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SMART BUSINESS: LENNY & JOE'S FISH TALE New Haven Seafood Hotspot Angles $20K Incentive S ince 1979, Lenny & Joe's Fish Tale has grown from a roadside clam stand to an iconic seafood destination in Connecticut, now with three shoreline locations. Priding itself on serving the finest seafood available, the restaurant strives to provide top customer service, which includes increasing its sustainability efforts. To help pay for $40,000 of energy efficiency improvements, Lenny & Joe's se- cured more than $20,000 in incentive payments from the Energize Con- necticut's Small Business Energy Ad- vantage Program to uncover project specifics for its New Haven location. In all, the restaurant expects to save $10,800 annually in deferred energy costs with a payback on the project cost in less than three years. "The energy efficiency projects we implemented have provided consistent operational cost savings," said Brian Faye, owner of Lenny & Joe's. "Just as important as the financial aspect, we're positively impacting the communities we serve by becoming a more sustainable business." Lenny & Joe's completed a lighting overhaul throughout the restaurant, upgrading interior and exterior lights to LEDs and super high efficiency GOVERNMENT WATCH Public Transit Bad For Roads A Southern Connecticut State University study has found the more funds a state commits to public transit, carpooling, and other alternative modes of transportation, the more the quality of its roads diminishes. The study by SCSU student Ashley Hartle, who graduated in December, shows that for every 1 percent increase above the national average that a state has in eco-friendly com- mutes — transit, walking, biking, carpooling — the number of bad-quality roads increased by 0.7 percent and the amount of good-quali- ty roads decreased by 1 percent. The study entitled, "Green with Envy: How Environmental Friendliness Impacts a State's Roads," used the International Roughness Index measure from the U.S. Highway Admin- istration to judge the quality of the roads. For every 1 percent increase of residents who commute to work alone, the percent- age of good-quality roads increases by 0.8 percent, the study said. The study shows that states' methods of road funding is tied to green behavior, said Kevin Buterbaugh, SCSU professor of political science and Hartle's advisor. As people use cars less, funding for roads generated from gaso- line taxes and other car user fees decreases, leaving less money for improvement projects. It also is possible as road quality gets worse, more people will seek out alternative forms of transportation, which again would lead to worse road quality and an increase in eco- friendly options, Buterbaugh said. News Cycle Government Grades by Brad Kane Blue Plan — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the state legislature have called on the Department of Energy & Environmental Protec- tion to create a Long Island Sound Blue Plan, to coordinate efforts to protect and use the waterbody. While we are wary of this being just another government report, having a plan is a good start. Governor's Conference — In April, five of the six New England governors got together in Hartford to discuss ways to ways to solve the region's energy infrastructure and resources problems. We applaud the effort, but with so many compet- ing political ideologies, it appears nothing of substance will be accomplished. Grade: D- Grade: B- 10 CONNECTICUT GREEN GUIDE • SUMMER 2015 www.CTGreenGuide.com The new CTfastrak debuted on March 28 between Hartford and New Britain. PHOTO | HBJ FILE Lenny & Joe's New Haven menu includes Artic char and swordfish steak. PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED