WASHINGTON–A political tempest is brewing over the Obama Administration’s request for $6.9 billion in disaster funding to help states hit by Hurricane Irene and a spate of other recent events. On Friday, the White House sent Congress a request for $500 million in emergency funding to replenish the nearly-depleted coffers of the federal Disaster Relief […]

The mayors of Connecticut’s three largest cities, each one a Democratic bastion that contributed to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s paper-thin victory last year, face make-or-break September primaries. But only two are on Tuesday. On Tuesday, John DeStefano Jr. of New Haven faces three challengers trying to block him from a 10th two-year term, while Pedro […]

Over four days and in five cities, Chris Donovan eagerly showed off the advantages a former organizer and current speaker of the Connecticut House enjoys in the crowded race for an open congressional seat. Donovan was endorsed at every stop of a campaign kickoff tour last week by legislators and others, many with organizations and […]

Though many middle-class Connecticut households will lose $200 next spring when a popular credit on their state income tax return shrinks, there is a silver lining: Those same filers will get nearly one-third of that cut back from the federal government. And the head of an economic think-tank at the University of Connecticut says that […]

Connecticut’s new GOP state chairman, Jerry Labriola Jr., is urging Republicans here to man the phone banks for Bob Turner in tomorrow’s special election to succeed disgraced U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner in a solidly Democratic district that is tilting Republican, if recent polling is to be believed. No travel is required. “With your help, we […]

The expectation that children will be better-off than their parents is a central tenet of the American Dream, Gregory Acs writes in a new study, but 30 percent of children raised in middle-class households fall out of the middle as adults. The report–Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking Up from the American Dream–says marital […]

Treasurer Denise L. Nappier issued a statement today taking offense at a Hartford police union official’s claim to WNPR’s Jeff Cohen that the parking lot where she was stopped was known to be a market for illegal drugs. “Those innuendoes are offensive and insulting – most importantly to the people of that community, as well […]

Taken less than a week after Tropical Storm Irene drenched New England, this Sept. 2 satellite photo shows a miles-long plume of sediment spewing into Long Island from the mouth of the Connecticut River (view larger image at  NASA Earth Observatory).

The legislature’s Reapportionment Committee acknowledged Friday it will be unable to devise new legislative maps by its deadline of Sept. 15, requiring the eight-member, bipartisan panel to now find a ninth neutral member to join them. The four Democratic and four Republican legislators on the committee are not deadlocked over new districts; they still are […]

More than 1,150 people dropped out of the Charter Oak Health Plan when premiums rose this month, largely because of legislation curtailing state subsidies for the program, and participation could fall even further in the coming months. After lawmakers raised concerns about the declining enrollment Friday, a top official at the state Department of Social […]

Publicly, consumer and patient advocates continue to cheer wildly for last year’s health care law. Behind the scenes, however, some worry that they are losing a few key battles to the insurance and business communities. They point to a long-sought provision in the law that entitles patients to an external review if an insurer won’t pay […]