A new lab and classroom building that will be nearly as large as Yale’s football stadium — at least in terms of square footage — is in the works for East Rock’s ​“Science Hill,” while a new hub for Yale’s performing arts is planned for a university-owned downtown corner.

Those are two of Yale’s largest new development projects slated for the years ahead, as announced in a recent building update sent out by one of the local Ivy Leaguer’s top officials.

Yale University Provost Scott Strobel detailed those projects, and many more, in an email sent out to Yale employees and students on Oct. 26. The university posted Strobel’s announcement online on that same day under the header: ​“Building for Yale’s Future.”

The email/online update describes some of the biggest in-the-works and soon-to-come changes to Yale’s built environment.

Those include projects at university-owned properties like the ongoing renovations to the Peabody Museum, as well as at non-Yale-owned properties where the university has an outsized footprint, such as the 100 and (now being built) 101 College St. biotowers. Read More

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) announced that all public transit buses will be fare-free across Connecticut through March 31, 2023. A previous policy signed by Governor Lamont made buses fare free from April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022, but that was extended to December 1st in a budget passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor on May 9, 2022. The legislature held a special session on November 28, 2022 which passed a bill to continue the fare free program, this bill was signed by the Governor on November 29th, 2022.

Free services include all CTtransit local buses statewide, CTtransit Express and CTfastrak services. ADA Paratransit is also fare free statewide through March 31, 2023. Read More

Connecticut still faces a huge pile of debt, but over the past year alone, it’s wiped out more than $7 billion out of a $95 billion problem — a 7.4% drop — and more debt is expected to come off the books soon.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget office reported $88.3 billion in long-term unfunded liabilities last week in its annual Fiscal Accountability Report, an omnibus review of state fiscal trends to help the legislature’s budget-writing panels prepare for the upcoming General Assembly session.

And that report doesn’t take into account a $3 billion supplemental payment made earlier this fall against debt in the state employee pension system. The next actuarial valuation, which will include that payment, is due in December. Read More