Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new budget doesn’t go far enough to accelerate Connecticut’s economic recovery and create better-paying jobs, according to the latest report from the University of Connecticut’s Center for Economic Analysis. State government needs to invest more heavily in high-technology, cutting-edge projects particularly by overhauling “moribund” research and development tax credits to underwrite […]

A proposal to raise the minimum age for children to start kindergarten–a move that would have delayed the start of public school for almost 10,000 students–has failed to win approval from the legislature’s Education Committee. “We would have been shutting thousands of children out of school, and that’s not acceptable for me,” said Rep. Andy […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy today named a top insurance executive, Catherine H. Smith of ING, to oversee economic development, a recruiting coup and a sign of his desire to grow one of the state’s best-known industries. Catherine Smith Smith, 58, the chief executive of ING U.S. Retirement Services and a former high-ranking executive at Aetna […]

WASHINGTON–The state of Connecticut has had a lobbyist in Washington for years. But she hasn’t exactly had a high-profile on Capitol Hill. “I very briefly met a woman who was [former Gov. Jodi] Rell’s person, but I never got to know her at all,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District. “There was very little interaction […]

NEW LONDON–A predominantly blue-collar audience urged Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Wednesday night to spare them from his proposed tax hikes–among the largest in state history–and pressed the governor instead to seek more revenue from the rich and major concessions from state employees. The crowd of more than 300 that packed the Jennings Middle School gymnasium […]

Legislation requiring most Connecticut employers to provide paid sick leave narrowly cleared its first hurdle Thursday when the Labor and Public Employees approved it by a 6-5 vote. The Democrat-controlled panel adopted the bill over Republican objections in a vote largely along party lines. The only defection involved Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, who backed […]

Pollsters and commentators often use the terms “global warming” and “climate change” interchangeably, but which words are used can make a real difference in discussions of the issue, Tom Jacobs reports at Miller-McCune. Citing research published in Public Opinion Quarterly (subscription required), Jacobs said Republicans especially seem influenced by the choice of one phrase or […]

Almost the entire Connecticut delegation voted in favor of a temporary spending bill to keep the federal government running for two more weeks, giving lawmakers more time to negotiate a longer-term bill for fiscal year 2011. Both Sens. Joe Lieberman, an independent, and Democrat Richard Blumenthal voted yes, as did 4 of the state’s 5 […]

(Luis Caban is president of the board of the Connecticut Association for Human Services and executive director of SINA, Inc.) Gov. Dannel Malloy’s call for a State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-wage workers would help struggling families make ends meet and pump much-needed funds into Connecticut’s economy. The EITC is considered to be […]

The Malloy Administration wants to turn the first four of 17 state-run vocational-technical schools over to local control in the next school year–a move that has members of the State Board of Education concerned. “That’s insane,” board Chairman Allan B. Taylor said Wednesday, reacting to the timeline. Benjamin Barnes, budget chief for Gov. Dannel P. […]

Connecticut’s automotive retailers are hoping they can convince Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to drop two controversial tax proposals by translating them into a term he has used repeatedly since taking office: jobs. The retailers contend Malloy’s plans to impose the sales tax on automobile trade-ins, and to charge a luxury tax on vehicles worth more […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday nominated Superior Court Judge Carmen Espinosa, a former FBI agent and the state’s first Hispanic judge, to the state Appellate Court. Espinosa, 62, of Southington, who was appointed to the bench in 1992 by Lowell P. Weicker Jr., would be the first Hispanic member of the Appellate Court. She […]

Hollywood came recruiting right away. So did Washington law firms. The Obama administration put out feelers about possible assignments, though none engaged Chris Dodd’s interest after 36 years in Congress. The law firms, he ruled out immediately. Dodd said the offers were generous, but he had no desire to be a “show pony,” an eminence […]