The House of Representatives voted 144 to 1 Wednesday for final passage of legislation banning electric retailers from offering variable-rate contracts to residential customers. The governor intends to sign the bill.
AARP
Posted inEvents
CT Mirror/AARP Google Hangout: Fixed-rate cap on electric rates
Along with sponsor AARP, The Connecticut Mirror hosted its fourth Google Hangout of the 2015 Connecticut Legislative session to discuss variable rates and the fixed-rate cap with third-party electric retailers.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Senate votes to ban variable electric-rate contracts
The state Senate passed bipartisan legislation Wednesday night that a sponsor says could make Connecticut the first state to ban variable electric- rate contracts that consumer advocates say are routinely used to exploit residential customers.
Posted inHealth
VIDEO: The public and personal sides of at-home caregiving
Along with sponsor AARP, The Connecticut Mirror hosts its third Google Hangout of the 2015 Connecticut legislative session to discuss caregiving. Joining host and Mirror Health Care Reporter Arielle Levin Becker are Rep. Catherine Abercrombie (D), Rep. Mitch Bolinsky (R), and Claudio W. Gualtieri, associate state director, advocacy, AARP Connecticut.
Posted inNews
Google Hangout: Exploring the Family Medical and Leave Act
Along with sponsor AARP, The Connecticut Mirror hosts its second Google Hangout of the 2015 Connecticut legislative session to discuss the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Joining host and Mirror Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Pazniokas is Catherine Bailey, the legal and public policy director of the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund, and Enzo Pastore, national policy expert, AARP, from Washington, D.C.
Posted inPolitics
CT Mirror/AARP Google Hangout: Banning variable electric rates
Connecticut’s consumer counsel, the Senate co-chairman of the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee, and the AARP’s director of advocacy explained their proposed ban on variable electric rates for residential customers in The Connecticut Mirror’s first Google Hangout of the 2015 session.
Posted inHealth
Congress ‘doc fix’ would halt big drop in Medicare fees
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives hopes to unveil a proposal this week that would end years of tension and bickering between Congress and the nation’s doctors. A 21 percent cut to fees paid to doctors by Medicare is hanging in the balance.
Posted inEvents
Video: Workplace Retirement: Mirror/AARP Google Hangout
Along with sponsor AARP, The Connecticut Mirror will host its third Google Hangout on Thursday morning with Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo to discuss workplace retirement and savings options. Joining host and Mirror Budget Reporter Keith Phaneuf will be Lembo and AARP National Senior Legislative Representative Sarah Mysiewicz Gill from Washington D.C. Topics covered will include private workplace retirement options available to employees, payroll deduction savings plan and unfunded liabilities.
Posted inEvents
Video: A CT Mirror/AARP conversation on caring for a rapidly aging state
Connecticut is old and getting older. One in seven residents is 75 or older, and the 65-plus population is projected to grow by 64 percent by 2030. Caring for an aging population was the topic Thursday of a Google Hangout, a conversation with Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, Sen. Joe Markley and Elaine Ryan of AARP.
Posted inNews
VIDEO REPLAY: Mirror/AARP Google Hangout with House leaders
The Connecticut Mirror hosted a special Google Hangout with House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, and House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, in advance of the 2015 legislative session. See a replay of the video.
Posted inPolitics
Higher electric rates could jolt General Assembly
Stunning jumps in monthly electric rates as the Connecticut General Assembly convenes its 2015 session next month create a market opportunity for electric retailers and a political opportunity for those who would regulate them.
Posted inPolitics
Greenberg, Esty make pitch for senior votes at AARP forum
Washington – Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, and her Republican rival Mark Greenberg, addressed issues important to aging Americans Wednesday, agreeing that Social Security needs to be strengthened but clashing over the Affordable Care Act.
Posted inHealth
Digital town hall: Caregiving and aging in Connecticut
Connecticut officials describe it as the “silver tsunami:” The state’s population of seniors is forecast to rise dramatically in the next decade, while the working-age population declines. That’s expected to bring a growth in the need for caregivers — both people who take care of others professionally and those who do it free, out of love or obligation, for friends or family members.
Posted inNews
Digital Town Hall: Caregiving and Aging in Connecticut on Monday
Join The Connecticut Mirror on Monday, June 16, for its third Digital Town Hall event on ctmirror.org. The event, “Caregiving and Aging in Connecticut,” will be be moderated by Mirror health care reporter Arielle Levin Becker.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money, Politics
House approves consumer protections for electric customers
The House unanimously gave final passage Monday to consumer protections for electric customers, keeping intact a Senate bill praised by legislators as a breakthrough, while advocacy groups complained it did not go far enough to protect consumers from predatory marketing.
