Lawmakers and representatives of education groups moved closer Thursday to crafting a bill designed to shake up Connecticut’s public schools and help the state qualify for millions of dollars in federal school reform funds. Among other things, the bill would require more rigorous evaluations of teachers, a fast-track training program for principals and tougher graduation […]

Towns may be able to reduce the number of polling places they open for the August party primary elections under a bill being considered by the General Assembly aimed at saving municipalities money. “It’s extremely expensive to have this many polling places open,” said Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. The bill also is supported […]

A key piece of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s plan to close the deficit in next year’s budget hinges on a legal question with a murky answer: Can the state offer its employees retirement incentives without their unions’ approval? Rell’s budget office says yes. The unions say no, and add that they have “deep concerns” about […]

Nine judicial nominations threatened by a court funding fight will go forward as a result of an agreement reached by Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration and the judicial branch. The administration has agreed to forgo $7.8 million in cuts that were anticipated by the end of the fiscal year and to pledge a more collaborative […]

The Senate approved a bill that would extend the current ban on smoking in the workplace to small businesses that are now exempt. The state passed landmark legislation in 2003 banning smoking in restaurants, bars and businesses, except in a designated ventilated smoking room, but exempted businesses with five or fewer employees. Sen. Jonathan A. […]

“All deliberate speed.” That was the promise Superior Court Judge Michael R. Sheldon made this afternoon about how quickly he will resolve a question over Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz’s qualifications to run for attorney general. Sheldon is aware that delegates to the Democratic nominating convention will endorse a candidate for attorney general on […]

The Connecticut Republican Party has reversed course and decided to accept Superior Court Michael R. Sheldon’s invitation to argue that the court has no jurisdiction to rule on Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz’s qualifications to run for attorney general. “After a trial on the merits, it is clear that plaintfiff [Bysiewicz] failed to demonstrate […]

Damir Islam has applied to over 400 entry-level jobs over the last 6 months, and is still jobless. Islam blames his bad luck on his drug conviction and the dreaded, “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” question that has appeared on every application – not on the state’s 9.2 percent unemployment rate. “I […]

After months on the campaign trail,the Democrats and Republicans hoping to be the next governor already have worked out their answers to toughest questions, particularly those about state government’s fiscal woes. But with the nominating conventions just four weeks away, the 11 candidates who attended Tuesday’s forums at the University of Connecticut Law School in Hartford […]

The Connecticut General Assembly’s annual battle over health-care mandates resumed Wednesday with a debate over prescription eye drops for children. On a 23-12 party-line vote, the Senate approved legislation requiring health insurers to cover the cost of an extra bottle of prescription eye drops for children, so they can keep one at school. Every Democrat […]

Capital Community College in Hartford has turned to one of its sister colleges to find its new president. Wilfredo Nieves, president of Middlesex Community College in Middletown, will become Capital’s new president at the end of the school year, the Connecticut Community Colleges system announced Wednesday. Nieves, 61, will replace Calvin Woodland, who is retiring after […]

A Hartford Superior Court judge cast doubt Tuesday on many, but not all, of Susan Bysiewicz’s claims that her duties as secretary of the state constituted the “active practice” of law. Judge Michael R. Sheldon heard final arguments in a case that Bysiewicz brought against her own office to resolve doubts about her eligibility to […]

To the alarm of environmentalists and applause of industry, a legislative committee Tuesday approved a bill aimed at speeding up the application and review process by the state Department of Environmental Protection. “We need to make the process more business friendly. And that’s not a bad thing, especially in this recession,” said Rep. Richard F. […]

If there’s a silver lining to the difficult task of closing the $726 million shortfall built into the next state budget, it’s that the job also could reduce a deficit five times its size looming less than 15 months down the road. But nearly three-quarters of the plan Gov. M. Jodi Rell offered Monday to […]