By CHRIS POWELL Everyone agrees that Tony Reyes has been a great police chief in New Haven, having been appointed in March 2019 after nearly two decades of rising through the ranks of the police department. But the city will…
Posted: 13 January 2021 [08:49 PM] Posted: 11 January 2021 [04:31 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Does any state do more posturing against racism than Connecticut does only to get such meager results? A week ago West Haven's City Council joined the 19 other municipalities in the state that have declared racism a…
Posted: 06 January 2021 [08:47 PM] By CHRIS POWELL When Bob Stefanowski was the Republican nominee for governor two years ago, he was mocked by Democrats for being light on the issues - for advocating repeal of the state income tax without specifying how to reduce…
Posted: 04 January 2021 [09:04 PM] By KATE MCOMBER To the Editor: The arts are essential and they need our help. In March, the City of Hartford asked the Greater Hartford Arts Council to survey a number of local arts organizations about how they were…
Posted: 04 January 2021 [09:02 PM] By ALEX SOKLOW To the Editor: If President Biden agrees to a pact with Iran or North Korea, we must be allowed to inspect suspected sites without a waiting period. If there is a waiting period, they can move…
Posted: 04 January 2021 [09:01 PM] By JACOB SWATHI To the Editor: As our own country struggles with the battle against covid-19, some may have forgotten the global scale of this disease, especially in third-world countries. Due to limited manufacturing and the preorders of wealthy…
Posted: 04 January 2021 [08:55 PM] By CHRIS POWELL After a cowardly absence of nine months, the General Assembly reconvenes this week. Though legislators may not recognize it, the first question facing them is whether their new session is to be one of substance or merely…
Posted: 01 January 2021 [08:52 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Employees of Connecticut's largest newspaper, the Hartford Courant, cleaned out their desks the other day as the newspaper left the building at 285 Broad St. where it had operated for 70 years. It was well reported that…
Posted: 31 December 2020 [08:15 PM] It was a year many of us will remember for all the wrong reasons. Never has there been so much change in so little time. The coronavirus took us all by surprise, never realizing how it would affect our lives.…
Posted: 30 December 2020 [08:38 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Many in Connecticut, including most of its news organizations, are gushing about President-elect Joe Biden's choice of state Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, a Meriden native, to be secretary of the U.S. Education Department. News reports say the…
Posted: 23 December 2020 [08:56 PM] By ROSEANN BUCHIERE To the Editor: New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart vetoes removal of city’s Christopher Columbus statue. Finally, a voice of reason. Thank you Mayor Stewart! Democrats, stop wasting the city’s tax payers’ money, as well as insulting…
Posted: 23 December 2020 [08:53 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Frank Capra's 1946 film, "It's a Wonderful Life," to be broadcast again tonight at 8 by NBC television, is loved most for its personal message of discovery at Christmas: that its hero's life has been, unbeknownst to…
Posted: 22 December 2020 [07:44 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Legions of the politically correct are insisting that President-elect Joe Biden's wife, Jill, be given the honorific title "Doctor" because she holds a doctorate degree in education, which she received largely on the basis of a mediocre…
Posted: 21 December 2020 [08:43 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Government in Connecticut is often mediocre but it usually excels at clearing the roads during and after a snowstorm like last week's. Maybe this is because while some failures are easily overlooked or concealed, there is no…
Posted: 20 December 2020 [08:18 PM] By DAVID KEATING To the Editor: By way of introduction, I am David Keating, and I live in the west side of New Britain. We have subscribed to your paper for the past 15 years. I am wiring in the…
Posted: 20 December 2020 [08:16 PM] By KIM SHINKOSKEY To the Editor: Americans late in 2020 have found our first, if likely our last, common rallying point since 2016. That wonderful place of agreement is priority vaccination of healthcare workers. In this, we all believe.…
Posted: 20 December 2020 [08:14 PM] By CHRIS POWELL While the master state government employee union contract's ban on layoffs expires next July, no serious changes in personnel management that might favor the public can be expected. There are two reasons for this. First, the remainder…
