Welcome to the boozy and bizarre universe of Connecticut's "Nickel per Nip Environmental Fee" program! If you’ve ever wondered where all those little bottles of hooch go after a night out, you’re not alone. Over the past three years, this initiative has pulled in a staggering $13.5 million for cities across the Nutmeg State. And what does that mean for the good citizens of CT? A fat stack of nickels to deal with the mess left by the not-so-great habit of tossing those mini-bottles after one too many.

In the latest round of numbers, we learned that from April to September 2024 alone, the program generated $2.4 million. That's a lot of nips—and a lot of cash for cleaning up the aftermath. The 5-cent surcharge on each tiny bottle isn’t just a quirky tax; it’s a lifeline for towns grappling with the consequences of binge drinking in bite-sized portions. Who knew that a swig from a pocket-sized bottle could create such a mess—and then turn into a financial windfall for local governments?

Nip Sales in Connecticut: The Top 10 Cities You Need to Know

Let’s dive into the top 10 cities in Connecticut for nip sales, where the bottles are small, and the consequences are large. Get ready for a gallery that showcases each town’s nip count and the environmental fees—money each community gets back to deal with the litter from these little liquor bombs. It appears Connecticut is a thriving nip economy built on the remnants of a late-night debauchery!

These numbers come from the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of CT and are for the 6-month period from April-September 2024.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Who knew that such a tiny bottle could lead to such big bucks? Here’s to nips—and the not-so-great habits that come with them!

We talked about this briefly with Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves on the Thursday (10/24/24) edition of the I-95 Morning Show. I lobbed him a fat one and he hit it right out of the park with one effortless swing.

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11 Greater-Danbury Area Businesses We'd Love to See Get Revisited

We asked the I-95 Ethan and Lou Morning Show Listeners to share with us businesses they would gladly welcome back to the Greater-Danbury area. Here are 11 Greater-Danbury Area Businesses We'd Love to See Get Revisited.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Brilliant Fall Sunsets from Greater-Danbury Area 2021

Recently I asked our I-95 Readers and listeners to share their fall sunset photos and the response was amazing. Tons of photos came streaming in, one more beautiful than the one before. I published many of those photos in an article called “Danbury Area Residents Share Stunning Fall Sunset Photos for 2021” and days after the article was released, we were still getting submissions that needed to be seen by as many people as possible. These are those photos that didn’t make it into the first article, these are brilliant fall sunsets from the Greater-Danbury area from 2021. 

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

Creepy CT - New Images Beyond the Walls of Newtown's Abandoned Asylum - Fairfield Hills

Since it's frowned upon (illegal) to go inside the buildings without permission, there are not that many photos/videos from inside the walls. When a new video or photos surface, I jump on it, and that is exactly what I did when these images appeared on September 23, 2022.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano