Following his signature Race to the Top education reform program, President Barack Obama wants to apply its underlying principal–state competition for federal funding–to a variety of other areas, John Gramlich reports at Stateline.org. Obama’s proposed budget would have states compete for grants in areas from transportation to juvenile justice, Gramlich says. But his plans face […]

Americans are divided on the level of pay for government workers, but a solid majority thinks they should pay more for their benefits, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. The national poll comes as public employee unions in many states, including Connecticut, are under pressure for concessions to help ease budget problems. The telephone […]

The governor’s budget includes a cut in the dental services adults with Medicaid could receive. But to the Connecticut State Dental Association, which fought against proposals in recent years that would have eliminated the services entirely, it’s still a victory of sorts. “Given the budget circumstances and the financial times that we find ourselves in, […]

Half the state’s constitutional officers endorsed Chris Murphy for U.S. Senate today, an early commitment intended to start a bandwagon rolling for the in the 2012 race. Attorney General George Jepsen, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and Comptroller Kevin Lembo issued statements of support for Murphy, the 5th District congressman, that are remarkable for […]

With an ally in the governor’s office and a too-close-to-call vote count in the Senate, the Working Families Party resumed its push Tuesday for a first-in-the-nation state law requiring private employers to offer up to five paid sick days. The election of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is a boost to a bill that passed the […]

WASHINGTON–Former Sen. Chris Dodd has officially been tapped as the next chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, making him the face of Hollywood in Washington. The job, which reportedly comes with a $1.5 million annual paycheck, would put Dodd in charge of a high-profile Washington trade association. The MPAA spent $1.66 […]

Suzette Strickland’s job helping people apply for food stamps sometimes includes explaining to clients why the state caseworkers handling their applications don’t return phone calls, even after 20 messages. “It’s not that they won’t call you back. They can’t,” Strickland, the food stamp program manager for End Hunger Connecticut, said she and her colleagues tell […]

Gov. Dannel P.  Malloy’s complicated relationship with the House of Labor enters a new phase this week as his administration formally opens concession talks and Malloy addresses a public gathering of union leaders and members. Malloy, whose mother helped found a municipal union, is not new to labor relations that are nuanced, to say the […]

WASHINGTON–Sure, Rep. Jim Himes is a Harvard graduate, a Rhodes scholar, and one-time investment banker who made millions at Goldman Sachs. But he’s no match for Watson, the IBM supercomputer who last week made news by winning Jeopardy! against the TV game show’s two most venerable contestants. On Monday night, Himes, D-4th District, and four […]

Many political analysts have a “near-obsessive” focus on demographics as a determiner of national election outcomes, Nate Silver says at FiveThirtyEight. Remember “soccer moms” in 1996, or “NASCAR dads” in 2004? But with one exception, demographic characteristics are poor predictors of voting behavior, Silver says, because individual voters fit into a number of categories with […]

Comptroller Kevin Lembo’s monthly report to the governor predicts that Connecticut will end the fiscal year in June with a general fund balance of $57.2 million, but only thanks to significant borrowing and one-time windfalls from the federal government. Without the one-shot revenue, the state would be looking at a $2 billion shortfall in the […]

Sen. John Kerry caused a stir with recent comments suggesting that another round of base closings might be in the offing by 2015 or so. The Naval Submarine Base in Groton barely survived the last round in 2005, so the panic in some corners of Connecticut was palpable. But Rep. Joe Courtney said no such […]

Republicans bore the brunt of public criticism for the federal government shutdown in 1995, but a new poll says both parties would share the blame if it happens again this year, Jon Cohen and Paul Kane report at the Washington Post. Thirty-six percent say Republicans would be at fault if the two sides cannot reach […]

Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra has hired Phil Sherwood, the deputy director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, to run his mayoral campaign. Sherwood, who managed Democrat Terry Gerratana’s successful special-election race for state Senate last week, will be taking a leave from CCAG. “He understands the challenges that Hartford faces and I am proud that […]