Times Square, 7:20AM…

Anna Sale, photo by Chion Wolf

by Catie Talarski - … will be much different than Times Square, midnight.  (plus or minus a million rowdy folks).  Our own Anna Sale (former WNPR Capital Region Reporter, now producer for WNYC’s The Takeaway) was in the Square bright and early to give a report on the goings-on.  The Takeaway also checked in with other correspondents in Berlin and Sydney.

And, not that we’ll be able to see it, but tonight is a very rare and special blue moon.

Drive safe, and have a great New Years Eve!

A new way of looking at autism

Temple Grandin - courtesy Murray Street Productions

Where We Live is taking the day off, getting ready for the new year.  So, we’re presenting some really interesting documentaries in our place.  Today, it’s Independent Minds: Temple Grandin. Here’s a bit of the description from Murray Street Productions:

Unable to speak until age four and diagnosed with autism in the 1950s, Temple Grandin went on to defy expectations as a renowned author, activist and expert in humane livestock design.

As we’ve reported before on Where We Live, autism science is pretty far behind its growing prevalence, and people like Grandin give us a small glimpse into what the autistic mind can accomplish, and how it works.

She’s been featured on NPR’s Science Friday and Fresh Air.  The timing of this remarkable story is great, because of news this week that Connecticut will become the 13th state to require all group health insurance policies to cover autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and expanded autism treatment for children ages 14 and younger (ctnewsjunkie.com).

tortellini broccolini soup, and more…

I found it:

Broccolini, courtesy of the USDA

Now I need to go to the grocery store and buy just enough for moi.  But I’m not doing that until after new years.  Tonight, admittedly, I plan to go  spend far too much at the Whole Foods salad bar.  Next week I hunt down many many versions of broccoli.

On today’s resolution show, Toni Lydecker provided some great recipes from her book.   I learned a few things about cooking simple, healthy meals.

A few food staples to have around the house: chick peas, tuna, olive oil, pepper flakes, vegetables.

And some delicious recipes:
Soothing Tortellini Broccolini  Soup

Add garlic slivers to chicken broth, simmer.
Add prepared tortellini and chopped broccolini, a few slivers of carrot slices.
Let it simmer, season.  Top with Parmesan.  (easy… and YUM!)

Substantial Salad

Cook up some orzo.  While it’s cooking, put feta, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in bowl.  Drain orzo, add to bowl.  Top with spinach, onion, and toasted pistachio.

I’d be happy to try some of your recipes as well.  Happy New Year… and best of luck with all your resolutions (be easy on your prefrontal cortex).    ct

Yes, Virginia, we do have jobs!

State Senator Donald DeFronzo - photo Chion Wolf

Yesterday’s show about job growth pulled out several threads of thought we keep coming back to on Where We Live:  Long-term planning and vision, transportation infrastructure, high energy costs and reality-based budgeting.

We started with conversation about the Senate Democrats’ new jobs plan called ”Connecticut Jobs Now.”  State Senator Donald DeFronzo said their proposal would make 1 billion dollars worth of investments in areas of what he calls “strategic importance” like transportation, housing, and energy conversation.  He told us that these projects are authorized, and ready to start within a few months.

“Getting this money put in to the construction industry over the next 12 months has the potential of creating 15 or 16 thousand new jobs over that period.”

Asked if this is like a miniature version of the federal “stimulus package,” DeFronzo said, “in theory.”  But, in practice, their plan would not mirror the federal stimulus by propping up existing programs or providing relief, it would instead be aimed at making new investments in building, a sector that’s slowed to a crawl in the state.  The timing is good, DeFronzo said, because of low interest rates, and a motivated construction industry that’s coming in with low bids, while facing a 25% unemployment rate.

“I think we need to prime the pump here in a way to get people back to work, and once this happens, I think the ripple effect across the economy will be felt, and small businesses and large businesses alike will feel the impact.”

