Latest / The Lee Elci Show / The Lee Elci Show | 9.17.26

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The Lee Elci Show | 9.17.26 · The Lee Elci Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Good morning, Eastern Connecticut and Long Island. Bill Stanley and
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Paul Formica here with you, substituting for the great Lee Elsie,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: the voice of freedom here on 94.9 News Now, stimulating talk.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: And we expect this morning, Paul, that we'll have plenty
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: of stimulating talk for our listeners.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we got a great show today. Yesterday was great.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: I loved all the stuff that people brought to the table.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Good hospital conversations and budget. And today we're talking... New London,
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: for the most part. We got, you know, the great
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: new coach who made a big splash. Jack Cochran is back.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Jack is back.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: And as a result, New London High School football is
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: off to a great start. They had a big win
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: over Joel Barlow in their season opener last week. And
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: tomorrow night they've got E.O.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Smith.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: And it's good to have him back. It's good to
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: see New London High School back. Football doing well again.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: As long as they don't do well against my alma mater,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Norwich Free Academy.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, or Eastline.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Or Eastline, too, right?
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: We can't worry about that. And then the good mayor
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: has done a good job. He's on at 8 o'clock.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Michael Passereau will be with us from 8 to.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: 8.30, yes. And then the Coast Guard Museum. The Coast
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: Guard Museum is moving along after, it seems like, decades
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: of conversation. Wes Pulver is the president of the Coast
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: Guard Museum Association. He's on at 8.30. Right.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Looking forward to that. Looking forward to hearing more about
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: the opening of the long-awaited museum.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And then at 7.30, we have Scott Dolch, who's
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: the executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, talking tourism and,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: you know, this whole, you know, good work that has
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: been happening in New London the last.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: You know, since the mayor, you know, took over, really,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: there's a lot of economic development, new places to live.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: You know, the tourism industry with this Coast Guard Museum,
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: I mean, it could blow the doors off what's happening
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: downtown New London on Bank Street. So, you know, it
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: could be great for the region, but certainly great for
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: all those areas in New London that seems to have
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: been waiting for years to to have something great happen.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: It looks like it's happening now under the mayor's watch. Well,
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: I think the main catalyst for New London's resurgence, in
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: addition to the mayor's leadership, has been electric boat and
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: the aggressive hiring that they're doing. And as a result,
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: there have been a number of apartment complexes that are
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: going up, not only in New London, but throughout the region.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: because if you're going to be upwards of 30,000 employees
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: over an electric boat, you've got to have some place
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: to live.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: And so that's one of the challenges. Traffic, of course,
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: is a challenge. But these are the types of challenges
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: that you want to have because they indicate that your
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: region is growing and that the economic outlook, at least
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: for southeastern Connecticut, is pretty good.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, parking problem is always a good problem when you're
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: talking about economic development.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Sure, sure.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Talking about electric boat, they're taking over the mall there,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: the Crystal Mall, and they're renovating that into offices and
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: conference centers and training facilities. My thought was, there's quite
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: a bit of land there. I wonder if they could
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: stick 100 apartments on the outskirts of that. It may
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: be too close. I know they have security issues more
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: so than you know, than other folks.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: Do, but, uh, well, certainly, certainly electric boat, uh, purchasing
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: the crystal mall was, uh, was a boon for the
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: town of Waterford and their, their great first selectman there,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: Rob rule, um, because, uh, commercial malls are, are really, uh,
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: have become dinosaurs with the advent of online buying that, um,
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: that people use Amazon for and prime and all the others. Um,
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: I can't even begin to name them because I hardly
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: ever use them old-fashioned and still go to the store
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: on site. And actually, that's an interesting paradox because, you know,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: Tony Sheridan, the longtime head of the Chamber of Commerce
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: of Eastern Connecticut, has always advocated at virtually every Chamber
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: of Commerce event, he urges people to buy local products. And,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: you know, if you're buying all your stuff online, that's
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: not benefiting your local economy and the people who run
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: the businesses in your community. So for that and for
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: practical reasons, you know, I find that if you order
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: clothes online, half the time they arrive and they don't
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: fit and you've got to send them back and try again.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: So I just assume try it on before I buy it.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the brick and mortar stuff is good, but, you know,
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: COVID kind of, accelerated the acceptance in our society of
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: online everything, especially purchasing. I don't think it's going away.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: I meant to mention this to you on the way in.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: I was thinking about, I think it was your dad
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: who talked about an airport up above Norwich there a
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: little bit. We have these Amazon warehouses and all of
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: these things that are starting to look for places to
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: accommodate what people's new buying habits are. And I was thinking,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: I wonder, that was an interesting economic proposal. I don't
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: know how many years ago that was, but I remember
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: him talking about that.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: That was during the late 60s and early 70s, and
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: my father was always a contrarian. He proposed this at
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: the height of the environmental movement, so you knew he
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: was going to hit headwinds going into it. But when
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: you think about it, he advocated this for northeastern Connecticut
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: and northwestern Rhode Island, where there are huge pockets of poverty.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: And at the time, and still mostly today, with the
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: possible exception of Putnam, which has enjoyed a renaissance, but
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: has really had a depressed economy. And his thought was,
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: if the Cold War ever ends, we are so heavily
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: reliant on the defense industry that if the Cold War ends,
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: it could be devastating for us. And people laughed at
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: him until the Cold War ended. And EB laid off
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: thousands of people. And if it weren't for the advent
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: of technology, and shortly thereafter, Mohegan Sun, this area would
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: have been in full-blown depression. You probably would have seen,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: you know, people stuck around at 20% unemployment rate. But
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: as it turned out, a lot of the people who
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: lost their jobs at EB and at the various businesses
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: that relied on EB for their livelihoods wound up getting
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: jobs at the two casinos. Now we've kind of come
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: full circle with... with the opening of lots of casinos
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: all over the Northeast, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun don't have
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: the market cornered anymore, and so people who are leaving
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: their jobs at the two casinos can very easily find
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: employment at Electric Boat now. The federal government just awarded
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: them a $ 77 billion contract recently, submarine construction. So that'll
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: keep them going for a long period of time, and
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: they cannot hire people fast enough to do that work.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: They're going very aggressively after high school kids and getting
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: them into training programs. I know they've worked closely with
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: Three Rivers Community College, so you've got a pipeline from
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Three Rivers into an electric boat. So it's, again... like
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: parking and traffic, it's a good problem to have. The
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: downside of it is that they are offering such competitive
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: wage and benefit packages that some of the other employees,
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: particularly the smaller businesses, can't keep pace with it.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: I have a couple of my guys. One of my
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: managers is leaving next week to move to Electric Boat,
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: but he's got young kids and You know, the restaurant
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: industry's got weekends and, you know, the things that they benefit.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: But I remember Neil Runsell, who was kind of the
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: spokesperson for Electric Boat way back in the 80s. He
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: came and spoke to us. I was president of the
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: Chamber of Commerce of Eastern, not Eastern Connecticut, but of
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: East Lime at the time. And he was talking to
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: us about, you know, hitting fire. 4,000 or 5,000 employees,
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: and the critical mass wasn't enough to sustain the place open,
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: and what are we going to do? So talk about
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: your dad being a revolutionary and a visionary. I mean,
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: he certainly saw that coming, and you're right. The economic
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: diversification that the casinos brought to us saved the area,
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: to be honest with you, and that was the early 90s.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: I remember.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: And Reznikoff, Mrs. Reznikoff, what's her name?
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: Joyce Reznikoff.
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: Joyce, I'm sorry, couldn't get her name out, came to
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: us and said, you know, you've got to put in
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: a few hundred bucks to help the advertising for our
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: businesses as Foxwoods is starting to open. And I'm thinking,
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: you know, at that time I was just starting. Two
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: hundred bucks was, you know, that was six months of
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: labor for me. But what a turnout it did, and
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: we've really seen some strong economic diversification here, and if
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: these data centers and, and, and Amazon warehouses gets tucked
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: into the corners of, uh, you know, some places in Northwest, Northeast, uh, Connecticut, um,
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: Maybe that's a mantle you could take to start pushing
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: for the.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: No, thank you. Well, the idea that was included within
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: the jet port industrial city, and a lot of people
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: just focused on the jet port and planes flying overhead
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: and making noise and spewing carbon monoxide. The idea was
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: to have a jet port in the center of this
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: industrial city and to put things that people didn't want
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: in their communities within that area, that specified zone, so
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: that you could have the large box stores and distribution centers.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: You could have your trash to energy plants. You could
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: even put prisons there. Who wants a prison in their
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: backyard unless it's a municipality that's looking for a tax
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: incentive from the state of Connecticut? But it was the
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: emotion that prevailed, you know, particularly in Connecticut, and ultimately
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: the idea resurfaced after the Cold War ended, but ultimately
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: it was people's emotions, I think. And ironically now, you've
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: got controversies with a trashed energy plant that is proposed
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: for a playing field, and there's opposition... widespread opposition building
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: to that. And then you've got Amazon wanting to build
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: a distribution center and there's opposition to that. And these
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: are all things that would have gone inside the industrial city,
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: inside the specified zone, and you wouldn't be having these
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: arguments at the local level.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: Data centers, people are concerned about what's going on there.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: Rightfully so, we have it.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: Questions to answer with regard to, you know, electricity use
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: and environmental impact and noise. But, you know, we're all
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: sitting here talking this morning with our phones, you know,
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: sitting in front of us. And, you know, people are
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: going to have to decide what we're going to do
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: with that, how we're going to support the growing, you know,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: handheld world that we carry around now instead of watching TV.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: Well, if you listen to Democrats like Bernie Sanders and
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: his ilk, you know, AI could take over the world
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: and end civilization as we know it. And, you know,
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: we've heard this about global warming and how sea level
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: was going to rise 20, 20 feet and we'd all
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: be underwater. And going back to the 80s, some of
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: these other so-called experts predicted the second ice age, which
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: never materialized. So you've got to weigh the pros and
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: the cons. And I just worry that we're going to
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: get so bogged down with some of the sky is
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: falling warnings about A.I., that the Chinese are going to
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: be laughing at us as they take the lead in this.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: And that's a race that you don't want to fall
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: into second place on because it's a big deal. So
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: with that, we're going to leave you briefly for a break.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: We'll be back with more dialogue after these messages.
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: I'm gonna rent myself a house in the shade of
• 14:22
  Speaker 5: the freeway. Gonna pack my lunch in the morning.
• 14:31
  Speaker 6: And go to work each day.
• 14:34
  Speaker 7: And when the evening.
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: Rolls around, I'll go on home and lay my body down.
• 14:44
  Speaker 8: Traffic Alert on 94.9 News Now.
• 14:48
  Speaker 9: Good Thursday morning, everyone. Our first check out.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: Of the roads.
• 14:52
  Speaker 6: East line, the off-ramp is closed.
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  Speaker 10: Exit 74 on-ramp from Route 161.
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  Speaker 9: To I-95 North.
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  Speaker 10: Road construction continues on the Gold Star Bridge. Route 12
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  Speaker 10: is moving slow northbound in Groton.
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  Speaker 9: Route 32 and I-395 are both delay-free. I'm Eddie Schaefer,
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  Speaker 9: Time Saver Traffic.
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  Speaker 11: Wheeling City Ford needs 50 pre-owned vehicles. and yours could
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• 20:04
  Speaker 20: Fox News, I'm.
• 20:05
  Speaker 22: CJ Papa, President Trump, pitching voters in North Carolina.
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  Speaker 4: On Election Day, November 3rd, vote to defeat the Democrats.
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  Speaker 22: He was in Gastonia drumming up support for a Republican
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  Speaker 7: That's Michael Whatley.
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  Speaker 22: He was running against the Democrat former governor, Roy Cooper.
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  Speaker 22: The danger of artificial intelligence front and center heading into
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  Speaker 23: Senator Bernie Sanders held a briefing on AI with industry experts.
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  Speaker 23: And one of those panelists says lawmakers have perhaps a
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  Speaker 23: year to rein in AI. Sanders indicates he and other
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  Speaker 22: Fox's Madeline Rivera, President Trump pushes back on that idea.
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  Speaker 15: Preston Trading Post, hard to find, impossible to forget.
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  Speaker 24: No, you forgot the whole thing.
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  Speaker 2: No, well, I'll put that in after.
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• 21:20
  Speaker 7: No, you do this. You do this line.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: So, yes, we may be a little off the beaten path,
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: but that's only because the beaten path doesn't have this
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: much good stuff in it.
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: On it.
• 21:30
  Speaker 6: On it.
• 21:31
  Speaker 25: Financial wellness means something different to each of us, but
• 21:35
  Speaker 25: we all share the same goal, creating a secure future
• 21:38
  Speaker 25: for ourselves and our families. That's why at Charter Oak
• 21:42
  Speaker 25: Federal Credit Union, we offer products, services, and great rates
• 21:47
  Speaker 25: designed to help you navigate life's important moments.
• 21:51
  Speaker 7: Whatever your next chapter.
• 21:52
  Speaker 15: Holds, we're here to help you get there.
• 21:55
  Speaker 7: With confidence.
• 21:56
  Speaker 25: Learn more at charteroak.org. Federally insured by NCUA. Some restrictions
• 22:02
  Speaker 25: may apply.
• 22:02
  Speaker 26: Join Senior Resources for the Healthy Living Expo on Wednesday,
• 22:05
  Speaker 26: September 16th from 9.30 a.m.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: To 12.30 p.m.
• 22:08
  Speaker 15: At Dodd Stadium in Norwich.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: Take advantage of.
• 22:10
  Speaker 15: Free health screenings like blood pressure, fall.
• 22:12
  Speaker 7: Risk, flu and COVID vaccines and more.
• 22:14
  Speaker 26: Please bring insurance cards, information on health care, finance, housing,
• 22:17
  Speaker 26: nutrition and more. The Expo offers free admission, free parking
• 22:20
  Speaker 26: and is handicap accessible. The Healthy Living Expo is presented
• 22:23
  Speaker 26: by Senior Resources Agency on Aging. A special thank you
• 22:25
  Speaker 26: to the Norwood Sea Unicorns. See you on Wednesday, September 16th.
• 22:28
  Speaker 26: For more information, visit SeniorResourcesEC.org. Living today for a better tomorrow.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: Celebrate the red, white, and blue.
• 22:36
  Speaker 8: Get your tickets now for the third annual Red, White,
• 22:39
  Speaker 8: and Blue Party. Monday, September 21st at Water's Edge in Westbrook.
• 22:43
  Speaker 8: Meet special guests, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Fazio and Matt Corey.
• 22:49
  Speaker 8: Along with Connecticut GOP Chairman Ben Proto. Your hosts for
• 22:53
  Speaker 8: the evening are Gary Byron from the Talk of Connecticut
• 22:56
  Speaker 8: and Lee Elsie from 94.9 News Now. Enjoy live music
• 23:00
  Speaker 8: from Mocha Motion. Engaging conversations. and great food and drinks
• 23:05
  Speaker 8: available for purchase. Doors open at 5 and the program
• 23:08
  Speaker 8: begins at 6. 100% of the proceeds benefit the Connecticut
• 23:12
  Speaker 8: Republican Party.
• 23:14
  Speaker 7: Tickets will sell out. Visit ct.gop.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Reserve yours.
• 23:18
  Speaker 7: Today, that's ct.gop.
• 23:21
  Speaker 8: The third annual Red, White, and Blue Party. Monday, September
• 23:25
  Speaker 8: 21st at Water's Edge in Westbrook. Get your tickets at ct.gop.
• 23:31
  Speaker 27: Paid for by the Connecticut Republican Party.
• 23:36
  Speaker 18: Good morning. I'm Sean Murphy. Partly sunny today with a
• 23:39
  Speaker 18: high close to 80.
• 23:41
  Speaker 28: Yesterday, a New London judge heard initial arguments regarding Beth Carpenter,
• 23:45
  Speaker 28: who is asking the court to reduce her life sentence
• 23:48
  Speaker 28: for arranging her brother-in-law's 1994 killing. Her lawyers say her
• 23:53
  Speaker 28: convictions on two charges involving the same death amount to
• 23:58
  Speaker 28: double jeopardy. The court will first rule on her request
• 24:01
  Speaker 28: to move the case to another judge familiar with the case.
• 24:04
  Speaker 28: Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam will receive a $ 20. 2 million
• 24:08
  Speaker 28: federal grant to upgrade imaging and digital systems and expand
• 24:12
  Speaker 28: cancer care, convenient care.
• 24:14
  Speaker 18: And telehealth services.
• 24:15
  Speaker 28: The funding is part of a broader effort to improve
• 24:18
  Speaker 28: access to rural health care in Connecticut. East Lime is
• 24:21
  Speaker 28: considering rules that would limit new short-term rentals to certain
• 24:25
  Speaker 28: commercial districts, require stays of at least 14 days, and
• 24:28
  Speaker 28: impose a $ 500 annual permit fee. A public hearing is
• 24:32
  Speaker 28: scheduled for tonight at Town Hall. The city of Groton
• 24:36
  Speaker 28: activated speed cameras Wednesday on Mitchell Street, Thames.
• 24:40
  Speaker 15: Street, and Clarence B.
• 24:41
  Speaker 28: Sharp Highway. Police said drivers caught speeding... will receive warnings
• 24:45
  Speaker 28: during the first 30 days. A westerly man escaped with
• 24:49
  Speaker 28: minor injuries after a mother moose charged him during a
• 24:53
  Speaker 28: family hike near Boulder, Colorado. Dean Felicetti said the moose
• 24:57
  Speaker 28: kicked him into rocks as he and his son tried
• 25:00
  Speaker 28: to move away from her calf.
• 25:02
  Speaker 15: I'm Sean Murphy.
• 25:04
  Speaker 28: When news breaks, we break in.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: Good morning again. Bill Stanley and Paul Formica coming to
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: you live from the ledger town Center headquarters of 94.9
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: News Now. Stimulating talk. I'm a little more awake this morning.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: I think I'm getting used to this. A couple of
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: cups of coffee at 4.30 in the morning and we're
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: off to the races.
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: I didn't feel alive yesterday for a long time. I
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: had my grandson yesterday in the afternoon and that's usually
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: a three espresso a day for me.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Of course you're exhausted.
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: It's, you know, But it was great. Always good to
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: have those kids around.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. Absolutely. But they can wear you out and remind
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: you that you're not 21 years old anymore.
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah. No kidding. No kidding. But it's good stuff. So
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: we got Jack at the top of the hour.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: Jack Cochran, New London High School's very successful football coach,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: is going to be with us from 7 to 7.30 p.m.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Talk a little bit about the return to greatness that
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: he's bringing about over in Whalerville. And we're not only
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: going to be talking football, we've got some golf to
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: discuss a little bit. We've got the region's leading golf
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: tournament at Great Neck Country Club in Waterford today. The
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Bring Your Mojo Golf Tournament that Scott Gladstone, our good friend,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: conducts every year. to benefit the Waterford Country School and
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: the great work that they do. Scott, who ironically is
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: not a golfer, has organized probably one of the more
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: successful golf tournaments in all of eastern Connecticut. I think
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: over the years it's raised more than a million dollars
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: from the Waterford Country School, which is a great cause.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: And so that's today. Great Neck and the Waterford Country
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: School has a dynamic new Chief Executive Officer Elyse Johansson,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: who came on board earlier this year, and I'm sure
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: will do a great job. Then tomorrow we have the
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Kiwanis Tournament at Shenokas at Golf Club over in Groton
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: that is organized by Marty Olson and Ted Nelson. I
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: know that I also hear from our friend John Russell
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: over in New London is involved with that.
• 27:37
  Speaker 7: You know what?
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: I'll tell you a story. Marty and I go back.
• 27:40
  Speaker 27: I was.
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: In charge of the Kiwanis Club in East Lyme way
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: back in the in the late 80s and earlys with
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: a with a couple of teachers from the high school
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: we used to hold it the key club there for
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: the Kiwanis kids and you know we did that for
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: a number of years and then as every organization happens
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: they suffer from the you know the lack of volunteers
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: and you know I called Marty and said you've got
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: New London going pretty strong over there would you be
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: willing to take over the key club there and And,
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: you know, incorporate it into your club so that these
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: kids have something to do. And, you know, Marty did. And,
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: you know, still today, you know, that's a viable club.
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: And the kids are really working hard under his leadership there. So,
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: you know, if you're not golfing in either one of
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: these golf tournaments today or tomorrow, you know, they're great
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: organizations to send your money to and donations. And, you know,
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: they really... The Kiwanis and Waterford Country School really focus
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: on kids, different aspects of kids' lives. But, you know,
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: it's all about doing the best thing they can do
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: for the kids in the region that need, you know, mentorship. And,
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: you know, so feel free to, if you're out there,
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: write them a couple of checks and help them.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: Well, Marty Olson is a force of nature. And if
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: anybody's going to sustain this, it's Marty. And so the
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: weather for today and I think for tomorrow looks pretty promising.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: There's one other tournament a little bit further off in
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: the future that I just wanted to mention, and that's
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: the Norwich Pre-Academy Wildcat Scramble, which will be held on Wednesday,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: October 14th, at the Norwich Golf Club. And the entry
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: fee for that is $ 150 per player, That is always
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: a fun and competitive tournament. And the Norwich Golf Course
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: is always fun to play. And it's a good cause
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: as well. It's not fun to walk Norwich golf course.
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: That's why they have carts. Yeah.
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: It's, it's no fun to walk.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah. You've got to bring your climbing shoes.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: If you're going to walk that one, but, uh, uh,
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: that's what I like about great neck. It, it, uh,
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: more flat, relatively flat for us old guys to get,
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: get from one hole to the next.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: You know, easy to, easy to walk for sure.
