Leaders of Connecticut's small towns were left to read the fiscal tea leaves Wednesday as state leaders offered starkly contrasting views of Connecticut's finances: Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and legislative Democrats declared fiscal stability and pledged continued support, while GOP legislative leaders cited projected deficits, a bond-rating downgrade and cash flow problems as evidence of an impending crisis.
Read moreAttorney General George C. Jepsen is walking a fine line between celebrating his role in negotiating a $25 billion national settlement with mortgage servicers and tamping down expectations about what the deal means for struggling homeowners.
"I just think it's important not to oversell it or undersell it," Jepsen said Tuesday after a legislative appearance. "It's big deal. This will save thousand of families their homes in Connecticut, if it's implemented correctly. And that's huge."
Connecticut's economic recovery should continue this year, although a new study warns that a host of wild cards, from sovereign debt in Europe to the bioscience initiative in Farmington, could accelerate growth even more -- or leave the Nutmeg State's productivity lagging behind the nation's.
Mashantucket - The economic and political clout of the state's two tribal casinos was amply demonstrated Wednesday by the sight of Connecticut's top officials on a casino stage to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Foxwoods Resort Casino.
The distant, soft singing of slot machines could be heard faintly inside the darkened Fox Theater as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stepped to a spot-lit microphone and said, "We are in this together."
More than 70,000 Connecticut households took advantage of a new tax credit for the working poor during just the first month of state income tax filings, according to the Department of Revenue Services.
The claims filed under the new state Earned Income Tax Credit were hailed both by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration and a leading private, nonprofit anti-poverty group as evidence of the new program's necessity as well as its success.
When animated television tyke Lisa Simpson had to announce a tax increase to the American public, she deftly called it a "temporary refund adjustment," avoiding any mention of the three-letter T-word.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration stole a page from The Simpsons last week, repackaging a projected deficit in his new budget as a conditional surplus -- all without using the D-word.
Despite the sluggish economy, the time could be right for TOD -- transit-oriented development -- a generation-old concept in which municipal and economic growth are linked to mass transit. In fact, TOD is a current darling among many Connecticut constituencies.
Read moreMunicipalities can't afford to take much more from their public works, police and fire, and other non-education departments.
Read moreSome are questioning whether the prospect of higher taxes is truly dead ... or simply on hold until after the November elections?
Read moreThe administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy appears to be cooling on Keno, a game the Connecticut Lottery has endorsed as a way to boost revenues in a lottery market that turns 40 this month.
Malloy has no intention of proposing Keno or any other significant expansion of gambling in his budget or State of the State speech, according to Roy Occhiogrosso, the governor's senior adviser.
House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan's proposal to raise the state's minimum wage by $1.50 over two years could give Connecticut the highest minimum in the nation, a distinction certain to fuel opposition to the idea by business interests and some legislators.
But the proposal by the Democratic leader and congressional candidate to index the wage to the cost of living puts him in the same camp as House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, and the Republican frontrunner for the presidential nomination, Mitt Romney.
The election-year effort by House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, to raise the $8.25 minimum wage and index it to inflation energizes his labor base and creates tension with a less-than-enthusiastic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
As tax season arrives, advocates for the Connecticut's new income tax credit for working poor families are trying to keep commercial tax preparers -- and revenue-hungry state officials -- from getting their hands on it.
The Connecticut Association for Human Services, one of the private, nonprofit community's leading anti-poverty organizations, is coordinating an outreach campaign to steer needy households to free tax preparation services also run by nonprofits.
"The more money you spend on gambling, the more revenue you make, the likelihood is greater you are going to have more problems," said Marvin Steinberg, who steps down this week as head of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling. He called the relationship between an increase in gambling and an increase in gambling problems inescapable.
Read moreGov. Dannel P. Malloy secured Connecticut's investment in a major genetic research initiative Monday -- but not before one more partisan debate.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced plans Friday for a second round of agency consolidations, including combining oversight for the University of Connecticut, its health center and the chief medical examiner's office. He will ask the legislature to merge 15 departments and agencies into seven.
Read moreWashington -- A deal between five major banks and a group of attorneys general -- including George Jepsen of Connecticut -- could bring $150 million or more to state homeowners who have been victims of foreclosures or the burst of the housing bubble.
Some half-dozen years after the Rowland administration tried to all but eliminate the state's Department of Agriculture, the Malloy administration is embracing the state's $3.5 billion, 20,000-job agriculture industry as a potent component of job creation.
Read moreThe state's budget isn't drowning, but its fiscal nose is above water by such a small fraction -- 1/134th of 1 percent -- it's almost impossible to see. The monthly report from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration, released late Friday afternoon, projects a $1.4 million surplus, with the $88 million cushion originally built into the budget all but vanished.
Read moreOne of the leading Wall Street credit rating agencies downgraded Connecticut's rating Friday, citing a heavily loaded state credit card, huge debts in pension and retiree health care programs, and a depleted emergency reserve.
The decision by Moody's Investors Service to lower state government's bond rating from Aa3 to Aa2, opens the door for Connecticut to pay higher interest charges on future capital projects, even though its rating remains relatively high.
"This is an investment worthy of being made."
Gov. Malloy to charter school students who had been bused to the Capitol Tuesday evening to thank him for proposing an increase in funds for charters.
Get the latest headlines right to your mobile
Visit m.ctmirror.org on your mobile device
FOLLOW US ON: 
PROUD SPONSOR
Top donors to the CT congressional delegation
1. United Technologies, $197,500
2. Sempra Energy, $133,100
3. General Electric, $121,775
4. Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, $106,510
5. Goldman Sachs, $99,500
Source: Maplight
PROUD SPONSOR
PROUD SPONSOR
