Where We Live

Making those student loan payments is among many Americans' monthly budgets. But with President Biden’s plan to wipe out student debt for some borrowers, what should people do with this new, discretionary income?

Today, we talk about life after student loan debt, and how to set new financial goals.

Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief of the Balance, a personal finance website, joins us. And we hear from a financial planner who helps clients overcome student loan debt and plan for the future.

What questions do you have about managing your personal finances after paying off student debt? Is that possible for you?

GUESTS:

• Kristin Myers - Editor-in-Chief of the Balance, a personal finance and economics website that helps people with their money questions. 
• Tom Martin - financial planner based in Hartford Connecticut

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What role do taxes have in the habits of consumers? A new Yale study found that increasing taxes on e-cigarettes led to a decline in youth and young adults’ rate of daily vaping; but it led to an increase in cigarette use. The tobacco taxation in Connecticut is $4.35 cents per pack of cigarettes. The state also taxes e-cigarettes at $0.40 per milliliter.

This hour on Where We Live, we hear from the co-author of the Yale study on e-cigarette taxation and the policy implications, and from a youth and adolescent psychiatrist on the best ways to help patients cease smoking. We also look into social pressures, trends, and the influence of marketing and advertising in driving youth and young adults toward e-cigarettes.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the marketing of three new e-cigarette products in 2021, marking the first authorization of its kind by the FDA.

Concurrently, the FDA ordered hundreds of products off the market – such as a vape holder shaped like a Gameboy that kids could potentially hide from parents, and a “sunset sherbet” flavored vape liquid, which retailers continue to sell, according to a new investigation by STAT News.

The Federal Trade Commission’s first-ever e-cigarette report links “an unprecedented” increase in e-cigarette use among youth with the rise in flavored products. “The data show that this increase coincided with dramatic spikes in the market share of flavored products, higher concentrations of nicotine, and an industry attempt to evade a ban on free sampling,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

GUESTS:

• Ruth Canovi: Director of Advocacy, American Lung Association (Connecticut); and Chair, MATCH Coalition.
• Michael Pesko: Health economist and Associate Professor of Economics, Georgia State University; Co-author of a July, 2022 study titled “Young adult responses to taxes on  cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems,” in the journal Addiction.
• Dr. Javeed Sukhera: Chair of Psychiatry at the Institute of Living and Chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Hartford Hospital.
• Angela Mattie: Professor, School of Business and the School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University.

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While Connecticut's craft beer industry has grown steadily over the last decade, the pandemic posed challenges to taprooms and wholesale retailers alike. Nearly half of the state's 125 breweries received federal relief funding, according to the Brewers Association.

This hour, we hear from the Connecticut Brewers Guild about how staffing shortages, supply chain snags and price hikes are still a factor for the industry.

WBUR recently reported a "carbon dioxide shortage is affecting Massachusetts craft production." Brewers Guild Executive Director Phil Pappas says the price of CO2, an integral ingredient in production and canning, has already gone up. He has concerns the shortage could affect Connecticut in the future.

The Brewers Association's annual report found that, nationally, small and independent craft brewers had "rebounded" from the pandemic. While 12 breweries have closed in Connecticut since the start of the pandemic, 22 have opened.

Plus, we hear about a new scholarship opportunity aimed at diversifying the Connecticut craft beer industry. New England Brewing Company's (NEBCO) Director of Marketing and Sales Jamal Robinson recently launched the NEBCO African American Brewers Scholarship.

The goal was to finance one aspiring Black brewer annually, through Sacred Heart University's new 11-month brewing science certification program, they were able to support four young brewers.

Robinson also organized this year's Change in the Air Beer Festival, the first Black-run beer festival in the state.

Robinson says the Change in the Air Committee that has formed around the effort has submitted an application for non-profit status.

GUESTS:

• Jamal Robinson: Director of Sales and Marketing, New England Brewing Co.
• Phil Pappas: Executive Director, Connecticut Brewers Guild
• Bart Watson: Chief Economist, Brewers Association

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There’s a little more than 3 months until Election Day and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski has made big changes to his campaign team.

Today, we get the latest in Connecticut’s governor’s race. Political Science professor Dr. Johnathon Wharton and Hearst CT columnist Dan Haar join us.

Nationally, the Republican Party has split into distinct factions since Trump’s presidency. Coming up, we talk more about Republican campaigns and how conservative views have evolved since the Trump presidency.

But first, we talk about President Biden’s student loan forgiveness.

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Connecticut farms have experienced extreme drought and floods, finding it increasingly difficult to prepare for alternating extremes. While 2021 brought floods that devastated many Connecticut crops, farmers are again dealing with drought this summer.

On Friday, federal officials declared New London and Windham counties "primary natural disaster areas" due to drought, while Hartford, Middlesex and Tolland counties are designated as "contiguous counties."

Farmers interested in applying for assistance can contact their local Farm Service Agency office.

This hour, we hear from local producers, including from Provider Farm in Salem. State Department of Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt also joins.

