The GOP has flipped two of the five Connecticut General Assembly seats left vacant by Democratic incumbents who resigned to take jobs in Governor Ned Lamont’s new administration.

It’s a busy time at the state Capitol, with just over one month to go until the state budget is due. Groups are bringing advocates by the hundreds to try to get their favored items placed into the spending plan. Meanwhile, there are lingering recriminations over the failed Amazon deal.

Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill stands by her office’s ability to protect voters’ access to polling centers.

Public campaign financing could be coming to New York by the end of this year, now that Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature have created a commission to come up with a plan. Supporters say the current system favors a small group of big money donors at the expense of the average citizen and needs to be changed. But not everyone agrees that is a good idea.

Democrats who want to increase the capital gains tax in Connecticut say there’s no evidence it would lead to the wealthy fleeing the state.

The Connecticut General Assembly Appropriations Committee approved a $43.3 billion two-year state budget proposal on Tuesday. It sets the stage for final budget negotiations in June with Democratic Governor Ned Lamont.

Connecticut’s finance committee has approved a tax package that increases revenue by more than $2 billion over the next two years. Democrats say the increase is needed to fund the state’s $43.3 billion two-year budget proposal.

Some of the bills passed by Connecticut lawmakers in committee this week challenge Governor Ned Lamont’s control of state finances, which could lead to testy budget negotiations with the governor in coming days.

Officials say Connecticut paid $63 million to settle lawsuits last year. Nearly three-quarters of the money went to settle one case.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont says he is ready to sign the $43 billion two-year state budget approved by the Democratic-controlled state legislature. Republicans allege it’s not balanced.

The State Assembly narrowly approved a measure to remove the religious exemption for vaccinations, in the wake of a severe measles outbreak that began in communities with a high percentage of unvaccinated children in New York and is steadily spreading to other states. The measure almost didn’t make it out of the Health Committee, and the Chair of the Committee voted against the bill on the Assembly floor.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has announced a shakeup in his office staff. It comes after Lamont had some challenges getting lawmakers to support some of his agenda in his first legislative session.

The governors of Rhode Island and Massachusetts encourage Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont to pursue his highway toll proposal.

Suffolk County prosecutors have charged a county legislator with perjury and ethics violations.

The first hearing of a state commission to implement a public campaign finance system for New York’s elections was overshadowed by the issue of whether to end fusion voting, which allows candidates to run on multiple ballot lines. Critics of the proposal say Governor Cuomo wants to strike against a left leaning party that he’s been feuding with, something the governor denies.

Senator Rich Funke of Rochester is the latest Republican lawmaker to announce he will not seek reelection. Funke joins a growing list of seven other minority party GOP senators who say they are moving on to other things, after less than a year under Democratic rule in the Senate.

To help continue addressing the opioid crisis in Washtenaw County during COVID-19, an Ypsilanti community health group continues to offer Narcan.

The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners will discuss tonight how they may move forward with county operations amid a COVID-19 crisis.

Police are responding to an increased number of domestic violence calls during the coronavirus pandemic. An increase had been expected because many women have to shelter-in-place with their abusers. Shelters had prepared for an increase in service requests, but those calls aren't coming as frequently as anticipated. As WEMU'S David Fair found out from Safehouse Center executive director Barbara Niess-May, that is worrisome for a number of reasons.

It's been forecast that this spring will be quite wet. That could bring flooding to portions of Washtenaw County. Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner Evan Pratt joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss planning for such issues and the proactive nature of work already underway on this week's "Issues of the Environment."

The City of Ypsilanti has created a housing expenditure program for residents who need financial assistance during the COVID-19 crisis.

It's safe to say that the COVID-19 crisis will be more than a footnote in world history. In fact, a new initiative is underway to see that this moment in time will be never be forgotten and that "we're all in this together." For this week's "On the Ground-Ypsi," WEMU's Lisa Barry and Concentrate Media's Sarah Rigg talk to local historian Kim Clarke about the "Ypsilanti Coronavirus Digital Archive," a new photo project designed to preserve memories of everyday life during the pandemic.

