I'm seeing a net job loss whenever I look around my area (Farmington Valley) and the state, but the jobs being lost are lower-quality than the jobs being gained. One one level, it sucks because it means a lack of entry-level positions; on another level, it's good because F/T jobs as CSRs or even Administrative Assistants are better than McJob jobs in the service sector.

I have no idea how to fix Norwich/New London though. It really seems, from my outside observation as an up-stater, that it's just a dead zone...without defense jobs like the ones lost through attrition with EB, the Naval station and the USCGA, there's really nothing to build on there economically or employment-wise. New London needs to build an entirely new industry-base if they have any hope of putting residents back to work, one not dependent upon service jobs to support defense jobs lost and not coming back. It's really getting to the point where the state really should consider just throwing money at someone to relocate manufacturing or overhaul there.

My one idea:
I'm biased (as someone not allowed to have a DL) but I think it'd be great for CT if we became the mass-transit production state. (We have the deep-water ports to be able to transport large cargo and materials, the rail lines are also already there and a workforce experienced in both electronics manufacturing and heavy-steel manufacturing. We're ideal for train/light-rail production.) Not only would it encourage building our own local transit systems (for stimulus reasons)...something that I think would make CT a more desirable place to live...we're also nearer some of the largest transit-purchasing states/cities: Boston, NY, NJ, MD, DC, Philly...than where those train cars and components are built now. (The Upper Midwest, Ontario and Great Lakes. Also, Yamaha in Yonkers, NY but they're an outlier to an industry anchored in the Rust Belt.)

I live in Montville, and we have the same problem as most towns in the area - We are small and mainly rural. Even the cities of New London or Norwich are 30 - 40k in size. We are the dim spot along the I-95 corridor megalopolis at night. Like many in this region, I'm a Navy guy.

As for your Idea, I'd love to get the railroads back into production. Even if just to get freight moving along them instead of on highways. As for a DL, why are you not allowed to have one?