WASHINGTON-Connecticut’s Insurance Department was portrayed as something of a toothless tiger in a recent report that said regulators approved nearly every premium increase sought by health insurers in recent years. State Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan vigorously defended his agency’s work, but he’s also hoping the new federal health care reform bill will enhance his power […]

WASHINGTON-When Anthem Blue Cross tried to raise health insurance premiums in California by 39 percent this year, the move became a rallying point for proponents of health care reform legislation, and the landmark bill won final passage soon after. So what will the health care reform bill actually do about double-digit premium hikes? The answer […]

As promised, Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed state lawmakers’ effort to double to $6 million the general-election grants for gubernatorial candidates participating in the state’s public financing program. In her veto message released this afternoon, she said she was “disappointed” that the legislature is attempting to increase spending in tough fiscal times. “What is the legislature […]

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman confirmed this afternoon that Connecticut appeared to close the last fiscal year $393.3 million in the black. That forecast, up $150 million from projections issued last month, should enable state officials to reduce planned borrowing to support the current budget. Wyman, who reported the surplus in her latest monthly projection, will […]

Go to Philly.com, and you might find Dan Malloy. Search on Yahoo! for Richard Blumenthal, and Ned Lamont’s name appears. This is the biggest year yet for political Internet ad buys, in Connecticut and nationally, and that means there are few places on the Internet where the politicians aren’t. Lamont and Malloy’s ads are typical […]

On her television ads, Linda McMahon is cast as the colorful political outsider, whose supporters giddily ask, “Think she can shake things up in Washington? Oh, yeah!” But the reality of her U.S. Senate campaign has been one of tight discipline and message control, crafted to give no offense as McMahon offers safe promises of […]

WASHINGTON–Rep. Jim Himes eagerly touts his voting score, as tallied by the Washington Post website, as evidence of the independent streak he’s showing in Washington. “Your research will indicate that I have the most independent voting record, not just in Connecticut but in New England,” Himes said in a recent interview. And indeed, while the […]

Rep. Jim Himes, the 4th District freshman Democrat, says he’s found a little extra fat in the federal agriculture budget, about $470 million that Congress could trim to demonstrate fiscal austerity. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District and chair of the powerful spending panel that divvies up agriculture funds, is less than enthusiastic about this latest […]

This past Tuesday we learned that Connecticut was once again shut out of the federal Race to the Top competition. While this news was disappointing, it was not wholly surprising – we were starting from way behind, and as much progress as Connecticut made with its reform legislation this year, we already knew that a […]

State lawmakers defied a veto threat by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and voted Friday to double to $6 million the general-election grant for gubernatorial candidates participating in the state’s public financing program. The bill passed the Senate and House with fewer votes than would be needed to override a veto, but there were enough absences […]

The Senate voted tonight in special session to double to $6 million the general-election grant for gubernatorial candidates participating in the state’s public financing program. The bill passed 23-12, one vote shy of a veto-proof majority. Sen. Joan Hartley, D-Waterbury, was absent for the vote. Gov. M. Jodi Rell has promised to veto any proposal […]

GLASTONBURY–Rob Simmons Friday launched the second and last television ad of his recently revived campaign for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination, a 30-second spot extolling public service and including an implicit jab at his principal opponent, Linda McMahon. Simmons had stopped campaigning and dismissed his staff in May after losing the Republican endorsement to McMahon. […]

The Democratic race for comptroller continued along its rocky path Friday, with Waterbury Mayor Mike Jarjura on the receiving end of three hits. First, a YouTube video surfaced of the Democrat speaking at a Tea Party rally. “We needed a spark, and you’re the spark that is going to be the change. So don’t give […]

Connecticut State University officials reduced raises for more than 60 high-ranking managers Friday in response to criticism from Gov. M. Jodi Rell but took no action on Rell’s request to rescind raises for two campus presidents. The managers, including officials at CSU’s four campuses and at system headquarters in Hartford, had been given pay increases […]