Many of the biggest questions surrounding this year’s Supreme Court term don’t have to do with the cases they decided. They’re more about the people who are deciding them. What’s the dynamic on the 6-3 majority conservative court? What role does Chief Justice John Roberts play? And what will happen with liberal justice Stephen Breyer, who turns 83 in August? Many progressive voices are calling on him to step down now so that President Biden can get a replacement through a majority Democratic Senate.  Supreme Court reporter and columnist Linda Greenhouse says those calls may have backfired, with Breyer not wanting to make a “political” decision. But Greenhouse, who has covered the Court for decades for the New York Times, says the Court’s days of being above politics are largely over. In part two of our conversation, Greenhouse considers whether a smaller, even-numbered future Court might help build more consensus, and gives us some of her ideas about the possibility of changing the size of the Supreme Court. She also looks ahead to the next Court term, which is shaping up to be momentous.  Linda Greenhouse has a new book coming out this fall, titled: Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months That Transformed the Supreme Court.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steady Habits: A Connecticut Mirror Podcast

Would Shrinking The Supreme Court Help Build Consensus?

The Supreme Court term is over, and although it didn’t have some of the high-profile cases we’ve come to expect the Court to decide, it did have its own drama, with Amy Coney Barrett joining the court as a last-minute replacement for the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Former President Trump solidified his mark on the Court, and left it with a 6-3 conservative majority. But votes didn’t always follow partisan lines, leading some observers to remark on a surprisingly moderate Court term. Not so fast, says Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Linda Greenhouse. The long-time Court reporter and columnist for the New York Times saw the justices expanding their role in religious issues, and further damaging the Voting Rights Act. As she did last year at this time, Greenhouse joined me for a live, special Zoom event, where we took questions from the audience. In part one of our conversation, we talked about that major elections case, and what she made of the new court - she has a new book coming out this fall, titled: Justice on the Brink: The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Rise of Amy Coney Barrett, and Twelve Months That Transformed the Supreme Court.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Outflanked To The Right: Linda Greenhouse Considers The Roberts Court

The Connecticut legislative session has concluded, and it seems that in some ways, this "Land of Steady Habits" has emerged as a changed place. Yesterday, Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill legalizing marijuana, a deal that took many years, and almost fell apart at the end.  Lawmakers and the Governor also agreed on a budget deal that didn’t raise taxes, but certainly put the issue of tax fairness front and center - shining a light on divides within the Democratic party. And, the biggest piece of environmental legislation in years, the Transportation and Climate Initiative, failed, but the state did tackle climate and waste issues in a substantial way. Last night, I talked about these issues and more with CT Mirror reporters Mark Pazniokas, Keith Phaneuf and Jan Ellen Spiegel in our 2021 legislative wrap-up event on Zoom. We were joined by many viewers who asked questions about what did and didn’t get done.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CT Legislative Wrap Up: Yes To Legal Weed; No To New Taxes, Climate Change Bill

The 2020 Census gives Americans a chance to redraw their district lines, fundamentally shifting the map of Democracy. But we often wonder - is our system set up to provide the kind of change necessary? How can Connecticut use this opportunity to create an electoral system that serves its people? And what can we learn from experts outside our state about how to do things better? My guest is Michael Li, senior counsel for the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program His work focuses on redistricting, voting rights, and elections. He was the author of a widely cited blog on redistricting and election law issues that the New York Times called “indispensable.”  This conversation was recorded earlier this Spring as part of a virtual conversation, before Connecticut's passage of a bill outlawing prison gerrymandering. This podcast is presented in partnership with the League of Women Voters, Connecticut and Everyday Democracy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Redistricting in CT: How to Draw a Better Map

