Tolls or no tolls: it's the seemingly endless Connecticut argument, right up there leaving or staying in the state. Well, some sort of end is coming: the 2020 legislative session convenes on Feb. 5. If left unsettled, the toll debate risks being lost in the white-out of sports betting, vaping, recreational marijuana, the budget and other likely issues up for discussion. Capitol bureau chief Christopher Keating talks about transportation's last gasp on the latest podcast.

Capitol Watch

Two weeks before Connecticut’s 2020 legislative session begins, lawmakers are still debating tolls

Michael Vigeant (GreatBlue Research) and Lesley DeNardis, Ph.D. (Sacred Heart University) discuss a new Hartford Courant/Sacred Heart University poll.

A new poll shows Connecticut residents favor Biden among Democratic presidential candidates

You might have parked in a metered parking space to pick up your dry cleaning (you want to look good when you meet your new interior designer). Hopefully, you also just snagged some new safety goggles, for when all that dust is flying around your house. Time to peek at your bank account: yikes. On Jan. 1, a new wave of taxes, fees and laws took effect in Connecticut. We're not talking break-the-bank amounts, but for many Connecticut residents, every dollar matters. Content editor Russell Blair talks new Jan. 1 taxes and fees on the latest podcast.

The business entity tax vanished on Jan. 1, but you’ll have to pay more for dry cleaning and parking

We covered a lot of ground in 2019. The government shutdown. The seemingly endless toll debate. The Stop and Shop strike, opioid epidemic, the hottest month in Connecticut history, PFAS chemical spills ... on and on. Along the way, we set up microphones in bars, restaurants, breweries and markets, places like Tangiers International Market, Story and Soil Coffee, Spectra Wired, the Bushnell Park Beer Garden, Know Good Market, Hanging Hill Brewing Company and the short-lived Royal nightclub, and interviewed as many people as we could find. For the final podcast of the year, we put together clips featuring some of the folks we interviewed. Thanks for listening to Capitol Watch.

From Gov. Lamont's inauguration to pop-up newsroom events, here are our best podcast clips of 2019

Connecticut’s defense industry will likely receive a sizable chunk of the $738 billion defense spending bill winding its way through Congress, and that means high-paying jobs. Reporter Stephen Singer talks helicopters, jet engines and submarines on the latest Capitol Watch podcast.

Billions of dollars from Washington are budgeted for Connecticut's defense industry. Here's why.

Highway tolls, restaurant workers’ wages and more could be voted on in a special session between now and the end of December, if Gov. Ned Lamont gets his way. Lamont wants to convene a special legislative session on four contentious issues, and he believes he can go four for four. Capitol bureau chief Christopher Keating weighs in on the latest podcast.

Gov. Ned Lamont wants a special session on tolls, restaurant wages and more. Here's what that means.

Should I leave Connecticut? Should I stay in Connecticut? It's the conversation that never quits. Arianna Basche wrote her own take on it for the Courant's opinion pages a few weeks ago. On this week's Capitol Watch podcast, Basche and opinion editor Leslie Cory dive deeper into Basche's decision to stay put (for now) and what that means for her life and career going forward.

After researching cool places to live, this young Connecticut resident is staying put

October was anti-bullying month, but there's really no bad time to talk about the dangers of bullying. Stamford teacher Danielle Waring's life was forever changed by it. And when one of her tormentors later tried to apologize, Waring found it hard to forgive and forget. How would you respond? On the latest Capitol Watch podcast, opinion editor Leslie Cory explores that topic in a conversation with Waring, who reads an essay published in the Courant back in October.

This Stamford teacher was bullied in middle school. Here's how she survived.

Going home for the holidays is stressful, particularly in the Trump Era. The wine is flowing. Uncle Matt and aunt Trish are ginned up to pounce on every social media missive you’ve posted since the midterm elections. (Their posts frighten you.) Meanwhile, in the back of your mind, there’s the Big Announcement you’ve been meaning to spring on everyone: you quit school, you’re coming out, you’re pregnant, you’re getting a divorce. “I think we are in a more divisive time,” says Dr. Laura Saunders, assistant director of psychology at the Institute of Living in Hartford. “I do see [stress] in a lot of the clients that I work with, but I see it in family and friends as well. No one's immune to it right now.” Talking about politics at holiday gatherings, Saunders says, often causes conflict. That’s nothing new. “What we know from a variety of different experiences is that a holiday meal is not the time you're going to change someone's mind,” Saunders says. “So if your goal is to convert someone's viewpoint over to your own, that's not going to happen.” Saunders and Watson discuss establishing boundaries, family dynamics around the dinner table, and how to handle that one relative who just won’t let it go on the latest podcast.

