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Politics
CT Earned Income Tax Credit To Increase: Here's Who's Affected CT Earned Income Tax Credit To Increase: Here's Who's Affected
CT Earned Income Tax Credit To Increase: Here's Who's Affected Thousands of low-to-moderate income working individuals and families in Connecticut will see a significant boost in their state income tax credits under the newly signed state budget. Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the Connecticut Earned Income Tax Credit is scheduled to increase from 23 percent of the federal credit to 30.5 percent this year. In total, the new budget will result in an additional $40 million being delivered to the nearly 195,000 households that are eligible for the tax credit, for a total of $158 million. The Connecticut Earned Income Tax credit was created in 2011. The n…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Infection Rate In CT Rises, New Deaths Recorded; Latest Breakdown Of Cases By County COVID-19: Infection Rate In CT Rises, New Deaths Recorded; Latest Breakdown Of Cases By County
Covid-19: Infection Rate In CT Rises, New Deaths Recorded; Latest Breakdown Of Cases By County Nearly two dozen new COVID-19 fatalities were reported in the past week in Connecticut as new variants of the virus continue to trouble health officials. In the past week, Connecticut hospitals recorded 23 new virus-related deaths, bringing the total up to 8,330 statewide as of Thursday, Aug. 19, though the infection rate is back on the rise. The daily positive COVID-19 infection rate of those tested in Connecticut has been fluctuating from 4.25 percent on Monday, Aug. 16, down to 2.99 percent the following day, and back up to 3.37 percent on Wednesday, Aug. 18.  On Aug. 18, Connectic…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Infection Rate Down, Hospitalizations Up In CT; Here's Latest Breakdown Of Cases COVID-19: Infection Rate Down, Hospitalizations Up In CT; Here's Latest Breakdown Of Cases
Covid-19: Infection Rate Down, Hospitalizations Up In CT; Here's Latest Breakdown Of Cases The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in Connecticut hospitals continues to rise by more than two dozen as the number of new infections continues to surge due to variants of the virus. The daily positive COVID-19 infection rate of those tested in Connecticut dipped slightly day-to-day, from 4.25 percent to 2.99 percent on Tuesday, Aug. 17, while the number of patients hospitalized with the virus climbed from 321 to 348 statewide. A week ago, approximately 160 COVID-19 patients were being treated for the virus. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said that there were 19,824 COVID-19 tests a…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
COVID-19: CT Schools To Have Mask Mandate For Beginning Of Year COVID-19: CT Schools To Have Mask Mandate For Beginning Of Year
Covid-19: CT Schools To Have Mask Mandate For Beginning Of Year There will be a mask mandate in place for Connecticut schools at the beginning of the new academic year. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Tuesday, Aug. 17, that due to the summer surge of new COVID-19 cases across the state and region, students will be required to wear facial coverings through at least the first month of the academic year. The mask mandate will be in place for all students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It is unclear when the order will be lifted as new variants of the COVID-19 virus continue spreading across the country. Lamont’s executive order requiring mas…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Hospitalizations, Infections Rise In CT; New Breakdown By County, Community COVID-19: Hospitalizations, Infections Rise In CT; New Breakdown By County, Community
Covid-19: Hospitalizations, Infections Rise In CT; New Breakdown By County, Community The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in Connecticut hospitals continues to rise as the number of new infections continues to surge due to variants of the virus. The daily positive COVID-19 infection rate of those tested in Connecticut held steady at 3.55 percent over the weekend beginning on Friday, Aug. 13, with 26 new patients being treated statewide as the total rose to 285 as of Monday, Aug. 16.  A week ago, approximately 160 COVID-19 patients were being treated for the virus.  Over the weekend, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said that there were 44,577 new COVID-19 tes…

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by Zak Failla
News
Lamont Orders Flags At Half-Staff For Firefighter Who Died After Falling Ill At Scene Of Blaze Lamont Orders Flags At Half-Staff For Firefighter Who Died After Falling Ill At Scene Of Blaze
Lamont Orders Flags At Half-Staff For Firefighter Who Died After Falling Ill At Scene Of Blaze Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has ordered that US and state flags be lowered to half-staff to honor a 26-year-old firefighter who died after falling ill while responding to a three-alarm blaze. Lamont directed flags to be lowered until the date of Colin McFadden's burial, which has not been determined yet.  Related - Firefighter Dies After Collapsing At Scene Of Litchfield County Blaze The Burlington Fire Department reported that McFadden suffered a medical emergency while responding to the fire in Litchfield County in the Town of New Hartford at about 2:30 a.m. Tues…

