Lawmakers announced the federal funding during a news conference on Friday morning in Windsor.

The Transportation Department is launching a $27 billion program to repair and upgrade U.S. bridges.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, along with Rep. John Larson and Gov. Ned Lamont, participated in the news conference.

The $561.4 million comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration.

It'll be used for bridge repairs, upgrades, and replacements. The funding, made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. The funding is in addition to the federal appropriations for highway maintenance and repair Connecticut receives every year. Read More

Connecticut residents in Fairfield, New Haven and New London counties who suffered damage or losses from remnants of Hurricane Ida, have one month left to apply for disaster assistance with FEMA and low-interest disaster loans with U.S. Small Business Administration.

FEMA disaster assistance for individuals and families can include money for rental assistance, essential home repairs, personal property and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance. The application deadline is Jan. 28, 2022. Read More

There’s little question that the prolonged pandemic has disrupted the workplace significantly. The degree to which that change is accelerated is now becoming clear as data reflects stark differences between what was and what is.

Between 2010 and 2020, business registrations in Connecticut increased by an average of 5% per year. In 2021, however, business registrations increased by over 20%, thru the end of November, according to an analysis by the Connecticut Data Collaborative of data filed with the Connecticut Office of Secretary of the State.

That dramatic – and likely unprecedented – pace of growth suggests that more people are launching more businesses all across Connecticut. Who is launching those business enterprises, and where, is part of the story of a changing population, and expanding interest in new enterprises. Read More

Better buses. Frequent train service. Affordable childcare. And tax cuts … maybe sales, maybe property, maybe both.

New Haven and Hamden state legislators cited those goals Thursday morning while discussing the arrival of federal infrastructure and pandemic-relief dollars, during part one of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Regional Legislative Forum.

The hour-and-a-half-long virtual conversation was held online via Zoom, and featured more than half a dozen state legislators, including New Haven State Sen. and President Pro Tem Martin Looney, Hamden State Sen. Jorge Cabrera, and Monroe State Sen. and Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly, among others. The focus was on legislative priorities for the coming ​“short” legislative session that begins Feb. 9 and ends May 4.

Again and again on Thursday, state legislators returned to the question hanging over both state and local governments alike during this time of unprecedented federal largesse: What to do with the surge of federal aid making its way to Connecticut? Read More