Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s office published a jobs package draft scheduled to be discussed on October 26 in a special legislative session. The jobs package, which will also be discussed on Monday, October 24, 2011, at Terex Corporation in Westport with business executives of large and business executives, according to a press release, is worth $516 million. Part of the investment is dedicated to small business growth and new small businesses through grants and loans.

Meanwhile, CTMirror.org quoted the governor’s budget office as warning that a $75.6 million cushion “reported by the Office of Policy and Management” is gone due to spending on the transition to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, also known as GAAP. The fiscal measure was one of Mr. Malloy’s first executive orders as governor. He is strong supporter of GAAP, which calls for more transparency in the budget process.

A State Bond Commission meeting is scheduled for Friday, October 28, 2011 at 10:30am in Room 1E at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. Twenty-five items will be on the agenda. They are worth $84,487,827 in general obligation allocations, and $43,404,559 in revenue bonds and other transactions in total. Projects concern the spheres of education, health care, housing, transportation, and other areas.

Governor Malloy nominated Judges Michael R. Sheldon and Sybil Richards to the Connecticut Appellate Court and to the Connecticut Superior Court respectively.

On Thursday the Hartford Courant quoted sources as saying that the governor’s administration is expected to announce a deal with NBC Sports to settle in Stamford, Connecticut. According to some reports from the previous week, NBC Sports will create a thousand jobs in Stamford but Governor Malloy did not confirm this news. The Hartford Courant also added that the deal was worth somewhere between $25 million and $50 million – information that it received from the source too.

The Connecticut Business and Industry Association released a survey on Fairfield County businesses that shows that 53 percent of responding businesses reported a recorded net profit in 2011, compared to 84 percent in 2007 deemed by the document as “immediately before the recession,” 46 percent for the period between December 2007 and June 2009, and 60 percent in 2010. Among other findings mentioned in the results, respondent businesses rated the state’s energy costs poorly, and only 15 percent of them rate the state’s taxes as reasonable.

There was an informational hearing on Thursday concerning the Jackson Laboratory deal, a partnership that consists of $809 million in funding to the University of Connecticut Health Center from federal government grants, and philanthropy and service income over the next twenty years for creating a research institute there for the Jackson Laboratory’s purpose. Republican leaders were invited to the hearing which allowed for each guest to ask one question only about the state’s contribution to the project. During the hearing the Jackson Laboratory CEO Edison Liu said that they preferred Connecticut to Florida for our state’s better economic conditions. Republicans reportedly expressed disapproval of the state’s contribution the project which also includes a one percent forgivable (if the laboratory creates a specific number of jobs in Connecticut over a specific amount of years) loan. The Jackson Laboratory is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to “discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human disease, and to enable research for the global biomedical community.” The Connecticut government will add $291 million to the Health Center, about two-thirds of which ($192) million will be secured construction loans, according to a recent press release, which also added that 6,800 jobs will be created for that period.

Meanwhile CTMirror.org quoted New England Economic Partnership Connecticut Model Manager Edward Deak as saying that New York City Comptroller John C. Liu’s office’s report for October 2011, that predicts 10,000 job losses in New York City by the end of 2011, means that there will be slow job growth in Fairfield County next year.

CTNewsJunkie.com reported that Governor Malloy was applauded at a Center for American Progress session in Washington, D.C. where he praised the Connecticut General Assembly and himself for working together to pass several progressive bills throughout the past legislative session – including decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, banning discrimination based on gender identity or expression in employment, rental or sale of housing, credit card approval or other areas, and other legislation.

Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced that the ballots for the municipal elections scheduled for November 8, 2011, are now available online on her office’s website.

Governor Malloy announced that the Connecticut Housing and Finance Authority’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program will not be shut down because the state government found “lapse in the general fund debt service account.” The program is aimed at addressing foreclosure for some homeowners.

