You may have heard or read about post-election recounts after the recent primary. The reports were incorrect. There were no recounts. Connecticut law calls for something else, a recanvass. The current recanvass law and procedures are inadequate to assure that the every vote is counted accurately and the correct winner certified. Experience shows that the […]

Despite losing a portion of their recent pay raise, the presidents at Connecticut State University’s four campuses still earn salaries that compare favorably with those of chief executives at many similar institutions. Some university trustees had expressed concern that CSU could lose its competitive edge for attracting top administrators after complying with Gov. M. Jodi […]

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Dodd says he still doesn’t know what he’ll do come January 2011, when, for the first time in 36 years, he will no longer be a member of Congress. But he has ruled out one option. “No lobbying, no lobbying,” Dodd said in a recent interview. That Dodd would forgo a […]

The muted reaction to a former Republican national chairman coming out of the closet is a reminder that the culture wars can’t compete with a stagnant economy. “At this point in the election cycle, people have a lot more important things to worry about than Ken Mehlman’s sexual orientation,” said Chris Healy, the Connecticut Republican […]

WASHINGTON — The polls are grim, the economic news is bad, and voters are irked. But U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, is casting himself as a traveling pep squad, a counter to the “bed-wetters who are wringing their hands and saying all is lost” for Democrats this November. As the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House, Larson […]

GROTON — The Pentagon has yet to begin another review of potential base closures, but politicians already are making an election-year rush to defend the Groton sub base from even the first hints of a threat. Five years after the sub base was saved after an initial closure recommendation, politicians in both parties are acknowledging […]

The weakness of a plan to link teacher evaluations to student performance was a key factor in Connecticut’s failure to qualify for millions of dollars in federal school aid, according to a government report released Wednesday. The proposed evaluation system lacks detail, won’t be ready for years, and fails to include adequate provisions for rewarding […]

WASHINGTON — Chris Shays is not on the ballot in Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District this year, but one of the candidates in the race is channeling the former Republican congressman’s persona. It’s the Democrat who ousted Shays two years ago, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes. He is adopting his vanquished predecessor’s sales pitch, proclaiming himself as […]

An unlikely coalition of Independent, Green and Republican party candidates are trying to revive a proposal rejected by voters two years ago: allow ballot initiatives. In a press conference Wednesday, they presented a survey conducted by Pulse Opinion Research that found 65 percent of the 500 state voters surveyed favor allowing ballot initiatives, with 14 […]

Democrat Dan Malloy had the biggest fundraising day in Connecticut history Tuesday as he collected $6 million in public financing for his campaign for governor. But it is Republican Tom Foley who is poised to ramp up spending with a resumption of television advertising this week, an effort to close Malloy’s double-digit lead in the […]

WASHINGTON — Republican Linda McMahon’s campaign spent nearly $2.5 million in the first 21 days of July, a daily average of $117,619. And in the weeks before gliding to a primary win on Aug. 10, McMahon pumped another $5 million of her own money into the Senate campaign. McMahon’s most recent campaign finance reports offer a […]

Connecticut stem cell researchers waited for answers and contemplated potential damage to their field Tuesday, a day after a federal court ruling that could limit funding for embryonic stem cell research. “I don’t think anybody completely understands what it’s going to mean,” said Laura Grabel, a Wesleyan University professor whose research involves embryonic stem cells. […]

Rep. Kenneth P. Green, D-Hartford, filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging his two-vote, recount loss in the Democratic primary to Matt Ritter. Under the law, the case will go to trial within days. Hartford Superior Court Judge Susan Peck scheduled a status conference for Wednesday afternoon, with testimony to begin as early as Friday. Green alleged […]