An ongoing CNN poll has produced signs that Americans are leaning toward more libertarian views than in past years, Nate Silver says at FiveThirtyEight, his New York Times blog, as more people express the belief that government is trying to do too much and should stay away from social issues.His analysis is based on two […]

In an unusual footnote to the controversial merger of three state higher education institutions, Community College Chancellor Marc Herzog apparently retired as of May 31, notified his Board of Trustees on June 3 and–it was disclosed Monday–was rehired on a temporary basis effective June 1 for $14,500 a month on top of his $14,000 monthly […]

As state employees weigh the concession deal now being voted on by unions, one major factor is what workers rely on in assessing the prospects for an early retirement incentive offer: the insistence of a new governor that such an offer won’t be forthcoming, or the actions of four previous governors who have turned to […]

The fate of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s tentative concessions deal with unionized state employees likely rests with AFSCME Council 4, the largest, most diverse and most divided of the 15 state employee unions, whose members will not cast their last votes until Thursday. AFSCME is the only union in SEBAC, the State Employees Bargaining Agent […]

Through his Hamden internal medicine practice, Dr. Edward Rippel has become something of a pioneer. He takes his notes in a tablet computer and closely monitors patients with chronic conditions. Those who are overdue for a test get a reminder, part of an effort to more carefully manage patients’ health. Rippel isn’t the first doctor […]

We’re all aware of privacy concerns involving things like electronic medical records, social media networks and on-line financial transactions–but what about your electric bill? Or more specifically, your electricity usage, as tracked by the “smart grid” technology envisioned in the Obama Administration’s new “Policy Framework for the 21st-Century Grid.” That question got some attention at […]

We have been hearing about the need for business innovation from leaders in all sectors, from President Obama in his State of the Union speech to Commissioner Daniel Esty of Connecticut’s new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, who spoke before the Hartford Metro Alliance Partners’ Economic Development Council on the first of this […]

The drive by state employee union leaders to win ratification of a tentative concessions agreement ended the week with a flurry of votes in favor of the deal by major clerical, higher-education and health-care bargaining units. By Friday night, three of the 15 unions in the State Employees Bargain Agent Coalition had ratified the deal […]

Jeannette DeJesús, now special advisor to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on healthcare reform, was a founding member of the Board of Directors of The Connecticut News Project, publisher of The Connecticut Mirror. DeJesús, who has a degree in social work from New York University and a degree in public administration from Harvard, previously worked as […]

Robert Hohler, executive director of the Melville Charitable Trust and a founding member of the Board of The Connecticut News Project, publisher of The Mirror, died on June 2, 2011 while hiking with his family in England. He was a civil rights activist who marched on Selma, Ala., with Martin Luther King, then helped produce […]

ENFIELD–On a day when new data showed the state’s monthly unemployment rate unchanged at 9.1 percent, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy dropped by a Comcast call center that is adding 100 customer service jobs, bringing its state workforce to 1,600. Malloy applauded the cable-television company’s investment in a state-of-the-art call center in Enfield, saying he hoped […]