News From Vichy: CBIA Hires Flaherty.

Establishment-loving Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), an insurance agency tarted up as a business advocacy group, has a new hire. Former state legislator Brian Flaherty, a Watertown Republican, has been hired for a top job that includes government relations.

CBIA has been a flaccid presence in Connecticut’s long economic struggle with twilight. Some argue it has been worse, an abettor of policies harmful to a dynamic state economy.

Flaherty will be its Senior Vice President for Public Affairs. The current holder of the position has been making more than $400,000 a year, according to documents filed with the IRS.