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D – CT) and Joe Lieberman (I – CT), and U.S. Representatives John Larson (D, CT – 1st District), Rosa DeLauro (D, CT – 3rd District) and Jim Himes (D, CT – 4th District) announced that Connecticut was granted $2,632,107 million by the federal government in competitive grants. The funds concern three projects – in Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford – the first two of which will cover the study for possible transportation connections, and the later is about improving pedestrian connections to Union Station.

U.S. Representative Joe Courtney (D, CT – 2nd District) announced that the U.S. Navy granted $429.1 million to Electric Boat for support for its active nuclear submarine, according to a press release.

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Courtney and his wife, Audrey Courtney, started the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program, a program created by the New London County Policy Council aimed at presenting food-related challenges for low-income families. According to Mr. Courtney, the week-long program consists of individual food budget of $4 per day.

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy informed that the Disaster Loan Outreach Center in East Haven will not close until October 27. The center’s purpose is to assist Connecticut residents who were negatively impacted by Tropical Storm Irene.

According to some reports, NBC Sports will create a thousand jobs in Stamford, however, Governor Malloy did not confirm this news.

Meanwhile, he filed a proclamation with Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill’s office for special legislative session in an effort to sign a bill that would make Connecticut “an international center for bioscience research”

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen partnered with Bank of America to open a customer assistance center in Southington aimed at addressing foreclosures.

State Comptroller Kevin Lembo’s office released a report on longevity payments to state employees worth close to $10.3 million – $6.2 million of which appropriated to non-union members and the rest to union members. Some union members forfeited their longevity payments as part of the alternative tentative agreement which included $1.6 billion in concessions over fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and $21.5 billion over twenty years with the same cost-saving provisions. About two weeks ago the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) filed a grievance with the Office of Policy and Management Director of Labor Relations Linda Yelmini in reaction to information that they received longevity bonuses this month. According to SEBAC, part of the ratified alternative tentative agreement that it signed with the state government would sacrifice longevity payments at at least the size of the union members’ sacrifices. Some of the state employees received the longevity payments included in the state comptroller’s offices’ report are reportedly at a reduced rate. CTNewsJunkie.com reported that the longevity payments this year are less by almost a half compared to the ones in April, which the media informs were worth $20.25 million given to 32,239 union and non-union state employees, compared to the close to $10.3 million this month given to 8,337 state employees. Back in April state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney (R – Fairfield) expressed his disapproval of longevity bonuses paid to thousands of union and non-union state employees on October 1 and April 1 deeming them a cost Connecticut cannot afford. He was quoted by the media as saying that longevity bonuses in October, 2010 cost Connecticut $19.7 million, and will cost the state $34.5 million for each of the next two fiscal years.

Mr. Jepsen and United States Attorney David B. Fein announced that New Haven dentist Kristi Rossomando, M.D. and her dental practice The Children’s Dental Group, P.C. will pay $212,000 to the federal and Connecticut governments for allegedly violating the federal and state False Claims Acts by fraudulently billing Medicaid. According to U.S. Attorney Fein, such acts increase health care costs for everyone.

State Attorney General Jepsen also announced that his office settled three public disputes with credit rating agencies: Fitch, Inc., Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., and Standard & Poor’s. His office claims that the three credit rating agencies gave Connecticut unfairly low credit ratings of its public bonds as well as misrepresentation of their public bond credit ratings. According to a press release, the credit agencies will give approximately $900,000 to the state which will be used for direct cost savings on credits in the future, and will also have their representatives meet with Connecticut public bond issuers for more details on how they set their credit ratings.

Governor Malloy announced that ten municipalities and the Valley Council of Governments, which includes Derby and Shelton, are awarded the total $5 million for “transit-oriented development” project. The awards are distributed in portions raging from as low as $250,000 to as high as $850,000 to the following cities and towns, according to a press release: Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Windsor and Windsor Locks.

The governor also announced that checks and rebates worth $21.7 million in total are being mailed to 42,332 elderly renters serving as a relief for them for paying their rents. This is just the first portion of these checks, according to a press release. The checks are reportedly part of the Elderly Renters Rebate Program, range from as low as $50 to as high as $900 for married couples and from as low as $50 to as high as $700 for singles.

