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 […]

When Florida’s governor rejected $2.4 billion in high-speed rail funds earlier this month, Connecticut politicians made an aggressive pitch to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for a slice of it. But they’re going to have to do more than ask. The federal Department of Transportation announced Friday a new competitive bidding process for the $2.4 billion. […]

(State Rep. Vincent J. Candelora is a Republican representing East Haven, North Branford and Wallingford. He is the deputy House minority leader) I believe this budget session is going to be less about party politics and more about courage.  Namely, which legislators will have the courage to stand up to the Governor’s budget proposal and […]

Daniel C. Esty, the governor’s nominee to oversee environmental and energy policy in Connecticut, weathered extensive questioning by Republicans at a confirmation hearing Thursday about his support for federal cap-and-trade legislation. After 2½ hours, legislators learned two things: Esty does not intend to push a carbon tax in Connecticut; and the noted author and Yale […]

An estimated $4.5 million in potential savings and lingering concerns over management of the state university system weren’t enough to overcome the skepticism of many legislators and college officials about Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed shakeup in higher education Thursday. Members of the higher Education Committee and dozens of the people who testified on the […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy reached back again to his Stamford roots Thursday, this time to find someone to head Connecticut’s tourism promotion, a topic Malloy raised often during the campaign for governor as an example of the state’s failure to develop jobs. Malloy selected Christopher “Kip” Bergstrom, who has been executive director of Stamford’s urban […]

The state budget gets most of the public attention, but the Malloy administration has another major project to tackle this year: creating a health insurance marketplace known as the exchange. “The exchange is a cornerstone of health reform,” said Jeannette DeJesús, the governor’s special advisor on health care reform. “The exchange is a very significant […]

In a trend that began after the Cheshire home-invasion murders, Connecticut voters continue to say that the state’s ultimate penalty should be execution, not life in prison without chance of parole, according to a poll released today. A Quinnipiac University poll found voters support execution over life imprisonment, 48 percent to 43 percent, a change […]

WASHINGTON–Rep. Jim Himes, a former investment banker and non-profit housing advocate, probably doesn’t need a primer in mortgage finance issues or a lesson in the political firepower of the finance industry. But he’s getting a little of both anyway, as Congress dives into a high-stakes debate over how heavy the government’s hand should be in […]