Free Republic

Gov. Ned Lamont will end the controversial school mask mandate as of Feb. 28. That includes schools and daycare. “We now have the tools to keep ourselves safe,” Lamont said during a late afternoon virtual press conference. He said that means each city and town and local board of education can make the decision for themselves about what’s best for their community. ... Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said the case counts are dropping and the positivity rate is dropping. She said putting this decision at the local level works best. Asked if the state had any data about in-school...

“Unfortunately, people who entertain hateful beliefs … are protected as long as [those beliefs] don’t result in hate-crime actions. That’s what we’re talking about,” Mr. Looney told reporters Wednesday. “We want to be more aggressive in enforcing our laws and identifying likely sources of potential domestic terrorism acts against religious institutions and ethnic institutions.”

HARTFORD —— The drive to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana appears to be coming up short in the legislature this year. Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, conceded Friday that a bill to soften the penalty for possession of a half-ounce of pot or less does not currently have enough support in the chamber. "We did have a caucus last week and we were somewhat short of the number to pass it with purely Democratic votes,'' Looney said. "We may circle back around to that issue again.''

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed legislation to prohibit price gouging for snow removal, flood abatement and other services. To stop price gouging, which many say occurred during this winter's record snowfall and fears of roofs collapsing, lawmakers want to make the practice in emergency situations illegal. Those found price gouging would face a fine, according to the bill.