Rep. Chris Murphy’s Senate bid got a boost from today, as his four Connecticut colleagues in the U.S. House endorsed his campaign. Reps. John Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, and Jim Himes–representing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th districts respectively–all declared their support for Murphy in his 2012 race to succeed retiring Sen. Joseph Lieberman, […]

WALLINGFORD–Hospital executives have been bemoaning the millions of dollars in cuts they face under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget, and on Monday, they got a chance to tell him in person. But before anyone could describe their organization’s dire finances, Malloy pointed to his own. “I want to say at the outset that I […]

WASHINGTON–Sen. Joseph Lieberman is drafting a school reform bill that would tie a portion of federal education dollars to a requirement that states implement robust teacher evaluations, with student test scores being a major factor in rating teacher performance. The bill would also require local schools to give some weight to teacher effectiveness, as opposed […]

As one of the worst winters in recent history finally retreats, state government will give municipalities $30 million to fix potholes and otherwise repair local roads and bridges– the same funding it provided 25 years ago. And while state officials grapple with a budget deficit of historic proportions, municipal leaders are concerned about the state’s […]

WASHINGTON–For Sen. Joseph Lieberman, last week started with a series of meetings and calls from anxious constituents–Connecticut mayors, community health providers, job training advocates. All expressed grave concern about the budget impasse in Washington and the deep cuts targeted for domestic programs. This week will begin with Congress no closer to an agreement on how […]

So you’re willing to be a sport and flush $5 on the office NCAA basketball pool, but you don’t want to wind up after Round 2 in the “out of the running” category with your boss’s 8-year-old son. You’re spending your time reading The Mirror instead of, say, the Sports Illustrated “NCAA Tournament Experts’ Picks,” […]

For the first time, the Internet surpassed newspapers in 2010 as a source for news, a report released today by the Pew Research Center says. According to a December 2010 survey, 46 percent of people say they get news from online sources at least three times a week, compared with 40 who say the same […]

Sen. Joseph Lieberman called for a moratorium on construction of nuclear power plants in the US in the aftermath of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, which damaged two nuclear reactors. “The reality is that we’re watching something unfold,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We don’t know where it’s going with regard to the nuclear […]

Democrats and Republicans are declaring an end to the push for ever-earlier presidential primaries, which sent Connecticut voters to the polls before Valentine’s Day in 2008–and ended Chris Dodd’s candidacy two days after New Year’s Day. With a mix of incentives and penalties, the parties are trying to ensure that all but a handful of […]

Officials from the state’s public college and university systems told state lawmakers this week what the $150 million proposed cut in state funding for higher education could mean for students — and the options they outlined are grim. At the state’s dozen community colleges, students may face a steep tuition increase, even longer wait lists […]

The Judiciary Committee will hear testimony Monday on the near-perennial proposal to allow people with debilitating conditions to use marijuana legally. Could this be the year it becomes law? “The chances look really good,” said Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Somers, who has long been one of the legislature’s leading supporters of allowing marijuana to be used […]

Dozens of minors under age 18 have been found to be involved in sex trafficking in recent years, officials and advocates say, and their first contact with authority often is the police. A proposed law would for the first time require that the state Department of Children and Families be notified of such cases. “Law […]

STORRS–Think of biofuel, and what comes to mind is vast acres of Midwest corn for ethanol, or a hobbyist fueling his tractor with old French fry fat. But in a lab at the University of Connecticut, researchers are looking into commercial-scale biofuel manufacturing using cooking oil, switchgrass and–perhaps most intriguing–algae. The UConn team has received […]