Connecticut officials were informed Thursday that their third application for federal Race to the Top funds has been rejected. “We are bummed,” said Liz Donohue, the administration’s point person for the application. “We are not among the finalists.” The Malloy administration had hoped to land $50 million to implement a variety of initiatives to try […]
Third time is no charm in bid for Race to the Top money
Posted inNews
Heat ‘Affordability Gap’ Leaves Thousands of Families in the Cold
While state officials struggle to fund winter heating assistance, the gap between what Connecticut’s poorest families need to heat their homes, and what they can actually afford, continues to grow, a new study reported Thursday. Operation Fuel, a private, nonprofit agency that expects to help more than 7,000 households keep warm this winter, reported that […]
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Number of state employees suspected of Irene fraud reaches 34
Brushing off a lawyer’s complaints and media questions, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy pushed ahead Thursday with the pursuit of state employees suspected of fraudulently obtaining disaster aid, announcing that 10 more state workers have been referred for disciplinary hearings. The number of state employees now facing discipline that could include termination has risen to 34. […]
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Malloy selects Wyman confidant Ojakian as new chief
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy today named Mark Ojakian, a confidant of his lieutenant governor and the point man in the protracted concessions negotiations with state employees that largely defined Malloy’s first year as governor, as his next chief of staff. “He has a tremendous breadth of knowledge, experience, dedication and character, and an extraordinary capacity […]
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“Right-sizing” nursing homes
State officials are developing a plan to dramatically reshape the state’s long-term care system, just as demand for it is expected to skyrocket. The effort — referred to as “right-sizing” the system — is aimed at allowing more seniors and people with disabilities to live in community settings rather than institutions. If it goes as […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment
More warnings on the Arctic and climate change
A University of Florida ecologist, Edward Schuur, writes, in an article in the journal Nature that the key to this new, troubling information is permafrost — or frozen soil — which covers nearly 12 million square miles of land in the great north. Schuur argues that previous climate change models have underestimated the effect of […]
Posted inPolitics
EMILY’s List gives Esty two bites of the apple
In June, EMILY’s List announced that Elizabeth Esty, a Democratic congressional candidate in the 5th District, was “On the List.” That designation gave Esty access to the 900,000 names in the data base of the group, which raises money for pro-choice Democratic women running for office. Kinda sounds like an endorsement, no? Apparently not. EMILY’s […]
Posted inEducation
Will the state seek a waiver to federal education requirements?
It is “likely, but not yet determined” that Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor will seek a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements. That was the message Pryor relayed to State Board of Education members last week, despite the state having already informed the U.S. Department of Education they do intend to apply and Gov. […]
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Utility puts price tag on better safeguards against power outages
The state’s largest electric utility insisted Wednesday it could reduce outages by up to 40 percent a decade from now with a 10-year improvement plan that would gradualy add more than $13 to the average residential monthly bill. Connecticut Light & Power Co. unveiled a plan to invest an extra $2.2 billion in tree-trimming, line […]
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Malloy refuses lawyer’s call to slow Irene disciplinary hearings
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy brushed aside a lawyer’s complaint today that his administration was moving too quickly against 24 state employees suspected of fraudulently obtaining disaster aid after Tropical Storm Irene. “The reality about Connecticut’s government is it routinely moved too slow, if at all, particularly in incidents like this,” Malloy said. “I think what […]
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Malloy wants strong casinos, ‘aggressive lottery’
Empire City Casino, a new look for a century-old harness-racing track in Yonkers, N.Y., now has 5,300 slot machines to entice some of the gamblers who used to speed by on their way north to Connecticut’s tribal casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Rhode Island has new casinos in Lincoln and Newport, offering thousands of slots […]
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Murphy hits Lowe’s for dropping sponsorship of ‘All-American Muslim’
U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, is leading a congressional charge against Lowe’s, the home-improvement chain, for dropping its sponsorship of a reality TV show following Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan. Sponsors of the show have taken heat from a conservative group in Florida. With U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th, and 28 other members of Congress, […]
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Governor cool to DeStefano plan to let non-citizen residents vote
Gov. Dannel P. reacted cooly today to an idea recently floated by his 2006 rival for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, to allow non-citizen residents to vote in local elections. “It’s not an idea that I’m particularly comfortable with,” Malloy said. “I think there are obligations that run with citizenship, and […]
Posted inEducation, Health
School Arrests Bring New Scrutiny, Reforms
Hundreds of children in Connecticut schools are being arrested for behavior that, in an earlier time, most likely led to them being sent to the principal’s office. A story by the Connecticut Health Investigative Team — at c-hit.org — reports that data collected by the state’s judicial department show that more than 700 arrests were […]
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STOCK Act clears Lieberman’s committee
We’ll see if it gets anywhere, but the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted 7-2 today for the STOCK Act, the bill barring members of Congress from trading on inside information. It is a measure suddenly popular after a “60 Minutes” expose. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, the chairman of the panel, said the […]