And that’s the key argument for a billion dollars in construction bonding, at a time when the state faces mounting debts, and still can’t balance it’s budget.  DeFronzo says the state does have to pay attention to the budget bottom line, but…

“We have focused too much on mitigation plans, and debt ceilings and balanced budgets, and not at all

enough on job creation, which I think is every bit as important as securing a balanced budget.”

Which, of course, we might not have for weeks or months if Governor Rell and the Legislature can’t agree on what cuts to make.  As much as I wanted to keep harping on our inability to “think big” and “strategically” about jobs, UConn economist Fred Carstensen pretty much agreed that a plan like the one DeFronzo touted is what we need.

But Fred also worries that the budget fights will cost us some of our best opportunities to become globally competitive.  As he told WNPR business editor Harriet Jones, Connecticut hasn’t capitalized on its early investment in stem cell research, and now those funds are in jeopardy of falling under the budget ax.

“I think everybody who watches television has seen the ads for Michigan, about what a great place it is to bring green technology or biotech research or other kinds of activities.  You’ll never see an ad for Connecticut.”

But others involved in the bio-science world aren’t so sure.  Joe Franklin, the author of the blog yalepatents.org, is a PhD candidate in cell biology at Yale.  He writes about intellectual property and biotech industry in New Haven and Connecticut (and by way of disclaimer, is also the husband of Where We Live producer Libby Conn).  He’s written for The Hartford Courant about what Pfizer’s departure from New London tells us about state investments in biotech.

He heard yesterday’s show, and is skeptical of claims that the state’s modest investment will have big impact on jobs in the state:

Stem-cells funding may have brought a few researchers and their labs to Connecticut, and encouraged good ones that are already here to apply for more funding and, perhaps, hire a few new postdocs or technicians to perform research.  But Yale already has over 270 different labs working on biomedical science.  In 2008, it received $300 million from the NIH alone, not counting that from other major funders like the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  UConn took in over $70 million from the NIH last year.  The total outlay of the Connecticut Stem Cell Initiative?  Ten million dollars per year.  Denise Merrill, the majority leader of the state house of representatives said that with stem cells, the state brings benefits “for a relatively small amount of money”.  The characterization of price is true, but what benefits do $10 million bring when spent on stem-cells instead of, say, transportation or inner-city education?

He returns to a central point in his Courant op-ed, that state government should work on the things it does better, like infrastructure and improving the cost of living.

Clearly other states are doing just that, but they’re also plowing money into attracting business and creating departments that court outside investors into their states.  Chief Executive Magazine ranks the best and worst states for business, and the top contenders are all making these multiple investments: Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and the one we picked to feature, Virginia (On that list, Connecticut is 38th).  Both Forbes and CNBC have ranked the Commonwealth as the best place to do business in the country.  But why?

Well, we could get into substantial side-by-side comparisons of many factors, but let’s keep it simple.  First, here’s Virginia’s  website for its Economic Development Partnership – it’s at YesVirginia.org.  It’s filled with positive language, and positive reasons why you might want to locate your company there.

Now, here’s Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development.  It’s at http://www.ct.gov/ecd (write that down).  It’s a nice enough website, that tells you exactly what they do, but doesn’t make a case for why someone should try to create jobs here.

It may seem like a small thing, but it’s all part of what Virginia calls “creating a sustainable business climate” that keeps down costs, while still providing high-paying jobs.  During our segment with Liz Povar from “YesVirginia,” State Senator Donald DeFronzo was taking notes.

Late addition: Forget everything I just wrote.  It turns out that Hartford is the seventh “Hottest City for Job Seekers” according to job search engine JuJu.com. Whew…glad we learned that.  Now we can get back to worrying about borrow to fill the budget gap.

DeLauro Finding “Middle Ground” on Abortion in Health Care Bill

Rosa DeLauro - photo Diane Orson

The Huffington Post is reporting that Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro may be willing to support language in the Senate health care bill that would place restrictions on coverage for abortion.  Saying it’s an “improvement” over the more restrictive House bill, DeLauro told reporter Sam Stein that if the Senate bill upholds current law, she’d be willing to support it.  ”It’s maybe a compromise where no one is that happy,” she said.

Stein’s piece hinges on the premise that DeLauro is one of Washington’s staunchest defenders of abortion rights, and this search for middle ground “represents a potentially major concession.”  I’m less surprised to be hearing this from the Congresswoman.

Back in July, DeLauro and pro-life Democrat Tim Ryan co-wrote legislation they hoped would bridge the abortion divide. Here’s a bit of their description:

“With this legislation, we have found common ground on one of the most divisive debates in America,” said Congressman Tim Ryan. “It’s my belief that if we are really serious about reducing the need for abortions in this country, then we need to promote prevention in order to achieve that goal. People may—and likely will—continue to have disagreements over this issue, but we must still work together in the instances where we agree.”

“This is a moment. We have legislation that finds common ground between two groups with opposing views and it came about through listening and talking instead of shouting past each other. It demonstrates how we move forward together – fulfilling an issue President Obama has repeatedly talked about: finding common ground on abortion,” said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. “It moves us beyond the debate over the legality of abortion, toward a common purpose of reducing the need for abortion.”

The bill, Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion, and Supporting Pregnant Women Act, is comprehensive legislation that pairs prevention programs like increased access to contraception for low-income women and comprehensive sex education with support programs for pregnant women and new moms, including expanded health coverage for pregnant women and children, a national adoption campaign and support for pregnant and parenting students. It aims to reduce the prevalence of abortion by addressing its root causes: unintended pregnancies and the lack of resources and help for women who become pregnant. Each year, roughly 1.2 million women undergo an abortion and approximately one out of every five pregnancies ended in abortion. Nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended and about 60 percent of abortions are had by women with incomes at 200 percent or below of the poverty line.

Since my last conversation with DeLauro in September, we’ve been planning a show with her and Ryan to talk about this issue.  Their schedules have so far kept us from doing this.  Now seems like the time.  Their well-intentioned legislation this summer was supported both by NARAL and pro-life Christian groups.  But, this sort of bill is really more of a theoretical exercise than the higher-stakes abortion debate going on right in the middle of health care reform.

If, as DeLauro told Huffington Post, “we’ve got to act” on health care, and won’t be stopped by a hangup on this issue, we could be seeing the start of an even bigger abortion conversation in the country.  Can she help find middle ground?

Thank Goodness. There’s a Scientific Reason for My Lack of Resolve.

We’re gearing up for our New Year’s Resolution show here on WWL tomorrow.  We’re rounding up experts to help us think through the promises we’ll make to ourselves. As I write this, I’m slumped against my “posture pillow,” a gift I received from my father last year after I proudly announced that in 2009, I would sit up straight.  Just when I started to feel really deflated about my poor posture and my lacking willpower,  Colin McEnroe’s producer, Patrick Skahill, found me this.  Thanks Patrick.

Apparently, it’s not a character flaw to have no willpower, it’s that our prefrontal cortexes aren’t big enough.  Jonah Lehrer writes in the Wall Street Journal that “research suggests that willpower itself is inherently limited, and that our January promises fail in large part because our brain wasn’t built for success.”

Whew.  I blame my brain.  This year though, I plan to spend less time on the internet.  So, I’m signing off.

(Oh, but if you’ve got any particularly creative, earnest, or laughable resolutions–send them our way.  We’ll be checking email, pretty much, all day.)

Rell Leaves Capitol Before Veto; House Says TV News Will Keep Trying For Interview

More today from Channel 3′s Dennis House, on what’s become a more frequent practice – Governor Rell exiting early, without talking to the press, while an important story is happening.  Now, the veto she issued yesterday of the Democrats’ deficit mitigation plan seemed like a foregone conclusion, but it’s still a big story.  And, as Dennis puts it, he can’t do what us folks in radio or print can do…just try to get her on the cell phone on the way back home.

