U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald says Connecticut is the first state in the country to end chronic homelessness among veterans. McDonald made the announcement on Thursday at a veterans’ housing development located at the VA medical center in Newington. State officials say all known veterans in Connecticut experiencing... Read More about Connecticut Ends Chronic Veteran Homelessness

WILTON — The 70 or so Wilton Kiwanis Club members and their guests that gathered at the Tompkins Pavilion at the Riverbrook Regional YMCA at noon on Wednesday to hear U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D, speak about foreign relations got a bonus when U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, dropped by to serve as a self-described "warm-up act." "I sit on the... Read More about Murphy, Himes talk foreign relations at Wilton Kiwanis lunch at Riverbrook YMCA

WATERBURY–It was announced today that the city of Waterbury has received more than $3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, via the Lead Hazard Control grant and funds from Healthy Home Supplemental. The money is aimed at protecting kids and families from the dangers of lead-based paints and other residential... Read More about Waterbury granted $3M to get rid of lead, mold from low-income homes

In New Haven Wednesday, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut held a forum on a mental health reform bill that he’s cosponsoring. One part of the bill would change patient privacy law in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. Doctors would have clearer guidelines on when they can give families access to... Read More about Murphy Visits New Haven To Promote Mental Health Reform Bill

NEWINGTON — In recognition of Connecticut becoming the first state in the country to end chronic homelessness for veterans, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald paid a recent visit to the Victory Gardens affordable housing development in Newington. “I am here because I wanted to recognize all of you here in Connecticut... Read More about State praised for ending chronic homelessness for vets

NEW HAVEN >> U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy Wednesday said mental health care in America desperately needs an overhaul, and the self-described “progressive Democrat” has joined forced with “a very conservative Republican from the deep South” to do just that. Murphy has held 11 roundtable discussions in recent weeks —... Read More about U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy hosts discussion on mental health care bill in New Haven

Congressional Democrats want the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help small farmers comply new food safety laws due out in spring 2016. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), along with 12 other lawmakers, sent a letter to the FDA’s Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff on Monday asking that he implement technical... Read More about Dems to FDA: Help small farmers comply with new food safety rules

Recognizing that America’s small farmers face unique challenges in implementing new regulations set forth by the Food Safety Modernization Act, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement specific training and outreach programs to help small farmers and processors accurately comply with... Read More about Murphy seeks to help farmers comply with food safety law

Not since the 1960s has the U.S. Congress seriously considered the issue of mental health. In 1963, it passed President Kennedy's Community Mental Health Act, and a few years later, Medicare and Medicaid designated funding for the community services mentioned in the bill. Now, nearly 50 years later, lawmakers in both houses are considering... Read More about 2015 Could be the Year for Mental Health Reform

FORT BENNING, Ga. — A military police officer from Connecticut and an Apache helicopter pilot from Texas are the first women to complete the Army’s grueling Ranger School, families of the soldiers confirmed Wednesday. Capt. Kristen Griest of Orange, Connecticut, and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver of Copperas Cove, Texas, were scheduled to graduate... Read More about Connecticut woman among the first to complete Army’s elite Ranger School

There are some 1,700 miles of land and sea separating Hartford from San Juan, Puerto Rico, making it tempting for Connecticut’s residents to ignore the Caribbean island’s desperate economic crisis. A word to the wise: resist the temptation. The ripple effects of the island’s recent failure to pay part of its $72 billion in debt... Read More about Op-Ed: Puerto Rico’s Crisis Should Matter to Connecticut’s Residents

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy announced on August 17 that EAMA member Sound Manufacturing, a manufacturer specializing in precision sheet metal fabrication, is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” Sound Manufacturing was established in 1984 out of a small garage within a junk yard. Today, the company operates out of a... Read More about Senator Murphy Designates Sound Manufacturing as “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer”

Connecticut aerospace companies play a key role in the manufacture of the Marine Corps’ F-35B joint strike fighter, which was recently determined to have reached operational readiness. The F-35B is the short-takeoff, vertical-landing model of the F-35, meaning it flies like a plane but lifts off and lands like a helicopter. The Air Force... Read More about Strong state ties to new fighter jet

NORWALK -- With the Walk Bridge slated for replacement, Metro-North Railroad soon will need some extra space in Norwalk to juggle its trains. The Walk Bridge replacement will require the establishment of a two-track outage on Metro-North's main line to accommodate a significant portion of the construction work, according to the Connecticut... Read More about Connecticut Department of Transportation prepares to rebuild Metro-North 'Dock Yard'

Connecticut is home to thousands of manufacturing companies and 160,000 manufacturing jobs. From household names like UTC, Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney and Electric Boat to pioneering smaller companies throughout the supply chain, Connecticut is a state built on manufacturing. As the economy continues its recovery, it is important that we... Read More about Built On Manufacturing, Connecticut Still Has Room To Grow

HONOLULU — As the sun broke from behind the billowy clouds hanging over Oahu’s Koolau mountains, a seven-member detail of military personnel transferred five coffins one recent morning, disinterred from two grave sites marked “unknown,” at the Punchbowl, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific here in the shallow... Read More about Decades After Pearl Harbor, a Mission to Honor ‘the Unknowns’ Gains Urgency

NORWALK, Conn. -- In a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation, state officials offered full support for Connecticut’s request for $12 million in federal aid for the design, engineering and construction of a new dock yard in Norwalk for Metro-North’s Danbury branch line. Officials included Secretary Anthony Foxx, U.S. Sens.... Read More about DC Delegation Supports $12M For Metro-North's Danbury Branch

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy is concerned about Long Island Sound and wants something done to help preserve it. Connecticut’s junior senator joined Mayor John Harkins and Curt Johnson, executive director of Save the Sound, last Friday at Short Beach to learn about the importance of preserving the Sound and Connecticut’s coastline. During the... Read More about Murphy seeks passage of act to preserve Long Island Sound

HARTFORD, Conn (WTNH) — Four Connecticut lawmakers have written a letter in support of the state’s request for federal money to improve Metro North Railroad’s New Haven Line and Danbury Branch Line. Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, along with Congressman Jim Himes and Congresswomen Elizabeth Esty, wrote the... Read More about Lawmakers advocate for Metro-North improvements

PLAINVILLE — The town has received a new $1.3 million federal grant that will allow it to purchase and demolish nine homes in a neighborhood by the Pequabuck River that's prone to flooding. The grant was announced Wednesday. The nine homes are on Robert Street Extension and Norton Place Extension. The neighborhoods are in a floodplain and... Read More about Plainville Gets $1.3 Million Grant To Complete Razing Homes In Floodplain