On Jon Lender.

Let us celebrate the singular Jon Lender’s remarkable career in the service of news–and the disinfectant of sunlight. This week marks his final Government Watch column.

We met at a political convention in Hartford 35 years ago. A few years later as I made my way in politics, I discovered Jon could be trusted with the care and feeding of a tip. The origins of several stories from those salad days remain under seal. They were choice.

A high-ranking official in an administration Jon covered recalls believing she could hear his footsteps approaching her office in the Capitol–her cue to prepare to be cast in a a local version of a “Columbo” episode. She would pose the futile question, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the office next door?”

Even the state’s auditors would struggle to reach the amount of money Jon saved the people of Connecticut with his stories of misfeasance, malfeasance, and entitlement. Leaving the Courant does not terminate any requests for documents made under the Freedom of Information Act.

A decade ago, a delegation of young leaders from Sri Lanka and Nepal visited Hartford to observe the elements of a free society at work. They were weary after more than a week of meetings. In a stuffy conference room that Friday afternoon, Jon invigorated them with the details of John Rowland’s hot tub at his lake cottage. The triumph of investigative reporting is a universal language before an audience intent on enjoying the benefits of freedom.

Something you may not have discerned reading Jon’s columns: he is a polymath of high and low culture. The range of his knowledge of the essentials and fripperies of the human condition informs his savvy instincts in the pursuit of a story. So we will mark this day with Maria Callas’ final appearance in an operatic production. After nearly four decades as a sentinel for freedom, Jon will have more time to enjoy the music he loves.