Connecticut Daily Intel

One hundred Connecticut residents spent months in a “citizens' assembly” studying property taxes. They recommended that lawmakers consider highway tolls and a new tax on the wealthy to pay for statewide property tax relief.

Governor Ned Lamont and Sen. Ryan Fazio will participate in a live, prime-time gubernatorial debate televised on WTNH and co-sponsored by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities at Mohegan Sun at 7:00 P.M.

Early voting has begun in Connecticut, and more than 170,000 residents have already voted ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3. Ballots include statewide offices, all five U.S. House seats, and all 187 state legislative seats.

Advocates, legislators, and health professionals are meeting in Hartford today to discuss the city's ranking as the 8th biggest "Asthma Capital" among 100 U.S. cities. Hartford also ranks 4th nationally in asthma prevalence and earned an F for high ozone days.

Eligible Stratford homeowners will see some relief on property taxes.

Connecticut voters cast 32,640 early ballots Wednesday, bringing the early total to 112,977. With 27,853 absentee ballots returned, 140,830 votes have been cast so far. Wednesday's voters were 16,872 Democrats, 9,895 unaffiliated or minor party voters, and 5,873 Republicans.

Connecticut nursing home occupancy hit a decade-high 90.8% in September, per the state Department of Social Services, well above the national average of about 80%. Available beds fell 1.8% over the past year amid facility closures.

Early voting is available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 1, Those hours are extended to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 27 and Oct. 29. Same-day registration is also available during those hours.

New polling shows that Lamont is still leading Fazio by 13 points in the race for governor as Election Day nears and early voting is about to start.

Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz’s campaign released her newest television ad, “More Calculators”. youtu.be/qJ77Ap8lTXs

👇👇 substack.com/@connecticut...

Connecticut residents have until Oct. 16 to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election through the state's regular process. Anyone who misses that deadline can still take part, because eligible residents can register and vote in person during early voting and on Election Day.

CT’s State Colleges and Universities system is rolling out 9 reforms after a former interim Chancellor resigned in April over sexual harassment allegations. The changes, mostly updates to harassment policies and trainings, are posted on CSCU's new public accountability dashboard, CSCU in Focus.

Gov. Lamont praised CT’s sweeping housing law at the state's annual housing conference, saying it empowers towns & suburbs, just over a year after he vetoed an earlier version for lacking buy-in from those communities.

Eversource is appealing to Connecticut Superior Court for hundreds of millions of dollars from ratepayers that PURA denied. Gov. Lamont called it "an absurd money grab" and said ratepayers "cannot afford to pay any more." DEEP says Eversource should respect PURA's decision.

👇👇 connecticutintel.substack.com/p/eversource...

Connecticut is sending $10 million to 171 school districts to help more than 7,600 paraeducators pay for health insurance, state Comptroller Sean Scanlon announced. connecticutintel.substack.com/p/connecticu...

Governor Ned Lamont’s campaign released a new ad, “Good Job,” highlighting Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Fazio’s praise for President Trump. youtu.be/16EDB7kQC4M

Local musicians and fans are mourning Darik Pearson, the lead singer of Darik and the Funbags, who died Tuesday at 54 after a six-year battle with prostate cancer, according to a Facebook post from his wife. The band has performed across the Northeast since 1997.

A new CEA survey of 113 educators found that about 80% agree it's harder to get students to finish a chapter book than it was five years ago. Teachers pointed to shorter attention spans, social media, and a lack of reading stamina, though about 90% are still assigning three to four chapter books.

Gov. Ned Lamont leads state Sen. Ryan Fazio by 13 points in CT’s race for Gov., according to an exclusive poll from Emerson College Polling and Nexstar Media. The survey of 800 likely voters, conducted within the past week, found 51% backing Lamont and 38% backing Fazio, while 11% remain undecided

Friends Center for Children in New Haven is celebrating the grand opening of the nation's first Rent-Free Teacher Housing Village today. The village will provide rent-free homes for eight early childhood educators, and the org. is hosting a national convening at Hotel Marcel earlier in the day.

