The extensive education reforms passed last year in hopes of winning a federal Race to the Top grant may be delayed because the state didn’t win the grant and doesn’t have the money itself to implement them. “If we find the money then we are happy to push forward with these reforms… but money is […]

Departure was the theme of the day as legislators heard testimony on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s new tax plan: dire predictions of the customers, airplanes, boats, businesses, residents and jobs that would flee the state to avoid the plan’s myriad proposed tax increases. “To state the obvious, airplanes fly,” Eric Zipkin, owner of Trade Winds […]

If Connecticut is to abolish the death penalty this year, the deciding vote in the Senate most likely will belong to the presiding officer, Lt. Gov. Nancy S. Wyman. The same is true of a bill mandating private employers to provide paid sick days. The best that proponents of either controversial measure can manage this […]

It’s an alluring proposition: Connecticut solves its major energy problems while creating a new economy, cuts greenhouse gas emissions while building a new job base. People and the planet both win. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy emphasized the green economy and creation of green jobs during his campaign, and named man who wrote the book on […]

Physician Compare might not seem like the kind of tool that would spark a divisive policy debate. It’s a website, recently launched by Medicare officials, that allows patients to find a cardiologist, a pediatrician, or other Medicare provider in their zip code. But while it’s just a physician directory now, eventually it will become much […]

Much of the current debate over the bargaining rights of public employees has focused on money and power, Tom Jacobs writes in Miller-McCune. When it comes to one group of employees–teachers–a new study examines the impact of collective bargaining rights on students, and reaches a troubling conclusion, Jacobs says. The study just published in the […]

The proposal to establish the SustiNet state-run health insurance plan cleared its first legislative committee Monday, receiving approval to move forward from the Public Health Committee by a 16-10 vote. The current version of the bill is a work in progress and will likely be amended as it moves forward. It will now go to […]

(Steve Mandel is vice-chair of the Teach for America Connecticut advisory board.) Gov. Dannel Malloy has a very difficult job on his hands. He is new to his position, needs to build a top-flight management team to help him run the state, and must close a $3.5 billion budget deficit, one of the largest in […]

With the labor contracts for 69 nursing homes set to expire this month, state health officials are preparing for the possibility of a large-scale strike. Representatives for both sides say the negotiations are in the early stages and no strike plans are imminent. But because so many contracts are in play, state officials are taking […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and organized labor delivered blunt messages to each other Friday about economic justice, political debts and fiscal realities. Neither side retreated, but Malloy left to applause even after warning of “dire consequences” if concession talks fail. Malloy listens to John Olsen For 60 minutes, Malloy stood in front of 175 public- […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named Correction Commissioner Leo C. Arnone, originally an appointee of former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, to continue to oversee Connecticut’s prison system as the administration undertakes efforts to further reduce the inmate population. Arnone, 59, who was originally appointed Aug. 1, 2010 following the retirement of then-Commissioner Theresa Lantz of Manchester, […]