Where We Live

Agricultural fairs or "country fairs" originated in New England, according to the International Association of Fairs & Expositions.

The idea was "initiated" by Elkanah Watson in 1811. IAFE explains that Watson, a "New England patriot and farmer," organized the Berkshire Agricultural Society and hosted a fair in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. "It was not a market, and was more than just an exhibit of animals." Prizes of up to $70 were awards for "the best exhibits of oxen, cattle, swine and sheep."

This hour, we hear how those traditions are carried on in Connecticut.

1 of 4Marla Calico2 of 4"Famous" fritters can be found at the Southington Apple Harvest Festival.John Atashian3 of 4Garlic & Harvest Festival-goers grab garlic-infused bites from hundreds of vendors.Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival4 of 4Tammi Worsham (right), chair of the Backyard Beekeeper Association's outreach committee, hosts a booth at the 3rd annual Honey Harvest Festival at the Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens.

Plus, we'll preview three harvest festivals in our state, including the Southington Apple Harvest Festival and the Garlic & Harvest Festival in Bethlehem.

For a full list of this year's agricultural fairs in Connecticut, click here.

Beyond The Big E, here are the fairs and festivals coming up in our state:

• Harwinton Fair (Sept. 30-Oct. 2)
• Southington Apple Harvest Festival (Sept. 30-Oct. 2 and Oct. 7-9)
• South Windsor Apple Festival (Oct. 1)
• Portland Agricultural Fair (Oct. 7-9)
• Riverton Fair (Oct. 7-9)
• Garlic & Harvest Festival in Bethlehem (Oct. 8-9)
• Glastonbury Apple Harvest & Music Festival (Oct. 14-16)
• Mystic Apple Festival (Oct. 22-23)

GUESTS:

• Marla Calico: President & CEO, International Association of Fairs & Expositions
• David Lapreay: Event Coordinator, Southington Apple Harvest Festival; Director of Recreation, Youth & Senior Services, Town of Southington
• Paul Travaglino: Co-Chair, Honey Harvest Festival; Advisory Committee Member, Bartlett Arboretum
• Dave Harkness: Co-Founder and Event Coordinator, Connecticut Garlic & Harvest Festival in Bethlehem

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s been heavy emphasis put on computer programming education in recent years. Tech moguls like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have all predicted that "learning to code" will be as ubiquitous as learning algebra.

What opportunities are there to learn to code in Connecticut?

This hour, we hear from the owner of three Coder Schools in our state, Vaishali Shah. Hartford Business Journal reports she "is the first person in Connecticut to open up a coding for kids after school and summer camp program."

We'll also speak with a computer science class that participated in the Lt. Governor’s third annual "Coding for Good" computing challenge.

A recent study on the state of computer science education identified lingering disparities in access. "51% of public high schools offer foundational computer science," the Code.org Advocacy Coalition found.

Plus, one expert weighs in on what it really means to consider a career in coding. Sophia Matveeva is CEO of Tech for Non-Techies, a consultancy helping professionals "speak tech."

While "many are wondering what they really need to know about technology to succeed in the digital age," Matveeva clarifies that "most leaders don’t need to learn to code. Instead, they need to learn how to work with people who code."

"The myth of coders in a garage creating a billion-dollar company is persistent," says Matveeva. "The story of non-technical professionals driving technological change is not often told, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist."

GUESTS:

• Vaishali Shah: Owner, The Coder School in Farmington, Glastonbury and soon, Cheshire
• Kristin Violette: Computer Science Teacher, Newtown High School
• Julia Camman: Student, Newtown High School
• Sophia Matveeva: CEO, Tech for Non-Techies; Host, Tech for Non-Techies Podcast

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Biden declared that the COVID-19 “pandemic is over.”

But public health officials say not so fast – reminding Americans that on average, 353 people are dying daily from COVID-19 in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The virus continues to mutate, and vulnerable populations still exist despite the COVID vaccine and boosters.

This hour on Where We Live, we talk to Connecticut’s top public health official, Dr. Manisha Juthani, Commissioner at the state Department of Public Health.

We ask her about the latest COVID booster and why uptake for the COVID vaccine remains low for Connecticut children aged 4 and under.

