Working Families Catch A (Tax) Break
by | Aug 17, 2021 2:44 pm | Comments (4)
Sophie Sonnenfeld Photo
Gov. Ned Lamont Tuesday with Junta staff and, at left, State Rep. Al Paolillo.
Guess who’s getting a bigger tax break in Connecticut?
State
$400M Still Available In State Rental Aid
by | Jul 30, 2021 3:00 pm | Comments (2)
Thomas Breen photo
UniteCT Director Dawn Parker (right) with Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz and Mayor Elicker.
As the federal eviction moratorium is set to expire this weekend, local and state officials gathered at City Hall to urge tenants who are behind on rent to tap into $400 million in pandemic-era relief designed to keep Connecticut families in their homes.
Continue reading ‘$400M Still Available In State Rental Aid’
For Work & Family, Holdouts Get Vax’d
by | Jul 26, 2021 1:03 pm | Comments (7)
Thomas Breen photos
Shahkim Khalil gets his shot, for his kid and his job.
Lamont Douglass gets his shot, because work required it.
After nearly half a year on the fence, Lamont Douglass decided Monday to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Why now, so relatively late in the pandemic? Because his employer required him to.
Cycletrack Construction Start Celebrated
by | Jul 23, 2021 9:45 am | Comments (7)
Thomas Breen photo
Cyclists, get ready. A protected bike track is on the way.
The long-delayed Edgewood Cycletrack spun a wheel or two closer to fruition, as city staffers and cycling advocates gathered to celebrate the construction underway on the new 2.1‑mile protected bike path.
State Getting $300M In Opioid Blood Money To Tackle Addiction
by | Jul 21, 2021 2:52 pm | Comments (5)
Big Pharma companies that killed countless Americans by pushing and lying about their highly addictive painkillers will send Connecticut $300 million over 18 years to help the state deal with the wreckage.
Continue reading ‘State Getting $300M In Opioid Blood Money To Tackle Addiction’
New Union Station Deal Draws Near
by | Jul 20, 2021 1:08 pm | Comments (13)
Thomas Breen photo
Union Station: Final details of next iteration being hammered out.
Zoom
Hausladen at Monday meeting: Details ready by September.
A planned new 55-year accord between the city and the state over the future of Union Station is in the final stages of negotiation, with formal submission of a detailed “lease and funding” document expected within two months.
Senators Hit Roadblock: Their Governor
by | Jul 1, 2021 5:16 pm | Comments (16)
Paul Bass Photo
Cabrera and Winfield at WNHH FM Thursday for session debrief.
Gary Winfield and Jorge Cabrera joined fellow state lawmakers in seizing a chance this year to move Connecticut in a more just direction — and found a governor from their own party standing in the way.
Tourism Chief Sees Booming Summer
by | Jun 28, 2021 8:48 am | Comments (4)
A mixture of caution and restlessness will turn Connecticut into a booming travel destination this summer, predicts Connecticut Interim Director of Tourism Christine Castonguay.
Castonguay joined WNHH FM’s “Municipal Voice,” produced and hosted by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, to discuss why more tourists might say, “Yes to Connecticut.”
DuBois-Walton Hits Mayor On Taxes, Breaks
by | Jun 24, 2021 8:15 pm | Comments (29)
Thomas Breen photo
DuBois-Walton at presser: Mayor’s job is to find way to do what’s right.
If something appears wrong — like city government OK’ing, with almost no questions asked, $900,000 in state tax breaks for companies accused of fraud and controlled by an imprisoned sex predator — what should a mayor do?
Mayoral candidate Karen DuBois-Walton offered an answer Thursday that differed from the one offered by her opponent: Find a legal way to do what’s right.
Continue reading ‘DuBois-Walton Hits Mayor On Taxes, Breaks’
State Legalizes Adult Marijuana Use
by | Jun 22, 2021 4:22 pm | Comments (22)
Winfield at signing: “We didn’t just talk about equity. We built it in.”
It’s official: Gov. Ned Lamont gave the final needed signature Tuesday to make recreational cannabis use legal in Connecticut for adults over 21 as of July 1.
State Budget Result: City’s PILOT Doubles+
by | Jun 9, 2021 9:19 pm | Comments (11)
New Haven can expect to receive $90 million this coming year in state payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) — more than twice as much as last year.
Continue reading ‘State Budget Result: City’s PILOT Doubles+’
Subsidy OK’d For Sex Predator’s Companies
by | Jun 8, 2021 10:58 am | Comments (35)
Thomas Breen pre-pandemic file photos
Alder Roth: But… Board Prez Walker-Myers: Stop right there.
Thomas Breen Photo
DuBois-Walton: City Hall should have audited Greer’s companies before giving alders list recommendation.
The Board of Alders overwhelmingly voted to approve another $900,000 in state tax credits for six companies controlled by imprisoned sex predator Rabbi Daniel Greer — and shut down two alders’ attempts to discuss allegations of fraud by those companies.
Continue reading ‘Subsidy OK’d For Sex Predator’s Companies’
Alders OK $26.3M Fed Aid Plan
by | Jun 8, 2021 8:40 am | Comments (1)
Zoom photo
Monday night’s Board of Alders meeting.
Tens of millions of dollars of federal pandemic-era aid flowed in and out of the Aldermanic Chambers, as city legislators approved a $26.3 million spending plan with one vote, and accepted another $25.3 million in federal aid with a second.
Greer Companies’ Tax Credits Advance
by | Jun 4, 2021 4:23 pm | Comments (9)
File photos
Brackeen (center), Schroeter (right): It’s up to the state. Winter (left): It’s up to us, too.
Chris Peak pre-pandemic file photo
Rabbi Daniel Greer: City Hall claims it no choice but to continue funneling tax breaks his way.
