While plenty of smaller projects are still underway, the grand opening of the University of Connecticut’s new Hartford branch campus means for the first time in more than a decade there is a lull in major redevelopment downtown.
Dannel P. Malloy
Posted inMoney
With municipal aid on chopping block, a cordial chat
Evidently resigned to a shrinking pool of state aid, leaders of two municipal associations pressed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Friday about granting Connecticut’s cities and town flexibility in dealing with public employees to achieve off-setting efficiencies, long a politically fraught topic at the State Capitol.
Posted inMoney
Despite unsolved deficit, CT must observe sales tax holiday
Connecticut remains without a budget six weeks into the new fiscal year, but by law officials must still move forward with the state’s 17th-annual sales tax holiday later this month. The Department of Revenue Services estimates the state will miss out on about $4.1 million in revenue.
Posted inJustice
CT civil rights panel seeks greater protections on solitary confinement
WASHINGTON — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a bill last month that reforms the practice of placing prisoners in solitary confinement, but the new law doesn’t go far enough for a state civil rights panel that says minority inmates are confined disproportionally.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy hails EPA decision to tighten restrictions on smog
WASHINGTON – Gov. Dannel Malloy on Friday lauded the U.S. Environmental Agency’s reversal of its decision to delay a new rule that would lower the level of ozone emissions permitted from fossil-fuel burning, such as the exhaust from auto tailpipes and power plant smokestacks. Malloy had argued a stricter ozone rule is needed because Connecticut is polluted by emissions from other states, putting its businesses at a disadvantage and threatening the health of state residents.
Posted inHousing, Politics
Legislature musters enough votes to override Malloy housing veto
The General Assembly dealt a blow to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s housing agenda Monday after legislators voted narrowly to override his veto of a bill that loosens the state’s affordable housing standards.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut moves closer to construction of a third casino
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and tribal leaders signed documents Thursday amending Connecticut’s relationship with its two federally recognized tribes, another step toward allowing them to jointly develop a casino in the Hartford suburb of East Windsor, as authorized in legislation approved last month by the General Assembly.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Pence, Malloy compete to define what GOP is doing to health care
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Vice President Mike Pence told the National Governors Association that the Trump administration is intent on saving Medicaid, albeit by shrinking its reach or sharing more costs with the states. The Democratic governors said the Trump strategy for making Medicaid financially sustainable would either bankrupt states or deny coverage to vulnerable Americans.
Posted inHealth, Politics
McConnell tweaks health care bill to win conservative support
WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell rolled out a new health care bill that is broadly similar to the one that foundered in the Senate last month, but contains a few new provisions aimed at winning over recalcitrant Republican senators. The new bill was excoriated by Connecticut Democrats, and increased Democratic opposition to the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Posted inTransportation
Feds drop Old Saybrook-to-Rhode Island bypass from final rail plan
WASHINGTON — Bowing to local pressure, the Federal Railroad Administration has dropped plans for a controversial new rail line along the eastern Connecticut shore from its ambitious project to overhaul the railroad system in the Northeast corridor.
Posted inHousing, Money, Politics
Malloy uses looming housing fallout to heighten budget urgency
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy began showcasing the potential fallout from the state’s budget standoff Monday at The Lyceum in Hartford, where he held a roundtable on looming setbacks in the fight to end homelessness.
Posted inHousing
Malloy vetoes looser affordable housing rules, may face override vote
Updated at 3:27 p.m.
Malloy, in a three-page veto message, said the legislation would perpetuate the harmful effects of bad economic policy and institutional segregation. It is Malloy’s first veto of the session.
Posted inMoney
Aetna picks NYC as new HQ site, keeps deep ties to CT — for now
As Aetna changes its home address from Farmington Avenue in Hartford to Ninth Avenue in New York City, the company plans to keep nearly all of its jobs in Connecticut and continue playing a corporate jurisdictional game that will allow it to remain in the state’s friendlier regulatory environment.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Malloy: Senate bill would cost CT billions, end health care for thousands
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate’s health care bill would result in “devastating” Medicaid cuts to Connecticut, reaching $2.9 billion per year by 2026 and stripping tens of thousands of state residents of health care, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday. “Plain and simple — the Senate Republican version of Trumpcare is a greater disaster for the people of Connecticut…and needs to be stopped in its tracks,” Malloy said.
Posted inHealth, Money
Malloy stands by pledge to aid Planned Parenthood despite cost
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is maintaining his commitment to fully fund Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood in Connecticut if the federal government ends its financial support as part of the Republican plan to dramatically reshape the Affordable Care Act, a spokeswoman said.