Plus, Long Island Soundkeeper and fish and wildlife biologist Bill Lucey has observed changes in fish populations in fresh- and saltwater, and the habitats where they live.

"Extreme weather events impact wildlife in many diverse ways," says a spokesperson for the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, noting impacts on flora and fauna from migratory birds and insects to berries and acorns.

"If it’s too wet, nests can flood and wash away; if it is too dry, food and water can be harder to find close by. More frequent intense storms can topple nest trees, erode stream banks, and create many other habitat changes that challenge wildlife."

GUESTS:

• Hannah Tripp: Owner, Provider Farms in Salem
• Chris Bassette: Co-Owner, Killam & Bassette Farmstead in South Glastonbury
• Bryan Hurlburt: Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Agriculture
• Bill Lucey: Long Island Soundkeeper, Save the Sound

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With Roe v. Wade overturned, and abortion becoming less available, will we see more children placed in foster care and parents seeking adoption?

This hour on Where We Live, we speak with experts and learn whether or not we should expect to see an increase in adoption.

We hear from the Connecticut Department of Children and Family Services Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes.

Later, we hear from Doris Houston, Director of the Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies at Illinois State University.

What questions do you have about the future of adoption and foster care?

GUESTS:

• Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes - Connecticut Department of Children and Family Services
• Doris Houston - Assistant to the President for Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Social Work and the Center for Child Welfare and Adoption Studies at Illinois State University.
• Molly Rampe Thomas - Founder and CEO of Choice Network, a nationally recognized pro-choice and LGBTQ adoption agency.

Where We Live is dedicated to exploring the issues and impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe. We wanted to create a space to make it easy for our listeners to find all of this content with one click. Visit ctpublic.org/PostRoeWorld for easy access to our ongoing coverage.

Where We Live: A Post-Roe World is available as a dedicated podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn. Subscribe or follow to stream all of our continued coverage.

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South Asians have the highest death rate from heart disease in the U.S. compared to other ethnic groups. Globally, 60% of patients with heart disease are South Asians.

Cardiovascular risk in South Asian Americans – Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi immigrant populations – leads to the early onset of plaque in arteries, compared to other groups. That’s what the 12-year long Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America – or MASALA study – has found. And now, the study is expanding to include the children of South Asian immigrants who participated in the first round.

This hour on Where We Live, we’ll discuss the scope of the study: By 2024, the MASALA cohort will include around 2300 participants in California, Illinois, and New York, whose health will be tracked over the next several decades. The goal? To understand the factors — food, socio-economic determinants, genetics — leading to heart disease in South Asian Americans, how to prevent it, and how to treat it.

Findings to date include the link between ectopic fat and cardiac health; a plant diet on heart health; and Coronary artery calcium incidence and changes using direct plaque measurements: The MASALA study. 

And, researchers offer Health Tips to South Asians, including a carb counting tool for traditional South Asian foods and healthy vegetarian keto recipes.

GUESTS: 

• Dr. Nilay Shah: Cardiologist and epidemiologist, faculty at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Co-Investigator at the MASALA Study.
• Krishnendu Ray: Associate Professor of Food and Nutrition Studies, New York University. Author of The Migrant's Table: Meals and Memories in Bengali-American Households.
• Shraddha Chaubey: Dietitian and Nutritionist, and founder of NutriPledge, LLC. President of the CT Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  

This show was produced by Sujata Srinivasan, with help from talk show intern Mira Raju. 

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!

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Does this year's back-to-school mean "back to normal"?

This hour, we sit down with Connecticut State Department of Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker to discuss top priorities for the agency. We touch on COVID-19 and monkeypox guidance, teacher shortages, and more.

What are your questions for the Commissioner?

GUESTS:

• Charlene M. Russell-Tucker: Commissioner, Connecticut State Department of Education
• Irene Parisi: Chief Academic Officer, Connecticut State Department of Education

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Connecticut is home to many architectural sites, but what about the ones that occur just off the coast?

Today, Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni takes us through the many shipwrecks along Connecticut’s shoreline.

We hear about what happened to these shipwrecks and how they’re being preserved so that divers will always have an opportunity to explore this piece of Connecticut history.

First up, we hear from Jacqui Rabe Thomas about some questionable practices at Hartford Healthcare and how home health aides were being impacted by it.

What questions do you have about shipwrecks in Connecticut?

GUESTS:

• Dr Nicholas Bellantoni - Emeritus Connecticut State Archeologist
• Jacqui Rabe Thomas - former reporter for Connecticut Public

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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 reported 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 annual "Coding for Good" computing challenge.

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

1 of 6Students who participated in the 2022 Lt. Governor's Computing Challenge were presented with The Jackson Laboratory Urban Achievement Award by JAX Professor Jeff Chuang.The Jackson Laboratory2 of 6Newtown High School students Julia Camman and Marguerite LaBance participated in the annual "Coding for Good" challenge.3 of 6Students participated in the Lt. Gov.'s annual "Coding for Good" computing challenge.

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

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