With House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan sidelined by an investigation of his congressional fundraising, a somber mood settled over the State Capitol Tuesday as legislators trudged toward the inevitable passage of two massive bills. Lobbyists passively watched the proceedings, knowing that the two bills became untouchable once Democratic leaders and the administration agreed on their […]

The state is offering Bridgeport a $3.5 million loan to cover the school district’s budget gap, but in exchange, the city must agree that state Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor will choose the pool of up to three superintendent candidates. The board will select a candidate from the pool, who could serve in the post for three years. The […]

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced today that they have reached a multi-year agreement, ending a two-month dispute that led to uncertainty and confusion for many patients and their families. The hospital and the Connecticut Children’s Specialty Group had dropped the insurer April 16 after both sides failed to […]

The General Assembly adopted dozens of initiatives in special session Tuesday evening and early Wednesday including another job growth plan, controversial measures aimed at minimum state police staffing and licensing for tobacco shops, and a new phase-in option for municipal property revaluation. As majority Democrats in both chambers adopted scores of measures, Republicans cried foul, […]

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced today that they have reached a multi-year deal, ending a two-month-long dispute and uncertainty for patients and their families. The hospital and the Connecticut Children’s Specialty Group had dropped the insurer April 16 after both sides failed to reach an agreement after a […]

UPDATED 7:24 p.m. The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislators agreed Tuesday morning to scrap legislation that would have given the executive branch wide discretion to withhold information tied to private companies seeking state economic development assistance. The governor’s general counsel, Andrew McDonald, distanced himself from the proposal, saying he agreed with a media […]

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The Council on Environmental Quality’s annual report on Connecticut’s environment in 2011 can be summed in one word: storms. Tropical Storm Irene and the October snowstorm hurt air, water, land, animal and human health — most notably in Long Island Sound. These catastrophic events caused more beach closings, lower oxygen levels, more pollution and fewer lobsters, […]

Hartford — The hopes and tensions underlying the proposed acquisition and merger of Waterbury’s two hospitals were exposed during a public forum in Hartford Monday. While Waterbury’s mayor said the plan could revitalize his struggling city, hospital union members said they felt ignored by the private entity that would acquire the new, merged hospital, and […]

Connecticut’s so-called “roll-your-own” cigarette industry, which became embroiled two weeks ago in a congressional campaign scandal, won’t avoid a stiff new state fee, but will have an extra three months to prepare for it. That’s according to draft legislation that the General Assembly is expected to adopt Tuesday in a special session that also is […]

Just when boat dealers were expecting a promising recovery in boat sales this year, the state’s luxury sales tax, which went into effect July 1, 2011, seems to have dashed their hopes. The traditional start of the boating season — the July 4 weekend — is only three weeks away, but the sales of new […]

Washington — In a recount of a very close referendum, New London residents in November narrowly rejected a plan to sell nearly 10 acres of the city’s Riverside Park to the U.S. Coast Guard to expand operations at its military academy. As soon as the New London vote was finalized, $4.9 million appropriated by Congress […]

The first time they met, in the early 1980s, Frank Torti and Edison Liu were newly minted doctors, Liu training to be a cancer specialist at Stanford University and Torti a young oncology professor who taught him. Soon after, they would both shift their focus to basic science, motivated by what they expected would be […]