Small Business

When you buy a container of soda, water, or beer, you pay five cents -- and if you return the bottle or can to be recycled, you get that money back. In Connecticut, the program is called “the bottle bill,” and it’s been around since 1980. But now, some are worried the whole system is on the verge of falling apart.

Labor pains and lessons from the north.

As Connecticut comes to terms with recent job loss, Massachusetts emerges as a regional leader in statewide job recovery. This hour, we explore the latest job market trends and find out what Connecticut stands to learn from the Bay State. 

Connecticut’s own Linda McMahon goes to Washington next year, hoping to be confirmed as head of the Small Business Administration. She was tapped recently by President-elect Donald Trump, a longtime friend who she supported during the campaign.

But what will the former wrestling magnate bring to her new role as cheerleader for small businesses? 

Recently we did a show about the science of loving where you live and we heard from plenty of Connecticut residents who really do love living here. But that sentiment is not shared by everyone. Some residents say high taxes are driving them away to places like Florida and North Carolina.

This hour, we talk about out-migration from Connecticut. We also explore the number of people who are moving into the state — what’s known as in-migration. And we want to hear from you. Are you looking to leave Connecticut once you retire? If not, why do you want to stay here?  

Labor pains and lessons from the north.

As Connecticut comes to terms with recent job loss, Massachusetts emerges as a regional leader in statewide job recovery. This hour, we explore the latest job market trends and find out what Connecticut stands to learn from the Bay State. 

Running a small business will always be a challenging way of life. But if your home country is occupied by a foreign power and you are part of a diaspora of refugees spread across the world, your challenges rise to a new level. 

Tech giant Yahoo and the Democratic National Committee have been some of the latest organizations to fall victim to high profile hacks. But cyber attacks are also a very real threats to small businesses – many which call Connecticut home.

This hour, we talk cyber security -- how to prevent hacks and stay secure. 

News of General Electric's departure rang loudly across Connecticut this year, causing some to point fingers at the state's so-called “anti-business climate.” Still, that hasn't stopped some international businesses from putting down roots here. 

In an era awash in the rollout of brand new gadgets, gizmos, fashions, and fads, it's easy to think of obsolescence as part of the natural order -- remember popped lapels, pay phones and laserdisc players? But the idea that an object should quickly fall from favor, lose functionality, and find itself in a landfill somewhere is quite new -- and it didn't come about by accident.

Recently we did a show about the science of loving where you live and we heard from plenty of Connecticut residents who really do love living here. But that sentiment is not shared by everyone. Some residents say high taxes are driving them away to places like Florida and North Carolina.

This hour, we talk about out-migration from Connecticut. We also explore the number of people who are moving into the state — what’s known as in-migration. And we want to hear from you. Are you looking to leave Connecticut once you retire? If not, why do you want to stay here?  

Connecticut’s early settlers came to this region in part for our fertile farmland — but what is the state of farming in Connecticut today?

This hour, we explore agriculture in the Nutmeg State.

New rules from the federal government will put tighter regulations on the trucking industry. The restrictions are aimed at cutting carbon pollution and bolstering fuel efficiency. 

This hour, we discuss Governor Malloy's Second Chance 2.0 legislation and find out why it failed to pass during the 2016 session. We also look at what some Connecticut communities are doing to support re-entry. And we talk to a local restaurant owner about his decision to hire ex-offenders. 

Connecticut’s Aerospace Industry accounted for almost half of the state’s $15 billion of exported commodities last year. Many of the state’s aerospace companies got a boost recently from the Farnborough International Air Show in England.

The Connecticut Low Wage Employer Advisory Board is holding its third hearing on Wednesday in Bridgeport. 

The thaw in relations with Cuba has sparked a huge amount of interest in the possibility of doing business with that nation, after 60 years of isolation. And one Connecticut entrepreneur hopes it's not just U.S. giants that get to play in Cuba.

An effort is underway to bring high-speed internet to residents across Connecticut and create competition for the existing cable and broadband companies. The CT Gig Project includes public officials who say it is needed for economic development, competition, and innovation. Opponents don't think the government should get involved in the internet business. 

It goes by many names: the sharing economy, the collaborative economy, the peer economy, just to name a few. Whatever you want to call it, one thing's for sure: this new way of doing business -- where idle assets equal big profits, and the hard-earned currency of trust comes through user reviews -- is changing the economic landscape of our country.