Transit oriented development — a generation-old concept in which municipal and economic growth are linked to mass transit — is a current darling among many Connecticut constituencies. Called T-O-D to those in the know, it’s championed by environmentalists for its carbon footprint-shrinking possibilities; economic and business interests for its work force-friendly components; transit advocates for […]
A push for transit-oriented development, but in what direction?
Lead by example rolls out first projects
Shovels could be in the ground as early as this week for the first two projects of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection‘s inaugural energy efficiency initiative known as Lead By Example. OK — it’s not exactly shovels — more like unscrewing lightbulbs and moving air conditioners. But it’s happening all the same. The […]
A political organizer prepares his exit from Connecticut
Can the untamed zeitgeist of Occupy Wall Street be channeled into electoral action? To find out, a prominent Connecticut political organizer is leaving the state to take on a national role with an expanding Working Families Party. Jon Green, 38, the executive director of the labor-backed Connecticut WFP, whose fusion politics helped elect the first […]
Court approves U.S. House map — and map maker’s fee
The Connecticut Supreme Court adopted a congressional redistricting plan Friday that makes minimal changes in the state’s five U.S. House districts, and it ordered the legislature to pay the court-appointed special master who produced it a fee of $36,400. The only news was the fee charged by Nathaniel Persily, the Columbia law professor chosen as […]
Connecticut bishops cool to turnabout on contraceptives
Washington –President Obama’s turnaround on his contraceptives policy for religiously affiliated institutions has failed to win over the Catholic bishops in Connecticut, but it won praise from prominent state Democrats who were drawn into an election-year debate that the party hopes will fade. “(It) indicates that (Obama) saw a need to review the current edict […]
Not everyone celebrating Malloy’s school choice agenda
The state’s vocational and agricultural schools were largely left out of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plans to increase funding and expand enrollment in nontraditional public schools. “They forgot about us again,” Bill Davenport, director of one of the state’s 19 agricultural programs, said. While the state has spent more than $200 million to build the […]
Teacher, principal evaluations approved
The State Board of Education unanimously approved a system to grade teachers and principals Friday, noting that the next step will be implementation. Read more about the details for these evaluations here and here.
Mitt, Newt, Rick and Ron are invited, but will they come?
Mitt, Newt, Rick and Ron were formally placed on the Connecticut Republican primary ballot today. Now, will any of them drop by before the polls open at 6 a.m. on April 24, a primary date that once seemed to consign Connecticut to political irrelevance this cycle? Four years ago, a small pool of delegates did […]
Teacher, principal evaluations approved
The State Board of Education unanimously approved a system to grade teachers and principals Friday, noting the next step will be implementation. Read more about the details for these evaluations here and here.
Deb Heinrich leaving Malloy administration
Deb Heinrich is leaving her post as the Malloy administration’s liaision to the nonprofit providers of state services, a new job that the administration trumpeted as the first of its kind in the nation. No word on why or if she has another job. The administration announced her departure today in a press release that […]
Education Reform: Focus turns to improving principals
Teachers aren’t the only ones who will soon be graded and put on a path to improve or be dismissed. A plan to evaluate the state’s 1,200 principals is also moving forward, and will likely be approved by the state’s Board of Education Friday. “There will be a state model for principals,” Education Commissioner Stefan […]
Malloy takes his education reforms on the road
Meriden – To begin the job of selling his proposed education reforms, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy visited a school Thursday in a district with a young, dynamic superintendent and the challenges of student poverty and limited resources. Students stared wide-eyed as Malloy swept into classrooms at Benjamin Franklin Elementary, trailed by a retinue that included […]
Connecticut will play big money role in presidential race
Washington — Benjamin Buswell, a Granby resident, was concerned enough about the Obama campaign’s fundraising strength that, last summer, he sent Republican Mitt Romney $2,500. “I read articles about the amount of money that is going to be raised by the Democratic Party, and I wanted to help Romney,” Buswell, the innovation manager at Hartford Insurance, […]
Concerned about a senior? Call the gatekeepers
The woman called with a concern about her neighbor: He seemed to have stopped shaving, and his overall hygiene was worrisome. At the other end of the line was a representative from the Community Renewal Team Senior Services Gatekeeper Program, one of four agencies that, as part of a statewide program, take confidential referrals from […]
Connecticut lawmakers on front line of contraceptive battle
When President Obama was blasted by House Republicans this week for including contraceptive services in the health care reform act’s mandate on preventive care for women, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., jumped to the president’s defense. House Republicans say requiring religious hospitals and colleges to offer contraceptive benefits is a […]

