Anthony Tarantino came to the state Capitol Wednesday with a message for state lawmakers: Leave his vocational-technical school alone. “Why would you change something if it’s not broken? If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” the senior, who is studying carpentry at Wilcox Technical High School in Meriden, told members of the Education Committee. Tarantino […]

A lawsuit filed in Connecticut is central to the Obama administration’s surprise decision Wednesday to end its defense of a federal law that denies a range of benefits to same-sex couples by defining marriage as being between a man and woman. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice will not defend against […]

Some 300 union members gathered Wednesday outside the Capitol to show solidarity for Wisconsin’s embattled public-sector workers–but relatively few Connecticut state employees turned out. And while the crowd, composed largely of private-sector labor and unionized school teachers and other municipal employees, roared its approval for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, state union leaders said that was […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named Appellate Judge Lubbie Harper Jr. to the Connecticut Supreme Court on Wednesday, choosing a judge who was sitting temporarily on the high court when it legalized gay marriage in Connecticut, a ruling the governor praised. He will succeed Joette Katz, who resigned to become the commissioner of children and families. […]

Connecticut wrongly denies food stamps to eligible residents at a higher rate than any other state. It ranks among the worst in the nation in processing food stamp applications on time and paying out accurate levels of benefits. And federal officials warn that without a “tremendous turnaround,” the state could face significant financial sanctions. Starkowski: […]

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have no clear favorite for the party’s 2012 presidential nomination, Gallup says, with Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin in a statistical tie for the lead. The most recent survey shows Huckabee’s support increasing from 12 percent in September to 18 percent this month, Romney’s declining from 19 percent to […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the search has been narrowed down to “a couple of prospects” to replace Department of Social Services Commissioner Michael Starkowski, one of three department heads reappointed on an interim basis in December. During a press conference to announce his appointment of Judge Lubbie Harper Jr. to the state Supreme Court, […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy mixed it up with Joe Scarborough a bit today on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” accusing the show of demonizing unions and letting off governors and legislatures who let their states’ finances deteriorate. “We weren’t demonizing unions here,” Scarborough said, getting prickly as he recounted criticizing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for continuing to […]

A small, almost unnoticeable, cut in the state budget could have a devastating impact on the thousands of Connecticut residents who use public libraries. Since 1976, the state’s libraries have implemented one of the most cost-effective methods imaginable of resource sharing in a state that has turned away from formal regionalism and has 169 separate […]

Democrats held on to seven of nine legislative seats in special elections Tuesday, losing a Senate race in Meriden and a House contest in Madison, but otherwise thwarting efforts by Republicans who painted the election as a referendum on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposal to raise taxes by $1.5 billion. Republican Noreen S. Kokoruda of […]

Days after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he wants to provide school districts with the opportunity to retain new and talented teachers over more senior staff, an arbitration panel rejected Hartford Public School officials request to do just that. Hartford Public Schools, like many districts across the state, is facing potential layoffs under a deepening […]

Though there’s arguably no good time to increase taxes, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would have been hard pressed to find a worse time for the gasoline tax hike he presented to lawmakers last week. The governor’s proposal, which would add 3 cents to the retail gasoline tax and 2 cents to the diesel fuel tax, […]