The Storyline

In this episode of In Short Supply, we delve into the legacy of urban renewal and the complicated history of the Thames River Apartments in New London Connecticut. And we hear from an affordable housing developer about the challenges that these much-needed below-market-rate projects face. In Short Supply is a podcast series examining how the housing crisis, which is affecting the country as a whole and is getting worse with the growth in inflation, impacts the communities of southeastern Connecticut. It is part of The Day's yearlong investigative initiative called the Housing Solutions Lab.  You can find the housing series at theday.com/housinglab You can support this podcast and the Housing Solutions Lab by making a tax-deductible donation at givebutter.com/thedayhousing.  We want to thank our community donors and our supporting partners: The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, the Melville Charitable Trust and the Chelsea Groton Foundation

In this episode of the In Short Supply podcast, we hear from The Day staff writer Elizabeth Reagan about how our region is faring when it comes to the housing crisis and why there seems to be a short supply of affordable homes, housing developments, and options for some members of our communities. How does this all deepen the existing economic divide in our state and country? And how do we address, what Cathy Zall the executive director of New London Homeless Hospitality calls the mismatch between income and the cost of living? In Short Supply is a podcast series examining how the housing crisis, which is affecting the country as a whole and is getting worse with the growth in inflation, impacts the communities of southeastern Connecticut. It is part of The Day's yearlong investigative initiative called the Housing Solutions Lab.  You can find the housing series at theday.com/housinglab You can support this podcast and the Housing Solutions Lab by making a tax-deductible donation at givebutter.com/thedayhousing.  We want to thank our community donors and our supporting partners: The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, the Melville Charitable Trust and the Chelsea Groton Foundation

Presenting In Short Supply, a podcast by The Day about how the housing crisis is deepening the economic divide. Connecticut evictions in 2022 surpassed pre-pandemic numbers. There were more than 22,000 evictions statewide last year, according to data collected by The Connecticut Fair Housing Center. That yearly number exceeds evictions reported in at least the previous five years.  The Day has published a series of stories on this growing issue. Day reporter Greg Smith in partnership with University of Connecticut professor Mike Stanton and students in his advanced investigative reporting class analyzed the eviction data and told the stories of desperate tenants and frustrated landlords.

On Sunday, January 5, 1969, the 118-foot ship Sea Surveyor departed from Electric Boat in Groton. The mission was routine: to rendezvous with a submarine, conduct some antenna communication tests, and return home. When the 12 crew and passengers eventually returned they had left their ship at the bottom of the Atlantic. What went wrong?

Retired Dr. David Bingham, who opened the region's first clinic providing contraceptives and abortions, took us back to the days when women desperate to terminate their pregnancies maimed or killed themselves with coat hangers, knitting needles, and chemicals. He talked of hospital "septic tank wards" for women suffering from the effects of botched abortions.

New London prides itself on its diversity of music, but some musicians have found it hard to find a place in the city's music community. UConn's Gladi Suero talked to Queer Afro-Indigenous artist and community organizer Erycka Ortiz about her musical journey in New London and how she found a supportive fanbase and how she centers her art on celebrating her identity. About the Sound On The Sound series Under the direction of instructors Gail B. MacDonald, a UConn professor in residence and former Day reporter, and Carlos Virgen, The Day's assistant managing editor for audience development, UConn journalism students worked all semester crafting stories in text, audio and photographs that strive to tell parts of the overarching tale of music in New London. They spoke to musicians, business people, city and regional officials, educators and others to inform their work. These stories will be published in The Day and on theday.com

Restaurants and bars are pivotal in the New London music scene. The pandemic has forced some to close and while others have had to reinvent. UConn's Corina Wallenta talked to Wendy Bury, the executive director of Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition, about the role of restaurants in the New London music scene. She also talked to Sean Murray, manager of The Social and The Oasis - a restaurant and pub that are central in the downtown New London scene, and musicians Sean Nelson and Noah Feldman who have relied on the establishments to bring their music to live audiences. About the Sound On The Sound series Under the direction of instructors Gail B. MacDonald, a UConn professor in residence and former Day reporter, and Carlos Virgen, The Day's assistant managing editor for audience development, UConn journalism students worked all semester crafting stories in text, audio and photographs that strive to tell parts of the overarching tale of music in New London. They spoke to musicians, business people, city and regional officials, educators and others to inform their work. These stories will be published in The Day and on theday.com.

Music is routinely used in therapy by mental health professionals. Musicians also use music as a medium to find emotional catharsis. UConn's Madison Gardner spoke to New London therapist Janelle Posey-Green and musician Daphne Parker Powell – who now lives in New Orleans but was previously based in New London – about the healing power of music. About the Sound On The Sound series Under the direction of instructors Gail B. MacDonald, a UConn professor in residence and former Day reporter, and Carlos Virgen, The Day's assistant managing editor for audience development, UConn journalism students worked all semester crafting stories in text, audio and photographs that strive to tell parts of the overarching tale of music in New London. They spoke to musicians, business people, city and regional officials, educators and others to inform their work. These stories will be published in The Day and on theday.com

Over the last eight years, the annual "Pass the Guitar" event benefiting the New London Homeless Hospitality Center has raised close to $24,000. The event is just one example of a long list of ways in which the lure of music in New London has been used as a force for communal well-being, philanthropic outreach, and economic stimulation in the region. UConn's John Leahy spoke to Hugh Birdsall, founding member of seminal New London band The Reducers and creator of the "Pass the Guitar" event, about how the benefit event was born. About the Sound On The Sound series Under the direction of instructors Gail B. MacDonald, a UConn professor in residence and former Day reporter, and Carlos Virgen, The Day's assistant managing editor for audience development, UConn journalism students worked all semester crafting stories in text, audio and photographs that strive to tell parts of the overarching tale of music in New London. They spoke to musicians, business people, city and regional officials, educators and others to inform their work. These stories will be published in The Day and on theday.com

