Update of Connecticut Gun Laws Headed To Lamont’s Desk
Gun regulations including a more expansive assault weapons ban, a prohibition on the open carry of firearms, and higher bail requirements for repeat offenders all won final passage in an early morning vote of the Connecticut Senate on Saturday.
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Keep CT’s Climate Promise
Connecticut promised to cut climate pollution and protect our future. But our state isn’t on track to meet its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Join us in calling on Connecticut lawmakers to pass meaningful legislation this year and Keep CT’s Climate Promise. Learn more at ClimateActionCT.org.
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Senate Unanimously Green-Lights Bill to Tackle Rising Toll of Wrong-Way Driving Tragedies
In a significant move aimed at enhancing road safety, the Senate unanimously approved a bill addressing the rising incidence of wrong-way driving.
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Graceless Gospel & Pyramids Then And Now
The Associated Press reports that a Utah parent, frustrated by efforts to ban books from schools, convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children. And Gatis Sluka offers his perspective on the world’s trash problem. Editorial cartoons by Randall Enos and Gatis Sluka.
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Connecticut House Gives Thumbs Up To Bear Management Bill, Opponent Growls
The Connecticut House of Representatives gave final passage Friday to legislation banning the intentional feeding of bears and allowing Connecticut residents to kill the animals in limited situations like self-defense or protection of pets and livestock.
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State Offers Help To Residents Who Want To Keep Their Medical Coverage Despite Potentially Losing Medicaid Benefits
State officials are trying to reach out to residents who may lose their Medicaid coverage because of changes in the federal rules.
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Trash Talk Complicates Budget Deal
A long heralded bipartisan budget agreement appeared in danger of collapsing Friday over the potential inclusion of a municipal fee for out-of-state trash disposal sought by Gov. Ned Lamont.
Keep readingUS Adds 339,000 Jobs In May, Well Above Expectations
Hiring surged last month across the nation as U.S. employers added 339,000 jobs, far above expectations, according to a Friday report from the Labor Department. The job gains for March and April were also stronger than previously reported. The April jobs figure was revised up by 41,000, while the March number was revised up by 52,000.
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Connecticut Poised to Become Eighth U.S. State to Prohibit Matrimony Under 18
The Senate Friday unanimously approved banning anyone under the age of 18 from getting married, sending the bill to Gov. Ned Lamont for approval. The bill closes exceptions the legislature carved out in 2017, when it raised the minimum age for marriage to 18 but allowed for 16- and 17-year-olds to do so with parental approval.
Keep readingNewtown School Board Votes Unanimously Against Banning 2 Books
The Newtown Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to keep two books on the shelves of the Newtown High School library that some have called controversial after weeks of debate. The board was considering removing the books “Flamer” by Mike Curato and “Blankets” by Craig Thompson, each of which is LGBTQ+ themed. After weeks of intense book banning debate, the board voted unanimously to keep…
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Dems Mark 30th Anniversary Of Assault Weapons Ban With Push For New Gun Bill
With crime rates high and new types of guns reaching Connecticut in the early 1990s, lawmakers were looking for ways to turn the tide. “It was a very different time when it came to public policy related to firearms,” former state Rep. Mike Lawlor said Thursday at the Capitol. That attitude helped push a controversial, but…
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OP-ED | Public Transit and Public Education Are Connecticut’s Future. Please Fund Them.
Opinion writer Jonathan L. Wharton says public education and public transit are two of the best investments the state can make in its future.
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Expansion Of Paid Sick Leave Program In Jeopardy
A Senate bill expanding Connecticut’s paid sick leave program to employees of small businesses appeared unlikely Thursday to pass the House this year, according to Democratic leaders who said it lacked support.
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OP-ED | This War Needs to End, One Way Or Another
Opinion writer Jamil Ragland says the ongoing destruction of Ukraine needs to end, but neither Russia nor the US and its Western allies seem to want to end the war anytime soon.
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Striking Union Workers Arrested As They Demand More Pay
More than 50 protesters were arrested for blocking Capitol Avenue in Hartford Thursday as striking union workers continue to demand state funding for higher wages and other benefits.
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Debt Crisis Defused? & Insults For All
The BBC reports on the US Debt Ceiling – What It Is, And Why There Is One. Editorial cartoons by Jeff Koterba and Gary McCoy.
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Budget Vote Expected Early Next Week
(Updated at 6:05 p.m.) After weeks of negotiations, state policymakers have reached a two-year budget deal which legislators are expected to approve early next week, Gov. Ned Lamont told reporters after a Thursday press conference.
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House Gives Final Passage to Prosecutorial Accountability Bill
Connecticut prosecutors would be required to appear for an annual review of their job performance data before the state Criminal Justice Commission under a bill given final passage Wednesday by a divided House of Representatives.
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CT Elevates Minimum Wage to $15: Future Hikes Tied to Living Costs, Sparking Economic Debate
The minimum wage rose to $15 an hour with the start of June, completing an increase from a rate of $10.10 per hour just four years ago.
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OP-ED | Biden Campaign To Take A ‘Where’s Waldo?’ Approach
Opinion writer Carl Golden says that while the contours of President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign have yet to come into focus, early signs imply leaning greatly on surrogates for promoting the president’s record and engaging in aggressive negativity against his opponent.
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Hearst On Verge Of Acquiring The JI
Hearst Connecticut Media Group is about to complete its purchase of the family-owned newspaper this weekend and is expected to take over operations starting Monday.
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FBI Bias, Marginalized Books and Students & the DeSantis Campaign
Republicans are accusing the FBI of bias in its handling of investigations of former president Donald Trump and members of his family in comparison to investigations of Joe Biden and his family. States are banning books in many states in what appears to be a rapidly escalating situation for people of color and members of the LGBTQ community. And late last week, Florida Governor Ron…
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Nikki Haley Takes GOP to Task in Connecticut, Calls National Debt a ‘Bipartisan Disgrace’
“When you see this debt discussion right now, know that it’s a national bipartisan disgrace,” Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Wednesday night in Stamford at the party’s annual dinner. “There are no saints in Washington. They did this to all of us.”
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OP-ED | This Is Why Connecticut Can’t Lower Healthcare Costs
Healthcare analyst Ellen Andrews breaks down latest meeting of the Office of Health Strategy’s Steering Committee and says they are still leaning toward a status quo approach despite not solving the core issue: continually rising healthcare costs.
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House Narrowly Votes to Curtail Deceptive Police Tactics
HARTFORD, CT – Lawmakers in the Connecticut House of Representatives narrowly approved a proposal Wednesday making confessions from juvenile suspects largely inadmissible in state courts if police obtained the admissions using deceptive tactics like lying or misrepresenting evidence.
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Cruel But Fun & Debt Limit Suspension
The Conversation offers a side-by-side look: Trump vs. DeSantis: How the two Republican presidential heavy-hitters compare. And CNN reports that the debt deal avoids the really tough decisions. Editorial cartoons by Pat Byrnes and R.J. Matson.
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Connecticut Cafeteria Workers Serve Up a Plea for Universal Free School Lunch Funding Amid Budget Negotiations
School cafeteria workers made a push for universal free lunches Wednesday, urging lawmakers to include the funding in the two-year budget.
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House Joins Senate In Regulating AI in State Government
The House voted unanimously Tuesday to approve legislation designed to scrutinize the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence by Connecticut’s state government to ensure automated systems are not permitted to make discriminatory decisions.
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