The Malloy administration prepped Maureen M. Murphy for her judicial confirmation hearing Wednesday with questions about her sexual orientation and the pivotal role she played in the legalization of gay marriage in Connecticut. But the legislature’s Judiciary Committee endorsed her nomination to the Superior Court on a 31-9 vote without a single comment or question […]
A judicial confirmation hearing goes off script
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Towns hear two different tales on state’s finances, economy
Cromwell — Leaders of Connecticut’s small towns were left to read the fiscal tea leaves Wednesday as state leaders offered two starkly contrasting views of Connecticut’s finances. While Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his fellow Democrats leading the House and Senate declared fiscal stability and pledged to continue trying to bolster municipal budgets, GOP legislative leaders […]
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Regionalizing schools: a carrot or a stick?
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has grown impatient waiting for small school districts to team up with nearby districts to shave costs. He wants the state to significantly scale back the amount it sends towns such as Canaan, which spends $22,450 for each of the 139 students it educates each year, the most expensive per-student spending […]
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Two different takes on state’s finances, economy
Cromwell — Leaders of Connecticut’s small towns were left to read the fiscal tea leaves Wednesday as state leaders offered two starkly contrasting views of Connecticut’s finances. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his fellow Democrats leading the House and Senate declared fiscal stability and pledged to continue trying to bolster municipal budgets, but GOP legislative […]
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Teacher union leader: Malloy’s plans for low-achieving schools returns state to the ‘dark ages of labor history’
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plans to intervene in the state’s lowest-performing schools rely heavily on getting the support from teachers unions. On Wednesday they rejected his proposal, with the leader of the state’s largest teachers union telling the Education Committee it would return them “to the dark ages of labor history.” “Contracts that have been negotiated and […]
Posted inEducation
Poor private colleges?
If Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has his way, five private colleges with rich endowments would be kicked out of the running to receive money from the state. The move would cut the $4.8 million the state is currently sending to Trinity College and to Fairfield, Quinnipiac and Wesleyan universities for scholarships for 3,320 students. Yale, […]
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Protesting immigrant crackdown program, activists take over Capitol lobby
More than 100 immigrant advocates crowded the Hall of Flags in the Capitol building Wednesday. They were armed with a letter for Gov. Dannel Malloy protesting Secure Communities, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program meant to target and deport illegal immigrants with the help of local law enforcement. Secure Communities goes live in […]
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A slightly chastened Esty glides through confirmation
A lightning rod for controversy last year as he oversaw the birth of a new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Daniel C. Esty glided through a lengthy and ultimately uneventful confirmation hearing Tuesday, even if he dodged questions about new seawalls after Tropical Storm Irene. Esty, the high-profile Yale professor who was a star […]
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A new AG raises his profile with mortgage deal
Attorney General George C. Jepsen is walking a fine line between celebrating his role in negotiating a $25 billion national settlement with mortgage servicers and tamping down expectations about what the deal means for struggling homeowners. “I just think it’s important not to oversell it or undersell it,” Jepsen said Tuesday after a legislative appearance. […]
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Teachers unions say “no” to Malloy’s tenure plan
The state’s teachers unions may have reached agreement on how their members should be graded weeks ago, but on Tuesday, union leaders came to the state Capitol complex to display buyer’s remorse. Calling it a “leap of faith,” when they signed on to the historic teacher evaluation framework, Phil Apruzzese, head of the state’s largest […]
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Teachers unions blast Malloy education agenda
Any hope that remained that the state’s teachers unions would be backing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s education package quickly left the state Capitol complex Tuesday. “On behalf of the 43,000 members of the Connecticut Education Association, I urge you to reject Senate Bill 24,” Phil Apruzzese’s, the president of the state’s largest teachers union, testimony […]
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Subsidized housing: Should homeless children get to jump to the front of the wait list?
One way of looking at the business of state government — especially human services — is through numbers. The state’s population of about 3.5 million breaks down into about 1.3 million households, according to the U.S. Census. Of those, more than 190,000 households last year claimed the federal EITC — earned income tax credit — a good indicator […]
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Attempt to increase hedge fund tax shakes Connecticut industry
Washington — Raising taxes on hedge fund managers, an idea that has plenty of popular support but has failed to gain traction, is under scrutiny in Washington again. President Obama last week proposed ending the current tax treatment given to hedge fund managers, whose income is considered “carried interest” and taxed at the capital gains […]
Posted inEducation
Are Malloy’s plans for education reform legal?
Are Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plans for education reform legal? When the head of the state’s largest teachers union informed the members of the Education Committee today that the General Assembly’s nonpartisan research office is questioning the legality, the co-chairs of the committee were surprised by the news. They have yet to see this report, […]