Here’s how some health and social service players made out under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget adjustments. Winners Office of Healthcare Advocate: The office, which helps consumers address health insurance issues, would get funding for four positions not in its current budget. Three are now filled and paid for by federal funds slated to […]
Budget winners and losers, health care edition
Posted inHealth, Money
Legislators, “red shirts” return to the Capitol
As has become their custom, supporters of universal health care spent opening day of the legislative session at the Capitol wearing red “healthcare4every1” T-shirts and urging lawmakers to support alternatives to private health insurance. Universal health care supporters on opening day Last year, the effort was centered on SustiNet, a proposed state-run insurance plan. The […]
Posted inEducation
Malloy wants only B+ students in teaching programs
New Britain — Elissa Maillet worries she’s not going to be able to get a teaching job when she graduates from Central Connecticut State University in two years. “I am really nervous about it,” the sophomore with a 3.6 grade point average said while studying between classes. “The job opportunities seem to be so scarce.” […]
Posted inNews
To open new session, Malloy on message — as usual
On the eve of his second State of the State address, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy refused to go off-message, even if the topic was a favorable poll from a surprising source: a conservative think tank that often criticizes the Democratic governor. “I don’t want to talk about polls,” Malloy said. “We don’t comment on polls.” […]
Posted inNews
Remember COBOL? Neither do enough techs at DSS
After recent retirements, the state Department of Social Services is relying on retirees hired back through a vendor for information technology work — so much so that the commissioner has warned that a potential ethics opinion discouraging the practice could lead to “a threat to public health, safety and welfare.” Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. […]
Posted inNews
Malloy turnaround plan for lowest-performing schools could hinge on union approval
Unfazed by a looming state Supreme Court decision that could say the state overstepped when replacing Bridgeport’s school board, the governor wants the state to intervene in up to 25 of the state’s lowest-performing schools to turn them around. “We will not tolerate year after year the same schools being on the bottom of the pile,” […]
Posted inNews
Malloy calls for new charter schools, with some new rules
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is proposing a 30 percent increase per student in charter school funding and the opening of five new charter schools. That 30 percent increase — to $12,000 per student — includes a new requirement that each local school district pay $1,000 per student to the charter school that enrolls that student. […]
Posted inNews
Malloy likely to keep plenty of state jobs vacant
Whatever new initiatives Gov. Dannel P. Malloy unveils Wednesday in his revised budget for the next fiscal year, he likely won’t be asking for much extra staffing to carry them out. Forced to rely more heavily than expected on retirements and other vacancies to control labor costs in his first year, the governor currently oversees […]
Posted inMoney
Malloy would eliminate 25 state boards and commission, merge two others
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Tuesday he would recommend eliminating 25 of state government’s 258 boards and commissions to reduce overlap. “Over the years when these boards and commissions were first created by statute, most of them served a worthwhile purpose for their time, however many either no longer fit today’s needs, or their functions […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Congressional delegation tops nationally on environment
Connecticut scored some of the highest marks given out by the League of Conservation Voters in its 2011 Congressional scorecard. That despite a year the organization called the U.S. House’s “truly breathtaking and unprecedented assault on the environment and public health.” The state’s two senators each scored 100 percent on the 11 votes ranked by […]
Posted inPolitics
Malloy breaks 50 percent on approval rating in Yankee poll
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is above water in a new public poll that gives him a 51 percent to 46 percent approval rating, while Democrats seeking re-election or higher office this year do even better in Connecticut. A poll commissioned by the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, a conservative think tank, shows President Obama leading […]
Posted inNews
GOP makes long-shot pitch for new congressional map
Republicans made a final pitch today for a congressional district map more favorable to the GOP, asking the Connecticut Supreme Court to reject districts drawn by a special master who closely followed the court’s own guidelines. Ross H. Garber, an attorney for Republicans on the legislature’s Reapportionment Commission, acknowledged that Special Master Nathaniel Persily’s map […]
Posted inNews
Spared from cuts last year, town leaders hope to do better in 2012
Municipal leaders rarely miss a chance these days to thank the governor and the legislature for sparing the entire $2.8 billion town aid package from the budget axe last spring. But in between accolades, town leaders also will point out that, with few exceptions, education aid has been flat for the past three years, and […]
Posted inNews
Is next state tax debate nearer than expected?
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy insists he won’t seek more taxes this session after raising more than $1.5 billion last spring. But with a sluggish recovery and an expensive pension fix turning Malloy’s future budget surpluses into a potential deficit by July 2013, Republicans already are questioning whether more tax talk is dead — or simply […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
New shoreline task force to explore post-Irene issues
Rep. James Albis, D-East Haven, took one look at that map we published a month ago that showed his district would pretty much wind up underwater if a category 2 hurricane hit and decided it was time to take action. And in true legislative fashion, step one is a task force. Speaker Chris Donovan is […]