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Politics
Here Are The Lineups For First Two Democratic Presidential Debates Here Are The Lineups For First Two Democratic Presidential Debates
Here Are The Lineups For First Two Democratic Presidential Debates The Democratic National Committee announced the names of presidential candidates who qualified for the first debates of the 2020 campaign, cutting the record wide field of 23 contenders down to the 20 spots. Candidates making the final cut on Thursday registered at least 1 percent support in three national polls, received campaign money from 65,000 donors, or both. The list appears at the end of this article.  Debates will be spread over two nights in Miami later this month -- with 10 candidates appearing each night.  Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren will share the stage with …

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by Jon Craig
Lifestyle
Connecticut Property Tax Rate Among Nation's Highest, New Study Says Connecticut Property Tax Rate Among Nation's Highest, New Study Says
Connecticut Property Tax Rate Among Nation's Highest, New Study Says Homeowners in New York and Connecticut paid some of the highest property taxes in the country last year, according to a brand new report. ATTOM Data Solutions released its 2018 property tax analysis for more than 87 million homes, announcing that single-family homeowners last year paid a total of $304.6 billion, up from $293.4 billion in 2017. The average was $3,498 per home, according to the report, which made for an effective tax rate of 1.16 percent. According to ATTOM, the report analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide at the state, metro and cou…

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by Zak Failla
News
Worth Losing Sleep Over: Spring Forward This Weekend Worth Losing Sleep Over: Spring Forward This Weekend
Worth Losing Sleep Over: Spring Forward This Weekend We'll be springing forward this weekend (QUICK: Which two U.S. states don't follow Daylight Saving Time?). Unless you still have a flip, your cellphone will take care of the change from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. this Sunday. The same for most digital devices. We'll have to take care of traditional clocks and those in older-model vehicles, stoves, microwaves, etc. So long, seasonal affective disorder! ****** If you're having trouble getting to sleep, consider: It's "Daylight Saving," not "Savings"; Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea 235 years ago (1784); When it was established in the U.S.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Politics
Connecticut Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule' Connecticut Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule'
Connecticut Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule' New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that the state is one of 21 to file a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration new measure that restricts access to abortion and other reproductive health services. A coalition of 21 State AttorneysGeneral announced that they will be challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s new “gag rule” which alters the Title X family planning program. According to James, the rule relates to funding for Title X, the only federal grant program that funds family planning programs to help patients access contraception, ca…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Lamont May Push Legislators To Extend Sales Tax To Groceries, Medication For First Time Lamont May Push Legislators To Extend Sales Tax To Groceries, Medication For First Time
Lamont May Push Legislators To Extend Sales Tax To Groceries, Medication For First Time Groceries and medications may soon be the subject of sales tax as Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont attempts to cut into a reported $1.5 billion projected shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year. In an effort to close the projected shortfall, Lamont is considering introducing legislation that would see sales tax on groceries and other long-exempt items, according to a ctmirror.com report. The move would come in an effort to “bring fiscal stability” to the state. If approved by lawmakers, taxing groceries and other such items could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the state, he…

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by Zak Failla
News
Woman Who Embezzled $1.1M From Darien Auto Dealer Sentenced Woman Who Embezzled $1.1M From Darien Auto Dealer Sentenced
Woman Who Embezzled $1.1M From Darien Auto Dealer Sentenced A Hudson Valley woman is heading to prison after admitting to embezzling more than $1 million from a BMW dealer she worked at in Fairfield County. Vanessa Vence-Small, 50, of New Windsor in Orange County, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for embezzling $1.1 million from Continental BMW of Darien. From October 2014 to June 2017, Vence-Small made 65 unauthorized electronic fund transfers, totaling $904,659.29, from the dealership’s bank account to her personal American Express account. She also issued and signed 28 checks drawn on the d…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Utility Bills In Connecticut Rank Among Highest In Nation Utility Bills In Connecticut Rank Among Highest In Nation
Utility Bills In Connecticut Rank Among Highest In Nation Residents of New York and Connecticut are paying some of the highest prices to keep their lights on and the heat up. According to a newly released report from move.org, Connecticut is paying the fourth-highest average utility bill nationally each month, just ahead of New York, which landed fifth on the list. The report factors in the prices of electricity, natural gas, Internet, cable and water bills nationwide. “To calculate electricity and natural gas costs, (they) multiplied average national consumption rates by the average cost for these services in each state—individual bills may vary …