There are two reasons that come to mind about why telephone interviews don’t work for television.   First, how would we explain to our viewers as to why we are interviewing the Governor on the phone?  Senator Dodd talks to us on camera,  so does Senator Lieberman, and these are two politicians who have a plethora of reasons to run the other way.    We interview dozens of people on camera every day.  President Obama holds news conferences and takes questions, why not the Governor?

For now, here’s the exciting veto message in easy to read press release form!

Curry Likes Recall Option; Calls Lieberman Health Care Flip-flop “Deceptive Practice”

Joe Lieberman Makes His Point - photo Chion Wolf

It was 2000, and I was doing a story for NPR’s political desk about Senator and Vice Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman.  It seemed everyone in the state was in love with Joe.  A Quinnipiac poll at the time had him at 80% approval among Democrats, and it was almost that high with Republicans and Independents, too.

Well, the decade’s up, and he’s down to about 30% among Democrats, and he’s got some in his former party calling for punishment, or even recall, over his stance on health care reform.   While some have teased Rosa DeLauro for talking about recall while it’s not allowed in Connecticut, it seems like a pretty good idea to others.  That would include Bill Curry, a regular Where We Live guest, two-time Democratic nominee for Governor, and a close advisor to President Bill Clinton.

Curry’s been quoted widely in the press since Lieberman filibustered the health care “public option” to death in the Senate.  He served in the state legislature with Lieberman, has worked to get him re-elected, and back in 2000 did something he kinda wishes he could take back.  ”I regret to say, I wrote a memorandum to Al Gore, arguing for putting Joe Lieberman on the ticket,” Curry told us today on Where We Live. Curry said he was disappointed in Lieberman’s debate performance that campaign against Dick Cheney, and his role in the Supreme Court decision that handed the race to George W. Bush – but, many in the party were still bullish on Joe until 2004.

Bill Curry Makes His - photo Chion Wolf

“I truly believe that 2004 was a turning point,” Curry said.    ”His resentment against liberals generally. His blaming the people whom he felt should have agreed with him.  And, most importantly, his beginning to question sometimes even the patriotism of people who dared to suggest that the war in Iraq might have been a mistake.”

Curry says that after losing the Democratic nomination to Ned Lamont in 2006, he shifted his position on the Iraq war to win more votes – which he did – enough to winthe general election.  He calls that “a form of lying.”  Now, he says it might be a good idea to have a law like California’s that would allow voters to recall an elected official.  Too late for Curry’s sake – he was pushing for a recall of Governor John Rowland – but not too late for Lieberman.  Curry said Lieberman engaged in ”a deceptive practice” by hiding his true position on the war, health care reform, and his support for President Obama.   “If this were a consumer transaction, he coulda gone to jail,”  Curry said.  ”Well there ought to at least be the right to revoke the contract in a Democratic process.”

Lieberman a Republican? "Not an option" yet says Chris Healy - photo Lauren House

Curry says Lieberman’s flip flop on health care may be an attempt to secure a Republican nomination for his Senate re-election campaign in 2012, ”And he knew that the price of admission to that club was in fact to filibuster the very policy that he had  been supporting since he entered politics until the day he announced the filibuster.”

But state Republican Party Chair Chris Healy says that to run as a Republican, Lieberman has to first become a Republican – and he says the Senator is still a mainstream liberal Democrat on most issues.  Healy told us that on “seminal issues” to Republicans, like safety and security and health and welfare, he’s “opposed Democratic party orthodoxy” and “shares a couple of core convictions” with the GOP.  ”But, unless he takes the pledge, and starts caucusing as a Republican, I don’t really see that as an option,” Healy said.

Gold: Hartford Needs Main Street Trolley

Today’s Hartford Courant features an op-ed by transportation consultant Toni Gold that’s right up our alley.  A proposal for a 1.2 mile-long Main Street trolley line to better “connect the North and South neighborhoods” and capitalize on an underutilized thoroughfare.