Also, this month New York State declared a polio emergency after detecting the virus in wastewater. How concerned are Connecticut officials?

And, we also hear from two long-COVID patients on their daily struggles, and efforts to find a cure.

GUESTS: 

Dr. Manisha Juthani: Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Public Health

Frank Ziegler: Attorney, Nashville, TN. Participant in LISTEN, a long-COVID study at Yale School of Medicine.

Kelli Custer: Long-Covid patient. Professor of English, Western Connecticut State University.

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 5th District is considered Connecticut’s most competitive Congressional seat, and this year’s race is already a "heated" one, taking on issues like inflation, education, abortion and race.

This hour, we sit down with incumbent Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, who’s running for reelection against Republican George Logan. She touches on these topics, and takes your questions.

George Logan is set to join the program on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

GUESTS:

• Jahana Hayes: Congresswoman, Connecticut's 5th District
• Paul Hughes: Capitol Reporter, Republican-American

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are some issues with homestay services like Airbnb? And what’s being done to address them?

This hour, we hear from travelers about their experiences with short-term rentals.

We'll hear from an attorney representing clients with complaints about Airbnb.

And later, we learn how these short-term rentals impact the housing and rental markets in our state.

What questions do you have about the safety and ethics of homestay services?

GUESTS:

• Andrea Sachs - Washington Post Travel Writer and Journalist
• Christina Conte - Food and Travel Writer at https://www.christinascucina.com/
• Jesse Danoff  - Attorney at the Mitchell and Danoff law firm in Hollister, California 
• Jocelyn Ayer -Director of the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity

Anya Grondalski and Mira Raju contributed to this program.

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired July 28, 2022.

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut resources are being rallied in response to Hurricane Fiona.

This hour, we hear about the relief effort being overseen by Stamford-based non-profit Americares, mobilizing a team on the ground in San Juan. Plus, Sammy Vega with the Coalition of Connecticut Puerto Rican Parades & Festivals Relief Committee discusses the fundraising effort they're overseeing.

You can support these relief responses by donating to the Americares Hurricane Fiona Relief Fund, as well as the Coalition's Connecticut Helps Puerto Rico 2022 Fund. Navigate to the latter fund via CThelpsPR.org or CTayudaPR.org.

The Coalition also recommends donating directly to Lions Clubs International Foundation, Taller Salud, Hospital del Niño, Para la Naturaleza and Casa Pueblo Adjuntas Puerto Rico.

Plus, we discuss local lessons learned since the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria, when thousands of displaced people from Puerto Rico were welcomed in Connecticut.

CREC's Aura Alvarado and UConn Associate Professor Dr. Charles Venator-Santiago discuss the importance of "one-stop" locations, like the one Alvarado helped get off the ground in Hartford after Hurricane Maria, ultimately welcoming hundreds of displaced families.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin’s Office tells Where We Live the city is ready to partner with community and Hartford groups to help families who may come here and also said “it’s not yet clear that we will see anything like the large-scale relocations that we saw five years ago after Hurricane Maria.”

New Haven Mayor Elicker's Office tells us, "We have had discussions across city departments and with several of our nonprofit and community partners so that we are prepared as a community to support those in need: whether that’s families looking for emergency housing, individuals in need of healthcare, children entering our public schools, and other services and supports.”

The Hartford Hispanic Health Council and Junta for Progressive Action in New Haven also told us they’ve been readying internal relief responses.

Bruni Pizarro, executive director for Junta for Progressive Action in New Haven, recently co-authored a column on how Connecticut resettlement agencies are "underutilized." She wrote that many organizations like Junta "face uncertain and inadequate funding, imperiling their capacity to respond to future climate-related disasters."

GUESTS:

• Dr. Brenda Rivera-García: Senior Director, Latin America and Caribbean Programs for Americares
• Sammy Vega: President, CICD-Puerto Rican Parade in Hartford; Founding Member, Coalition of Connecticut Puerto Rican Parades & Festivals Relief Committee
• Aura Alvarado: Director of Communications and Community Relations, CREC Education
• Dr. Charles Venator-Santiago: Faculty Director, Puerto Rican Studies Initiative at the University of Connecticut

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As non-profit, tax-exempt institutions, colleges and universities are often seen as a source of public good. For example, a recent New York Times Magazine article celebrated a bustling New Haven arts scene that has arisen "both because of and despite its association with Yale."

