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NYC Ban on Trans Fats Spreads to States
HARTFORD, Conn. — State lawmakers nationwide want to trim the fat, and they aren’t talking about budgets this time. After New York City approved a ban on trans fats in restaurants and school cafeterias in early December, legislators in California, Connecticut, Florida and Massachusetts followed suit with proposals for full or partial statewide bans. The […]
Eminent Domain Outcry Pierces Statehouses
HARTFORD, Conn. – The riverside town of New London, Conn., cleared a huge hurdle last summer when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the city could tear down private homes to make room for a hotel, health club and office park. Now, however, the project is stalled, waiting for the state Legislature to decide whether […]
Connecticut Governor Ending 2003 Under Ethics Cloud
HARTFORD, December 29 – Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland started 2003 having won a historic third term by landslide two months earlier. Now he’s ending the year embroiled in an ethics scandal. Rowland (R) is fighting for his political survival after admitting friends and state contractors, some of whom are under federal investigation, paid for […]
Kentucky Legislators Target Lieutenant Governor
Kentucky, like most other states, has had to make deep budget cuts. One easy target for legislators was the one officeholder lacking specific constitutional duties – the lieutenant governor — In the political bullseye was Democratic Lt. Gov.Steve Henry, who called the move to reduce his staff and perks partisan and personal. Though Republican lawmakers […]
Sex Scandal Roils Kentucky Statehouse
In July, Kentucky Gov Paul Patton, one of the state’s most popular leaders in recent times, got himself elected chairman of the National Governor’s Association and was moving toward a U.S. Senate race in 2004. Three months later, Patton’s once-promising political career is in shambles after he publicly confessed to an extramarital affair. He faces […]