Good morning, Hartford.

Hartford Athletic held its sixth annual Hiring Expo Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Trinity Health Stadium in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Labor.

The Connecticut Office of Tourism will launch a Haunted History Trail ahead of Halloween that features over 130 spooky sites including haunted homes, museums, and theaters; the event will be held in Wethersfield on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The Federal Reserve raised its key rate Wednesday to 3.9%, a change that may lead to higher mortgage & auto loan costs in Hartford as additional rate hikes are expected.

Home heating oil prices across Connecticut have climbed above $5 per gallon, raising costs for Hartford households as they prepare for winter.

On Tuesday, Lt. Gov Susan Bysiewicz told superintendents that Gov. Lamont plans to add universal free lunch next year after the free breakfast program was launched.

The proposal awaits budget details and aims to help all public school students receive meals.

University of Hartford’s CETA held an Open House on Sept.

16 at the Center (a hub for precision manufacturing training) to showcase technology used by local companies, with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz stressing strong workforce partnerships.

The Connecticut Insurance Department approved an 11.3% rate hike for individual plans and a 15.1% increase for small group plans, affecting about 220,000 residents in 2027.

Open enrollment for the plans begins Oct. 23.

Comptroller Sean Scanlon announced new AI rules for state employee health plans to ban the exclusive use of AI for down coding claims or reducing payments (covering over 270,000 members).

The policies will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced yesterday a $50M investment to transform four rural hospitals statewide through Rural Health Transformation Project grants; funding includes $20.23M for Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, $13.12M for Sharon Hospital, and $12.65M for the hospitals in Willimantic and Torrington to modernize services and expand capacity.

The Connecticut Foundation for Open Government announced winners (journalist Ginny Monk, administrator Matthew Reed and Hartford lawyer Mark Sommaruga) for the Fifth Annual Pearlman Freedom of Information Award.

They will be honored at an Oct. 7 reception from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Mark Twain House and Museum (tickets $40).

Following a lopsided loss to Reading in Game 1, the Yard Goats are hosting a playoff game today in Hartford to try to keep their season alive.