Climate change-induced shifts of marine species in the Northeast are forcing changes in fishing patterns for Connecticut fishermen, threatening to upend fishing management systems and generating political controversy and finger-pointing as policies struggle to keep up with the pace of fish movement, and the Connecticut fishing community struggles to hang on.
Deeper Look
Posted inPolitics
A postscript to Malloy campaign case: Did anyone pay a legal bill?
State law does not require an accounting, and the Connecticut Democratic Party won’t provide one. But in the process of defending the party against allegations of using illegal campaign contributions to support the governor’s re-election, David S. Golub may have become its biggest benefactor. There is no record of his charging for a case that other lawyers say could easily have cost six figures.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Juvenile Justice in CT: What’s left after all the cuts?
A long list of budget cuts released by the Connecticut Judicial Branch just before the fiscal year began July 1 has some state legislators, prosecutors, judges and child advocates wondering what they mean for the strategy of keeping the number of incarcerated children at record lows by providing community-based programs.
Posted inEducation
At UConn, management costs increase $4M over four years
The University of Connecticut has steadily increased its executive and manager ranks over the last four years – while research staff and library positions have been declining. But a comparison with eight institutions it considers its peers shows UConn in the middle of the pack.
Posted inJustice
At CT’s juvenile jail, a spike in staff injuries
Updated at 7:30 a.m.
The number of youth incarcerated at the state’s controversial jail for juvenile offenders may have reached a record low, but the number of staff being injured in assaults or while physically restraining residents has shot up.
Posted inEducation
UConn shifts toward more fiscal transparency
The university’s practice of barring the public from budget discussions ended this week – and other changes are in the works that will make the fiscal habits of UConn and its fund-raising foundation more transparent.
Posted inEducation
What cuts loom at your community college or regional university?
“This is a very challenging budget that we are looking at,” said Mark Ojakian, the president of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system. “Times of crisis are a time of opportunity. We are going to have to do business differently. We are not going to be able to sustain even this level of funding in the future. It’s going to be tough.”
Posted inHealth
Can an apartment cut health care costs of homeless ‘super users’?
Connecticut is part of a national demonstration program aimed at finding a new way to address the needs of homeless health care “super users.” It’s designed to test the questions: Can housing and support be the answer? Can it save money? And can it be sustainable?
Posted inEducation, Justice
Juvenile justice reform in CT: 5 things to know
A tidal wave of change is headed for the state’s juvenile justice system. Here are 5 things to know about the coming changes.
Posted inEducation
The status of UConn research in 18 charts
Here, in graphical form, is a historical overview of research activity at UConn and UConn Health and how it compares to other schools across the country. This is the third in a three-part series.
Posted inEducation
UConn’s research growth subverted by huge pension costs
Years of state failure to save adequately for future retirement benefits has been compounded by recent decisions allowing an increased number of college employees to enroll in the state’s expensive pension plans. The combination has made it harder to afford enough research faculty and keep the cost of research at UConn competitive. This is the second story in a three-part series.
Posted inEducation
UConn Health weighing down university’s research ranking
Despite big infusions of funding, UConn’s overall ability to attract outside research grants has grown at a snail’s pace over the last 10 years, and its national ranking for research has actually fallen. The results have been very different, however, at the main campus in Storrs, where research activity has risen, and at the Health Center in Farmington, where it has dropped. This is the first story in a three-part series.
Posted inEducation
Student suspensions can add to a downward spiral, data suggest
Students need to be at school to learn, but new state data show that many children expelled or suspended because they act out are among those likely to miss the most school and perform less well academically. “”Suspensions and expulsions may exacerbate academic deterioration,” reads a presentation prepared for the State Board of Education.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Hospitals say state puts them between a rock and a hard place
As hospital officials describe it, state policy is pushing them in two opposing directions. Higher state taxes and funding cuts have added to the factors pushing independent community hospitals to join larger health systems, they say. But at the same time, legislators concerned about the growth of large health systems have been pushing for new restrictions on changes in hospital ownership, which hospital officials say makes it harder for them to adapt.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Labor in the crosshairs as budget crunch worsens
Connecticut’s labor leaders insist the writing is on the wall. Barring a dramatic new development, they say, state employees will be asked to grant wage and benefit concessions for the third time in seven years. But that doesn’t mean workers are ready to endorse more givebacks.