Author Archives: cxpowell

By Chris Powell With a state constitutional amendment last November, Connecticut voters approved early voting in principle, but practice will be complicated and the details have been left to the General Assembly. Fortunately the new secretary of the state, Stephanie Thomas, has proposed sensible answers to the major questions. — How long should the periodContinue reading “Early voting won’t be simple to put into practice quickly”

By Chris Powell Exclusive zoning may not be the only reason that little inexpensive rental housing is being built or renovated in Connecticut. Anyone interested in the housing issue would do well to read the fascinating report about a day in housing court published March 5 in The Day of New London. It was written by journalismContinue reading “Why would anyone build lower-rent apartments in Connecticut?”

By Chris Powell Many sad stories were told a few weeks ago at a hearing of the General Assembly’s Human Services Committee on legislation to provide free state government medical insurance to illegal immigrants under 26 years old. There was testimony about young people and children going without normal treatment for painful illnesses and brokenContinue reading “Free medical insurance bill is about illegal immigration”

By Chris Powell Despite its devotion to political correctness and everything “woke,” could government in Connecticut actually be approaching relevance when it comes to gun crime and crime generally? That was the implication the other day as Governor Lamont, the mayors of Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, and Waterbury, and police chiefs gathered at the stateContinue reading “Put away chronic offenders, rehabilitate disturbed parolees”

By Chris Powell Nearly everyone agrees that Connecticut badly needs more inexpensive apartments. Many basic two-bedroom units in the state carry monthly rents that are as high as a home mortgage payment, and rents are still rising. As was demonstrated the other day at a state legislative committee hearing, many renters are desperate, especially withContinue reading “Rent-control bill is a fraud striving for a bad precedent”

By Chris Powell Connecticut state legislators who have introduced legislation to prevent disclosure of discussions teachers have with students about “sensitive subjects” are upset that schools are facing many more freedom-of-information requests. Responding to these requests, the legislators say, can incur great expense in school staff time. One of those legislators, Rep. Jennifer Leeper, D-Fairfield,Continue reading “Schools resent FOI because they have so much to hide”

By Chris Powell How can you tell that something is part of public education? That’s easy: It strives to keep the most important things secret. That’s the lesson of the Journal Inquirer’s attempt to discover why, two years ago, the Board of Regents of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system set about to fireContinue reading “College system won’t account for costly personnel disaster”

By Chris Powell While it’s good that former President Donald Trump now has some official competition for the Republican nomination for president in 2024 — former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nation — the problem is likely to be that Trump will have [ITALICS] too much [END ITALICS] competition forContinue reading “Ranked-choice voting is more urgent; and Kiner’s Rule curses state”

By Chris Powell Assuming the accuracy of a recent opinion poll commissioned by various social-justice groups, Connecticut should have no trouble solving its housing shortage. The poll claims that most state residents agree that state government should override municipal zoning that restricts housing construction, penalize towns that fail to allow a full range of housing,Continue reading “Policies that create poverty worsen housing shortage too”

By Chris Powell For what seems like the first time in living memory, a governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont, has pushed back a little against the arrogance of the University of Connecticut. Maybe the pushback won’t last long, especially if one of the university’s basketball teams wins the national tournament in a few weeks andContinue reading “For one brief, shining moment, a governor confronts UConn”