• 30:12
  Speaker 30: Yeah.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: So we also have a few things going on in
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: the world of politics, uh, uh, in and around Southeastern Connecticut.
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: There's a next week. If you want to meet the candidates, uh,
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: the Republican candidates for the state house. Uh, and I
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: think the state, um, you know, all of the other
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: state offices, um, Wednesday, September 23rd from six to 8
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: PM at the Salem herb farm, which if you haven't
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: been to the Salem herb farm, uh, recently, uh, They
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: are just doing an unbelievable job. What a beautiful facility
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: it is. I've been to a couple of weddings there.
• 30:49
  Speaker 2: A beautiful, beautiful facility there. And you'll be able to
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: meet the candidates Wednesday, September 23rd, 6 to 8. And,
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: you know, that would support House Republicans, if you're so inclined.
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: And then October 5th, there's kind of a double conversation
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: on Monday afternoon. October 5th from 5 to 6.30, Senate
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: Republicans are having a fundraiser if you want to go
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: and contribute. And then from 6.30 to 8, the candidates
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: will be there from southeastern Connecticut for a free event
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: just to come and meet and greet and mingle with
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: those folks that are running for office here in southeastern Connecticut.
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: And I think these two events are important because they're important.
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: it's very important to get out and talk and look
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: face to face at the people that you're running, uh, that,
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: that are running for office, especially in these days. And,
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: you know, I've been a Republican for a long, long time. Uh, and, uh,
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: you know, we're being branded, uh, here in Connecticut by,
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: you know, the actions of the president. And, uh, you know,
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: that's been a campaign issue for the Democrats for, for many,
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: many years that, uh, well, we don't like you because
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: we don't like Trump. And, uh, You know, it's one— and
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: I don't care if you like Trump or don't like Trump.
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: The issue here in Connecticut is that, you know, we
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: have less registered voters than Democrats and unaffiliates, and so
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: we have to have a broader appeal and reach into
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: the back pocket of those voters, conservative and moderate Democrats
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: and unaffiliates. And in order to do that, people have
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: to know who we are and what our policies are
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: and and what we think makes sense for introduction of
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: legislation and how can we contribute to the communities at large,
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: and are we better than those running against us and
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: not under the whim of some national figure, no matter
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: who it is.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: And, you know, if they're running on a platform that
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: doesn't go— much further beyond uh trump's a bad guy
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: you're in the same party as he is so you're
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: a bad guy or a bad gal as well um you.
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: Know i had just a i had a guy 30
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: years i knew this guy yeah our kids did little
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: league together and the last time i ran he said
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: i can't vote for you he said i've always voted
• 33:29
  Speaker 2: for you since you were on zoning i've always voted
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: for you in 1991 but i can't vote for you
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: i said jeez he Did I do something? I mean,
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: my opponent, you think, is going to do a better job?
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: I mean, I get it if that's what you think. No, no, no,
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: none of that. I love what you do, but that
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: guy in the White House, he just can't vote for you.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: Crazy.
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: You know, and that's the feeling. Yeah.
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, and part of it is on the
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: voters because if they can't see beyond Trump, then, you know,
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: that's on them. But, you know, there is some fault
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: that lies with Trump himself who doesn't do himself any
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: favors and doesn't do the party any favors when, you know,
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: instead of focusing on, you know, closing the border and
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of the Iranians
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: and emphasizing law enforcement that has resulted in a drop
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: in violent crime throughout the country, he embarks on just
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: trivial stuff like putting his name on the Kennedy Center.
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: and renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America,
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: and we're going to call Lake Ontario Lake America, knocking
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: down the east wing of the White House and installing
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: a grand ballroom. This is the type of stuff that
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: I think average Americans in both parties and unaffiliated take
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: a look at and say, what are you thinking of?
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: And those are the things that Republican candidates in particular
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: are swimming upstream on, and... What Trump doesn't seem to
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: get or doesn't seem to care about is that if
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: he continues this, on top of the inflation issue, the
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: increasing cost of fuel and energy, these last two years,
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: if Democrats control the House, and even worse if they
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: control the Senate as well, these next two years are
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: going to be a nightmare for Trump. He will get
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: nothing accomplished. And you know that the House Democrats, if
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: they control the majority, are going to come after him
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: with impeachment hearings. And that's not only not good for
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: the Republican Party, it's not good for the country.
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: Well, it just takes away the conversation on what good
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: legislation is and how do we move our country forward. Right.
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: And instead of just fighting these personality things, and I
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: get it, he is— You know, he's a fellow who
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: just ignites fury amongst, you know, many people, a lot
• 36:01
  Speaker 2: of us, too, on occasion, like you were talking about. But,
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: you know, I think if it's been a successful campaign
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: issue for for the Democrats and, you know, I remember
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: when I was running, my opponent had, you know, had
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: me pictures of me with orange hair, you know, and
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: and yeah. kept pushing that whole thing, even though I'm
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: a moderate centrist. I talk to folks and, you know,
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: I don't really care, never really cared who got the credit,
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: just if we could come together and push policy. And
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: when you're a first selectman, that's certainly very important. And
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: when you're in the House or the Senate, you have
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: to have conversations because those are how the best collaborations,
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: you know, and the best solutions come forward by hearing
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: and discussing other ideas. And I think our group of
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: folks running for the State House and the Senate have
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: those opportunities to be able to do that.
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: Paul, you were part of a dying breed up in
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: Hartford when you were representing the 20th District in the
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: State Senate. You were one of those rare guys who
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: could reach across the aisle and and work collaboratively with
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: somebody in your own party, somebody in the Democratic Party,
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: not so much for what was good for your respective parties,
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: but what was good for your constituents. And wasn't that
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: a novel approach? Today, sadly, I can't think of many
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: legislators on either side of the aisle, at the federal level,
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: at the state level, even at the local level, who
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: are able to do that. We have become so polarized
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: politically and philosophically that nothing gets done, and people are
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: at each other's throats. If you look at some of
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: the congressional hearings, Kash Patel, the FBI director, was appearing
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: at a congressional hearing earlier this week, and it was
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: practically a bar fight. They were calling each other names
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: and being disrespectful and interrupting each other and speaking over
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: each other. And, you know, you take a look at
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: it and you say, this is our government. It's no
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: wonder that people have such low views of our elected leaders.
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: And I think as a result of that, it is
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: why there are so relatively few people who want to
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: take that step and jump into the arena. And I
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: will give full props to people, Democrats and Republicans alike,
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: but particularly Republicans, who in a heavily Democratic state are
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: unafraid to jump into the arena and fight the good
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: fight and put their money where their mouths are. All right?
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: They will go beyond just speaking about the issues. They
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: want to get involved, enter the arena, and do something
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: about it rather than just talking about it. Instead of
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: just talking the talk, they want to walk the walk.
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: And I give them a lot of credit for that
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: because it is, as you well know better than most,
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: it's not easy. to go out and run a political campaign,
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: whether you're running it for a city or city council
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: or the board of selectmen, but the higher you go,
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: the more difficult it is.
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: You know, and it's the fringe element of both parties.
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: And I call it fringe not to be critical, but
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: just The 10 or 15 percent that are very, very
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: hard left and the 10 or 15 percent that are very,
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: very hard right. You know, they drive the conversation for,
• 39:58
  Speaker 2: you know, 10 months out of the year because, you know,
• 40:02
  Speaker 2: Labor Day has typically been the break point where people
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: start saying, all right, summer's over. We got the kids
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: back in school. No, there's an election coming in November.
• 40:15
  Speaker 2: Let's take a look at the candidates. What's going on there?
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: And You know, meanwhile, there's been primaries and there's been
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: conversation since, you know, January, February, March about what's going on. And,
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: you know, the hard left and the hard right are
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: just dominating the conversation. I think one of the things
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: I think we ought to do is kind of move
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: those primaries back. You know, right now they're in August. And,
• 40:40
  Speaker 2: you know, I don't think, you know, certainly for us
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: as Republicans, we suffered through most primaries. I had a.
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: primary when I first ran and you know you get
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: to the point where I won the primary on August
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: 14th I had 10 weeks to raise money in a
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: congressional race against Joe Courtney who had a couple of
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: million dollars and you know nobody was giving me money
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: really until they figured out who was winning the primary
• 41:12
  Speaker 2: and you know I ran out of money and the
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: interesting thing about that I was first selectman at the
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: time and we had a problem with the boardwalk that
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: came apart at Amtrak, and I'm dealing with Jenny Contois,
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: who was Joe Courtney's representative here in Norwich running his office,
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: and Joe, and we'd work together to try to fight Amtrak,
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: and then he and I would go debate at night
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: about what's going on in the world. But, you know,
• 41:40
  Speaker 2: that was one of the best articles I think that
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: was ever written about a campaign I was in was
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: the cordiality that we We displayed, and while we disagreed,
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: we weren't disagreeable.
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: Well, and Joe has always been like that. I've known
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: Joe Courtney since the late 1980s when he was serving
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: in the state legislature representing Greater Vernon. And Connecticut Magazine
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: used to do a biennial poll ranking all the legislators
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: based on votes from their colleagues in the legislature. And
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: Joe Courtney was always within the top 10 out of
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: 187 state legislators because he was respected, he was productive,
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: but most important for an ability to reach across the aisle.
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: And you may not have agreed with Joe. I think
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: you could probably describe him as middle left. But to
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: your point, Being able to disagree without being disagreeable, I think,
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: is one of the hallmarks of Joe's life in public service,
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: both at the state level and now more recently in
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: the federal level, where he's been very successful down in Washington,
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: a ranking member and chair of the Sea Power Subcommittee. And,
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: you know, the rewards of that and the return on
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: that speaks for itself in the form of the great
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: production that is coming out of electric boat shipyard these days.
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he kind of put the focus on submarines in
• 43:26
  Speaker 2: the match. It would be a good race that he's
• 43:28
  Speaker 2: in this year because George Austin is a businessman for
• 43:31
  Speaker 2: the Republicans, and he's working hard to get his name out. And,
• 43:35
  Speaker 2: you know, Joe has some middle-left or hard-left votes that,
• 43:38
  Speaker 2: you know, people could certainly disagree on, and that was
• 43:41
  Speaker 2: my whole point in the beginning. Let's look at candidates,
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: both sides. You know, a lot of people... A lot
• 43:47
  Speaker 2: of people these days, you know, we don't have the
• 43:49
  Speaker 2: party lever. When, you know, you and I started doing it,
• 43:51
  Speaker 2: you go in and you just push one button and
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: the whole lever across votes for people. People are up
• 43:57
  Speaker 2: and down on these votes. So there's some great candidates
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: out there. I hope folks consider the September 23rd at
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: the Salem Herb Farm and the October 5th at Flanders
• 44:09
  Speaker 2: Fish Market to meet southeastern Connecticut Republicans and consider it because...
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: That's what we're talking about. But we have to punt
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: on this conversation because we've got one of the great
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: football coaches in high school history coming up next at
• 44:24
  Speaker 2: 7 o'clock. So we'll be right back. 94 News Now
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: and Stimulating Talk.
• 44:55
  Speaker 31: We drove down from New York City.
• 45:13
  Speaker 7: On 94.9 News Now.
• 45:15
  Speaker 9: In East Line, the off-ramp is closed.
• 45:18
  Speaker 10: Exit 74 from Route 161 to.
• 45:22
  Speaker 9: I-95 to Northbound. The Gold Star Bridge still has road construction.
• 45:28
  Speaker 10: Also stopping go-traffic on I-95 Southbound at Route 85. Route
• 45:35
  Speaker 10: 12 is moving slow northbound in Groton. No delays on
• 45:39
  Speaker 10: Route 32 or I-395.
• 45:42
  Speaker 9: I'm Eddie Schaefer, Time Saver Traffic.
• 45:45
  Speaker 5: September is here.
• 45:46
  Speaker 11: And Connecticut's number one fastest growing Mazda dealer is shifting
• 45:49
  Speaker 11: into high gear.
• 45:50
  Speaker 5: At Whaling City Mazda, we want inventory.
• 45:53
  Speaker 6: And we want your vehicle.
• 45:54
  Speaker 5: Cars, trucks, SUVs, all makes and models. Have a lease?
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  Speaker 1: We want it.
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  Speaker 7: Still financing?
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• 46:02
  Speaker 5: And here's the best part.
• 46:04
  Speaker 11: You don't have to buy from us for us to
• 46:05
  Speaker 11: buy from you. But if you are ready for something new,
• 46:08
  Speaker 11: September's the perfect time. Because right now, get the Wailing
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  Speaker 11: City Special on all new Mazdas, including a lifetime powertrain warranty.
• 46:15
  Speaker 5: Mazda CX-5, Mazda CX-50, Mazda CX-30, and more. Pick your Mazda,
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  Speaker 5: bring your trade, and let's make a deal. Looking for pre-owned?
• 46:24
  Speaker 11: Our inventory is already aggressively priced, so you can shop
• 46:27
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• 46:29
  Speaker 5: Sell it, trade it, upgrade it. Whatever you're driving, bring
• 46:32
  Speaker 5: it to us. This September at.
• 46:33
  Speaker 11: Wailing City Mazda, 567 Comer Street, New London. Connecticut's number
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  Speaker 11: one fastest growing Mazda dealer.
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  Speaker 32: 860-443-CITY.
• 46:40
  Speaker 5: Have we met yet?
• 46:40
  Speaker 29: We have!
• 46:44
  Speaker 5: See dealer for details.
• 46:45
  Speaker 4: PC Restoration is celebrating 10 years in business. PC Restorations
• 46:50
  Speaker 4: is the leader in insurance restoration.
• 46:52
  Speaker 7: Fire, water and mold damage, and virus sanitizing.
• 46:56
  Speaker 4: If you own a boat, they have custom trucks and
• 46:58
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• 47:00
  Speaker 4: wash and extract grease, dirt, and grime from your engine
• 47:03
  Speaker 4: and bilge areas. PC Restoration specializes in general cleaning.
• 47:09
  Speaker 7: Hey, everyone.
• 47:17
  Speaker 33: Samantha here with R & W Heating Energy Solutions. Thinking
• 47:21
  Speaker 33: about new equipment? Whether you're looking to heat or cool
• 47:24
  Speaker 33: your home, we've got you covered. With high-efficiency boilers, furnaces,
• 47:28
  Speaker 33: and oil tanks, heat pumps, Fujitsu ductless split heat pumps,
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  Speaker 1: Conditioning, we've got you covered.
• 47:33
  Speaker 33: R & W has the technology to keep you and
• 47:36
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• 47:39
  Speaker 33: W Heating Energy Solutions a call to schedule your free
• 47:42
  Speaker 33: estimate at 860-848-9993. This is Austin and that's.
• 47:47
  Speaker 2: The only CPAs.
• 47:49
  Speaker 4: We're proud to serve our neighbors, families, and businesses right
• 47:52
  Speaker 4: here in the community. Tax season isn't just about filing forms.
• 47:56
  Speaker 4: It's about strategy, planning, and keeping more of what you earn.
• 48:00
  Speaker 4: We've helped individuals and businesses save thousands with the.
• 48:04
  Speaker 7: Right game plan.
• 48:05
  Speaker 4: And just like our local athletes and high school sports teams,
• 48:08
  Speaker 4: success takes preparation, teamwork, and dedication. That's why we're proud
• 48:12
  Speaker 4: supporters of our community. Austin Massione CPAs, where planning meets performance.
• 48:18
  Speaker 14: Leader Furniture and Leader Bedding in Norwich.
• 48:20
  Speaker 8: Warehouse clearance event is going on now.
• 48:23
  Speaker 14: Their largest sale ever is rocking the block with savings, selection,
• 48:27
  Speaker 14: and crazy pricing. All living room furniture, including stationary, sectionals, motions, sleepers,
• 48:32
  Speaker 14: accent chairs, and occasional tables, 15% off.
• 48:36
  Speaker 5: By England, a Lazy Boy company, and Ashley.
• 48:38
  Speaker 14: Save 20% off all recliners, 33% off all mattresses, including
• 48:43
  Speaker 14: Connecticut-made Gold Bond flippable two-sided mattresses.
• 48:46
  Speaker 15: For twice the life.
• 48:47
  Speaker 14: See 20% off all bedroom and dining room furniture. Leader
• 48:50
  Speaker 14: Furniture in Norwich has the largest selection and lowest prices
• 48:53
  Speaker 14: on pride power lift chairs starting at just $ 699. Don't
• 48:57
  Speaker 14: miss Leader Furniture's warehouse clearance event. Free delivery to Eastern
• 49:00
  Speaker 14: Connecticut on sales over $ 199.
• 49:03
  Speaker 7: Leader Furniture. Central Avenue in the Greenville section of Norwich.
• 49:06
  Speaker 7: Both Sundays and Wednesdays.
• 49:07
  Speaker 8: Some limitations apply.
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  Speaker 5: In-stock furniture only.
• 49:10
  Speaker 14: Cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions.
• 49:12
  Speaker 7: See Leader Furniture for details.
• 49:15
  Speaker 8: Broadcasting live from the Bruce Dillon Buick GMC Studios.
• 49:25
  Speaker 7: WJJF. Montauk.
• 49:27
  Speaker 27: Ledger. Mystic.
• 49:28
  Speaker 7: Norwich. 94.9 News Now.
• 49:34
  Speaker 20: The Iran conflict keeps driving up prices at the pump.
• 49:38
  Speaker 20: I'm Dave Anthony. Fox News gas up another seven cents
• 49:41
  Speaker 20: today to $ 4. 43 a gallon. Diesel surged even more. AAA's
• 49:45
  Speaker 20: new record high price for that, $ 6.
• 49:47
  Speaker 34: 39.
• 49:47
  Speaker 20: But President Trump insists the conflict will end soon, reiterating
• 49:51
  Speaker 20: he won't allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
• 49:53
  Speaker 2: It's going to be a really good... And it's going
• 49:57
  Speaker 2: to happen.
• 49:57
  Speaker 10: I say it's going to be a little bit after
• 49:59
  Speaker 10: the election, but maybe not.
• 50:01
  Speaker 2: Maybe it's before the election.
• 50:02
  Speaker 20: That was the president at a rally last night in
• 50:04
  Speaker 20: North Carolina.
• 50:05
  Speaker 13: This election, I'm asking you to pretend I'm on the
• 50:08
  Speaker 13: ballot just one more time.
• 50:09
  Speaker 7: I said that the other night.
• 50:11
  Speaker 20: Referencing his address at the Republican midterm convention as he
• 50:14
  Speaker 20: campaigned for GOP Senate candidate Michael Watley, who's trailing in
• 50:17
  Speaker 20: the polls in a race against Democrat Roy Cooper. A
• 50:20
  Speaker 20: new Fox News poll shows only... 39% approve of the
• 50:24
  Speaker 20: president's job performance, with inflation the biggest issue to most voters.
• 50:27
  Speaker 20: Three in four rate the economy only fair or poor,
• 50:30
  Speaker 20: as the Federal Reserve, for the first time in nearly
• 50:32
  Speaker 20: three years, gives us an interest rate hike aimed at
• 50:35
  Speaker 20: tamping down inflation. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh says.
• 50:38
  Speaker 3: This summer's inflation readings do not tell me that underlying
• 50:42
  Speaker 3: trends have meaningfully improved.
• 50:44
  Speaker 20: But the president's critical. He wants rates cut, telling reporters
• 50:47
  Speaker 20: before boarding Air Force One.
• 50:48
  Speaker 9: The board is very hostile.
• 50:50
  Speaker 13: If they're very political, they're doing the wrong thing.
• 50:53
  Speaker 20: Back to that new Fox News poll. About two in
• 50:55
  Speaker 20: three believe that Trump tariffs are hurting the economy. And
• 50:57
  Speaker 20: amid a trade war with Canada and even higher tariffs,
• 50:59
  Speaker 20: Canada's prime minister has gone to Europe for help.
• 51:02
  Speaker 35: Mark Carney has told the European Parliament in Strasbourg that
• 51:05
  Speaker 35: Europe and Canada are strong apart, but even stronger together.
• 51:09
  Speaker 35: He says he welcomes the invitation to his country to
• 51:11
  Speaker 35: become an associate member of the EU with cooperation on
• 51:15
  Speaker 35: the economy, AI, minerals, strategy and military production. President Trump
• 51:20
  Speaker 35: called the idea laughable, suggesting it could be a hostile act.
• 51:23
  Speaker 20: That's Fox's Jonathan Savage. The president also threatens to stop
• 51:26
  Speaker 20: trading with Europe on many things. America's listening to Fox News.
• 51:32
  Speaker 32: This is a special alert to all Americans who own
• 51:34
  Speaker 32: a vehicle with less than 200,000 miles with an auto
• 51:37
  Speaker 32: warranty about to expire or with no warranty coverage at all.
• 51:40
  Speaker 32: Due to a decline in the economy, CarShield is announcing
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  Speaker 32: a low cost month to month vehicle protection plan that
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  Speaker 32: is now available to the public to save any driver
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  Speaker 32: out of pocket expenses on future auto repairs. Call now
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  Speaker 32: not have to pay for covered repairs again. This protection
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  Speaker 32: plan is at an all-time low. Additionally, drivers who activate
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  Speaker 32: free towing, and car rental options at no additional cost.
• 52:18
  Speaker 32: Call us for your free quick quote today. 800-884-1012.
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: That's 800-884-1012.
• 52:20
  Speaker 7: What do you have to lose?
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: Call 800-884-1012.
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: Again, 800-884-1012.
• 52:36
  Speaker 28: Good morning, I'm Sean Murphy, partly sunny today with a
• 52:39
  Speaker 28: high close to 80. Yesterday, a New London judge heard
• 52:42
  Speaker 28: initial arguments regarding Beth Carpenter, who is asking the court
• 52:46
  Speaker 28: to reduce her life sentence for arranging her brother-in-law's 1994 killing.
