It’s no secret the pandemic has hit Connecticut’s economy hard. It’s also no secret that the COVID shutdown has hit the state’s black and latino communities the hardest.

Pre-pandemic, there were some more signs of life in Connecticut’s cities – especially in downtown areas, but those gains weren’t always felt in the neighborhoods. City residents have been saying this to political leaders for decades, and still, little was being done.

The CT Mirror’s Tom Condon, a veteran reporter, has been exploring the different ways the state could make recovery more “inclusive.” This means everything from transportation and infrastructure improvements, to finding ways to get private investment into neighborhoods.

The idea is called “inclusive growth,” and Tom has charted how it’s helped cities like Cleveland, Minneapolis, and Oakland. In a new series, launching today in The CT Mirror, he considers how these ideas could be put to work in Connecticut.

John is CT Mirror's Director of Events. A well-known and highly-regarded radio personality and moderator, he divides his time between CT Mirror — where he heads up our events program and serves as a multi-platform consultant — and the NPR / PRI program Science Friday. Previously, John was executive editor of the New England News Collaborative and the host of NEXT, a weekly program about New England. He also appeared weekly on The Wheelhouse, WNPR’s news roundtable program. His 25 years in public media also include serving as vice president of news for Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, host of WNPR’s Where We Live, and regular fill-in host for the PRI program Science Friday in New York. He was twice recognized by PRNDI as America’s best public radio call-in show.