Experts weigh in on how to talk (or not talk) politics and identity this holiday season

Eco-anxiety is real. Harry Zehner, a junior at the University of Connecticut, feels the effects of climate-related dread every day. It's mixed with anger at older generations for what he perceives as complacency. If the number of environmental protests in recent months is any indication, he's not alone. Zehner sits down with Opinion editor Leslie Cory to talk climate change, eco-anxiety and generational differences on a special Capitol Watch podcast.

This UConn student suffers from eco-anxiety and is fighting for the future of the planet

Gov. Ned Lamont's revised transportation plan still relies on tolls for part of its funding. Not surprisingly, Republican lawmakers (and some Democrats) are still less than enthused about supporting it. Of course, there's lots more in there besides tolls -- fixing bridges and adding commuter rail cars, for example -- and most of the work would be funded by borrowing from the federal government. Courant Capitol bureau chief Christopher Keating goes off the rails on the latest Capitol Watch podcast.

What's inside Gov. Ned Lamont's revised $21 billion transportation plan? We'll take you through it.

Connecticut is often referred to as the “Nutmeg State.” We’re all nutmeggers. It’s weird, it’s different, but it’s us. Natalie Belanger, adult programs manager at the Connecticut Historical Society, talks tin plates, peddling and soccer in the Land of Steady Habits on this bonus podcast.

Did you know? "Nutmeggers" is a nod to Connecticut's corrupt past.

Tuesday was Election Day. There are new mayors in New Haven and Middletown. Hartford, Bridgeport and Danbury reelected their mayors. All across the state, Dems flipped seats, Republicans flipped seats, and both sides rejoiced. Was there a Trump Factor? A generational divide? How to make sense of it all? Courant reporter Daniela Altimari recaps Election Day 2019 in Connecticut on the latest Capitol Watch podcast.

Ben Florsheim’s big win, Luke Bronin gets reelected in Hartford, and other Election Day 2019 recaps

Connecticut recently pledged $500,000 to boost participation in the 2020 Census. Philanthropic foundations, including the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, will tack on more than $900,000 in additional funding. “Today, this is not a question about whether Connecticut can afford to invest,” Melissa McCaw, Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, said at an Oct. 31 press conference. “We cannot afford to not invest to ensure that the important work we do for the taxpayers and the residents of Connecticut can continue next year and the years beyond.” What exactly is at stake for Connecticut -- or any state -- in getting its population count right, and what happens to all that data? Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Courant reporter Stephen Singer discuss the 2020 Census -- what information is collected, how it’s used, and where it ends up -- on the latest Capitol Watch podcast.

State officials are concerned about losing $2,900 for each person not counted in the Census

In the life of a train commuter, what difference does 15 minutes make? Rosanna Karabetsos, a graduate of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, is a Brooklynette -- a professional dancer for the Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball team. It’s a dream job. Still, she says, a faster train ride from Hartford to New York might have made her career goals attainable even sooner. “I wouldn’t change any part of my journey,” says Karabetsos. “But I do know that if there was an express train from Union Station to Grand Central that got me there in an hour and a half for a decent amount of money, it would have changed everything.” Ridership is steady on the Hartford Line, a commuter rail service linking New Haven with Springfield that debuted in 2018. Maybe too steady. “We’re victims of our own success,” says DOT commissioner Joseph Giulietti. “We don’t have enough cars to handle all the demand that’s coming at us. We’re desperate to go get some more cars. … It’s one of the healthiest complaints you can get, that people are not only asking but demanding for more service." Giulietti and Karabetsos, along with musician Bill Carbone (Max Creek, Rock and Roll Forever Foundation) and William Thomsen (Urban Engineers, Inc., APTA), talk Metro-North and the value of 15 minutes on the latest Capitol Watch podcast.

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