State’s Congressional delegation weathers the recession

The sour economy has not hit the investment portfolios of Connecticut’s members of Congress too hard. Sure, a few lawmakers, including Sen. Joe Lieberman, have seen a small dip in their investments. And some, such as 5th District Rep. Chris Murphy, didn’t have that much to begin with. But federal financial disclosure forms released yesterday […]

When Connecticut officials debate taxes, particularly the income tax, the arguments inevitably lead to comparisons with border states. Anticipating a watershed debate in the 2011 legislative session as Connecticut confronts a mammoth, $3.4 billion budget deficit, legislators and gubernatorial candidates have stressed the importance of matching the neighbors. In other words, if taxes have to go up, make […]

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont borrowed from an energy bill vetoed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to lay out a broad approach Wednesday to lowering energy costs and creating jobs. On a walkway overseeing the Connecticut Science Center in downtown Hartford, Lamont said he would install solar panels on state offices and consider windmills in […]

Is it possible to close the achievement gap without an assessment of the impact of institutional racism and structural inequities on education policy and practice? Clearly money and legislative action – whether federal, as in No Child Left Behind, or state, as in the settlement action due to Sheff v. O’Neill – alone or together […]

DANBURY – Standing outside an unemployment office Tuesday, Dan Malloy and his running mate, Nancy Wyman, released a 12-point plan for economic development, calling job creation their highest priority. “I consider the job of governor and economic development to be one in the same,” said Malloy, the endorsed Democratic candidate for governor. Today his Democratic […]

In recent years, commuters crossing the Quinnipiac River on I-95 in New Haven have had more to distract them than veering out of exit-only lanes, avoiding potholes and dodging swarms of fellow drivers. Cranes and work crews visible from the infamous “Q Bridge” are evidence of a massive, $2.2 billion project to replace the old […]

Public broadcasting offers donors a tote bag. Give Michael C. Fedele’s campaign for governor “a one-time contribution of $25, $50 or $100,” and he promises a tax freeze. A no-tax pledge emailed to potential donors over the weekend is Fedele’s latest pitch for the contributions he badly needs to qualify for public financing of at […]

Connecticut State University System Chancellor David G. Carter, under fire for his handling of the dismissal of a campus president, won a split vote of confidence Monday from the system’s Board of Trustees. The CSU board voted 11-1 in favor of the vote of confidence, with two other members abstaining and another simply voting “present.” […]

Donna Seresin was driving in circles every day. Her job at the Department of Environmental Protection required that she travel each day from her home in New Haven to clock in at her office in Hartford — about a 45-minute commute. She would spend a few minutes at the office, then get back in her […]

A federal judge has rejected the Connecticut nursing home industry’s request for an injunction that would have shielded it from further budget cuts next year as state government grapples with a budget deficit of historic proportions. U.S. District Court Judge Peter C. Dorsey also dismissed one of the two arguments raised by the Connecticut Association […]

The comprehensive jobs bill, signed into law by Governor M. Jodi Rell on May 12, is by far the most aggressive effort Connecticut lawmakers have made to jumpstart Connecticut’s entrepreneurial economy since the recession began in 2008. Not only does the bill provide $5 million in pre-seed capital for those developing new concepts, it also […]

Tom Foley insists he can eliminate what effectively amounts to the largest state budget deficit in Connecticut history without raising taxes. To get there, he concedes, will require breaking some new political ground, a polite way of describing what others would call long-shots: repealing binding arbitration; getting employee unions to accept concessions for both current […]