It's been talked about in Connecticut for decades - but the idea of "regionalism" is starting to pick up political steam. 

The idea has always been seen as a more modern approach than our traditional 169 town strucutre - with closely guarded local control.  But with the combined recession, and state deficit, towns and cities are looking for ways to save money by combining services.  

So now, legislative leaders and town officials are talking openly about making regionalism a priority.  Anna Sale covers the capitol region for WNPR, and Diane Orson covers education - they'll join us to jumpstart a series of reports on regionalism.  And we're asking for your ideas.  Is regionalism a good idea?  Add your suggestions, questions and comments below.