With the markets panicked and Washington paralyzed, organized labor is trying to use the congressional recess to change the national political debate from the deficit debt-ceiling to how to stimulate job growth in a sluggish economy. But U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, told labor and community organizers Tuesday that congressional Republicans are fixated on […]

Mary Trigila says her Windsor Locks preschool is one of the best in the Hartford area. But because the state does not grade her program, parents have to take her word for it. That may soon change, as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration is planning to begin a rating system to measure the quality of […]

Every five years since 1965, the state has reviewed and updated its plan for maintaining, expanding and improving its network of parks, forests, trails and other facilities. The process is under way again–but this time with some significant financial constraints to overcome. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is holding the first of a […]

President Barack Obama got a 60 percent approval rating from Connecticut residents in the first half of 2011, Gallup reports, higher than the ratings from any other state. Only the District of Columbia had a more favorable view, with 83 percent job approval. Obama’s support is greatest in the East, with 8 of his 10 […]

People use the Internet pretty much the same way they did a decade ago–with the exception of social networking sites, which have grown vastly in popularity in recent years, a new report from the Pew Internet Project says. Search and email remain the most popular activities, with 92 percent of adult Internet users saying they […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who has made energy policy a priority of his administration, has been named chairman of the National Governors Association’s natural resources committee. “While the cost of energy continues to rise – straining family budgets and putting our fragile economic recovery in jeopardy — we must do more to explore different avenues […]

Connecticut is one of just seven states that has elevated spending above the levels budgeted before the recent recession, after adjustments for inflation and federal assistance are made, according to a recent study by a nonprofit fiscal policy think-tank. But the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities also reported that Connecticut has made […]

WASHINGTON–With a debt deal done and default averted, Congress can move on to other pressing issues now, right? There’s certainly a crushing legislative agenda awaiting lawmakers when they return from their August break: Rewriting No Child Left Behind. Finalizing a multi-year transportation bill. And finding a long-term fix, instead of an emergency patch, to keep […]

When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was announcing budget cuts in mid-July that would close prisons, courts, group homes, and agency offices, cut dozens of academic and social service programs, and eliminate 6,500 jobs, he said he couldn’t be dissuaded by union leaders scrambling to breathe new life into a dead concession package. Connecticut’s chief executive […]

Federal officials say a plan to cut nearly $4 billion in Medicare funding to nursing homes is just a correction to curb unanticipated overspending. Critics say it’s a wrongheaded move that could force staff cuts and lead some homes to close. And even some experts who say the cut is justified worry about its consequences […]

The market tanked today, a drop that many analysts attributed to the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. But Gov. Dannel P. Malloy took a more bullish view with a statement issued this afternoon: “While Standard & Poor’s downgrade of our country’s debt is clearly not good news, we in Connecticut have a few things […]