Judges promises ‘deliberate speed’ in Bysiewicz case

“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 […]

A budget fight with constitutional overtones escalated Tuesday as legislators pressured Gov. M. Jodi Rell to withdraw nine judicial nominations until the courts get increased funding. A majority of House members signed a letter opposing confirming any new judges, effectively holding the nominations hostage until Rell relents on budget cutbacks. The letter was circulated by […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell Monday signed on to an idea proposed by legislative Republicans last week to offer another round of retirement incentives to state employees. The Republican governor confirmed late Monday that an early retirement incentive program–the second in two years– was among a package of budget-cutting options she outlined in closed-door talks earlier […]

The state legislature’s Appropriations Committee killed a bill Monday that would have allowed residents to register and cast ballots on the same day during the 2011 municipal primaries. The pilot program, which was rejected 39-11 with bipartisan opposition, also had been opposed by municipal registrars of voters, who saw it as the first step toward […]

Connecticut is missing out on millions of dollars in federal subsidies because too many of the state’s poorest children do not eat breakfast in school, state officials and anti-hunger advocates said Monday. Among low-income children in the federal school lunch program, only 39 percent receive federally subsidized school breakfasts – one of the lowest figures […]

Assistant State’s Attorney Brian J. Leslie dropped his bid Monday to become a Superior Court judge, one day after a newspaper columnist detailed a $725,000 payment that the state made to settle a wrongful prosecution complaint against Leslie. Leslie, one of 10 lawyers recently nominated by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to serve on the Superior Court, […]