On Sept. 15, one of the five Department of Public Utility Control commissioners, Amalia Vazquez Bzdyra, was arrested on a charge of shoplifting. According to City of New Britain parking records obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request, Bzdyra left the parking garage used by DPUC at 11:56 a.m. on Sept. 15. The New [...]
A concerned citizen in Stratford wrote a letter to his three representatives in Washington hoping they would oppose a change in federal policy, but their responses raise questions about how closely they read his letter. Samuel Rizzitelli, a financial planner with an office in Stratford, wrote to Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd, retiring Democratic Sen. Chris [...]
Democratic candidate for governor Dan Malloy made a pitch to 3,000 teachers Wednesday night during a telephone town hall, using the opportunity to attack his opponent’s commitment to education funding and make other key distinctions. Malloy referenced the state’s constitutional obligation to provide education at least twice during the call and called binding arbitration a [...]
Pratt & Whitney announced plans to close two Connecticut facilities, the Cheshire Engine Center and East Hartford’s Connecticut Airfoil and Repair Operations, in July 2009. The company planned to move the work to Georgia, Japan and Singapore. Pratt & Whitney then lost a lawsuit and subsequent appeal which forced it to keep the two facilities [...]
If the states are laboratories, then the lab to our north has at least one specimen growing out-of-control. Department of Social Services Commissioner Michael Starkowski recently told Connecticut’s Health Care Reform Cabinet about the contrast between insurance exchanges in Massachusetts and Utah. Utah Massachusetts Start-up costs $500,000 $25,000,000 Annual budget $600,000 $30,000,000 # of [...]
Connecticut has spent “approximately $125,000” on signs advertising that project funding came from federal stimulus grants, according to state officials. State Recovery Act coordinator Matt Fritz said the figure includes $96,000 for signs related to transportation projects, including highways, bridges and transit. “The remainder is derived from signs for clean water, drinking water, diesel reduction, [...]
Connecticut faces a $2 million potential lawsuit from a woman whose only two fertilized embryos were mistakenly implanted in another woman at a private clinic affiliated with the University of Connecticut Health Center. The state has already paid a $45,000 settlement related to the April 2009 incident. The clinic’s medical director – a state employee [...]
Watch out, you might be eating too close to your pool. The Goldwater Institute in Arizona points out that if local officials are cracking down on pool parties, their budget isn’t tight enough. In Arizona, resorts have taken to throwing pool parties because of the economic downturn. That’s resourceful and creative. Busting people for eating [...]
In a marathon, one runner leads the pack. In an army, one leader stands at the head. In the Connecticut General Assembly, everyone’s a leader. In the 36-member Senate, there are 36 leaders. The House is less Utopian with only two out of three state representatives getting a fancy title. Each “leader” gets a little extra [...]
Minnesota has banned bar specials that only apply to women. However, the tradition of ladies night continues despite a decree by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights dating back to 1994. In a more recent move, the department is targeting five unnamed bars in the Twin Cities that have the nerve to charge women lower [...]