Posted: 16 December 2020 [06:57 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Back when children attended school in Connecticut, before administration was forfeited to the teacher unions, and the kids had their first lessons about government, they were taught the division of responsibility. That is, the federal government is…
Posted: 14 December 2020 [08:15 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Now that the Democratic majorities in the General Assembly are increasing as a result of last month's election, visions of sugarplums dance again in the heads of those who think that "property tax reform" and spending more…
Posted: 11 December 2020 [08:46 PM] By CHRIS POWELL As was inscribed on the pedestal of the statue of college founder Emil Faber in the movie "Animal House," "Knowledge is good." But knowledge can be overpriced, as the growing clamor about college student loan forgiveness soon…
Posted: 09 December 2020 [08:27 PM] By CHRIS POWELL America's oldest continuously published newspaper is now the country's newest paper without an office of its own. The Hartford Courant announced last week that it is terminating its lease on the building it has occupied…
Posted: 07 December 2020 [09:04 PM] By JILL PRICE To the Editor: New Britain is so progressive with all of its redevelopment and grants, but when I happened to be driving through town I was so surprised to see the biodegradable bags filled with leaves.…
Posted: 07 December 2020 [09:03 PM] By MARK PARKINSON AND SCOTT TITTLE To the Editor: Dear Governors, Thank you for your leadership in response to this unprecedented health crisis and the action your administrations have undertaken to help nursing homes and assisted living communities protect our…
Posted: 07 December 2020 [09:01 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Having been there, done that, and gotten a T-shirt reading "My Party Abandoned Me," Governor Lamont seems to have given up on imposing tolls on Connecticut highways to fortify the state's transportation infrastructure. But having just increased…
Posted: 06 December 2020 [07:56 PM] By CHRIS POWELL While Governor Lamont remarked the other day that state government doesn't have enough money to rescue every business suffering from the virus epidemic and the curtailment of commerce, most people think the federal government has infinite money…
Posted: 30 November 2020 [08:47 PM] By CHRIS POWELL With Connecticut sure to struggle with the virus epidemic for many more months and state government sinking deeper into the financial disaster caused by the epidemic and government's response to it, it is amazing that the most…
Posted: 27 November 2020 [08:41 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Many people want to get out of Hartford, just as many people already have gotten out, the city having lost a third of its population since 1950. The problem for the people who still want to get…
Posted: 25 November 2020 [08:02 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Amid the growing panic fanned by news organizations about the rebound in the virus epidemic, last week's telling details were largely overlooked. First, most of the recent "virus-associated" deaths in Connecticut again have been those of frail…
Mayor's Column: Important for us to stay safe during the holidays Posted: 24 November 2020 [09:28 PM] With the holidays approaching, it is important to remember that while the sound of joy and the smell of snow might be…
Posted: 23 November 2020 [08:16 PM] By STASIA RODRIGUEZ To the Editor: On behalf of the Walnut Hill Park Rose Garden board members, I would like to thank all the volunteers who helped to prepare the garden for winter on Saturday, Nov. 21. The work…
Posted: 23 November 2020 [08:00 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Not so long ago censoriousness was a phenomenon of the political right. Mere liberals were called communists and spies and drummed out of their jobs. The political right sought to ban books and writers as subversive or…
Posted: 22 November 2020 [09:15 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Maybe it will turn out to be only a fluke, but amid the renewed panic about the virus epidemic there is some interesting detail in the monthly death statistics of the state Department of Public Health. In…
Posted: 18 November 2020 [04:39 PM] By CHRIS POWELL His handling of the virus epidemic has doubled Governor Lamont's public approval rating, giving him more fans than detractors. But judging from recent developments that are being overshadowed by the epidemic, the governor could be forgiven if…
