Wilton’s state representatives Gail Lavielle and Tom O’Dea are hosting a public discussion on CT’s Budget & Economy, on Wednesday, June 15, and they have invited CT Mirror reporter Keith Phaneuf, an award-winning budget and economics writer, to speak and answer questions. The presentation will be held at the Wilton Library (137 Old Ridgefield Rd.) from 8-9:30 a.m..
In an invitation sent out by the legislators citing increasing media coverage “of the declining state of Connecticut’s budget and finances,” and an uptick in constituent calls about the “impact on [their] lives and communities,” Lavielle explained that she wanted someone unbiased to present.
“The situation is serious, and I think it’s important for you to hear the facts from a recognized nonpartisan expert, and to be able to ask questions about whatever concerns you. That’s why Rep. Tom O’Dea and I have invited the CT Mirror’s Keith Phaneuf, the top budget reporter from the state Capitol press corps, to present an in-depth review of Connecticut’s state budget and economy,” she says in the invitation.
As the CT Mirror’s budget reporter, Phaneuf, along with colleague Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, won first prize in investigative reporting from the Education Writers Association in 2012 for a series on the Board of Regents for Higher Education. Formerly the State Capitol bureau chief for The Manchester Journal Inquirer, Phaneuf has spent 24 years reporting on state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax policy, waste in government, and the complex funding systems behind CT’s transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, he is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at UConn.