Public education in Hartford and across Connecticut is about to enter a new dimension that will test the resolve of many urban school districts. Forty-five states, including Connecticut, four U.S. territories and the District of Columbia have embraced Common Core State Standards, which aim to create an across-the-board consistency — by subject and grade — […]
Getting ready for the new common core curriculum
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So far, Malloy avoids veto threat in gun-control campaign
As legislative leaders try to conclude bipartisan gun-control talks, the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is walking a fine line by pushing a ban on the possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, yet stopping short of threatening to veto weaker legislation. “We haven’t said the V word, but we have been clear about what the […]
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DeLauro, Larson resist move to fund federal government
Washington — Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, and John Larson, D-1st District, split with the rest of the Connecticut delegation, which approved a bill Thursday that would continue to fund the federal government for another six months. Despite the opposition of DeLauro and Larson, the stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, was approved […]
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Submarine base civilian workers feeling sequestration’s sting
Sequestration is already here, and most of us have yet to notice any effects. But that’s not true for hundreds of people in Connecticut who work for the Department of Defense in civilian jobs. Right now they are figuring out ways to manage financially when their paychecks take a dive next month. The submarine base […]
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Over student protest, regents raise college tuition 5.1 percent
Students next year will have to pay 5 percent more to attend 17 of the state’s public colleges, following the adoption of a tuition plan Thursday by the Board of Regents. Some 200 students and faculty membes protested the vote outside. “Nobody likes to increase taxes and tuition, etc. The problem with us right now is […]
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Obama declares aid to Connecticut for snowstorm
President Obama declared Connecticut a major disaster area again, this time for the severe winter storm that hit the state March 8 through March 11. The designation means all Connecticut counties, and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribal Nations located within New London County, are eligible for federal money to help them pay for snow […]
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Lawmakers split over bill that prevents government shutdown
Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, and John Larson, D-1st District split with the rest of the Connecticut delegation over a bill that would continue to fund the federal government for another six months. Despite the opposition of DeLauro and Larson, the stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, was approved 318 to 109 and […]
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Senate acts to avert government shutdown, but fails to save air towers
Washington — Congress appears headed toward final approval of a bill that will avoid a government shutdown, but the legislation won’t save Connecticut’s air control towers. The Senate voted 73-26 on a short-term spending measure Wednesday that will keep the federal government running until Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, […]
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House GOP leader demands interim report on Newtown
With anonymously sourced details continuing to dribble out about the state police investigation of the Newtown school massacre of 26 children and educators, House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, asked Wednesday for an official interim report. Cafero was responding to a New York Daily News story about Newtown killer Adam Lanza’s preoccupation with […]
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End-of-life bill brings comfort for some, fears of vulnerability for others
More than most people, Sara Myers has a sense of how she might die. She has ALS, a disease that takes away the ability to move until, eventually, the diaphragm stops working. “You basically are smothered to death,” she said. Myers wants an alternative. She’s not ready to take her life, but she wants it […]
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Juan Figueroa named corporation counsel in Hartford
Juan Figueroa, the former president of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut and a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2010, was named Wednesday by Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra as the city’s corporation counsel. “Juan is a well-respected, true expert in his field. He has dedicated his career to public policy locally and nationally and has […]
Posted inEducation
A breakdown of the savings from higher ed shakeup …
Are you curious to learn if merging the state’s community colleges, the four Connecticut State Universities and online state college into one system resulted in the promised $4.5 million in savings? So are state legislators. Last week, members of the legislature’s Appropriations and Higher Education committees received a breakdown of where the highly-touted savings was […]
Posted inPolitics
Another defendant in Donovan ‘straw donor’ case pleads guilty
Daniel Monteiro, 33, of Wolcott pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal conspiracy charge arising from the effort to use campaign contributions to the congressional campaign of former House Speaker Christopher Donovan to influence legislation in the General Assembly last year, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Monteiro, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to […]
Posted inMoney
Gun insurance proposal draws heat
A proposal to require gun owners to buy liability insurance — such as that required of car owners — drew opposition at a two-hour hearing at the State Capitol Wednesday.
Posted inMoney
Big City Mayors: governor’s budget means job losses
Mayors from the state’s largest cities came to the state Capitol Wednesday to share a message: The governor’s budget could force them to lay off hundreds of municipal employees.