Connecticut has received its first shipments of eggs from a price-fixing settlement with Cal-Maine, Versova, and Hickman's. About 1.5 million eggs will go to Connecticut Foodshare partners over the next few months. Families can find a mobile pantry by texting FOODSHARE to 85511.

Character Technologies filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Monday substack.com/@connecticut...

After more than a year of delay, Gov. Ned Lamont's office has released several hundred pages of texts between him and chief of staff Matt Brokman to CT Insider. The messages from Lamont's personal phone span a stretch when he was weighing controversial bills and a third term.

A plan to replace the Carriage House Apartments in Storrs with 192 units, up from the current complex, was rejected 8-1 by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 5. The commission found it was not consistent with the town's 2015 Plan of Conservation and Development.

👇👇 substack.com/@connecticut...

Developer John Ranciato Jr. met with about 30 neighbors to discuss "Paradise Woods," his proposed 150-unit affordable housing complex off Old Coach Highway in Hamden, filed under the state's 8-30g statute. Not everyone agreed, but the conversation stayed civil.

Got a political mailer and wondering who paid for it? The new web app paidforby.info, from Popular Information's Judd Legum, can tell you. Snap both sides plus your zip code. Federal races get instant answers, and a journalist reviews state and local ones.

Heating an average 1,800-square-foot Connecticut home this October is expected to cost anywhere from $293 with an electric heat pump to $878 with electric baseboard heating. Oil heat is estimated at $584 and natural gas at $308, based on typical October weather in Hartford.

Cheshire's former Chapman and Darcey elementary schools hit the market this week, and developers have already made "dozens" of inquiries. Both sit in R-20 single-family zones, so any new use will take time and town input. The broker called it "a long journey."

Connecticut’s Laptop ConneCT program is bringing nearly 6K laptops to 135 libraries across 138 towns. Eligible residents can borrow a Dell laptop for education, work, healthcare or other essential online needs. Laptops are rolling out now, with all libraries expected to have them by year’s end.

A proposed data center project on Old Amston Road in Colchester could bring 2 buildings, 10 MW of power & significant clearing to a wooded area known for trails/nature. Residents are raising concerns about traffic, noise, water use, lighting & property values. Planning & Zoning meets Wednesday @ 7pm

Four Connecticut hotels landed on Condé Nast Traveler's 2026 list of the top 20 hotels in the Northeast. The Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington ranked No. 2, and Belden House & Mews, Delamar Westport and Delamar Mystic also made the list.

Three prediction market firms have exited Connecticut with six more in discussions. Read it in the notes. 👇 substack.com/@connecticut...

Gov. Ned Lamont's campaign released a new ad, "Both Parties," highlighting three bipartisan measures: lower health care costs, free school breakfasts and record education funding. The campaign says Republican nominee Ryan Fazio voted no on each one. youtu.be/KYwRG7ybSfQ

Gov. Lamont, AG Tong and Commissioner Trueworthy are urging HHS to withdraw a proposed rule that would strip most Head Start performance standards. The program serves about 5,600 Connecticut children up to age 5 and their families.

Electric costs are a top issue in Connecticut's governor's race. Gov. Ned Lamont's new TV ad claims he cut household bills by $400 a year, while Republican Ryan Fazio says rates are up 38% since Lamont took office. Connecticut's 2025 residential rate was nearly 70% above the national average.

Connecticut builders filed permits for just over 9,800 new homes in 2025, the most in two decades, according to the state Department of Economic & Community Development. That is nearly 3,350 more than in 2024, and Stamford accounted for almost half of the gain.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has secured an SBA disaster declaration for Fairfield County and neighboring New Haven and Litchfield counties following the Sept. 13 flash floods. Homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits may now qualify for low-interest SBA disaster loans to help with recovery.

Connecticut is awarding $275,000 in LEAP grants to help improve student attendance in Norwich. Chronic absenteeism in Norwich Public Schools has fallen from nearly 30% in 2022 to under 20% last year. Statewide, it has dropped from 23.7% in 2021-22 to 16.4% in 2025-26.

Current Gov. Lamont has a new ad up youtu.be/KYwRG7ybSfQ