Senate Bill 24, the education reform bill put forward by Governor Malloy, is now under consideration in the Education Committee. Plenty of folks around the state have weighed in with their opinions about where the bill doesn’t go far enough, where it goes too far, and everything in between. We know that Connecticut residents – […]
Connecticut is ready for changes in its education system
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A gentle evening at the Bushnell with Bill Clinton
Hartford — Bill Clinton returned Friday night to the Bushnell stage, where he debated Bob Dole in 1996 on the way to an easy victory for a second term in the White House. “We were civil, and we committed what I think would be mass heresy today,” said Clinton, a guest of the 20-year-old public-speaking […]
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Watchdogs worried clean elections fund could run dry in next race for governor
Connecticut’s public financing program for state elections has “adequate resources” to fund this year’s legislative campaigns, according to a new report released Friday from the state’s chief elections watchdogs. But the State Elections Enforcement Commission warned that due to fiscal raids, the Citizens’ Election Fund could come up short in 2014, when races for governor […]
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DeLauro’s clout in Washington to be more important to Connecticut
Washington — Californian Lois Capps was a congressman’s wife and new to Washington some years ago when she decided to attend a National Cancer Institute briefing. At the briefing, Capps was struck by one animated, impassioned speaker. It was Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, describing her experience with ovarian cancer and the importance of cancer research. […]
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Malloy delivers dig over rewrite of his liquor reforms
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy offered a modest dig Friday at the General Law Committee over its intention to revise his liquor reform bill and keep minimum-pricing laws on the books. “I am pro-consumer,” Malloy said. “Sometimes I get disappointed there aren’t more pro-consumer advocates on this issue and others in state government.” But Malloy was […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Sophomore jinx for hard-charging CT, NY governors?
We explained earlier this week how Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is having a more challenging time with the Connecticut legislature in his second year. Today, the New York Times tells us that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is having a more challenging time with the New York legislature in his second year. The Times piece is notable […]
Posted inEducation
Pryor, CEA huddle in LOB cafe
State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor was huddled at lunch in the Legislative Office Building cafeteria today with the leadership of the Connecticut Education Association and a senior aide to House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan. They did not appear to be reviewing their NCAA brackets. The mood was light, despite the increasingly rancorous tone of Gov. […]
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A Different Kind of March Madness
A Different Kind of March Madness Brian Hallenbeck, The Day’s longtime casinos’ reporter, writes today, “Those who advocate for problem gamblers knew what they were doing when they scheduled the annual week devoted to educating the public about the warning signs of problem gambling. They placed it right before this week’s start of the NCAA […]
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Donovan’s minimum-wage compromise: $8.75, not $9
House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, backed away Thursday from his proposal to raise the minimum wage by 75 cents on July 1, a month before his expected primary for the congressional nomination in the 5th District. With Donovan’s consent, the Labor and Public Employees Committee voted 8-3 for a revised bill that would raise […]
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Bill to allow public boards more discretion to meet privately hits a snag
A proposal to give public agencies greater discretion to meet in closed sessions with their attorneys has fallen into political limbo at the Capitol. The legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee, which originally raised the bill and scheduled a public hearing on the measure, suspended the latter and may not reschedule it in the face […]
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With $2.3 billion in debt, is Foxwoods too big to fail?
The New York Times Magazine goes deep Sunday with a look at Foxwoods, the troubled gambling behemoth in the woods of eastern Connecticut. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other top officials made the trip recently to celebrate the tribal casino’s 20th anniversary, but Mike Sokolove explores the casino’s shaky foundation: “These days the tribe is […]
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Is faking a legislator’s letterhead parody or forgery?
If you live in Wisconsin, the answer to that question can mean jail time. A cartoonist is facing a felony charge over his faking a legislator’s letterhead for what he called a parody of a press release. Shoulda waited until April 1.
Posted inHealth
Middlesex, UnitedHealthcare contract up April 1
Middlesex Hospital and UnitedHealthcare have until April 1 to reach a new contract agreement before becoming the latest hospital and insurer to sever ties in the state. Representatives for both say they’re working toward a settlement, but if the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the Middletown hospital could be out of UnitedHealthcare’s network, […]
Posted inHealth, Money
State employee health plan now open to municipalities
The state comptroller’s office has officially launched a health insurance plan for municipalities, boards of education and other public employers. The CT Partnership Plan grew out of a longtime effort to open the state employee and retiree health insurance plan to outside groups. A compromise last year between Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration and Democratic […]
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With a new script, McMahon is back on stage
Newington — All campaigns are theater, and none more so than the back-to-back Senate runs of Linda McMahon, a co-founder and former chief executive officer of the marketing and media juggernaut that is World Wrestling Entertainment. On Wednesday, McMahon stepped to a microphone in Bruno Zavarella’s woodworking factory, a precisely angled banner above her head […]