Connecticut Treasurer Denise L. Nappier announced that all recipients of grants and loans by the state will receive payments electronically through the Automated Clearing House, which, according to her, will improve efficiency in the process. The electronic program is scheduled to start on December 1, 2011.

Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman announced that the Connecticut Health Care Exchange is seeking a chief executive officer who will be responsible for providing the state with more access to health care funds from the federal health care overhaul plan, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in March, 2010.

Connecticut Secretary of the State Merrill joined CT Voters Count representative Luther Weeks for a public drawing regarding a pre-selection audit of three precincts in Bridgeport concerning the municipal primary in the city which was held on September 27, her office announced in a press release. The three precincts – Bassick High School, the Beardsley School and the Roosevelt School – were selected randomly, according to the press release. The audit is part of a state law that requires audit of 10 percent of the polling precincts within a municipality, the press release notes. Bridgeport has 23 precincts.

Ms. Merrill also reminded Connecticut voters who are not registered to vote that if they want to register to vote for the municipal elections on next month, they have to mail their voter registration forms by October 25.

Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein advised Connecticut consumers to discard or return smoked herring purchased from C-Town stores in Danbury and New Britain, and from Ciabao Market in Willimantic after information that a Massachusetts-based fist distributor is recalling these products. Connecticut is among the states where these products are being distributed.

Mr. Rubenstein also alerted Connecticut consumers that if they received postcards in their mailboxes that seemingly offer two free round trip getaways and hotel lodging, featuring the logos of Delta and Southwest Airlines, they should know that the travel companies in the postcards have no relationship with the two airlines. The state Department of Consumer Protection advised consumers not to respond to these offers.

CTMirror.org reported that the Connecticut Department of Children and Families will end unannounced visits to households concerning possible child abuse except for cases deemed too serious.

U.S. Representative Chris Murphy (D, CT – 5th District) announced that his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat, currently occupied by outgoing U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (I – CT), has raised $650,000 for the third quarter making the total of $2.7 million in campaign contributions.  According to a press release, 84 percent of them are small contributions of $250 or less and 86 percent of the contributions are from the state. U.S. Representative Murphy is seeking the democratic nomination for the statewide office against former Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and state Representative William Tong (D – Stamford).

Former Secretary of the State Bysiewicz announced that her campaign raised $321,812.87 for the third quarter making the total of $1.3 million since January, 2011.

Meanwhile, state Representative Tong announced his jobs proposal number 3 – a cash for clean energy program which, according to him, would create 168,000 jobs in the country, 5,000 of which in Connecticut. He explained in a press release that this program is “similar to the Home Star Plan that President Obama proposed last year.” The program would provide “upfront capital for people to make significant investments in home and commercial energy efficiency measures.” These proposals, according to him, will save money in energy bills.

Former WWE corporate officer Linda McMahon toured a manufacturing business in Southington after which she joined a luncheon organized by a group of small businessmen, CTNewsJunkie.com reported. Ms. McMahon is currently seeking the Republican Party nomination for the Mr. Lieberman’s U.S. Senate seat against Windsor attorney Brian Keith Hill

Connecticut Speaker of the House Chris Donovan (D – Meriden) announced that he raised more than $250,000 in his bid for the fifth congressional district, currently occupied by outgoing U.S. Representative Chris Murphy. He is seeking the democratic nomination for this office against former state Representative Elizabeth Esty, former U.S. State Department advisor Michael Williams and Kent Democratic Town Committee member Daniel Roberti.

Meanwhile, Mr. Roberti, Ms. Esty and Mr. WIlliams reportedly raised $209,715, $200,002 and $30,932 – all of them for the third quarter.

In the republican race for the fifth congressional district Farmington Valley businesswoman Lisa Wilson-Foley, businessman Mark Greenberg, former Connecticut Military and Defense Advisory Council Chairman Justin Bernier and former FBI Special Agent Michael Clark reportedly  raised $110,849, $90,618, a little more than $160,000 and $27,594 respectively.