This last year, spent in a pandemic, has changed the lives of so many. But those changes might be felt most acutely by children. Their routines of family life, social life, and learning, were upended. We’ve heard about a “lost school year,” for kids, but what about just a “lost year?” The problems weren’t just felt by those children with the most acute mental health disorders, but we know that for those children who are most at risk, supports weren’t always in place  - before Covid. So, what are the solutions? This past Tuesday night, The Connecticut Mirror, the Gannett Newspapers of New England and the Solutions Journalism Network collaborated on an event called  “Coping With Covid: Mental Health Solutions For Kids” We talked about the challenges - and the solutions for this big problem. And we started with a story from the Mirror’s Adria Watson. She spent weeks following the story of families struggling to find mental health services for their children, and in some cases winding up waiting in the emergency room for days on end, unable to get appropriate care. We also had experts to answer questions from our audience.  Randi Silverman is the executive director of the Youth Mental Health Project, a Connecticut-based charity that has branches in five states. The project’s goal is “to change the conversation and raise awareness that kids can struggle with mental health” through its Parent Support Network.  Michelle Doucette Cunningham is executive director of Connecticut After School Network, an organization that is devoted to developing the “whole child.” The Network is also home to the Social Emotional Learning Alliance For Connecticut. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finding Mental Health Solutions For CT Kids

Nursing home workers and Connecticut are still at an impasse over a new contract. The state’s largest health care union has said it will strike as soon as Friday at 26 homes, with other strikes possible in the following weeks. Workers are asking for a pay raise, to $20 an hour, a hike of as much as 33%. The union said that could cost the state more than $200 million per year.  And nursing home operators say they need more than $300 million just to cover losses and cost increases from the pandemic.  The Lamont administration has made what it calls its “last and best offer” to the union. The Governor’s proposal includes $280 million additional funding over two years: $150 million over the next two fiscal years that would primarily fund 4.5% raises for all nursing home workers in Connecticut — not just those threatening to strike. $20 million for a one-time enhancement to workers’ retirement benefits. $12.5 million to fund hazardous pay bonuses; $13.5 million for enhanced training and staff development; And a temporary, 10% increase in facilities’ Medicaid rates worth $86 million between this July and March 2022. These funds would go largely to mitigate lost revenues and added expenses homes have faced. The Lamont administration pointed out that their package is about four times the increase that nursing homes normally get.  But Keith Phaneuf, who covers the state budget for The Connecticut Mirror, said those numbers are deceiving. “Over the last 14 years, nursing homes have probably gotten a 1% increase on average,” he said. “So it's not that hard to beat that, fourfold.” Phaneuf said workers have cited difficult and dangerous working conditions, and not enough staffing during the pandemic, which hit state nursing homes hard.  He said some Democratic lawmakers are pushing the administration to acknowledge that the mostly Black and Latino workers have been hailed as “heroes” over the last year. “Senator Gary Winfield, the Democrat from New Haven really kind of summed it up well, he said, you know, you can give folks all these accolades, but there's no equity without revenue,” Phaneuf said.   “Meaning unless the state puts its dollars behind these types of statements like Black Lives Matter and nursing home workers are heroes. They're empty statements,” he said. 4,000 employees could go out on strike over the next few weeks. You can read more from the Connecticut Mirror at ctmirror.org. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What You Need To Know About A CT Nursing Home Strike

Everyone has had their lives upended by the pandemic. But the problem has been felt most acutely by women, with more than 2 million leaving the workforce nationwide.  And parents’ lives have been disrupted, as they juggle jobs with at-home or blended learning for their school-age children, and limited child care options.  Put those together, and you can see the problem for single working mothers. Job insecurity, housing insecurity, and food insecurity are all realities, on top of the stress of living through a pandemic while raising children. Corie Tracy tells me, “self-care has not been a priority” as she goes through life as the working mother of two. Kara Dwyer sees the impact of stress in her life as she juggles three jobs and an eighth-grader at home.  They’re two of the women profiled in a series of stories published today in the CT Mirror. A look at how the pandemic has affected the lives of single mothers in the state. This episode, we meet them, find out how they’re coping, and brainstorm some strategies to make their lives just a bit better.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Single Moms Hit Hardest By Pandemic

