Condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Rep. Quentin Williams
Connecticut Retail Network launches new name, new website
Exclusive interviews with legislative leaders
State legislature convenes at the State Capitol
News and notes from around the State
- On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the CRN we want to send our condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of State Rep. Quentin Williams of Middletown.
- Q, as he was known to friends and colleagues, was headed home after Opening Day of the 2023 General Assembly and the Inaugural Ball for Governor Lamont when his car was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on Route 9, and he was killed.
- Rep. Williams reached out to our association just 2 weeks ago, after being named to co-chair the legislature’s Labor Committee and all during that conversation you could see what his friends and colleagues saw: openness, warmth, and genuine interest in trying to find ways to work together on important issues.
- Expressions of shock, sadness and sorrow were shared by state and local leaders and organizations throughout the state yesterday and continue.
- The State Capitol was closed on Thursday and Friday, and flags flew at half-staff.
We’re now the Connecticut Retail Network!
- Our new name, Connecticut Retail Network (CRN), officially makes its debut this week, succeeding the venerable Connecticut Retail Merchants Association (CRMA).
- We’re excited about our new name, which better describes our efforts on behalf of retailers across our state in the fast-changing world of retail.
- Thank you to our Board members for their leadership in this next step in our proud history as the Voice of Retail in Connecticut.
- Our new website is being launched today at www.ctretailnetwork.com Refinements continue to be made, so check back for updates. We welcome your suggestions, too!
- Our contemporary new logo can be seen on the site, and our new email address is also up and running. Contact us at crn@ctretailnetwork.com . You can also contact CRN President Tim Phelan directly by emailing him at tim@ctretailnetwork.com
Exclusive interviews with legislative leaders
- Connecticut Retail Network President Tim Phelan has conducted exclusive interviews with leaders of the state legislature, looking ahead to issues of interest to Connecticut retail businesses.
- You can watch the interviews using these links:
Senate President Martin Looney
House Republican Leader Vin Candelora
- The Connecticut Retail Network thanks Connecticut’s Health Care Future, a project of Partnership for America’s Health Care Future Action, for support of the leadership interview series.
State legislature convenes at the State Capitol
- Gov. Ned Lamont opened his second term Wednesday by pronouncing an end to Connecticut’s chronic fiscal crisis, and addressing issues including housing, health care costs and a middle-class tax cut.
- CT Mirror’s Mark Pazniokas reports on the Governor’s address to legislators here and CTNewsJunkie’s Hugh McQuaid has highlights here.
- The state legislature convened for the 2023 session with the same faces filling top leadership posts, and a full agenda awaiting them for what’s known as the “long session” which runs until June.
- CTNewsJunkie’s Christine Stuart has details of Opening Day in the legislature here.
- Treasurer Erick Russell, Comptroller Sean Scanlon and Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas were sworn into office on Wednesday, after unlikely paths to statewide office. Hearst CT’s Dan Haar takes a look at the three new Constitutional officers here.
News and notes from around the State
- Licensed hybrid retailers may begin selling cannabis products to all adults ages 21 and up starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 10. New Haven BIZ reports what residents should expect next week and beyond, here.
- Attorney General William Tong has appointed Eileen Meskill to serve as Deputy Attorney General. Some may recall her father, Thomas Meskill, who served in Congress and as Connecticut’s Governor (1971-75) and later as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Fairfield County Business Journal has the announcement news here.
- Outgoing Comptroller Natalie Braswell issued the last monthly financial and economic update of her term, which included the forecast that the state remains on track to end Fiscal Year 2023 with a General Fund surplus of $1 billion. Fairfield County Business Journal reports the numbers here.
- Across the state, there are currently 225 bridges rated as being in poor condition — about 5% of all Connecticut bridges tracked in the Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory. Connecticut Public reports on the current status here.