The Wheelhouse

Tuesday marked the 20th anniversary of the shooting rampage at the state lottery headquarters in Newington. The horrific event prompted the passage of the state’s so-called “risk warrant” law allowing police to temporarily seize weapons from those deemed a threat to themselves or others.

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After being grilled by lawmakers late into the evening Monday, Andrew McDonald’s chances of becoming the state’s next Supreme Court chief justice turned dicey. The legislature’s Judiciary Committee voted 20-20 to advance his nomination, just a vote shy of a rejection.

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Students surviving the Valentine’s Day school shooting in Parkland, Florida insist they will be the ones to finally end the gridlock over gun policy on the national level. Today we look at how the renewed debate may play out in Connecticut and the November election. 

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Much of state lawmakers’ budget-crafting in recent years has focused on cutting spending. Any proposals to raise revenue through new or expanded taxes are almost instantly decried as anti-business in a state increasingly hurting for business. 

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At noon on Wednesday, Governor Dannel Malloy is delivering his final budget address to the Connecticut General Assembly. He’s already leaked a large part of what he would like to do: cut state aid to certain rich towns, lend a hand to Connecticut taxpayers hurt by the federal tax changes, and make it more expensive to drive on state highways, so we can afford to fix them. 

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This hour, we provide analysis of President Trump's State of the Union address. Much of the speech was aimed at bridging a divide between disgruntled hardliners now unsure about Trump’s seriousness on immigration, and more traditional Republicans, hoping to draft off a rising stock market and their tax cut win.

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The group of people running for governor of the state of Connecticut isn't showing a real front-runner that everyone can agree on yet, but how are they talking about real reforms to the way the state operates? Is there more beyond lowering taxes and cutting wasteful spending? Dan Drew is out, and Ned Lamont is in - What's next for the Democratic race?

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This week, Governor Dannel Malloy called for a ban on "bump stocks" -- devices that can make semi-automatic weapons fire like machine guns. Pfizer announced plans to end research into treatments for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases -- and they announced several hundred layoffs including at their facility in Groton. 

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The race for governor of Connecticut just got a lot more interesting. Joe Ganim, former inmate, current mayor of Bridgeport, unable to qualify for state financing, has announced that he’s in the race -- and establishment Democrats are worried about him getting into a primary.

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The state budget stalemate that goes on for months, and results in a budget that isn’t balanced. An unpopular governor tangles with a newly divided legislature over control of spending -- and not surprisingly, many big names ask, “do I really want that job?” 

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