The number of young migrants joining relatives or sponsors in the state tripled in the past year, and the largest portion of that group settled in Fairfield County.
Stamford
Posted inJustice
Travelers, other insurers, accused of discriminating against low-income tenants
WASHINGTON – Travelers Insurance Co. is being sued over allegations it has refused to insure properties that house federally subsidized low-income tenants — and other insurers in Connecticut may have done the same.
Posted inPolitics
Rail overhaul plan is both a winner and a loser in CT
WASHINGTON — Connecticut officials have been more critical than those in any other state of the Federal Railroad Administration’s plan to overhaul train service in the Northeast Corridor, yet some of its strongest critics admit they like much of the plan.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Massive rail plan leaves Connecticut hopeful but mystified
Proposals to reinvent the Northeast Corridor rail system could impact Connecticut more than any other state. But a lack of detail in the plans is causing exasperation even among those who have been pushing for rail improvements for decades, and it has environmentalists worrying whether losses will outweigh the benefits.
Posted inPolitics
New report: CT traffic is bad — and likely to get worse
WASHINGTON — Connecticut has some of the worst traffic in the nation, with snarls that cost drivers about 20 gallons of wasted fuel and dozens of hours of lost time each year – and things are likely to get worse, a new report says.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Good reasons to leave Connecticut; many more to stay
My nephew thinks we should all skedaddle right out of Connecticut as fast as our Prii can take us – last one to cross the border, turn off the lights. Party over. He emails me articles to bolster his case, and there is no question that our state is facing serious challenges. The cost of living and taxes are high and rising here, some businesses are grumpy and threatening to move to Florida and beyond, and our economy is growing slower than most other states. While still ranked near the top for our median household income, our personal revenue actually has declined since 2000; and Connecticut recently has become a leader for economic inequality among its citizens, a dubious honor that used to go to places like Mississippi.
Still…
Posted inPolitics
ConnDOT’s early stumbles, successes in development
In fits and starts, transit-oriented development projects, TODs in planning jargon, are taking root in Connecticut, a state expanding mass transit with the Hartford-to-New Britain busway, commuter rail service from Springfield to Hartford to New Haven expected by 2017, and Metro-North improvements from New Haven to New York.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Of Connecticut’s stuck legislation, bridges, commuter trains and parking garage
Remember Gov. Dannel Malloy’s stealth proposal for a “Transit Corridor Development Authority,” described by some as “eminent domain on steroids?” Well, the initial idea to allow the state to acquire any land within a half-mile of train stations was modified, then killed in the legislature. And that’s not the only thing that got stuck recently.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
School funding in Connecticut is fundamentally flawed, all agree
Connecticut’s funding system for all public schools is fundamentally broken. This dysfunction causes the incessant fighting over the state budget each year. Connecticut needs a funding solution for every school – charter, district, magnet, and the rest – that ensures that all students have the resources they need to learn.
Posted inNews
Future of Connecticut Rails: Last call for tickets for Tuesday’s Half Full event
The final event in The Mirror’s four-part Policy Pairings Series will take place Tuesday at Half Full Brewery in Stamford and feature a panel discussion on “The Future of Connecticut Rails.” Panelists will be Connecticut Transportation Commissioner James Redeker; Amanda Kennedy, the Connecticut director of the Regional Plan Association; and Jim Cameron, former chair of The CT Metro-North Rail Commuter Council. The event will take place from 5 to 7 p.m.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
No time to waste in re-imagining Connecticut’s education funding
Each legislative session, we engage in the same political fights that yield only incremental progress towards the goal of providing quality education for all children. These unproductive debates, which pit traditional schools against public charter schools, underscore the need to solve our fundamentally broken funding model that currently plagues our education system.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CT Legislators must deliver on charter school promises in Bridgeport, Stamford
Last week, the state’s Appropriations Committee proposed a budget that includes cuts of more than $20 million dollars to public charter schools — including funding for Capital Prep Harbor and Stamford Charter School for Excellence — two approved schools that families have been demanding and are counting on. This budget would stifle the progress we’ve made in the past few years and would hurt the future of children across our state.
Posted inNews
Op-Ed: CEA rhetoric not helping kids, public schools are
The CEA’s recent Op-Ed, “Connecticut charter schools a good idea gone awry,” made a bunch of claims that aren’t only false, they’re dishonest and frankly insulting to parents who are exercising their right to choose a school for their children.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CEA rhetoric not helping kids, public schools are
The CEA’s recent Op-Ed, “Connecticut charter schools a good idea gone awry,” made a bunch of claims that aren’t only false, they’re dishonest and frankly insulting to parents who are exercising their right to choose a school for their children.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Stamford joins pioneering energy-saving program
Stamford has become the sixth city in the nation and the first in New England to join a national program called the 2030 Districts. It’s designed to reduce urban greenhouse gas emissions without relying on government. It’s entirely voluntary and there are no penalties if goals aren’t met.