Hearst Newspapers' Brian Lockhart reports this morning that World Wrestling Entertainment says it is being investigated by the state for its use of independent contractors.

WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman confirmed the existance of the inquiry. "WWE has always complied with the law,'' Zimmerman said in an email to Lockhart. "Up until this election, WWE has not been fined nor investigated in the past for independent contractor classification. However, curiously the state of Connecticut is currently conducting an audit of WWE's classification of independent contractors. WWE constantly reviews its internal practices and procedures to comply with ever-changing employee laws."

Lockhart has many more details on his blog, Political Capitol. And check out James Cladwell's follow on the PWTorch site.

"This has potential to be a big game-changer, depending on what the audit committee finds, discovers, concludes, etc.,'' Caldwell writees. "We don't know the behind-the-scenes timing of when the Dept. of Labor decided to investigate, but I believe the reason why it's suddenly come to the forefront is because of Linda McMahon's campaign. It's the law of unintended consequences where McMahon's Senate run has brought a lot of wrestler health & treatment issues to the forefront as reporters have examined her professional record and business practices, which is essentially her only qualification to run for Senator."

UPDATE: Zimmerman's statement to Lockhart implied there is a political overtone to the state investigation so I asked McMahon campaign spokesman Ed Patru whether he thought politics was playing a role.

The WWE "is certainly entitled to their opionion,'' Patru said. He added that he didn't know anything about the investigation and that it is "an issue that has to do with the company, not the campaign."

The Hartford Courant's Java column is reporting that Mayor Mike's is closed.

Operated for years by Hartford Mayor Mike Peters, the restaurant was a gathering place for state legislators, politicians, and the general public. Some say that it might reopen, but Java says that it might be closed forever.

http://blogs.courant.com/java/2010/09/mayor-mikes-closes.html

Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez will spend three years in prison after being found guilty of multiple felony charges by a jury.

Superior Court Judge Julia Dewey issued a total sentence Tuesday of eight years, suspended after Perez serves three years in prison, plus three years of probation.

In seeking leniency, Perez told the judge that he did not have the words to express his love for his hometown. Perez also told the judge that he will "live with the consequences'' of his actions for the rest of his life.

"The city has suffered,'' Perez said. "My family has suffered. I have suffered. Each and every day, your honor, each and every day for the rest of my life, I will make amends'' for his actions.

Before issuing her sentence, Judge Dewey said she would not restate the facts of the case because they are well known publicly.

"No one here can ignore the jury's verdict,'' the judge said. "The reason we are all here today, Mr. Perez, is your conduct. ... It's one of your making. You created this. ... The media did not cause the situation. They did what was their responsibility.''

She added, "The victim was the city of Hartford. ... I cannot ignore the offense. ... You violated a public trust. ... It's a crime.''

"Your conduct was just unacceptable,'' Dewey said, noting that Perez had sworn to uphold the constitution several times.

The judge referred several times in the sentencing to "the Davis Street building'' in Hartford, adding that she would refuse to use the well-known term of the "Butt Ugly'' building.

The court adjourned at about 12:48 p.m. Tuesday as Perez's supporters reacted emotionally to the sentence.

President Barack Obama, frustrated earlier by sharp Republican opposition, has renominated Hartford district court judge Robert N. Chatigny to the federal appeals court. But the new nomination could face growing opposition if, as many analysts expect, Republicans pick up U.S. Senate seats in November's mid-term election.

Chatigny was one of five federal judicial nominees Obama sent to the U.S. Senate judiciary committee late Monday, the deadline for re-nominations following the Senate's summer recess. The Senate must approve presidential judicial appointments.

Obama first nominated Chatigny to the influential U.S. 2^nd Circuit Court of Appeals in February. The nomination ran into unexpectedly strong partisan opposition at the committee. Republicans complained Chatigny has not imposed sufficiently harsh sentences on sexual predators and criticized what they called his judicial activism for intervening in, and briefly postponing, the 2005 execution of rapist and serial killer Michael Ross.

The Senate's minority Republicans early last month invoked a procedural rule that effectively removed Chatigny's nomination from the Senate - where it had not reached a final floor vote - and returned it to the White House.

Members of the Senate's Democratic-controlled judiciary committee had approved the Chatigny nomination by a 11-7 party line vote in June.

Some observers believe the Chatigny nomination has become hostage to partisan bickering in Congress. Those observers have said Republican Senate leaders are blocking Obama's judicial appointments in part as pay back for what they believe was Democratic stalling over appointments during the administration of former President George W. Bush.

Myers, manager of Richard Blumenthal's U.S. Senate campaign, released the following statement regarding today's Q poll showing him 6 percentage points ahead of Republican Linda McMahon.

"We've always believed this was going to be a tough election, and, that the people of Connecticut will reject Linda McMahon's $50 million attack machine and her attempt to whitewash her record of putting profits ahead of people,'' Myers said. "We're confident that on Election Day the people of Connecticut will choose Dick Blumenthal, the only candidate in this race with a record of standing up, fighting, and winning for the people of Connecticut and putting their interests first."

