By Chris Powell Last week Governor Lamont and his education commissioner, Charlene Russell-Tucker, went to Bridgeport to discuss what news organizations described as state government’s “intervention” in the impoverished city’s horribly performing schools. But the “intervention” was mainly for show. For the State Board of Education’s three-part plan for the city’s schools practically proclaims thatContinue reading “‘Intervention’ in Bridgeport is just cover for a bailout”
Author Archives: cxpowell
Alphabet people needn’t be so terrified in Connecticut
By CHRIS POWELL Many people are terrified by Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, but perhaps none more so than members of sexual minorities, who lately have commandeered nine letters — a third of the alphabet — to construct an acronym with which to represent themselves. The other day an activist among Connecticut’s alphabet peopleContinue reading “Alphabet people needn’t be so terrified in Connecticut”
Could Lamont ask Trump for help with electricity prices?
By Chris Powell When the General Assembly reconvened two weeks ago, Governor Lamont spoke at length about Connecticut’s outrageously high electricity prices and said that to bring electricity prices down the state needed access to more natural gas and more Canadian hydro-electric power. Connecticut’s Democrats don’t understand their working-class problem City mayors and educators seekContinue reading “Could Lamont ask Trump for help with electricity prices?”
Connecticut’s Democrats don’t understand their working-class problem
By Chris Powell With their party having lost much support from the working class in last November’s election, many Democratic state legislators in Connecticut think that a good way of making amends is to give unemployment compensation to strikers. City mayors and educators seek more money for what keeps failing To regrow Connecticut’s cities, firstContinue reading “Connecticut’s Democrats don’t understand their working-class problem”
City mayors and educators seek more money for what keeps failing
By Chris Powell Governor Lamont welcomed the General Assembly back to work two weeks ago with a remarkable exhortation. “We have a longer legislative session this cycle,” the governor said, “giving us an opportunity to get in the weeds, lift up the hood — not always arguing about more money but better results.” To regrowContinue reading “City mayors and educators seek more money for what keeps failing”
To regrow Connecticut’s cities, first understand their decline
By Chris Powell Back in the 1950s many Connecticut cities had populations about 50% larger than they are today. In his address to the General Assembly as it reconvened this month, Governor Lamont said he wants them to grow back to their old size. He’s right that the cities are where most of any populationContinue reading “To regrow Connecticut’s cities, first understand their decline”
Tong seeks a new euphemism for nullifying immigration law
By Chris Powell Describing Connecticut as a “sanctuary” state and its cities as “sanctuary” cities isn’t helping illegal immigrants anymore, Attorney General William Tong told a forum at the University of Bridgeport last week. “Sanctuary” has no particular meaning in law, the attorney general said, and has started to “inflame” the public. He would preferContinue reading “Tong seeks a new euphemism for nullifying immigration law”
Connecticut’s prosperity depends on more housing
By Chris Powell Will Governor Lamont and the new session of the General Assembly do much about the state’s severe shortage of housing? The governor and legislators say they want to bring down the state’s high cost of living and make the state more affordable, and housing expense may be the biggest part of theContinue reading “Connecticut’s prosperity depends on more housing”
Connecticut’s social promotion makes public education a costly fraud
By Chris Powell Social promotion in Connecticut’s schools isn’t just informal policy and practice, implemented by winks and nods. This week Marc E. Fitch of the Yankee Institute’s Connecticut Inside Investigator reported that many school systems, including those in Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, and Middletown, follow written policies virtually prohibiting giving students failing grades. Hartford schools obstructContinue reading “Connecticut’s social promotion makes public education a costly fraud”
Hartford schools obstruct investigation of graduate’s illiteracy
By Chris Powell Fifty years ago, during the bad old days of the state Department of Children and Families, when it was called the Department of Children and Youth Services, a clumsy mechanism of unaccountability was used by the political hacks who ran the agency. (For years the only qualification of the department’s commissioner wasContinue reading “Hartford schools obstruct investigation of graduate’s illiteracy”
Chris Powell column 