The years of work that went into the Hospital for Special Care’s plan to open an autism center gave officials there a sense of the need for services. But the demand hit home the morning after a local newspaper detailed the New Britain hospital’s plans. “We got a phone call by 9 o’clock from a […]
New autism program only underscores extreme need
Posted inPolitics
Ready for Roberti vs. Greenberg or Roraback in the 5th?
With the legislature punting to the state Supreme Court on drawing new congressional districts, there now is a greater chance that some candidates in the 5th Congressional District could wake up in February to find they no longer are living in the 5th CD. Democrat Dan Roberti of Kent and Republicans Mark Greenberg of Litchfield […]
Posted inNews
Governor taking it down a notch this week on public schedule
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is easing back on the public schedule this holiday week, giving his press staff a slight break. His big announcements today: the hiring of a cosultant to study the state’s three deep water ports, plus news of four more state grants to municipalities. His senior adviser, Roy Occhiogrosso, is off this […]
Posted inNews
Court orders redistricting commission back to work
The Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Democrats and Republicans on the legislature’s deadlocked redistricting commission to resume negotiations over a congressional map, calling it “quintessentially a legislative function.” At the same time, the justices prepared for a continued legislative deadlock by setting a deadline of Friday for Democrats and Republicans to nominate a special […]
Posted inNews
Malloy refers 10 more employees to agency heads in food stamps fraud probe
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration announced today it has forwarded the names of another 10 state employees to agency heads for review in connection with the ongoing food stamps fraud investigation. This brings the total number of state workers still under close review to 44. An additional 29 employees already have been cleared of any […]
Posted inNews
Tackling homelessness — who’s right?
A soon-to-be-occupied room at Bethsaida community Norwich — Cookies shouldn’t make you cry. But when Debbie dropped a raw egg on the kitchen floor, it was just too much. “I lost it,” she said, laughing at the memory a few days later, sitting on a plush couch in the living room of her new home. […]
Posted inHealth
‘Love and Autism’
In an ongoing series, “Autism, Grown Up,” New York Times writer Amy Harmon, in the Sunday paper, has a story that plunges into all the messiness of a new relationship, but among two young adults with Asperger syndrome. View “Navigating Love and Autism,” here. It’s writerly, filled with story arcs and nuance. And it throws […]
Posted inNews
With a dash of drama, state picks solar projects
Christmas arrived a couple of days early for two solar power developers chosen Friday by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to build a total of 10 megawatts of clean power that will go into the electric grid. Despite a tight timetable that prompted complaints, developers proposed 21 projects, with the winners promising clean […]
Posted inNews
‘No method to madness’ of early education spending
A week after the U.S. Department of Education gave the state’s early education efforts a C-minus, a new study concludes that the system is underfunded, ill-coordinated and insufficiently monitored to know what the state is getting for its annual investment of $224.6 million. “As our data amply show, there is no method to the madness […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Jepsen makes a new push for PURA to review the NU/NSTAR merger
Attorney General George Jepsen said today he has filed comments with state utility regulators urging them to review the merger of Northeast Utilities, which owns the largest electric company in Connecticut, and NSTAR, which provides electricity to Greater Boston. In a statement issued this afternoon, Jepsen said the study by Witt Associates of how NU’s […]
Posted inMoney
With billions in ‘tax expenditures,’ legislature ignores spending cap
What are the odds that the Connecticut Legislature would violate its own laws? Would the odds go up or down if those laws concerned billions of dollars? The billions of dollars involve what is known as tax expenditures. These are tax laws intended to subsidize selected economic activities and favored taxpayers. Because these subsidy measures […]
Posted inEducation, Energy & Environment, Money
Connecticut leads the way with green schools
The US Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools recently published a report for state legislators, providing them with a guide to best policy practices concerning green schools. The report states that Connecticut is one of only 12 states that have policies in law encouraging green school construction. In 2006, Connecticut passed legislation mandating that […]
Posted inNews
Your credit card bill is high? The state owes $19.5 billion
Holiday shoppers aren’t the only ones taking a wary look at their credit card balances these days. State government recently undertook its own annual debt review, looking from several perspectives but coming to the same conclusion each time: Connecticut remains one of the most indebted states in the nation. The state entered the fiscal year […]
Posted inNews
LeBeau hopes to renew debate on smaller legislature
While a new report shows Connecticut outspends most other states in terms of legislative costs, an East Hartford lawmaker hopes it will breathe a second life into his Quixotic bid to eliminate jobs by shrinking the General Assembly. Sen. Gary LeBeau said that when the next regular session convenes in February he either will re-introduce […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Electric rates trending down
At least for now, the trend in electric rates is favorable to consumers in Connecticut. Average monthly electric bills for standard service from CL&P will go down $9.39 next year. For UI customers, the drop will be $13.96. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Thursday finalized rates that will mean savings for the second consecutive […]