A coalition of five Connecticut mayors, including New Haven’s Justin Elicker, called for more funding for urban schools after Governor Lamont opened the 2025 legislative session in Hartford last week.
Zachary Suri
Staff Reporter
Olha Yarynich, Contributing Photographer
The 2025 legislative session in Hartford began last week with obvious disagreement over the state’s fiscal guardrails. Governor Ned Lamont made his support for strict adherence to spending limits clear.
“We have broken the bad habits of the past when we habitually put more and more costs on the taxpayers’ credit card for our children to pay down,” Lamont told legislators in his annual State of the State address. “We have freed up hundreds of millions of dollars in our budget to expand access to affordable childcare, affordable healthcare, and expanded education opportunities. And we are just getting started.”
Last Wednesday, Lamont opened the legislative session praising Connecticut’s steps toward financial stability in the address. Five days later, mayors and superintendents of the state’s five largest cities, including New Haven, demanded a larger state contribution to urban public schools — regardless of fiscal guardrails — in a press conference at the capitol. That same afternoon, leaders of both chambers of the General Assembly held a joint press conference declaring education and affordable housing funds a priority this session.
While Lamont expressed a shared interest in expanding social policy and urged legislators to prioritize early childhood care, gender diversity in teaching and support for public higher education, he did not call for the state to push the limits of its constitutionally imposed fiscal guardrails to provide greater funding for public education.
On Monday, Mayor Justin Elicker — joined by Superintendent Madeline Negrón and the mayors and superintendents of Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury and Stamford — called for the state to do just that.
At Monday’s press conference, they asked the state to increase education funding by $545 million, an increase which would likely require loosening the state’s spending limits.
“We’re here to call on an increase in state funding,” Elicker said. “We come together as the mayors of the five largest municipalities and the superintendents of the five largest municipalities to call on the state to loosen the fiscal guardrails to ensure that we can pay for that funding.”
In particular, Elicker asked Connecticut to increase its set amount of $11,525 in state funding per student, a number which has not changed since 2013, even as inflation skyrocketed and municipalities raised taxes to increase their fiscal contribution to public education. New Haven alone has increased its contribution by 50 percent over the last five years, Elicker said.
Urban districts in the state support significantly larger numbers of high-need students, Elicker added, even as they spend less per student than the state average due to lower property tax revenue.
An hour and a half later in the same legislative office building, another unprecedented press conference took place two rooms over. Senate and House leaders held a joint press conference announcing priority legislation to address education funding needs and support affordable housing in the state.
Senate Bill 1 this session will address the state’s dire education funding needs, Senate President and New Haven Senator Martin Looney announced at the press conference.
“We all know that we need to do all that we can to increase resources for our entire education system,” Looney said.
Looney echoed the cities’ call for an increase in the state’s contribution to the Education Cost Sharing program which redistributes tax revenue to high-need districts and emphasized the need to address disparities in special education funding.
In September, Looney expressed concern that state investments in New Haven Public Schools facilities were being squandered by the district’s failure to complete routine maintenance. On Monday, Looney insisted that increased funding must come with increased oversight.
“We know that taxpayer investments directly benefit students, but the taxpayers need to have confidence that those investments are well placed and well spent in all of the municipalities that are justifiably clamoring for more funds,” Looney said.
House Speaker Matt Ritter insisted that increases in education funding could be made without major adjustments to the state’s fiscal guardrails, but admitted that he and Looney are open to “minor modifications” in the spending limits.
Asked about the mayors and superintendents’ proposal, Ritter made clear that the numbers were likely to change.
“I look forward to reviewing their proposal,” he told reporters. “They tend to ask on the high end, and we’ll work through it.”
For many, the fiscal guardrails are likely to be the dominant issue in the next year. Vincent Mauro Jr., chair of the New Haven Democratic Town Committee, called it the “biggest issue” of the year.
Joe DeLong, executive director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, told the News that education funding was a top priority of his organization this session. He views an increase in the state’s contribution to the Education Cost Sharing program as essential to preventing property tax increases. Connecticut already has some of the highest property taxes in the country.
“I’m a supporter of the guardrails,” DeLong said. “I just think they’re not sacrosanct. I don’t think that you should completely get rid of them, but they’re something that you have to analyze and continue to grow with the state.”
While the governor is clearly wary of adjustments to the guardrails, DeLong predicted that the legislature would come to a compromise.
“He’s afraid of opening the door a crack and it turning into the flood waters coming in. But I think ultimately, what’s going to happen through the course of the session is the governor will modify his position on the guardrails a little bit, the legislature will still work to protect them, and we’ll probably come out of the session with still having the fiscal guardrails, but just having some slight adjustments to them that make them more workable,” DeLong said. “The work lies ahead.”
Lamont, a Democrat, was first elected governor of Connecticut in 2018.
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NEW BRITAIN, CT — Stanley Black & Decker on Thursday said it has decided to close its manufacturing facility in New Britain.
Debora Raymond, vice president of external communications for the manufacturer, said the decision is a result of a “structural decline in demand for single-sided tape measures.”
The New Britain facility predominantly makes these products, according to Raymond.
“These products are quickly becoming obsolete in the markets we serve,” Raymond said, via an emailed statement Thursday.
The decision is expected to impact approximately 300 employees, according to Raymond.
“We are focused on supporting impacted employees through this transition, including providing options for employment at other facilities, severance, and job placement support services for both salaried and hourly employees,” Raymond said.
