A picture of a smiling boy filled the screen behind Helen Haskell. “This is my son Lewis, who died basically from what’s called failure to rescue in the hospital,” she told the audience at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center Wednesday. Eleven years ago, Lewis Blackman, then 15, went to a South Carolina hospital for […]
A patient survival guide, from a mother who learned too late
Posted inNews
Sometimes, public policy is deeply personal
The sight of the burly, bearded Barry Williams zipping around the State Capitol complex on a Segway was a vivid first-year memory for Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, who arrived in Hartford in 2005. “All of a sudden, you disappeared,” Hewett told Williams. “And I didn’t know what happened to you.” Williams told Hewett and […]
Posted inNews
Should state government offer a retirement plan for private citizens?
State government should offer a retirement plan to the increasing number of people whose companies don’t provide a pension or a 401(k) savings program, labor groups and other advocates this week told a legislative panel. The Labor and Public Employees Committee has raised a bill that would create a task force to study that concept […]
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Comptroller’s report lacks overdue analysis of concessions savings
Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo left a big question mark in the state’s new annual financial report, reflecting an overdue assessment of billions of dollars in promised long-term savings tied to union health care concessions ratified last summer. State auditors John Geragosian and Robert M. Ward declined to certify that portion of the Comprehensive Annual Financial […]
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Bill to label genetically modified foods raises many questions
The call to action went out mid-February to Connecticut’s organic farming community and its friends — a bill to require labeling of some genetically modified foods was up in the legislature for a fourth time in recent years. “We should have a lot of people at the hearing at (the) LOB and as many as […]
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Barney Frank ejected from House defending Jim Himes’ honor
A verbal fight that ended in the ejection of pugnacious Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., from the House floor broke out Wednesday after Democrats accused Republicans of stealing a bill sponsored by Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District. Himes won approval of legislation last year that aims to help community banks provide resources to local businesses. The legislation […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Really most sincerely dead
If you were wondering how much more dead the dead Broadwater liquefied natural gas plant that was proposed for the middle of Long Island Sound back in 2004 could get, the answer is, it could get really, really dead. Today it was announced that Broadwater Pipeline LLC had requested to withdraw from its Federal Energy […]
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Malloy extends olive branch to Cuomo, gets praise from national AFT president
In New York this morning, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy acknowledged he doesn’t have much of a relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo: “I don’t talk to your governor a whole lot, or he doesn’t talk to me.” But the governor was quick to note to New York reporters that he wasn’t looking for trouble. “I’ve got to […]
Posted inHealth, Money
State officials: DSS client identification data wrongly released
Officials at the state Department of Social Services and Office of Policy and Management are looking into whether a breach of federal privacy law occurred when they shared data about the cost of administering medication to Medicaid clients. The information included DSS client identification numbers but not client names or Social Security Numbers, according to […]
Posted inEducation
Education reform: next stop, grading teacher prep programs
The State Board of Education voted Wednesday to create a panel that is to develop a formula by next April on how to grade the state’s teaching colleges. ‘There are outstanding teacher preparation programs… We need to ensure that we are held to the task,” said Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor of the state’s 17 teaching […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Malpractice, ODs, and a big database on tap for discussion
Lawmakers are hearing testimony on several health-related bills today, including: Treatment for drug overdoses: Current law allows health care professionals to prescribe opioid antagonists — medications that can treat or prevent a drug overdose — to drug users, without being liable for damages. The proposal would remove the reference to drug users, allowing prescribers to […]
Posted inNews
Mixed message for the deer lobby
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.
Posted inNews
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 […]