Politics

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy delivers his third State of the State Address today, marking the midpoint of his first term, a time when a governor typically reinforces accomplishments and begins to lay the foundation for re-election.

A looming fiscal crisis dominated his first address, education reforms his second. Today, less than a month since Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown became a killing ground, Malloy intends to talk about the virtues of community and resilience.

"Well, that would be impolitic."

That was Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's reaction Monday when asked about a Facebook suggestion by state Rep. DebraLee Hovey, a Republican who represents Monroe and Newtown, that gunshot survivor and former Democratic Congresswoman Gabby Giffords stay out of her district.

Hovey took issue with Giffords' decision to visit Newtown to meet privately with town officials and families affected by the shooting deaths of six educators and 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary.

She apologized and took her Facebook page private.

Judge Carmen Espinosa, a former FBI agent and federal prosecutor whose judicial career has been a string of firsts for Hispanics, was nominated today by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Espinosa, 63, of Southington was the first Hispanic judge in Connecticut when appointed to the Superior Court by Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. in 1992. Malloy named her to the Appellate Court in March 2011.