On Thursday there was an economic summit at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford hosted by Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy. The event featured Moody’s economist Steven Cochrane who was there on behalf of scheduled guest speaker Mark Zandi. North Carolina was reportedly praised by the guest speakers as an example of what Connecticut should do to attract jobs especially in the technology sector. Consultant Mitch Horowitz was quoted by the Hartford Courant as advising on the creation of “industry-university partnerships” such as the one between the University of Connecticut Health Center with Jackson Laboratory, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to “discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human disease, and to enable research for the global biomedical community.” The partnership consists of $809 million in funding to the University of Connecticut Health Center from federal government grants, and philanthropy and service income over the next twenty years for creating a research institute there for the Jackson Laboratory’s purpose. The Connecticut government will add $291 million to the Health Center, about two-thirds of which ($192 million) will be in secured construction loans, according to a press release more than a week ago, which also adds that 6,800 jobs will be created for that period of time.

Meanwhile, Governor Malloy announced the launch of Startup Connecticut, a state program coordinated by the Startup America Partnership, which is a nonprofit private partnership aimed at improving entrepreneurial skills for the purpose of stimulating job creation. Startup American Partnership CEO Timothy “Scott” Case called Connecticut “a tremendous place to start and grow a business.” According to Moody’s Analytics economist Steven Cochrane, about 50 to 60 percent of Connecticut’s industries create jobs compared to a national average of 70 or 80 percent.

The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) announced that it filed a grievance with Office of Policy and Management Director of Labor Relations Linda Yelmini in reaction to information that they received that “appointed officials, managers and top agency officials” received longevity bonuses this month. According to SEBAC, part of the ratified alternative tentative agreement that it signed with the state government, which included $1.6 billion in concessions from SEBAC over fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and $21.5 billion over twenty years with the same cost-saving provisions, these three groups of people would sacrifice longevity payments at at least the size of the union members’ sacrifices. The grievance was signed by SEBAC Counsel and Chief Negotiator Dan Livingston

The Hartford Courant reported that Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Dan Esty “has been paid more than $1.2 million in speaking fees since 2006” by companies that are to a certain extent under his department’s jurisdiction. Critics deem this activity as conflict of interest with these companies, while Commissioner Esty defined it as part of his job back then as professor and policy expert who was sharing his views with them.

State Comptroller Kevin Lembo announced that the Connecticut General Fund is calculated to end this fiscal year at a $78.9 million surplus, $75 million of which is expected to be used for paying off the costs for the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, enacted by Governor Dannel Malloy. The rest of the projected surplus will be spent on paying off the 2009 Economic Recovery Notes, according to a pres release.

On Tuesday, Governor Malloy told municipal leaders during a meeting of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities at the Connecticut Convention Center that he will make efforts to preserve state aid to municipalities regardless of what the economic conditions will be.

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) announced that its Liquor Control Division conducted a compliance operation with the Newtown Police Department and the Putnam Police Department of sixteen businesses in Newtown and seven businesses in Putnam. According to a press release, three of them in Newtown and five of them in Putnam were alleged to have sold alcohol to the DCP devision’s undercover youths. The addresses of the establishments in Newtown that allegedly failed the operation are 123 South Main Street, 266 South Main Street and 19 Main Street, while the addresses of the ones in Putnam that allegedly failed the test are 150 Providence Street, 347 Kennedy Drive, 75 Main Street, 235 Kennedy Drive, and 26 Union Street. According to the DCP, these businesses could face administrative penalties.

The Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Reuben Bradford and the Office of Policy and Management Secretary Benjamin Barnes announced that 56 state troopers had their layoff notices rescinded. The 56 state troopers had their layoff notices rescinded due to the retirement of 40 sworn personnel on September 1 and October 1, according to Commissioner Bradford. The total in salary for the 40 people who retired is $2,254,460, while the total in salary for the 56 state troopers is $1,888,830, as reported in a press release.

Governor Malloy announced that after President Barack Obama approved his disaster declaration request to cover for costs incurred by Tropical Storm Irene the Federal Emergency Management Agency granted $5,089,356.61 to the state. Eligible residents are encouraged to apply until the November 3 deadline. According to a press release, $4,807,542.38 are planned to cover for uninsured “homeowner’s primary residence,” while the rest of the grants are planned to cover for “disaster-related medical and dental costs.”

Meanwhile, the governor also announced that the National Governors Association selected Connecticut along with Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania as part of a national Policy Academy aimed at “implementing successful economic strategies” for the promotion of growth of “advanced manufacturing industries” in association with federal departments’ experts and National Governors Association staff.

The U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D – CT) and Joe Lieberman (I – CT), and U.S. Representatives John Larson (D, CT – 1st District), Rosa DeLauro (D, CT – 3rd District) and Jim Himes (D, CT – 4th District) announced that Capital Workforce Partners, Inc. and Workplace, Inc. are granted $4,986,817 and $4,936,845 respectively in an effort to qualify unemployed residents for careers in the healthcare industry.

U.S. Representative Larson announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granted $200,000 every year for the next four years to Integrated Health Services in an effort to extend dental coverage to about 1,000 school students up to 10th grade in his district.

U.S. Representative Courtney announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted $429,936 to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture for the purpose of “strengthening the market for specialty crops.”

The Connecticut congressional delegation was quoted as informing that the USDA issued a disaster assistance declaration for Connecticut for farmers who incurred damages from Tropical Storm Irene. This disaster assistance declaration will provide eligible farmers across the state with emergency funding, financial assistance for non-insurable crops and low-interest loans, according to a press release if they file an application with USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

CTMirror.org quoted nonprofit agencies as expecting about 20,000 more households to apply for heating aid under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as LIHEAP, a federally funded program.

In electoral politics, Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced that absentee ballots are available to Connecticut residents who will not be able to vote on November 8 due to being out of their municipalities. The deadline to cast an absentee ballot is November 1, pointed out Secretary Merrill. This year there will be only local elections in Connecticut.

A new Health Enhancement Program, a state health plan aimed at attaining savings in state government spending was started on October 1. More than 50,000 state employees enrolled in the program, as State Comptroller Kevin Lembo announced two weeks ago. According to CTMirror.org, the policy includes disease management programs for people with chronic conditions, and their failure to participate in these programs would result in $100 additional payment in premiums per month and “face a deductible.”
Here is a list of some of the new laws which started became effectiveon October 1:
-Requirement for health care providers to wear identification badges while at work
-Oversight of third party administrators by the Connecticut Insurance Department (CID) on annuity, life or health insurance
-Wave of the $20 fee per certified copy of a veteran’s death certificate when requested by their child, parent, or spouse
-Ban for ambulance drivers, emergency medical responders, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, and paramedics – unless for the purpose of performing their duties – from taking digital or photographic images of a person they provide medical assistance for. The new law penalizes these people in such cases by up to $2,000, a 1-year imprisonment, or both
-Permission for gun owners who are state residents to renew their gun permit by mail instead of being required to personally appear at the Department of Public Safety for this purpose

October 1 is also the first day of retirement for unionized state employees and the beginning of unionized state employees’ 2 percent minimum cost of living adjustment. This policy is among the changes between the old tentative agreement – rejected by the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) – and the alternative tentative agreement between the unions and the state government, which was ratified by SEBAC.

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced that the Small Business Administration (SBA) granted $546,822 to Connecticut in an effort to increase exports in the state. The funds come from a three-year initiative by the SBA.

The governor also announced that Jackson Laboratory, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to “discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human disease, and to enable research for the global biomedical community,” will fund $809 million to the University of Connecticut Health Center from federal government grants, and philanthropy and service income over the next twenty years for creating a research institute there for the Jackson Laboratory’s purpose. The Connecticut government will add $291 million to the Health Center, about two-thirds of which ($192 million) will be in secured construction loans, according to a press release, which also adds that 6,800 will be created for that period of time.

