The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday it has given a $500,000 grant through the Small Town Economic Assistance Program to Newtown to help local businesses affected by weeks of street closures and other disruptions after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The money will be administered by Newtown. “Our thoughts and […]
State gives Newtown $500,000 in economic assistance
Posted inNews
Gun control strategies taking shape
Washington — The outlines of the strategies both sides will use in the expected bitter fight over gun control are beginning to take shape, with advocates looking to act quickly on a broad package of reforms, and opponents hoping to stall the battle until memories of the Newtown shootings dim. A White House panel, headed […]
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Bounced checks to staff led to Newton investigation
The investigation that led to the arrest Friday of former state Sen. Ernest Newton II of Bridgeport was sparked by a campaign worker’s complaint to state elections officials that he had not been paid, according to an arrest affidavit released Monday. Newton, who is accused of falsifying records to quality for $80,550 in public financing […]
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Blumenthal, Murphy split over Hagel
Washington — Sen. Richard Blumenthal Monday said he’s not sold on President Obama’s choice for Secretary of Defense, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel. “I respect the president’s right to select Cabinet members, but I have a responsibility as a member of the Armed Services Committee to ask Senator Hagel’s views on critical defense policy issues […]
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Malloy names first Hispanic to high court
Judge Carmen Espinosa, a former FBI agent and federal prosecutor whose judicial career has been a string of firsts for Hispanics, was nominated today by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Espinosa, 63, of Southington was the first Hispanic judge in Connecticut when appointed to the Superior Court by Gov. Lowell P. […]
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Another for-profit school to close
Officials at Sanford-Brown College have notified state officials they will be closing their school in Farmington, the second for-profit school to inform state officials in recent weeks that it will close. Sawyer School, which had programs in Bridgeport, Hamden and Hartford, closed with little notice last week, days before classes for the new term were […]
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Brrrrrrr…..
So, I did just get back from a trip to New Delhi where the weather was considerably warmer … but I think we can all agree that this month is turning out to be a LOT colder than last month. Let’s hope it’s not too cold for the transit system. Boston’s MBTA dealt with a […]
Posted inHealth
Herbert leaves exchange board to consult for insurer
Former ConnectiCare CEO Mickey Herbert has resigned from the board overseeing the state’s health insurance exchange to take a job consulting for the insurer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care as it attempts to enter the state’s market. Herbert was one of three former insurance executives serving on the board of the exchange, the marketplace that will […]
Posted inPolitics
Quote of the day, the understatement edition
“Well, that would be impolitic.” That was Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s reaction Monday when asked about a Facebook suggestion by state Rep. DebraLee Hovey, a Republican who represents Monroe and Newtown, that gunshot survivor and former Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords stay out of her district. Hovey took issue with Giffords’ decision to visit Newtown to […]
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Occhiogrosso rejoins firm that advised Malloy campaigns
Roy Occhiogrosso has left Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s employ as senior adviser, but he is returning to the Global Strategy Group, the politics and public affairs company that was his base as he advised Malloy’s campaigns for governor in 2006 and 2010. The move raises the obvious question: Does this mean Occhiogrosso is positioning himself […]
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Dear Commissioner Rehmer: My son has a serious mental illness …
After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, some policymakers have called for considering outpatient commitment laws that allow for court-ordered treatment of people with mental illness who could be dangerous to themselves or others. Forty-four other states have such laws, but the concept has been unpopular in Connecticut, where the mental health system’s focus […]
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Chits for 2014? Boughton to keynote Grassroots East
Another small measure of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton’s interest in running for governor in 2014 (aside from his recent tweaking Tom Foley): On Friday, Jan. 25, he will be driving to Norwich to be the keynote speaker at a fundraising dinner of Grassroots East, the GOP group in the 2nd Congressional District. Everybody loves the 95.6 […]
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Tweak me? Tweet you!
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton’s assets include the fastest pair of thumbs in Connecticut politics. Just follow his Twitter feed @MayorMark. He shares — overshares at times, in the opinion of some fretful friends — trenchant observations on life, pop culture and politics. He also answers constituent questions about whether hockey is allowed on a rink […]
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Some Connecticut companies get breaks in fiscal cliff deal
Washington — While lawmakers championed the fiscal cliff deal as the mechanism that keep taxes on the middle class from rising, they also, more quietly, approved special tax breaks that will benefit several Connecticut businesses. The tax breaks range from credits to rum makers like Diageo to research and development write-offs for large companies like […]
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Former state Sen. Ernest Newton arrested
Former state Sen. Ernest E. Newton II, D-Bridgeport, a convicted felon who attempted a political comeback in 2012, was arrested Friday and charged with committing fraud to obtain $80,550 in public financing for his unsuccessful bid to return to the Connecticut General Assembly. Newton, 56, who lost a three-way Democratic primary for the state Senate […]