Áine Pennello
Report for America Environmental and Climate Change ReporterÁine Pennello is Connecticut Public’s environment and climate change reporter. She is a member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover underreported issues and communities.
In 2026, she won a first-place award from the Public Media Journalists Association for her story on how scientists track West Nile virus across Connecticut. The honor came in the Science/Technology Feature category for Division E, representing the country's largest public media newsrooms. That same year, she won second place for Best Radio Story from the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The story was also part of Connecticut Public’s award-winning entry for Overall Excellence in the regional Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Before joining Connecticut Public, Áine worked as a reporter and Morning Edition newscaster at WUFT in Gainesville, Florida. Her reporting there covered education, health care and local government, earning two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for stories on student protests at the University of Florida and local reactions to the war in Gaza.
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Droughts are especially problematic for farmers who rely on rain to irrigate their crops, while heavy rain and flood water can contain debris and sewage, contaminating beaches and local residential wells. -
More than 200 people in Harwinton were without power Tuesday afternoon, according to Eversource. -
Power could be restored by Tuesday night to thousands of Connecticut residents following weekend storms, according to officials with energy provider Eversource. -
The new label will be added to 12 categories of household items for sale in Connecticut, including clothes, carpets, baby items and period products -
A new $2.2 million boat will help environmental officials keep an eye on Long Island Sound. -
Researchers took 150 soil samples from parks, schools and empty lots in Hartford and tested them for lead, a toxic metal that can cause brain damage and slow development in children. -
At its peak in mid-to-late June, the rose garden at Elizabeth Park will have more than 10,000 roses in bloom. -
Researchers at the Hamden lab are known for managing invasive insects like spongy moth, Asian long-horned beetle and spotted lanternfly to prevent trees from dying. -
The executive order called on state agencies to complete 23 actions to reduce the state’s carbon emissions and adapt to climate change. -
Data from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, gathered by the Connecticut Mirror last year, suggests there could be as many as 8,000 lead services lines in the state.