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
'Fall Back' Sunday As Clocks Change For Daylight Saving Time 'Fall Back' Sunday As Clocks Change For Daylight Saving Time
'Fall Back' Sunday As Clocks Change For Daylight Saving Time Here's a nice perk for the weekend after Halloween. It comes with an extra hour. Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 4 when clocks should be turned back one hour. Firefighters recommend changing the batteries in both your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Here are a few facts you may not know courtesy of al.com. Two U.S. states, Hawaii and Arizona, do not abide by daylight savings time. Daylight Saving Time is the brainchild of Benjamin Franklin, who figured using daylight more efficiently would safe candles. The current timetable for daylight savings time was set on Aug…

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by Daily Voice
Lifestyle
Connecticut Ranks High Among Most Innovative States In Nation Connecticut Ranks High Among Most Innovative States In Nation
Connecticut Ranks High Among Most Innovative States In Nation The current patent numbering and examination system was enacted in 1836, but in the last 20 years there has been a 183 percent surge of patent activity—an increase in issued patents from 122,975 to 347,642. So, where has all this patent activity been occurring? In the United States, the states with the highest number of patent issues per capita in the last five years have been California, Massachusetts, Washington, Minnesota, Vermont, Oregon, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Michigan and Colorado, according to this report.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, the least innovative states that ha…

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by Jon Craig
Business
Health Craze You Might Be Able To Get Down With Coming To Fairfield County Health Craze You Might Be Able To Get Down With Coming To Fairfield County
Health Craze You Might Be Able To Get Down With Coming To Fairfield County If you haven't seen aesthetic photos of the fruity bowl of goodness, you've likely heard about the Playa Bowls that are taking the Tri-State area by storm. Here's why people are loving Playa Bowls -- which is set to open a store in Fairfield soon, according to its website. The idea stems from two Jersey Shore natives and longtime surfers, who fell in love with the fruit-based bowl on summer surf trips to Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, California, Hawaii, Nicaragua and Panama. The bowls are built like smoothies with a base of Acai (a Brazilian berry packed with antioxidants) or pitaya (a fancy wa…

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by Cecilia Levine
Politics
Malloy's No. 1 (Sort Of): Rated Least Popular Governor In Nation Malloy's No. 1 (Sort Of): Rated Least Popular Governor In Nation
Malloy's No. 1 (Sort Of): Rated Least Popular Governor In Nation Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, is the least popular governor in the country, with 72 percent of survey respondents disapproving of his job performance, according to Morning Consult. For the fifth quarter in a row, America’s 10 most popular governors are all Republicans. That’s according to the latest edition of Morning Consult’s Governor Approval Rankings, compiled from online surveys conducted with nearly 275,000 registered voters from Jan. 1 through March 31. More details can be found by clicking here.  The top four most popular in the rankings remain unchanged from the fourth quarte…

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by Jon Craig
News
Connecticut AG To Sue Trump Administration Over Citizenship Census Question Connecticut AG To Sue Trump Administration Over Citizenship Census Question
Connecticut AG To Sue Trump Administration Over Citizenship Census Question New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is leading a multi-state coalition of elected officials who are intending to challenge President Donald Trump and the federal government’s decision to bring back a question asking about citizen status in the 2020 United States Census. On Monday night, the Commerce Department announced it would indeed reintroduce the question, which had been asked until 1960. The lawsuit was filed by Attorneys General in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New…

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by Zak Failla