• 52:52
  Speaker 15: Her lawyers say.
• 52:53
  Speaker 28: Her convictions on two charges involving the same death amount
• 52:58
  Speaker 28: to double jeopardy. The court will first rule on her
• 53:00
  Speaker 28: request to move the case to another judge familiar with
• 53:03
  Speaker 28: the case. Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam will receive a $ 20. 2
• 53:09
  Speaker 28: million federal grant to upgrade imaging and digital systems and
• 53:13
  Speaker 28: expand cancer care, convenient.
• 53:15
  Speaker 15: Care, and telehealth services.
• 53:17
  Speaker 28: The funding is part of a broader effort to improve
• 53:20
  Speaker 28: access to rural health care in Connecticut. East Lime is
• 53:22
  Speaker 28: considering rules that would limit new short-term rentals to certain
• 53:27
  Speaker 28: commercial districts, require stays of at least 14 days, and
• 53:30
  Speaker 28: impose a $ 500 annual permit fee. A public hearing is
• 53:34
  Speaker 28: scheduled for tonight at Town Hall. The city of Groton
• 53:38
  Speaker 28: activated speed cameras Wednesday on Mitchell Street, Thames Street, and
• 53:42
  Speaker 28: Clarence B.
• 53:43
  Speaker 15: Sharp Highway.
• 53:44
  Speaker 28: Police said drivers caught speeding will receive warnings during the
• 53:48
  Speaker 28: first 30 days. A westerly man escaped with minor injuries
• 53:51
  Speaker 28: after a mother moose charged him during a family hike
• 53:55
  Speaker 28: near Boulder, Colorado. Dean Felicetti said the moose kicked him
• 54:00
  Speaker 28: into rocks as he and his son tried.
• 54:02
  Speaker 15: To move away from her calf. I'm Sean Murphy. When
• 54:06
  Speaker 15: news breaks, we break in.
• 54:15
  Speaker 2: And we're back here for the 7 o'clock hour. Bill Stanley,
• 54:20
  Speaker 2: Paul Formica, here sitting in for the Voice of Freedom
• 54:24
  Speaker 2: on the morning show here. It's been great. Yesterday and
• 54:28
  Speaker 2: today we've been here. We've had a lot to talk about.
• 54:32
  Speaker 2: today we have an interesting show continuing. We're going to
• 54:36
  Speaker 2: talk a lot about New London in the next couple
• 54:38
  Speaker 2: of hours. We have a guy who has made a
• 54:44
  Speaker 2: big splash in the city of New London, not only
• 54:48
  Speaker 2: in the last few years, but certainly in the last week.
• 54:51
  Speaker 2: I wasn't sure if he was coming in here, Bill,
• 54:53
  Speaker 2: to the studio on a motorcycle. I'm not sure whether
• 54:58
  Speaker 2: he's going to do that or what, but I'm reading
• 55:01
  Speaker 2: Mike DeMauro's stuff, and, you know, what a great article.
• 55:05
  Speaker 2: And it talks about not only what a great football
• 55:09
  Speaker 2: coach is, but what a great community leader this gentleman is.
• 55:13
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the show, Jack Cochran. Jack, good morning.
• 55:17
  Speaker 6: Hey, good morning, guys. Appreciate you having me on.
• 55:19
  Speaker 2: Well, we appreciate all you're doing, and you had a
• 55:23
  Speaker 2: good start for the season. Congratulations.
• 55:26
  Speaker 6: Yeah, thank you. It was a great start, just what
• 55:29
  Speaker 6: we needed.
• 55:29
  Speaker 29: Yeah.
• 55:31
  Speaker 6: Got up quick, got some excitement back, and looking to
• 55:35
  Speaker 6: roll in the week, too.
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: So, Jack, you won your first game of the season.
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: You took over a team that went 3-7 last year,
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: and you beat a good Joel Barlow team 56-17. And
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: after the game, you were quoted as saying you have
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: some things to clean up. After winning 56-17, how can
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: you improve?
• 56:08
  Speaker 6: You know, just a lot of mistakes, youthful mistakes. It's
• 56:13
  Speaker 6: a very unique team. Of the 22 positions, we played
• 56:18
  Speaker 6: 14 freshmen and sophomores, and a lot of them played
• 56:22
  Speaker 6: their first varsity game. So just common mistakes, you know, penalties, misassignments, mistackles,
• 56:30
  Speaker 6: so forth. It could have easily been a shutout. It
• 56:33
  Speaker 6: could have easily scored four more. So those things, you know,
• 56:37
  Speaker 6: when we play better programs down the road, we have
• 56:39
  Speaker 6: to be on point.
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: Well, that brings up my next question. What are the
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: toughest opponents on your regular season schedule this year?
• 56:53
  Speaker 6: You know, I tell them every day it's the next opponent.
• 56:56
  Speaker 6: We've got a very good E.O. Smith team. They've got
• 57:00
  Speaker 6: a good mixture of strength up front and great athletes
• 57:04
  Speaker 6: at the skill positions. It's going to be a good test.
• 57:07
  Speaker 6: I've got an hour drive up to Storrs tomorrow night.
• 57:10
  Speaker 6: I've just got to be ready to play from the beginning.
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: Jack, you've got quite a resume. You've won state championships
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: at three different high schools. You've got a 163-31-2 record,
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: which amounts to about an 83, if I did my
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: math right, about an 83% winning percentage. And you've coached
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: at least a couple of guys who have gone on
• 57:40
  Speaker 1: to play professional football in the NFL, including Dwight Freeney,
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: who's in the Hall of Fame now. Can you tell
• 57:48
  Speaker 1: us a little bit about your formula for success?
• 57:53
  Speaker 29: I mean.
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: There are a lot of football coaches out there, but
• 57:56
  Speaker 1: few who can point to eight state championships and that
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: kind of winning. It goes beyond X's and O's, I've
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: got to believe. There's got to be something, maybe even intangible,
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: that goes into the success. Tell us about that.
• 58:13
  Speaker 6: Honestly, it's just a lot of hard work, putting time
• 58:18
  Speaker 6: in in the offseason. I was very fortunate. At a
• 58:23
  Speaker 6: young age, I got the opportunity to coach in college
• 58:25
  Speaker 6: with a great coach named Mark Whipple at University of
• 58:28
  Speaker 6: New Haven, and there I learned how to run a
• 58:33
  Speaker 6: college football program, but more importantly, he modeled it after
• 58:37
  Speaker 6: an NFL program where he coached. So I tried very
• 58:42
  Speaker 6: hard to take that to the high school level. You know,
• 58:45
  Speaker 6: as you remember when your son played that year, We
• 58:48
  Speaker 6: really didn't have too many days off. It's lifting weights
• 58:52
  Speaker 6: in the winter, working on speed in the winter, passing leagues,
• 58:57
  Speaker 6: working right through the spring with weight training and conditioning,
• 59:02
  Speaker 6: more passing league, more skill development, and then right through
• 59:05
  Speaker 6: an entire summer. Our kids came in five, sometimes six days.
• 59:10
  Speaker 6: a week this summer and put countless hours in to
• 59:15
  Speaker 6: get ready for this season because we had to do
• 59:17
  Speaker 6: a lot of catch-up. We didn't start until the end
• 59:19
  Speaker 6: of June. So just getting those guys to believe in
• 59:23
  Speaker 6: that and work all year round and then the way
• 59:26
  Speaker 6: it is in the college landscape, Players got to be
• 59:29
  Speaker 6: ready when they step on campus as a freshman. Years
• 59:34
  Speaker 6: ago when I was playing, you didn't play as a freshman.
• 59:38
  Speaker 6: Everybody got a year to get acclimated to college football.
• 59:41
  Speaker 6: Now it's a lot different.
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: One of the things that impressed me most because Billy,
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: my son, had been bugging me. He wanted to transfer
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: to New London High. He wanted to play football for
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: Jack Cochran. And Obviously, the top priority for kids when
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: they go to school is to get an education. So
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: what impressed me most was not so much the football acumen.
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: It was your take on being a student athlete. And
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: what you said to Billy and said to me was
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: we have a policy that if you're going to play
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: football here at New London High School. If you don't
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: go to class, if you don't do your work, you
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 1: don't play. I've got to imagine that that is still
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: in play now as you begin your second tenure at
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: New London High.
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 6: Yeah, most definitely. We start our progress report system today.
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 6: Players run a weekly progress report all year round. They
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 6: have to maintain a certain level of academics to be
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 6: eligible each week and That's got to be always the standard.
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 6: Too many players, as you know, slip through the cracks
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 6: every year. They get to their senior year and they're
• 1:01:05
  Speaker 6: just not eligible. I had a wake-up call my senior year.
• 1:01:10
  Speaker 6: I had a chance to go to Temple, UConn, and
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 6: even Boston College, and I just wasn't academically ready or
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 6: at that point to qualify. So since I took that
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 6: into coaching, it just made a real difference. effort that
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 6: I wouldn't let that happen to any of my players
• 1:01:33
  Speaker 6: or try hard not to.
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 2: Jack, Paul Formica here. Bill talking about the X's and
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 2: O's and you talked about your conditioning schedule and the
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 2: mindset is a lot longer than just the season. But
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 2: I think the biggest thing, I think you probably got
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 2: to bring and great coaches bring is the buy-in of
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 2: the culture. How do you motivate kids that way? Sure,
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 2: we want them education. Sure, we want them to know
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 2: how to run and throw and catch. Getting them to
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 2: believe in the culture and getting them to believe in
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 2: what's happening, I think, has probably got to be the
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 2: most difficult thing.
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 36: 100%.
• 1:02:22
  Speaker 6: First off, nobody's going to work for any coach until
• 1:02:26
  Speaker 6: they have a bond with them, they have a relationship,
• 1:02:29
  Speaker 6: a great relationship. So that's always been my key, and
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 6: I put a lot of effort into building a great
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 6: relationship with every kid. You have to have some contact
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 6: with them every day, whether it's seeing them in person,
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 6: talking on the phone, a text, sharing videos. that may
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 6: help them at their specific position, just building that relationship
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 6: and then hiring the right coaches around you to do
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 6: the same thing. I'm very fortunate. I have a great
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 6: group of assistants. Four of them work in the school
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 6: system with the kids, and they get to see them
• 1:03:08
  Speaker 6: every day. And the more positive male role models they have,
• 1:03:14
  Speaker 6: this makes a huge difference in getting them to buy
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 6: into what you're showing them and what you're teaching them.
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 2: It's needed. That's what's needed today, those male role models.
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 2: You're to be commended for focusing on that. How many
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 2: kids are on the program? How many on the team?
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 6: Yeah, upperclassmen, we're at 34. With one freshman on the
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 6: varsity right now. And it's great. We've only lost a few.
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 6: I think we ended the summer at 39. So we
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 6: only lost a few with attrition and The ones that
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 6: are there, they're coming every day. They're doing everything we
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 6: ask them to do. They're getting a little better each day.
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 2: You've got 30, 35, 40 kids that you're dealing with
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 2: every day. Not only teaching them, but mentoring them. That's
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 2: a full-time job.
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 6: It's funny. I retired from teaching in June. Collected a
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 6: teacher retirement. I'm free in the morning, but I can
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 6: barely get everything done before I get to the school
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 6: at 1 o'clock. So it is a lot of work,
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 6: but I like it. I enjoy it. It's a passion.
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 1: Jack, speaking of passion, this is Bill again. You took
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: a respite from coaching for a few years and went
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 1: into the restaurant business. And I remember you were running
• 1:04:44
  Speaker 1: the recovery room over in New London. And one of
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 1: the things that I remember early on was running into
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: you at the front entrance of the hospital carrying eight
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 1: or ten pizzas into the front door. And I wondered
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 1: if you didn't have somebody on staff who would do that.
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: And you're... your reply was that you needed to know
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 1: and understand and master every part of the operation, including
• 1:05:20
  Speaker 1: delivering the food yourself. And there's nothing that you would
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 1: ask your staff to do that you wouldn't do yourself.
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 1: Is that an attitude that carries over into your football coaching?
• 1:05:34
  Speaker 6: Definitely, definitely. You know, you have to get in the trenches.
• 1:05:38
  Speaker 1: You have to.
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 6: Be there every day. You got to be in the
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 6: weight room all summer. And just, like I said, get
• 1:05:46
  Speaker 6: the kids to see you and hear you and understand
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 6: you and show them, you know, what there's so many
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 6: distractions today that these kids have on social media. I've never...
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 6: I've understood the extent of it, you know, until the
• 1:06:03
  Speaker 6: last few months. I mean, what is really out there
• 1:06:05
  Speaker 6: is instantaneous. I mean, we won a game and everything's
• 1:06:09
  Speaker 6: live streaming within seconds. I had to take a step
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 6: back and realize, wow, this is today's America. And my
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 6: big goal is trying to get them to turn the
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 6: phone off, put it in their locker, shut it off,
• 1:06:25
  Speaker 6: and live for three hours and just enjoy it. Enjoy
• 1:06:30
  Speaker 6: life outside of it. Find a way just to relax,
• 1:06:33
  Speaker 6: take a deep breath. I mean, it's so demanding. I
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 6: don't know how these kids keep up with it.
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 1: And it puts more pressure on kids. I mean, it
• 1:06:45
  Speaker 1: takes the social component of being in high school and
• 1:06:50
  Speaker 1: being part of a class and it takes it to
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 1: a new and not always good level because it becomes
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: an obsession with a lot of the kids. I mean,
• 1:07:05
  Speaker 1: you will see kids. I was on Pequot Avenue. I
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 1: was driving down Pequot Avenue the other day. I saw
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 1: a kid on a bicycle, and he's texting while he's
• 1:07:16
  Speaker 1: riding his bicycle. But this is the level of obsession that.
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 1: Affects the kids. Now, we can talk about politics a
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 1: little bit or legislation. The Connecticut state legislature had a
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 1: bill before it this past session that would have barred
• 1:07:39
  Speaker 1: cell phone use in schools during the school day. And
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 1: as is often the case, it got bogged down and
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 1: different agendas and so forth, and it didn't get passed.
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: But is that something that you would support, that kids
• 1:07:55
  Speaker 1: not have access to their cell phones during the school day?
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 6: You know, I got to see that when I went
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 6: back to teaching, how overwhelming the cell phones are in
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 6: the school. And I think with COVID and coming back
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 6: from COVID, I think it's gotten the cats out of
• 1:08:11
  Speaker 6: the bag, and it's so far out there. If the
• 1:08:15
  Speaker 6: only way to reel it in now, I don't think
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 6: it's legislation, it has to be the parents. Because every
• 1:08:21
  Speaker 6: time if you read or follow it, any time a town,
• 1:08:26
  Speaker 6: city puts a ban on cell phone, it's the parents
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 6: who fight it, you know, 100%. And the parents are
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 6: controlling the school systems right now and what goes on.
• 1:08:38
  Speaker 6: And I think we have to find a way to
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 6: get the parents to to buy into it and get
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 6: involved in it. I think it's the only way really
• 1:08:45
  Speaker 6: to stop it.
• 1:08:47
  Speaker 1: Well, parents have evolved or I think regressed in some
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 1: respects because I think when we were growing up, for
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 1: instance if you were in school and were involved in
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 1: some kind of misbehavior during the school day and your
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: parents were called you would be punished at school but
• 1:09:16
  Speaker 1: the worst punishment awaited at home and that would usually
• 1:09:20
  Speaker 1: take the form of being grounded for a couple of weeks. Today,
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 1: it seems, when kids act out in school and their
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 1: parents are notified, the first thing the parents want to
• 1:09:32
  Speaker 1: do is fight it, take it to an extreme in
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 1: some cases, and hire a lawyer. I don't think, I
• 1:09:41
  Speaker 1: don't know, I probably sound like an angry old man
• 1:09:43
  Speaker 1: when I talk about this, but It seems that the
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 1: lack of parental accountability and taking responsibility for a kid's
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 1: misbehavior is a problem and a real challenge for educators
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 1: like you.
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 6: Yeah, you see that. I mean, I think parents, most
• 1:10:05
  Speaker 6: of them mean very well, and they want the best
• 1:10:08
  Speaker 6: for their kids. And, you know, they're advocating for their
• 1:10:12
  Speaker 6: kids and fighting for their kids, and I think... There's
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 6: a fine line between advocating and tough love. I think
• 1:10:21
  Speaker 6: we all got to figure out how to find that
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 6: fine line.
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 1: Why do parents oppose restrictions on cell phone use during
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 1: the school day? Is it because they feel they've got
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 1: to be able to communicate with their kids?
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 6: I think it's really fear. It's fear of all of
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 6: the mass shootings we've had in school systems and I
• 1:10:45
  Speaker 6: know if I had a kid now, I'd be terrified to,
• 1:10:48
  Speaker 6: every day I drop them off at school. I mean,
• 1:10:50
  Speaker 6: they're worrying because it's not one, it's not two, it's
• 1:10:53
  Speaker 6: not three. It's been so many and it's just fear.
• 1:10:58
  Speaker 6: And they want to be able to know their kid's okay.
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 6: You know, something, how many lockdowns do you hear during
• 1:11:04
  Speaker 6: the school year just in Southeast Connecticut? And once that
• 1:11:07
  Speaker 6: school locks down, a parent gets a pre-baked text message
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 6: and they're then they don't know anything. So, I mean,
• 1:11:14
  Speaker 6: just think how you would feel as a parent, you know,
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 6: just not knowing, you know, if your kid's safe. I
• 1:11:21
  Speaker 6: think that's the biggest issue is how they can communicate
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 6: with their kid in a time of crisis.
• 1:11:26
  Speaker 1: Of course, the other side of that is if the
• 1:11:31
  Speaker 1: parents only knew that, you know, what the kids were
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 1: using the cell phones for during the school day, they
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 1: might not be as adamant that keeping the kids' cell
• 1:11:42
  Speaker 1: phones on because I imagine, I haven't been in a
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 1: classroom in a long time, but I would imagine that
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: it's very difficult to keep the kids' attention when he's
• 1:11:54
  Speaker 1: got his or her nose buried in the cell phone
• 1:11:58
  Speaker 1: during the school day.
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 6: You know, I've seen it both ways, teaching. The kids
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 6: that use the phone for academic reasons, it's a great
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 6: addition in the classroom. And a lot of good teachers
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 6: have the kids use their cell phones during lessons. I mean,
• 1:12:15
  Speaker 6: there are no more hard textbooks, really, in the schools.
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 6: And then there's those that use it the wrong way,
• 1:12:22
  Speaker 6: as you just said. And it's the teacher that really
• 1:12:25
  Speaker 6: has control of that and can motivate their kids just
• 1:12:29
  Speaker 6: to do it the right way.
• 1:12:32
  Speaker 1: Now, you mentioned that you had a number of freshmen
• 1:12:36
  Speaker 1: and sophomores who participated in their first varsity football game
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: last week. That's got to bode well for the future
• 1:12:46
  Speaker 1: of the program, I would think.
• 1:12:50
  Speaker 6: Most definitely. We're very young, and we did not have
• 1:12:55
  Speaker 6: a full year in the weight room, but we did
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 6: some good catch-up with that. I'm really looking forward to
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 6: the next couple of years with these guys because once
• 1:13:04
  Speaker 6: they get a full year in the system and training,
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 6: You know, look out. I mean, if anyone's going to
• 1:13:08
  Speaker 6: get us, they better get us now. Because it's going
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 6: to be tough the next couple years.
• 1:13:16
  Speaker 1: You sound a little like Dan Hurley, the UConn basketball coach,
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 1: when he talked about the progression of the UConn men's
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 1: basketball program. You better get us now because once we've
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: had a chance to gel... and come together as a program,
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: we're going to be formidable. And is that your goal ultimately?
• 1:13:43
  Speaker 1: What are your goals for this season, Jack?
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 6: You know, I told them when I met them when
• 1:13:49
  Speaker 6: I first got the job, we can win every game
• 1:13:52
  Speaker 6: on our schedule, and we can also lose every game
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 6: on our schedule. It's how we approach each day and
• 1:13:59
  Speaker 6: what we do each day. I mean, football is like life.
• 1:14:03
  Speaker 6: Every day you get better as a team or you
• 1:14:05
  Speaker 6: get worse. I mean, nobody stays the same. And if
• 1:14:09
  Speaker 6: we can get better on more days than we get worse,
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 6: you know, we have a shot to do very well
• 1:14:14
  Speaker 6: this year. You know, if we don't, if we make
• 1:14:17
  Speaker 6: the same youthful mistakes, we're not going to reach, you know,
• 1:14:21
  Speaker 6: where we want to be at the end.
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 1: What are the biggest challenges you face with today's youth
• 1:14:30
  Speaker 1: in addition to you know, the cell phone and the Internet?
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 1: And we need a quick answer here because we're coming
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 1: to the end.
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 6: Of our time. Yeah, the biggest thing would be focus
• 1:14:42
  Speaker 6: because they've never had to be, you know, laser focused
• 1:14:46
  Speaker 6: before watching film, running a game plan, you know, dissecting
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 6: the offensive team when they come out of the huddle
• 1:14:55
  Speaker 6: in two seconds and making the right call and the
• 1:14:57
  Speaker 6: right alignment. That part's been very, very tough, but the
• 1:15:03
  Speaker 6: way I enjoy it is they're getting better at it.
• 1:15:05
  Speaker 6: I've had to really change the way I coach. We
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 6: used to go long, long practices and they just cannot
• 1:15:13
  Speaker 6: hold the tension that long. We've really shortened up practices
• 1:15:17
  Speaker 6: and I kind of like it. I read a lot
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 6: about Indiana football and their time requirements in practice and
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 6: it's it's half the time that the other colleges are using,
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 6: and you see the success they had. So I guess
• 1:15:33
  Speaker 6: the old adage is sometimes, right, you know, more is
• 1:15:36
  Speaker 6: always not better.
