Comptroller Projects Smaller General Fund Surplus for FY24
Connecticut’s expected General Fund surplus shrank for the fourth month in a row, according to a Friday fiscal update by Comptroller Sean Scanlon, who projected the state would end the 2024 fiscal year with $153.9 million in black ink.
Keep readingExtra! Extra!
Analysis | Healthcare Defies Softening Labor Market
Healthcare analyst Ellen Andrews says pent-up demand for healthcare services from COVID, violent working conditions, retiring baby boomers, rising threats from COVID, flu and other viruses, and understaffing are creating a perfect storm for healthcare hiring.
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Survey Finds Child Care Providers Reporting Staffing Shortages and Financial Difficulties
A recent survey of more than 200 Connecticut child care providers found roughly a quarter of respondents not generating enough revenue to sustain their businesses and suggests that there are more than 4,000 vacant staff positions across the system.
Keep readingAnnual Governor’s Celebration: Prevention Starts With You
Join Gov. Ned Lamont at the Annual Governor’s Celebration: Prevention Starts with You to benefit The Governor’s Prevention Partnership. The Partnership is a statewide 501(c)(3) that is focused on preventing underage substance misuse and promoting positive outcomes.
The Celebration is at the Hartford Marriott Downtown with registration and networking starting at 8 a.m. The program will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 10 a.m.…
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Kissinger’s Final Legacy
Kissinger’s Final Legacy (Obituary, White House). Editorial cartoon by Christopher Weyant.
Keep readingMauro to Join McCarter & English Government Affairs Team in Hartford
Vincent Mauro Jr., the outgoing chief of staff to the Senate Democratic caucus, will join the national law firm McCarter & English as a lobbyist with its government affairs practice based in Hartford, the firm announced Thursday.
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Report Finds Three Year Pattern of Race-Based Traffic Stops By Some State Police, Two Muni Departments
Over a three-year period between 2020 and 2022, four Connecticut State Police troops as well as municipal departments in Berlin and Guilford appeared more likely to pull over Black or Hispanic motorists, according to preliminary findings summarized Thursday by a state racial profiling board.
Keep readingClimate Care
Climate Care (SUVs and trucks, climate change). Editorial cartoon by Guy Parsons.
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Lamonts Invite Public For Annual Holiday Open House At The Governor’s Residence
Gov. Ned Lamont and First Lady Annie Lamont will play host to their annual holiday open house at the Governor’s Residence in Hartford over two days next week, the governor’s office announced Wednesday.
Keep readingOP-ED | Tackling Rising Healthcare Costs Must Remain a Priority for Our Legislators
Guest opinion columnist Rev. Edward Ford Jr. says recent trends in our nation’s health care industry are putting essential care even further out of reach for Connecticut patients.
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Federal Index Finds Increase in Connecticut Home Prices Among the Highest in the Nation
Home prices in Connecticut climbed by nearly 10% between the third quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2023, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index, which found the state reporting the fourth highest increase in the nation.
Keep readingOP-ED | Neighbors, Start Your Christmas Lights!
Humor columnist Jase Graves says he and his mild-mannered next-door neighbor always engage in an unspoken competition to see who can get their Christmas lights up first, but since Jase says he has the holiday sleeping habits of an inebriated grizzly bear in mid-hibernation, his neighbor consistently wins – after which he undoubtedly enjoys shouting, “Let me know if you need any help up there.”
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Tong: Connecticut Pardon Process Affirmed by Court Order to Review in Immigration Case
A federal appeals court handed a Connecticut resident and Jamaican immigrant another shot at avoiding deportation this week through a ruling, which Attorney General William Tong hailed Tuesday as an affirmation of Connecticut’s pardons process.
Keep readingCharitable Donations Down
Charitable Donations Down. Editorial cartoon by Dave Granlund.
