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Connecticut Today - September 30, 2026 · Connecticut Today

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  P>Good morning. It's Wednesday, September 30th, and this is Connecticut Today, CT
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  Insider's daily audio briefing. Catch up on Connecticut. All news, no noise
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  in under 5 minutes. We're starting off with a quick look at
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  the weather. Connecticut is enjoying another day of early fall sunshine, with
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  cool morning temperatures and highs expected in the low to mid-70s. We'll
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  have the full weather update at the end of the briefing. In
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  today's headlines, voting in Connecticut is about to get easier. Starting Friday,
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  any registered voter can request an absentee ballot for the November 3
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  general election with no excuse required. This is the first time in
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  a statewide general election that voters do not need to provide a
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  reason to vote absentee, following a change in state law earlier this
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  year. Applications for absentee ballots are available online or at local clerks
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  offices, and ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. On election day
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  to be counted. According to the Secretary of the State, more than
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  2.2 million active voters are eligible. A recent poll found that 54
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  of likely voters support the new no-excuse absentee voting option, though support
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  is divided along party lines. Thousands of Connecticut residents are facing changes
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  to their health coverage this week. About 3,200 non-pregnant adults in The
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  state will lose federal funded health insurance starting Thursday, according to the
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  Department of Social Services. The change is part of a federal law
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  that restructured Medicaid and other programs, making some immigrants, including refugees and
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  asilees, ineligible for Medicaid and CHIP. Lawful permanent residents who have lived
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  in the US for at least five years, as will as certain
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  other groups, are not affected. State officials say children and pregnant women
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  covered by Husky A and B will keep their coverage, and some
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  non-citizens may qualify for state-funded programs. Emergency Medicaid remains available to all
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  patients regardless of immigration status. Connecticut's SNAP recipients are also seeing new
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  rules and benefit changes. The maximum monthly SNAP benefit is increasing, with
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  a one-person household now eligible for up to 306 and a four-person
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  household up to 1,023. Income limits are also rising. However, new federal
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  rules expand work requirements for adults ages 18 to 64 who must
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  now meet monthly work or training hours to keep benefits beyond three
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  months in a three-year period, unless The qualify for an exemption. State
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  officials estimate about 25,000 residents have lost SNAP benefits due to these
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  changes. The state is offering a one-time 300 grocery card for those
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  affected. Some non-citizens, including refugees and asylum seekers, are no longer eligible
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  for SNAP under the new law. Governor Ned Lamont's recent campaign ad
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  promised a pay raise for teachers, but he later said, No, I
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  don't think we're going there. Connecticut teachers earned an average of 91,081
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  in the 2025-26 school year, ranking sixth highest in the country. However,
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  high living costs mean many teachers still struggle to afford basic expenses,
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  especially those just starting out. The average starting salary is 53,000 and
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  in some districts, housing costs can consume nearly an entire paycheck. Adjusted
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  for inflation, average teacher pay in Connecticut has dropped by 6,200 since
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  2021 to 22, one of the largest declines in the nation. Halloween
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  spending is expected to rise this year, with the National Retail Federation
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  projecting 115 per person. Candy remains the top purchase, with 61 of
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  households planning to buy treats for trick-or-treaters. Costume sales and decorations are
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  also popular, and pop-up retailers like Spirit Halloween and Spooky Town have
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  opened locations across Connecticut. Prices are up, with a 100-piece bag of
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  candy costing 7.20 more than in 2021 due to higher ingredient costs
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  and tariffs. Local events include pumpkin festivals, scarecrow displays, and haunted tours
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  throughout October. And now for the full weather forecast, Connecticut will see
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  mostly sunny skies today, with highs in the low to mid-70s and
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  cool, crisp conditions in the morning. The rest of the week will
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  trend warmer, with highs reaching the upper 70s and low 80s by
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  Friday, and a chance of showers arriving for the weekend. Thanks for
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  listening. For more local news, visit ctinsider.com. This digest was partially generated
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  by AI and then reviewed and edited by our newsroom staff.