Free Republic

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell is going to war, it seems, in an effort to lure New York hedge funds to her state. Who can blame her? Albany, after all, attacked first — by moving to wrest millions in tax revenue from her state and New Jersey. In the end, alas, New York might turn out to be the big loser. As The Post noted Thursday, Rell’s rolling out the red carpet for hedge-fund bigwigs, offering to meet them over dinner at a fancy Darien steakhouse. She wants to discuss “Connecticut’s advantages” — particularly in the face of Albany’s plan to...

Hartford, CT (LifeNews.com) -- Under a new bill pro-abortion Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell signed into law last week, an ultrasound of an unborn child can't be done without a medical reason or authorization from a physician. The bill could have a negative impact on pregnancy centers that use ultrasounds to help women considering abortion.Studies have shown that ultrasounds, which show the humanity of the unborn children throughout pregnancy, convince at least 80 percent of women considering an abortion to keep their baby.Rell claimed she signed the bill because she is concerned about the health and safety of mothers and...

HARTFORD — New Quinnipiac University polls show a growing distrust of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd but soaring popularity for Gov. M. Jodi Rell. The poll reported that 54 percent of state voters aren't satisfied with Dodd's explanation of sweetheart loans he got from a failed mortgage lender. Worse, 51 percent of voters aren't inclined to vote to re-elect Dodd should the Democratic senator choose to run next year. "The numbers are bad news for Senator Dodd. He is in real trouble. Clearly, he is vulnerable," said Douglas Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac University poll. Republicans in Connecticut and Washington, D.C....

Governor M. Jodi Rell has banned parole for all Connecticut inmates serving time for violent crimes, in response to another serious offense allegedly committed by a state parolee. New York City police shot and wounded James Biggs, 45, in the Bronx early Friday. They say that he threatened them with a kitchen knife and that the car he was in was taken in a carjacking in Hartford on Thursday. Biggs was paroled less than a month ago. Rell's announcement Friday was made two months after two convicted burglars on parole were charged in a violent home invasion in Cheshire that...

*Rell Calls Proposal 'Unconscionable' Igniting a philosophical debate over tax equity, the legislature's Democratic majority released a revised tax-and-spending plan this afternoon that Democrats say would cut the income tax for 88 percent of taxpayers -- and sharply increase taxes on a minority of higher wage earners. In their first official response to Gov. M. Jodi Rell's budget, Democrats say they are seeking to spend $650 million more than Rell over the next two years, further bursting through the state-mandated spending cap. Rell denounced the Democrats' tax policy and spending increase as "unconscionable," setting the stage for difficult negotiations before...

WEST HARTFORD -- A panel of Republican notables urged conservative party members at a forum Sunday to unite, but it failed to bring up a topic that's divided the group: Gov. M. Jodi Rell's budget proposal. Not once during the forum, hosted by the Connecticut Conservative Congress, did newly appointed GOP head Chris Healy mention Rell's two-year, $35.8 billion budget, which was unveiled Wednesday. And yet her budget plans seemed to be on the tip of every member's tongue as Healy and five other Republicans spoke of defining the Republican Party in Connecticut. Rell has proposed a 10 percent increase...

Words like "historic" and "brilliant" flew around the state Capitol Wednesday as legislators struggled to absorb details of Gov. M. Jodi Rell's two-year, $35.8 billion budget plan, which includes proposals for record-setting increases in education spending. The question was, were Democrats or members of her own party more taken aback? "I have to take a pill," Sen. William Nickerson said to a Greenwich Republican colleague after the governor's speech. Rell called Wednesday for education spending that would break the state-mandated spending cap and lead to a 10 percent increase in the state income tax. In doing so, she co-opted traditional...

The debate will be available live on WNTH.com and on News Channel 8 at 8:00 p.m. (New London-WTNH, Oct. 9, 2006 Updated 5:00 PM) -- The race for governor turns up a notch tonight with the first of just two face-to-face debates between Republican Governor Jodi Rell and Democratic challenger John DeStefano. With a more than thirty percent lead in the last public opinion poll, Governor Jodi Rell has a lot to lose. She'll be making sure she makes no mistakes. For New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, it is just one of two chances he'll get to stand next to...

Latest Quinnipiac Survey Finds DeStefano 33 Points Behind Governor Down by 33 points in a new poll with less than six weeks to go, Democratic gubernatorial challenger John DeStefano has to score heavily in the two upcoming debates and hope that Gov. M. Jodi Rell commits a major mistake in the final 39 days before the election, analysts said Thursday. In the latest Quinnipiac University poll, released Thursday, DeStefano trails Rell by 63 percent to 30 percent among likely voters. -snip-The Rell and DeStefano campaigns Thursday finalized details for two one-on-one debates, both to be televised live: Oct. 9 on...

The GOP, with 1,639 accredited delegates, adopted a pre-arranged slate of running mates for Rell, whom they hope will be able to take advantage of her soaring popularity in November. They never had a roll call vote, unlike Democrats in Hartford, who battled all afternoon over their gubernatorial candidates. Alan Schlesinger of Woodbridge, a former Derby mayor and state representative, won the GOP nomination to run for U.S. Senate on a voice vote after Rell's speech emptied the gym. Paul Streitz, a Darien businessman, dropped his bid for the nomination on an immigration-reform platform, but was given platform time in...

Gov. Jodi Rell (Brookfield-WTNH, Feb. 21, 2006 Updated 6:20 PM) _ A vehicle transporting Gov. Jodi Rell was involved in a crash this morning with a teen-aged driver, but there were no injuries, police said. Governor Rell recalls the accident, "As we were almost at the end of the road, I actually looked up to see a car drifting over to see a car drifting over into our lane and I said, 'Oh!' (gasp) and the young man who was driving the car said, 'Oh' at the same time with me. We moved over to the side, almost onto the...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The secretary to Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and her City Hall telephone should not have been used to receive calls for a gubernatorial campaign event earlier this week, the mayor's spokesman said Thursday. An invitation was recently sent for a campaign event at DeStefano's home following his inauguration for a sixth term on New Year's Day. The invitations were paid for by "DeStefano for Connecticut" but did not indicate whether the event was tied to the inaugural ceremony or a gubernatorial campaign effort. DeStefano is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. The invitations directed those who...

December 31, 2005--The only bad news for Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell in the latest Rasmussen Reports poll is that the election is eleven months away. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Connecticut voters have a favorable opinion of Rell; 81% Approve of the way she's doing her job; and, she leads two potential challengers by more than 40 points each. Rell leads Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy by a margin of 65% to 21%. She leads New Haven Mayor John DeStefano 65% to 19%. Connecticut Governor: Rell in Command Survey of 500 Likely Voters December 13, 2005 Election 2006 Jodi Rell (R) 65%...

A day after a ruling by the Supreme Court cleared the way for the city of New London to replace a residential neighborhood with a private development, Gov. Jodi Rell said on Friday that the Connecticut legislature "ought to consider" the state's eminent domain laws. Mrs. Rell issued a cautious response to the closely watched court ruling, one that found economic development, not just blight removal, an appropriate use of the government's power of eminent domain. Last year, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld use of eminent domain to take 15 homes in New London that were condemned in 2000. "The...

Congress spawned a national trend toward discriminatory sentencing when it drew a false distinction between powdered cocaine and crack cocaine for law enforcement purposes during the 1980's. Crack is simply powdered cocaine cooked in baking soda. The theory at the time - that it was more addictive and generated more violence than powder - was later proved false. By then, however, Congress had made crack the only drug that mandates a sentence for a first offense and fixed high sentences for people caught with relatively small quantities. This mistake has resulted in a racially biased sentencing policy, since crack users...

Sunday, January 30, 2005 10:46 pm EST news.newstimes.comOutsourcing A presidential helicopter that isn't all-American?http://news.newstimes.com/editorial.php Connecticut was shocked Friday to hear the U.S. Navy has chosen a helicopter made by a European consortium to transport President Bush. >snip< Sikorsky Aircraft, based in Stratford, is the company that traditionally builds presidential helicopters. >snip< The Lockheed design is actually a British-Italian product. >snip< But key components will be built overseas, and this $6.1 billion contract for 23 helicopters will mean a net loss of American jobs. Is this a new avenue for outsourcing American jobs? Well, yes. It also outsources the development of...

Governor Rell is undergoing surgery for breast cancer. Details are still coming out. Caught early after routine mammogram.