The University of Hartford says that more than 500 people have signed up for the testimonial dinner for Gov. M. Jodi Rell Tuesday night in Cromwell that will kick off fundraising to establish the Rell Center for Public Service at the university -- and many of attendees apparently were attracted by invitations that were mailed courtesy of a prominent Hartford lobbying firm.

Rell came into office in mid-2004 after a corruption scandal forced Gov. John G. Rowland to resign -- and, in an effort to distinguish herself, she proclaimed the importance of ethics in government and said she wouldn't meet personally with lobbyists.

But now, in an interesting  twist, it turns out that the invitations for Tuesday's big retirement-fundraising dinner bore the printed number of the postage meter at the Hartford lobbying firm of Sullivan & LeShane, even though the envelope was printed with the return address of the office of the university president on Bloomfield Avenue in West Hartford. "MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 06106," the imprint on the envelopes said. That's Sullivan & LeShane's ZIP code in Hartford, while the university's ZIP code, listed on the return address, is 06117, in West Hartford.

Lobbyist Paddi LeShane is a friend of both Rell and Rell's chief of staff, M. Lisa Moody.

In the first 30 days since his election, Governor-elect Dan Malloy has been particularly busy - bouncing around the country in an effort to gain as much knowledge as possible before becoming governor.

He traveled to Colorado to learn from other governors about the tricks of transitions, budgets, and being the state's top elected official. He has also traveled twice to Washington, D.C. - meeting with the state's Congressional delegation, Obama administration officials, and then again with governors both incoming and experienced.

On Monday, Malloy was finally back in Hartford for his first formal meeting with his transition team. His chief of staff and co-transition director, Tim Bannon, remarked that he had not seen the governor-elect much lately.

Malloy delivered a pep talk to 45 professionals in the room - including 25 who were at an extended table with him and another 20 who were seated in folding chairs along the wall in a large function room at the state Capitol.

Noting that the state's budget deficit is projected at about $3.5 billion in the next fiscal year, Malloy said the daunting challenges ahead could make some citizens to view things negatively and become depressed. But Malloy had a different message.

"The people of Connecticut should now have - and will in the future have - reason to be hopeful,'' Malloy told the crowd. "Connecticut's best days are ahead of it - not behind it - and you're part of the initial team to put that vision together.''

He thanked his steering committee and the co-chairs of 12 different working groups that will focus on issues ranging from agriculture and education to housing and transportation. The co-chairs of the working groups include some well-known advocates who come to the Capitol to push their cause. The human services working group will be overseen by Ron Cretaro and Terry Edelstein, two of the best-known advocates among Connecticut's non-profit providers, and Toni Fatone, who stepped down last year as the leader of the state's for-profit nursing homes.

Former gubernatorial candidate and former state legislator Juan Figueroa is co-chairing the healthcare group, while former Rep. Jessie Stratton co-chairs the environment group. The room was filled with hard-core Democrats, including some who have run for elective office and some who will be running in the future. Two of those sitting at the table with Malloy - Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra and Democrat Shawn Wooden - are both running right now in the mayoral race.

The groups have been asked to generate ideas that can be implemented without spending any more money - at a time when the state is deep in the red.

This state isn't known as a battleground on social issues but a fault line is emerging over abortion.

The Family Institute of Connecticut, which staunchly opposes abortion rights, is publicly tangling with NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut, the state's leading abortion rights advocacy group.

FIC recently participated in a campaign, dubbed 40 Days for Life, that dispatches volunteers to clinics providing abortion services. The volunteers aim to draw "attention to the evils of abortion" through prayer, fasting, constant vigil and community outreach, according to the group's website.

But NARAL said some clients at one Hartford reproductive health center continue to be "harassed as they seek health-care services,'' according to an email the group sent to its members (and circulated by the Family Institute.)

Anti-abortion protestors have blocked walkways and followed patients while shouting anti-abortion "rhetoric," NARAL states.

Untrue, according to the FIC.  

Outgoing U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd will be honored by an estimated 500 supporters in a tribute this Friday night at a gigantic party at a new catering hall in Simsbury.

The event is being sponsored by the Connecticut Citizens Action Group, and the invitation includes the names of more than 100 Democrats who are expected to attend.

The invitation covers most of the entire Democratic hierarchy in the state, including U.S. Reps. John B. Larson, Rosa DeLauro, Chris Murphy, and Joe Courtney. The state's constitutional officers will also be there - Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Comptroller Nancy Wyman, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, and Treasurer Denise Nappier.

Among legislators, the group includes House Speaker Chris Donovan, House Majority Leader and soon-to-be-Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, and Sen. Edith Prague, among others.

For more than a year, it seemed that everywhere that U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon went, aide Jodi Latina was with her.

Whether it was at the Crocodile Club fundraiser or even Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell's testimonial dinner in Cromwell on Tuesday night, Latina was there with McMahon. In a crowd of about 500 people, McMahon and Latina were seated at the table closest to Rell's at the front of the ballroom.

Now, Latina is joining the state Senate Republicans as a press spokeswoman - the first person hired after seven staffers were recently laid off. The layoffs included two press aides, a researcher, a budget specialist, and three other aides.

U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman says that the controversial Wikileaks web site founder, Julian Assange, should be prosecuted for releasing thousands of classified documents.

"He ought to be indicted,'' Lieberman said on the Fox News Channel. "I think it's the most serious violation of the Espionage Act in our history.''

Lieberman's voice is heard nationally because he is the Senate chairman of the homeland security committee.

Two longtime Democratic activists - Jonathan Pelto and Roy Occhiogrosso - had a bit of a dust-up this week over the appointment of a prominent Republican to t  he new administration's transition team.

Governor-elect Dannel Malloy chose well-known Republican Ross Garber, a highly respected attorney, to be a member of the transition committee's personnel committee.

After the dust-up spread quickly among political insiders and throughout the blogosphere, Pelto now says that he was simply saying the exact same thing that the Malloy campaign had said five years ago. Pelto has pulled out a quote from a New York Times story in 2005 when Garber was sharply criticized by Malloy's then-campaign manager, Chris Cooney.

''It would be very difficult for Jodi Rell to disassociate herself from this scandalous legacy of John Rowland if she has as one of her top advisors the person whose job it was to defend and basically guide him through the corruption scandal,'' Cooney said in 2005 in the article written by Connecticut reporter Stacey Stowe in The Times.

"It's just so funny that they said the very same thing I did five years ago,'' Pelto tells Capitol Watch. "And Cooney is on the [current transition] team, despite living in Florida. So my point was legitimate, but perhaps more importantly - if their skin is really that thin, it is going to be a long and ugly year because there is going to be a lot of concerns raised from across the political spectrum.''

Occhiogrosso, though, declined to comment on Pelto's latest statement on Garber. 

"I don't have anything more to say than what I had to say the other day,'' Occhiogrosso told Capitol Watch.

On Monday, Occhiogrosso absolutely unloaded on Pelto after Pelto questioned whether two of Rowland's supporters - Garber and Waterbury attorney Gary O'Connor - should be members of Malloy's transition team. Occhiogrosso said that Pelto - a former longtime state legislator and activist who has been involved in multiple campaigns through the decades - and his comments were both "irrelevant.''

"No one cares what Jonathan Pelto thinks,'' Occhiogrosso said Monday night. "He posts some comment on Facebook. Who cares? If some guy in the Midwest posts something about the Malloy transition team on Facebook, is that newsworthy? The fact that he's reduced to making comments on his Facebook page'' proves his status in the Democratic Party.

"These are people who the governor-elect is proud to serve on his transition team. That they are Republicans is beside the point,'' Occhiogrosso continued. "Connecticut is in deep trouble, and the governor-elect has made it clear that the old way of doing things isn't going to work. To reach across the aisle is simply him following through on his campaign promise. ... What Dan said during the campaign is he wants to govern in a way that will move the state forward as quickly as possible. The best way to do that is to form a transition team with the best and brightest people. If he didn't, he'd be criticized for picking all Democrats.''

Pelto, who has nearly 3,000 "friends'' on Facebook, is among the Democratic Party's most hard-core activists, and he has been involved in campaigns over the past 25 years.

A University of Connecticut football player has been arrested on child pornography charges - one of two students charged in separate cases.

Gregory J. McKee, a redshirt freshman, did not play in any games this year, and he will not be playing in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona against highly touted Oklahoma on New Year's Day.

McKee was arrested by state police following an investigation and was held on $75,000 bail.

A second student, 21-year-old Steven D. Lewis, was arrested by the FBI at his UConn dormitory on federal charges that involved receiving and distributing child pornography. He is the president of the French Club at the university.

There will be no immediate vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the controversial tax compromise that was crafted by President Barack Obama and Republicans.

Democrats in the House are balking at a vote.

Stay tuned as Congress tries to get out of town before Christmas.

Everyone knew Republican Linda McMahon was spending a boatload of money in the U.S. Senate race, but now it's official. She spent the most money ever in a losing cause for a seat in Washington, D.C., according to Roll Call.

McMahon spent more than $50 million as of November 22, which was far more than the $17 million that Democrat Ned Lamont spent in the 2006 race against incumbent U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman. At the time, the $17 million that Lamont spent was an individual record in Connecticut.

Despite the spending, McMahon lost the race by a double-digit margin to Richard Blumenthal, the longtime attorney general.

Even after Election Day, McMahon ran television, radio, and newspaper advertisement to thank the people of Connecticut for supporting her.

The official records from the Federal Election Commission in Washington, D.C. show that McMahon provided $49.5 million in loans to the campaign, plus nearly $605,000 in in-kind contributions that covered office rent, mileage, utilities, and other expenses.

As such, McMahon's overall total of loans and contributions was $50.1 million, but that does not include any expenses after election day.

She received only $110,694 in individual contributions - a tiny percentage of the amount that she spent. With her widespread name recognition that comes from professional wrestling, McMahon received contributions from fans and admirers from virtually all corners of the country. Those included a remarkably wide geographical network that matches some of the best fundraisers in the nation, including contributions from Anchorage, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, New York City, Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Pasadena, Philadelphia, Omaha, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Boise, Boulder, Baton Rouge, Binghamton, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Colorado Springs, Cos Cob, Chapel Hill, El Paso, Kansas City, Las Vegas, La Jolla, Newport Beach, Niagara Falls, Oklahoma City, Rochester, San Jose, San Antonio, Saint Louis, Vero Beach, Virginia Beach, Wichita, and Washington, D.C., among many others.

McMahon clearly could have raised more money, but she limited her contributions to a maximum of $100.

Rep. John B. Larson ripped the U.S. Senate today as being "dysfunctional'' for failing to vote on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy on gays in the military.

After a discussion, the Senate failed to reach the necessary 60 votes to end the filibuster on the controversial issue.

"I am completely appalled by the Senate and the fact that 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' was blocked without proper debate,'' Larson said in a statement. "It is absurd that the Senate cannot even bring this critical issue, supported by the President and the Secretary of Defense, that addresses the concerns of our military, to the floor for an up or down vote.''

Larson continued, "This is vital legislation for our troops, which included the repeal of a discriminatory military policy. To date, the House of Representatives has acted on over 400 pieces of legislation that have not been discussed or brought up for a vote in the Senate.''

Attorney General-elect George Jepsen announced Friday that he is naming Nora R. Dannehy - the longtime federal prosecutor who handled the corruption cases of former Gov. John G. Rowland and former state Treasurer Paul Silvester, who both served prison terms - as his top deputy.

"I'm delighted and honored that Nora Dannehy has accepted my offer to serve as deputy attorney genereal," Jepsen said at a press conference to introduce Dannehy in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. 'Her enormous intgrity, skills as a lawyer and experience managing law enforcement professionals are unparalleled in the state."

Dannehy, 49, had been an assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut since 1991, and was named last summer by U.S. Attorney David B. Fein to head a new Financial Fraud and Public Corruption Unit in his office. She served on an interim basis as the court-appointed U.S. attorney for Connecticut from April 2008 until Fein's appointment last May.

The normally low-key State Bond Commission was thrown into controversy Friday when a dispute arose over which items had passed on the agenda.

Only 8 members of the 10-member commission attended Friday's meeting, which normally might not be a major problem. The lower attendance was highly unusual because members are allowed to appoint designees to serve in their place if they are ill or out of town.

The problem, though, is that several items were controversial and passed by a 5 to 3 margin on the commission that includes both Republicans and Democrats. Lawyers huddled immediately after the meeting to talk about the votes, which are taken by voice and not individually in a roll-call.

"The rule is, regardless of who shows up at a meeting, you need six votes to pass something,'' said Adam Liegeot, a spokesman for Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell. "You still need six. That's the rule.''

There will be no resolution on the matter at least until Monday, he said.

The dispute intensified Friday between the Metropolitan District Commission and the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority over the CRRA's plan to hire a contractor to run its trash-to-energy plant in Hartford for the next five to 10 years.

After The Courant published a story Friday about the situation, the MDC issued a press release blasting CRRA President Thomas Kirk over statements quoted in the story. Kirk responded with a statement of his own.  Following are the two statements, in the order in which they were issued.

First, the MDC's:

MDC LABELS CRRA PRESIDENTS STATEMENT FALSE, DEMAND RETRACTION
 
December 10, 2010
For Immediate Release

(HARTFORD, CT) -  The Metropolitan District is appalled at the patently false and malicious statements made by CRRA President Thomas Kirk as reported in the Hartford Courant this morning. 

The Hartford Courant's cartoonist, Bob Englehart, weighs in on Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's move to Washington, D.C.

CROMWELL - In her final speech to a Middlesex County chamber breakfast, outgoing Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell offered a jocular list of presents that should be buried in the state's time capsule.

Others have tried Christmas poems in the past, while Rell has traditionally offered a list of presents that are delivered, tongue-in-cheek, to some of the state's top officials.

This year, Rell presented a list for the time capsule, which has already been buried outside the governor's mansion in Hartford's West End as part of the state's 375th anniversary. It will be opened in 25 years.

"Let's start with my BlackBerry. After January 5, never do I want to hear another beep, tweet, ring or ding,'' Rell told the sell-out crowd of more than 800 people at a Cromwell hotel ballroom. "And as long as we're talking about electronic devices. How about the Secretary of the State's calculator?''

The crowd burst into laughter, and Rell eventually looked down the long dais to see the last person seated at the end - Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. She then waved to the crowd.

Rell was referring to the numerous problems with the counting of votes in the election that was won by Democrat Dan Malloy by one half of one percentage point in the closest gubernatorial election in more than 50 years.

"We should also add a spare bag of Bridgeport ballots. That way we'll always know where they are,'' Rell said as the crowd laughed. "As for our newly elected U.S. Senator - and outgoing attorney general who leaves behind 36,000 incomplete lawsuits and investigations - we'll bury a copy of his latest book, 'Sue First and Ask Questions Later.' ''

Gov. M. Jodi Rell said this morning that some votes from Friday's State Bond Commission meeting remain unresolved.

The rules of the 10-member Bond Commission are that 6 votes are needed to approve an item, regardless of how many members attend the meeting.

Last week, both outgoing Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and outgoing Comptroller Nancy Wyman did not attend the regular meeting. As such, 8 members were present, and some of the controversial items passed by the narrow margin of 5 to 3.

"I haven't heard yet,'' Rell said when asked about any conclusions about the votes.

Lawyers had remained huddled following the meeting, discussing the issue and trying to find a resolution.

A new Washington Post poll shows that 69 percent favor the tax-cut deal that was negotiated by President Barack Obama and roundly criticized by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives as a giveaway to the rich.

The poll shows that many voters oppose various elements of the package, which includes a cut in Social Security taxes at a time when many Americans believe that the Social Security system needs to be strengthened. But the poll numbers increase when voters are asked about the overall package.

The package involves the extension of the tax cuts signed by Republican President George W. Bush, as well as an extension of unemployment benefits and the payroll tax cut, among others.

UPDATE: In a procedural vote, the Senate garnered enough votes to end a filibuster Monday and head toward a possible final vote in the chamber on Tuesday. The bill would then head to the House, where there is far more opposition.