State Workforce in Good Shape Ahead of Mass Retirements
The long-expected “silver tsunami” of state employee retirements before July 1 will not have a significant impact on the size of the public sector workforce, members of Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration said Wednesday. A change in the cost of living benefits of state retirees, negotiated back in 2017, incentivized eligible state workers to retire before…
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OP-ED | Supreme Court’s Poll Ratings at Record Low
Gallup polled Americans at the beginning of this month and discovered only 25% have confidence in our United States Supreme Court – and this was before its gun control, abortion, religious, and free speech decisions.
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Connecticut To Offer Free Admission To Kids This Summer
For the second year in a row Connecticut will be using $15 million in federal COVID funds to offer children free admission to more than 130 museums. Starting July 1 and running through Sept. 5, children under the age of 18, plus one adult, will receive free admission to historic house museums, historic sites, historical…
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‘All The World Is Watching’: Ben Crump, Family, Civil Rights Leaders Blast NHPD In Cox Case, Vow Fight For Justice
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and civil-rights leaders issued a call for justice Tuesday alongside the family of a 36-year-old man partially paralyzed due to his handling by New Haven police. Read more from the New Haven Independent.
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Lamont, Stefanowski Lay Out Vision For Police, Emergency Services
Connecticut gubernatorial candidates offered competing takes on crime, police accountability, and the state’s COVID-19 response Tuesday during a forum organized by an association of police, firefighters, and emergency management personnel.
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OP-ED | When Voting Alone Won’t Cut It
“With your vote,” President Joe Biden told a shocked, reeling nation in a speech lambasting the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, “you can act. You can have the final word.” He’s right! Everybody has to vote. Except… we did vote. We have been voting. Every election, we vote like it’s the apocalypse. It wasn’t enough.
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Secretary of the State Denise Merrill to Step Down
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill will step down at noon on Thursday to spend more time with her ailing husband, according to a Tuesday report from the Associated Press. Merrill, a Democrat, announced last summer she would not seek re-election. Her departure this week will end her term about six months sooner than expected.…
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OP-ED | What Would It Mean To Codify Roe Into Federal Law – And Is There Any Chance Of That Happening?
In simple terms, to codify something means to enshrine a right or a rule into a formal systematic code. It could be done through an act of Congress in the form of a federal law. Similarly, state legislatures can codify rights by enacting laws. To codify Roe for all Americans, Congress would need to pass a law that would provide the same protections that Roe…
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Lamont Declares Another COVID Emergency
Gov. Ned Lamont declared another COVID-19 emergency Tuesday in order to secure additional federal funds through the end of December. “I do not intend to issue any executive orders under this declaration,” Lamont said in the order. All of Lamont’s executive powers expire at the end of the month. Most had already expired in February,…
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Sharkey: Time For State Government To Think Big
If Brendan Sharkey has a say, then the state government will be going bigger for towns and cities over the coming years.
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New State Law Makes Home Heating Oil Greener
It starts with french fries, burgers and bacon and it ends up in the fuel tank that heats your home. Starting Friday, July 1 all home heating oil must contain a 5% biodiesel mix. That mix will come from cooking oil sold by restaurants like Little Oak Cafe in Canton. “The food we eat turns…
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OP-ED | What Happens When Local Journalism Disappears?
I was surprised and a bit saddened by an email I received a few weeks ago from Kathy Brown, the senior editor of a local news outlet. It began this way: “You are receiving this because in the past you have sent in an article or press release to HK-Now.com/Haddam Killingworth News. Tomorrow I am retiring from the newspaper business.”
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Officials Work to Assess Roe Ramifications
Abortion rights advocates spent the weekend trying to figure out what happens now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade. In Connecticut, Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general Monday in reaffirming the state’s commitment to support access to abortion care. “Abortion care is healthcare. Period. We stand together,…
Keep readingGeorge Floyd Att’y Meets With Cox Family; 4 Minutes Of Video Capture Case’s Key Moments
A nationally prominent civil rights attorney has joined the legal team for a 36-year-old New Havener who was partially paralyzed while in police custody, according to the man’s local lawyer — potentially moving the rapidly developing local police misconduct case into the national spotlight. Read more from the New Haven Independent.
