Connecticut Wiped Off New England Map

On Tuesday, the Massachusetts budget chief announced that the state is facing a $1.5 billion budget shortfall in the next fiscal year, and that cuts will be made across the board.

The budget gap has been expected for some time, and Massachusetts isn't the only state looking for ways to save money. In these tough economic times, state and local governments across the country have been finding all sorts of ways to reduce expenditures.

Earlier this year, the city of Colorado Springs removed trash cans from its parks and replaced them with signs asking visitors to carry out their own garbage. In Vermont, the entire court system is now closed for a half-day every week.

And in Connecticut, the state has slashed its tourism budget from $4.3 million dollars to $1. That's a reduction of 99.9998 percent.

That cut has created at least one startling repercussion: Connecticut no longer appears on the "Discover New England" tourism map. After Connecticut failed to pay its dues to the group, the self-described "official" tourism site of New England wiped the Nutmeg State clean off the map.

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