Thanks for visiting our archive of investigative reporting. Please visit, YankeeInstitute.org for the latest stories.
SCOTUS ruling strikes blow to CT’s forced unionization scheme
As millions anxiously awaited the Supreme Court’s decision in Hobby Lobby v Sebelius (regarding the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that all employers provide contraception coverage despite religious objections) the Justices released their decision in another case that...
State awards another $10 million in stem-cell grants to the usual suspects
The state awarded another $10 million in stem-cell research grants Tuesday, but not a single private company benefited. Like the $80 million awarded in the previous seven years, most of the money this year went to the University of Connecticut Health Center or Yale...
IT audit reveals state may owe $5.2 million for 4,500 non-compliant software licenses
A review by an unnamed software company found 4,500 improper licenses on state computers, according to the Auditors of Public Accounts, a failure that could cost more than $5.2 million. Auditors, reporting on the state’s former information technology agency now...
IRS has three-year-old, $50,000 tax lien against Sen. Fonfara’s Hartford home
The IRS has a $50,406.93 tax lien against the Hartford home of Democratic Sen. John Fonfara, chairman of the legislature’s finance, revenue and bonding committee which handles state tax policy. The IRS filed a notice of tax lien in October 2011 with the Hartford City...
Will government unions spend millions on Connecticut politics again?
Connecticut’s public employee unions are big players in the state’s elections, spending millions on their political operations, which may affect 2014 races. The unions are a highly-focused, highly-motivated interest group when it comes to state-level elections,...
Agreement with parole officers restores nearly three years of expired time off
The Department of Correction agreed last year to restore nearly three years of expired time off for 40 parole officers, an average of 3.5 weeks each. In 2011, auditors discovered an accounting glitch that allowed a small group of state employees to build up thousands...
Correctional supervisors at top of pay scale get ‘lump sum payments’
Connecticut’s longevity pay for state employees – $13.8 million in April – is no secret, but a small group of state employees also get “lump sum payments” equal to 2.5 percent of pay. While longevity payments go to union state employees based on the...
No state money for Rock Cats’ move
COMMENTARY Hartford is a city plagued with a variety of public policy problems — not least the misuse of city funds and other financial mismanagement. And it’s afflicted by a host of urban ills – including a poverty rate second only to Detroit (as of 2012) and...
VA in Connecticut avoids wait-time scandal but insects plague OR for 8 years; gives big raises
Federal healthcare facilities for veterans in Connecticut are facing their own problems, separate from an ongoing national wait-time scandal, with longstanding concerns over “intrusion of insects” in operating rooms and other cleanliness issues. Meanwhile, some...
With fewer served, costs rise at state-run homes for developmentally disabled
Fewer people with developmental disabilities in Connecticut need the highest level of care, but rising costs are growing the gap between high-cost treatment in state-run facilities and lower-cost private alternatives. According to 2013 data provided by the Department...