Washington — Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., may agree with President Obama on many things, but not on Syria. On Tuesday, Murphy said in a statement that he opposed Obama’s consideration of the use of force against the government of Bashar al-Assad, who is accused of using chemical weapons against opponents in the country’s civil war. Murphy […]
Washington
Posted inPolitics
Esty opponent joins GOP efforts to distort Obamacare
Washington – President Obama’s signature accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act, continues to be a key weapon in Republican campaigns, including that of Mark Greenberg, a GOP candidate for Congress in Connecticut’s 5th District.
Posted inNews
Blumenthal promotes surveillance reform
In a speech at Harvard Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., promoted proposals that would change and limit the operations of a tribunal that approves wiretaps and other surveillance for the FBI and National Security Agency. Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has plunged into a fracas in Congress touched off by revelations by […]
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Obama chooses Schwartz for VA post
President Obama chose Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz and 22 others on Friday to fill mid-level positions in his administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Schwartz would replace outgoing Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Raul Perea-Henze. Her appointment was cheered by Gov. Dannel Malloy and members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation. “Her appointment […]
Posted inPolitics
Esty catches heat from liberals for Obamacare vote
Washington – Rep. Elizabeth Esty has come under fire from a liberal group for voting for a bill that would delay the Affordable Care Act requirement that all Americans have health insurance.
Posted inEducation
State to seek flexibility for rollout of teacher evaluations, Common Core
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy with his education commissioner, Stefan Pryor State officials are seeking flexibility in implementing the U.S. Department of Education’s accountability measures to avoid students being double-tested during the roll-out of the national Common Core State Standards. In announcing the move Wednesday, state officials said they will also seek flexibility on implementing new teacher […]
Posted inHealth
Delay in Obamacare provision a relief to businesses
The Obama administration’s plan to delay a health insurance requirement for large employers comes as a relief for businesses grappling with the new law, but the lag won’t have a dramatic effect on the overall expansion of health care coverage, business and health care experts in Connecticut say.
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Joint Strike Fighter passes new review
Thanks to the Pentagon’s support, the embattled F-35 program passed a tough test Wednesday as a key Senate appropriations committee reviewed the aircraft’s worth. Top military officers told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense Wednesday that there is no alternative to the fighter plane. Over budget and behind schedule, the F-35, or Joint Strike Fighter, […]
Posted inPolitics
Sandy Hook families get sympathy, but few promises of support
Washington — In Washington to prod Congress to act on gun control as the six-month anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy nears, family members and friends of the victims found sympathetic ears. “My heart goes out to them,” said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va. Cantor, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other […]
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Metro-North says it has changed procedures after accidents
Washington — Howard Permut, president of Metro-North, said the railroad has taken several steps in reaction to last month’s derailment near Bridgeport. Those included retaining the Transportation Technology Center, a railroad testing and training facility located near Pueblo, Colo. A faulty joint bar — which holds two sections of track together — was discovered near […]
Posted inPolitics
Statehood for Puerto Rico: now or never?
Puerto Ricans should be very interested in maneuvers happening right now in Congress and in Puerto Rico that could determine whether Puerto Rico will become the 51st state. Congress is the final and only authority on whether it will ever actually happen. Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, who is the elected but non-voting representative of Puerto […]
Posted inPolitics
From Alaska to Hartford, a pol’s bitter fight over…$20,000?
Washington –- Hartford has become the unlikely setting for a story about Alaska politics, a bitter legal fight, honor and fancy stationery. Our saga begins in 2008 when a failed Republican candidate for an Alaska U.S. Senate seat decided not to pay a bill for the services of a Hartford–based political consulting firm owned by Tom D’Amore and John Doyle, two former aides to Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr., because he didn’t like their work or the way he was treated.
Posted inPolitics
Obama picks law professor for Connecticut federal court seat
Washington — President Obama on Friday nominated Quinnipiac University law professor Jeffrey A. Meyer, who is also a visiting professor at Yale Law School, as a judge of the U.S. District Court in Connecticut. Meyer was senior counsel to the Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, […]
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Murphy starts Senate Polish caucus
Washington — While he has a grand, old Irish surname, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Tuesday he actually has more “Polish blood.” That’s why he founded the Senate Polish caucus with Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, just in time for the visit of Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to Washington. “When people think […]
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Water bill could help Connecticut in navigation, flood protection
The Senate voted this week on a water resources bill Connecticut lawmakers hope will clear the way to fund dozens of projects in Connecticut, including the dredging of New Haven Harbor, 18 beach erosion projects along the coastline and hurricane barriers in Stamford, New London and Pawcatuck. In a rare display of bipartisanship, the Water […]