The House of Representatives voted 75-61 Tuesday night for a bill that authorizes a study of a controversial concept: A state-administered pension fund for employees of private companies that offer no pension or other retirement savings plans. About 61 percent of employers nationwide sponsored plans in 2000, but just 53 percent did by 2010, according […]
House narrowly approves study of state-administered retirement plan
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Minnie Gonzalez falls down Capitol stairs
Rep. Minnie Gonzalez, D-Hartford, was taken to a hospital by ambulance Tuesday after falling down a flight of stone stairs at the State Capitol. Witnesses said Gonzalez appeared to unconscious after the fall, but House Majority Leader J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, told the House at the close of the session Tuesday night that tests were negative […]
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Lieberman demands five years of behavioral records from Secret Service
Senator Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., has asked the Secret Service to turn over a mass of information about the behavior of its agents in the past five years. The scope of the requests for information indicate Lieberman plans a wide-ranging probe of the Secret Service, whose agents got into trouble in Cartagena, Colombia last month with […]
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Lembo makes it official: Malloy must issue emergency budget plan
State Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo certified a $200 million deficit Tuesday afternoon for the current state budget, triggering a requirement that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy submit an emergency deficit-mitigation plan to the legislature. And given that the administration needs to finish $75 million in the black to maintain the promised conversion of state finances to […]
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Lieberman asks Secret Service for information about agent misconduct
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., has asked the Secret Service to turn over a mass of information about the behavior of its agents in the past five years. The scope of the requests for information indicates that Lieberman plans a wide-ranging probe of the Secret Service, whose agents got into trouble in Cartagena, Colombia, last month […]
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Lieberman asks for new moratorium on postal closings
With the clock ticking toward a shutdown of hundreds of postal facilities across the nation — and about a dozen post offices and two processing centers in Connecticut — Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., insists that Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe hold off on closure plans. Lieberman and three other senators, Susan Collins, R-Maine, Scott Brown, R-Mass., […]
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Your Medical Records: New CT Laws Take Away Patient Control & Privacy
If you value your privacy and want to keep control over your medical records, tell your legislators to restore the original RAISED SENATE BILL 368 (Feb. 12) that gave Connecticut residents almost complete control over their electronic medical records. What made Bill 368 so beneficial to residents was the “Opt-in” consent policy in The Health […]
Posted inEducation
Bringing Respect Back to Teaching
Some students in public schools enter the classroom not completely understanding the importance of being there. I can relate. I attended Batchelder Elementary School in Hartford, where I was not challenged academically. Expectations were low, and so was my motivation. Teachers have a huge responsibility; it is a profession that affects the lives of others, […]
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Who Will Stand for Children on Education Reform?
During Gov. Dannel Malloy’s education reform town hall meeting in New Haven on March 13, one student braved to ask, before a hostile crowd, “Who will speak for me?” Now, almost two months later, we still don’t have an answer to that question. With just over one week remaining in the legislative component of “The […]
Posted inEducation, Health
Fix Remedial Education System
In 100 years of fighting poverty, the Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS) has seen again and again that a good education throughout one’s life is critical to family economic success. CAHS produces research to drive advocacy and draws attention to the “developmental achievement gap,” in which thousands of students now graduate from high school without […]
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House approves same-day voter registration
A bill that would allow election-day voter registration won legislative approval Monday night after a long and partisan House debate. “Once you’ve proven you are who you are, then you can go vote,” Rep. Russell Morin, D-Wethersfield, and co-chairman of the legislature’s elections committee, said summarizing the bill during a five-hour debate. The final vote […]
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Malloy would use state’s credit card payments to cover operating deficit
Despite vowing during the campaign not to use the state’s credit card to cover its operating costs, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced late Monday he would divert more than $220 million dedicated last year to pay off debt to close a growing deficit in the current budget. And a new report showing plunging tax revenues […]
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With GOP 5th CD field, the attacks come post-debate
Torrington — The five Republicans vying for Connecticut’s only open congressional seat closed ranks around tax policy and the viability of the GOP brand in a debate Monday, saving their harshest comments for the post-debate spin. No one offered a criticism of any candidate in the room during the debate, and the only notable controversy […]
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Union tries to rally support for study on state-run retirement savings plan
One of Connecticut’s largest public employee unions is trying to rally support in the waning days of the General Assembly session for a study of whether state government should offer a retirement plan to private citizens. But one of the key lawmakers behind the proposal conceded late last week that the chances of passage this […]
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Looks like an onion skin, but it could be electricity
Sergio Squatrito knows all about food waste. At Carla’s Pasta, his family’s company in South Windsor, in addition to an array of easy-to-prepare pasta and other Italian specialties, the company produces 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of food waste a day. “We’ve tried four different ways of getting rid of our food scraps and all of […]