Expanding the list of services that health insurance plans must cover has become a perennial fight in the state legislature. Connecticut now has more health benefit mandates than nearly all other states, a consultant told a state board Thursday. And when federal health reform rolls out in just over two years, that could leave the […]
State benefit mandates could cost the state under health reform
Posted inHealth
Report: 20% of young children are screened for special education needs
Just one out of every five children under four years old in the state are properly screened to identify their special education needs and even fewer actually get early education services, reports a national report card by a disability advocacy group. Of the 16,000 children three years old and younger at risk of having developmental […]
Posted inEducation
Charter Schools to the Rescue! Really?
Connecticut’s new Education Commissioner, Stefan Pryor, is an unapologetic fan of charter schools. As reported in the CTMirror, Pryor recently toured the Amistad Academy, the New Haven-based charter school that he helped create when he worked in New Haven. His message: The Amistad Academy is an extraordinary success. He added that Connecticut’s present school funding […]
Posted inNews
Science, politics and confusion
When prominent scientists begin to publicly sound warnings about climate change, people tend to notice. And that can be a problem, said Naomi Oreskes, the co-author of “Merchants of Doubts,” which describes how a handful of distinguished scientists have sown falsehoods about issues ranging from tobacco to global warming. “It is a huge problem because […]
Posted inNews
With Malloy overseas, Wyman cancels Taiwan trip
If Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta needed an icebreaker Thursday as they toured Electric Boat in Groton, they could have chatted about how Panetta indirectly scuttled Wyman’s trip this week to Taiwan. Wyman was supposed to leave last Saturday for a one-week trip to Taiwan, returning this weekend. But Panetta’s […]
Posted inNews
12 arrested on I-84 on ramp in economic protest
The Hartford Police Department arrested 12 people blocking the I-84 on ramp Thursday afternoon who said they “occupied” it in protest against America’s crumbling economy and infrastructure. Hartford Police begin arresting the 12 protesters. The 12, who wore pink arm bands, volunteered to occupy the ramp, knowing they could be arrested. The mix of young […]
Posted inNews
NU chief vows emergency response reforms won’t wait for Butler’s successor
Northeast Utilities won’t wait until it has replaced Jeffrey D. Butler as president of Connecticut Light & Power Co. to begin upgrading its storm response capabilities, NU’s top executive pledged Thursday. The state’s largest electric utility also will begin exploring possible upgrades to its strategic, maintenance and communication functions even as awaits a preliminary independent […]
Posted inNews
CL&P chief resigns amid storm of criticism
Connecticut Light & Power Co. President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey D. Butler resigned Thursday afternoon as the state’s largest utility battles waves of criticism over its handling of nearly 1.6 million power outages from two recent storms. Butler had defended CL&P’s response both to an Oct. 29 nor’easter and to Tropical Storm Irene in […]
Posted inNews
Lessons in what works: the school Pryor helped build
NEW HAVEN — State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor returned Wednesday to the charter school he founded years ago with a message: Barriers are preventing more of these great schools from opening or expanding. He promised to change that. Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor with children in New Haven’s Amistad Academy. “The shackles continue to be broken […]
Posted inNews
Working Families Party’s director fined $10,000 over lobbying
A failure to wear a lobbyist badge during the campaign to pass paid-sick days legislation has cost Jon Green of the Working Families Party a $10,000 fine, a stiff penalty resulting from being put on notice in a previous case about the state’s lobbying rules. Green, the executive director of the party, entered into a […]
Posted inHealth
Flu shot policy leads to 2,900 vaccines, 5 terminations at Connecticut Children’s
Close to 2,100 employees at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center got flu vaccines in recent weeks following a new hospital policy that requires all employees to get vaccinated. Five employees failed to get vaccinated before the deadline and will be terminated, according to the hospital. In all, more than 2,900 employees, community physicians, contractors and volunteers […]
Posted inEducation
Blowing smoke? Marijuana decrim proposal for UConn ends with police being called
A few months after marijuana was decriminalized in Connecticut, students at the University of Connecticut have put forward a plan to knock down the penalties on campus. Not everyone was happy. The student government meeting where the plan was approved 24-7 ended with overturned chairs and an argument that led to the police being called, […]
Posted inNews
Well, George Washington was popular, but could he scramble in the pocket?
Aaron Rodgers is a god in Wisconsin, viewed favorably by 89 percent of voters in a Public Policy Polling survey. That got PPP wondering. Who might get a higher rating than the Packers’ QB? Two people scored higher. Any guesses? Hint: Both are dead.
Posted inNews
Greenberg ignores Bernier, takes aim at Donovan in the 5th.
Republican congressional candidate Mark Greenberg is ignoring a claim that Justin Bernier is the frontrunner in the 5th for the GOP nomination. With a new web site, he evidently sees House Speaker Christopher Donovan, a Democrat, as the only target worth attacking. In attacking Donovan for sitting on the bipartisan commission that is drawing new […]
Posted inNews
Malloy’s fiscal cushion continues to shrink
The fiscal cushion built into this year’s state budget continues to shrink, a trend that could hinder one of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s biggest campaign promises: to bring government finances under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The Office of Policy and Management reported late Tuesday that this year’s $20.14 billion budget — originally designed to finish […]