In  rush to somehow aide families who might be facing a foreclosure on their homes, State Senator Bob Duff has crafted a bill to combat the financial crisis. So who does it really help? Let’s take a look.

Establishes the Homeowner’s Equity Recovery Opportunity Loan (HERO) program through the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA). It authorizes CHFA to use $30 million in existing bonds to purchase mortgages directly from lenders and place eligible borrowers on an affordable payment schedule for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. To qualify for HERO assistance, borrowers must have made an effort to meet financial obligations, have a sufficient and stable income, have the legal title to the mortgaged property and reside in it as their permanent residence, show an accounting for their cash flow and agree to attend in-person financial counseling at a CHFA approved agency.

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Oh the irony of this Bruce Morris statement; “My challenge whenever we talk about criminal justice reform is that we need to understand that it’s very likely that these people were undereducated or uneducated and, at the time of their offense, they were either unemployed or underemployed.” Morris, who does not hold a college degree, was speaking about why he voted against the criminal reform bill that focused on home-invasions and burglaries.

From the Hour:

“There are a number of proposals in this bill that I know that, long term, will help to keep our state safe and that will work toward a more efficient government,” said state Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, majority whip.

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A public hearing was held at NCC yesterday by the Commission on the Status of Women.

For almost two hours, women from the area detailed their personal lives to the panel, asking for policy changes that would make it easier to survive in Fairfield County.

State Reps. Toni Boucher, R-143, and Christopher Perone, D-137, state Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, majority whip, and six Norwalk Common councilmen joined members of the commission on the panel.

It was one of three public hearings the commission plans to transcribe and send to state policymakers. A previous hearing was held in Enfield, and another one is scheduled at the University of Connecticut in February.

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Nothing riles me more than the continued push towards the infantalism of society. Enough with the reactionary laws bent on shifting responsibility and accountability from individuals to the nebulous governmental behavior police. The Hour leads with the latest focus, on of all things, teen driving. Puh-lease. Bad drivers know no age, and as long as people are encouraged to view a car as a mobile entertainment center instead of merely transportation.

Those polled in the survey conducted by Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s Task Force on Teen Driving supported strengthening teen driving laws, toughening penalties for violations and increasing educational requirements for young drivers under 18-years-old.

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I’ll have to give this more thought later on, but the theme coming out of this announcement is that a bipartisan attempt to stem deficiencies in the parole system is gaining momentum. A special session is being planned for the legislature to vote on the reforms. From the Courant:

The Cheshire tragedy, she said, “took away from us our confidence in the criminal justice system” and “exposed the flaws” in the system.

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Here’s a shocker, under the current ethics law, it is not a crime to fail to report a bribe. No wonder Connecticut has earned its moniker “Corrupticut.” Naturally this was one of the issues that came out of the DeLuca “pay a visit to my granddaughter’s husband” scandal. But the State Republicans are desperately attempting to tie the ethics reform to the actions of a Dmeocrat, Thomas Gaffey, because he’s dating a pseduo lobbyist.

The five points:

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Hoping to diffuse the controversy concerning his relationship with CSU Associate Vice Chancellor Jill Ferraiolo, State Senator Thomas Gaffey resigned from the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. From the Courant:

In a three-paragraph letter to Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, Gaffey said the Office of State Ethics had ruled that his personal relationship with CSU Associate Vice Chancellor Jill Ferraiolo, 44, did not violate the code of conduct for elected officials and was not a conflict of interest.

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The slate is set for the special election on January 15. Ken Curran of Bethlehem won the Democratic caucus on Sunday, 24-11 over Woodbury’s John T. McCarthy.

Curran is the Chairman of the Bethlehem Democratic Town Committee and the State Central Committeeman representing that district. He ran Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez’s successful primary and general campaign earlier this year, and last year worked for Joe Lieberman. He got his start as a Democratic Town Committeeman in his late teens, and ran against DeLuca for this seat when he go out of College in ‘98, then went to work for former Congressman Jim Maloney.

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The Republican caucus in the 32nd Senatorial District reconvened last night to nominate its choice to replace Woodbury’s Lou DeLuca in January’s special election. Watertown Councilman Rob Kane defeated Southbury State Rep Arthur O’Neill, the official State Republican blog reports, by a vote of 34 to 30.

This leaves the Democrats to nominate their choice when they caucus on Monday. Two candidates have declared their intentions, retired State Department diplomat John T. McCarthy of Woodbury, and Democratic State Central Committeeman Ken Curran of Bethlehem.

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Once convicted to a death sentence, a convict has the right to appeal. But the ability to introduce DNA evidence has been somewhat of an obstacle. Larry Cafero-R, House Minority Leader, proposed a bill that would skip the multiple part hearing to establish whether DNA evidence could be introduced on appeals. State Senator Andrew McDonald-D and State Rep Mike Lawler-D are concerned that this would unfairly speed up executions.

The current law requires appellate court hearings in which convicts must prove the evidence would alter a previous verdict, was not previously tested, is still available for testing and isn’t simply a ruse to delay execution.

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