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by Nicole Valinote
News
COVID-19: CT Infection Rate Hits 3.5 Percent; New Case Breakdown By County, Community COVID-19: CT Infection Rate Hits 3.5 Percent; New Case Breakdown By County, Community
Covid-19: CT Infection Rate Hits 3.5 Percent; New Case Breakdown By County, Community Variants of the COVID-19 virus continue to cause trouble in Connecticut and across the country as the daily positive infection rate in the state spiked up past 3.5 percent in the latest data released by the Department of Public Health. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said that there were 21,101 new COVID-19 tests administered statewide on Wednesday, Aug. 11, resulting in 742 laboratory-confirmed cases for a 3.52 percent daily positive infection rate, up from 3.15 percent the previous day. The Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to be the dominant strain in Connecticut, now accounting for more t…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Lamont Speaks With Kathy Hochul, NY's Soon-To-Be First Female Governor Lamont Speaks With Kathy Hochul, NY's Soon-To-Be First Female Governor
Lamont Speaks With Kathy Hochul, NY's Soon-To-Be First Female Governor Although she doesn’t officially start as governor for two weeks, future New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has hit the ground running and is already reaching out to the leaders of neighboring states, including Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. On Tuesday, Aug. 10, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he was going to resign, effective in 14 days, making Lt. Gov. Hochul to step in, becoming the state’s 57th - and first female - governor. When Hochul takes over, it is expected that Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is expected to assume the duties of the lieutenant governor. Related stor…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: CT Requires All Long-Term Care Facility Employees To Get Vaccinated COVID-19: CT Requires All Long-Term Care Facility Employees To Get Vaccinated
Covid-19: CT Requires All Long-Term Care Facility Employees To Get Vaccinated All employees of Connecticut's long-term care facilities are required to get vaccinated against COVID-19 under a new executive order from Gov. Ned Lamont. Lamont announced on Friday, Aug. 6, that the employees will be required to receive at least their first vaccine dose no later than Tuesday, Sept. 7. The types of facilities impacted by this executive order include: Nursing homes Residential care homes Assisted living services agencies (i.e. agencies that provide staff to certain long-term care facilities) Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities M…

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by Nicole Valinote
News
Governor Requests Aid For CT Farmers Who Suffered Damage From Tropical Storm Elsa Governor Requests Aid For CT Farmers Who Suffered Damage From Tropical Storm Elsa
Governor Requests Aid For CT Farmers Who Suffered Damage From Tropical Storm Elsa Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has submitted a request to the federal government to help farmers who lost crops and suffered damage from Tropical Storm Elsa in early July. The governor made submitted an agricultural disaster declaration request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to an announcement on Thursday, Aug. 5. If the disaster declaration is approved, farmers in the state will be eligible for certain federal disaster assistance programs, including emergency loans. “Farm owners are small business owners, and not only are they responsible for employing a significant nu…

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by Nicole Valinote
News
COVID-19: Local Officials Given Power To Reinstate Mask Mandates In Connecticut COVID-19: Local Officials Given Power To Reinstate Mask Mandates In Connecticut
Covid-19: Local Officials Given Power To Reinstate Mask Mandates In Connecticut Mask mandates in Connecticut will now be in the hands of local municipalities under a new order from Gov. Ned Lamont. Lamont announced this week that he has signed an executive order that will provide municipal leaders with the option of requiring masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status, as the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus rapidly spreads. The Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to be the dominant strain in Connecticut, now accounting for approximately 80 percent of all new infections, officials noted. In the past week, the number of cases of the Delta variant…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Neighboring Governors Fence In Cuomo, Jointly Calling On Him To Resign Neighboring Governors Fence In Cuomo, Jointly Calling On Him To Resign
Neighboring Governors Fence In Cuomo, Jointly Calling On Him To Resign Democratic governors in the state surrounding New York have become the latest to call for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to step away from office following the release of the Attorney General’s report into allegations of sexual harassment. On Tuesday, Aug. 3, New York AG Letitia James released the findings of an internal investigation led by Joon Kim and Anne Clark, which determined that Cuomo allegedly had inappropriate contact and conversations with at least 11 women. Original story - NY AG Investigation Finds Cuomo Sexually Harassed Multiple Women, Violating State, Federal Law The reaction from are…

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by Zak Failla