Kay Perkins

A U.S. News report ranks Connecticut as the seventh-best state in the country for gender equality, based on factors related to economics, education, health, family planning and care, and representation in politics. Connecticut ranked in the top 10 behind three other New England states: Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont. So what is the region doing differently to promote equality for women?

Some homes and businesses in Durham now have reliable access to clean water for the first time in over 18 years.

The International Association of Black Professional Firefighters (IABPFF) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week in Hartford.

Addiction experts are calling on lawmakers to advocate for more federal funding and a change in strategy to fight the opioid epidemic.

Connecticut has reported at least 69 total monkeypox cases, according to CDC data from Tuesday. While the state has asked the federal government to send more doses of the vaccine, LGBT health advocates point out that vaccines are not the only prevention method the state should focus on.

Connecticut is close to meeting its goal for distributing naloxone, the generic name for Narcan, an emergency drug used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Health insurance companies have requested to raise rates an average of 20% on individual plans next year -- higher than last year’s increase. State elected and appointed officials from both parties on Monday urged the state’s Insurance Department to reject the rate increase at a public hearing.

Connecticut’s first reported case of card skimming — tampering with a card reader to rig it to steal customers’ EBT food benefits card information — was back in May, according to the Department of Social Services. Since then, around 30 cases have been reported to the state.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday that the state will begin issuing COVID-19 relief grant money to eligible businesses in the hospitality industry this week. The state is giving out a total of $30 million to over 1,700 businesses that reported a drop of at least 15% (but no more than 95%) in revenue in 2021 compared to 2019. Some of the money is coming from the federal American Rescue Plan.

Connecticut opened monkeypox testing and vaccination centers this week.