Free Republic

Left-leaning proponents of taxing the assets held by America’s billionaires have a new target: In lieu of a federal wealth tax, state lawmakers want to tax billionaires where they live, in states like California, Washington and New York. A group of legislators in statehouses across the country has coordinated to introduce bills simultaneously in seven states later this week, with the same goal of raising taxes on the rich. “The point here is to make sure we do at the state level what is not being done at the federal level,” said Gustavo Rivera (D), a New York state senator...

,big>Firefighters say Dem-sponsored bill will put the public at riskConnecticut Democrats are working to lower the physical fitness requirements for female firefighters, saying that less onerous standards will make fire departments "more diverse."A law introduced earlier this month in the Connecticut State Assembly would let women skip the Candidate Physical Ability Test, a timed gauntlet used by fire departments across the country. The test, which only 10 to 15 percent of women pass, requires candidates to complete intense physical tasks while wearing a 50 pound vest. It’s designed to simulate the experience of navigating a fire in heavy gear—and to...

The proposed bill would allow 12-year-olds to get vaccinations of any kind without getting a parent’s or guardian’s consent.

New Englanders are contending with some of the highest electricity rates in the country this winter as they weather the transatlantic ripple effects of a global gas crunch. Residents of New England’s six states have thus far enjoyed a relatively mild winter without rolling blackouts. But skyrocketing rates — fueled by natural gas price surges and the war in Ukraine — are taking a toll on a region accustomed to cranking up the heat.

(WFSB) – The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) is recommending six Connecticut counties to mask up after they reached the “High” community level for COVID-19. Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, Tolland, and Windham Counties have a “High” community level of COVID-19, the CDC said. Fairfield and New London Counties are listed in the CDC’s “Medium/Yellow” category. The CDC is recommending people in those counties to wear high-quality masks or respirators in indoor spaces. The State Department of Public Health (DPH) said Connecticut is experiencing a COVID-19 surge. DPH is recommending all residents to mask up indoors. According to...

A record number of illegal guns were taken off streets in Hartford in 2022. The city also saw an increase in the number of homicides. With that year in the books, Channel 3 dug into the capital city’s crime statistics. Three hundred sixty-seven illegal guns were taken off Hartford’s streets during the calendar year. Fifty-eight of them were ghost guns, according to police. With a new year underway, they said their efforts will continue to try to keep illegal guns off streets. ... The number of non-fatal shootings in Hartford decreased. In 2022, there were 136, compared with 148 in...

When people think of elite higher education, we think of Harvard University. But, if one academic trend is anything to go by, Harvard is turning into a joke. A recent column in the Harvard Crimson makes it clear that the university is becoming a glorified academic daycare where every student gets a trophy or, in this case, an A. The average GPA at Harvard is now 3.8 ... out of 4.0, according to Crimson data analyst Aden Barton. That’s up from 3.3 in 1991. Are we supposed to believe that college students are just that much smarter now than decades...

Starting next July, Connecticut will become one of the first states in America to mandate climate change studies across its public schools as part of its science curriculum. The new law passed earlier this year comes as part of the state’s attempts to address concerns over the short duration – and in some cases, absence – of climate change studies in classrooms. The requirement follows in the footsteps of New Jersey, which in 2020 became the first state to mandate K-12 climate change education across its school districts. “The conservative turn in our country … often starts at a very...

The public university dragged into court over its race-conscious admissions policy is now advertising a research fellowship that bars white applicants from applying. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—whose affirmative action program, along with that of Harvard University, is under review by the Supreme Court—sponsors the Fellowship for Exploring Research in Nutrition, which accepts applications exclusively from students who are "Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC)," according to the program's website. Fellows earn thousands of dollars, live in on-campus apartments paid for by the university, and receive generous mentorship opportunities, including letters of recommendation. "The field of...

A three-judge appellate panel on Friday dismissed a challenge to Connecticut's transgender athlete policy, after a group of biological females said it was unfair that they have to race against biological males who identify as female.In its decision, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City upheld a lower court judge's dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the policy, brought by four female runners opposed to letting transgender athletes compete in high school sports. According to the judges, the girls lacked standing to sue, calling their claims that they were deprived of wins, state titles and athletic scholarship...

