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CREC school transportation costs high
If you happen to be driving across Hartford around the time school lets out you may find yourself behind a full-size passenger van with a bright yellow sign that says “Carrying School Children” emblazoned on the back. Many of these vans are carrying children to and...
GAAP gap shrinks; bonding surges
Years of budget gimmicks have left Connecticut with a billion-dollar deficit under normal accounting rules. That deficit fell by one third last fiscal year, from $1.7 to $1.1 billion, largely due to a reduction in accounts payable owed. This shortfall represents the...
Former Connecticut Lottery CFO hits jackpot
The former chief financial officer of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation won big when he left his position in 2011, pocketing $50,000 under a separation agreement. The CLC and John Ramadei entered the agreement in November 2011. Under the agreement, the CLC paid...
Auditors: No more paid holidays for inmates
The Department of Correction gave inmates paid holidays until auditors questioned the practice 18 months ago. According to a June 20 report by the Auditors of Pubic Accounts, the department unit charged with employing and training inmates had a tradition of paying...
Counselor gets two years after billing Medicaid for fake appointments
A federal judge sentenced a Norwalk drug and alcohol counselor to two years in prison after he admitted to billing Medicaid for hundreds of psychotherapy sessions that never occurred. The judge also ordered Alan Emmett Bradley, 57, to pay $151,898.75 in restitution....
CEFIA looks to get back green on green-energy
Connecticut’s green-energy bank hopes to make environmentally-friendly energy a better investment. The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority presents itself as a break from traditional clean-energy funding organizations. CEFIA, a quasi-public...
Cost of Connecticut high school diploma: $165,000
The average cost of educating a child from kindergarten through high school graduation in Connecticut is about $165,000, up nearly 10 percent from last year. According to Department of Education data, Hartford spent the most for each student who received a high school...
State gives $16 million to landlord, but still no agreement with Bridgewater
The largest hedge fund in the world is getting state aid amounting to what looks like $140 million to relocate from Westport to Stamford. That money has already started flowing. The State Bond Commission has allocated $16 million to Bridgewater Associates’...
Legislative Inaction Could Mean the Death of Transparent Government
The election of Kevin Lembo as the state’s Comptroller has always stood out, in my mind, as a bright spot in an otherwise dismal 2010 electoral cycle. His policy initiatives, especially those aimed at greater government transparency, seek to remind lawmakers of an...
Perry Courts Connecticut
Before Connecticut lawmakers could finish patting themselves on the back for a General Assembly session that left the state in a deeper fiscal crisis, worse business climate and with a downward spiraling economy, word broke that Texas Governor Rick Perry is planning a...