There will be an economic summit in Connecticut on Thursday, October 6, from 9am until 3pm in Hartford. It will be hosted by Governor Malloy, and will be featuring academics and Moody’s economist Mark Zandi. One of the main topics to be discussed during that event will be how to reinvent the state. The Governor’s Economic Summit, the name of the event, is free, and has already reached maximum capacity based on preregistrations and RSVPs.

The CID announced that Oxford Health Plans filed a request to raise its premiums by 11 percent for “large group medical policies for employers of fifty-one or more workers” effective next year.

Meanwhile, the CID also reported that Aetna Health, Inc. filed a request to raise by 2.2 percent to 6.9 percent its health care premiums for employers of one to fifty workers.

CTMirror.org reported that the Appropriations, Energy and Technology and Human Services Committees unanimously passed on Tuesday a plan that would provide $61.6 million in federal assistance to qualified residents under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Congress has not acted on the LIHEAP funding yet, according to the media, inferring that none of the funds are guaranteed yet but the Malloy administration was quoted as expecting $46.4 million from it. State Representative Vickie Nardello (D – Cheshire) was quoted as saying that the funds will be taken from the state budget if the federal government funds it less than $61.6 million.

Thirty-seven non-permanent social workers at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families who were laid off in July appealed to Governor Malloy to reinstate them back to work. Non-permanent positions were reportedly not protected in the ratified alternative tentative agreement worth $1.6 billion in concessions from the state labor unions. One of these laid off workers was quoted by CTNewsJunkie.com as saying that she voted for the alternative tentative agreement and was also reported by that media as expressing surprise that her position has not been made permanent.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen joined New England States filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a challenge of 11.14 percent rate transmission fee to electric transmission owners by opining in the joint document that a smaller increase of 9.2 percent is reasonable to maintain utility companies’ distribution systems.

Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman and Connecticut Department of Social Services Commissioner Roderick Bremby announced that the Connecticut Department of Social Services awarded Community Network of Connecticut, Inc., a nonprofit organization with the right to renegotiate a five-year contract ranging from $70 million to $73 million per year.

According to a latest Public Policy Polling survey which includes 592 Connecticut voters, U.S. Representative Chris Murphy (D, CT – 5th District) leads to his opponents in a general election against his potential republican opponents. U.S. Representative Murphy leads former WWE corporate officer Linda McMahon by 50-43 percent and former U.S. Representative Chris Shays by 43-39 percent. Meanwhile, Mr. Murphy’s opponents for the Democratic Party nomination – former Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and state Representative William Tong (D – Stamford) would loose in a general election against the main republican contenders for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by outgoing U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (I – CT), according to the poll. Data show that Ms. Bysiewicz will win against Ms. McMahon by 47-46 percent but loose against Mr. Shays by 37-48 percent. State Representative Tong will loose against both Linda McMahon and Chris Shays by 38-45 percent and by 27-46 percent respectively. The survey also features questions about possible general election between one of the democratic contenders and former U.S. Representative Rob Simmons who lost the republican primary race for the U.S. Senate a year ago to Linda McMahon who then lost against then Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. The results show that Mr. Simmons will loose against Chris Murphy by 36-45 percent but will win against Susan Bysiewicz by 42-41 percent and William Tong by 32-39 percent. Windsor attorney Brian Keith Hill, who is also seeking the GOP nomination, was not featured in the survey.

Six former Connecticut Republican Party Chairmen – Chris DePino, Dick Foley, George Gallo, Bill Hamzy, Chris Healy and Herb Shepardson – endorsed Linda McMahon in her bid for the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Representative Jim Himes (D, CT – 4th District) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice granted $5,604,080 to Bridgeport through its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services program. According to U.S. Representative Himes, the grants will be used for creating twenty new jobs for police officers this year, and will enhance safety in Bridgeport.