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit to bar two transgender athletes — Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood — from competing in the 2020 spring outdoor track season on a girls team at a Connecticut school. According to ADF: Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools, a lawsuit filed on behalf of four female athletes who were consistently deprived of honors and opportunities to compete at elite levels because the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference adopted a policy that allows males who identify as female to compete in girls’ athletic events. Starting in 2017, two male athletes began competing in Connecticut...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday dismissed a challenge to Connecticut’s policy of allowing transgender girls to compete in girls high school sports, rejecting arguments by four cisgender runners who said they were unfairly forced to race against transgender athletes. A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City upheld a lower court judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the policy. The panel said the four cisgender athletes lacked standing to sue — in part because their claims that they were deprived of wins, state titles and athletic scholarship opportunities...

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued his 37th COVID-19 disaster proclamation. Illinois is one of only 10 states living under an emergency order. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued his 37th COVID-19 disaster proclamation, extending his emergency powers through Jan. 5. When it ends, Pritzker will have held emergency powers for 1,029 of 1,452 days in office, or 70% of his term. None of Illinois’ neighboring states remain under emergency orders. Illinois is one of just 10 states nationwide still being ruled through emergency powers, with eight of the 10 led by Democratic governors. ... New York was once the epicenter of COVID...

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) is weighing a push to end or repeal a grandfathering clause in a gun control bill in order to force residents to hand over any AR-15s. The CT Mirror noted that Connecticut’s General Assembly has passed two “assault weapons” bans, and each time, the bans had a grandfather clause, allowing those who already owned the banned firearms to keep them.

Robert Hoagland was last seen in July 2013. Nearly 10 years later his body was found in Rock Hill, New York, where he apparently lived under the name Richard King, police said.A man who vanished from Connecticut nearly 10 years ago and whose high-profile disappearance was featured on television has been found dead in upstate New York, where he apparently lived under a different name. Robert Hoagland was last seen the morning of July 28, 2013, at a gas station in Newtown, Connecticut, local police said. The next day, police were called to check on him after he failed to...

One expert told The College Fix students need to ‘adjust their expectations’ While 87 percent of students said that college is “too difficult,” the same percentage are studying less than 10 hours per week, a new survey found. Intelligent.com, which regularly surveys college students, gathered data from 1,000 respondents, all of whom attend four-year colleges. “The vast majority of students (87%) say they have felt at least one of their college classes was too challenging and should have been made easier by the professor,” ... 71 percent of students spend fewer than 10 hours per week on studying, and a...

Xcel Energy-Colorado has filed a request for a new electric rate increase, which follows a recently approved natural gas rate hike and a $182.2 million jump in revenue for electric service that took effect in April. The request submitted to regulators Wednesday proposed a $312.2 million revenue increase. ... Critics of Xcel’s recent rate cases have accused the utility of “a pancaking” of increases. The PUC approved a $64.2 million rise in the utility’s natural gas rates in October. Regulators slashed the utility’s original proposal by $138 million. ... If the increase is approved, the typical residential bill would rise...

We have been discussing the virtual elimination of Republican and conservative scholars from many faculties despite the fact that roughly half of the country regularly votes for Republicans or conservative causes. Now a new survey by The College Fix of 65 departments in various states found that 33 do not have a single registered Republican. For these departments, the systemic elimination of Republican faculty has finally reached zero, but there is still little recognition of the crushing bias reflected in these numbers. Others, as discussed below, have defended the elimination of conservative or Republican faculty as entirely justified and commendable....

If the 2022 midterm election taught Americans anything, it’s that every vote counts. That lesson comes after many political races have come down to only a handful of votes or fewer — and now another Democrat has eeked out a victory after a recount. Sarah Keitt, the Democratic candidate for the state’s 134th House district who previously conceded to Republican Meghan McCloat, won her seat in the race for Connecticut state representative by only 10 votes, the Trumball Times reported. The Keitt campaign released a statement after the procedure wrapped up, noting that the outcome “demonstrates the truth of the...

HAMDEN, Conn. (WTNH) – There is a dangerous new puzzle that firefighters in Connecticut and around the country are facing. Electric vehicle fires. Right now, there is no hands-on training in Connecticut to learn how to fight these complicated fires. There isn’t even an agreed plan of attack. Two months ago, firefighters in Stamford were faced with something they’d never dealt with before: a burning electric car. EV fires are hard to put out because of something called thermal runaway, which is thousands of little lithium-ion batteries that power EVs and burn in a super-heated chain reaction. “One of those...