Connecticut Local Politics

Yesterday the the National Partnership for Women and Families, Working Families and ACORN released what they’re calling an in-depth economic analysis of the proposed paid sick days bill. Here’s what they found, according to a release:
“This bill turns out to be a benefits for employers, employees and the public health,” said Steffany Stern, policy Analyst […]

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Democratic leaders today announced a campaign for their universal 401(k) bill intended to help employees of small businesses afford to save for retirement. From a release:
SB 652, AN ACT CONCERNING SMALL BUSINESS RETIREMENT PLANS, which was first announced in February and currently awaits action by the Senate, calls for the state to serve as a […]

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A new poll commissioned by the Working Families Party and conducted by Bannon Research shows broad support for a measure currently in the Senate that would create a minimum number of paid sick days per year for all employees. 68.6% of total respondents strongly favored the idea, 18.6% mildly favored it, while only 8% opposed […]

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The Secretary of the State’s office announced today that a record number of businesses have folded in Connecticut during the first quarter of 2008.
Nearly 2,800 businesses have closed between January and March, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said. She said it’s the highest number of business closings for a first quarter since at least […]

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One of the big accomplishments Speaker Jim Amann is often bragging about is the tax credits that brought bits and pieces of the film industry to Connecticut. However, a new report by Connecticut Voices for Children questions whether this is the right way to spend our money:
Connecticut’s tax credit-based investment in its entertainment industry far […]

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This is kind of an interesting proposal–and if enacted, it would be the first in the nation. From a Senate Dems release:

State Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) joined State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney (D-New Haven), State Senator Gary LeBeau (D-East Hartford), a small business owner, and a member of […]

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So much for that good economy and record low unemployment we had last year. According to a new report, national trends are going to throw us back to our usual state of stagnation and rising unemployment.
By the second half of 2009, a weakening national economy will drive state employment below 1.7 million total jobs — […]

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Remember the checks John Rowland used to send us? Well, it’s not happening on Jodi Rell’s watch:
Saying that state taxpayers will receive $2 billion from the federal stimulus package, Gov. M. Jodi Rell made her strongest statements yet against spending Connecticut’s budget surplus on a state stimulus plan.

Legislators have been debating whether the state can […]

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House Republicans today proposed their own economic stimulus package, after Democrats in the Senate and Gov. Rell proposed their own ideas. From the House GOP’s website:
For the short term, Republicans outlined a specific timetable of public hearings and various committee reviews that could produce a bipartisan, comprehensive relief package by March 19. Republicans proposed using […]

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A quick note: the frequency of my posts is going to go down considerably from here on in, and you’ll mostly be seeing me post in the afternoons and evenings. However, I hope to have some longer and more thoughtful posts instead of the usual quick updates throughout the day.
The Pequots are not happy. And […]

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Press Release in Full:

Presidential Candidate and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd will meet with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to discuss the recent fluctuations of the market and issues confronting the mortgage market tomorrow, Tuesday, August 21st. Dodd, who has led on the issue of addressing the […]

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Excerpt from a speech Chris Dodd gave to the Iowa Federation of Labor.
This is an issue of safety. Parents should be confident that the toys and food that they give their children have been inspected and are safe. That’s why I am calling on the President to use his authority to immediately suspend all imports […]

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HH wrote two weeks ago about $50 million for the Sub Base in Groton being cut from the budget, and the usual finger-pointing that ensued.
The good folks at SubCap.com are trying to get as many voices heard on the subject of this funding as possible, so that it’ll be put back into the budget as […]

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Nancy Wyman is unhappy about the way the surplus is being spent:
Comptroller Nancy Wyman, a Democrat, said more of the surplus should have been socked away in the state’s emergency rainy day fund.
[…]
The legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis has projected that the state could see budget deficits totaling $1.7 billion from fiscal years 2010 […]

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There’s a union organizing drive on at Foxwoods:
The United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America said Monday that Foxwoods dealers and other workers are signing cards that could force a federally-supervised vote. The drive is taking place in employee parking lots, break areas at Foxwoods and outside the casino.
[…]
Management at Foxwoods over the […]

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