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Robust Enrollment on Connecticut’s Insurance Exchange; 26% Increase Amid Rising Plan Costs
Enrollment this year in health insurance plans sold on Connecticut’svexchange has been brisk. There’s been an uptick in enrollment and the state is ahead of where they were last year at this time.
Keep readingUN Urges US To Stop Eating Meat
UN Urges US To Stop Eating Meat. Editorial cartoon by Dick Wright.
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Despite Setback, Proponents of Phasing out Gas-Powered Vehicles Vow to Prioritize the Proposal
Hours after withdrawing regulations to incrementally phase out the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative proponents of the proposal signaled Tuesday they would continue to prioritize its eventual adoption.
Keep readingOP-ED | Biden Continues To Face Political Headwinds
Opinion columnist Carl Golden says that having been stung by a succession of high-profile polls showing President Joe Biden trailing former president Donald Trump among crucial swing state voters, the White House and its allies in Congress have scrambled to calm jittery nerves and reassure donors and establishment leaders all is well and under control. But many aren’t buying it.
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
Live Broadcast | Special CCM Convention Fireside Chat: Connecticut’s Unspoken Crisis
Join us for a LIVE STREAM POLICY DISCUSSION AT 3 P.M. today to learn more about the recently released report about Connecticut’s at-risk and disconnected youth and potential solutions to this growing problem.
Keep readingOP-ED | Trump’s Words Speak To Dark Side Of His Supporters
Opinion columnist Elwood Watson says Donald Trump is telling us he’s a threat to democracy. We just have to listen.
Earlier this month on his Truth Social website, Trump threatened to “expel” and “cast out” government workers who oppose his radical views, describing them as a “sick political class” that hates the country. The 2024 election, he wrote, “is our final battle.”
Sound apocalyptic to…
Keep readingSPONSORED MESSAGE
National Gun Group Contests Federal Court Ruling in Appeal of Connecticut Assault Weapons Ban Case
A national gun rights group argued in an appeal filed last week that a federal court judge erred when she upheld Connecticut’s ban on certain semi automatic rifles despite a new constitutionality test established last year by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Keep readingGroundbreaking Celebrated for West Hartford Fellowship Housing Expansion and Redevelopment
A project many years in the planning to renovate and expand an affordable housing community has officially gotten underway in Bishops Corner, where a groundbreaking was held Tuesday morning at West Hartford Fellowship Housing. Read more from We-Ha.com.
Keep readingOUR DIRECTORY PARTNERS
Governor Withdraws Proposed Gas-Powered Vehicle Phase-Out Regulations Ahead of Vote
On the eve of a vote by the evenly-divided Regulation Review Committee, Gov. Ned Lamont withdrew proposed regulations that would have phased out new gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035.
Keep readingOUR DIRECTORY PARTNERS
Blumenthal Calls on Pharmaceutical Companies to Address Shortage of RSV Antibody Treatment
As Connecticut experiences a surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called Monday on drug manufacturers AstraZeneca and Sanofi to address an ongoing shortage of a new monoclonal antibody meant to prevent the illness in infants.
Keep readingOUR DIRECTORY PARTNERS
Winsted Citizen to Continue Publication Under New Ownership
American Business Media LLC, a national magazine publisher based in Simsbury, purchased the Winsted Citizen last week, saving the cash-strapped monthly newspaper from a previously announced closure.
Keep readingLabor Board Sides With Fired Cop
A state arbitration panel has ruled that ex-police Sgt. Shayna Kendall should get her job back after finding that the city did not have “just cause” to fire her for allegedly lying about a traffic stop-turned-civilian complaint. Read more from the New Haven Independent.
Keep readingOUR DIRECTORY PARTNERS
Committee Receives Green Light for Proposed Gas-Powered Car Ban Despite Earlier Opposition
After calling for rejection of certain language to a proposed regulation that would eventually outlaw sale of new gas-powered cars in Connecticut, nonpartisan legal officials have given the Regulations Review Committee the green light to approve them.
Keep reading