A city alder pushed back against the Elicker administration after it doubled down on greenlighting another $900,000 in housing-rehab tax credits for companies accused of fraud and controlled by an imprisoned sex predator.
Mayors Issue PILOT Plea
by | Jun 4, 2021 11:57 am | Comments (7)
Thomas Breen photo
Mayor Elicker: “Fully fund the tiered PILOT program.”
The city’s fiscal future hangs in the balance as state lawmakers and the governor play chicken on municipal aid — and as Mayor Justin Elicker weighs whether or not to sign an alder-approved city budget that assumes a hefty fiscal bump from Hartford.
Alleged Murderer’s Parents Show Support
by | Jun 1, 2021 3:14 pm | Comments (3)
Thomas Breen photos
Qinxuan Pan (right) with defense attorney William Gerace in court Tuesday.
Gerace meets with Pan’s parents, Hao Pan and Hong Huang, after the hearing.
Qinxuan Pan’s parents drove down from Massachusetts Tuesday to quietly show support for their incarcerated son, who appeared in court in person for the first time to face charges that he allegedly murdered Yale graduate student Kevin Jiang.
“It is sorry this happened,” Pan’s mom, Hong Huang, said after the brief procedural hearing.
When asked how she and her husband, Hao Pan, felt to watch their son appear in court in the ongoing murder case, Huang said, “Sad. Only one word. Sad.”
Safe Streets Law Passed, Minus Cameras
by | Jun 1, 2021 1:00 pm | Comments (20)
Laura Glesby Photo
Sign prepared by safe-streets advocates listing names of cyclists and pedestrians killed by cars.
Thomas Breen Photo
Roland Lemar at helm of the legislature’s Transportation Committee.
New Haven State Rep. Roland Lemar has accomplished a years-long quest of passing legislation to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety — minus speed cameras that topped local advocates’ wish list.
Opinion: End—Don’t Move—Solitary Confinement
by | May 26, 2021 8:35 am | Comments (6)
Yale Visual Law Project Stills
The bed and window in a Northern Correctional Institution cell.
I am writing to you from inside my cell in MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield. As a victim and witness of the abuse prisoners suffer in this state, I strongly support S. B. 1059, the bill to end long-term solitary confinement.
Continue reading ‘Opinion: End—Don’t Move—Solitary Confinement’
Alder To State: Follow New Haven’s Lead On Worker Recall
by | May 25, 2021 11:38 am | Comments (7)
Paul Bass Photo
Alder Rodriguez (speaking at an event this month): Hundreds of my constituents and neighbors lost jobs in the pandemic.
(Opinion)—As both a healthcare worker and a member of the New Haven Board of Alders, I have seen the enormous impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our communities.
Continue reading ‘Alder To State: Follow New Haven’s Lead On Worker Recall’
$1B Chance Looms To “Transform” Learning
by | May 19, 2021 1:44 pm | Comments (2)
Thomas Breen photo
State schools chief Charlene Russell-Tucker in New Haven Tuesday.
Summer camp scholarships. Free student access to museums. Tens of millions of dollars to address learning loss. Hundreds of millions more in direct aid to local education boards — including $79.9 million, not $94 million, for New Haven schools.
A state official came to town to dangle those possibilities.
Lamont Loosens Mask Mandate; Jury Trials Resuming June 1
by | May 18, 2021 6:48 pm | Comments (0)
Thomas Breen photo
Gov. Lamont in New Haven on Tuesday.
Masks can come off — for vaccinated individuals, in most settings statewide — starting Wednesday, according to a new order signed by Gov. Ned Lamont.
And jury trials in Connecticut will resume starting June 1.
Continue reading ‘Lamont Loosens Mask Mandate; Jury Trials Resuming June 1’
Landlord Wary Of Tapping State Program In Eviction Case
by | May 18, 2021 2:53 pm | Comments (6)
Paul Bass File Photo
Legal aid attorney Yonatan Zamir: Landlord’s actions “unconscionable.”
A judge sent a local mega-landlord to mediation with a tenant who owes back rent, after the tenant’s lawyer called “unconscionable” the landlord’s refusal to let the tenant benefit from emergency public aid.
Continue reading ‘Landlord Wary Of Tapping State Program In Eviction Case’
State To Remove Mask Mandate In Most Situations; City Staying “Status Quo”
by | May 17, 2021 6:31 pm | Comments (8)
Thomas Breen photo
Mayor Elicker: city sticking with “status quo” approach to mask guidelines, for now.
Come Wednesday, fully vaccinated people will be able to leave their masks in their pockets — even when going indoors — in most settings across the state.
City Hall, meanwhile, is sticking with a “status quo” approach to local mask-wearing recommendations, as city officials push to get more New Haveners inoculated against Covid-19.
Continue reading ‘State To Remove Mask Mandate In Most Situations; City Staying “Status Quo”’
As Session Nears End, House Speaker Prioritizes Longterm Growth
by | May 14, 2021 8:41 am | Comments (1)
Connecticut Speaker of the House Matthew Ritter helps pick which bills make it to his fellow legislators for a final vote. What he’s looking for in those bills is investment in long-term growth.
Ritter talked about his priorities in an appearance on WNHH FM’s “The Municipal Voice,” hosted by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and WNHH, as the legislative season draws to a close.
Continue reading ‘As Session Nears End, House Speaker Prioritizes Longterm Growth’
“Fair Work Week” Bill Gains Traction
by | May 13, 2021 8:45 am | Comments (2)
A lawsuit by New York City against Chipotle alleging unfair labor practices might be the momentum a Connecticut “fair work week” bill needs to finally pass the Connecticut General Assembly.