HARTFORD — State labor leaders and union-endorsed legislators came out with “guns blazing” Thursday. Though the announced purpose of the press conference in the Legislative Office Building was an unveiling of Connecticut AFL-CIO’s 2010 legislative agenda, the target was often the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.
Sstate Sen. Edith Prague, D-Norwich, chairwoman of the labor committee, said every time a bill comes before her committee that would protect workers “CBIA comes in and beats us up.
State AFL-CIO President John Olsen, Secretary-Treasurer Lori Pelletier noted the irony of green manufacturing — “The clean energy fund gave out $70 million for installation of 1,100 solar panels; 70 percent of the hardware for those solar panels was made overseas,” she said.
BRISTOL — The $573 million tab for the proposed busway between New Britain and Hartford is “a lot of money in today’s economy,” Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele said to business leaders Thursday.
“I think somebody should put on the brakes,” said Fedele, who is hoping to win the Republican nomination for governor.
The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) joined the national League of Conservations Voters in releasing the 2009 National Environmental Scorecard, unveiling scores for the Connecticut delegation in the first session of the 111th Congress. For 30 years, the LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard has been used to rate members of Congress on environmental, public health and energy issues.
Governor M. Jodi Rell today offered testimony to the Legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee in strong support of her proposal to establish a loan forgiveness program to keep Connecticut college graduates in certain key industries living and working in the state. The definition includes positions in the renewable energy industry, mass transit, biofuels, energy efficiency and sustainable manufacturing. The program would also apply to jobs in the life sciences – industries dealing with the structure and behavior of living organisms – and health information technology.
BRISTOL — If elected governor, Democrat Ned Lamont said he would “hit the pause button” on the proposed busway from New Britain to Hartford.
While Lamont said he understands New Britain’s needs, and the desire for more transportation to Central Connecticut State University, he said he would want to make sure that the money is well spent.
A popular program in Wilton is under the gun in Hartford
The town has benefited from programs funded through the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. Now Gov. Rell has proposed taking some of the money earmarked for those funds and using it to plug holes in the state budget deficit. Not surprisingly, the Wilton Energy Commission is opposed to this measure.
Hours after Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s farewell budget address, the Office of Policy and Management released its recommendations (pdf) for which revenue stream it would like to see the state borrow against to find $1.3 billion to balance the state budget.
Its number one recommendation was the state’s Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund.
If the recommendation is adopted, it means the state will be diverting a portion of everyone’s electrical bill to cover the state’s budget deficit instead of dedicating that money to energy efficiency and weatherization efforts—an area where green jobs are being created.
“Without the investments in clean energy technology provided by these funds, Connecticut will no longer be able to make any significant efforts to help families and businesses put money in their pockets by cutting their energy bills,“ Chris Phelps, program director for Environment Connecticut, said Thursday. “Solar, fuel cell, wind and geothermal businesses will no longer be able to call Connecticut home.”
Borrowing money to pay for ongoing expenses is bad policy, just how bad the state General Assembly is now finding out.
Unwilling to make the hard choices in 2009 to balance the budget, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Democrats controlling the General Assembly filled a $1.3 billion hole by “securitizing” the money. This involves finding a state revenue source, with approval of the legislature, to secure a big up-front loan that can pay for current expenses.
BETHLEHEM – Clean energy and improving communication are two of the goals First Selectman Jeff Hamel has for the year. Mr. Hamel spoke with Voices recently and said the newly elected Board of Selectmen, consisting of himself and Selectmen Vincent Bove and Edward Roden, is inquisitive and ready to work.
HARTFORD — – Even though the Northeast came out as the big loser in the competition for $8 billion in federal high-speed train grants Thursday, state officials said they are satisfied that Connecticut fared reasonably well.
Scott DeShefy, the Green Party candidate who ran for office against Joe Courtney in 2008, said that the recent ruling by the Supreme Court “opens the door for the abuse of campaign financing systems in favor of the Democrats and Republicans.”
West Hartford, CT — Connecticut’s Congressional delegation received 100% scores on the 2009 environmental scorecard released today by Environment Connecticut. The state’s Congressional delegation was the only one in which all members had perfect pro-environment voting records in 2009.
“We applaud all seven members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation for standing up and putting the environment ahead of special interests in 2009,” said Environment Connecticut Program Director, Christopher Phelps. “From investing in clean energy, to protecting America’s last wilderness areas, to stopping global warming, they consistently put the environment first.”
Yale University executive and former real estate developer Bruce Alexander, who has helped oversee a decade-long renewal of downtown New Haven, has been chosen by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to preside over a 15-member board that studies the state's perennial transportation woes.
From the NewHartfordPlus website ::: The following is an article on Smart Growth by State Rep. Annie Hornish which was posted on her blog on the House Democrats of CT website on January 5. Rep. Hornish will be in New Hartford this coming Thursday, January 21 with State Rep. Brendan Sharkey, House Chairman of the Legislature’s Planning and Development Committee and smart growth guru, who will speak on the topic of smart growth to residents of our district, the 62nd District.
George Jepsen of Barnum Place, a former majority leader of the state Senate, is seeking the Democratic nomination for state attorney general.
“The issues I was known for in the state Senate overlapped heavily with the issues of the office of attorney general,” Mr. Jepsen said. They include “an assault weapons ban, protecting a woman’s right to choose, open space protection, energy issues, consumer protection issues, health care — for instance, reining in HMOs.”
TORRINGTON — Sen. Chris Dodd will travel to Torrington Thursday to present a plan to bring clean energy jobs to the state. The Senator, who recently announced he would not seek re-election later this year, will tour the Fuel Cell Energy building on Technology Park Drive before announcing what his office is touting as a comprehensive strategy to expand the fuel cell industry and bring more green jobs to the area.
AGENDA2010 FOR THE STATE • Last in a Hartford Courant series
We would very much like to see a strong statewide plan for open space acquisition, one that prioritizes environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands and ridge lines and focuses on parcels that are contiguous with existing open space.
Chris Donovan, the Meriden Democrat who’s speaker of the state House of Reps, just announced ”a new legislative advisory group whose charge will be to help the General Assembly plot a strategy effectively cultivating a workforce that will result in the creation of new jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.”
In a surprising one-two punch, Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan (ND) and Chris Dodd (CT) have let slip their plans to leave Congress at the end of this year. Dodd’s retirement is much less troublesome for Democratic leaders than Dorgan’s — a strong replacement candidate already has emerged in Connecticut — but both departures could deal a blow to the prospects for passage of more transit-centric federal transportation bill this year.
As Blumenthal has largely been a friend to the environment, I thought this would be a relevant news story to post on CT Environmental Headlines.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says he will seek to succeed fellow Democrat Christopher Dodd in the U.S. Senate. Blumenthal tells The Associated Press that he will announce his candidacy at noon Wednesday at Democratic headquarters in Hartford.
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a coyote drifts
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invisible
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