• 1:15:37
  Speaker 1: Well, it's called adapting, and it worked out pretty well
• 1:15:40
  Speaker 1: for Indiana, and it's working out well so far for
• 1:15:44
  Speaker 1: New Orleans High School. Jack Cochran, thanks a lot for
• 1:15:47
  Speaker 1: coming on with us. Good luck tomorrow night at E.O.
• 1:15:50
  Speaker 1: Smith and for the rest of the season.
• 1:15:52
  Speaker 6: Yeah, Paul and Bill, great job. Love listening, and appreciate
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 6: you having me on again.
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 1: All right, Jack. Thank you.
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 2: Thanks, Chuck.
• 1:16:28
  Speaker 18: Trailers on 94.9 News Now.
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  Speaker 7: In East 1, the exit 74 on-ramp from.
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  Speaker 7: Fox News, I'm Gianna Gelosi.
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  Speaker 38: President Trump expected to bring together top tech leaders with
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 38: Chinese President Xi Jinping next week as the AI debate
• 1:20:11
  Speaker 38: heats up, with some pushing to keep moving forward while
• 1:20:15
  Speaker 38: others call for a pause over safety concerns. Fox's Madeline Rivera.
• 1:20:18
  Speaker 23: Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders held a briefing on AI with
• 1:20:22
  Speaker 23: industry experts, and one of those panelists says lawmakers have
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 23: perhaps a year to.
• 1:20:27
  Speaker 7: Rein in AI.
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  Speaker 10: It's something like a little Chernobyl, this Hugging Face accident,
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  Speaker 10: where a lot of AIs escaped the bounds that were
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  Speaker 10: put on them.
• 1:20:37
  Speaker 7: These were rogue agents.
• 1:20:39
  Speaker 38: Meantime, for the first time in three years, the Federal
• 1:20:42
  Speaker 38: Reserve is raising its benchmark interest rate by a quarter
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 38: of a percentage point, part of an effort to cool inflation.
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 38: Affordability remains a top priority for Americans ahead of the midterms. That,
• 1:20:52
  Speaker 38: according to a new Fox News poll. America is listening
• 1:20:55
  Speaker 38: to Fox News.
• 1:21:02
  Speaker 15: This news report is brought to you by Keith's Appliances.
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  Speaker 2: Ready for what's next?
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  Speaker 12: Riverhead Building Supply is here.
• 1:21:40
  Speaker 39: The past few years, That's So Debbie has asked you
• 1:21:43
  Speaker 39: to bring in your old worn-out flags, and they will
• 1:21:46
  Speaker 39: respectfully remove the stars for Stars for Our Troops, help
• 1:21:49
  Speaker 39: raise money for our veterans, and ask you to stop
• 1:21:52
  Speaker 39: in for a mask. That's So Debbie also sells fabric,
• 1:21:55
  Speaker 39: sewing materials, quilting supplies, threads, sewing machines, sewing machine repairs,
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  Speaker 39: and coming soon, there will be all-new.
• 1:22:01
  Speaker 7: Sewing class schedules.
• 1:22:02
  Speaker 39: That's So Debbie thanks everyone for continuing to help our veterans.
• 1:22:06
  Speaker 39: That's So Debbie, located on Route 12 in Broughton, Visit
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  Speaker 39: That's So Debbie dot net.
• 1:22:13
  Speaker 7: Fish on sports. More than a score.
• 1:22:16
  Speaker 3: And we're brought to you by Charter Oak Federal Credit Union,
• 1:22:19
  Speaker 3: where members bank better. So back on September 8th, Aaron
• 1:22:23
  Speaker 3: Judge finally made his return to the Yankee lineup after
• 1:22:27
  Speaker 3: missing more than three months with a rib injury. Well,
• 1:22:29
  Speaker 3: last night, you Yankee fans had a bit of a
• 1:22:31
  Speaker 3: deja vu because in the middle of one of judges
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 3: at bats, he kind of did a check swing and
• 1:22:36
  Speaker 3: grimaced a little bit.
• 1:22:37
  Speaker 2: Like he heard something again.
• 1:22:39
  Speaker 9: So the Yankees immediately took.
• 1:22:41
  Speaker 7: Him out of the lineup.
• 1:22:42
  Speaker 3: He was evaluated as tightness in his right leg. Since
• 1:22:45
  Speaker 3: returning from the injured list, judges gone four for 23
• 1:22:48
  Speaker 3: at the plate with 13 strikeouts. He did have a
• 1:22:50
  Speaker 3: home run in the Yankees win on Monday night. But
• 1:22:52
  Speaker 3: now concern is swirling in the Bronx regarding the three-time
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 3: American League MVP. He won't be in the lineup tonight,
• 1:22:59
  Speaker 3: but none of the Yankees will because they're off. But
• 1:23:01
  Speaker 3: they've got a big four-game series coming up this weekend.
• 1:23:04
  Speaker 15: Versus the Rays.
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 3: And they're going to need Aaron Judge in that lineup
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 3: if they want to catch the Rays and win this division.
• 1:23:10
  Speaker 15: With more than just a score, I'm Fish on Sports.
• 1:23:15
  Speaker 18: Good morning. I'm Sean Murphy. Partly sunny today with a
• 1:23:18
  Speaker 18: high close to 80.
• 1:23:20
  Speaker 28: Yesterday, a New London judge heard initial arguments regarding Beth Carpenter,
• 1:23:24
  Speaker 28: who is asking the court to reduce her life sentence
• 1:23:27
  Speaker 28: for arranging her brother-in-law's 1994 killing.
• 1:23:31
  Speaker 15: Her lawyers say.
• 1:23:32
  Speaker 28: Her convictions on two charges involving the same death sentence
• 1:23:37
  Speaker 28: amount to double jeopardy. The court will first rule on
• 1:23:39
  Speaker 28: her request to move the case to another judge familiar
• 1:23:43
  Speaker 28: with the case. Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam will receive
• 1:23:46
  Speaker 28: a $ 20. 2 million federal grant to upgrade imaging and digital
• 1:23:50
  Speaker 28: systems and expand cancer care, convenient care, and telehealth services.
• 1:23:55
  Speaker 28: The funding is part of a broader effort to improve
• 1:23:57
  Speaker 28: access to rural health care in Connecticut. Eastline is considering
• 1:24:01
  Speaker 28: rules that would limit new short-term rentals to certain commercial districts,
• 1:24:06
  Speaker 28: Require stays of at least 14 days and impose a
• 1:24:09
  Speaker 28: $ 500 annual permit fee. A public hearing is scheduled for
• 1:24:13
  Speaker 28: tonight at Town Hall. The City of Groton activated speed
• 1:24:17
  Speaker 28: cameras Wednesday on Mitchell Street, Thames Street, and Clarence B.
• 1:24:21
  Speaker 15: Sharp Highway.
• 1:24:22
  Speaker 28: Police said drivers caught speeding will receive warnings during the
• 1:24:26
  Speaker 28: first 30 days. A westerly man escaped with minor injuries
• 1:24:30
  Speaker 28: after a mother moose charged him during a family hike
• 1:24:34
  Speaker 28: near Boulder, Colorado. Dean Felicetti said the moose kicked him
• 1:24:38
  Speaker 28: into rocks as he and his son tried to move
• 1:24:41
  Speaker 28: away from her calf.
• 1:24:43
  Speaker 15: I'm Sean Murphy. When news breaks, we break in.
• 1:24:49
  Speaker 2: Good morning, everybody. We're back here on... Uh, the voice
• 1:24:54
  Speaker 2: of freedom, the Lee Elsie show, uh, Paul for Mika
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 2: along with Bill Stanley. Uh, you know, I thought about, uh,
• 1:25:02
  Speaker 2: you know, maybe changing that a little bit, you know,
• 1:25:04
  Speaker 2: we could say BS with PF, you know, I don't
• 1:25:08
  Speaker 2: know how we want to do that, but, uh, Maybe
• 1:25:11
  Speaker 2: that's for our show as we move forward, once we
• 1:25:14
  Speaker 2: get our own station or something.
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 1: I've had any number of people over the course of
• 1:25:18
  Speaker 1: my life tell me that I am appropriately named, given
• 1:25:22
  Speaker 1: those initials, BS.
• 1:25:25
  Speaker 2: Anyway, we have a couple of great folks coming on
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 2: ahead of us, but for this hour, I've got a
• 1:25:32
  Speaker 2: good friend of mine coming on. I've done a lot
• 1:25:34
  Speaker 2: of work with this gentleman, and he is He has
• 1:25:37
  Speaker 2: done a lot of work. Scott Dolch is the executive
• 1:25:40
  Speaker 2: director of the Connecticut Restaurant and Hotel Association now. I
• 1:25:44
  Speaker 2: think I got that name right. Scott, good morning and welcome.
• 1:25:50
  Speaker 1: Having me.
• 1:25:52
  Speaker 2: Well, we got you. I'm sorry.
• 1:25:53
  Speaker 6: Yeah, can you hear me.
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 4: Now, Paul?
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 2: I got you. The volume is good now.
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 35: Yeah, no, thank you.
• 1:25:59
  Speaker 6: Thank you, as always, for having me.
• 1:26:00
  Speaker 40: But, yes, it's Connecticut Restaurant and we have Hospitality Association. But, yes,
• 1:26:05
  Speaker 40: just expanded.
• 1:26:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, which is a big move. But, you know, you
• 1:26:10
  Speaker 2: and I go way back. We worked a lot while
• 1:26:13
  Speaker 2: I was in the legislature trying to promote the interests
• 1:26:16
  Speaker 2: of not only restaurants here in Connecticut and beyond, but,
• 1:26:22
  Speaker 2: you know, hospitality and tourism, arts and culture, all of
• 1:26:26
  Speaker 2: those things that drive traffic here to the state of Connecticut.
• 1:26:30
  Speaker 2: You were a big advocate for all of that. And
• 1:26:32
  Speaker 2: now adding, you know... as you say, hospitality and hotels. So,
• 1:26:40
  Speaker 2: you know, for the folks out there that don't know
• 1:26:41
  Speaker 2: you as well as I do, why don't you take
• 1:26:43
  Speaker 2: us through a little bit of what the, uh, the
• 1:26:45
  Speaker 2: restaurant association and, uh, has morphed into and what your
• 1:26:50
  Speaker 2: position really is.
• 1:26:52
  Speaker 40: Yeah, I guess for the listeners, the easiest way, um,
• 1:26:57
  Speaker 40: To explain this, I represent, we have a little over 9,200
• 1:26:59
  Speaker 40: food service restaurants around the state. Obviously, I've been in
• 1:27:03
  Speaker 40: the role eight years, advocating with the team that I
• 1:27:07
  Speaker 40: have and supporting restaurants, caterers, private event venues all around
• 1:27:10
  Speaker 40: the state. But also now that we've expanded to hospitality,
• 1:27:14
  Speaker 40: now includes, we have about 396, just under 400 hotel
• 1:27:18
  Speaker 40: properties and bed and breakfasts around the state as well,
• 1:27:22
  Speaker 40: and trying to bring together one voice. for hospitality for 170,000 employees,
• 1:27:29
  Speaker 40: $ 21 billion in economic impact, nearly 10,000 total businesses in
• 1:27:34
  Speaker 40: the state. So it's been a good ride for the
• 1:27:38
  Speaker 40: first eight years in this role and working with you, Paul,
• 1:27:40
  Speaker 40: and so many others to really highlight and bring our
• 1:27:44
  Speaker 40: restaurant industry up to the caliber that it should be
• 1:27:48
  Speaker 40: and how it's viewed at the state capitol or how
• 1:27:50
  Speaker 40: it's viewed down in D.C. But now we want to
• 1:27:52
  Speaker 40: continue that with hotels, And that's kind of our mission and,
• 1:27:57
  Speaker 40: you know, really just trying to make sure people understand
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 40: how important the hospitality sector is to the state of Connecticut.
• 1:28:04
  Speaker 2: You know, the numbers you just threw out, what did
• 1:28:07
  Speaker 2: you say, 21 billion in economic impact and 170,000 employees?
• 1:28:12
  Speaker 2: You know, I mean, I know we pushed hard for
• 1:28:17
  Speaker 2: both administrations that I happen to serve under up there,
• 1:28:22
  Speaker 2: you know, about increasing capacity. The tourism presence, you know,
• 1:28:26
  Speaker 2: and advertising, you know, and marketing, you know, we all
• 1:28:30
  Speaker 2: do that in our businesses. We do it everywhere else.
• 1:28:33
  Speaker 2: The state of Connecticut seems to have the lowest marketing
• 1:28:36
  Speaker 2: dollars in the budget. And, you know, and it's not
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 2: an exaggeration. It's an investment because the return on on
• 1:28:43
  Speaker 2: any marketing dollars the state of Connecticut has put in
• 1:28:46
  Speaker 2: is is a large multiple of what of what we spent.
• 1:28:52
  Speaker 40: Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I think, you know,
• 1:28:54
  Speaker 40: just to put in perspective for the listeners that don't
• 1:28:57
  Speaker 40: know that, you know, we've been disappointing, obviously, the last
• 1:29:00
  Speaker 40: few years to see the tourism budget at the state level.
• 1:29:03
  Speaker 40: It is now $ 4. 5 million is how much our state
• 1:29:07
  Speaker 40: invests in tourism. To put that in perspective with other states,
• 1:29:12
  Speaker 40: I don't think it's a city, but the town of Newport,
• 1:29:14
  Speaker 40: Rhode Island alone spends $ 9 million. Rhode Island itself spends
• 1:29:18
  Speaker 40: about $ 16 million. Maine spends about $ 23 million. So we're
• 1:29:22
  Speaker 40: woefully behind even our neighboring states in promoting, you know,
• 1:29:26
  Speaker 40: the hospitality sector. And, you know, a lot of legislators
• 1:29:29
  Speaker 40: will say to me, well, you know, where is that money?
• 1:29:31
  Speaker 40: Where are we going to get that money, Scott, if
• 1:29:33
  Speaker 40: we want to invest $ 20, $ 25 million in arts, culture,
• 1:29:36
  Speaker 40: and tourism? And I think the easy solution is, you know,
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 40: we have a meals tax, as you know, a 1%
• 1:29:42
  Speaker 40: meals tax, which generates about $ 150 million to the state's
• 1:29:46
  Speaker 40: general fund every year. You also have the highest occupancy
• 1:29:49
  Speaker 40: tax at 15% in the entire country. And really none
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 40: of those two things go back to helping this industry.
• 1:29:57
  Speaker 40: And that's obviously a mission of mine as we go into,
• 1:30:00
  Speaker 40: you know, the next session in 2027 is, you know,
• 1:30:03
  Speaker 40: really looking at legislators right in the eye and saying, hey, like,
• 1:30:06
  Speaker 40: you know, you continue to tell us, like, how great
• 1:30:08
  Speaker 40: our industry is, how important it is. But you need
• 1:30:11
  Speaker 40: to show that by reinvesting the dollars that we really
• 1:30:13
  Speaker 40: are creating for the state.
• 1:30:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, thank God for Kathy Austin there as chair of appropriations.
• 1:30:20
  Speaker 2: You know, when Governor Rell left, I think the line
• 1:30:24
  Speaker 2: item for tourism was near zero or a dollar just
• 1:30:27
  Speaker 2: to keep the line item open.
• 1:30:28
  Speaker 1: It was a dollar.
• 1:30:29
  Speaker 40: It was a dollar, yeah. And listen, I think that
• 1:30:31
  Speaker 40: that's always put back in my face. Hey, remember those times?
• 1:30:35
  Speaker 40: But then I also respond with, you know, 12 years,
• 1:30:38
  Speaker 40: 13 years ago, Governor Malloy had a $ 15 million budget. And,
• 1:30:42
  Speaker 40: you know, today's day and age, I'd probably be, $ 22
• 1:30:46
  Speaker 40: or $ 23 million, and now we're down to $ 4. 5. So
• 1:30:49
  Speaker 40: we're a third of what that budget was, you know,
• 1:30:52
  Speaker 40: almost well over a decade ago. So, yeah, I agree
• 1:30:55
  Speaker 40: that there's been different times and things of that nature,
• 1:30:58
  Speaker 40: but obviously you said it correctly, Paul. Like, for every
• 1:31:02
  Speaker 40: dollar we invest in tourism, on a small scale, it's
• 1:31:06
  Speaker 40: anywhere between $ 7 to $ 9 in return back to the state.
• 1:31:10
  Speaker 40: So it's a worthwhile investment, and we should be doing it.
• 1:31:15
  Speaker 2: And I tried when I was there to convince people
• 1:31:17
  Speaker 2: that there are many agencies up there that do not
• 1:31:21
  Speaker 2: generate revenue. They're something that we provide services that you're
• 1:31:27
  Speaker 2: supposed to do, public safety and health and welfare. That's
• 1:31:30
  Speaker 2: our responsibility for the citizenship here in the state. And
• 1:31:35
  Speaker 2: it's not always about collecting revenue. It's about providing support
• 1:31:40
  Speaker 2: and having a.
• 1:31:43
  Speaker 2: An investment in tourism that's going to generate dollars back,
• 1:31:49
  Speaker 2: you know, to help pay not only for tourism promotion,
• 1:31:52
  Speaker 2: but to help pay for these other agencies, I think
• 1:31:54
  Speaker 2: is important. But, you know, I was a freshman legislator
• 1:31:57
  Speaker 2: in 2015. And, you know, I started the tourism caucus with,
• 1:32:03
  Speaker 2: you know, Heather Summers and a bunch of other folks
• 1:32:06
  Speaker 2: down there. And, It was interesting to me because tourism
• 1:32:10
  Speaker 2: and hospitality touch almost every town in the state, but
• 1:32:14
  Speaker 2: you'd talk to legislators and they'd say, oh no, tourism,
• 1:32:18
  Speaker 2: I don't really have any tourism in my town. But,
• 1:32:23
  Speaker 2: you know, everything is. All these little small arts and
• 1:32:26
  Speaker 2: culture facilities and attractions that we have, the restaurants, you know,
• 1:32:33
  Speaker 2: there's just so much that this state offers. Beaches and
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 2: the hills and the trails and you know, we need
• 1:32:39
  Speaker 2: to really push that. And, you know, we have a
• 1:32:43
  Speaker 2: great state. We're not just a drive-through state anymore. We're
• 1:32:45
  Speaker 2: a destination state.
• 1:32:48
  Speaker 6: Yeah, you're exactly right.
• 1:32:50
  Speaker 40: And I think that that, I think, has the positive
• 1:32:53
  Speaker 40: momentum with the limited budget we've had, but, you know,
• 1:32:57
  Speaker 40: has been really good for our state, especially, you know,
• 1:33:00
  Speaker 40: if you look at the restaurant side and the regional
• 1:33:02
  Speaker 40: and national attention, I think people travel. You look at
• 1:33:04
  Speaker 40: the pizza campaign. Pizza being with the pizza capital of
• 1:33:10
  Speaker 40: the U.S. and how that's really carried and been very positive.
• 1:33:14
  Speaker 40: But also we have some incredible restaurants. We've seen it
• 1:33:17
  Speaker 40: in some of the national awards. We had six James
• 1:33:20
  Speaker 40: Beard semi-finalists this past year, which is a record by
• 1:33:24
  Speaker 40: almost double. I know three finalists in the James Beard.
• 1:33:27
  Speaker 40: So this industry is definitely bringing people in. And I
• 1:33:31
  Speaker 40: say it all the time that coming back from my
• 1:33:33
  Speaker 40: athletics and professional sports days of working, used to say, hey,
• 1:33:37
  Speaker 40: at a college or university, you know, athletics is the
• 1:33:39
  Speaker 40: front porch. Well, I say tourism is the front porch
• 1:33:42
  Speaker 40: of Connecticut. People come here maybe their first time. Maybe
• 1:33:45
  Speaker 40: it's a wedding. Maybe it's, you know, come for a
• 1:33:47
  Speaker 40: business trip. They come for a conference. You know, they're
• 1:33:50
  Speaker 40: going to come and stay in our hotels. They're going
• 1:33:51
  Speaker 40: to go out and eat in our restaurants. Maybe, you know,
• 1:33:53
  Speaker 40: go see our attractions, our aquariums and theaters. And that
• 1:33:58
  Speaker 40: best foot forward is going to continue to give us
• 1:34:00
  Speaker 40: a positive view of, hey, maybe I could come live here.
• 1:34:02
  Speaker 40: Maybe I could come work here, you know, raise a
• 1:34:04
  Speaker 40: family here. And that's why we need to invest in it.
• 1:34:08
  Speaker 1: Scott, this is Bill Stanley, Paul's co-host, and thank you
• 1:34:13
  Speaker 1: for coming on for the great work you do on
• 1:34:15
  Speaker 1: behalf of the restaurants and the hospitality industry. I've got
• 1:34:19
  Speaker 1: to believe that in addition to the lack of funding
• 1:34:23
  Speaker 1: and fiscal support you receive from the state, that the
• 1:34:28
  Speaker 1: steady increase in the state's minimum wage has got to
• 1:34:32
  Speaker 1: be a challenge for your membership as well. It's now $ 16. 94
• 1:34:38
  Speaker 1: per hour, and on January 1st it's scheduled to go
• 1:34:44
  Speaker 1: up to $ 17. 48 per hour. Does that present a challenge
• 1:34:49
  Speaker 1: for your members?
• 1:34:51
  Speaker 6: Bill, yeah.
• 1:34:52
  Speaker 40: I mean, it's as easy as it is for the
• 1:34:54
  Speaker 40: listeners to understand, you know. So once we go to.