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How Sex Education Is (And Isn’t) Being Taught In Every State
On Friday, June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, removing constitutional protections for abortion, and all but ensuring that the procedure will become illegal in over half of the United States. The question of if — as well as where and when — abortion will be legal, has long…
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Patients With Opioid Addiction Could Soon Lose Their Virtual Care
Federal regulations that have allowed practitioners the flexibility to virtually prescribe buprenorphine, an opioid withdrawal treatment drug, are due to expire along with the COVID-19 public health emergency — even as opioid deaths reach record levels. Krista Mahr reports for Politico.
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New Fiscal Year, New Laws on Friday
New legal protections designed to expand access to abortion services and a $1 increase in the state’s minimum wage are among the changes to Connecticut law taking effect on Friday with the beginning of the new fiscal year. On July 1, one week after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal decision making abortions legal…
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Podcast: Armed School Security Personnel to Protect Students and Staff
After a 7-2 vote by the Region 18 Board of Education in favor of arming school security, we speak with Ian Neviaser, Superintendent of Schools for Lyme and Old Lyme, to find out how they got here and what it all means.
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State Agencies To Waive All Credit, Debit Card Fees
Anyone doing business with state agencies in Connecticut starting July 1 won’t be paying those pesky credit card transaction fees. That’s because under a new state law they’ve been waived, saving taxpayers around $6 million.
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OP-ED | Rule No. 1: Do Not Ignore Nazis
White supremacists have been trying to recruit new members in Connecticut, and we need some ground rules. As town officials in Newington, West Hartford, Bristol, East Hartford, and elsewhere are seeing these groups try to make inroads, it’s understandable if town officials are at a loss as to what to do…
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Judge Denies Ballot Access To Larson Challenger
A Hartford Superior Court judge ruled Friday against Muad Hrezi, an East Hartford Democrat seeking to challenge U.S. Rep. John Larson for the 1st Congressional District nomination, denying his petition to be placed on a primary ballot. Hrezi, who did not receive adequate support at the state’s Democratic convention to automatically qualify for a primary…
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Undeterred By Climate Change, US Homeowners Are Moving to Climate-vulnerable Areas
Some of the most highly prized real estate in the U.S. exists in areas considered high risk for wildfires, flooding, or drought. Despite this present and growing danger, many Americans are still moving to climate-vulnerable regions.
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COMPASS Youth Collaborative Digs In With New Youth Center in Hartford
The COMPASS Youth Collaborative opened a new youth center Friday in the city’s south end with a celebration and a commitment to continue helping high-risk youth heal through cognitive behavior therapy focused on trauma, and conflict resolution.
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PACT Act Offers Hope To Veterans Exposed To Burn Pits And Other Toxins
For the last six years, Idervan DaCosta has endured shortness of breath and pain in his lungs that feels like they are on fire.
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What the Roe v. Wade Reversal Means for Abortion Access Across America
When a Supreme Court draft ruling that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked in May, it sparked shock, outrage, and protests. Those who saw the document as a harbinger of what was to come had their worst fears realized on June 24 when the decision came down and the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority did indeed eliminate the…
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A Dozen Connecticut Students Win at 2022 National History Day Awards
Twelve Connecticut students received 2022 National History Day awards at a virtual award ceremony this month.
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Despite Latest Rulings From The US Supreme Court, Democrats Celebrate Passage Of Gun Legislation
Fresh off the first congressional victory for gun control advocates in decades, Connecticut’s U.S. senators tried Friday not to let historic rulings from a conservative Supreme Court temper a sun-baked celebration in Hartford.
Keep readingPrisoner Hospitalized After Cop-Van Ride
A 36-year-old man arrested by the police was injured badly enough on the ride to detention that he had to go to the hospital and receive surgery, and may end up paralyzed. Read more from the New Haven Independent.
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