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.
Read moreNew 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.
Read moreRep. 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.
Read moreIn coming up with his compromise in the dispute over whether religious-affiliated employers should have to provide contraceptive coverage for their employees, President Obama failed to consider the concerns of insurance companies who would be required to provide contraceptive coverage for free.
Mickey Herbert, former CEO of Connecticare, said Thursday that Obama's compromise "is not the way insurers operate."
Read moreThe unusually mild winter might have flummoxed forecasters, frustrated ski buffs and worried those concerned about climate change, but so far, it's been a critical break for poor families relying on a reduced pot of government assistance to pay for heat.
Washington -- President Obama's new budget request would be tough on Connecticut's hedge fund managers and its defense industry.
But it could provide a lift for the state's community colleges, small manufacturers and doctors.
Washington --President Obama's turnaround on his contraceptives policy for religiously affiliated institutions has failed to win over the Catholic bishops in Connecticut, but it won praise from prominent state Democrats who were drawn into an election-year debate that the party hopes will fade.
Connecticut's 20-year history as a loyal supporter of Democratic presidential candidates -- the state gave Obama 61 percent of the vote in 2008 -- probably means that none of the presidential candidates will physically spend much time in the state between now and November, but they will look to the state for more money than ever to run their campaigns.
Read moreWashington -- In the political money chase in the race to fill retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman's seat, deep-pocketed Linda McMahon began the year with the least amount of money.
But given that she spent $50 million of her own money on her failed 2008 Senate bid, McMahon should be able to manage a slight cash infusion if she runs a little low as the campaign progresses.
Sen. Joe Lieberman may be retiring from Congress, but he hasn't stopped raising campaign donations for his leadership PAC.
Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, raised more than $50,000 for his Reuniting Our Country political action committee after he announced his retirement in January of last year.
Read moreThe STOCK Act was introduced in 2007 and languished for years, finally getting a boost from a Nov. 13 "60 Minutes" show.
The segment said members of Congress often invest in businesses about to be affected by pending legislation.
"The segment was much criticized as too harsh and inaccurate by some legislators, but...the public was alarmed and unhappy," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia professor.
"This is a Congress with an 11 percent job approval rating, so it can hardly afford to ignore signs of public unhappiness," he said.
Read moreIf President Obama has his way, the money that colleges receive from Washington will soon go to schools that can lower their tuition or at least hold it steady.
That may be a problem for Connecticut's 17 public colleges, which have almost doubled tuition and fees over the last decade and have already approved tuition increases for the next school year that exceed the rate of inflation.
Connecticut ranks 16th among the states in the percentage of the work force involved in advanced manufacturing -- the use of cutting-edge technology in the manufacturing process. That's the kind of industry Obama wants to promote in his 'blueprint for an economy that's built to last.'
Read moreWashington -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's vision for a "smaller, leaner" military could put the Naval Submarine Base New London on the chopping block and trim billions of dollars from Connecticut's defense industry.
In his address to the nation Tuesday night, President Obama called for a rebirth of manufacturing, a fairer tax system and a stronger community college system. Most Connecticut lawmakers agreed with the president's priorities, especially his emphasis on manufacturing and education.
Read morePresident Obama's State of the Union address tonight will focus on jobs, education, renewable energy and values. It will also outline the the reasons he deserves a second term.
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.
The Connecticut State University system hired the Washington lobbying firm McAllister & Quinn, paying it more than $100,000 last year to seek, among other things, federal funding for a robotics project at Central Connecticut State University. But CSU's relationship with its hired gun in Washington may soon end. "If there are no earmarks and less grant money in Washington, does it make sense to have a lobbyist?" said Colleen Flanagan, spokeswoman for the Board of Regents for Higher Education.
Read moreThe online piracy bills, known by their acronyms -- SOPA in the House and PIPA in the Senate -- aim to protect U.S. companies against foreign websites that illegally post copyrighted material. Opponents argue the legislation would harm innovation and give Washington too much power to shut down websites.
Read moreThe Occupy protesters huddled in McPherson Square in the nation's capitol and the 250 U.S. mayors meeting a block away this week have at least one thing in common: They are both reacting to the economy. Like the protesters, the nation's mayors are seeking action from Washington. But that may be hard to find.
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"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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