Sen. Joseph Lieberman appears to have found an ally in his bid to remake Medicare, and along the way, possibly earn himself a spot in the debt-reduction debate that has dominated Washington in recent months. Today, Lieberman will team up with Sen. Tom Coburn, a conservative from Oklahoma, in touting a proposal to overhaul Medicare, […]
Lieberman, Coburn to unveil Medicare proposal
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SEBAC hopes to save concession deal, but has no clear plan
Leaders of state employee unions said today they will explore salvaging a concession deal rejected by a minority of union members, but they acknowledged having no obvious means under their by-laws to reconsider the vote before the Malloy Administration responds with mass layoff notices. Two things were clear after an early evening press conference: The […]
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Malloy says he is trying to limit the number of layoffs coming
STAMFORD–Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said today he worked over the weekend to limit the number of state employee layoffs he will impose this week in response to labor’s rejection of a tentative agreement for concessions and other labor savings. In remarks after delivering a pep talk on economic development to the Business Council of Fairfield […]
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Supreme Court: matching grants in public financing are unconstitutional
WASHINGTON–A narrowly-divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that supplemental grants triggered by an opponent’s spending in state public funding systems are unconstitutional. The 5-to-4 decision means Connecticut will not be able to revive the matching grants that helped fuel the bids of both Democrat Dannel P. Malloy and Republican Michael C. Fedele in last […]
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Malloy hits the road again, with his new economic development chief
Catherine H. Smith, the commissioner of economic development, joins Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in kicking off a jobs tour today at Blue Sky Studios, a company whose stream of tax-credit revenue nearly was dried up by an oversight in state budget revisions. Smith played a role in making sure the tax credits were saved in […]
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Food safety advocates say administration is stalling on E. coli rules
WASHINGTON–Rep. Rosa DeLauro and other food-safety advocates say the Obama Administration is holding up a new rule that could protect Americans from potentially deadly outbreaks of emerging food-borne pathogens. The issue has taken on fresh urgency in the wake of the devastating outbreak in Germany, where more than 35 people have died and more than […]
Posted inHealth
Anthem’s new billing proposal sparks blowback
Anthem Blue Cross Blue and Blue Shield is under fire for a plan to stop allowing its customers in California to pay their insurance premiums through automatic credit card billings. Instead, if a patient wanted to pay their bill via credit card, they would have to call Anthem every month-and in the process incur a […]
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Last two unions reject a deal already dead
A final, negative footnote to the failed effort to ratify the state employees’ concession deal: two more unions rejected the tentative agreement in voting tallied Sunday, leaving a final vote of 11 unions in favor and four opposed. A labor source said the 1,150-member Connecticut State Police Union and IBPO/SEIU, a union representing 750 judicial […]
Posted inEducation
National report finds achievement gap persists for Hispanic students
Although reading and math test scores have improved for Hispanic students and their white, non-Hispanic peers over the last two decades, the achievement gap between them remains substantially unchanged, a new national report says. The study, based on National Assessment of Educational Progress test results from 1990 to 2009, looked at scores of 4th and […]
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How a controversial bill becomes law
If you want to know, then read this account by Michael Barbaro in The Times about how Andrew Cuomo helped get gay-rights groups to buy into a unified strategy, brought wealthy GOP donors into the mix, and switched key votes in the state Senate. It is a classic story of how it takes an inside […]
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Donovan: Legislators want details before giving Malloy budget power
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is offering legislators a deal: Expand his authority to unilaterally cut the budget next week, and he will take the political heat for fixing a $1.6 billion problem caused Friday by the unions’ rejection of a concession deal. House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, said Malloy has no deal with legislators […]
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There’s money to help fill budget gap, but an obstacle to using it
As they scramble to deal with rejection of the union concessions deal, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislative leaders are in the position to having money to fill at least part of the $700 million hole it leaves, but a big constitutional obstacle to using it. The state is looking at more than $150 million […]
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Judge rejects lawsuit challenging budget based on union concessions
A Superior Court judge today dismissed a lawsuit challenging the state budget on grounds that it depends on an unreliable $1.6 billion in savings from union concessions–just hours after officials from the state employee unions announced their members had rejected the givebacks. “This is a changing landscape,” Judge James Graham told the lawyers representing the […]
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Labor deal rejected; Malloy wants authority to cut budget himself
An AFSCME local representing correction officers rejected the concession deal in voting tallied today, formalizing what has been apparent for days: the unions’ tentative agreement with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for $1.6 billion in savings over two years is dead. Malloy said he will ask the legislature in a special session Thursday to authorize him […]
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Greenhouse gas compact challenged by changing energy landscape
Supporters of the 2½-year-old Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative like to remind those who would criticize, if not outright kill, this first-in-the-nation carbon dioxide trading and reduction program of two things. First, the idea for it came from a Republican, former New York Gov. George Pataki. And second, it was modeled on a federal program to […]