My early morning post on today's Quinnipiac University poll compared Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's past poll numbers with his current showing.

But I failed to make an important distinction: This morning's survey included likely voters, while past Q polls included registered voters. They are, according to Q poll Director Doug Schwartz, apples and oranges.

"Previous polls were all registered voters and traditionally after Labor Day is when the campaign begins. Quinnipiac in all of our states typically will shift from looking at all registered voters to the ones who we call are likely to vote,'' Schwartz said.

UPDATE: Nate Silver of the excellent FiveThirtyEight blog on the New York Times site explains the difference here.

Does it matter? "There is an abundance of evidence this cycle that likely voter polls are more favorable to Republicans than registered voter ones -- a reflection of the superior enthusiasm among their voters this year. And that's great news for Republicans, because likely voter polls are generally more reliable, especially in midterm elections,'' Silver writes.

What makes a likely voter? It's based on vote intention, the people who say they intend to vote, as well as their interest in politics, Schwartz said. "People who are highly interested in politics are more likely to vote on Election Day so we believe this is the best estimate of where the race stands right now."

In other words, comparisons to previous polls of registered voters are pointless.

Officials at the Mohegan Sun have scheduled a news conference Tuesday afternoon amid reports that there will be layoffs at the casino, two state Capitol sources said.

A knowledgable insider said there could be as many as 400 layoffs, but the casino has not released any official numbers.

Another insider at the Capitol had been told there would be "a few hundred'' layoffs, and the source would not rule out as many as 400.

UPDATE: Mohegan Sun announced later that the number of layoffs would be 475. 

Republican Sam Caligiuri wants to debate Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy in every town in the 5th District.

"This election year is too important to voters to keep them in the dark on the most important issues we are facing as a state and as a nation,'' Caligiuri said. "Voters are looking for answers, and for the better way out of this economic mess.  Murphy has touted his token stops in each town, but visiting a handful of doors does not bring the real discussion to each of the 41 towns in our District - debates do.  It is in this spirit that I have sent a letter to Congressman Murphy, asking him for 41 debates in each of our 41 towns.  If he is planning to be in each of these towns anyway, why not open up the dialogue to all residents and let them judge for themselves if they want to continue down the path of the Pelosi-Murphy agenda, or find a new and better way forward?"

Kenny Curran, Murphy's campaign manager, said the Democrat looks forward to participating in "as many debates as it takes to make sure everyone in the district has a chance to hear about the differences between the two candidates.

"Thankfully, the 5th Congressional District has a strong tradition of local organizations sponsoring such forums throughout the district and we look forward to participating in them,'' Curran said. "However, Chris didn't wait for these forums to listen to what is on the minds of Connecticut residents.  In case Senator Caligiuri wasn't aware, Chris just wrapped up a 41 town door to door campaign, asking for and getting citizen cosponsors to his Buy American jobs bills, which he is working on with both Republicans and Democrats as a way to create jobs here in Connecticut.  The numerous fall debates will allow Chris to talk about these kind of ideas, which will stand in contrast to Senator Caligiuri, who so far has offered no ideas about how to improve our economy, instead choosing to launch political attack after political attack."

Appearing on the Fox News Channel, U.S. Joseph I. Lieberman said Tuesday that the growing Tea Party movement is an unplanned uprising by the American public that has bubbled up in the 2010 election year.

"My perception of the Tea Party is that it's a very natural uprising,'' Lieberman said on the network's "Happening Now'' program from Washington, D.C. "Nobody planned it for calculating reasons. It expresses a lot of the public frustration with what's happening here in Washington."

"If you go to Tea Party rallies, most of the people you see there are not familiar faces at political events.  And that's good.  These people got so upset that they're getting involved."

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and Republican Dan Debicella are debating tax policy in their race in the Fourth Congressional District.

Tax policy is key in lower Fairfield County, where many residents of Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien, Weston, and Westport are in the over-$250,000-per-year bracket that is at the center of the debate on a national level. Many lawmakers want to keep the tax cuts for those earning less than $250,000 per year, but many Democrats say that the Bush tax cuts should expire for those earning above that level.

http://www.greenwichtime.com/default/article/Bush-tax-cuts-take-center-stage-in-race-between-657047.php

Democrat Dannel Malloy holds a 9-point lead over Republican Tom Foley in the first poll of likely voters in the election for governor, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

The poll, released Wednesday morning, shows that 8 percent are still undecided and 26 percent could change their mind before the November 2 election.

Each candidate holds a commanding lead among his core supporters. Among Democrats, Malloy leads by 86 percent to 8 percent, while Foley leads among Republicans by 83 percent to 14 percent, according to the poll.

Malloy, the former mayor of Stamford, won the Democratic primary in August, while Foley won the Republican contest on the same day. Recently, they have both been broadcasting television commercials to spread the word about their campaigns in a high-stakes battle that will be decided on Tuesday, November 2.

The battle is likely to be fought over the unaffiliated voters, which is the largest block of voters in Connecticut. Among those voters, the two combatants were tied at 42 percent. The poll, taken between September 8 and 12, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

The early polls have shown Malloy as the front-runner. Even before the primaries, the Quinnipiac Poll showed that either Malloy or his Democratic opponent, Ned Lamont, would defeat any of the Republican primary contenders, including Foley.

Malloy had been a strong supporter and ally of Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez in his 2006 bid for governor. Perez had rallied support for Malloy among Hartford delegates, and he appeared with Malloy when the candidate unveiled his crime plan that summer at a church in Hartford's North End. This year, Perez switched his support and voted for Lamont in May as a delegate at the Democratic state convention. Perez was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday after being convicted by a jury on multiple felony charges in a long-running corruption scandal in the capital city.

Former Gov. John G. Rowland is scheduled to host the afternoon drive show on WTIC-AM radio for the next year, according to the station.

Starting at 3 p.m. Thursday, Rowland will host the show with the Rev. Will Marotti of Meriden, who became friendly with Rowland during the corruption scandal at the state Capitol that eventually led to a federal prison sentence for Rowland. The Rowland-Marotti team has previously appeared on the radio as fill-in guest hosts for commentator Jim Vicevich on the mid-morning show.

Rowland and Marotti will have some of the largest amounts of air time in the Greater Hartford region - five days a week for three hours a day under a one-year contract.

When they served as substitutes for Vicevich, their guests included a series of candidates for governor from both the Republican and Democratic sides of the aisle.

The AP reports:

A 70-year-old Connecticut man has been arrested in connection with a bogus bomb threat that forced the evacuation of a Republican fundraiser attended by GOP U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon.

Madison police charged local resident James Byrne with threatening, falsely reporting an incident and breach of peace Tuesday.

Authorities say Byrne called police Sunday saying there was bomb at the home of Madison Republican Town Committee Chairman Tom Banisch, who was hosting a GOP fundraiser attended by McMahon and about 50 other people.

The home was evacuated, and a police search turned up nothing.

Byrne was released on a promise to appear in New Haven Superior Court on Sept. 28. A woman who answered the phone at his home Wednesday said he wasn't available and took a message.

Questions are being raised in Bridgeport about a lucrative arrangement, disclosed in Sunday's Courant, under which the city has been obtaining legal services from Edwin J. Maley Jr., former state Senate Democrats' attorney and staff chief.

Lennie Grimaldi writes in his blog, "Only in Bridgeport," that two City Council members have fired off an e-mail to the council president questioning the city's arrangement with Maley, a friend of city Mayor Bill Finch from Finch's seven years as a Democratic member of the state Senate.

"Now I read in the Harford Courant that a former Senate colleague of the mayor [is] in line to receive close to a quarter of a million dollars of Bridgeport taxpayers hard-earned money in a contract that was never approved by the City Council," Grimaldi quoted the e-mail by council members Bob Walsh and Andre Baker as saying.

After months of painting Democratic opponent Richard Blumenthal as a liar and stealer of valor, the McMahon campaign is trying a more conventional approach: targeting him as a typical tax-and-spend liberal.

"Dick Blumenthal is just another politician and Connecticut can't afford more of the same,'' McMahon spokesman Ed Patru said in a statement yesterday. "He says he supports lower taxes, but he voted for the largest tax in Connecticut history. Dick Blumenthal just doesn't get it."

Most people would probably say the "largest tax in Connecticut history'' was the 1991 vote to institute a state income tax. Trouble is, Blumenthal had departed the legislature by then and was already serving as attorney general, a post that does not generally have much to do with state tax policies.

I asked Patru what he meant and he cited Blumenthal's 1989 vote on the state budget that included a provision increasing the state sales tax to 8 percent. (Blumenthal was serving in the state Senate at the time.)

A Courant story published on May 31, 1989 referred to the measure as "the largest tax increase in state history,'' but that was two years before the income tax was enacted.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell's office said Thursday that she is "deeply disappointed" by a shoplifting charge against one of her political appointees, Amalia Vazquez Bzdyra, a commissioner with the Department of Public Utility Control.

"Governor Rell is deeply disappointed by Ms. Bzdyra's alleged conduct. At this point, the Governor's Office is working to get more details about the incident and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further," said Donna Tommelleo, a press aide in Rell's state Capitol office.

Bzdyra, 52, of Wallingford, a lawyer with a state salary of $131,129, was charged with sixth-degree larceny Wednesday after she allegedly stole $252.99 worth of items at the Lord & Taylor department store at Westfarms Mall in Farmington, police said. She was released for a Sept. 22 court appearance.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Foley revealed this week that he suffers from Bell's Palsy, a relatively rare affliction that partially paralyzes one side of a person's face.

In an interview, he told Dennis House of Channel 3 Eyewitness News that in 1994, when he was 42, he woke up one day and couldn't move the right side of his face. A neurologist treated him with cortizone, and the condition has improved over the years, but it hasn't gone away completely.