As of Thursday at 4:30 p.m., no Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice had been filed with the state Department of Labor.
The company’s corporate headquarters remains at 1000 Stanley Dr., New Britain.
Gov. Ned Lamont released the following statement on the decision:
“Although Stanley has made the decision to discontinue operations for manufacturing outdated products, a change in workforce opportunities is difficult for employees, their families, and any community.,” Lamont said. “However, I am hopeful that these skilled workers will be repurposed with the help of Stanley Black & Decker, a company that will still proudly be headquartered here in Connecticut. My administration is working closely with local and state leaders to support affected workers and to reimagine the factory site so it can continue to create opportunity and strengthen New Britain’s economic future.”
New Britain Mayor Bobby Sanchez said he is “deeply disappointed” the company will be closing its Myrtle Street operations.
“For generations, Stanley Works has been part of the fabric of our city, providing good-paying jobs, supporting families, and helping build New Britain’s proud reputation as the ‘Hardware City,’” Sanchez said.
According to the mayor, his office’s immediate focus is on helping affected workers and their families. The mayor has been in contact with Lamont’s office, and they will be working closely to make sure employees have access to job placement services, retraining opportunities and support, Sanchez said.
“We will continue aggressively pursuing economic development opportunities and attracting businesses that are looking for a true community partner, a city ready to collaborate, innovate and grow alongside them,” Sanchez said. “New Britain has reinvented itself before, and we will do so again.”
Stanley Black & Decker, founded in 1843, operates manufacturing facilities worldwide, according to its website. It reports having 43,500 employees globally, and makes an array of products, such as power tools and equipment, hand tools, and fasteners.
Newly released police video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon ram his luxury sports car into the rear end of another vehicle on a Connecticut highway last summer as he was being followed by a state trooper.
McMahon, now 80, was driving his 2024 Bentley Continental GT at more than 100 mph on the Merritt Parkway when he crashed in the town of Westport, according to state police.
A trooper’s dashcam video shows McMahon accelerating away, then braking too late to avoid crashing into the back of a BMW. The Bentley then swerves into a guardrail and careens back across the highway, creating a cloud of dirt and car parts.
“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” state police Detective Maxwell Robins asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley, which can cost over $300,000.
“I got my granddaughter’s birthday” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.
No one was seriously injured in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day that WWE legend Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.
Besides damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, according to the police video.
McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. A state judge in October allowed McMahon to enter a pretrial probation program that will result in the charges being erased from his record next October if he successfully completes the program. He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution.
McMahon’s lawyer, Mark Sherman, said the crash was just an accident.
“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”
State police said Robins was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape — though in the video the detective suggests otherwise.
“I’m trying to catch up to you and you keep taking off,” Robins says.
“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon says.
An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.
The Associated Press obtained the videos Wednesday through a public records request. They were first obtained by The Sun newspaper.
The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and adds that he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.
After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”
The videos also show McMahon talking to the driver he rear-ended. Barbara Doran, of New York City, told the AP last summer that McMahon expressed his concern for her and was glad she was OK. She said she was heading to a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard at the time of the crash.
After McMahon was given the traffic summons, he shook hands with Robins and another trooper and they wished him well.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.
McMahon bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982 and transformed it from a regional wrestling company into a worldwide phenomenon. Besides running the company with his wife, Linda, who is now the U.S. education secretary, he also performed at WWE events as himself.
The New Haven Pride Center will close for 30 days starting Thursday, as leaders reassess the organization’s finances and its long-term business model.
Board members said the temporary shutdown will allow the nonprofit to stop accruing expenses and get better insight into a $250,000 IRS debt discovered in 2022 that has weighed heavily on the center’s operations.
According to board co-chair Hope Chavez, the debt was found four years ago. The board let the executive director go and began paying the back taxes. The payments have been ongoing, but Chavez said there’s no clarity on how much has been paid toward principal versus interest, making it hard to map out a payoff.
Chavez said the organization has an attorney to help obtain more details from the government, and that the debt has hurt its ability to generate income during an already challenging time.
“It all depends on the political climate — whether corporate sponsors feel like they can sponsor you, whether funders feel like they need to redirect elsewhere,” she said.
The 30-day furlough will include a pause in services. In the meantime, staff members are compiling a list of alternative LGBTQ-affirming resources in the Greater New Haven area to support community members.
Laura Boccadoro, who has worked at the center for more than six years, joined at what she says was a dark time.
“I was in and out of rehab dealing with drug abuse, and the center found me,” she said. “I grew up here, honestly.”
She said the organization has offered vital services, such as a clothing closet and a food pantry, and programs that she is helping clients find through partner organizations.
“There are so many LGBTQ-specific or affirming spaces that have food pantries, clothing closets, healthcare — all those kinds of things,” Boccadoro said.
Chavez highlighted partnerships with groups including AIDS Project New Haven, Anchor Health Initiative, and Q Plus, as well as other grassroots community organizations that will offer assistance during the pause.
Boccadoro emphasized that the staff’s focus remains on serving the community as effectively as possible.
“Our job at the end of the day is to impact the community in the best possible way that we can,” Boccadoro said.
The Board hopes a clearer financial picture and a restructured business model will position the center to reopen stronger and more stable.
“We want to ensure that our community has the care and supportive services that we’ve been providing,” Chavez said.
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