• 1:34:58
  Speaker 40: That other increase on January 1st and we're close to $ 17. 50,
• 1:35:02
  Speaker 40: we will be the second highest minimum wage in the
• 1:35:04
  Speaker 40: entire country, actually surpassing the state of California as a
• 1:35:08
  Speaker 40: state minimum wage, only behind the state of Washington by
• 1:35:11
  Speaker 40: about 7 cents with the index that it's tied to. And, yeah,
• 1:35:14
  Speaker 40: I mean, the minimum wage has gone from 10.10 to
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 40: now be 17.48 in a little less than eight years,
• 1:35:22
  Speaker 40: you know, almost doubling where it has been for well
• 1:35:25
  Speaker 40: over seven or eight decades. and how it affects small businesses.
• 1:35:29
  Speaker 40: I think that understanding, you know, listen, we all want
• 1:35:33
  Speaker 40: and want people to be able to make a living
• 1:35:34
  Speaker 40: and have those opportunities, but minimum wage is a starting
• 1:35:38
  Speaker 40: point and a base level point. But obviously in our industry,
• 1:35:41
  Speaker 40: you know, we have so many small business owner operators,
• 1:35:44
  Speaker 40: you know, and trying to make that work. And we're
• 1:35:46
  Speaker 40: outpacing our peers in New England. You know, at $ 17. 48,
• 1:35:50
  Speaker 40: we're going to be almost $ 1. 50 more than the state
• 1:35:52
  Speaker 40: of Rhode Island. We're going to be almost a little
• 1:35:54
  Speaker 40: under $ 1 more than than Massachusetts, well over $ 7 more
• 1:35:58
  Speaker 40: than New Hampshire, and obviously competing well above New York
• 1:36:02
  Speaker 40: as well, competing for these businesses, being able to afford that.
• 1:36:07
  Speaker 40: And the hardest part is, Paul knows this better than anybody,
• 1:36:10
  Speaker 40: with rising costs, your only option is to raise your
• 1:36:14
  Speaker 40: prices and hoping that people can afford those for you
• 1:36:17
  Speaker 40: to stay in business. And labor costs, in my opinion,
• 1:36:21
  Speaker 40: are just well outpacing where they should be. And obviously
• 1:36:25
  Speaker 40: it's something we're going to go to bring to the
• 1:36:26
  Speaker 40: legislature and say, hey, this index that's tied to, you know,
• 1:36:30
  Speaker 40: when we went to $ 15, you know, we've now jumped
• 1:36:32
  Speaker 40: to almost $ 2. 50 in three and a half years since
• 1:36:35
  Speaker 40: we got to 15. And, you know, everyone needs to
• 1:36:38
  Speaker 40: understand this isn't just a hospitality issue. Everything is becoming
• 1:36:41
  Speaker 40: more expensive, you know, and you could take measuring sticks
• 1:36:45
  Speaker 40: with that. Like I think the best measuring piece to
• 1:36:47
  Speaker 40: it is, you know, looking, you know, just like a
• 1:36:50
  Speaker 40: Dunkin' Donuts. In 2012, the average Dunkin' Donuts coffee was $ 1. 49.
• 1:36:55
  Speaker 40: It is now $ 3. 29. It's not because they're just looking
• 1:36:59
  Speaker 40: to raise prices. It's because of all these costs, and
• 1:37:01
  Speaker 40: obviously labor has played a big role in these increased
• 1:37:05
  Speaker 40: costs and how it's affecting everyone's pocketbooks and wallets.
• 1:37:10
  Speaker 1: That is the other option to that, besides raising prices,
• 1:37:16
  Speaker 1: it would seem anyway, is that particularly for, college kids
• 1:37:21
  Speaker 1: who are home for the summer and for the most
• 1:37:24
  Speaker 1: part are minimum wage employees, that that might dry up
• 1:37:28
  Speaker 1: some of the job opportunities that they would have when
• 1:37:31
  Speaker 1: they're looking for work during the summer. And I'm saying
• 1:37:34
  Speaker 1: this as somebody who earned $ 1. 65 an hour in his
• 1:37:39
  Speaker 1: first job at the finest supermarket in Norwich.
• 1:37:44
  Speaker 40: Yeah, Bill, that is also a reality and something that
• 1:37:48
  Speaker 40: is really scary for us to, you know, We talk
• 1:37:50
  Speaker 40: all the time that two out of three Americans, they've
• 1:37:54
  Speaker 40: worked in the hospitality sector at one point in their life.
• 1:37:56
  Speaker 40: That number is unfortunately going down, and it's going down because,
• 1:37:59
  Speaker 40: you know, you look at the 1748, you know, high
• 1:38:03
  Speaker 40: 16s right now, you know, looking to hire someone that's 16,
• 1:38:08
  Speaker 40: 17 years old without experience, you know, they're going to put,
• 1:38:10
  Speaker 40: you know, not have them be a hostess at a restaurant,
• 1:38:13
  Speaker 40: not have them, you know, maybe do certain jobs, and
• 1:38:16
  Speaker 40: giving them that first job, that first opportunity just because
• 1:38:19
  Speaker 40: of the the added cost. They'd rather maybe put a
• 1:38:22
  Speaker 40: screen at the host's stand and have less labor, or
• 1:38:25
  Speaker 40: they're going to have less staff around their restaurant to
• 1:38:28
  Speaker 40: service people because just the budgetary constraints of having those
• 1:38:31
  Speaker 40: increased costs and labor across the board and i think
• 1:38:34
  Speaker 40: you know people say it's just about so obviously that's
• 1:38:36
  Speaker 40: a big big concern of ours of you know people's
• 1:38:39
  Speaker 40: first jobs and giving you know i have a 17
• 1:38:41
  Speaker 40: year old and a 14 year old and like wanting
• 1:38:43
  Speaker 40: them to work in hospitality how hard it was for
• 1:38:45
  Speaker 40: my 17 year old just to find jobs this summer
• 1:38:48
  Speaker 40: because a lot of places are like, hey, we're just
• 1:38:49
  Speaker 40: not hiring like we used to. We just can't afford
• 1:38:51
  Speaker 40: to do it. But also understand with these increases in
• 1:38:54
  Speaker 40: minimum wage, we have a lot of hourly employees. Every
• 1:38:58
  Speaker 40: time it goes up 50 cents, 80 cents, 90 cents
• 1:39:01
  Speaker 40: as minimum wage as it has, it continues to push
• 1:39:05
  Speaker 40: up what dishwashers, what line cooks, and everyone else. and
• 1:39:08
  Speaker 40: making it harder and harder to control, you know, and
• 1:39:12
  Speaker 40: I don't have to speak for Paul probably listening in,
• 1:39:14
  Speaker 40: how hard it is to kind of control their labor
• 1:39:17
  Speaker 40: and keep people that have been around for a very
• 1:39:19
  Speaker 40: long time in supporting their industry and doing well, trying
• 1:39:22
  Speaker 40: to make sure that you can continue that much staff
• 1:39:25
  Speaker 40: and still be a profitable business, which at the end
• 1:39:27
  Speaker 40: of the day, that's what these businesses are. They're in it,
• 1:39:30
  Speaker 40: you know, think about the owner-operator having, being able to
• 1:39:33
  Speaker 40: be profitable and put food on their own table, you know,
• 1:39:36
  Speaker 40: and pay their own bills, of why they have these businesses.
• 1:39:39
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, the latter effect of the minimum wage
• 1:39:42
  Speaker 2: is what you alluded to. You're paying the lower level
• 1:39:46
  Speaker 2: of $ 1, 750, then the guys that were making $ 1, 750 yesterday
• 1:39:50
  Speaker 2: got to be $ 1, 850, and the guys that were making $ 1, 850
• 1:39:55
  Speaker 2: now got to be $ 1, 950, and it goes all the
• 1:39:57
  Speaker 2: way up to the managers in the top level. So
• 1:40:01
  Speaker 2: it's a push that drives everything up for a percentage,
• 1:40:04
  Speaker 2: but You know, interestingly enough, McDonald's used to, you know,
• 1:40:11
  Speaker 2: they shifted over to kiosks years ago, and they had
• 1:40:14
  Speaker 2: these machines that you could go up and push buttons
• 1:40:17
  Speaker 2: and say, you know, this is what my order is.
• 1:40:19
  Speaker 2: And I've been in there with my grandson, and, you know,
• 1:40:23
  Speaker 2: he helps me push those buttons. But now they're coming
• 1:40:29
  Speaker 2: out and saying, you know, boy, they're not as personal
• 1:40:32
  Speaker 2: as they used to be. wanted to be. And McDonald's
• 1:40:35
  Speaker 2: is now shifting over to the fact that they have
• 1:40:38
  Speaker 2: to be more interactive with people and they're finding a
• 1:40:41
  Speaker 2: negative effect in being so impersonal. And they're spending a
• 1:40:45
  Speaker 2: whole ton of money doing that. And I think not
• 1:40:49
  Speaker 2: only getting the face of people away from the industry,
• 1:40:54
  Speaker 2: it's important for kids and for people to learn. I
• 1:40:59
  Speaker 2: thought every legislator ought to spend a couple of a
• 1:41:02
  Speaker 2: couple of months in a restaurant learning what's going on
• 1:41:05
  Speaker 2: and listening to people and all of that. But, you know,
• 1:41:09
  Speaker 2: it's an interesting dynamic the way things are turning with this.
• 1:41:13
  Speaker 40: It is, and that's obviously worrisome as well. You know,
• 1:41:17
  Speaker 40: to your point, Paul, that it is about service. Hospitality
• 1:41:21
  Speaker 40: is really why we drove that word into our new association.
• 1:41:24
  Speaker 40: You know, what is hospitality and thinking outside of yourself
• 1:41:27
  Speaker 40: and giving someone an experience? Those kiosks don't do that.
• 1:41:31
  Speaker 40: You know, technology can be a benefit, but nothing takes
• 1:41:34
  Speaker 40: away from the social interaction that you can have, you know, going,
• 1:41:38
  Speaker 40: you know, if you take Flanders Fish Market, for instance,
• 1:41:40
  Speaker 40: and being able to go up to the counter and
• 1:41:42
  Speaker 40: talk about the fresh products you have of the day
• 1:41:44
  Speaker 40: and what I'm ordering and feeling really good and not
• 1:41:47
  Speaker 40: losing that or being at a table, having a server
• 1:41:49
  Speaker 40: come over and have a conversation and tell them about
• 1:41:52
  Speaker 40: the menu and what you're getting. Like, nothing, I think,
• 1:41:54
  Speaker 40: ever takes away from that. But unfortunately, these restaurants... And
• 1:41:58
  Speaker 40: even on the hotel side, the front desk and being
• 1:42:00
  Speaker 40: able to tell people, hey, you should go here. Have
• 1:42:02
  Speaker 40: you been to this area of the state before? Like,
• 1:42:05
  Speaker 40: you know, losing labor and people I think really hurts
• 1:42:09
  Speaker 40: our industry. And that's the other concern. You're exactly right
• 1:42:12
  Speaker 40: that as you bring less staff, obviously I think nothing
• 1:42:15
  Speaker 40: is ever going to take away, you know, from a
• 1:42:18
  Speaker 40: full-service restaurant that gives that interaction. However, it's those middle-class
• 1:42:23
  Speaker 40: restaurants that, you know, are struggling to stay open with
• 1:42:27
  Speaker 40: that much labor as opposed to really high end or
• 1:42:30
  Speaker 40: the quick serve, fast casuals that you can have touch screens.
• 1:42:33
  Speaker 40: And I think that's what we're continuing to say, not
• 1:42:35
  Speaker 40: only in the state of Connecticut, but around the country,
• 1:42:37
  Speaker 40: you know, and federally, like we need to figure out
• 1:42:40
  Speaker 40: ways to support these because they are people's first jobs.
• 1:42:43
  Speaker 40: They are give so much to people and teaching them
• 1:42:46
  Speaker 40: social skills, but so much more for people's interaction and
• 1:42:49
  Speaker 40: why they want to get out and have dinner and
• 1:42:51
  Speaker 40: not just sit at their own house. So, I'm hopeful
• 1:42:54
  Speaker 40: and optimistic, as you know me. But at the same time,
• 1:42:57
  Speaker 40: I think people, you know, let's not shy away from
• 1:42:58
  Speaker 40: the challenges that these businesses are facing and are going
• 1:43:02
  Speaker 40: to continue to face.
• 1:43:03
  Speaker 2: Well, we need economic impact here in the state of Connecticut.
• 1:43:06
  Speaker 2: We need legislators that understand economic impact. And, you know,
• 1:43:10
  Speaker 2: when I was interviewing folks at the restaurant, I always say,
• 1:43:13
  Speaker 2: you know, what business do you think we're in? And
• 1:43:16
  Speaker 2: they'd say, well, you're a fish market or you're a restaurant.
• 1:43:20
  Speaker 2: I'd say, no, we're not. We're a customer service company.
• 1:43:23
  Speaker 2: that sells seafood. And, and that's really what, you know, the,
• 1:43:27
  Speaker 2: what we do and, and the interactions, uh, we're hiring
• 1:43:31
  Speaker 2: by the way, Scott, I don't know if you know
• 1:43:32
  Speaker 2: that fish market, if anybody's out there, uh, you're looking
• 1:43:36
  Speaker 2: for a second job.
• 1:43:37
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 1:43:38
  Speaker 2: You know, uh, if, if your son, I don't know
• 1:43:40
  Speaker 2: how far away your son is, but, uh, you know,
• 1:43:42
  Speaker 2: we could, we could put them to work there, but, uh,
• 1:43:45
  Speaker 2: you know, it's been a great opportunity, not only for
• 1:43:48
  Speaker 2: my family to grow up in this, in this industry, but, uh,
• 1:43:51
  Speaker 2: the community. And I think that's one of the things
• 1:43:54
  Speaker 2: that people realize that when you're cutting costs, a lot
• 1:43:57
  Speaker 2: of those costs have to do with contributing to the
• 1:44:01
  Speaker 2: community and the nonprofits and the gift cards and all
• 1:44:05
  Speaker 2: of those things that go out. So you're doing a
• 1:44:09
  Speaker 2: great job. I don't know how much time we have left.
• 1:44:11
  Speaker 2: Do you? Have anything else? Bill, you want to get
• 1:44:14
  Speaker 2: in quick? Real quick question.
• 1:44:17
  Speaker 1: One of the better ideas I thought that came out
• 1:44:19
  Speaker 1: of the Trump campaign during the last election was his proposal,
• 1:44:26
  Speaker 1: which has since been enacted, that exempts tips and overtime
• 1:44:31
  Speaker 1: from federal taxation. Has that made it easier for your
• 1:44:35
  Speaker 1: members to retain wait staff?
• 1:44:40
  Speaker 4: I think it has.
• 1:44:40
  Speaker 40: I think, you know, it's things like that and proposals
• 1:44:43
  Speaker 40: and policy that are helping support our employees are extremely important. Obviously,
• 1:44:48
  Speaker 40: the state of Connecticut, we tried to add to that legislation.
• 1:44:53
  Speaker 40: Other states actually passed those state taxes, weren't put on
• 1:44:56
  Speaker 40: tips in overtime. Obviously, that did not get across the
• 1:44:58
  Speaker 40: finish line, which is very disappointing. But yeah, I think
• 1:45:02
  Speaker 40: at the end of the day, retention is critical. And
• 1:45:06
  Speaker 40: it's not just also wages. We're trying to figure out
• 1:45:08
  Speaker 40: ways with I mean, we talk about the health care
• 1:45:11
  Speaker 40: issues and trying to be able to offer health care
• 1:45:12
  Speaker 40: and affordable health care for people within our industry and,
• 1:45:16
  Speaker 40: you know, that side of it, too, with pieces of legislation. So, yeah,
• 1:45:20
  Speaker 40: I give a lot of kudos, but I still look at,
• 1:45:22
  Speaker 40: you know, the Trump administration and we look at the
• 1:45:24
  Speaker 40: Lamont administration and trying to find other ways that are
• 1:45:27
  Speaker 40: going to help our employees but also help our business owners. And,
• 1:45:30
  Speaker 40: you know, I know he came out publicly as well, Trump,
• 1:45:32
  Speaker 40: talking just about the credit card companies. And I get
• 1:45:35
  Speaker 40: Paul going on the amount of money that he pays
• 1:45:37
  Speaker 40: and these businesses pay for credit card fees and everything else.
• 1:45:40
  Speaker 40: I think there needs to be more reform. There needs
• 1:45:42
  Speaker 40: to be more control because when MasterCard and Visa are
• 1:45:45
  Speaker 40: announcing 48% and 51% profitability last year in the billion-dollar
• 1:45:50
  Speaker 40: side and how much no one carries cash anymore. So
• 1:45:54
  Speaker 40: there's pieces of things that we need to do at
• 1:45:56
  Speaker 40: a state and federal level that also offset these costs
• 1:46:00
  Speaker 40: to that point that they might have more dollars to
• 1:46:03
  Speaker 40: reinvest back into their team's. I think that's what people
• 1:46:06
  Speaker 40: lose sight of. They think that, oh, you know, the
• 1:46:08
  Speaker 40: owner's just going to pocket that. They know they need
• 1:46:10
  Speaker 40: more staff because, you know, their employees, Paul's employees he's
• 1:46:13
  Speaker 40: trying to hire, they're the face of Flanders. They're the
• 1:46:16
  Speaker 40: face of these restaurants, these hotels. And, you know, you
• 1:46:19
  Speaker 40: want to be able to take care of them because,
• 1:46:21
  Speaker 40: in turn, they're the only maybe contact a customer might
• 1:46:24
  Speaker 40: have with that business and how they feel and how
• 1:46:27
  Speaker 40: they're treated and trained is so critical and so important.
• 1:46:30
  Speaker 2: Well, as Bill said earlier in the show, that you
• 1:46:33
  Speaker 2: don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
• 1:46:35
  Speaker 2: And those people that you see that walk in, you
• 1:46:38
  Speaker 2: first see are the ones that drive our drive our businesses.
• 1:46:41
  Speaker 2: And we're so grateful to have them. We're grateful to
• 1:46:43
  Speaker 2: have you in your in your job as the executive
• 1:46:47
  Speaker 2: director of the Hospitality and Restaurant Association and keep up
• 1:46:51
  Speaker 2: the good work. Thanks for coming on today. And, you know, everybody,
• 1:46:55
  Speaker 2: make sure that you go out and support. Your local
• 1:46:59
  Speaker 2: businesses all day long. So thanks very much, Scott. We
• 1:47:02
  Speaker 2: appreciate it.
• 1:47:04
  Speaker 40: No, Paul, Bill, thank you guys so much. At that point,
• 1:47:06
  Speaker 40: continue to support our local businesses, our local hospitality businesses.
• 1:47:11
  Speaker 40: So thanks, as always, for having me.
• 1:47:12
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 1:47:13
  Speaker 2: We'll talk more about hotels next time, but right now
• 1:47:16
  Speaker 2: we've got to go to break. We're at 94.news now
• 1:47:19
  Speaker 2: and stimulating talk.
• 1:47:20
  Speaker 25: We're outfailing the game.
• 1:47:22
  Speaker 7: Someone reached in and grabbed it.
• 1:47:24
  Speaker 6: What's wrong?
• 1:47:26
  Speaker 18: Lost the job.
• 1:47:38
  Speaker 7: In Eastline, the exit 74 on-ramp from Route 161 to.
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  Speaker 9: I-95 North is closed.
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  Speaker 20: Rallying Republicans again. I'm Dave Anthony, Fox News. President Trump
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  Speaker 20: again telling supporters pretend he's on the ballot in November.
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  Speaker 42: stronger more accessible and positioned to better serve you in
• 1:53:09
  Speaker 42: this ever-changing insurance landscape call email or visit us today
• 1:53:13
  Speaker 42: in all the same easy ways the burns agency now
• 1:53:15
  Speaker 42: a division of hub international proudly serving eastern connecticut since 1932.
• 1:53:31
  Speaker 24: Colonial chevrolet cadillac and hyundai in new london is where
• 1:53:39
  Speaker 24: you can dump that gas guzzler for the all-new hyundai
• 1:53:42
  Speaker 24: 2026 tucson santa fe or elantra hybrid that get up
• 1:53:46
  Speaker 24: to 58 miles per gallon plus save thousands with zero
• 1:53:49
  Speaker 24: percent financing on all remaining 2026 santa fe's.
• 1:53:53
  Speaker 21: Hi, this is Bill LaConche, general manager of the all-new
• 1:53:56
  Speaker 21: Colonial Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Hyundai right on the corner of
• 1:53:59
  Speaker 21: Broad and Coleman streets in New London. We have over
• 1:54:02
  Speaker 21: 400 vehicles in stock and ready for immediate delivery.
• 1:54:05
  Speaker 24: 0% financing on many vehicles. Way more than fair market
• 1:54:09
  Speaker 24: value for your clunker. And a refreshing five-star car buying experience.
• 1:54:13
  Speaker 24: 452 Broad Street.
• 1:54:14
  Speaker 7: In New London.
• 1:54:15
  Speaker 24: Colonial-Hyundai.com or Colonial-Chevrolet.com.
• 1:54:19
  Speaker 5: Colonial Auto Group has got your car.
• 1:54:22
  Speaker 24: 0% for Tier 1 credit.
• 1:54:25
  Speaker 7: Not everyone will qualify.
• 1:54:26
  Speaker 5: Bank determines money down.
• 1:54:28
  Speaker 7: Fair market for your trade.
• 1:54:29
  Speaker 17: See dealer for details.
• 1:54:33
  Speaker 24: Good morning.
• 1:54:34
  Speaker 5: I'm Sean Murphy.
• 1:54:35
  Speaker 18: Partly sunny today with a high close to 80.
