The troubled Connecticut Humane Society has hired a new director, replacing Richard Johnston who was forced to quit  following allegations of wrongdoing from former staff members.  Gordon G. Willard, the society told workers, has been selected as the new executive director, starting  August 5. The 130-year-old charity gave little details today on Willard. It did not state  Read More →

Once again, the air carrier goliaths are competing with one another to offer sales. There are restrictions and footnotes galore — and the usual fees — but this is worth a look. Here’s what the nifty smartertravel.com says about the latest round: “It’s a battle of giants: Big-time airlines American and United are going head-to-head  Read More →

Our Bristol, Ct. based ESPN recently checked eatery inspections at sports stadiums and what they found you would not like. Check Paula Lavigne’s column “Outside the Lines” about how some sports vendors are not passing food inspections in critical areas of health. “ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’ reviewed health department inspection reports for food and beverage  Read More →

Despite legislation to make credit card terms fair and easy-to-understand for consumers, the new regulations have opened the door to changes that can make cardholders “vulnerable and uninformed.” The Pew Health Group study (entitled “Two Steps Forward: After the Card Act, Credit Cards are Safer and More Transparent–But Challenges Remain”) released last week analyzed  Read More →

Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. today is warning consumers that Specialty Farms, LLC is voluntarily recalling Specialty Farms brand Organic Alfalfa Sprouts Blend and Organic Sprout Salad in the northeastern United States due to a possible health risk. “These items, which have a sell-by date of 7/26/2010 and are in 4-ounce plastic  Read More →

Four days before Connecticut’s Nora Dannehy was appointed to investigate the Bush administration’s U.S. attorney firing scandal, a team of lawyers she led was found to have illegally suppressed evidence in a major political corruption case. Andrew Kreig, who covered Connecticut’s federal courts for the Hartford Courant from 1976 to 1981, today reveals that the previously unreported fact from Dannehy’s past calls her entire national... 

My friend and former collegue when we both worked at The Courant, Ed LaFreniere has written a guide to help narrow your search for college. It is an issue that we will come back to many times as I believe educating our your is crucial. I also believe that we waste a lot of money  Read More →

For an estimated 250,000 condominium owners in Connecticut, this month will be remembered as the watershed time when unprecedented legal protections went into effect. Thanks to legislation adopted by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the playing field – according to state Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. –  for condo  Read More →

George Gombossy asked for my thoughts on the new financial reform legislation. I have many, which I intend to share periodically going forward. But I think it’s important to place the legislation in the context of the big picture, which for me is framed by the numbers. The financial crisis was caused by the rise  Read More →

A case investigated by the Department of Consumer Protection’s occupational enforcement unit led to the arrest on July 13, 2010 of four people working for Sign Lite Inc., a company at 6 Corporate Drive, North Haven. The allegations are unlicensed electrical sign work performed or directed at the Milford Mall in July of 2009. A  Read More →

John Porriello of Harford tells me that he had the unfortunate opportunity to experience “customer service” from Northeast Utilities last week. “I recently had new siding put on my house and the “pin socket” that is screwed into the house to hold the power line tight was replaced, therefore NU needed to come out to  Read More →

In an excellent story in today’s Courant, staff reporter Mara Lee explores the disincentive that the unemployed have to find work as they are penalized for taking temporary jobs that pay less than the jobs they lost inititially. The story also explains how legislation pending in Congress will fix the problem along with stories from  Read More →

Whoever said you need to have intelligence to become a Congressman? Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) – on a YouTube video that is making the rounds, had some rather unusual comments about the U.S. territory of Guam during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. In his less than precise questioning of  Adm. Robert Willard, head of  Read More →

Thanks to CNN for its interviews with former and present debt collectors, giving us a clue to what makes these people tick. Check out the story of these people. Like, Mel Harsh, a debt collector for 20 years, with only one week left with an auto finance company. “I was absolutely ruthless when I first started  Read More →

While most Connecticut journalists have given state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal the benefit of the doubt by using the work misspeak when referring to his false claims to have been in Vietnam, Blumenthal did concede last week that he “misstated” his military record on several occasions. While the two words may seem similar, there is  Read More →