Connecticut begins its 12th week Monday under a state of emergency. The declaration gave Governor Ned Lamont extraordinary authority over every aspect of life in the state during an extended public health crisis. He has exercised his vast temporary power with appropriate prudence. The curve of coronavirus infections has been bent. The state’s healthcare system has not collapsed.

Our work is not done. We must continue to maintain practices that have become habits. Keep wearing a mask, washing your hands, and practice social distancing. Together, we’ll keep the curve bent and reduce the chances of a lethal second wave in the fall.

Lamont’s authority comes with the burden of setting an example in an age of suspicion. That includes wearing a mask in public—as his executive orders require us to do. The public is watching. When Lamont posed for a photo Friday with the proprietor of a Stamford cafe, there were no masks and nothing resembling social distancing. The photo appeared briefly on the cafe’s Facebook page. Comments ensued until it disappeared.

The weekend dustup prompted an ill-considered response of a three tweet thread from Lamont flack Max Reiss, who seemed to miss the point. A weary public looks to Lamont as we erratically make our way out of the lockdown the governor imposed and now struggles to lift with a consistent plan. Reiss will run dry of snark before the public depletes it’s interest in the example Lamont sets, by design or inadvertence, each day.

A second wave later this year or early next will test us all. It will require the public’s confidence in Lamont’s leadership match what it felt this spring. We will need to trust him more than he does us. For the months ahead, little things like photos will continue to mean more than they did before the deluge that arrived in March.

It must be Friday. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo is at it again. The second-term Democrat is allowing gyms to open while Connecticut’s remain closed. The former venture capitalist was pleased to point out Friday that the Ocean State is ahead of Connecticut and Massachusetts in gym reopenings.

Raimondo, according to ABC affiliate WLNE, “said the state’s opening of its gyms and fitness studios, along with restaurants, put it ahead of neighboring states Massachusetts and Connecticut.”

The Providence television station reported Raimondo posed and answered her own question. “Why? Because I trust you, “I trust you to follow the rules and do the right thing.” Raimondo and trust are not two words that often appear in the same sentence without “don’t” included.

On May 18th, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont delayed the opening of barbershops and salons from May 20th to June 1st to placate Raimondo and coordinate the neighboring states’ actions. Last Friday, Raimondo declared Rhode Island restaurants would offer indoor dining beginning June 1st, weeks before Connecticut restaurants, depositing a plateful of eggs on Lamont’s face.

The Greenwich Democrat appears resistant to an iron law of politics: Do not trust Gina Raimondo.

The Department of Public Health released an urgent warning Thursday to hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facility that coronavirus test vials provided by the Department of Health and Human Services may produce a chemical reaction that releases deadly cyanide if used with bleach.

The risk occurs when vials are used on Hologic Panther or the Fusion Panther Platforms, DPH’s Jafar Razeq, warned in the memorandum.

Popular Democratic party chair and former lieutenant governor Nancy Wyman will leave her post leading the state party organization. Wyman will take one of Connecticut’s spots on the Democratic National Committee. Wyman will be replaced by Nancy DiNardo, who served as state party chair during the Malloy years.

The DiNardo years were marked by state Democrats being tagged with the the largest campaign finance violation fine in the state’s history. DiNardo was said to have been marginalized in her role by enforcers doing Dannel Malloy’s bidding, though the same could not be said of her executive director, Jonathan Harris. Harris, launched a sputtering campaign for governor in 2018 and currently serves in the Lamont administration.

Wyman became the state party chair in 2019. She replaced Nick Balletto, who had led state Democrats to sweeping victories in 2018. Wyman was a compromise choice after Lamont declined to support U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy’s choice for the position.

Lamont is said to be supporting DiNardo’s return as party chair. The position has long been considered in the gift of the governor. The late Ella Grasso, was the rare exception. She wanted political operator Peter Kelly to serve as party chair in the mid 1970s. State party committee members dealt Grasso a rare defeat when they chose instead a state legislator from East Hampton, Bill O’Neill.

“In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.”

And they did.

Bolton First Selectman Sandra Pierog hopes critics and their families are struck by the deadly coronavirus. The Bolton Democrat was in a rage this weekend after she observed two local residents watching the recording of a Memorial Day commemoration on on the town green.

