Charter schools: a debate over integration and education

At Jumoke Academy, a nearly all-black charter school in one of Hartford’s poorest neighborhoods, Monique Griffin, the mother of four students, scoffs at the idea the school would be considered a failure. “Jumoke has been great,” says Griffin, citing its family-like atmosphere, after-school programs and encouraging academic record. Nevertheless, a controversial new report takes direct […]

Following Connecticut’s dismal record in getting money for transportation projects from stimulus grants, the U.S. Transportation Secretary announced the state will receive help in submitting future grant applications to assure the state is competitive. “My department will meet with each and every Connecticut applicant to ensure that they are fully prepared to compete later this […]

Cities and towns clamored Tuesday for state road maintenance grants they’ve been awaiting since July, warning that projects could be deferred or canceled unless the $30 million Town Aid Road program is launched before the spring construction season begins in a few weeks The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the New Haven-based lobbying arm for the […]

A Superior Court judge has rejected a claim that the state failed to meet its quotas under a school desegregation court order in the long-running Sheff vs. O’Neill case. Plaintiffs argued that the state fell short of its goals to enroll sufficient numbers of Hartford schoolchildren in racially integrated schools, but Hartford Superior Court Judge […]

The signs were intriguing. He dropped hints. He showed up for the opening day of the General Assembly. He put a deposit on a condo in Bridgeport. But Chris Shays said today today he is not running for governor. Shays, the Republican congressman who moved to Maryland after losing his 4th District seat in 2008, […]

To understand the political challenges involved in trying to save the Citizens’ Election Program, imagine the state’s embattled system of publicly financing campaigns as a house on fire. Gov. M. Jodi Rell is desperately trying to dial 911. The Senate’s Democratic majority isn’t sure the fire is that bad. And some leading Republicans hope it […]

Following controversy over a large rate increase sought by a health insurer last summer, a group of state officials is pushing for a new law requiring greater scrutiny of such changes–with opposition from both the industry and the commissioner in charge of regulating it. The bill before the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee would […]

There’s a $515 million hole in this year’s budget, and four months left in which to fill it. The question now percolating around the Capitol is, will Gov. M. Jodi Rell try to raid next year’s budget to plug the gap? It’s not a new idea: Since Rell and the legislature’s Democratic majority deadlocked on […]

In the University of Connecticut student newspaper last week, columnist Jason Ortiz struck an increasingly familiar note of skepticism about higher education as he decried the growing burden of tuition hikes. UConn should not “balance bloated budgets on the backs of working young people . . . ,” Ortiz wrote as university trustees were about […]

With the economy down, business interests have decided that the political environment is ripe for restricting the regulatory reach of the Department of Environmental Protection. “There is a sense this is a time, an opportunity to reset the ground rules,” said Eric J. Brown, who lobbies on environmental issues for the Connecticut Business and Industry […]

At $5.65 an hour plus tips, the restaurant job Klajd Kovaci works nights and weekends doesn’t do much to ease the pain of the $530 tuition and fee increase the University of Connecticut approved Thursday. “When I’m looking at paying $5,000 each semester . . . and hearing that it’s only going to go up […]

They are a hardy bunch, these political explorers. Dan Malloy has been out there the longest, opening an exploratory campaign for governor on Feb. 3, 2009.  After 54 weeks crisscrossing the state, is he really uncertain about his plans? If you ask, he might give a knowing smile, but he is legally obligated to say […]

Along with concerns about technology, traffic jams, enforcement and lost federal grants, a new question is popping up in the debate over whether to restore tolls to Connecticut’s highways. Gubernatorial candidates, legislators and transportation advocates point to a series of controversial fuel tax hikes ordered five years ago, and the hundreds of millions of dollars […]

Can a coalition of bikers, Chris Dodd haters, gun owners, Ron Paul lovers, tax protesters, Libertarians and a preacher or two find happiness under the umbrella of constitutional fundamentalism? Connecticut is about to find out. Elements of the Tea Party, the ultimate outsiders group, are moving toward the mainstream, trying to channel an edgy energy […]

University of Connecticut undergraduates will face a 5.4 percent increase in tuition and fees next fall, university trustees decided Thursday after hearing a mixed message from students and faculty. The $530 increase, which brings total tuition and fees to $10,416, is slightly less than the 5.8 percent hike UConn officials had proposed a week ago. […]