Author and historian Davarian L. Baldwin describes a "public good paradox," calling for a "broad examination of higher education's growing for-profit influence on our cities."

This hour, the Trinity College professor joins guest host John Henry Smith to discuss his latest book, In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities Are Plundering Our Cities. He touches on Yale University in New Haven, as well as his own employer, noting its "ambivalent relationship with its location" in Hartford.

Baldwin writes that Yale is one "extreme" example of how "colleges and universities come to significantly dictate the terms of urban living, from a city’s housing costs and wage ceilings to its health-care standards and even policing practices."

Baldwin discusses his work organizing around various institutions of higher learning through the Smart Cities Lab he founded and directs at Trinity College.

He tells John Henry Smith, "We're talking about suppressed wages of faculty, service workers, graduate students. We're talking about tax exemptions; we're talking about unaccountable policing; we're talking about questionable health care practices. So for me, higher education, the notion of the 'ivory tower,' is dead. Some of the major struggles over the future of our democracy are being played out in concentrated form on our America's campuses."

We also hear from Eddie Camp, an organizer and research director with UNITE HERE Local 34, who has worked with community organization New Haven Rising to push for Yale to "pay its fair share." He discusses Yale's recent commitment to increase its voluntary contribution to the City of New Haven.

Camp helped to research segregated development in 2020, finding "striking" overlaps between mortgage rates, life expectancy, unemployment, foreclosures and COVID-19 rates in New Haven. Find out more about that research and campaign.

GUESTS:

• Davarian L. Baldwin: Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies, Trinity College; Founding Director, Smart Cities Research Lab; Author, In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities
• Eddie Camp: Research Director, UNITE HERE Local 34

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do some people live longer than others, and what’s different in the Blue Zones? How can we slow down aging?

This hour, we look at genetic research to extend our lifespan. We also hear about ways to delay diseases and live our best life.

And, a geriatric physician tells us why Medicare must redesign its annual wellness visit.

Also, a SuperAgers study is now enrolling people 95 years and older!

GUESTS: 

Dr. Sofiya Millman: Associate Professor of Medicine and Genetics; Director, Human Longevity Studies, Institute for Aging Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Patrick Coll: Medical Director for Senior Health, UConn Center on Aging

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we preview some of the must-see TV shows and must-read books ahead this autumn.

NPR TV critic Eric Deggans joins us, plus we hear from Roxanne Coady, owner of R.J. Booksellers in Madison and Middletown.

Deggans recently wrote about "why Black characters in 'Rings of Power' and 'Little Mermaid' make fantasy better."

Addressing racist criticisms of the new Amazon Prime Video series "Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power" series, Deggans writes, "These new visions of classic fantasy worlds and characters are simply a reflection of our new, more multicultural world. And that's probably what most scares fans who are used to white-centered fantasy."

GUESTS:

• Eric Deggans: TV Critic, NPR
• Roxanne Coady: CEO, R.J. Julia Booksellers; CEO and Founder, Just the Right Book

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The business of cannabis is growing. Retail establishments are expected to open by the end of this year in Connecticut and there are efforts to mobilize cannabis workers into unions.

Today, we explore how the cannabis industry continues to evolve. Inspiring cannabis entrepreneurs can take classes and learn about the industry from “seed to sale.”

We hear from Skyler Frazer, from the Hartford Business Journal.

Later, visitors to the former children’s museum in West Hartford, remember Conny the Whale! The museum is moving and we find out more about efforts to preserve this giant replica of Connecticut’s state animal.

What questions do you have about working in cannabis?

GUESTS:

• Skyler Frazer - Staff Writer at Hartford Business Journal
• Nicole Barton - Organizer for the UFCW and former cannabis industry worker, she lives in Massachusetts
• Emily Sabo - Organizing Director for the UFCW Local 919
• Daniel Kalef - Senior Vice President of Higher Education at Green Flower, premier cannabis education experts
• David Kaplan - Attorney and President of Cetacean Society International, Incorporated

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.