This week, we continue our conversation with Doug Suisman, the architect and urban planner, who is leading an ambitious planning project for the Greater Hartford region, called Hartford 400.  Last time, we talked about the plan’s vision to re-route highways that cut off, and in many cases, destroyed neighborhoods. Today, we talk about the three major “places” that the project would create: a linear park called The Hartline, that’s based on successful walk/bike paths like Atlanta’s BeltLine; a brand-new urban district in East Hartford, called Midtown, created from the removal of the “mixmaster” of highway overpasses that clog the city; and River Road, the main thoroughfare that reconnects Hartford to the Connecticut River, built over an underground section of I-91. We also discuss the possibility of Hartford becoming a hub of high-speed rail. Suisman says these plans work as a unit, but don’t rely on each other to achieve success, making a more manageable transformation than the $17 billion price tag might suggest. And, he tells me, it imagines a Connecticut economy built on creating a place people want to live. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transforming Hartford Part 2: Trains, Bikes, Parks, And "Place"

This week, we take a look into the future of Connecticut’s capital city. And not a  science fiction look, 100 years out, but something a bit more manageable. It’s a plan to re-route highways that have cut off parts of the city from each other, and from the river that gives Connecticut its name. It’s a plan to knit together smaller projects with big, national efforts, like an expansion of high-speed rail in the Northeast, with a hope of attracting more people to the region, and making life better for those who live here. The project is called Hartford 400 - named for the city’s upcoming 400th birthday in 2035, a date that marks the European settlement of the region, which has a much longer history of Native American settlement.  The plan builds on community work that’s been trying to solve the problem of what to do with the failing, I-84 raised highway; ideas of how to fix the failing river walls that keep the Connecticut from flooding the city, while reclaiming access to its banks; tunnel concepts floated by U.S. Rep. John B. Larson; and questions about how to capitalize on the $2 trillion infrastructure plan put out by the Biden administration.  The cost? It’s big: $17 billion over 15 years. But my guest, Doug Suisman, says this confluence of events gives the city, and the state, a chance to do something that might never happen again: remake Hartford with a new vision. Suisman is an architect and urban designer, based in Los Angeles. But he’s a native of Hartford, and he led the city’s iQuilt project, a precursor to Hartford 400.  In the first of two conversations, we talk about the big ideas - and what it will mean for the roadways which have caused such dislocation and congestion for decades. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Plan To Transform Hartford's Highways, Riverfront and Fortunes

If you talk with Scott Lewis, you hear a lot of things that sound like this: “When you go through a lot of challenges in life, you learn how to make the best out of the days that you’re given to live life.” And Lewis has been through some challenges.  At the age of 29, he was sentenced to 120 years in prison for a high-profile murder in New Haven that he didn’t commit. An FBI investigation found that Lewis and a co-defendant had been set up by a police officer who was involved in selling cocaine.  Despite this, it took Lewis years of legal research while behind bars, and help from teams of law students to help him gain his release in 2014. His story is the subject of a documentary, 120 Years. But he lost 19 years of his life, years with his family he says he can’t get back, and can’t get “too emotional” about. In 2017, he settled a lawsuit with the city of New Haven for $9.5 million.  He’s now 55, and running his own real estate firm - the profession he’d been pursuing before his arrest. He wrote recently for the CT Mirror’s Viewpoints section about his support for a bill that would, in his words, provide “second chances by reducing barriers to professional licensing for people with convictions.”  Lewis knows about the barriers people leaving prison face, and he says that while some of those barriers are necessary, they need to be coupled with compassion for those starting to seek a new life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Exoneree Says Compassion Is Key For Those Leaving Prison

As we mark the one year anniversary of the pandemic impacting Connecticut, we’ve been asking what we’ve learned and what we’ve lost. Restaurant workers, health care workers, educators and students all have different stories to tell about how lockdowns, shutdowns, and the reality of the disease has changed their lives. As part of this look back, we’re talking with the co-founder of a project that’s been asking people for their stories - their feelings, thoughts and fears - since the start.  The Pandemic Journaling Project was founded by anthropologists Sarah Willen of The University of Connecticut and Katherine Mason at Brown University. The online, anonymous portal collects journal entries in written words, spoken words and photos, in English and Spanish. And so far, it’s reached more than 1,300 people in more than 40 countries. It’s being used in college and high school classrooms, and by people who just want to tell their stories. I talked with Sarah Willen about what she and her team of researchers are learning about the pandemic from the more than 10,000 journal entries they’ve received so far. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sadness, Loss and Joy: Journals Tell Story Of A Pandemic Year

