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The Office of Health Strategy approved a $13 million deal for the University of Connecticut Health Center to purchase Waterbury Hospital. ... Read full Story
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U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., voted for the funding package, while U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., opposed it. ... Read full Story
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Plus: Updates on the Connecticut Education Issues Summit, the Council of Small Towns, and the Planning and Development Committee. ... Read full Story
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A CT law that requires police to intervene when they see abuse by other officers applies to immigration agents, top police officials said. ... Read full Story
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Organizers urged people all over the U.S. not to work, go to school or shop on Friday, one week after a similar demonstration in Minnesota. ... Read full Story
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The CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said it would seek new contracts to purchase carbon-free electricity. ... Read full Story
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The “Mary Ann Handley Award” — formerly PACT — covers the gap between grants and community college tuition and fees. ... Read full Story
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It's the first time tribal IDs have been widely used as proof of US citizenship and protection against federal law enforcement, experts say. ... Read full Story
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CT received more than 12,000 reports of bear sightings in 2025, more than double from a decade ago. One town provided the most reports. ... Read full Story
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Connecticut can afford to replace more of those vanishing federal dollars than most other states can. The question is where to draw the line. ... Read full Story
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Many CT school boards have stopped doing written evaluations of superintendents. Instead conducting oral evaluations. In secret. In executive session. ... Read full Story
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A 10-year veteran at DCF met with a 21-year-old woman she believed to be Jacqueline 'Mimi' Torres-García, court testimony revealed. ... Read full Story
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Hours after announcing a visit by US Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Fairfield Public Schools canceled the event due to community backlash ... Read full Story
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CT still has $330 million to supplement programs affected by Washington’s cuts to human services. The money will be available until July. ... Read full Story
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Connecticut’s largest business association laid out a policy agenda Thursday that addresses the needs of the state’s small businesses. ... Read full Story
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The Crescent Ball was meant as a safe space to exist, share a meal, listen to music, spoken word, and meet other CT Muslims. ... Read full Story
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Collins, a Republican, announced the development after saying she had spoken directly with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. ... Read full Story
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The Trump administration took a step toward rolling back a rule limiting smokestack emissions that hit downwind areas in neighboring states. ... Read full Story
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A contentious plan to continue heating state office buildings in downtown Hartford with a new generation of gas-powered boilers is on hold. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 31, 2026 is:
short shrift • \SHORT-SHRIFT\ • noun
Short shrift means “little or no attention or thought” or “quick work.” In religious use it refers to barely adequate time for confession before execution.
// Certain neighborhoods have received short shrift from the city government.
Examples:
“[Charlie] Caplinger echoed the concerns of many speakers at the meeting, with charter captains saying the recreational fishing industry’s economic contributions were being given short shrift.” — Mike Smith, NOLA.com (New Orleans, Louisiana), 6 Nov. 2025
Did you know?
We’ve got a confession to make, but we’ll keep it brief: while it’s technically possible to make “long shrift” of something, you’re unlikely to find long shrift in our dictionary anytime soon. Short shrift, on the other hand, has been keeping it real—real terse, that is—for centuries. The earliest known use of the phrase comes from Shakespeare’s play Richard III, in which Lord Hastings, who has been condemned by King Richard to be beheaded, is told by Sir Richard Ratcliffe to “Make a short shrift” as the king “longs to see your head.” Although now archaic, the noun shrift was understood in Shakespeare’s time to refer to the confession or absolution of sins, so “make a short shrift” meant, quite literally, “keep your confession short.” However, since at least the 19th century the phrase has been used figuratively to refer to a small or inadequate amount of time or attention given to something.
