J Brendan Sharkey

You are right to wonder why a hefty tax increase and claims to have gotten spending under control have not brought stable finances to state government. Sometimes a jarring example will help explain something as complex as Connecticut's troubled, growing...

The louder the public pledges of bipartisan cooperation and resolve, the deeper the undercurrents of private distrust and resentment — or at least, that often seems to be the rule in legislative politics. And it seems to be taking hold as the...

Salary increases for state judges might well be among the casualties of the state's deepening budget crisis if comments by top state legislative leaders are any indication. "Any expenditure of this kind will be difficult, if not impossible, given the...

A high-ranking state Insurance Department official, who once served as the acting commissioner of the agency, has been paid not to show up at work since Aug. 10 — at the rate of $2,300 a week — during an investigation of alleged "harassment,...

Tim Coffey, a Stamford photographer, takes political animals and puts them in their natural habitats. Coffee has a new exhibit of his photographs, opening on Wednesday, Aug. 1, at the Concourse Gallery of the State Capitol Building in Hartford. It's...

Is it any wonder that Connecticut is considered a high-cost state? We have a state government, plus 169 local governments, plus hundreds of regional entities that overlap and bear little relation to each other. And to pay for this redundant mishmash, we...

HARTFORD — Activists pressing for a state law requiring labels on food with genetically modified ingredients are disappointed and angry that the House of Representatives weakened a bill approved by the Senate earlier this week. "It's very clear...

A secretly drafted bill to block release of photos, tapes of 911 calls and death certificates related to the Dec. 14 Newtown elementary school massacre could be acted on in the General Assembly as early as the end of the week, officials said Wednesday....

A bill that would require food made with genetically modified organisms to carry labels cleared the state Senate late Tuesday night. The Senate's approval, on a 35-1 vote, gives new energy to a measure that had strong grassroots backing but appeared...

A commission created by the House Speaker is calling for elimination of the state law requiring public notices to be printed in daily newspapers. The newspaper issue has become one of the more controversial matters at the state Capitol as the General...

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Friday pushed to raise the state minimum wage by 75 cents over the next two years, backing a measure that steps back from a proposal in the legislature but still lacks the support of the business lobby. "I believe that we can...

HARTFORD — Flanked by family members of Newtown massacre victims and the legislative leaders who spent months trying to respond to their tragedy, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a sweeping gun-control bill Thursday whose big provisions — such...