COVID-19: CT Attorney General Warns Of Scam Exploiting Pandemic COVID-19: CT Attorney General Warns Of Scam Exploiting Pandemic
Covid-19: CT Attorney General Warns Of Scam Exploiting Pandemic While millions are hunkered down in their homes amid fears of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is cautioning residents to be wary of opportunistic scammers looking to take advantage of the pandemic. Tong and the Connecticut State Department of Consumer Protection said they have seen a recent rise in reports of scam activity surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. With stimulus checks expected to start being sent out sooner than later, Tong is warning residents to be cautious. “Unfortunately, in moments like this people are trying to take advant…
COVID-19: Amazon's Not Monitoring Price Gouging Enough, CT AG Says COVID-19: Amazon's Not Monitoring Price Gouging Enough, CT AG Says
Covid-19: Amazon's Not Monitoring Price Gouging Enough, CT AG Says Amazon is failing to police its websites for illegal markups of merchandise, says Connecticut's attorney general, and any residents should report price gouging to his office. AG William Tong sent a letter to Amazon on Thursday, March 19 seeking information from the online retailer regarding efforts to detect and combat price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter follows a complaint from a Connecticut consumer who recently attempted to purchase two types of 3M face masks through Amazon.  The consumer was charged nearly $400 in shipment fees for two small boxes of face masks …
More Than $103K Missing From Sandy Hook Victims Fund, State Audit Finds More Than $103K Missing From Sandy Hook Victims Fund, State Audit Finds
More Than $103K Missing From Sandy Hook Victims Fund, State Audit Finds An audit requested by the state legislature found that more than $100,000 was unaccounted for from the Sandy Hook Victims Fund. The Fund - which is earmarked to help first responders and teachers who were at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on the day a gunman killed 26 people seven years ago - was reportedly co-mingled with cash from other sources, rather than being kept in a separate account of its own. In total, approximately $103,000 is missing, and auditors are currently unable to determine what the misappropriated funds were used for. The Office of Victim Services administ…
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More Connecticut Children Skip Vaccinations For Religious Reasons More Connecticut Children Skip Vaccinations For Religious Reasons
More Connecticut Children Skip Vaccinations For Religious Reasons The numbers are small, but the potential impacts are huge, according to Connecticut health officials. New data released Thursday, Aug. 29 found more schoolchildren are being exempted from vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella -- citing religious reasons. The total number of religious exemptions in the state climbed by 25 percent, from the 2017-18 school year to the 2018-19 school year, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.  The health department said the increase from 2 percent of students to 2.5 percent is largest single year upturn in religious exemptions for v…
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Around The Towns: Green Cards, Vaping Hazards, Rising Taxes, Gun Safety, Barred From The USSR Around The Towns: Green Cards, Vaping Hazards, Rising Taxes, Gun Safety, Barred From The USSR
Around The Towns: Green Cards, Vaping Hazards, Rising Taxes, Gun Safety, Barred From The USSR Connecticut officials estimate that as many as 200,000 residents, including tens of thousands of children on a public health care program, could be impacted by sweeping Trump Administration changes that would deny green cards to many immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps and other public assistance. “We’re talking about the core of Connecticut’s economy and the core working people of this state that power this economy here in Connecticut,” Attorney General William Tong said during a news conference. “And this is an attack on all of them and their ability to make it work for themselves and…
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State Legislators Seek Attorney General's Opinion On Vaccinating Children State Legislators Seek Attorney General's Opinion On Vaccinating Children
State Legislators Seek Attorney General's Opinion On Vaccinating Children Separation of church and state? Not when it comes to public health. As an international measles outbreak kills thousands worldwide, officials closer to home are calling for an increase in vaccinated school children.  In March, House Majority Leader Matt Ritter wrote Attorney General William Tong to ask for a formal legal opinion "regarding the constitutionality of eliminating the religious exemption for required immunizations." This month, Tong issued an opinion that it’s legal for lawmakers to get rid of the religious exemption.  Tong’s first formal opinion as attorney gen…
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Here's Why Taking On Trump Is Sound Strategy Here's Why Taking On Trump Is Sound Strategy
Here's Why Taking On Trump Is Sound Strategy Attorney General William Tong has put the environment at the top of his agenda as Connecticut's chief law enforcement officer.  It's a popular stance given that a solid majority of Americans believe in global warming, according to recent public-opinion polls and this five-year survey co-sponsored by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.  Rising public concern -- in sharp contrast to President Trump's position -- coupled with an increasing trend to combat pollution, has fueled Tong and other Attorneys General efforts to preserve decades-old Clean Air and Clean Water sta…
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Governor Expands Economic Development Team To Attract, Retain Businesses Governor Expands Economic Development Team To Attract, Retain Businesses
Governor Expands Economic Development Team To Attract, Retain Businesses This story has been updated. Gov. Ned Lamont has attracted some international heavy-hitters to his Economic Development team including former top executives from PepsiCo and IBM. That's good news for a state that has not recovered from the worst recession since the Great Depression. This month, Lamont added two more board members, Donald Kendall, Jr., co-founder and chair of Social Venture Partners Connecticut, and R. Adam Norwitt, president and CEO of Amphenol Corp., to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc., a nonprofit that promotes business growth. “There is nobody better to s…
New York Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule' New York Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule'
New York Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule' New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that the state is one of 21 to file a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration new measure that restricts access to abortion and other reproductive health services. A coalition of 21 State AttorneysGeneral announced that they will be challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s new “gag rule” which alters the Title X family planning program. According to James, the rule relates to funding for Title X, the only federal grant program that funds family planning programs to help patients access contraception, ca…
7 Biggest Takeaways From CT Election Results 7 Biggest Takeaways From CT Election Results
7 Biggest Takeaways From CT Election Results For Connecticut political history buffs, the Nov. 6 election delivered some major firsts and a predictably close race. Public opinion polls forecast it, and it proved true: Democrat Ned Lamont of Greenwich won the governor's race in a narrow victory over Republican Bob Stefanowski of Madison.  As the attached map shows, Lamont's greatest support came from Fairfield County, the northeastern corner of Connecticut and the cities of Bridgeport, Danbury, New Haven, Hartford and Stamford. An anti-President Trump vote was seen as helping Lamont from Danbury to Westport. Close gubernatorial e…
First Asian-American, 'Activist' Attorney General Elected To Statewide Office In Connecticut First Asian-American, 'Activist' Attorney General Elected To Statewide Office In Connecticut
First Asian-American, 'Activist' Attorney General Elected To Statewide Office In Connecticut A 45-year-old state representative from Stamford who grew up in the Hartford area marked another first for Connecticut politics on Election Day. William Tong became the first Asian-American in the state's history to win a statewide office with his election as Attorney General. Tong, the son of Chinese immigrants, has served six terms in the Connecticut House.  Not only has Tong spoken out against President Trump's anti-immigrant stances, like banning birthright citizenship, but he has pledged to be an "activist attorney general," meaning he is expected to join other states in lawsuits…
Obama Endorses Lamont, Several Local Dems Obama Endorses Lamont, Several Local Dems
Obama Endorses Lamont, Several Local Dems Former President Barack Obama endorsed Ned Lamont’s candidacy for governor on Monday, Oct. 1 while offering his support for many Democrats running for the Connecticut House and Senate.  In Lamont's endorsement, Obama cited a moment of courage from a dozen years ago.  At the time, Obama backed incumbent Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s, urging Connecticut Democrats not to defeat Lieberman for Lamont because the senator supported the war in Iraq.  “When Ned Lamont stood up to his own party and opposed the war in Iraq more than a decade ago, he showed the courage to do what was right,” Obama said in a…