Politics

Addressing housing challenges in Hartford. Local tenants met with Mayor Arunan Arulampalam sharing their landlord issues and asking for action. Dozens of tenants came out to a community forum in Hartford to talk about their challenges with landlords on Saturday. This included Victoria Ramos who lives in the South End of the city. She says the condi...

Healthcare workers say they’ve been facing more and more threats and violence since the COVID-19 pandemic.   The death of visiting nurse Joyce Grayson last November just highlighted the problem that lawmakers are looking to address this session. AFT Connecticut Healthcare Vice President Sherri Dayton said every home healthcare worker has their...

Connecticut lawmakers are considering banning the use of legacy and donor preferences in admissions to all colleges and universities across the state, including private ones like Yale University. A bill was advanced to the Senate floor on Thursday, days after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed legislation barring consideration of a student’s...

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced major changes to a group home program, including $6 million in additional funding. DCF rebranded the program STTAR – former STAR — and said the name change represents more support. “Our kids are struggling, they’re struggling,” Jodi Hill-Lilly, the DCF commissioner designate, said. Gov. ...

Lawmakers are hoping to make major changes to Connecticut’s election laws, both in response to problems in Bridgeport’s most recent mayoral vote and to address concerns about the 2024 election. Democrats said they’re finalizing a bill to address some of the issues from Bridgeport, where a judge required a section primary and election. “We have draf...

Lawmakers say they share parents’ outrage over video showing 10,000 drivers illegally passing Bridgeport buses. Now, they want to change state laws so it’s easier for cities and towns to crack down. “We want to make sure that no child’s life is lost,” Sen. Herron Gaston (D-Bridgeport) said. The bill would allow towns to pass their own r...

A proposed study on electric vehicles is reigniting debate about a mandate modeled after California regulations. Democrats want to create a 40-person council to study how to make electric vehicles more affordable and easier to own in Connecticut. “Our constituents really deserve a plan, that’s what we’re getting at here,” Sen. Christine Cohen (D-Gu...

School boards around Connecticut are having heated debates about which books belong in schools. Some lawmakers are looking to set rules on when and how to remove books from a library. “I think librarians see themselves as leaders and the ones who hold and guard knowledge and the opportunity to access that,” Rep. Jeff Currey, (D-East Hartford) said ...

Connecticut has only met its self-imposed emissions standards once since establishing them in 2008. That came in 2020, when most people stayed home as much as possible. On Friday, Democrats promoted legislation aimed at bringing down greenhouse gasses. “We know it’s real, we it’s urgent,” Rep. Christine Palm (D-Chester), vice chairwoman of th...

President Joe Biden delivered a defiant argument for a second term in his State of the Union speech Thursday night, lacing into GOP front-runner Donald Trump for espousing “resentment, revenge and retribution” and for jeopardizing freedom at home and abroad.

The Connecticut Nonprofit Child Tax Credit Coalition joined a group of lawmakers, nonprofits, and families at a news conference Wednesday to call for a permanent, fully refundable child tax credit. The credit would give families $600 a year per child with the goal of closing the gap on child poverty and creating a fair tax system. Lawmakers said pu...

Mini alcohol bottles remain a problem all over the state, with drivers discarding the bottles along the roadside. “They’re on the streets, a lot of them on the streets, I’ve witnessed people throwing nip bottles out of their cars,” Cynthia Chesky, a Bristol resident and co-founder of CT Towns Nixing the Nips, said. Chesky’s group was at...

Colleges and universities are working to decide how to address proposed budget cuts to higher education for the 2025 fiscal budget. The cuts stem from Governor Ned Lamont’s proposed budget, which does not include any new money for higher education. In addition, the loss of COVID-19 relief funds which are running out, would negatively impact c...

Some legislators are looking to delay a law they put into place just last year. Specifically, a requirement that all kids be 5 years old before Sept. 1 to enroll in kindergarten. Parents and school officials say they haven’t had enough time to get ready. “In hindsight, we should have anticipated this,” Rep. Mary Welander (D-Orange) said during a pr...

The state has made recent changes to help taxpayers’ wallets – lower the income tax, cap car taxes and raise the property tax credit. But what about keeping down the costs that drive property tax bills? Gov. Ned Lamont believes the state can help towns find savings. “What can we do to hold down costs?” Lamont said during a press…

Election regulators are investigating new complaints of irregularities, this time involving the do-over Democratic primary on Jan. 23. The State Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC) is looking into 11 complaints, including one involving an absentee ballot cast despite the applicant dying while waiting for the ballot. The complaints were referred ...