to address you in this great chamber. I want to thank you for all of the hard work you’ve done over these months in service to the people of Connecticut. The […]
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Winners and Losers from the 2013 legislative session
There are new restrictions on gun ownership and limits on the release of crime-scene photos. The minimum wage is going up, as is the cost of gasoline. Immigrants here illegally will be able to get driver’s licenses in a couple of years, and genetically engineered foods will get labels — maybe. There will be a […]
Posted inPolitics
Lieberman joins New York law firm
Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman has not retired quietly. Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman, a New York law firm, announced Thursday that Lieberman, who quit the Senate in January, will work for them as senior counsel. “Senator Lieberman’s practice will focus on independent and internal investigations and advising clients on a wide range of public […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
All’s well that ends well in energy — maybe
The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority — the state’s first-in-the-nation green bank –- could wind up getting back all of the $30.4 million commandeered for general revenue. And all $5 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that was to be diverted to general revenue from energy efficiency programs is once again destined for energy efficiency.
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State aid: How did your city or town make out?
Legislative researchers Wednesday night released a town-by-town breakdown of how much municipal aid each city and town is expected to receive in the adopted state budget. Almost every town saw at least a minor increase in their state aid, but some were flat funded, reports the legislature’s non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis. In total, municipal […]