Connecticut Local Politics

The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut and the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce cohosted the annual Economic Breakfast this morning in New London. The Glass is half full or half empty. The Economy is picking up or it is not. This was truly a day when all agreed with the late [...]

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The Washington Post reports that one of the myriad sugarplums of pork tucked into the fetid crap sandwich that is the Senate version of Health Care “Reform” is $100 million dollars for a university hospital, and that it has been set aside for none other than Chris Dodd, whom the paper notes “faces a difficult [...]

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This evening the Senate passed the motion for debate on the healthcare bill.
Here’s what Senator Dodd, who took over work on the HELP committee for his ailing friend and colleague, the late Senator Edward Kennedy, had to say:
if you’ve watched the debate here in the Senate over the past few days, you’ve probably [...]

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Sen. Joe Lieberman announced today that he would be a thorn in the side of those trying to pass a health care reform package with a government-sponsored plan:
“We’re trying to do too much at once,” Lieberman said. “To put this government-created insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the [...]

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Given by Gov. Rell spokesman Rich Harris in an interview:
The Moody e-mails had been withheld from a reporter inadvertently because the governor’s staff had not correctly used the “Find” function in the Outlook e-mail program when complying with The Day’s records request.
From Ted Mann’s piece More questions for Rell likely over budget-poll focus [...]

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After the president’s speech tonight, Rep. Courtney will be discussing their reactions to the speech and health care in general with his guest, Dr. Dinesh Kapur, the Medical Director of Oncology at The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. Dr. Kapur is also an Attending Physician in Hematology, Oncology and Internal Medicine. You can watch [...]

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This is a nice post to do today, when it seems like the debate over health care is starting to shift into the legislative endgame.
Rep. Joe Courtney held a telephone town hall on health care on August 24th. According to what Brian Farber, Deputy Chief of Staff/Communications Director for Rep. Courtney, said near the end [...]

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Originally posted by Scarce over at MLN. He is not a fan of a public option, and thinks that it is the major barrier to reform:

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Here are the final questions from the Town Hall Meeting held by Second District Congressman Joe Courtney.
22. You haven’t taken my phone calls, your office has not responded to my questions so I came here in person. I am a small business owner. My standards are “profit and simplicity” (Loud cheers from [...]

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Continuing the saga of last night’s, September 2, 2009, Town Hall Meeting held by Second District Congressman Joe Courtney.
15. The collection of people in this hall is less than one percent of a voting precinct. Please don’t let a skewed audience swing your vote. (Shouts and rumblings from the audience). A [...]

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Rep. Jim Himes’ health care town hall scheduled for 6:30 pm this evening in Bridgeport has been moved to the Klein Auditorium at 910 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport in anticipation of a big turnout.
Okay Tea Bagger Judy Aron it’s been posted on CTLP. No whining about being victim of a vast left-wing liberal conspiracy, [...]

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My account of last night’s, September 2, 2009, Town Hall Meeting with Second District Congressman Joe Courtney continues below. For those interested in a shorter summary than my many part tome may chose to the account in the New London DAY or the Norwich Bulletin.
We are picking up the questioning with the seventh question [...]

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I attended the Town Hall Meeting that Second District Congressman Joe Courtney held at Montville High School tonight, September 2, 2009. Because of the length of the Town Hall Meeting and the over twenty questions asked, I am splitting the report into two or more posts, one tonight and the others throughout the day [...]

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Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez announced yesterday that he will soon be arrested for the second time this year stemming from an investigation into the past misdeeds of former State Rep. Abe Giles.
“I am innocent of the charges against me and I will fight for the facts to come out because the truth is on my side,” Perez [...]

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–by Linda Meric, Executive Director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women.
Eighty-nine years after women finally won the right to vote, we honor the past success of the women’s suffrage movement and recommit to today’s continuing fight for equality.
There is still much work to be done. Women still earn less than men, and are still [...]

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Foreclosures are up, now the Courant is reporting that a shocking 1 in 17 (6%) mortgages are either overdue or in foreclosure. This is up from 1.5% in 2007. This number is higher (8%) nationally.
The unemployment rate is down slightly from 8% to 7.8%, though it’s still high. Nationally, unemployment is at 9.8%. Remember, however, [...]

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Above is a graph (larger view) comparing the rate of change of government employment to private employment in Connecticut over the last decade. The data was provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C.

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The governor’s Charter Oak health care plan (remember that?) turned a year old last week, and the governor has been touting the plan’s enrollment. In a release, Rell’s office said that over 10,000 people had already enrolled, with another 5,000 set to become part of the program. The plan provides coverage to anyone who applies, [...]

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A man has been set free two decades after his conviction after the Connecticut Innocence Project used DNA evidence to show that he had not committed the crime he was accused of. Said Rep. Mike Lawlor (D-East Haven), co-chair of the Judiciary Committee:
This is yet another Connecticut example of an innocent person having spent two [...]

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Since his announcement that he has prostate cancer, Senator Chris Dodd has been advocating health care reform using his own experience as an example:
“I didn’t wake up the morning of June 19th — when I found out I had prostate cancer — and worry about whether or not I have a health care plan or whether I would get access [...]

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