What To Do With Hartford’s Garbage?

The City of Hartford hires a public agency to take its trash and burn it into energy.  But as WNPR’s Jeff Cohen reports, the city council rejected a new contract this week — and it’s unclear what comes next.

Here’s the story.

Connecticut Gets Federal Education Reprieve

Connecticut is one of eight states to be granted a waiver from the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind education law.  As WNPR’s Jeff Cohen reports, this comes as Governor Dannel Malloy continues to tout his education reform bill that recently passed.

Here’s the story.

In Hartford, Roldan and Robles Have To Fight For Legislative Seats

Democrats in the City of Hartford met this week to choose their candidates for state representative.  As WNPR’s Jeff Cohen reports, two of the district’s five incumbents didn’t get the nod.

Here’s the story.

At Debate, Lamont Sums Up Competing Narratives

The two remaining Democratic candidates for Senate held their first one-on-one debate today.  WNPR’s Jeff Cohen reports.

Here’s the story.

Hartford Council Minority Leader Takes On Segarra

Larry Deutsch is the minority leader from the Working Families Party.

Here’s an email he sent out this morning.  In short, Deutsch wants employees at the top of the city’s pay scale to take a harder hit than those at the bottom when it comes to sharing in the sacrifice of the city’s budget.  Looks like Segarra may do otherwise.

Trinity College Issues Statement On March Assault

You’ll recall the assault earlier this year of a Trinity College student.  It stirred up a lot of emotion.

Now that the school year is done, Trinity has issued a statement.  It doesn’t say much.  But here it is.

Malloy On Newton, Rowland

In Bridgeport, Democrats have endorsed Ernest Newton for the state Senate seat he was forced to give up after being convicted of corruption charges. As WNPR’s Jeff Cohen reports, Governor Dannel Malloy refused to endorse anyone in the race — including the man who recently left prison.

Here’s the story. Audio to follow.

Capitol West Demo Goes Late Into The Night, Early Into The Morning

UPDATE: The city says night work is done.

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We got a complaint about the Capitol West building through our website that went like this:

“I [live] nearby and it is 2 in the morning on a Tuesday, why are they demolishing the building now? I have to work in a few hours. Ahh that’s right the people in charge live in the valley.”

Seems strange, right?  So we asked.  Turns out because of the need to close an I-84 off ramp, demolition is in fact happening in the wee hours.  In fact, the city says the permits to knock down the blighted building near the capitol allow work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. to accommodate the interstate.  So, sorry, folks.  You’re in for some noisy nights.

But here’s the good news:  The city says the work is tentatively scheduled to end tomorrow.  The noise variance goes through Thursday.

Donovan Says Special Session Will Deal With Jobs and Minimum Wage Bills

Two high-priority pieces of legislation didn’t make it out of the capitol this session: One was a jobs bill, the other raised the minimum hourly wage by a quarter.  But as WNPR’s Jeff Cohen reports, House Speaker Chris Donovan says he expects both to be on the table at an upcoming special session.

Here’s the story.

New Hartford Tax Proposals Lower Taxes On Single Family Homes

Democrats on the Hartford City Council spent much of Friday afternoon trying to figure out just what to do with next year’s city’s budget.  WNPR’s Jeff Cohen reports.

Here’s the story.