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 […]
Malloy extends olive branch to Cuomo, gets praise from national AFT president
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inHealth
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 […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
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.