In a state that’s been almost entirely run by Democrats for years, Connecticut’s moderate Gov. Ned Lamont is getting a hard push from the left. Rep. Robyn Porter of New Haven is co-chair of the legislature’s labor committee, and she’s been a vocal opponent of what she calls Lamont’s “austerity budget.” She wants more investment in state programs to help vulnerable residents through the economic damage of the pandemic, and to do that, she wants to raise taxes on wealthy residents, an idea Lamont has rejected.  Porter has also been critical of a vaccine rollout strategy that has given advantages to white, suburban residents. She says it’s simple, just do it by zip code, and target the neediest residents - a strategy the state is starting to adopt. In our conversation, we also talk about something she and Lamont do agree on, the legalization of marijuana, and the overwhelming passage of the Crown Act - a multi-state effort to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles, a bill Porter strongly supported.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Porter: Lamont’s "Austerity Budget" Will Worsen Inequality

Essential workers, racial equity advocates, and those with pre-existing medical conditions were all angered by the state’s decision to change the vaccine rollout to a strictly age-based system. But state officials are sticking by their decision, and they say this new plan will be the best way to protect the most people the fastest and, in the process, save lives.  Josh Geballe, the chief operating officer for Connecticut, has been spearheading this vaccine effort. He joins me to talk about the reasons for the state’s shift in plans, how Connecticut is addressing the questions of vaccine equity, the rollout for educators in an effort to open all schools, and how the state plans to administer new “one-shot” vaccines now being made available. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geballe Answers Critics of CT Vaccine Rollout

State residents were surprised by Gov. Ned Lamont’s announcement this week that Connecticut was changing course on its vaccine distribution plans. Instead of essential workers and those with underlying health conditions going next in line, the state will move to a strictly age-based vaccine rollout.  Some essential workers, such as grocery store employees, have told The Mirror that they’re “disgusted” by their removal from the front of the line. And Ron Petronella, of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 371 in Westport told WSHU, “It’s upsetting to us that the stores are busier now than ever, and the infection can spread more easily there, I think, than in the classroom.”  That’s in reference to the only exception being made to the age-based rollout, for school teachers and childcare workers, who’ll be able to get vaccines at clinics set up specially for them.  Lamont said this plan keeps it simple. “Look, we are not blazing a new trail. We looked over at Europe and we've seen a great deal of success there. The healthcare professionals gave me a great deal of confidence that we are still prioritizing those most at risk so I think it’s the right way to go,” Lamont said. The change, as we have documented, means fewer people of color and those at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 will be eligible for shots in the next round. Equity advocates, like Tekisha Everette, executive director of Health Equity Solutions, and a member of the state vaccine allocation subcommittee, tells us she’s “wary” of the age-based approach, and disappointed that her recommendations weren’t heeded. She also said she didn’t even learn of the change until moments before it became public.  Another group that was upset by the change is the disability rights community. Many states have prioritized people with underlying health conditions This episode, we also talk with Kathy Flaherty, executive director of Connecticut Legal Rights Project. She told The Mirror that the new plan was “heartbreaking” for people who “have been left behind.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is CT's New Vaccine Strategy Prioritizing Speed Over Equity?

House minority leader Vincent Candelora says this legislative session has been a real “change of pace” for him and his Republican caucus. Usually quick to defend Connecticut towns’ “home rule,” he’s calling for the state to take a “more active role” in education policy. And, where he’d usually ask state government to “leave commerce alone and let capitalism work,” he’s now calling on more state involvement to “prop up capitalism” with additional programs to help businesses. This turnabout comes during Candelora’s first session in this role, having taken the place of his high-profile Republican predecessor, Themis Klarides. And, it comes at a time when he finds himself basically aligned with Connecticut’s Democratic Governor, Ned Lamont, on tax policy. Both are pushing back against progressive calls for more progressive taxation. We talked about his legislative priorities and how he feels the state is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CT House GOP Leader Calls For Bigger State Government Role

Welcome to Steady Habits: A Connecticut Mirror Podcast, hosted by John Dankosky. Our goal is to foster meaningful conversations with newsmakers and the journalists who cover them. We're planning to dig into Connecticut's biggest stories in policy and politics. Let's get started.

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Steady Habits: A Connecticut Mirror Podcast

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