Democratic state legislators appeared to be out of luck this summer in their bid to make relief at the gasoline pump a campaign issue. Almost immediately after capping a volatile tax that jacks up gasoline prices when wholesale costs escalate, those costs plunged between April and early July — the time they traditionally rise to […]

Bridgeport — At a new, 14,500-square-foot facility in Bridgeport’s South End, three men spend their weekdays deconstructing old mattresses to be recycled. “I enjoy myself,” said 44-year-old Angel Morales, who walks from his house a few blocks away to arrive at the plant at 5:30 each weekday morning. (Since there’s no air-conditioning, the employees like […]

In 2007, Jim O’Malley was laid off by Pfizer Inc. as the pharmaceutical giant started abandoning research and development operations in southeastern Connecticut. With more than a decade of experience as a research scientist, he decided to start his own small drug discovery company, Myometrics, in New London. Seeking another job was not an option […]

In the year since Tropical Storm Irene battered the state, Connecticut’s trees have come to be regarded as instruments of evil. They’ve been blamed for the extensive power outages caused by both Irene and the October snowstorm two months later, and utility companies have since been sawing away at the roadside forest around their transmission lines. […]

With a $2 million bankroll and heavy advertising, Elizabeth Esty won the high-profile Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District. Now, she has to win a quieter, if still crucial campaign for the support of organized labor. The first test will come Wednesday when the Connecticut AFL-CIO’s political committee meets to consider transferring its backing […]

Connecticut has made significant strides in reducing the number of abused and neglected children in foster care, but its achievement is costing it millions of dollars in federal aid. Over the last five years, the state’s Department of Children and Families has reduced the number of children in state custody by 20 percent, officials say, […]

Waterbury — The past few decades have been tough on this formerly bustling manufacturing city. After losing some 5,000 manufacturing jobs between 1989 and 1992, the region partially recovered, only to lose more than another thousand in the recession beginning in 2008. Today, the Waterbury region is in its third decade with an unemployment rate […]

How could Connecticut’s unemployment rate have worsened significantly in July when the state gained more than 5,000 jobs last month? Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called out the Department of Labor Thursday, questioning the jobless numbers it released in its latest report. Based on one survey that estimates payroll jobs in businesses, the department concluded that […]

Washington — The national Republican Party is calling Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District race its “best pickup opportunity in New England.” And a national political report has moved the race from “leaning Democrat” to pure “toss up.” And so the name-calling has begun, with each party testing for vulnerabilities in the opposing candidates. The national Republican […]

Connecticut is providing up to $115 million in incentives to a major hedge fund that is committing to the construction of a new $750 million headquarters in Stamford and a doubling of its present workforce of more than 1,000, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Wednesday. Bridgewater Associates, whose employees are now spread among several buildings […]