The CT Mirror staff wrote hundreds of outstanding, impactful stories this year, which meant the first version of the top editors’ picks list started out long.

Choosing 10 was not easy.

After many heated discussions, efforts not to overlap with other CT Mirror 2025 lists and debate about how committed we were to the number 10, we managed to put together a list of some of our favorite work published in 2025.

Here are our picks and why we chose them, in chronological order:

Feb. 18: Freed from prison after 30 years, Hartford man meets a new world

“When our photo intern, Tabius McCoy, pitched the idea for this story, I was excited to see the final product. He spent months shadowing Eriberto DeLeon Jr. and then another several weeks laboring over the exact wording, story structure and photo placement with his editors. Ultimately, Tabius’ story and images allowed readers a look at a story that is rarely told and he did so in a way that was interesting for readers and true to DeLeon’s experience.”

— Keila Torres Ocasio, Enterprise Editor

March 25: CSCU saved hundreds of millions while asking for more

“Keith Phaneuf knows how money flows through the state government better than most. So when he told me he had a ‘really good’ story about how some colleges had been building up their reserves while asking for more money, I knew it would be an eye-opener. And that it was, especially in that it showed how huge sums of pandemic aid got pushed out the door in Connecticut without strict controls over how it would be spent. Keith’s sharp eye and keen understanding of state finances didn’t just break this story but pointed us to others.”

— Stephen Busemeyer, Managing Editor

April 29: How Trump’s coal policies will impact CT, a state with no coal power plants

“There has been no shortage of important news on the environmental/energy front since Donald Trump took up residence in the Oval Office for a second time, so this story by Jan Ellen Spiegel about an issue that, on its face, doesn’t seem to impact Connecticut might seem like a strange pick. But Spiegel does a masterful job explaining why a state with no operating coal plants is still at risk from Trump’s efforts to revive the U.S. coal industry.”

— Elizabeth Hamilton, Executive Editor

July 13: In chaos at CT Capitol, two waste haulers found favors

“One of my favorite stories of 2025 was this story by Mark Pazniokas about how a 77-word amendment quietly inserted into a bill was used to benefit two politically connected waste-hauling companies. The language, which helped advance projects in Wallingford and Torrington, was emailed directly to Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney’s chief of staff, Courtney Cullinan, by an attorney who works closely with Vincent Mauro Jr. — Looney’s longtime political confidant and chair of New Haven’s Democratic Town Committee — who is also in a personal relationship with Cullinan. The amendment was added just hours before final passage, without public debate or disclosure, and no lawmaker has since claimed responsibility for it. The story offers a rare, detailed look at how close personal and professional relationships can provide a privileged channel into the legislative process, allowing targeted interests to shape state law without transparency or accountability.”

— Elizabeth Hamilton, Executive Editor

Aug. 28: ICE arrests, deportations in CT up sharply in Trump’s second term

“Good data journalism isn’t just about understanding the numbers in the story. It’s about finding the story in the data. In this case, Emilia Otte, Sasha Allen and Renata Daou worked together to find the data, identify the story and then tell it brilliantly with easy-to-read graphics and solid reporting. The takeaway: Arrests conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Connecticut had doubled and deportations had tripled since President Donald Trump returned to office. The story detailed the troubles some immigrant families had dealt with during the sweeps and sought out the perspectives of politicians and advocates. It was a thorough and compelling look at the struggles of the immigrant communities in Connecticut.”

— Stephen Busemeyer, Managing Editor

Aug. 24: This CT recovery coach could lose his job to federal cuts. What will happen to his clients?

“When reporter Laura Tillman first started reporting this story we thought it was shocking that one recovery coach served people in more than a dozen towns in the Norwich area on his own. Over the months she met with him and spoke to people who said he’d helped them in their recoveries, the situation at the national level began to more urgently threaten the funding for these coaches. I chose this story because it is a great example of a story that begins with an interesting concept and gains even more importance as policies evolve, creating an urgency to let readers know what is ultimately at risk of being lost.”

— Keila Torres Ocasio, Enterprise Editor

Oct. 12: In some CT towns, clouds form over new solar developments

“The global transition to cleaner sources of energy is certainly underway, regardless of the actions of whoever is in the White House. But that transition can meet hurdles when large-scale developments start taking physical form. Individuals and communities who may have once fully supported clean energy, at least in theory, are running into the reality of its presence in their lives. And some folks in Connecticut, a seemly green energy-friendly state, have made a full 180-degree turn. Our energy and environment reporter, John Moritz, visited towns where residents have begun to sour on solar. As one described the change she’s observed, from rolling farmland to fields filled with panels, it can be ‘overwhelming’.”

— Erica E. Phillips, State Policy Editor

Nov. 4: In CT, finding candidates to run for local office is getting harder

“This year the national news felt urgent, at times all-consuming. As an editor, I thought readers needed more tangible stories. I grew hungry for reporting about people and communities here in Connecticut that could show how the era-defining shifts — in national policy and norms — were playing out at the local level. In late October our intern, Josie Reich, approached me after attending a press conference about the Secretary of the State’s new civics education initiative. One of the speakers at the event had remarked that fewer people were interested in running for local offices in Connecticut and part of the impetus for creating the educational platform was to provide information to people who might be curious about public service but weren’t sure where to start. For Josie, it was the first part that intrigued her. Why weren’t people running for local office? She only had a few days to report the story — elections were coming up, and her college workload was substantial. But she turned around a piece, which we published on Election Day, that’s both a local story and a timely, national one.”

— Erica E. Phillips, State Policy Editor

Dec. 2: Two families, one child: the case that reshaped foster parents’ rights in Connecticut

“The best journalism doesn’t just make us think; it also makes us feel. This story by Ginny Monk about the fate of one Connecticut child caught in the middle of a protracted custody battle between her biological father and her long-time foster parents is an example of the best kind of journalism. Monk, who covers housing and children’s issues, spent years reporting this story and it was the detail and expertise she gleaned from that work that allowed her to deftly weave a complicated story about whether foster parents should have legal standing in court proceedings with the emotional consequences to the human beings at the center of that battle.”

— Elizabeth Hamilton, Executive Editor

Dec. 14: CT doesn’t regulate homeschooling. Many parents want to keep it that way

“In May of this year, as the General Assembly’s 2025 session was reaching its apex, the Capitol grounds and the Legislative Office Building were overtaken for several days by parents and children brandishing signs in support of homeschooling. Connecticut doesn’t regulate homeschooling, nor were lawmakers seriously considering doing so. But in light of tragic reports of young people who had suffered at the hands of parents taking advantage of that lack of oversight, homeschoolers were concerned they’d face consequences for the actions of a small number of bad actors. Emilia Otte was among the reporters on our staff who had to weave their way through those crowds on their way to the Capitol press room, and she was moved by their devotion to the cause. Many of the parents were wary of journalists, but Emilia was persistent in her efforts to get to know them, following up after session and sitting down, face to face, to learn more about their concerns and their educational aspirations for their kids. The result is a deeply reported, sensitive story of a community that feels misunderstood. As lawmakers once again weigh whether to address homeschool regulation in the coming year, Emilia’s piece raises key questions for them to consider.”

— Erica E. Phillips, State Policy Editor