The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority is getting a boost in funding from the federal government to help cover operational costs during the coronavirus pandemic. We get the details from WEMU’s Taylor Pinson.

The Washtenaw Intermediate School District expects to receive less state revenue sharing this year as a result of COVID-19.

The Ann Arbor Independent Community Police Oversight Commission continues to operate during the COVID-19 crisis. Their focus has changed a bit during the pandemic.

The Legislature ’s Republican leaders are suing Governor Gretchen Whitmer . They say she’s exceeded her emergency authority to deal with the COVID-19 health crisis and violated the state constitution . We have more from Rick Pluta.

In this week's "Cinema Chat," WEMU's David Fair talks to Michigan and State Theater executive director Russ Collins about all of the new flicks and special events the Michigan Theater is providing for your online viewing pleasure this weekend. Plus, they talk about how WEMU and the Michigan Theater fared during this week's National Day of Giving.

Saying it would be “impractical and implausable to maintain social distancing” due to COVID-19, the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair has been cancelled this year, July 2020. WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with Maureen Riley, the executive director of the Ann Arbor Art Fair-The Original, about all that went into making the very difficult decision to cancel the annual Ann Arbor Art Fair.

The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners has approved hazard pay for some of the county’s first responders as a result of COVID-19.

Restaurants were one of the first and hardest hit by our current health crisis and looks like they will remain closed for a while. WEMU's Lisa Barry talks with John Reyes of Eater.com about how Washtenaw County restaurants are evolving during the current health crisis and what they are doing to try and still serve customers and maintain their bottom line.

The City of Ypsilanti has partnered with Eastern Michigan University to make face masks.

The City of Ann Arbor is in the process of creating a plan to make sure residents have social distancing options when it comes to being outdoors.

Additional safety measures are being implemented to help protect public transit users from COVID-19.

State Senator Jeff Irwin wants all future elections to be done entirely with absentee ballots.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has extended her stay-at-home order through the end of May, while introducing a multi-step plan to get Michigan's economy going again. 12th District Representative Debbie Dingell expressed her optimism to WEMU for a safe start to the process while calling for more bi-partisan efforts to support those in need.

Eastern Michigan University released information regarding its planning process for the Fall 2020 semester.

While the long and anxious wait for news engulfed loved ones in Southampton, rescue attempts continued mid-Atlantic in the wake of Titanic’s demise.

Faces of the relatives gathered outside the White Star Line’s Southampton offices were etched with anguish and despair. Dan Kerins retells the story of when the tragic Titanic news broke

As the world marks the centenary of the Titanic tragedy this weekend, SALLY CHURCHWARD asks whether icebergs like that which fatally cut short the liner’s maiden voyage are a threat to modern shipping

Compared to Titanic, Cunard’s little ship, Carpathia was an unremarkable vessel, which undertook a remarkable rescue. Keith Hamilton tells the story of the modest Southampton captain who became a hero

The only surviving letter believed to have been written on board Titanic is expected to fetch up to £100,000 when it goes under the hammer today.

The last letter known to be written on the ill-fated Titanic sold for a world record at auction yesterday.

A menu form the Titanic sold for£60,000 while a locker key for the doomed ship fetched £62,000 at auction.

A BISCUIT that survived the sinking of the Titanic and has been described as the most expensive in the world has sold for £15,000 at auction.

A letter written a day before the Titanic sank by one of the disaster's victims has sold for a record-breaking £126,000 at auction.

A £14 MILLION bid to buy a collection of more than 5,500 artefacts from the Titanic wreck site and bring them to Northern Ireland has been launched.

Almost 11 years ago to the day, the last branches of Woolworths closed their doors. Here we take a look back at when the colossal shopping chain had a store in Southampton.

THE crippled Greek cargo ship Nymfea was brought to Southampton docks for urgent repairs following a collision with another vessel in the English Channel nearly 55 years ago.

Victory in Europe sparked scenes of delirium across Britain as people flooded on to the streets to toast the downfall of Hitler’s regime.

The war was over, it was spring and 17-year-old June Harris was in love.