A group that promotes energy efficiency has rated Connecticut No. 8 in its annual assessment of states’ progress toward adopting and implementing various energy-efficiency policies and programs. The non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy cited, among other things, the energy efficiency programs run by state utilities in its ranking. The state was ranked No. […]
Group rates Connecticut in top 10 for energy efficiency
Posted inNews
Charter schools: Many apply, few new schools open
Despite daunting odds, seven organizations have applied this year for state approval to open new charter schools, including four that were turned down last year. Only two new charter schools have opened in the state in the last six years, although 20 applications were filed. The state didn’t accept applications at all in 2006 and […]
Posted inNews
Homelessness, income disparity and housing costs rise
Family homelessness, income disparity and the number of households burdened by housing costs increased in the last year as Connecticut remains one of the most expensive states in which to own or rent a home, according to a report issued by the Partnership for Strong Communities Monday. The partnership used data compiled by a number […]
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Blumenthal backs measure to promote drug development
There’s an arms race going on, Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday, and we’re losing. “We’re in an arms race with pathogens that are evolving faster than we are developing drugs to treat them,” the Connecticut Democrat said during a press conference at Hartford Hospital. Sharon Ladin, Jamel Sawyer, Dr. Juan Salazar, Dr. Michael Lindberg, Blumenthal […]
Posted inJustice
When a call for help gets victims arrested
She was bloodied, her eye nearly swollen shut, still groggy from being knocked unconscious by her date. Gertha Lee waited for a safe opportunity to call the police. Gertha Lee: ‘I didn’t think they were going to arrest me’ Gertha Lee: ‘I didn’t think they were going to arrest me’ “I came to, and that’s […]
Posted inMoney
Malloy to announce NBC move on Tuesday
It’ll be a nice kickoff to the next day’s special session on jobs: On Tuesday at 11 a.m., Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will announce an economic development deal that is bringing NBC Sports to Stamford.
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Occupy Wall Street: What took so long?
One question raised by the burgeoning Occupy Wall Street movement, Tom Jacobs writes at Miller-McCune, is why it took three years from the time reckless financial traders caused the 2008 financial crisis for large numbers of people to collectively express outrage. A recent psychological study may provide at least part of the answer. The study […]
Posted inMoney
Municipal lobby offers its own job stimulus plan
The chief lobbying agency for Connecticut’s cities and towns unveiled its own job stimulus proposals Monday, asking lawmakers to streamline economic assistance grants, assign a municipal ombudsman to cut bureaucratic red tape out of each state agency, and form regional state-local economic development teams. “Economic development and job creation in Connecticut occurs within towns and […]
Posted inEducation
Report: college dropouts cost taxpayers millions
Students who drop out of the state’s community colleges their first year cost Connecticut taxpayers $8.4 million annually, according to a new report funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report released by the American Institutes for Research found that after taking into account students who transferred to other schools, those that ended […]
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A legislator wants to move Halloween
Brave man, Tim Larson. The Democratic state representative from East Hartford wants to mess with Halloween. Larson proposed today that the legislature designate the last Saturday in October as Halloween, so trick or treating never would take place again on a school night. “Halloween is fun night for the whole family, but not so much […]
Posted inHealth
Don’t mourn SustiNet; move on to reform
When it’s time to settle old accounts, Puerto Ricans say, “Borron y cuenta nueva.” The idiomatic expression literally means erase and start a new account – in other words, move ahead. This message carries good advice for the Malloy administration, which has gone out of its way to proclaim the proposed public health insurance option, […]
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Skeptical climate scientists concede Earth has warmed
A group of scientists known for their skepticism about climate change has concluded that there is valid evidence that the Earth is getting warmer, Michael Marshall reports at NewScientist. After reanalyzing two centuries’ worth of global temperature records, the scientists concluded that their questions about the accuracy of the data “do not significantly change the […]
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Malloy administration watching danger signs in state budget
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget office warned this week it is watching some negative fiscal trends that could threaten the modest surplus currently projected for this year. And the $75.6 million fiscal cushion reported Thursday by the Office of Policy and Management – in one respect – is already gone. That’s because Malloy and the […]
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New brownfield proposal called ‘window dressing’
Among the items in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s jobs package for next week’s special session is one on brownfields – those polluted properties that have become darlings of the environmental and economic revitalization sectors in recent years. The package earmarks $20 million to develop and market five to-be-determined state-owned brownfield sites, to review and ultimately […]
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State doesn’t wait for overdue union efficiency ideas
State employee unions insist they can make government more efficient without cutting vital services, but they are fumbling their chance to prove it. The labor-management panels that were to identify $130 million in efficiencies as part of last summer’s concession deal haven’t met yet. And with the fiscal year already 3-½ months along, Gov. Dannel […]