Groton — Drug giant Pfizer Inc. said it plans to tear down 750,000 square feet of unused laboratory space on its Groton campus, a move that follows frantic efforts in recent months to find a new use for the facility. Last year, Pfizer put up for sale a million square feet of space at its […]
Pfizer will raze huge office building in Groton
Posted inNews
Boosting public financing for campaigns is off the table
If Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy runs for re-election as a publicly financed candidate next year, he can expect a state grant of only $6 million, less than half the $12.8 million spent by his Republican opponent, Tom Foley, in 2010. With the state struggling to balance the budget, Malloy has ruled out a repeat […]
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Preparing future teachers: Panel aims to start fixing the deficiencies
As students filed into Sharon Leger’s fifth-grade class in Farmington on the first day of school, it became painfully clear that the new teacher was not prepared. Leger never learned in college how to get, and keep, the attention of her students. She also never learned how to tailor her lessons to teach students who […]
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List: Connecticut Air Control Tower Closures Due to Sequester
By: Georgia Lobb Danbury Airport: Photo Courtesy of CT Post Last week, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) released a final list of the 149 Airports that will lose air control towers due to the recent sequester. (See related: The Cost of Sequestration) In Connecticut, the following six air control towers will be shut down (starting […]
Posted inMoney
Espinosa sworn in as first Hispanic justice
Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Carmen Espinosa said the response she gets when she attends events has been overwhelming “beyond words.” “People that do not know me personally, know my story, and tell me how proud they are of what I have achieved as a Puerto Rican woman,” Espinosa told a crowd of close to 150 people at the state Capitol Thursday gathered for her swearing-in ceremony. “The Hispanic community wants to celebrate its successes, just like any other community.”
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Biden to address Coast Guard academy graduation
Vice President Joe Biden will give the keynote speech at U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s commencement on May 22, the New London academy announced on Thursday. The president and vice president take turns giving graduation speeches at all the military academies. President Obama addressed the Coast Guard Academy in 2011, former Vice President Dick Cheney gave […]
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Searching for a teachable moment in Torrington
Torrington — As TV cameras persist outside their doors nearly a week after vicious online comments about an alleged statutory rape victim went viral, Torrington Public School officials are wrestling with difficult questions. Is there a pervasive culture of misbehavior within the Torrington High School football team, which dealt with a hazing scandal last fall, […]
Posted inEducation
Malloy’s take on armed security in schools
Several school districts in Connecticut have placed armed police officers or security guards in their schools in response to a gunman killing 26 children and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School last December — a move Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he supports. However, the governor does not expect the state to provide any funding […]
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A type A governor lays back on guns, for now
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy seems to be following the unlikely example of Goldilocks in dealing with the legislature on gun-control after Sandy Hook. He is looking for an approach that is just right after first being too soft, then too hard. He wants the legislature to pass a strict ban on the sale and possession […]
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State pays workers $2.1 million to participate in health counseling — that never happened
State employees were paid $2.1 million in incentives to participate in health counseling last year — even though the counseling never was offered. The payments, part of a stipulated agreement signed in late December by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration and employee unions, prompted one legislative leader Tuesday to call for an independent audit of […]
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Legislators: No more blank check for college presidents
The presidents of the state’s public colleges may soon be required to report how they are spending the thousands of dollars they receive each year to cover their job-related travel and entertainment expenses. The legislature’s Higher Education Committee Tuesday unanimously approved a bill that would require the 19 presidents at the state’s public colleges and […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Widespread dissatisfaction with energy bill process and changes to renewable power
Plans to rush major energy legislation through the General Assembly as soon as Wednesday are raising cries of foul from dozens of normally unaligned groups. Their concerns are prompted in part by timing: It’s two months before the draft report most of the legislation is based on finishes its required public review.
Posted inHealth
Malloy hasn’t reached a position on end-of-life bill
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday that he hasn’t determined whether he would support a proposal to allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to people with terminal illnesses. Malloy said the issue evokes fears, religious and societal taboos, and “very substantial questions about the ability of one to control their own destiny.” He said he […]
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State Senate leader wants to end cross-endorsements
Connecticut’s experiment with New York-style fusion politics gave Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy two lines on the ballot in 2010, and he needed the votes cast on both to narrowly defeat Republican Tom Foley. So, it’s a little surprising that a push to end cross-endorsements is coming from one of the governor’s strongest allies in […]
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Today’s lesson: Politicians dislike being called corrupt
Tom Foley, a once-and-future Republican candidate for governor, came to the General Assembly to pitch a broad new conflict-of-interest standard Monday that could be problematic for many members of the part-time state legislature, including a potential GOP rival. His reward was a bipartisan beat down. Foley is the author and prime backer of a bill […]