• 1:54:38
  Speaker 28: Yesterday, a New London judge heard initial arguments regarding Beth Carpenter,
• 1:54:42
  Speaker 28: who is asking the court to reduce her life sentence
• 1:54:45
  Speaker 28: for arranging her brother-in-law's 1994 killing. Her lawyers say her
• 1:54:50
  Speaker 28: convictions on two charges involving the same death amount to
• 1:54:55
  Speaker 28: double jeopardy. The court will first rule on her request
• 1:54:58
  Speaker 28: to move the case to another judge familiar with the case.
• 1:55:02
  Speaker 28: Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam will receive a $ 20. 2 million
• 1:55:05
  Speaker 28: federal grant to upgrade imaging and digital systems and expand
• 1:55:09
  Speaker 28: cancer care, convenient care, and telehealth services. The funding is
• 1:55:13
  Speaker 28: part of a broader effort to improve access to rural
• 1:55:16
  Speaker 28: health care in Connecticut. East Lime is considering rules that
• 1:55:19
  Speaker 28: would limit new short-term rentals to certain commercial districts. require
• 1:55:24
  Speaker 28: stays of at least 14 days and impose a $ 500
• 1:55:27
  Speaker 28: annual permit fee. A public hearing is scheduled for tonight
• 1:55:31
  Speaker 28: at Town Hall. The city of Groton activated speed cameras
• 1:55:35
  Speaker 28: Wednesday on Mitchell Street, Thames Street, and Clarence B.
• 1:55:38
  Speaker 15: Sharp Highway.
• 1:55:39
  Speaker 28: Police said drivers caught speeding will receive warnings during the
• 1:55:43
  Speaker 28: first 30 days. A westerly man escaped with minor injuries
• 1:55:47
  Speaker 28: after a mother moose charged him during a family hike
• 1:55:50
  Speaker 28: near Boulder, Colorado. Dean Felicetti said the moose kicked him
• 1:55:55
  Speaker 28: into rocks as he and his son tried to move away.
• 1:55:58
  Speaker 15: From her calf. I'm Sean Murphy. When news breaks, we
• 1:56:03
  Speaker 15: break in.
• 1:56:10
  Speaker 1: Welcome back, everyone. This is Bill Stanley along with Paul
• 1:56:13
  Speaker 1: Formica here at 94.9 News Now and Stimulating Talk. And
• 1:56:18
  Speaker 1: we've had some Great guests on, ranging from Jack Cochran
• 1:56:23
  Speaker 1: talking about New London High School football and Scott Daltz
• 1:56:27
  Speaker 1: talking about the restaurant and hospitality industry in the state
• 1:56:31
  Speaker 1: of Connecticut. And now going forward, we're pleased and privileged
• 1:56:37
  Speaker 1: to have with us the mayor of New London, Michael Passero,
• 1:56:40
  Speaker 1: who's here with us. And there's a lot going on
• 1:56:44
  Speaker 1: in the city of New London. We're glad you're here
• 1:56:46
  Speaker 1: to tell us a little bit about what's happening.
• 1:56:49
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Michael, or Mr.
• 1:56:50
  Speaker 40: Mayor.
• 1:56:52
  Speaker 29: Good morning, guys. How are you, Paul?
• 1:56:55
  Speaker 2: I'm doing great. I miss you out there.
• 1:56:59
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 1:57:01
  Speaker 29: Bill, good to hear from you.
• 1:57:03
  Speaker 1: Mayor, nice to speak with you. And the one thing
• 1:57:08
  Speaker 1: I wanted to begin with, and I know that this
• 1:57:12
  Speaker 1: is your least favorite word in the English language and
• 1:57:16
  Speaker 1: its potential, And going back to your first term in office,
• 1:57:23
  Speaker 1: you didn't like hearing people talk about what great potential
• 1:57:27
  Speaker 1: New London has. Not so much for its potential, but
• 1:57:31
  Speaker 1: the suggestion that the city wasn't achieving its potential. And
• 1:57:35
  Speaker 1: I think anyone who looks at the city of New
• 1:57:37
  Speaker 1: London now, objectively... will say that we've not only achieved
• 1:57:44
  Speaker 1: it but probably surpassed it. And some of the things
• 1:57:48
  Speaker 1: we can tick off are the opening of the new
• 1:57:51
  Speaker 1: community center out in Fort Trumbull, which I know has
• 1:57:55
  Speaker 1: been a longtime goal for you, dating back to your
• 1:57:59
  Speaker 1: time on the city council. You've got an electric boat
• 1:58:03
  Speaker 1: alive and well with thousands of employees out on the peninsula, storefronts.
• 1:58:10
  Speaker 1: down at Bank Street starting to fill up and the
• 1:58:13
  Speaker 1: imminent opening of the Coast Guard Museum down on Water Street.
• 1:58:18
  Speaker 1: So things are looking up for the city, would you say?
• 1:58:20
  Speaker 10: Absolutely.
• 1:58:24
  Speaker 29: You know, it's we weren't achieving our potential. I think
• 1:58:28
  Speaker 29: that was clear. Um, and that's why when I was running,
• 1:58:31
  Speaker 29: it was, um, so frustrating. Um, I just wanted to get,
• 1:58:35
  Speaker 29: get back to work. Um, I think the city needed
• 1:58:38
  Speaker 29: to learn how to win again, um, and start winning.
• 1:58:42
  Speaker 29: And funny, you mentioned, um, I, I missed the segment,
• 1:58:45
  Speaker 29: but it's great that you had, uh, coach Cochran on
• 1:58:48
  Speaker 29: because I think he, he's coming at a great time.
• 1:58:51
  Speaker 20: Um, for our.
• 1:58:53
  Speaker 29: Football team and for the city because we are definitely
• 1:58:56
  Speaker 29: winning again. We've seen our grand list grow remarkably. We've
• 1:59:02
  Speaker 29: been able to grow the grand list to increase our
• 1:59:05
  Speaker 29: revenues to support the city as opposed to increasing the
• 1:59:08
  Speaker 29: mill rate. We haven't had to increase the mill rate
• 1:59:11
  Speaker 29: in the last 10 years, which is phenomenal. If you
• 1:59:15
  Speaker 29: know anything about me, you know I hate the property tax.
• 1:59:18
  Speaker 29: It's so regressive and it's such a burden on our families.
• 1:59:22
  Speaker 29: And certainly Paul knows how hard that is to reform
• 1:59:26
  Speaker 29: that system, and we keep at it as a state.
• 1:59:30
  Speaker 29: But for New London, we're benefiting from this great local
• 1:59:34
  Speaker 29: economy and trying to take the greatest advantage of it
• 1:59:38
  Speaker 29: for the benefit of the people here in the city.
• 1:59:40
  Speaker 29: And it's all about housing, housing, housing. And we are
• 1:59:43
  Speaker 29: just doing– I think we're leading the state. The governor
• 1:59:46
  Speaker 29: is very proud of what we're doing here in New London,
• 1:59:49
  Speaker 29: building housing. But– What it also signals is how attractive
• 1:59:53
  Speaker 29: New London is for investment. We've got some of the
• 1:59:58
  Speaker 29: greatest construction companies, developers, investors in the region, in the
• 2:00:06
  Speaker 29: state and in the region that are investing in New
• 2:00:09
  Speaker 29: London and helping us to overcome this severe, severe housing shortage,
• 2:00:15
  Speaker 29: which is really affecting everything. If there's any downside right now,
• 2:00:20
  Speaker 29: to the local economy, it's the lack of housing. That
• 2:00:24
  Speaker 29: doesn't help our employers. It puts pressure on the existing
• 2:00:28
  Speaker 29: housing stock. It puts pressure on, upward pressure on rents,
• 2:00:32
  Speaker 29: which really hurts our families. So I think we're doing
• 2:00:37
  Speaker 29: the right thing and just welcoming these developers and investment
• 2:00:42
  Speaker 29: and building up our tax base and building up our
• 2:00:45
  Speaker 29: population to support our small businesses. it's really encouraging to
• 2:00:50
  Speaker 29: see it all coming together.
• 2:00:52
  Speaker 1: At the same time, with the development of all the
• 2:00:57
  Speaker 1: housing that's taking place in New London, there is also
• 2:01:05
  Speaker 1: the impact that the housing may have. And one of
• 2:01:09
  Speaker 1: the issues that comes to mind is the Hamilton Street proposal,
• 2:01:14
  Speaker 1: where the owners of Captain Scott's are concerned about the
• 2:01:23
  Speaker 1: impact not only of the construction but of the magnitude
• 2:01:27
  Speaker 1: of the apartment complexes on their business. Is it possible
• 2:01:33
  Speaker 1: to achieve a balance there where we might be able
• 2:01:36
  Speaker 1: to add sufficient amounts of housing without adversely impacting a
• 2:01:44
  Speaker 1: business that has existed there and and has thrived for
• 2:01:48
  Speaker 1: a number of years.
• 2:01:51
  Speaker 29: So we have a great partner. The developer is Spinnaker.
• 2:01:56
  Speaker 29: I mean, just the fact that Spinnaker has looked at
• 2:02:01
  Speaker 29: New London, has chosen New London as their next investment,
• 2:02:04
  Speaker 29: I think is a credit to what's going on here.
• 2:02:10
  Speaker 29: And certainly neither the city nor this developer would do
• 2:02:14
  Speaker 29: anything that would in any way harm a great, great
• 2:02:18
  Speaker 29: existing business like that. That business has done a tremendous
• 2:02:22
  Speaker 29: amount to put New London on the map. We're all
• 2:02:26
  Speaker 29: very proud of that. Absolutely nothing would be done to
• 2:02:32
  Speaker 29: in any way adversely affect that. I'm not sure what happened.
• 2:02:37
  Speaker 29: I could speculate, but we're where we are. Spinnaker was
• 2:02:42
  Speaker 29: working with the ownership of that restaurant, all along until
• 2:02:49
  Speaker 29: the last few months. And I think that we have
• 2:02:54
  Speaker 29: tried very hard to make sure their concerns are met.
• 2:03:00
  Speaker 29: You know, Spinnaker went back and redid the plans to
• 2:03:03
  Speaker 29: address some of those concerns. I can tell you, I
• 2:03:06
  Speaker 29: just went to a grand opening of one of their
• 2:03:10
  Speaker 29: new buildings in New Haven. They have really.
• 2:03:14
  Speaker 29: The whole, you know, it was proof of what a
• 2:03:18
  Speaker 29: great community developer this is. This company takes into account,
• 2:03:22
  Speaker 29: you know, what the community wants, what their needs are,
• 2:03:26
  Speaker 29: and they've done that in this case. They've really designed
• 2:03:29
  Speaker 29: a development, a multifamily development that's architecturally and aesthetically pleasing
• 2:03:37
  Speaker 29: and beautiful. It will also improve the public right away.
• 2:03:43
  Speaker 29: It will give the public access to that magnificent waterfront,
• 2:03:48
  Speaker 29: which we cannot access right now along Shaw's Cove, and
• 2:03:51
  Speaker 29: it will enhance the experience of going to Captain Scott's.
• 2:03:58
  Speaker 29: So we're hoping that we can prove to Captain Scott's
• 2:04:03
  Speaker 29: that there will be no adverse impacts on their business.
• 2:04:07
  Speaker 7: Okay.
• 2:04:08
  Speaker 1: Well, it's something to look forward to, and I wanted
• 2:04:11
  Speaker 1: to go back to the– the community center, which has opened.
• 2:04:17
  Speaker 1: And I was fortunate enough to get a tour just
• 2:04:22
  Speaker 1: ahead of the grand opening from Felix Reyes, who justifiably
• 2:04:29
  Speaker 1: is very proud of it. And I was telling Paul
• 2:04:31
  Speaker 1: before we came on the air that when you walk
• 2:04:35
  Speaker 1: into this facility, you feel like you're in Greenwich or
• 2:04:40
  Speaker 1: a community that that exudes wealth because it is a
• 2:04:45
  Speaker 1: magnificent facility and one that apparently is getting a great
• 2:04:52
  Speaker 1: deal of use because I tend to go for walks
• 2:04:55
  Speaker 1: over at Fort Trumbull on a fairly regular basis and
• 2:04:57
  Speaker 1: every time I drive by the community center there are
• 2:05:00
  Speaker 1: a lot of cars in the parking lot. How is
• 2:05:02
  Speaker 1: that going so far and is it achieving the expectations
• 2:05:06
  Speaker 1: that that you had for it in its infancy here?
• 2:05:14
  Speaker 29: Yes, absolutely. I mean, it's like New London's happy place.
• 2:05:21
  Speaker 29: I go there at least once a day because I'm
• 2:05:23
  Speaker 29: a swimmer. And, you know, you just run into so
• 2:05:27
  Speaker 29: many happy people. It's changed the lives of so many people,
• 2:05:30
  Speaker 29: just having access to a facility like that. I mean,
• 2:05:33
  Speaker 29: prior to that, you had to go to Mystic or
• 2:05:35
  Speaker 29: to Westbrook or to Westerly. in order to access a
• 2:05:39
  Speaker 29: facility like that. The nearest pools that were open to
• 2:05:43
  Speaker 29: the public were AB Point or Eastline, and the hours
• 2:05:47
  Speaker 29: were very limited. I mean, you could pretty much, this
• 2:05:51
  Speaker 29: facility is open from 5 in the morning until 9
• 2:05:54
  Speaker 29: at night on the weekdays, and slightly shorter hours on
• 2:05:58
  Speaker 29: the weekends. But, I mean, you have pretty much access,
• 2:06:02
  Speaker 29: according to your schedule, to all these great facilities, the
• 2:06:05
  Speaker 29: fitness room, the gymnasium, the pools. And also our rec
• 2:06:08
  Speaker 29: department is putting together some great, great programming. A lot
• 2:06:14
  Speaker 29: of people love going to, like, the Zumba classes and
• 2:06:17
  Speaker 29: the yoga classes, and there's a great selection of those.
• 2:06:20
  Speaker 29: I think I envision our community having an opportunity to
• 2:06:24
  Speaker 29: stay much healthier and, you know, to get out, to congregate,
• 2:06:28
  Speaker 29: to socialize. This is just a great thing. And, you know,
• 2:06:32
  Speaker 29: we've developed a business plan where a distressed municipality like
• 2:06:36
  Speaker 29: New London can enjoy a facility like this because we're
• 2:06:41
  Speaker 29: sharing it with the region. It's really a regional recreation
• 2:06:45
  Speaker 29: center that's giving New London opportunities but also opportunities for
• 2:06:50
  Speaker 29: everybody in this area.
• 2:06:53
  Speaker 1: I know that when you first proposed it many years
• 2:06:56
  Speaker 1: ago as a lifelong dream that you'd had, seeing it develop,
• 2:07:02
  Speaker 1: people laughed at you. There were a lot of naysayers
• 2:07:05
  Speaker 1: who said it was a pie-in-the-sky proposal. and it would
• 2:07:09
  Speaker 1: never happen. And now that it has, how is it
• 2:07:14
  Speaker 1: doing financially? Is it at a point where it's self-sustaining now?
• 2:07:19
  Speaker 1: I know that there's got to be a little bit
• 2:07:21
  Speaker 1: of an increase in the dues, but is it where
• 2:07:26
  Speaker 1: you had envisioned it to be financially and going forward
• 2:07:31
  Speaker 1: going to be able to sustain itself?
• 2:07:34
  Speaker 6: So far, yes.
• 2:07:36
  Speaker 29: So far, we're doing good. There's been some growing pains,
• 2:07:39
  Speaker 29: but on the whole, I think we're doing real well.
• 2:07:45
  Speaker 29: It's a continuing effort to sell the facility, to market
• 2:07:52
  Speaker 29: the facility, to you know, increase the membership. The projections
• 2:08:00
  Speaker 29: from the beginning when we did our feasibility studies, you know,
• 2:08:03
  Speaker 29: was for it to be two to four years for
• 2:08:07
  Speaker 29: the break-even point. And we are aggressively trying to have
• 2:08:11
  Speaker 29: it self-sustaining by the end of the second year. We're
• 2:08:14
  Speaker 29: in the very beginning of the second year now. So
• 2:08:17
  Speaker 29: we're in the first quarter of the second year now.
• 2:08:19
  Speaker 29: and we are working very hard to achieve that ambitious goal.
• 2:08:23
  Speaker 29: I mean, it's a brand new facility. We have to
• 2:08:26
  Speaker 29: build our membership, and the plan gave us a number.
• 2:08:31
  Speaker 6: Of years to do that.
• 2:08:31
  Speaker 29: We're hoping to accomplish that within two years. So, yes,
• 2:08:36
  Speaker 29: I would say we're doing very well.
• 2:08:38
  Speaker 2: Mike, this is Paul. Congratulations on, you know, your success.
• 2:08:41
  Speaker 2: I think you've done a really great job for the
• 2:08:43
  Speaker 2: City of New London, and you know, that's a big
• 2:08:46
  Speaker 2: feather in your cap having that there, but You know,
• 2:08:48
  Speaker 2: you have another facility coming up, the Coast Guard Museum, which,
• 2:08:52
  Speaker 2: you know, we have Captain Pulver coming on as a
• 2:08:55
  Speaker 2: guest next. I've always been a big believer in that
• 2:09:00
  Speaker 2: and the location that it finally settled on right downtown there,
• 2:09:06
  Speaker 2: and it's going to drive a lot of tax dollars.
• 2:09:08
  Speaker 2: I think tourism is going to be big, and, you know,
• 2:09:12
  Speaker 2: hopefully that'll give you a little bit of breathing room
• 2:09:16
  Speaker 2: in terms of funding some of these things that you're
• 2:09:20
  Speaker 2: putting forward, because you and I both know that you
• 2:09:24
  Speaker 2: have a lot of tax-exempt property in New London, and
• 2:09:29
  Speaker 2: you need that spending income that's going to come in
• 2:09:33
  Speaker 2: with all these people that are going to come visit.
• 2:09:37
  Speaker 6: Yeah, this is certainly a great opportunity.
• 2:09:39
  Speaker 29: I've got to say, I oftentimes think of it as
• 2:09:43
  Speaker 29: a gift of Admiral Papp's. because it was really his
• 2:09:47
  Speaker 29: vision for the facility that's being built right now, the location,
• 2:09:55
  Speaker 29: and gaining support in D.C. So, I mean, winning the
• 2:10:01
  Speaker 29: location battle for where that museum was going to be
• 2:10:04
  Speaker 29: years ago, I think we can't forget how crucial Admiral
• 2:10:07
  Speaker 29: Pat was, who, of course, is a Norwich native and
• 2:10:12
  Speaker 29: was commandant at the time. and the tenacity and perseverance
• 2:10:16
  Speaker 29: of Wes Pulver and his team there to hang in
• 2:10:21
  Speaker 29: there because we know there were years of criticism and pushback,
• 2:10:24
  Speaker 29: as there is with anything. I mean, it just seems
• 2:10:26
  Speaker 29: to be part of the human condition, right? People with
• 2:10:29
  Speaker 29: vision try to accomplish things, and there's always people that
• 2:10:32
  Speaker 29: are trying to pull it down and prevent the vision
• 2:10:39
  Speaker 29: from being realized. But in this case, you know, we're
• 2:10:42
  Speaker 29: on the doorsteps of of success, if not there. I mean,
• 2:10:45
  Speaker 29: there's actually an opening date set, August 4th, so we're
• 2:10:50
  Speaker 29: looking forward to that. And New London is working hard
• 2:10:53
  Speaker 29: to get ready for that. You know, a member of
• 2:10:55
  Speaker 29: our staff, Rain Doherty, who goes back to the beginning
• 2:11:00
  Speaker 29: of my administration, you know, had this saying, she said,
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 29: when the museum opens, when they have the ribbon cutting
• 2:11:05
  Speaker 29: for the museum, we want to have downtown, the revitalization
• 2:11:09
  Speaker 29: of downtown ready so that we have a ribbon cutting
• 2:11:12
  Speaker 29: for the new downtown New London at the same time.
• 2:11:15
  Speaker 29: And I think we're largely there. We'll be able to
• 2:11:18
  Speaker 29: brag about that. I mean, if you look 10 years
• 2:11:21
  Speaker 29: ago at how many empty buildings we had downtown, and
• 2:11:25
  Speaker 29: they are pretty much all, with few exceptions, maybe six
• 2:11:29
  Speaker 29: or seven, they have all been repurposed and renovated and
• 2:11:36
  Speaker 29: have populated our downtown. And so it's The museum has
• 2:11:41
  Speaker 29: been a great spark. We've never looked at it as
• 2:11:43
  Speaker 29: the silver bullet, but it's just another piece of the
• 2:11:48
  Speaker 29: puzzle that's making New London a great success.
• 2:11:52
  Speaker 2: Well, I think it'll certainly be an exclamation point on
• 2:11:55
  Speaker 2: your success there and the success of the city and
• 2:11:58
  Speaker 2: the growth of the city. I remember campaigning there for
• 2:12:03
  Speaker 2: my first term in the Senate and I fell in
• 2:12:05
  Speaker 2: love with New London. I never really spent any time there.
• 2:12:09
  Speaker 2: It's just a beautiful city that's on its way. Bill
• 2:12:17
  Speaker 2: talked about potential, but I think it's there, and I
• 2:12:20
  Speaker 2: think some of these things are really going to put
• 2:12:22
  Speaker 2: a stamp on it.
