When Charles Smyth’s sister called to say that their mother was dying and he should get to her bedside quickly, Smyth had another problem to deal with first: How to get to the hospital. Smyth is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. He regularly takes a paratransit service for people with disabilities, but it must be […]

Elizabeth Esty didn’t let a setback drag her down for long. She won a state House seat in 2008, beating Republican Al Adinolfi, who’d held it eight of the previous 10 years. It was a close race, and Adinolfi challenged her re-election bid last year. Democratic candidate Elizabeth Esty Their rematch took place during the […]

No shocker here: Connecticut’s all-Democratic U.S. House delegation voted against the Republican’s “Cut, Cap & Balance” plan Tuesday night. The measure would impose dramatic spending cuts in 2012, cap federal spending in future years, and send to the states a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. It passed 234-190, with all five Connecticut lawmakers voting […]

As part of its effort to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, the federal government a few years ago assigned a “social cost” to carbon, estimating the economic damage done by 1 ton of carbon dioxide emissions at $21. Australia came up with a similar figure last year. But new research suggests the real cost may be […]

State employee union leadership voted today to ease the rules for ratifying contract concessions, clearing the way for the unions and the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to reach a new deal to avoid mass layoffs and deep budget cuts. Simple majorities now will be required for ratification: eight of 15 unions must vote […]

While the Executive and Judicial branches announced plans last week to eliminate over 6,660 jobs in response to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget plan, the Legislative Branch was quiet about how it would meet $22 million in savings targets over this fiscal year and next. But the head of the Office of Legislative Management said […]

NEW HAVEN–As attorney general, Richard Blumenthal won praise from the vocal group of Lyme disease patient advocates who believe the illness can be a chronic condition–and the ire of many doctors–when he challenged a medical society’s guidelines for treating the controversial tick-borne ailment. On Monday, Blumenthal announced that he plans to continue his Lyme disease […]

With four public hearings in three days, the legislature’s Reapportionment Committee this week finishes its first round of information gathering to be used in drawing five congressional and 187 state legislative districts to reflect the 2010 census. Then the fun begins. Drawing new districts in Connecticut is an exercise in computer-assisted puzzle making and old-fashioned […]

After a 40 year run, the Council on Environmental Quality–the state’s tiny environmental watchdog–could be put out of business by the governor’s budget-cutting plan and its responsibilities shifted to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “It’s really very disheartening,” said Barbara Wagner, the chair of the all-volunteer board that oversees the Council and its […]

Linda McMahon got flak from Republicans last year during her U.S. Senate bid for donating more than $35,000 to Democrats while she was the chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment. Now, it’s Lisa Wilson-Foley’s turn. The Republican 5th District candidate and health-care entrepreneur donated more than $7,000 to Democratic congressional candidates in Connecticut over 13 […]

As traditional newsrooms have declined in recent years, a new kind of news-gathering organization has emerged: non-profit operations that report on the state or national levels, most of them primarily on-line. Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism examined 39 such organizations–including The Connecticut Mirror–and found they vary widely in terms of transparency and […]