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.

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.

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