The Full Story

This week is all about economics and the environment. In Connecticut the battle over budget items rages on. Meanwhile a Connecticut teen joins students on Long Island in a school walkout to stop global warming. Our guests: Dan Haar, columnist and associate editor, Hearst Connecticut Media Ebong Udoma, senior political reporter, WSHU Susan Haigh, state capitol and political reporter, Associated Press Ken Dixon, state capitol reporter and columnist, Hearst Connecticut Media Alejandro Vasquez,

Suffolk County police are the highest paid officers in the U.S., but the department is having trouble filling its ranks. Why? A lack of interest among potential candidates and the high cost of living are a couple of reasons. And it’s not just Long Island. What’s being done in our area to attract applicants for civil service jobs? Our guests: Geraldine Hart, police commissioner, Suffolk County Peter Tesei, first selectman, Greenwich Michael Daly, founder, East END YIMBY Cristian Murphy, former

The infrastructure in many cities and towns in our region is in dire need of upgrades. Bridgeport, New London and several Long Island downtowns around Long Island Rail Road stations are a few. What’s being done to improve the quality of life in these communities? What about making them appealing to attract new residents? Our guests: Tami Zawistowski, Connecticut state representative, R-Suffield Michael Passero, mayor, City of New London Joe Ganim, mayor, City of Bridgeport Paul Pontieri Jr,

Connecticut lawmakers will consider criminal justice reform measures that would give non-violent ex-offenders a clean slate after a period of time. New York approved reforms that fell short of a full end to cash bail, but those suspected of non-violent offenses won't have to deal with making bail. Some lawmakers, however, worry the policy does not go far enough to prevent potentially dangerous people from leaving jail and going back on the streets. Do these criminal justice reform efforts really

Several state attorneys general have mounted lawsuits against painkiller manufacturers, including Stamford-based Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin. They want to curb the production and distribution of opioids that are to blame for hundreds of thousands of deaths nationwide. Recently New York and Connecticut expanded their lawsuits to include the Sackler family, who owns Purdue Pharma. But will this stop the opioid crisis, create policy change, or just lead to massive settlements that

We close out our week on the environment with three journalists who cover it. One’s a veteran columnist on Long Island. Another keeps tabs of environmental policy in Connecticut. The third is a young reporter on a research vessel off the coast of Iceland. Our guests: Erica Cirino, global environmental reporter and guest researcher, Roskilde University, Denmark Karl Grossman, investigative environmental reporter and professor of journalism, SUNY Old Westbury Jan Ellen Spiegel, energy, food,

Has the push for a "greener" world created "green" problems? The recycling industry is fighting regulations to cut back on bottles and plastic products they say will hurt their business. Towns want to go to 100 percent renewable energy with large solar arrays, but environmentalists say cutting down acres of trees is the wrong way to go green. Is there a right way? Our guests: Michael Vitale, owner, Great Northern Fibers Adrienne Esposito, executive director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment

Acres of ocean are carved out for offshore wind projects in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island. The proposed energy projects are expected to power much of the Northeast. New York will decide soon what companies will be awarded projects. Orsted and Eversource are vying for a state award to make Port Jefferson the hub for all the companies' offshore wind projects in the Northeast. The federal government is proposing even more ocean for wind energy in the Atlantic, off Long Island's

Connecticut authorities have confirmed three cases of measles in the state since the beginning of the year. Lawmakers in Hartford say a growing anti-vaccination movement is to blame, and they’re considering legislation, admittedly contentious, to end religious exemptions for required vaccinations in schools. New York lawmakers have proposed similar legislation as a measles outbreak has sickened hundreds, primarily from Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland County. In

The first Earth Day was organized nearly 50 years ago after a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara led lawmakers, companies and scientists to support environmental protections. Now Earth Day is celebrated in more than 120 countries. But is our environment, and are we, any safer from climate threats and human intervention? We’ll discuss the legacy of Earth Day with guests: Adam Rome, Ph.D., environmental historian and professor of history, University of Buffalo Ralph Nader, former presidential