• 2:12:24
  Speaker 29: There's been so many milestones that really have signaled the
• 2:12:29
  Speaker 29: return of New London, the rise of New London back
• 2:12:32
  Speaker 29: to the position it should be as the the capital
• 2:12:35
  Speaker 29: of southeastern Connecticut, the local business hub. When the Chamber
• 2:12:39
  Speaker 29: of Commerce invested in New London, picked up the building
• 2:12:43
  Speaker 29: on Eugene O'Neill Drive and made that amazing investment and
• 2:12:48
  Speaker 29: opened the Innovation Center and moved back to where they
• 2:12:52
  Speaker 29: started their historic home, the city of New London, I
• 2:12:55
  Speaker 29: think that was another great signal that New London is back,
• 2:12:58
  Speaker 29: that we're starting to regain the prominence that we had
• 2:13:01
  Speaker 29: not too many decades ago.
• 2:13:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's good, isn't it? you know, I think it's great.
• 2:13:07
  Speaker 2: I think it's going to really take off, and I
• 2:13:13
  Speaker 2: look forward to going down there and enjoying it. And,
• 2:13:17
  Speaker 2: you know, congratulations to you, and you know, we'll talk
• 2:13:22
  Speaker 2: to Wes. I know I took a little bit of
• 2:13:23
  Speaker 2: heat on that walkway when I introduced that legislation way
• 2:13:28
  Speaker 2: back when for $ 20 million. I hope that if you
• 2:13:31
  Speaker 2: need help with a push on that, let me know.
• 2:13:33
  Speaker 2: I'll do what I can, but we've got to get
• 2:13:36
  Speaker 2: people in that museum and enjoy it from parking.
• 2:13:40
  Speaker 29: Yeah, we certainly need that. We certainly need the pedestrian overpass,
• 2:13:43
  Speaker 29: and we'll get there. Wes is still working diligently on
• 2:13:48
  Speaker 29: that piece of it, and if anybody can facilitate getting
• 2:13:55
  Speaker 29: that done, certainly it's Wes and his team there. And,
• 2:13:58
  Speaker 29: of course, we're all working, and you've got to– you
• 2:14:01
  Speaker 29: really got to give kudos to, uh, Senator Murphy because
• 2:14:04
  Speaker 29: he's been, he's been pushing hard, um, to, to get
• 2:14:08
  Speaker 29: the final, that final piece, which is to get the, uh,
• 2:14:11
  Speaker 29: to get that overpass done.
• 2:14:15
  Speaker 1: Well, we'll get it done. Mayor Michael Passero, city of
• 2:14:18
  Speaker 1: new London. Thank you very much for coming in. Uh,
• 2:14:21
  Speaker 1: it's hard to, uh, hard to cram all of the
• 2:14:24
  Speaker 1: good things happening in the city of new London into a,
• 2:14:28
  Speaker 1: Less than a 30-minute interview, but you did a great
• 2:14:31
  Speaker 1: job this morning, and we appreciate you coming on with us.
• 2:14:35
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 2:14:35
  Speaker 29: Thank you for the time, Bill. Thank you, Paul.
• 2:14:39
  Speaker 2: Our pleasure. Thank you, sir. See you soon.
• 2:14:54
  Speaker 7: Traffic Alert on 94.9 News Now.
• 2:14:57
  Speaker 10: In East Line, the exit 74 on ramp from Route 161.
• 2:15:03
  Speaker 9: To I-95 North is closed.
• 2:15:06
  Speaker 10: Road construction in Waterford, I-95 Southbound, exit 82 to 81.
• 2:15:12
  Speaker 9: The right lane is closed.
• 2:15:14
  Speaker 10: You're moving slow on the Groton side of the Gold
• 2:15:18
  Speaker 10: Star Bridge as well. Route 12 moving slow in both
• 2:15:22
  Speaker 10: directions in Groton. Route 32, slow in both directions between
• 2:15:26
  Speaker 10: Connecticut College and the Coast Guard Academy. You're moving slow
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  Speaker 10: northbound in Montville. No delays on I-395. I'm Eddie Schaefer.
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  Speaker 10: Time saver traffic.
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  Speaker 11: Whaling city ford needs 50 pre-owned vehicles and yours could
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  Speaker 13: Hello, this is Richard Sosimo from Pasta Vida, the place
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  Speaker 18: And have become.
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  Speaker 3: Kubota, the number one selling compact tractor in America and
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  Speaker 3: Rhode Island harvesting just off Route 95 in Ashaway, has
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  Speaker 19: Come spend a beautiful autumn weekend in South County, Rhode Island,
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  Speaker 19: where the inviting landscape and sensational coastline will provide you
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• 2:19:00
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  Speaker 27: You can't handle the truth.
• 2:20:04
  Speaker 20: Fox News, I'm CJ Papa.
• 2:20:06
  Speaker 22: The war in Iran approaching seven months, but could it
• 2:20:09
  Speaker 22: come to.
• 2:20:10
  Speaker 7: A close soon?
• 2:20:11
  Speaker 44: Reports indicate President Trump will hold a meeting with Gulf
• 2:20:14
  Speaker 44: leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly later
• 2:20:17
  Speaker 44: this month to discuss the war with Iran. We do
• 2:20:21
  Speaker 44: know this comes after President Trump said on Wednesday he
• 2:20:24
  Speaker 44: hopes the war will end soon, adding that Iran wants
• 2:20:27
  Speaker 44: to make a deal.
• 2:20:28
  Speaker 20: Fox's Trey Inks in Tel Aviv.
• 2:20:29
  Speaker 22: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressing EU lawmakers in France
• 2:20:32
  Speaker 22: earlier says we welcome this ambition. That's if it becomes
• 2:20:36
  Speaker 22: the first associate member of the European Union.
• 2:20:38
  Speaker 1: Deepen those roots.
• 2:20:41
  Speaker 20: Widen this canopy and grow a transatlantic forest under which
• 2:20:46
  Speaker 20: our citizens can flourish.
• 2:20:48
  Speaker 22: Diesel rising eight cents overnight, stopping at a new record
• 2:20:51
  Speaker 22: 639 a gallon. That from AAA. America's listening to Fox News.
• 2:21:02
  Speaker 39: The past few years, That's So Debbie has asked you
• 2:21:05
  Speaker 39: to bring in your old worn-out flags, and they will
• 2:21:08
  Speaker 39: respectfully remove the stars for Stars for Our Troops, help
• 2:21:11
  Speaker 39: raise money for our veterans, and ask you to stop
• 2:21:14
  Speaker 39: in for a mask. That's So Debbie also sells fabric,
• 2:21:17
  Speaker 39: sewing materials, quilting supplies, threads, sewing machines, sewing machine repairs,
• 2:21:21
  Speaker 39: and coming soon, there will be all new sewing class schedules.
• 2:21:24
  Speaker 39: That's So Debbie thanks everyone for continuing to help our veterans.
• 2:21:28
  Speaker 39: That's So Debbie, located on Route 12 in Broughton, Visit
• 2:21:31
  Speaker 39: That's So Debbie dot net.
• 2:21:35
  Speaker 6: Good morning. I'm Sean Murphy.
• 2:21:37
  Speaker 18: Partly sunny today with a high close to 80.
• 2:21:41
  Speaker 28: Yesterday, a New London judge heard initial arguments regarding Beth Carpenter,
• 2:21:45
  Speaker 28: who is asking the court to reduce her life sentence
• 2:21:48
  Speaker 28: for arranging her brother-in-law's 1994 killing.
• 2:21:52
  Speaker 15: Her lawyers say her.
• 2:21:53
  Speaker 28: Convictions on two charges involving the same death amount to
• 2:21:58
  Speaker 28: double jeopardy.
• 2:21:59
  Speaker 15: The court will first rule on her.
• 2:22:00
  Speaker 28: Request to move the case to another judge familiar with
• 2:22:03
  Speaker 28: the case. Eastline is considering rules that would limit new
• 2:22:07
  Speaker 28: short-term rentals to certain commercial districts. require stays of at
• 2:22:11
  Speaker 28: least 14 days and impose.
• 2:22:14
  Speaker 15: A $ 500 annual permit fee.
• 2:22:16
  Speaker 28: A public hearing is scheduled for tonight at Town Hall.
• 2:22:19
  Speaker 28: The city of Groton activated speed cameras Wednesday on Mitchell Street,
• 2:22:24
  Speaker 28: Thames Street, and Clarence B.
• 2:22:25
  Speaker 15: Sharp Highway. Police said drivers caught speeding.
• 2:22:29
  Speaker 28: will receive warnings during the first 30 days. A westerly
• 2:22:32
  Speaker 28: man escaped with minor injuries after a mother moose charged
• 2:22:36
  Speaker 28: him during a family hike near Boulder, Colorado. Dean Felicetti
• 2:22:41
  Speaker 28: said the moose kicked him into rocks as he and
• 2:22:44
  Speaker 28: his son tried to move away from her calf.
• 2:22:47
  Speaker 15: I'm Sean Murphy. When news breaks, we break in.
• 2:22:54
  Speaker 13: It's Hugh Hewitt here with Ken and Nick Tumalo, hosts
• 2:22:56
  Speaker 13: of Tumalo Financial Radio.
• 2:22:58
  Speaker 9: Sunday's on 94.9.
• 2:23:00
  Speaker 13: Guys, why do taxes get overlooked in retirement planning?
• 2:23:04
  Speaker 45: Because the tax code's so complicated. You look at it,
• 2:23:06
  Speaker 45: the 401k is pre-tax money. The Roth is tax-free. Your
• 2:23:09
  Speaker 45: non-retirement accounts are capital gains, dividends, and interest. Your social
• 2:23:13
  Speaker 45: security is taxed by provisional income. I'm giving you all
• 2:23:15
  Speaker 45: these things and you're probably already confused. That's why you
• 2:23:17
  Speaker 45: want to build out that two-month retirement checkup to see short,
• 2:23:21
  Speaker 45: first long-term effects on these type of things.
• 2:23:23
  Speaker 15: Because you never know.
• 2:23:24
  Speaker 45: You might have been saving well in those 401ks and
• 2:23:26
  Speaker 45: you might have a required minimum distribution issue at 73
• 2:23:30
  Speaker 45: or 75, depending on your birth. So you really don't
• 2:23:33
  Speaker 45: want to look at it just on a one-year basis.
• 2:23:35
  Speaker 45: Oh yeah, I'm going to do a Roth conversion this year.
• 2:23:37
  Speaker 45: It's going to take care of everything.
• 2:23:39
  Speaker 4: No.
• 2:23:39
  Speaker 45: Planning takes year over year on tax planning. You can't
• 2:23:42
  Speaker 45: just do it in one year.
• 2:23:43
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 2:23:43
  Speaker 30: One of the biggest things that we did find with
• 2:23:45
  Speaker 30: tax planning, especially for our listeners, was that it has
• 2:23:49
  Speaker 30: to be done over multiple years to actually gain an advantage.
• 2:23:52
  Speaker 30: So it's not that simple where you just make one
• 2:23:54
  Speaker 30: change in one year. A lot of times it's the
• 2:23:56
  Speaker 30: planning piece of it. And when we do our two
• 2:23:58
  Speaker 30: more financial retirement checkup, it actually looks like a big
• 2:24:01
  Speaker 30: spreadsheet and it shows the numbers over a whole bunch
• 2:24:03
  Speaker 30: of years. We like to go out 24, even 30
• 2:24:05
  Speaker 30: years at times when we're projecting out, because if we
• 2:24:08
  Speaker 30: can pick up on some of these tax things and
• 2:24:10
  Speaker 30: then start to implement strategies, then what we can do
• 2:24:12
  Speaker 30: is put in front of you, the listeners, we can
• 2:24:15
  Speaker 30: put in front of them where they would save money
• 2:24:16
  Speaker 30: in taxes and how much over time. So it starts
• 2:24:18
  Speaker 30: with that Tumalo Financial Retirement Checkup, our number, 860-854-3434.
• 2:24:21
  Speaker 1: Again, 860-854-3434.
• 2:24:22
  Speaker 9: Or visit us online at tfcheckup.com.
• 2:24:23
  Speaker 30: At Tumalo Financial, they have just one job, and that's
• 2:24:25
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  Speaker 15: 860-854-3434 or visit tfcheckup.com.
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  Speaker 32: Investment advisory services offered through Tumalo Wealth Management.
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  Speaker 7: An SEC-registered investment advisor.
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  Speaker 8: Insurance services offered through Tumalo Financial, licensed in Connecticut.
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  Speaker 7: The Densmore Oil and Bugbee Plumbing Seat of Honor.
• 2:25:02
  Speaker 2: Okay, we're back. The final half hour. of the show today.
• 2:25:06
  Speaker 2: We have had a pretty great show about focusing on
• 2:25:10
  Speaker 2: New London mostly and tourism and hospitality and I think
• 2:25:15
  Speaker 2: we have three of the probably three of the top
• 2:25:19
  Speaker 2: supporters and enthusiasts for the city of New London with
• 2:25:23
  Speaker 2: the coach Jack and Mayor Mike and now we're fortunate
• 2:25:28
  Speaker 2: to have one of the driving forces of our National
• 2:25:34
  Speaker 2: Coast Guard Museum that we're about to open. And first,
• 2:25:39
  Speaker 2: thank you, sir, for all your great service. But let's
• 2:25:41
  Speaker 2: welcome to the show Wes Pulver, Captain Wes Pulver. Good morning, sir.
• 2:25:45
  Speaker 36: Yeah, thank you, Senator. Glad to be chatting with you.
• 2:25:49
  Speaker 2: It's glad to be chatting with you again. And, you know,
• 2:25:52
  Speaker 2: we're almost there.
• 2:25:54
  Speaker 1: We are.
• 2:25:55
  Speaker 36: We're getting real close here. Coast Guard has set the
• 2:25:58
  Speaker 36: date of 4 August of 2027 to open the That'll
• 2:26:01
  Speaker 36: be kind of a sliding week opening. So over the
• 2:26:04
  Speaker 36: course of that week, we'll have different events. And as
• 2:26:07
  Speaker 36: far as our piece of it from the association is
• 2:26:11
  Speaker 36: we're going to complete the building most likely this year.
• 2:26:14
  Speaker 36: We'll do some testing of systems. And then our goal
• 2:26:17
  Speaker 36: is to actually gift the building to the U.S.
• 2:26:19
  Speaker 29: Government.
• 2:26:20
  Speaker 36: It goes to the U.S.
• 2:26:21
  Speaker 6: Coast Guard.
• 2:26:21
  Speaker 36: And it doesn't end our relationship with the project, but
• 2:26:24
  Speaker 36: it definitely ends the first phase of it, which is
• 2:26:28
  Speaker 36: building a national museum worthy of the men and women
• 2:26:30
  Speaker 36: of the Coast Guard. And we're real excited about where
• 2:26:33
  Speaker 36: we are with the project.
• 2:26:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, long, long overdue to be recognized for the great work.
• 2:26:38
  Speaker 2: And some of the displays in there are really going
• 2:26:41
  Speaker 2: to be, you know, larger than lifelike to really describe,
• 2:26:47
  Speaker 2: you know, the history of the great men and women
• 2:26:50
  Speaker 2: that have supported and served in that area. And you,
• 2:26:55
  Speaker 2: you know, have a legacy of service. You're what, 30
• 2:26:58
  Speaker 2: years of service in the Coast Guard before you retired,
• 2:27:02
  Speaker 2: nearly 30 years. And you commanded the Eagle, which is,
• 2:27:05
  Speaker 2: you know, going to be parked out front there. So
• 2:27:07
  Speaker 2: that's got to be kind of nice.
• 2:27:09
  Speaker 36: And that was wonderful. I mean, I was really, you know,
• 2:27:12
  Speaker 36: privileged to serve in the Coast Guard. I actually did
• 2:27:14
  Speaker 36: 28 and a half active and ended retiring off the
• 2:27:18
  Speaker 36: Coast Guard Bark Eagle. And my wife and I have
• 2:27:20
  Speaker 36: stayed in the New London County area and absolutely love
• 2:27:23
  Speaker 36: it here. And, uh, But, yeah, I mean, you know,
• 2:27:25
  Speaker 36: I was proud to serve and proud to, in a
• 2:27:28
  Speaker 36: weird way, serve, you know, in this nonprofit to do
• 2:27:31
  Speaker 36: more for the service. And, you know, we have a
• 2:27:34
  Speaker 36: wonderful board. We've got 8,000 donors. We've got people from
• 2:27:37
  Speaker 36: across the nation have really seen the value. of the museum. And,
• 2:27:42
  Speaker 36: you know, I'm a New London County resident, so I
• 2:27:44
  Speaker 36: feel hopefully as lucky as everyone in the county to
• 2:27:46
  Speaker 36: be able to build one of the five National Military
• 2:27:50
  Speaker 36: Museums In our region, the rest are, you know, there's
• 2:27:55
  Speaker 36: three in D.C., there's one in Ohio, and we've got
• 2:27:58
  Speaker 36: one up here in southeastern Connecticut, and I feel great
• 2:28:01
  Speaker 36: about that, and hopefully the community does as well.
• 2:28:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so. I think the early conversations about
• 2:28:07
  Speaker 2: where it should be in Fort Trumbull and not downtown,
• 2:28:11
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think we've got to find a way
• 2:28:13
  Speaker 2: to connect Fort Trumbull to downtown. I'm not quite sure
• 2:28:16
  Speaker 2: how we get over that hurdle, but, you know, having
• 2:28:20
  Speaker 2: that museum right down Right downtown is going to be
• 2:28:23
  Speaker 2: a boon for the businesses there. It's going to drive
• 2:28:25
  Speaker 2: people to want to live there, I think, and take
• 2:28:28
  Speaker 2: advantage of the increase of what that downtown is really
• 2:28:33
  Speaker 2: going to look like because it's really going to have
• 2:28:36
  Speaker 2: to freshen up. The mayor talked about that. The revitalization
• 2:28:40
  Speaker 2: of downtown is going to happen, and it's almost quite there.
• 2:28:44
  Speaker 2: So I think it's a great thing, but I remember
• 2:28:48
  Speaker 2: introducing the— pedestrian walkway and getting the $ 20 million during
• 2:28:55
  Speaker 2: my time in the legislature, and then that seems to
• 2:28:58
  Speaker 2: have stalled. Can you give us a little bit of
• 2:29:00
  Speaker 2: an update on that?
• 2:29:01
  Speaker 36: Stalled might be a stronger word, but I would say this,
• 2:29:04
  Speaker 36: that it was always lagging. It was always a lagging
• 2:29:07
  Speaker 36: project that the state wanted to ensure before we built
• 2:29:11
  Speaker 36: the pedestrian bridge itself, that we were 100% sure that
• 2:29:16
  Speaker 36: we'd be able to get the museum up. And When
• 2:29:18
  Speaker 36: we did that, we did put out a bid. The bid,
• 2:29:21
  Speaker 36: and it was discussed in the day, the bid came
• 2:29:24
  Speaker 36: in significantly higher than estimate. And so in conversations with
• 2:29:29
  Speaker 36: the state, we're going to look at better ways to
• 2:29:31
  Speaker 36: bid it out. The state has been generous with the
• 2:29:36
  Speaker 36: initial $ 20 million. There's been some other options with the
• 2:29:39
  Speaker 36: state we're working through right now. And then we're looking
• 2:29:42
  Speaker 36: at other options. But our goal is to get that
• 2:29:44
  Speaker 36: done and It won't be open. The bridge will not
• 2:29:48
  Speaker 36: be open when the museum's open at first, but that's
• 2:29:50
  Speaker 36: still a priority of our organization to do the right
• 2:29:54
  Speaker 36: things by not just the museum, but the community. And
• 2:29:57
  Speaker 36: so we're still pretty aggressive on that. And we're having discussions,
• 2:30:00
  Speaker 36: I think, right now, and since it's kind of us,
• 2:30:03
  Speaker 36: the National Coast Guard Museum Association on both, we're laser
• 2:30:06
  Speaker 36: focused on the museum right now. But as we get
• 2:30:09
  Speaker 36: closer to finishing up, we're going to take another hard
• 2:30:12
  Speaker 36: look at where we are with the bridge and And
• 2:30:13
  Speaker 36: I'm optimistic we'll be able to move on that. I
• 2:30:16
  Speaker 36: remain optimistic on this project. And, you know, with the
• 2:30:19
  Speaker 36: impact of what the museum's going to do downtown, I
• 2:30:21
  Speaker 36: can't imagine that long term without that pedestrian bridge as well.
• 2:30:25
  Speaker 36: So we'll work that out. We're working it.
• 2:30:26
  Speaker 2: I know the mayor talked about what you call optimism.
• 2:30:30
  Speaker 2: I think he called tenacity when he was here. So
• 2:30:33
  Speaker 2: I'm sure that it will. And that $ 20 million, that's
• 2:30:37
  Speaker 2: set aside in the bond commission, right? It just hasn't
• 2:30:39
  Speaker 2: been It hasn't been appropriated yet. So that's still sitting there.
• 2:30:42
  Speaker 2: We just got to find whatever the balance is and
• 2:30:46
  Speaker 2: get that going. I know I was a kind of
• 2:30:48
  Speaker 2: a fly on the wall, one of Senator Murphy's group
• 2:30:52
  Speaker 2: calls that he had a few months ago.
• 2:30:55
  Speaker 29: So.
• 2:30:57
  Speaker 36: Yeah, that money is, you know, the money there is
• 2:31:00
  Speaker 36: we've actually spent a little bit because obviously we've had
• 2:31:02
  Speaker 36: to design the bridge to a lot of engineering work.
• 2:31:05
  Speaker 36: So we have the construction documents. Other than dusting them off,
• 2:31:08
  Speaker 36: they're ready to go. But there's been an investment there
• 2:31:10
  Speaker 36: of a few million to get, you know, obviously building
• 2:31:12
  Speaker 36: on the waterfront over the tracks. There's a lot of
• 2:31:15
  Speaker 36: engineering involved with that. But we're ready, you know, we're
• 2:31:18
  Speaker 36: very close to being ready to go with that package.
