While this $3 million in emergency funding will not fill the entire gap left by the federal government, it represents our state’s commitment to supporting our neighbors during this crisis.

affordable housing is the biggest key to affordability in our state and I think across the country

I think he is a big deal. I think he’s transformative.

I think the only way to really make it work is if you have buy-in from the local communities. And I think the vast majority of those communities want to do the right thing.

It looks like we are about to experience our first heat wave of the season, and when temperatures get this hot, people who are most vulnerable, especially those who are of a certain age or who have certain medical conditions, should take…

I’m not looking to pick fights and I’m going down there out of respect for the peaceful transition of power.

Well, the C.D.C. bobs and weaves a little bit. That can be confusing, but overall, I think it's the right thing.

I think we appreciate the partnership with the President and the Federal government. It wasn't always that way.

I look at our nursing homes all the time and the number of nurses that are there, time for them to get a booster.

Look, I'm very thankful that President Biden is going to probably be making you know five million rapid tests available to the State of Connecticut, you know sometime in the next month or so.

But in the meantime, you're right, we took matters into our own hands, we went out, we contracted and purchased three million rapid tests that are going to hit the ground over the next week, a big focus on our schools to earn everything to…

Well, broadly speaking, Jim, I'm trying to make it faster, easier for you to get vaccinated, to get tested, to do all the right things.

CDC speaks Latin I can`t figure out who`s eligible, who`s not eligible. If you smoked while you were in high school back then 1970s you`re eligible. I think if you haven`t been vaccinated, or in you know, more than six months, now`s the…

I think a lot of pride that we`re getting it right. That our schools are open and they don`t have to shut down for quarantine like what`s happening in other states.

I`ll tell you that through encouragement and incentives, we got about 88 of our adults vaccinated. We got the overwhelming majority of our nurses and teachers vaccinated, but that wasn`t good enough, so we put in place mandates.

Right now, all of our higher ed institutions mandated vaccines for everybody. Overwhelmingly, people are complying with that.

I think people who are in Connecticut feel like these protocols are working and they`re willing to hang in there a little longer to stay safe.

Chris, we got hit really hard very early along with New York and New Jersey. I think that this is a state where we look out for each other.

One thing has come crystal clear to me why it's important that we have this emergency declaration is, it gives us the opportunity to get more testing capacity faster for all the people of the state of Connecticut.

Whatever I'm doing with emergency powers is specifically related to COVID, nothing else.

If I`m a Neanderthal, I`m a Neanderthal with a mask.

The whole purpose of a bar is the opposite of social distancing.

We`re twice as likely to wear a mask as they are in Texas. We`re twice as likely to be vaccinated. We`re half as likely to be infected.

Testing, testing, testing, we're in there testing in every facility on a weekly basis, Chris.

I think I lead with public health. And if you want to get this economy going, public health has got to be the key metric or we're never going to get this economy back.