NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy and former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz agreed Thursday on many of the same ideas for jumpstarting the nation's flagging economy, but clashed over who is better qualified to be Connecticut's next U.S. senator. The two Democrats met in their first face-to-face debate since Murphy, the state's 5th Congressional District congressman, received the endorsement of the Connecticut Democrats at this month's state convention. The debate at Central Connecticut State University was sponsored by WNPR-FM, the public radio station. The pair previously appeared at a forum in Westport on Wednesday night. Bysiewicz continued to tout her "Accountability Plan," which, among other things, calls for reinstating a transaction tax on certain Wall Street trades and using that ... Continue reading →

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The state of Connecticut has required a private security company hired to protect several office buildings to provide some guards back pay after a review showed the firm breached its contract with the state by underpaying the workers. In a letter to SOS Security Inc., obtained Monday by The Associated Press, the Department of Administrative Services said it wants the East Parsippany, N.J.-based company to provide a plan for rectifying the breach, including a complete payroll audit for all affected employees. The plan is due May 31. Meanwhile, the state is requiring that the SOS staff be "made whole" by June 29. "Failure to provide such plan may result in a termination of the contract," wrote Tina Costanzo, contract team leader ... Continue reading →

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays filed the necessary paperwork on Monday to challenge former wrestling executive Linda McMahon in a Republican primary for U.S. Senate, despite her call for him to step aside and not wage a GOP contest. "I think she wishes I wasn't," said the former congressman with a chuckle as he left the Secretary of the State's office. "Not thinking I should do it and hoping I won't are two different things." Shays called Monday's filing the first stage of a three-step process. Next is winning the primary on Aug. 14 and then the general election. While Shays lost the state Republican endorsement at Friday night's convention - McMahon garnered about 60 percent of the 1,208 delegates while ... Continue reading →

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Republicans from northwestern Connecticut endorsed state Sen. Andrew Roraback on Friday as their candidate to run in state's hotly contested 5th Congressional District race. The veteran state legislator from Goshen won the party's backing with 53 percent of the vote following three rounds of balloting. However, Roraback still faces likely challenges from his fellow GOP candidates. All three, including businesswoman Lisa Wilson-Foley, U.S. Navy veteran Justin Bernier and businessman Mark Greenberg, each earned enough support to appear on the Aug. 14 ballot. They still have to declare whether they'll wage a primary challenge. Wilson-Foley placed second, followed by Bernier and Greenberg. Roraback told the crowd that Friday marked the first day "of the process of putting the 5th District back into ... Continue reading →

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Connecticut Republicans decided Friday night to give former wrestling executive Linda McMahon a second shot, endorsing her again as the party's candidate for the U.S. Senate. The Greenwich multimillionaire garnered the support of 730 or more than 60 percent of the 1,208 delegates who voted at Friday night's convention. But her lead rival for the party's backing, former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, won 389 votes or about 32 percent of the delegates, well more than the 15 percent needed to secure a spot on the Aug. 14 primary ballot. The GOP had tapped McMahon over former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons in the 2010 convention, as well. But after spending about $50 million of her own money, she lost to Democrat Richard ... Continue reading →

Conn. GOP makes changes to US Senate convention CT State Wire SUSAN HAIGH Published: 14 minutes ago HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Delegates to the Connecticut Republican Party's state convention will see some changes when they arrive Friday, all part of an effort by party leaders to make the process for endorsing a U.S. Senate candidate more open and transparent.State GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola said Thursday the party has created a website to allow the 1,245 delegates and the campaigns to track the delegate vote as it's happening and how each city and town delegation voted. They're also bringing in scanners and copiers to provide paper copies of the vote counts.The effort comes after complaints were made about the 2010 GOP convention, when former wrestling executive ... Continue reading →

SOMERS, Conn. (AP) -- The Connecticut killer who once called himself one of the most hated men in America said in a death row interview that he tries not to think about the murder of a suburban mother and her two daughters, suffers no nightmares and has nothing to say to the only survivor of the brutal 2007 attack. Joshua Komisarjevsky told The Associated Press in his first interview since he was convicted that there isn't anything he could say to Dr. William Petit "that will restore the lives lost." He also declined an opportunity to express remorse for the killings. "I guess my reaction is not the reaction society expected," Komisarjevsky said. Wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit, Komisarjevsky kept direct eye contact during the ... Continue reading →

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts Democratic lawmakers have increased their efforts to grow jobs in the state by announcing legislation that they say will spur economic development.House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Chicopee, announced the wide-ranging bill at a Monday afternoon news conference at the state Capitol.DeLeo said growing and creating jobs in Massachusetts has been a top priority in the Legislature.The proposed legislation would fund some research projects at state universities with matching grants, create a small business online resource and focus on training the state's workforce, among other things.It would establish and fund a program that matches stipends for interns at technology and innovation start-up companies.Additionally, the bill would create a program that gives cities and towns a way to use private ... Continue reading →

NEW BRITAIN, Conn.—Three-term U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy easily won the endorsement of the Connecticut Democrats on Saturday as the party's pick for the U.S. Senate.Murphy garnered the support of 76 percent of the 1,823 delegates, calling it a "resounding margin" and a good indicator for a general election victory."I tell you, with this kind of enthusiasm, I know we're going to make sure that a Democrat gets elected to the United States Senate," he told the cheering delegates, who gathered in a gymnasium at Central Connecticut State University. He said the state Democratic Party hadn't seen such a lopsided convention win in a long time.But Murphy will first have to defeat his chief rival for the party's endorsement, former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. ... Continue reading →