Legislative leaders said Friday that a vote on gun-control legislation next week is growing less likely, given that a one-week delay now might gain them access to more information about the Newtown massacre of 26 children and women. Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane and Danbury State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky met privately Friday with the leaders, […]
Gun-control vote may wait until after Easter
Posted inNews
Budget panel likely to balk at Malloy’s plan to restrict watchdog agencies
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposal to further consolidate state watchdog agencies — and shift oversight of their most crucial functions into his administration — could be facing a big roadblock in the state legislature’s budget-writing panel.
Posted inNews
Providers fear Malloy’s budget will increase health care costs for poor
On Jan. 1, the federal government will begin funding a massive expansion of health insurance coverage. At the same time, if Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gets his way, Connecticut will scale back what it pays for poor people to receive health-care coverage and mental-health and hospital services. The state administration says this won’t leave anyone […]
Posted inNews
A health clinic is favored, and the FBI asks why
It is a mystery that the FBI is trying now to unravel: On the last day of the 2012 session, how did legislators come to create a $15 million pool of bond money exclusively for a chain of non-profit clinics operated by Mark Masselli, a political supporter of then-House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan? On April […]
Posted inNews
Ridgefield Seeks to Renew Study, Build Bike Paths
By: Georgia Lobb In 2004, a study called the Bike Trail Master Plan began in Ridgefield, CT. It proposed the construction of bike paths to connect parts of the town, which is covered with thin, windy roads that are nothing less than treacherous for pedestrians and cyclists. But as soon as the plan came to […]
Posted inNews
FAA to close all Conn. airport towers except Bradley’s
Connecticut airports lost their appeals to keep controllers at their towers. The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday issued a final list of 149 airports that will close their air traffic control towers because they agency is required to lay off controllers to save money. Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport, Brainard Airport, Stratford’s Igor I. Sikorsky Airport, […]
Posted inEducation
State to pay U.S. Education Department $4.5M settlement
State officials have settled a longstanding lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Education following charges that the State Department of Education “submitted false claims for payment” by misrepresenting the number of children that qualified for special education services. The settlement requires the state pay the federal government $4.5 million. The settlement resolves overpayment by the […]
Posted inEducation
Getting ready for the new common core curriculum
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 — […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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, […]