Maureen M. Murphy taking the oath before testifying at her confirmation hearing.
The Malloy administration prepped Maureen M. Murphy for her judicial confirmation hearing Wednesday with questions about her sexual orientation and the pivotal role she played in the legalization of gay marriage in Connecticut. But the only controversy came from an unexpected quarter, unrelated to issues of gay rights or questions of judicial activism.
The governor wants to encourage regionalizing by cutting back on how much the state sends to the smallest school districts. Tiny Canaan, for example, spends $22,450 for each of its 139 students, the most expensive per-student spending in the state.
But Canaan First Selectwoman Patricia Ally Mechare says regionalizing doesn't necessarily save money and argues that her town is "being responsible by spending what it takes, while the state hasn't."
"We're still unstable. We're still unsure. ... We have to prepare for the worst," said House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero.
"Our economy is beginning to grow, and we are taking on other, systemic issues," the governor said.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.
Edwin Rosales, a high school junior, said, 'I can count on one hand the teachers that have motivated me to success. One hand.'
"We run the risk of losing good teachers, of evaluation becoming a 'gotcha' practice, and of establishing a culture of fear, rather than collaboration in our schools," Phil Apruzzese, head of the state's largest teachers union, told the Education Committee.
Commissioner Daniel C. Esty: a promise only to be thoughtful
Sen. Leonard A. Fasano: a demand for post-Irene seawallsA lightning rod for controversy last year as he oversaw the birth of a new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Daniel C. Esty glided through a lengthy and ultimately uneventful confirmation hearing Tuesday -- even though he declined to promise approval of post-Irene seawalls.
Attorney General George C. Jepsen
Attorney 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."
"I think the people you serve should get it first," Sen. Toni Harp told the DCF commissioner..
On Friday afternoon, in a room in the state Legislative Office Building, a single, small number seemed to stand out and tell its own story. The number was 83, and it referred to the number of children who are in state custody for only one reason: their families have no home.
Washington -- Raising taxes on hedge fund managers is under scrutiny again, with the president pushing for income from the funds to be taxed like wages. For the wealthiest Americans, this could mean a rate as high as 39%.
This would have a big impact in the state, home to more than 200 hedge funds. So the Connecticut hedge fund industry is fighting back.
"The federal Department of Homeland Security is about to make New Haven less safe and less secure," said Mayor John DeStefano
New Haven -- City and law enforcement leaders are calling on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to reject a U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiative -- called Secure Communities -- they say would encourage racial profiling and undermine the city and state's power to police themselves.
Wadsworth Atheneum: a state earmark (Wikipedia photo) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License
Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, calls earmarks "the most misunderstood thing in Congress."
"There's a difference between a 'bridge to nowhere' and funding for the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum," he said.
U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy accepting the Working Families Party endorsement in December.
The word never will pass Chris Murphy's lips, at least not in public. But the congressman is doing everything he can to create the impression that his winning the Democratic nomination for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's seat is, well, inevitable.
It's a sense that Murphy's supporters encourage, even if Mitt Romney is finding that inevitability can be a fickle friend in 2012.
The state is poised to open its employee health plan to municipalities and school districts, a controversial concept long advocated by labor unions, town officials and Democratic legislators.
"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.
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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
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