Posted: 16 November 2020 [08:36 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Many teachers around the country are cheering the forthcoming change in national administration because Betsy DeVos will be replaced as secretary of the U.S. Education Department. DeVos, an heiress and philanthropist, has been a fan of charter…
Posted: 12 November 2020 [08:13 PM] By CHRIS POWELL After the supposedly slow response by Eversource Energy and United Illuminating to the widespread electricity outages in Connecticut caused by the tropical storm in August, there were calls for state government to take over the electricity distribution…
Posted: 10 November 2020 [04:29 PM] By CHRIS POWELL After warning that the U.S. Postal Service might sabotage the vast increase in voting by mail for last week's national election, leading Democrats in Connecticut are renewing their calls for allowing everyone to vote by mail just…
Posted: 08 November 2020 [07:36 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Everybody in Connecticut is tired of the virus epidemic, and no one is more entitled to be tired of it than Governor Lamont. It has devastated the finances of state government, commandeered its management, crippled education at…
Posted: 03 November 2020 [09:01 PM] By CHRIS POWELL When he was inaugurated as president of the University of Connecticut a year ago, Thomas C. Katsouleas made a grand gesture. He said that henceforth the university would waive tuition for new students from families with annual…
Posted: 02 November 2020 [07:51 PM] By CHRIS POWELL For four years any disparaging story about President Trump has been touted by national news organizations even if its source was anonymous. Of course given his business record and character it is easy to believe almost any…
Posted: 01 November 2020 [07:52 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Sailing against a heavy political wind, Republican candidates for the General Assembly have been heartened by the vigorous endorsements they are getting from police unions, which this year have broken away from the government employee union apparatus…
Posted: 29 October 2020 [09:11 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Every day Governor Lamont conscientiously reports the "positivity rate" of coronavirus tests administered in Connecticut, and news organizations report it as if the state's fate hangs on the data. Lately the "positivity rate," the percentage of tests…
Posted: 29 October 2020 [09:07 PM] By ROBERT A. SCALISE, JR. In Connecticut, the Probate Courts handle a variety of matters including guardianships, emancipation and adoption of children, conservatorships, mental health commitments and guardianships of persons with intellectual disabilities. However, when most people think of “Probate”…
Posted: 29 October 2020 [09:05 PM] By SEEMA VERMA Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment season is underway, and I want to encourage all people with Medicare to review their current health and prescription drug coverage. Under President Trump’s leadership, Medicare Advantage Plan premiums have fallen to historic…
Posted: 28 October 2020 [09:21 PM] By BOBBY BERRIAULT To the Editor: I am proud to support Alden Russell for state representative in the 24th district. As a fellow commissioner in New Britain, I saw firsthand how hard-working and caring Alden is. He cares about…
Posted: 28 October 2020 [09:17 PM] By MARK J. SCIOTA To the Editor: On Nov. 3, 2020, there will be a $10 million referendum for road improvements on the ballot. If approved, it is a serious responsibility to utilize these funds as effectively as possible.…
Posted: 27 October 2020 [09:28 PM] By NATHAN “NATE” SIMPSON To the Editor: Reflecting on my own coronavirus exposure, I wish to send those who reached out another round of thanks along with a message to the community. With all that has changed this year,…
Posted: 27 October 2020 [09:26 PM] By PAUL ZAGORSKY To the Editor: I write in support of Emmanuel “Manny” Sanchez as New Britain state representative. He has served the city’s interests well as an alderman for 10 years and will do so as state representative.…
Posted: 27 October 2020 [09:20 PM] By CHRIS PALMIERI To the Editor: I would like to share my support for the $10 million roads improvement referendum in Southington. This is the next step in a long-range plan to improve our 214 miles of this…
Posted: 27 October 2020 [09:18 PM] By ROSEMARY MORANTE To the Editor: I am writing in support of Mary Fortier, an outstanding candidate for the state senate in the 31st District. Mary has been elected to multiple terms on the Bristol City Council. She is…
Posted: 27 October 2020 [09:15 PM] By MATT BENNETT To the Editor: I’m writing in support of Senator Henri Martin who is seeking re-election in Connecticut’s 31st Senatorial District which includes Bristol, Harwinton, Plainville, Plymouth and Thomaston. I moved to Bristol a couple of years…
