It’s an unexpected conclusion to what had been expected to be a showdown: Environmentalists and the business community both are endorsing a bill intended to streamline issuance of state permits and licenses. When the legislative session began just three months ago, such a resolution seemed unlikely. Business lobbyists were demanding an end to lengthy delays […]

When a professional football team punts, they run downfield to get ready for the next play. The governor and the General Assembly punted with this year’s budget but then inexplicably headed to the locker room. Through a combination of gimmicks and wishful thinking, lawmakers technically eliminated the budget deficit for fiscal year 2011. But the […]

Democratic State Rep. Tom Reynolds of Ledyard announced late today that he would seek his party’s nomination for state comptroller if incumbent Nancy Wyman opts to become the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial contender Dan Malloy. Reynolds, 43, said he would confirm his plans after Malloy’s 11 a.m. press conference Tuesday at the Capitol, at […]

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy is expected to name Comptroller Nancy S. Wyman as his choice for lieutenant governor Tuesday in Hartford, giving him a running mate popular with Democratic activists and knowledgeable on state fiscal issues. She acknowledged to The Mirror having talked to Malloy last week about joining his ticket, but she said Friday, […]

Brenda Sisco, the commissioner of administrative services, was named today to succeed Robert L. Genuario as secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. Genuario left the state’s budget office today to begin his orientation as a new judge of the Superior Court. Martin Anderson, the deputy commissioner of administrative services, will succeed Sisco at […]

For 23 years, Eva Villanova has lived the idyllic country life. She raised a family and made a name for herself as an artist. Her home on leafy Flagg Hill Road in the northwest Connecticut town of Colebrook was a perfect place to turn ordinary clumps of clay into extraordinary works of art-or so Villanova […]

By limiting teacher seniority rights in Hartford, state education officials could bolster Connecticut’s chances of winning millions of dollars in federal school reform funds, according to Hartford’s superintendent of schools. Steven J. Adamowski makes that argument in his latest effort to persuade the State Board of Education and Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan to issue an […]

The state legislature balanced the next budget before it adjourned, but some major proposals to build new fiscal safeguards into the appropriations processed died when the session ended last week. Lawmakers declined to act on proposals to increase by 50 percent the maximum budget reserve – commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund –  that […]

Among the bills passed by the General Assembly and sent to Gov. M. Jodi Rell: Expediting State Permits A bill passed by both the House and Senate establishes a procedure for expediting issuance of state permits for projects that create jobs or provide other economic benefits. If signed into law, the bill would require creation […]

In the current discussion on bullying and its tragic consequences, the strategic role that school nurses can play is overlooked. Research has shown that students who are bullied are likely to present to the school nurse with multiple health symptoms–difficulty sleeping, wetting, headaches, stomach aches, nervousness, and depression to name a few. In a 28-country […]

Last week’s five-way race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination race is down to three with Friday’s withdrawal of Juan Figueroa. Figueroa, who was trying to become the first Latino to hold statewide office in Connecticut, said he could not raise the money to compete with businessman Ned Lamont or Dan Malloy, the former Stamford mayor […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed the state’s $19.01 billion budget Friday that avoids official tax hikes but does place a new surcharge on consumer’s electric bills. The budget — passed Wednesday in the Senate 19-16 and the House 93-57 — also borrows nearly $1 billion, raids $100 million from the state workers’ pension fund and […]

The Rasmussen poll has the main two Democratic gubernatorial contenders, Ned Lamont and Dan Malloy, leading in matchups with Republicans Tom Foley and Michael C. Fedele. Lamont is ahead of Foley, 42 percent to 35 percent, and Fedele, 48 percent to 28 percent. Malloy is ahead of Foley, 38 percent to 35 percent, and Fedele, […]

After declining to address the closing session of the General Assembly the previous night, Gov. M. Jodi Rell put a positive spin Thursday on what she and the Democratic legislature accomplished in 2010. Rell praised the passage of a $19.01 billion budget unanimously opposed by fellow Republicans and described a bipartisan, $362 million plan to remake […]

The top Democrats in the General Assembly are the-glass-is-half-full kind of guys, at least when it comes to fiscal matters. Sure there’s a deficit looming 14 months down the road, they said, but by working in harmony with Gov. M. Jodi Rell, they closed budget deficits for this fiscal year and next. What’s one more? […]