On Friday the State Bond Commission approved $500,000 in bods for “alterations, renovations and improvement to facilities, including new construction” at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in Griswold, The Day of New London reported. CTMirror.org added that $20 million in grants-in-aid as part of the Small Town Economic Assistance Program, also known as STEAP, on the commission’s agenda was approved too. According to the document, which is also available on the commission’s website, STEAP “will create or retain approximately 200 construction related jobs,” while the former project “will create or retain approximately 8 construction related jobs.” As reported lat week, $57,983,822 in general obligation allocations and $851,506,350 in revenue bonds and other transactions were discussed on Friday.

Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Recovery Center in Greenwich will move to Bridgeport, while the ones in Danielson, Old Saybrook and Storrs-Mansfield will permanently close due to low volume. The new location will also transition into Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Outreach Center along with the remaining such centers in the state, according to a press release, which also informs that Connecticut businesses and residents are also eligible to $136,000 in low-interest disaster loans.

Governor Malloy also signed two executive orders last week – his ninth and tenth respectively. His ninth executive order creates the office of the majority representative of family child care providers who will be elected by family child care providers who participate in Care 4 Kids which is currently run by the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS). The majority representative’s responsibility will include advising the DSS on family child care coverage in Connecticut. His tenth executive order establishes a seven-member Personal Care Attendant Quality Home Care Workforce Council chaired by the DSS commissioner. The council’s responsibility will include compensation, retention and training for personal care attendants and personal care coverage in Connecticut, among other things. Opponents, such as the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, a conservative think-tank, view the two executive orders as “unionization of daycare providers and home health care workers.” The Yankee Institute expressed its disapproval on its website RaisingHale.com as “forcing [unionizing under the two executive orders] daycare providers and home health care workers to pay union fur like most state employees. According to Governor Dannel Malloy, his executive orders contribute to daycare providers’ and health care workers’ ability to collectively bargain on “quality-of-life issues,” potentially establishing collective bargaining rights with the DSS and the Workforce Council. Two separate bills enacting similar new laws were proposed during the last legislative session in Hartford but none of them reached the governor’s desk

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) announced that its Liquor Control Division conducted a compliance operation with the West Hartford Police Department of eight businesses that sell liquor in West Hartford through two undercover youths. According to a press release, three of these businesses – Fuji Restaurant at 1144 New Britain Avenue, Taquerie Tavern at 140 Park Road, and Tokyo Sushi III at 846 Farmington Avenue – were alleged to have sold alcohol to their undercover youths. According to the DCP, the three businesses could face administrative penalties.

U.S. Representative John Larson (D, CT – 1st District) introduced the American Jobs Act, President Barack Obama’s jobs plan, which, according to the White House, contains $447 billion in tax cuts and increase in government spending, payroll tax cuts to 98 percent of businesses with payroll below $5 million as well as a complete payroll tax break for “added workers or increased wages,” among other proposals. In his speech President Obama claimed that the American Jobs Act contains ideas supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and urged both parties to pass it “right away.” The bill is referred to twelve committees: Ways and Means, the Small Business Committee, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Education and Workforce Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Financial Services Committee, the House Administration Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Science, Space and Technology Committee, as shown on the Library of Congress website.

U.S. Representative Joe Courtney (D, CT – 2nd District) announced that FEMA granted $700,000 to the Mystic Fire Department through its Port Security Grant Program for enhancing safety in the region.

U.S. Representative Courtney also announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved disaster assistance to Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties. The federal assistance is due to their bordering with Massachusetts counties that were declared Primary Natural Disaster Areas after Tropical Storm Irene passed through New England. According to him, some small businesses in his district are “anxiously waiting for the same critical assistance.”

In electoral politics,

State Representative William Tong (D – Stamford) announced a jobs proposal underlying his support for 2012 Senate candidate from Massacusetts Alan Khazei’s national unemployment voucher program, which state Representative Tong deems an incentive to hire recent or longtime unemployed workers. Mr. Tong is currently seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (I – CT). His opponents for the Democratic Party nomination are U.S. Representative Chris Murphy (D, CT – 5th District) and former Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. For the Republican Party nomination there are currently three contenders as well – former WWE corporate officer Linda McMahon, former U.S. Representative Chris Shays who is already known to announce his bid in October 3, and Windsor attorney Brian Keith Hill.