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State income tax revenues surged upward again Tuesday, but this time it was the middle class — not the wealthy — behind most of the gains. A new report from fiscal analysts projects overall revenues this fiscal year will surpass budgeted expectations by $464 million — an improvement of $204 million from a rosy revised […]
WASHINGTON – Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham is investigating a former top FBI lawyer and possibly others in connection with media leaks from the agency's initial probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion by then-candidate Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Durham's role in heading the leak investigation was revealed Tuesday, with the release of a letter to him from House Republicans seeking more information on his findings.
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday pressed William Barr, President Donald Trump’s choice to head the Justice Department, on whether he would make all of special counsel Robert Mueller's final report public. As he had when asked similar questions by other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing for Attorney General, Barr deflected the question during a tense exchange.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill opened a campaign Tuesday for Connecticut join the vast majority of U.S. states allowing early voting, an idea that requires a state constitutional amendment to implement.
WASHINGTON – Rep. Jahana Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, has been given the job in Congress that she really wanted, a seat on the House Education and Labor Committee.
Everyone lives in a house, apartment or some form of physical dwelling which has locks on all exterior doors and all the windows. Why is that necessary? Are the locks to prevent unwanted entry? Yes! Are the locks to prevent theft of one's possessions? Yes! Are the locks to prevent squatters from occupying the structure? Yes! Are the locks to create a sense of security and safety for the legal occupants? Yes! Do politicians have home security cameras and alarms in their homes in addition to window and door locks? I'd bet that the answer is YES.
Any mechanic will tell you, don’t put gas in the engine until the engine is fixed. Connecticut’s economic engine is still broken, so why the rush to put “gas” in it, in the form of a $15 minimum wage, when it still needs fixing? I am all for a proper minimum wage that should be a peg of a local minimum to approximately 50 percent of the local median wage. That is where other advanced comparable OECD nations are currently. But jumping to $15 per hour would constrict economic growth.
In my life, our state has never been so well positioned to do great things, but our civic discourse is so muddied, few see it. Gov. Ned Lamont must help us see the opportunity. It derives of many factors, not all of them obvious, and Lamont may be the ideal leader to lift us out of our funk. His core strengths include an innate optimism well suited to the task. If not tricked by our fiscal crisis into thinking small, he can do great things. We’re one of just 14 states with a Democratic governor, senate and house, so partisan gridlock is impossible. A wave of new legislators brings an energy and idealism the capitol hasn’t seen in ages. Even our sour public mood may work to our advantage as change-hungry voters stand ready to punish resisters of reform. Here are four things Lamont can do:
