Capitol Watch - Courant.com

Money isn't everything in politics but it does tell you something about a campaign, particularly one with a field as crowded as Connecticut's 5th District.

Campaign finance reports tell us how much cash each candidate raised and how much they spent. But beyond the bottom line lies a deeper narrative. That's certainly true in the crowded and contentious 5th Congressional district. Here are eight things you need to know about what's shaping up to be the hottest House race in the state, as gleaned for the third-quarter Federal Election Commission reports filed by the campaigns this weekend:

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced with much fanfare recently that a research laboratory will be coming to Farmington with the state's help, but the plan is running into a buzzsaw of criticism from Republican legislators who say there are too many unanswered questions.

Remember the complaint filed by state Democrats with the Federal Election Commission in 2010? The one that alleged WWE was illegally helping its former CEO, Linda McMahon, win a seat in the U.S. Senate by organizing events such as Stand Up for WWE, holding a fan appreciation day and taping a commercial for the Make-A-Wish Foundation?

When Chris DePino was the Republican state chairman in 1996, he donned his train conductor's hat and played the harmonica at the Republican National Convention in San Diego.

The state legislature is holding informational hearings Thursday on a controversial plan to bring a genetic research institute to the University of Connecticut Health Center campus in Farmington.

With snow topping the peaks of distant mountains and the 2011 fighting season drawing to a close, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney traveled to Afghanistan a few days ago to meet with military leaders, including Gen. John R. Allen, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Teenagers don't generally write big checks to political campaigns, but it's a different story when your mom's the candidate.

It is a tale of two bills.

Town and city ballots for the Nov. 8 municipal elections are online at http://1.usa.gov/pXNXZ5

State Sen. Leonard Suzio has stepped to the front as one of the most outspoken leaders of the Republican opposition to the Jackson Laboratory proposal to create 300 jobs at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

A new report by the Catholic Church says that 19 percent of abortions in Connecticut are going unreported each year, prompting a call for a change in the law to allow license suspensions for any abortion clinics that do not report all abortions.

A legislative hearing on the contentious Jackson Lab proposal begins Thursday morning at 10:30 at the Legislative Office Building, to be followed by a 12:30 p.m. hearing on other job-creation plans destined for a special session next Wednesday.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has nominated Superior Court Judge Michael R. Sheldon to the Appellate Court and an attorney, Sybil Richards, to Superior Court.

State legislators expressed both high praise and sharp skepticism Thursday during day-long hearings as they debated the nonprofit Jackson Laboratory's plan to bring 300 jobs to Farmington over the next 10 years.

Another Republican jumped into the already-crowded field for the open seat in Connecticut's 5th District. Veteran state Sen. Andrew Roraback announced his bid in front ofGoshen Town Hall Thursday afternoon.

Connecticut is seeking to intervene in support of a new federal Environmental Protection Agency rule governing interstate air pollution.

Two well-known politicians will be among the guests this Sunday on "The Real Story'' on FOX CT.

A Republican state senator is criticizing the Malloy administration for failing to release documents outlining the agreement between the state and the Jackson Laboratory that intends to bring 300 jobs to Farmington.

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