Esty Launches Small Business Tour; Media Invited to Attend

Freshman U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, under fire for barring the media from a series of roundtable discussions on ways to prevent gun violence, will kick off a small business tour on Friday.

And this time, she’s inviting the press along.

At 10 a.m., Esty will visit Jonal Laboratories in Meriden, which makes high-tech products used by the military and the aerospace industry. A hours later, she is scheduled to stop in Thomaston, where she will visit Ward Leonard Electric Co., another manufacturing firm.

The Democrat, who represents Connecticut’s 5th District, plans to continue her tour of small businesses and manufacturing companies in the coming weeks and months, her office said.