Uh, oh. This could be awkward. The Environment Committee’s public hearing agenda today includes An Act Permitting the Possession of Reindeer Year Round and An Act Concerning the Hunting of Deer with a Pistol.
Mixed message for the deer lobby
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Malloy is selling, but teachers aren’t buying
West Hartford — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy came to this high-performing school district Tuesday night to confront teachers who see his education reforms as little more than an overhaul of how educators are evaluated and paid. Malloy was met with hard stares and a few derisive chuckles when he insisted that his proposals to change […]
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With Simmons as chair, Yankee about to sue Malloy
Former Congressman Rob Simmons is becoming chairman of the free-market Yankee Institute for Public Policy just as it is about to raise its profile by suing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy over a policy expanding collective bargaining. Yankee intends to file suit next week, challenging the legality of two executive orders that provide a path for […]
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As teacher layoffs go out, seniority will remain primary factor for most districts
Faced with a multimillion-dollar budget deficit, Bristol Superintendent Philip Streifer may be forced to lay off some of his teachers. He’s glad the education reform proposals moving forward at the state Capitol won’t change the way he will determine who will go: The last teacher hired will be the first one fired. Bristol Superintendent Philip […]
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State rejects request to close Wethersfield nursing home
Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby has denied a request to close the Wethersfield nursing home operated by a company involved in a contentious contract dispute with the union representing its employees. In his decision, Bremby cited a lack of information from the operator of Wethersfield Health Care Center. The company had not made financial […]
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With falling milk prices, Connecticut dairy farmers look to Washington for help
Washington — The good news for consumers is that milk prices are dropping. But that’s bad news for Connecticut’s $1 billion-a-year dairy industry, which is already struggling with high feed and fuel prices. Farmers are looking to Washington for help, but it’s a tossup whether that help is coming. “We’re kind of the same as […]
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Connecticut’s senators adopt hardest line toward Iran
Connecticut’s senators have some of the toughest positions on Capitol Hill on Iran — outflanking President Obama with their talk of war. To roars of approval at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee convention this week, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said the threat from Iran is “more serious than anything faced by the United States […]
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Study: E-Health records don’t deter testing, spending
Electronic health records have long been touted by Democrats and Republicans alike as a sure-fire way to lower health spending. When doctors have easy electronic access to a patient’s records, advocates argue, they are less likely to order the duplicative and unnecessary tests that drive up the cost of health care in America. But that […]
Posted inEducation
Are charter schools cherry-picking their students?
Hartford — As students from the highly regarded Jumoke Academy Charter School filed into the gymnasium for a mid-afternoon assembly last week, onlooker Gov. Dannel P. Malloy pointed out that at first glance these students seem to mirror those attending the neighborhood public schools. “Look around,” he said, fielding questions about whether this school is […]
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Senate to consider Naugatuck Valley heritage bill
The Senate plans to move forward this week on an effort to designate the Naugatuck River Valley as a federal heritage area. Designation would allow the region’s 14 municipalities to apply for historic preservation grants and other federal funds. The legislation that will be considered Wednesday in a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural […]
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Working Families Party has new leader in Connecticut
Lindsay Farrell, the political director of the Connecticut Working Families Party, was named today as the new executive director. She succeeds Jon Green, who has taken a national staff position.
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Tong gets great debate review…from Tong
One sure sign William Tong liked his performance at the first full-fledged Democratic Senate debate: The entire video is on his website. He tweeted it, too. Twenty-four hours later, video not posted on Chris Murphy or Susan Bysiewicz sites.
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Bysiewicz, Tong turn on Murphy at Senate debate
Norwich — U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, handed the front-runner’s role in a three-way Senate debate Saturday night, gently pushed back at repeated criticisms by his two main rivals for the Democratic nomination, Susan Bysiewicz and state Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford. The pecking order of the three candidates at their first debate was clear: […]
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A debate over ballot access in Connecticut
In an age when merchants and libraries are accessible on smart phones, how easy should it be to vote? Should officials treat the electorate as valued customers, or should voters view elections as a civic duty, regardless of convenience? Secretary of the State Denise Merrill’s new push to modernize the machinery of elections and boost […]
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Nappier says GOP cash-flow warnings ‘misleading’
State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier and House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, have resumed their fight over whether the state has a cash flow problem indicative of financial distress — or if politicians are clashing over semantics. Nappier offered Thursday to meet with legislators to warn them about “misleading” statements from some lawmakers […]