Pierog, according to one of the two residents who incurred her wrath, approached the observers and threatened to call police if they did not leave. The dispute, as often happens, moved to Facebook. An enraged Pierog wrote, “May the virus strike in your homes so you know where I am coming from.” The vicious post received an endorsement from state Representative Geoffrey Luxenberg (D-Manchester), who commented beneath it, “Great job. Don’t be discouraged.”

Pierog is serving her fourth term as first selectman. She was elected to two terms in the 1980s and returned to the office in 2017. She was re-elected in 2019.

Pierog has posted another comment signaling her harsh view of differences in our diverse state on the way forward. She wrote, “…those who think the virus and the protection of at risk individuals is a violation of their freedoms won’t learn until they or their loved ones experience it.”

UPDATE: Sandra Pierog writes about her Facebook post, “Commenting has been turned off. Seems that many folks (who I don’t know) don’t know how to be civil when an honest mistake is owned up to. You may notice I have taken down my recent personal post that was copied by others onto open groups, Once it was pointed out by my friends that there was a word left out I felt that was the best action and did so on Saturday. I would never wish the virus on anyone. The virus has hit my family hard, 2 of my daughter-in-laws contracted the virus as front line health care workers and one of my grandsons got the virus from his mother. Thankfully all are currently recovering. We understand the pain that this causes and are doing everything possible to keep our community safe. “

Pierog has posted other comments signaling her grim view of differences in our diverse society on the way forward. She wrote, “…those who think the virus and the protection of at risk individuals is a violation of their freedoms won’t learn until they or their loved ones experience it.”

The first Saturday of commerce since mid-March brought shoppers back to the Danbury Fair Mall. Vehicles from New York and some from New Jersey were thick on the ground in the mall parking lot. New Yorkers from neighboring Rockland County comprise a hefty share of the mall’s patrons—and sales tax payers.

There are no restrictions on the number or age of out-of-state patrons visiting Danbury Fair Mall or any other retail establishment in the state. Through the pandemic, Connecticut has been more receptive to and cooperative with bordering states than Rhode Island’s duplicitous governor, Gina Raimondo. Early in the public health crisis the issued an executive order requiring New Yorkers in the state to self-quarantine for 14 days, whether or not they had symptoms of the unique coronavirus. Raimondo deployed state troopers to the Connecticut border to enforce her order against New Yorkers. The Democratic venture capitalist retreated a day later, after a phone call from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has been less successful dealing with Raimondo, who briefly served as national co-chair of Michael Bloomberg’s billion dollar foray into presidential politics. Raimondo, according to Lamont, persuaded him to order the delay the opening of salons and barbershops less than 48 hours before they were to begin serving customers on May 20th.

Raimondo announced on May 22nd that Rhode Island would begin to allow some indoor restaurant dining on June 1st. Lamont had announced Connecticut restaurants could expand their service to limited indoor dining on June 10th. Raimondo has eviscerated interstate cooperation in lifting restrictions on economic activity, though Lamont may be reluctant to recognize his trust has been misplaced.

Nonfarm employment in Connecticut fell by a staggering 266,000 jobs in April, according to numbers released Thursday by the state’s labor department. That left 1,4 million jobs in the state, the lowest number in decades.

Before the ravages of the pandemic began in March, Connecticut had yet to recover all the jobs it lost in the recession of 2008-2009. The peak jobs number remains 1.716 million in April 2008.

Restoring the conditions for jobs and opportunity to thrive will continue to be the long-range challenge of the state’s leaders.

Governor Ned Lamont has begun his search for a new commissioner to lead the troubled Department of Public Health (DPH). He’s looking for a “dynamic and collaborative” commissioner who meets the statutory qualifications of the position. The position includes “a host of benefits.”

Read more here.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on June 30th. The administration is using the services of Connecticut-based recruiting firm Bohan & Bradstreet in its nationwide search. The Kimble Group of Houston, Texas has been circulating the posting. Please note that these far-reaching searches often conclude with the revelation that the best candidate was nearby and had helpful political ties to someone in the administration.