2018 Session

Why She Voted No

by | May 21, 2018 4:56 pm | Comments (5)

Christopher Peak Photo

State Rep. Pat Dillon.

State Rep. Pat Dillon recently wrote the following message to her constituents to explain why she deemed possibly controversial” no votes on two environmental bills that passed in the recently concluded legislative session. (Click here and here to read news stories about those two bills, House Bill 5360 and Senate Bill 9.)

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Session Scorecard: Mixed Bag For City

by | May 11, 2018 1:35 pm | Comments (11)

Markeshia Ricks Photos

Rep. Toni Walker huddles with colleagues on session’s final night …

… while Sen. Martin Looney listens to floor debate.

Hartford —Dreamers got financial aid. Women got a shot at pay equity. Westville homeowners will get sinking-home money.

A bottle deposit on nips? Tweed-New Haven’s runway? Bitcoin regulation? Didn’t quite make it. But they got on the agenda and will return next year.

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Elm City Shoe Leather Pays Off At Capitol

by | May 7, 2018 4:20 pm | Comments (21)

Thomas Breen photo

Aaron Goode outside 200 Orange polls: Legislators eventually agreed to join national compact.

Aaron Goode traveled to the state Capitol five times and sent hundreds of emails to try to convince legislators to have Connecticut join a national movement to bypass the electoral college in choosing a president. Those years of lobbying by him and other New Haven pro-democracy activists have now borne results.

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House Passes Billboard Brightness Bill

by | May 3, 2018 7:44 am | Comments (4)

Christine Stuart photo

The General Assembly’s legit electronic billboard shows the House vote on the billboard bill.

Richard Furlow photo

The new Whalley billboard.

Spurred by public opposition to a blinding blinking billboard on New Haven’s Whalley Avenue, state legislators voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill that would allow cities and towns to regulate the illumination of public advertisements, so long as those signs have the technological ability to calibrate their own brightness.

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New Haven Day At the Capitol: A Slice Of The Pie

by | Apr 18, 2018 3:21 pm | Comments (1)

Markeshia Ricks Photo

Mayor Harp: New Haven is important to the health of the state.

Andy Wolf helps show off the state’s cultural capital at the State Capitol.

Hartford—New Haven invited state lawmakers and others at the state Capitol Wednesday to have a slice of apizza pie — and learn why the Elm City is one of the most important slices of Connecticut.

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As YouTube Cowers, Gun Bills Advance

by | Apr 4, 2018 3:03 pm | Comments (16)

Ghostguns.com

Ghost gun available on the Internet.

Markeshia Ricks Photo

Winfield: Open carry in state parks doesn’t make me feel safe.

(Corrected) — While another active shooter drama unfolded on the West Coast Tuesday, Connecticut legislators debated whether to respond to the epidemic by restricting certain types of guns and accessories — or by allowing people to carry guns openly in state parks.

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Electronic Billboard Bill Advances

by | Apr 3, 2018 8:24 am | Comments (11)

Richard Furlow Photo

The billboard at night: It’s lit.

Hartford—New Haven State Rep. Pat Dillon said she received some criticism from colleagues when she introduced a bill that would reinforce cities’ authority to regulate the brightness of digital billboards. Weren’t there more important things for her to draft legislation about?

Then a new sign at Whalley Avenue and Emerson Street was powered on.

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Electronic Billboard Quest Comes To Capitol

by | Mar 20, 2018 8:10 am | Comments (1)

Markeshia Ricks Photo

Furlow testifies at the Capitol Monday..

The fate of a digital billboard erected on Whalley Avenue is clear. It’s not going anywhere.

But west-side neighbors and elected officials said the city should have more explicit power to regulate such future billboards, though outdoor advertising advocates say it already has such powers.

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“Bridgehaven” Makes Capitol Casino Case

by | Mar 15, 2018 5:41 pm | Comments (7)

Markeshia Ricks Photos

Ganim, Walker and Harp pitch for Bridgeport and New Haven (top); Davis and Maynard pitch for tribal casino underway in East Windsor.

Hartford — Mayor Toni Harp and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim joined forces here to urge lawmakers to pave the way for a new casino for a region suffering staggering unemployment. They made a simple pitch: We need jobs.

Advocates of a tribal casino planned for East Windsor sought to complicate that narrative.

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Body Cam Question: Who’s Playing Gotcha?

by | Mar 15, 2018 8:32 am | Comments (17)

NHPD

Still from body camera video released since law passed. Below, Gary Winfield, Kevin Kane square off at Wednesday’s hearing.

Markeshia Ricks Photos

Hartford  — New Haven State Sen. Gary Winfield had some clean-up business to attend to in a law he authored enabling cops to wear body cameras. The state’s top prosecutor balked — and the two ended up sparring about whether cops deserve special rights to check their story before offering sworn statements.

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Dreamers, Clergy Press Forward On Student Aid

by | Mar 14, 2018 3:47 pm | Comments (2)

Markeshia Ricks Photo

Clergy lead a prayer circle on the first floor of the Legislative Office Building Wednesday.

Hartford—“Dreamers” —children born to adults living in the U.S. without legal permission — gathered with clergy at the state Capitol Wednesday to call on the legislature to pass a bill that would open a pool of student-generated financial aid to the undocumented students that help pay for it.

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