While much of our Where We Live conversation about public transit has focused on rail lines that would connect Springfield, Hartford and New Haven, this type of smaller-scale project could have big benefits.

As we profiled in our show about “bus rapid transit,” the city of Cleveland has put in a trolley-type bus that serves the downtown business district’s most important street, Euclid Avenue.  There’s still too many boarded up storefronts along this historic street, but there’s life, liveliness and a sense of hope that’s making a difference.  Cleveland city officials say it’s helped solve a perception problem about the downtown, and spurred investment.  This may answer a chicken and egg question:  Do we build a trolley line first?  Or, do we wait for more life downtown before we build?

Gold is right to point to the success of Portland’s streetcar system, which I also experienced first-hand this year. It’s easy, it’s safe, it connects neighborhoods, it works well with an established bus and light rail system, and it makes you want to walk.  Another impact: It makes you NOT want to drive.

Sort of related, but just as interesting: Tom Condon of the Courant wants city streets to go 2-ways.

House asks: Is Rell done taking serious questions from reporters in 2009?

Rick Green at the Hartford Courant lends a holiday helping hand to Where We Live and Dennis House at Channel 3 in our quest to have a substantive, long-form conversation with Governor Rell.  Rick picked up on our recent posts, wondering why the Governor of our state rarely addresses the media outside the comfort of tightly-controlled events.

This started with Dennis’ blog post at The Hartfordite called “Why Won’t Governor Rell Talk to Reporters?” He writes:

Dennis House

I know Channel 3 Eyewitness News is not the only organization that would like to see the Governor’s handlers allow her to hold a news conference and take questions from reporters.   Voters, our viewers, want to hear from the Governor, not hear from our reporters reading an excerpt from a news release from her office.

Look, I agree with Dennis that the Governor seems to be a nice person, and I have nothing against her personally.  And, I’ve long worried that media complaints about access sound like so much whining to the general public.  But this isn’t about filling airtime, or getting juicy quotes.  Governor Rell does periodically call back our reporters when asked to address a very specific issue that her administration is highlighting that day.  In most cases, these soundbites include some swipe at Democrats in the state legislature.   In fact, most of what we get from all sides at the capitol is aimed at blaming others for the state’s problems.  I’m pretty sure our listeners can do without these.

All we’re really asking for is accountability and explanation.   We want to know how and why decisions are made.  When something is unclear, we want clarity.  When something seems like a good idea, we want data-based support and confirmation.  On Where We Live, our listeners ask really good questions, and they feel entitled to answers.

The top public official in the state does not need to answer to the media, but she (or he) does need to answer to the people.  And, whether you like it or not, the media (still…for now) provide that message to the people.  That Dennis House and Channel 3 have problems with access to the Governor tells a far bigger story than what I’ve been able to tell so far.  As part of the mainstream television media, they’re reaching a broad audience…the sort of audience most politicians crave.

It’s never surprised me that our show isn’t able to attract Governor Rell to answer questions, or that she prefers to spend her time on more conservative or entertainment-oriented radio programs.  But, when local TV news can’t get answers…well, that’s just strange.  I second Dennis’ call for media access to be a campaign issue in 2010.  I can’t begin to guess whether talking more openly will make the new Governor more popular, or less.  But being popular isn’t in the job description (ask Lowell Weicker).

I’ve begun to dream about a morning, months from now, as M. Jodi Rell winds down her career as one of the most popular politicians in Connecticut history.  In my dream, she sits with me in studio and takes phone call questions about our state’s problems and success stories.  She admits mistakes, celebrates victories, and challenges her replacement to lay out a vision for Connecticut’s future.  A future where once closely guarded political capital is traded openly to invest in action and change.

Until then, I’ll have to rely on Rick Green. It seems he can get through to the Governor anytime he wants…