The nearly decade-long struggle to replace the crumbling Stamford railroad station parking garage has taken another bizarre turn: the Connecticut Department of Transportation now wants to spend $1.5 million and take six months to repair the garage before they tear it down.
Dannel P. Malloy
Posted inMoney, Politics
Treasurer raises more concerns about Malloy’s plan for pensions
While Gov. Dannel P. Malloy intensified his pitch Tuesday to restructure Connecticut’s troubled pension funds, state Treasurer Denise L. Nappier repeated earlier fiscal concerns — and raised new legal questions. The treasurer also said she would offer a “less radical” alternative next month to the governor’s plans for pensions involving state employees and public school teachers.
Posted inPolitics
With eye on ’16, GOP hits Malloy in municipal races
In mailings coordinated by the state Republican Party and in campaign materials independently crafted by GOP candidates, voters are being urged to express their disapproval at the polls next week of an unpopular Democrat not on any ballot, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Call it the soft opening of the 2016 campaign.
Posted inMoney
Malloy calls for big change in pension financing, modest business tax cuts
EAST HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy outlined Wednesday a sweeping plan to overhaul state government’s pension system, pushing some costs off for a decade and a half to control spiking costs that he argued could drive up taxes and drain vital programs. He also proposed modest cuts in business taxes and a cut of 500 state workers.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy helps advocates craft message on gun control
WASHINGTON — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy received a standing ovation from gun safety advocates Tuesday for an impassioned speech on the need for a new push to curb gun violence.
Posted inPolitics
Democrats challenge commission’s authority to investigate Malloy in campaign case
A Superior Court judge will conduct an evidentiary hearing this week that could determine if the State Elections Enforcement Commission can investigate whether the Connecticut Democratic Party illegally supported Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s re-election with contributions from state contractors.
Posted inMoney
Malloy postpones raises for 1,600 state agency managers
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy postponed raises Thursday for about 1,600 non-union managers, saving more than $5 million this year — an opening, cost-cutting salvo on the eve of bipartisan negotiations to stabilize state finances.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy seeks new storyline with budget gambit
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s challenge to legislative leaders to participate in bipartisan budget talks is less a cry for fiscal help than an effort to alter a political narrative that’s failed him in recent months, driving his approval rating to a new low.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
State budget cuts threaten the mentally ill and addicted
I am opposed to the recent ill-advised budget cuts made in the areas of health care, social services and education, and I am engaged in a touch advocacy effort to see these cuts rescinded. Our most disadvantaged residents will be disproportionately affected by these draconian cuts. I urge you to advance the concerns of those we care about most.
Posted inJustice
A bittersweet day for Second Chances in New Haven
NEW HAVEN – Waiting for the governor to arrive for the press conference about criminal justice reform, Police Chief Dean Esserman talked shop with Michael P. Lawlor, the governor’s criminal justice adviser. There had been a homicide the previous night, a young man shot on the street.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy’s approval rating plummets to all-time low
The approval rating of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat in the midst of defending unpopular mid-year budget cuts in the first year of his second term, hit an all-time low of 32 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
Posted inPolitics
CT ethics office still in ‘conversation’ with Wade about recusal
While Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade, a former Cigna in-house lobbyist, said she won’t recuse herself from involvement in the $54-billion merger between Cigna and Anthem, the issue has not been settled by the Connecticut Office of State Ethics, which is still in discussions with her about the situation.
Posted inEducation, Money
Defining education — Does it include preschool?
An empty preschool classroom in Bridgeport There’s agreement that too few children in Connecticut have access to quality preschool programs, but top state officials are butting heads with a coalition of parents and educators on how to put a near-universal system in place. Attorney General George Jepsen argues that whether the state pays for universal preschool is an issue that should remain […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Small victories for liberals in trade pact they hate
WASHINGTON – News that the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations had finally reached agreement on a new trade deal was not good for opponents of the pact like Rep. Rosa DeLauro, yet liberals have won a few small victories in the deal.
Posted inHealth
Hospitals could face larger cut
The governor cut $192 million in Medicaid funding for hospitals last month, but the actual hit to hospitals could end up being 25 percent higher. The state is holding back additional payments that weren’t part of the cost-saving measure, and the governor’s budget office said decisions about whether to pay them will be “based on whether we have enough money to keep the budget in balance.”