New London – the Whaling City – has always been intrinsically connected to the waterways that surround it. In fact, it was Connecticut's first official port. And before the European colonizers arrived, the Indian tribes in the region relied on the water to travel and fish, and it was closely tied to their spiritual and cultural traditions.  UConn's Alison Cross spoke to Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel, Mohegan Tribe Medicine Woman and tribal historian, and Steve Manuel, executive director of the New London County Historical Society, about how the surrounding waterways have influenced music in New London. About the Sound On The Sound series Under the direction of instructors Gail B. MacDonald, a UConn professor in residence and former Day reporter, and Carlos Virgen, The Day's assistant managing editor for audience development, UConn journalism students worked all semester crafting stories in text, audio and photographs that strive to tell parts of the overarching tale of music in New London. They spoke to musicians, business people, city and regional officials, educators and others to inform their work. These stories will be published in The Day and on theday.com

Stephanie Johnson, diversity trainer for OneDigital Learning, provided The Day with six months of thought-provoking lessons on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. On the last day of training, she spoke with us about some of the fun activities she uses to foster teamwork and about the ongoing work needed at The Day, and every workplace.

As we begin a year-long investigation into the housing market in New London County, we speak with The Day journalists who will be working on the initial reporting: Staff Writers Elizabeth Regan and Johana Vazquez, photographer Sarah Gordon and Production Manager Scott Ritter. To learn more about the Housing Solutions Lab or to make a tax-deductible donation to support the project, visit www.theday.com/housingsolutionslab.

The Day's Vickie Fulkerson is in Minneapolis to cover the UConn women's basketball team in their record 14th straight Final Four. After the Huskies' wild double-overtime win over NC State, Vickie barely had time to catch her breath before catching a flight to Minnesota, where she spoke with Rebecca Lobo about her experiences in the 1995 Final Four.

Hear what Day sportswriters Vickie Fulkerson, who covers UConn women’s basketball, and Gavin Keefe, who covers the UConn men, had to say the morning after the NCAA brackets were published. Keefe is headed to Buffalo to cover Thursday’s game against the New Mexico State Aggies. Fulkerson will be covering the UConn women when they play against Mercer Saturday in Bridgeport.

During one weekend in mid-February 2022, six people died from fatal overdoses in New London County and 26 others suffered from non-fatal overdoses. Jennifer Muggeo, deputy director of the Ledge Light Health District, stopped in to bring us up to date on the evidence-based treatments for those suffering from opioid use disorder and of the available harm reduction tools, including naloxone kits, fentanyl test strips, and syringe exchanges. Muggeo told us about a new animal tranquilizer turning up in overdose cases involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

At any given time, panels of citizens are called to serve 18-month stints on grand juries at Connecticut’s federal courthouses in Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford. The public hears little about their work, which is largely performed in secrecy but is, says attorney Chris Mattei, “an extraordinarily important instrument” of our justice system. As a federal grand jury investigates Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis’ tenure heading up state oversight of the Connecticut Port Authority’s project at State Pier in New London and major school construction projects in New London and statewide, we asked Mattei to tell us what he knows about grand juries. He also weighed in on the "deeply troubling" connection to Connecticut's top prosecutor Richard Colangelo. Mattei, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney now in private practice with Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder law firm, served as Chief of the Financial Fraud & Public Corruption unit with the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Connecticut. He oversaw the prosecution of former Gov. John G. Rowland and others on campaign fiancé and obstruction of justice charges and supervised a ground-breaking investigation and prosecution of fraud in the residential mortgage-backed securities market following the financial crisis of 2008. Mattei currently serves as the lead attorney on behalf of Sandy Hook families and first responders against Alex Jones and the corporate entities involved in promoting a lie that the school shooting was a hoax.

As Harold Wolfe, 95 years old and dying, prepared to enter a hospice facility in Mystic in early January, his wife and children invited The Day reporter Elizabeth Regan and photojournalist Sarah Gordon to spend time with them and document an event made more poignant by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The resulting story and photos were incredibly touching. We spoke with Regan and Gordon about reporting the story and with Community Editor Lee Howard, who connected The Day staff with the Wolfe family. After recording the interviews for the podcasts, we received the update that Harold Wolfe died at 6:00 p.m., Monday, January 17 with his wife Sherry by his side.

Lonnie Braxton II of New London is a busy man, and that won’t change upon his retirement at the end of the year from his job as a state prosecutor. He spoke with us about his remarkable life, which began in the segregated south, and his hope for the future.

Cathy Zall, executive director of the Homeless Hospitality Center in New London, helps set the stage as The Day begins an investigation of housing availability in our region. Zall tells us what’s working to get people housed in southeastern Connecticut and what she thinks is needed.

Stephanie Johnson of OneDigital, an employee benefits consultant, traveled from Atlanta to conduct training for The Day staff on unconscious bias. She spoke with us about her work between training sessions. She said after the social unrest that followed the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, she looked at the diversity training that was available and found it lacking. Johnson designed her own program, then worked with The Day’s diversity committee to create a custom six-month training program for the company that began on Nov. 9 and includes in-person and self-paced coursework.