• 2:31:20
  Speaker 29: And, yeah.
• 2:31:21
  Speaker 36: Yeah, there's been a lot of thoughts on that bridge.
• 2:31:23
  Speaker 36: I think it's an essential piece. And you mentioned downtown.
• 2:31:26
  Speaker 36: I think having the National Museum downtown is– it's a
• 2:31:30
  Speaker 36: national museum. It's not a transportation hub. It's going to
• 2:31:32
  Speaker 36: draw people in. And then, you know, working with the city,
• 2:31:35
  Speaker 36: we're going to find ways to get folks around the
• 2:31:37
  Speaker 36: community as well. I mean, the idea of someone coming
• 2:31:40
  Speaker 36: to the museum and leaving is not the vision that
• 2:31:42
  Speaker 36: we have. And we've worked a lot with Mayor Passero
• 2:31:45
  Speaker 36: and looking at options to get folks into the town–
• 2:31:48
  Speaker 36: And even out and about, you know, we have, you know,
• 2:31:51
  Speaker 36: just on the waterfront, we're talking about, you know, what
• 2:31:54
  Speaker 36: do we do with the Finger Pier? Eagle's home port
• 2:31:56
  Speaker 36: was shifted to the city pier, but it's not always there,
• 2:32:00
  Speaker 36: but it'll be there when she's in port. And there's
• 2:32:03
  Speaker 36: a light ship that's looking to moor on the waterfront
• 2:32:06
  Speaker 36: next year. So we're trying to bring in other vessels
• 2:32:08
  Speaker 36: to get people out into the town, not just into
• 2:32:10
  Speaker 36: the museum itself, and we're excited about that.
• 2:32:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and there's been a trickle of tour boats of,
• 2:32:17
  Speaker 2: you know, that have stopped in there on their way
• 2:32:21
  Speaker 2: up to Maine and, you know, dumping people off or
• 2:32:24
  Speaker 2: not dumping, but letting people off and, you know, enjoying
• 2:32:29
  Speaker 2: downtown New London, which I think, you know, I think
• 2:32:32
  Speaker 2: that's just going to increase and having all that business
• 2:32:36
  Speaker 2: is going to trickle into the community. I certainly agree.
• 2:32:40
  Speaker 1: Captain, this is Bill Stanley, Paul's co-host, and I want
• 2:32:44
  Speaker 1: to start by congratulating you on the imminent opening of
• 2:32:48
  Speaker 1: the museum, given all the starts and stops. And there
• 2:32:52
  Speaker 1: was talk that the museum was not going to be
• 2:32:55
  Speaker 1: built in New London. It was going to be in
• 2:32:59
  Speaker 1: New York or Washington. So it's finally going to happen.
• 2:33:03
  Speaker 1: And once it opens, given... the shortage of parking that
• 2:33:11
  Speaker 1: already exists as a result of all the people working
• 2:33:14
  Speaker 1: the electric boat in New London. What are the plans
• 2:33:19
  Speaker 1: for parking? Because you're anticipating, what, 300,000 people a year
• 2:33:24
  Speaker 1: coming to the museum?
• 2:33:26
  Speaker 6: That's correct.
• 2:33:27
  Speaker 36: And, you know, the city's looked at the parking study,
• 2:33:30
  Speaker 36: and I don't know if you talked to Mayor Passero
• 2:33:33
  Speaker 36: about that, but obviously the Water Street Garage, the federal
• 2:33:36
  Speaker 36: government's been very generous on that water street. Water Street
• 2:33:39
  Speaker 36: Garage with an over $ 20 million grant to expand that
• 2:33:45
  Speaker 36: Water Street Garage. That's something I know that the mayor's
• 2:33:47
  Speaker 36: looking at. There's other parking garages in the area. You know,
• 2:33:51
  Speaker 36: I was surprised when I saw the parking started. There's
• 2:33:53
  Speaker 36: over 5,000 parking spots in New London. So I think
• 2:33:56
  Speaker 36: it's just a matter of getting the word out of
• 2:33:58
  Speaker 36: where folks can park. And again, once that parking garage
• 2:34:01
  Speaker 36: gets extended, expanded, that adds another 500 to 600 spots
• 2:34:05
  Speaker 36: right there on the waterfront. So You know, if we
• 2:34:08
  Speaker 36: get overrun with parking, you know, that's something that the
• 2:34:10
  Speaker 36: mayor and I, and obviously we care, will be alongside
• 2:34:13
  Speaker 36: the mayor. He kind of has that piece of it.
• 2:34:16
  Speaker 36: But that's something that we'll look forward to solving if
• 2:34:19
  Speaker 36: we do get, you know, overrun by parking, because what
• 2:34:22
  Speaker 36: we want to do is make all those folks have
• 2:34:24
  Speaker 36: an unbelievable experience, not just at the museum, but I
• 2:34:27
  Speaker 36: know the mayor wants it to be in the city itself.
• 2:34:30
  Speaker 1: Well, speaking of the experience, can you tell us a
• 2:34:33
  Speaker 1: little bit about what visitors to the museum are going
• 2:34:36
  Speaker 1: to find once they get inside?
• 2:34:37
  Speaker 36: Yeah, absolutely. First off, as mentioned to the senator there,
• 2:34:43
  Speaker 36: when we talk about the waterfront, when people right now
• 2:34:46
  Speaker 36: will come around the train station, will come in from
• 2:34:49
  Speaker 36: the tracks there, and so they'll be viewing the museum
• 2:34:54
  Speaker 36: in front of them, a waterfront there. The museum itself,
• 2:34:57
  Speaker 36: and it was publicized in the day, is We've already
• 2:35:00
  Speaker 36: got a Sikorsky helicopter in there, so folks will come in,
• 2:35:04
  Speaker 36: they'll look up. It's a five-story atrium, and these are
• 2:35:08
  Speaker 36: 16-foot floors, so it's 80.
• 2:35:12
  Speaker 1: Feet high, right?
• 2:35:13
  Speaker 36: It's this huge 80-foot-high atrium with a helicopter suspended with
• 2:35:16
  Speaker 36: a rescue swimmer, and that's hopefully going to put people
• 2:35:19
  Speaker 36: right into the mode of, wow, they're coming into something
• 2:35:21
  Speaker 36: really special here. At that point, either they'll go up
• 2:35:25
  Speaker 36: to the first deck, which is really where the museum starts,
• 2:35:29
  Speaker 36: You know, obviously Coast Guard security, but we'll have within
• 2:35:31
  Speaker 36: that first deck, there'll be more of a statue of
• 2:35:36
  Speaker 36: sort of historic statue of the Coast Guard. We're going
• 2:35:38
  Speaker 36: to have a theater there. On decks two, three, and four,
• 2:35:41
  Speaker 36: we've got incredible five storylines of the Coast Guard. We're
• 2:35:45
  Speaker 36: going to tell that story. Lifesavers around the globe, you know,
• 2:35:49
  Speaker 36: artifacts and stories and all of that about really the
• 2:35:53
  Speaker 36: history of the lifesaving of the Coast Guard. Then you
• 2:35:55
  Speaker 36: get into the next deck. It's Enforcers on the Seas
• 2:35:58
  Speaker 36: and Defenders of Our Nation, that law enforcement mission that
• 2:36:01
  Speaker 36: the Revenue Marine was put together in 1790 by Alexander Hamilton.
• 2:36:06
  Speaker 36: That started– it was really the law enforcement, the tariffs.
• 2:36:09
  Speaker 36: That's where the Coast Guard really started. But then you
• 2:36:12
  Speaker 36: add to it Defenders of Our Nation as a requirement.
• 2:36:15
  Speaker 36: When we did not have a Navy in the late 1700s,
• 2:36:19
  Speaker 36: the Revenue Marine was it. So that started that tradition
• 2:36:22
  Speaker 36: of us– also standing the watch in the defense role,
• 2:36:25
  Speaker 36: and we continue to do that today. And on the
• 2:36:27
  Speaker 36: top deck, one that I think will surprise people is
• 2:36:30
  Speaker 36: the missions of, you know, champions of commerce. The Coast
• 2:36:33
  Speaker 36: Guard is regulating, monitoring, running all the ports, captain of
• 2:36:37
  Speaker 36: port role that the Coast Guard has. So commerce, such
• 2:36:40
  Speaker 36: a critical component of our nation, the Coast Guard's involved
• 2:36:42
  Speaker 36: with all of that, and then protect us of the environment.
• 2:36:45
  Speaker 36: On the navigable waters, the Coast Guard takes lead on
• 2:36:48
  Speaker 36: that for the federal government. So You look at those
• 2:36:50
  Speaker 36: five storylines. We're going to tell those stories. We've got
• 2:36:53
  Speaker 36: a rotating gallery in there. There's activity stations for kids.
• 2:36:57
  Speaker 36: We've got an early learning center. And on the top
• 2:36:59
  Speaker 36: floor itself, we have a STEM center. We've got a
• 2:37:02
  Speaker 36: place where there's going to be a briefing room and
• 2:37:04
  Speaker 36: three simulators to allow our youth to go in there
• 2:37:08
  Speaker 36: and kind of experience what the Coast Guard does. And admittedly,
• 2:37:10
  Speaker 36: I'm going to go in there too and play. But
• 2:37:13
  Speaker 36: it's really set up to really inspire that next generation
• 2:37:16
  Speaker 36: to do something great. You know, it's being the Coast
• 2:37:18
  Speaker 36: Guard or being in government, being on the maritime, to
• 2:37:21
  Speaker 36: being an engineer. There's so many opportunities, and hopefully this
• 2:37:24
  Speaker 36: will expose those young men and women to that. And lastly,
• 2:37:27
  Speaker 36: an event center, memorial center on the memorial. Terrace on
• 2:37:30
  Speaker 36: that top deck. It's going to be a really multi-use
• 2:37:33
  Speaker 36: building with some great storylines, some great experiences, and then
• 2:37:37
  Speaker 36: you get out into the town itself, the waterfront, Eagle
• 2:37:41
  Speaker 36: at the pier or visiting Cutters, you know, a Coast
• 2:37:44
  Speaker 36: Guard trail, which we're going to work with the with
• 2:37:46
  Speaker 36: the city and set up a trail for folks to
• 2:37:48
  Speaker 36: walk around and really experience a lot with what this
• 2:37:51
  Speaker 36: historic region has to offer.
• 2:37:53
  Speaker 1: Well, that sounds really fascinating and something that I think
• 2:37:56
  Speaker 1: is going to attract lots of visitors, many of whom,
• 2:38:02
  Speaker 1: as you mentioned, are young people, which brings to mind
• 2:38:06
  Speaker 1: the question, family entertainment, family vacation trips and things like that,
• 2:38:15
  Speaker 1: have become so expensive. What is the projected admission charge,
• 2:38:22
  Speaker 1: for instance?
• 2:38:23
  Speaker 36: Well, that's a wonderful question. And as a national museum
• 2:38:27
  Speaker 36: gifted to the U.S. Coast Guard, it is a free museum.
• 2:38:30
  Speaker 1: No kidding.
• 2:38:31
  Speaker 36: So the museum itself is a free museum. We'll have
• 2:38:34
  Speaker 36: a store in there for people to get knickknacks. That's
• 2:38:36
  Speaker 36: not free. Parking in the city, you know, where they park,
• 2:38:40
  Speaker 36: probably the city will charge a fee there. But The
• 2:38:42
  Speaker 36: museum itself is going to be free, and that's a
• 2:38:45
  Speaker 36: wonderful piece of having a national museum. I lived in D.C.
• 2:38:48
  Speaker 36: for a few years, and you go downtown and you
• 2:38:51
  Speaker 36: don't pay for museums, and it's wonderful. And we're going
• 2:38:53
  Speaker 36: to provide that, or the Coast Guard and the federal
• 2:38:56
  Speaker 36: government are providing that for southeastern Connecticut.
• 2:38:58
  Speaker 1: Well, when you think about it costing upwards of $ 1, 000
• 2:39:01
  Speaker 1: to take a family of four to a professional baseball
• 2:39:05
  Speaker 1: game or a football game or something like that, this is.
• 2:39:09
  Speaker 1: Sounds like a wonderful alternative, especially when you can take
• 2:39:13
  Speaker 1: the train or the Cross Sound Ferry and deliver you
• 2:39:17
  Speaker 1: right there. You don't even need a cab or an
• 2:39:19
  Speaker 1: Uber to get to the facility. And with an increased
• 2:39:25
  Speaker 1: abundance of parking, this sounds like it's going to be
• 2:39:28
  Speaker 1: a great drop for the city.
• 2:39:30
  Speaker 6: And we hope that.
• 2:39:31
  Speaker 36: You know, it's something that, again, I haven't talked, you know,
• 2:39:34
  Speaker 36: Senator Formica was there, obviously Mayor Passereau, the state, you know,
• 2:39:38
  Speaker 36: the federal government, they see this as an opportunity to
• 2:39:41
  Speaker 36: really do something special for the region, you know, do
• 2:39:45
  Speaker 36: something really special for the Coast Guard as well. And
• 2:39:48
  Speaker 36: I'd like to say do something special for the nation
• 2:39:50
  Speaker 36: to tell the story of our U.S. Coast Guard, which is,
• 2:39:53
  Speaker 36: you know, we have some small regional museums and some
• 2:39:55
  Speaker 36: are on bases and stuff to get to them. This
• 2:39:58
  Speaker 36: is going to be a really, really public event. venue,
• 2:40:01
  Speaker 36: which is, you know, bringing folks in. It's a free
• 2:40:04
  Speaker 36: venue for visitors, you know, and you mentioned it. You know,
• 2:40:09
  Speaker 36: one of the surprises I had when we started as
• 2:40:12
  Speaker 36: the Senator talked about, you know, what's the right location, and,
• 2:40:15
  Speaker 36: you know, you talked about, you know, conversations of other locations.
• 2:40:18
  Speaker 36: That was real early on, but even in the 20,
• 2:40:21
  Speaker 36: you know, after I came on in 2015, there was
• 2:40:23
  Speaker 36: still a, you know, is this the right location? I
• 2:40:26
  Speaker 36: think absolutely. If you're a new one and this is
• 2:40:28
  Speaker 36: the location... Because there are amazingly 2.5 million people that
• 2:40:32
  Speaker 36: either get off a ferry boat or get off a
• 2:40:35
  Speaker 36: train or get offshore line east of DOT train. I mean,
• 2:40:39
  Speaker 36: there's 2.5 million people that are right there. So we're
• 2:40:42
  Speaker 36: going to try to capture them as much as capturing
• 2:40:44
  Speaker 36: veterans from around the country and obviously folks driving in.
• 2:40:48
  Speaker 36: So we've got some work to do. We're going to
• 2:40:50
  Speaker 36: work with the Coast Guard on that. The association is
• 2:40:53
  Speaker 36: going to continue with the project on things like marketing
• 2:40:57
  Speaker 36: and advertisement. We're going to be the ones. that really
• 2:41:00
  Speaker 36: highlight to get folks in that museum for the Coast
• 2:41:02
  Speaker 36: Guard and let them use that budgeted money to go
• 2:41:06
  Speaker 36: save lives and let us help them with some of
• 2:41:08
  Speaker 36: those roles to make sure it's a vibrant museum.
• 2:41:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's going to be, I think, a wonderful, wonderful
• 2:41:14
  Speaker 2: opportunity to showcase the service agency and the city. And
• 2:41:20
  Speaker 2: we are a Coast Guard city.
• 2:41:22
  Speaker 36: We are absolutely a Coast Guard city. We were, I believe,
• 2:41:25
  Speaker 36: number 18.
• 2:41:25
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 2:41:26
  Speaker 36: As I told everybody when it happened, it's good to
• 2:41:28
  Speaker 36: be 18. But so we're one of the, I think
• 2:41:32
  Speaker 36: there's more than 30 Coast Guard cities around, but this
• 2:41:34
  Speaker 36: is Connecticut's Coast Guard city. And something we're trying to
• 2:41:38
  Speaker 36: do is to make the museum sort of a home
• 2:41:39
  Speaker 36: for the Coast Guard. When folks talk about, so not
• 2:41:43
  Speaker 36: just a Coast Guard city, but a home for the
• 2:41:45
  Speaker 36: Coast Guard that every veteran wants to come back to
• 2:41:47
  Speaker 36: this region. So we're excited about that opportunity too.
• 2:41:50
  Speaker 2: We're fortunate to have a large veteran retired surplus here,
• 2:41:56
  Speaker 2: you know, from all of the services that, people have
• 2:41:59
  Speaker 2: made their home here in southeastern Connecticut. It would have
• 2:42:01
  Speaker 2: been such a great force for volunteerism and for being
• 2:42:07
  Speaker 2: here in our area. One question I had for you,
• 2:42:10
  Speaker 2: the academy is right around the corner. Are there going
• 2:42:13
  Speaker 2: to be connections with teaching and having the students there?
• 2:42:17
  Speaker 2: I'm sure they'll be in there, but are there programs
• 2:42:20
  Speaker 2: that you're going to institute that will help those kids
• 2:42:24
  Speaker 2: kind of understand that?
• 2:42:26
  Speaker 36: There's certainly already been discussions with the Academy of how
• 2:42:30
  Speaker 36: do we bring, you know, the new swabs in. So
• 2:42:34
  Speaker 36: the freshmen that come in that first summer, do they
• 2:42:36
  Speaker 36: get an understanding of the museum? Do we do something
• 2:42:38
  Speaker 36: special with them at the museum? Obviously, with Eagle Mord there,
• 2:42:42
  Speaker 36: bringing the cadets on board is going to have a role.
• 2:42:44
  Speaker 36: I think also, and having been on staff at the Academy,
• 2:42:48
  Speaker 36: that's a heck of a, a heck of a 24-hour
• 2:42:51
  Speaker 36: day they have for four years. So we're not going
• 2:42:53
  Speaker 36: to per se say they're only going to be down
• 2:42:55
  Speaker 36: here five hours a day or anything like that. But
• 2:42:58
  Speaker 36: given them the opportunity to come down, see their Coast Guard,
• 2:43:00
  Speaker 36: to be able to do volunteer service, which they're all
• 2:43:03
  Speaker 36: required to do, someone may choose to do that at
• 2:43:05
  Speaker 36: the museum. It's exciting. And, again, the impact on the
• 2:43:10
  Speaker 36: academy or Officer Candidate School at the academy or potentially
• 2:43:14
  Speaker 36: things like our boot camp, which is down the river
• 2:43:16
  Speaker 36: and down the– down the ocean there open in Cape May,
• 2:43:20
  Speaker 36: New Jersey. But, you know, do we look at bringing
• 2:43:22
  Speaker 36: up the folks that are boot camp, you know, and
• 2:43:24
  Speaker 36: bringing them and letting them see the enlisted workforce, see
• 2:43:27
  Speaker 36: their Coast Guard just at the accession point, just like
• 2:43:30
  Speaker 36: the cadets and the officer candidates. So we're looking at
• 2:43:32
  Speaker 36: all those options, and that's something that the Coast Guard,
• 2:43:36
  Speaker 36: you know, that just, you know, more inculcates our amazing
• 2:43:41
  Speaker 36: workforce into the Coast Guard to see the history of
• 2:43:44
  Speaker 36: our services.
• 2:43:45
  Speaker 2: You know, people talk about what a win-win is. I
• 2:43:48
  Speaker 2: think this is a win-win-win-win. And it's going to be great.
• 2:43:53
  Speaker 2: And congratulations to you and the team that you've assembled
• 2:43:56
  Speaker 2: to do all of this. And I want to thank
• 2:43:58
  Speaker 2: you very much for coming on and sharing the progress
• 2:44:03
  Speaker 2: and the process and a little bit about the museum.
• 2:44:06
  Speaker 2: And again, for your great service to our nation. And
• 2:44:10
  Speaker 2: we hope you come back and And join the show
• 2:44:13
  Speaker 2: as things get going, and we'll look forward to April 4th.
• 2:44:17
  Speaker 26: August 4th.
• 2:44:18
  Speaker 36: August 4th, I'm sorry. And I'd be remiss not to say,
• 2:44:22
  Speaker 36: just again, to thank, you know, we've had almost $ 60
• 2:44:24
  Speaker 36: million in donations from over 8,000 donors, federal support, bipartisan,
• 2:44:30
  Speaker 36: led a lot by our Connecticut delegation, but very bipartisan.
• 2:44:33
  Speaker 36: It's been incredible. We've really just had so much support
• 2:44:37
  Speaker 36: and can't wait to host you at the museum. It's
• 2:44:39
  Speaker 36: going to be wonderful.
• 2:44:40
  Speaker 2: We can't wait to bring the grandkids there for sure.
• 2:44:43
  Speaker 36: I got mine, too. That's a good thing.
• 2:44:46
  Speaker 2: All right, good. Thanks for being with us, and we
• 2:44:49
  Speaker 2: look forward to seeing you soon, sir, and have a
• 2:44:51
  Speaker 2: great afternoon. And that's it for us today. The Bill
• 2:44:56
  Speaker 2: Stanley and Paul Formica show, it's a wrap. Time flies
• 2:45:00
  Speaker 2: when you're having fun. It's great, and it's still only
• 2:45:03
  Speaker 2: 9 a.m. It's unbelievable. You know, we've got the whole
• 2:45:06
  Speaker 2: day in front of us. So thanks for listening. Stay tuned.
• 2:45:10
  Speaker 2: Tomorrow we'll have another great show with a couple people
• 2:45:16
  Speaker 2: that are going to sit in and take over for
• 2:45:19
  Speaker 2: us and the voice of freedom. So enjoy your day.
• 2:45:22
  Speaker 2: We're at 94.9 News Now and Stimulating Talk.