The State Board of Education Wednesday adopted a statewide standard of when a student’s absences from school can be considered “excused,” and when districts will be required to step in and do something about habitual absenteeism. Dozens of schools throughout the state have dismal attendance rates. Teachers at Bulkeley High School in Hartford can expect one […]
Excused absences defined (and Disneyland didn’t make the cut)
Posted inPolitics
MoveOn’s endorsement of Donovan means people, not TV ads — for now
MoveOn.org started one of its 24-hour email polls on supporting the 5th Congressional District campaign of House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, the day that his campaign finance director was arrested. But the liberal activist group voted to endorse Donovan in that email poll and again in a second poll conducted last week just to […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Hartford Wins $10 Million for Smart Growth
A federal grant of $10 million is set to help Hartford become a city of bikers, walkers, and public transportation users instead of drivers. The grant, announced last week, is part of the TIGER program begun by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2009. Several dozen cities and towns across the country, out of hundreds […]
Posted inCT Viewpoints
On Independence Day, a reminder that citizens still have power
Connecticut just made a major policy change that will protect kids and reduce crime. You probably didn’t notice. That’s understandable. The Raise the Age campaign that pushed for this legislation didn’t run television commercials or send out mailers. We couldn’t afford them. The reform helped 16- and 17-year-olds in trouble with the law. These kids […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
On Independence Day, a reminder that citizens still have power
Connecticut just made a major policy change that will protect kids and reduce crime. You probably didn’t notice. That’s understandable. The Raise the Age campaign that pushed for this legislation didn’t run television commercials or send out mailers. We couldn’t afford them. The reform helped 16- and 17-year-olds in trouble with the law. These kids […]
Posted inEducation, Health
When the moon, sun and stars align, you need to take collective action
There are times in the life cycle of a community when the sun, the moon and the stars appear to be in alignment. I put forth that we are in that unique position now when it comes to education. You cannot look at any news source without seeing a story on the condition of our […]
Posted inNews
Stem cell research: UConn professor tracks cause of rare, genetic eating disorder
Like a code breaker, researcher Stormy Chamberlain is trying to find identification marks and figure out which is the “on” switch in a set of genes. If she can solve the puzzle, she hopes to correct a rare, genetic disease that causes a person to have an insatiable appetite, often leading to obesity. Her work […]
Posted inNews
Malloy rejects state police no-confidence vote in leadership
The Connecticut State Police Union announced a no-confidence vote Tuesday against the department’s top two leaders over the consolidation of dispatch centers that is returning some troopers to road duties. While the union called the changes a setback to public safety, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy cast the vote in the context of dissatisfaction over negotiations […]
Posted inNews
Budget chairwoman threatens to scuttle new restrictions on health care for poor
The House chairwoman of the legislature’s budget panel threatened Tuesday to scuttle new restrictions on health care for the poor sought by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration after learning patients were warned of changes before they had been enacted. Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven, who not only co-chairs the Appropriations Committee, but also an advisory […]
Posted inNews
AFL-CIO endorses Murphy, Donovan for open seats
The Connecticut AFL-CIO’s political convention formally voted Tuesday to endorse Democrats Chris Murphy for U.S. Senate and Chris Donovan for Congress, giving them a boost from labor heading into the Aug. 14 primary. The ratification of a recommendation by the labor federation’s political committee is routine in many years, but it is a timely affirmation […]
Posted inNews
When 60 years isn’t a life sentence …
Terrell Canady was 15 when he was imprisoned in 2004 for murdering a prostitute. He will be at least 75 years old before he can be released. And since the state of Connecticut doesn’t label Canady’s sentence “life without parole” — the judge ruled instead, that Canady would serve a 60-year sentence — Monday’s U.S. […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Murphy seeks open floodgates for Connecticut dams
Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, won House approval Tuesday for legislations that would allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to license the towns of Canton, Avon and Burlington so they can reactive two old power-producing dams. The towns have wanted to operate the two Collinsville dams, built in the 18th and 19th centuries, to produce […]
Posted inNews
Supreme Court’s long-awaited health care decision could be ‘messy’
Washington — After keeping America waiting for months, the Supreme Court is set to issue an opinion that will define Barack Obama’s presidency and touch the lives of nearly every American. The high court Monday held back its decision on a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, and it is now expected to issue its […]
Posted inNews
AFL-CIO set to pick Murphy over Bysiewicz for Senate
Hartford — With his endorsement virtually assured, an animated Chris Murphy told the Connecticut AFL-CIO Monday that its help is essential to his winning a U.S. Senate seat against “a right-wing cabal” intent on strangling labor. Murphy, a three-term Democratic congressman seeking the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, ignored attacks by Susan Bysiewicz, his rival […]
Posted inNews
Connecticut Democrats urge quick action on student loans
Hartford — As Republicans and Democrats in Washington move toward a deal to keep rates low on a popular student loan program, Connecticut Democrats Monday urged quick action. In five days, nearly 7.5 million college students across the country are slated to see the interest rates on their Stafford loans double, from 3.4 percent to […]