Free Republic

In a roomful of supporters and agency heads, tears broke the governor’s businesslike façade. Dannel P. Malloy said his rejection of a third term, a decision he announced Thursday afternoon, frees him from partisan politics so he can better steer the sharply divided General Assembly through its current budget crisis. In January 2019, Malloy will begin the next act of a life that began as a dyslectic child in Stamford, led to law school, a stint as a criminal prosecutor, mayor of his hometown and nearly seven years in the Governor’s Residence. […] With low popularity ratings, a $1.7 billion...

With family, friends and teammates cheering her on at her first high school track meet, Andraya won the girls 100- and 200-meter dashes, and helped her 4x100-meter relay team take second place. She ran 11.99 seconds in the 100 and 26.34 in the 200. "I do hope I inspire people, but not only with track," Andraya said Wednesday. "I hope it inspires people to not hold yourself back just because you're scared of it or it is your first time doing it, or because of other people's negativity.

Republican Dave Walker, who is a 2014 candidate for lt. governor, announces run for governor when he talks with Dennis House on Face the State.

Good Morning And Welcome! A good and blessed Easter and Passover to all the FRpers!

Andraya Yearwood, a freshman boy who identifies as a girl, recently joined Cromwell High School’s female track team, reports the Hartford Courant. . . . Yearwood’s school district gave him permission to participate on the girls’ team. He is considering sexual reassignment surgery to transition to female and plans to take puberty and hormone blockers.

"I could not help but notice a number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle high-fiving each other," Blumenthal said on the Senate floor. "That image stays with me as I stand here now. It saddens me." . . . "There is no cause for celebration in what happened in the Senate just hours ago," he said. "No one should sleep well tonight. No one should underestimate the magnitude of what happened here. Damage was done to our democracy."

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A 20-year-old student at a Connecticut university has died after choking during a pancake eating contest on campus.

Good Morning And Welcome!

Alleged ringleader Robert King (left) is accused of sending prostitutes to Bruce Bemer (right) and other clients for two decades. For 20 years, a Connecticut-based prostitution ring trafficked in mentally disabled young men, court papers revealed this week. The ring catered to wealthy male clients in Connecticut and Massachusetts who paid $250 for sex, according to court papers cited in the News-Times. At least 15 young men in their early 20s were exploited in the ring, authorities allege. The young men suffered illnesses that include schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; some were severely disabled and living in group homes, authorities allege....

...[snip] The legislature's judiciary committee passed a bill this week that would make Connecticut the first state in the nation to allow the use of weaponized drones by law enforcement. North Dakota legalized police use of armed drones in 2015, but the law limits those weapons to less lethal technologies, such as rubber bullets and tear gas. The Connecticut measure contains no such restrictions.

UConn's record 111-game winning streak came to a startling end when Mississippi State pulled off perhaps the biggest upset in women's basketball history, stunning the Huskies 66-64 on Morgan William's overtime buzzer beater in the national semifinals Friday night.

The Department of Homeland Security added the entire states of California and Connecticut to its list of U.S. jurisdictions that hinder cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in detaining illegal immigrants. Both states had enacted legislation called "Trust Acts," allowing local law enforcement to ignore ICE's requests to detain certain illegal immigrants in custody.

Connecticut lawmakers are considering whether the state should become the first in the country to allow police to use drones outfitted with deadly weapons, a proposal immediately met with concern by civil rights and liberties advocates. The bill would ban the use of weaponized drones, but exempt police. Details on how law enforcement could use drones with weapons would be spelled out in new rules to be developed by the state Police Officer Standards and Training Council. Officers also would have to receive training before being allowed to use drones with weapons.

Report Says Instructor, Student Fought for Controls Before East Hartford Plane Crash A plane crash in East Hartford was the result of a flight student refusing to give up controls to his instructor, while apparently doing everything "backwards", a police report revealed. East Hartford police Lt. Josh Litwin said in October that investigators had concluded the crash was "an intentional act," but noted that they hadn't been able to determine a motive. New documents from witness accounts reveal that Arian Prevella, a flight instructor and the owner of American Flight Academy in Hartford, struggled with flying student, Feras Freitekh. On...

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams, this time with a side of dissent. About three dozen demonstrators descended on the mansions of Connecticut’s 0.01% over the weekend to protest Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy’s new budget, which includes jobs cuts and changes in pension funding. As part of the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless” tour, protesters—many of whom work in the area—left mock tax bills at the ritzy homes of hedge fund bosses like Ray Dalio and Steven Cohen, asking them to pony up over $1.2 billion between both of them. “Income inequality is out of control in this country, and...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)– Governor Dannel Malloy will announce help for families worried about President Trump‘s deportation policies. He is calling this a toolkit for families concerned about immigration enforcement. We know Governor Malloy has had his differences with President Trump on the issue of immigration. Now, the Governor plans to outfit concerned families with what he’s calling a toolkit. It sounds like it’s going to be mostly information for families worried about Trump administration immigration enforcement policies. Especially if the worry is that parents or guardians are going to be detained or deported by the federal government. The worry is...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — All day Friday, the Connecticut State Appropriations Committee will be hearing testimony on bills that could have a significant impact on state workers salaries, benefits, and pensions. One of two news conferences Friday morning called these bills an attack on nurses, teachers and firefighters. There’s a lot of rhetoric on both sides. Workers talking about cuts to benefits and pensions as an attack on the hard working middle class. Those in favor of cuts pointing out exorbitant numbers, like a police sergeant making hundreds of thousands of dollars, or a retired state worker still pulling in...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The ‘Bag Tax’ is back, and a key legislative committee says it should start this October. It would require a nickel tax on non-reusable bags at the supermarket and other retailers, and the bill has passed the Environment Committee with both Democrat and Republican votes. One estimate says that Connecticut residents use nearly one billion plastic bags a year. This proposal is aimed at cutting down the litter and raising money. The legislature’s Environment Committee has approved a bill that would make State Park Beaches no smoking zones. Smoking would still be permitted in the parks,...

EW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)– Many more people applied for gun permits last year than the year before. According to the Norwich Bulletin, there was a 73 percent jump during that period. Some believe it’s partly because of last year’s presidential election. The paper reports the increase was for pistol permit applications from 2015 to 2016. The reason is fear…but not fear of violence and crime. The best guess is that all those people suddenly wanted guns because they were afraid of Democrats. At least what Democrats might do to their second amendment rights. That fear made for a big increase....

Connecticut State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr. (D-Branford) — son of former U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) — wants to give state government control over what happens to citizens’ organs after they die. Kennedy recently introduced SB 750, which would automatically enroll Connecticut’s citizens in the organ donation program.