Connecticut is #26 in Levels of Biking, Walking; #24 in Fatalities

There were 27 fatal bicycling accidents in Connecticut between 2005 and 2010, and the total number of biking-related crashes around the state during that five-year span was 4,276, the Hartford Advocate is reporting, citing official state data.  State officials also report that between 2005 and 2009, there were about 5,300 pedestrian-related traffic accidents in Connecticut The Tri-State Transportation Campaign recently issued an analysis of pedestrian accidents in Connecticut between 2008 and 2010 that showed there were 121 pedestrian deaths in that time frame.

The state’s Department of Transportation is beginning to respond.  The DOT announced recently that a 2.75-mile stretch of Burnside Avenue in East Hartford (part of Route 44), between Main and Mary Streets, will be redesigned to reduce the number of travel lanes for vehicles and to install bike lanes.  Much attention has been paid to the section of roadway following a series of fatal bicycle-car collisions that took the lives of three East Hartford cyclists during the past two years.  The Hartford Courant has reported that the DOT considers the plan the first of its kind in the state – a state road redesign aimed at improving bicyclist and pedestrian safety.

Earlier this year, Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report, produced by the Alliance for Biking & Walking, ranked all 50 states (and the 51 largest U.S. cities) on bicycling and walking levels, safety, funding, and other factors.  Connecticut ranked #26 among the states in levels of bicycling and walking.  In fatalities, the state ranked #24.  Among the reports noteworthy statistics:

• Seniors are the most vulnerable bicyclists and pedestrians. Adults over 65 make up 10% of walking trips, yet comprise 19% of pedestrian fatalities. This age group accounts for 6% of bicycling trips, yet 10% of bicyclist fatalities.
• Bicycling and walking projects create 11-14 jobs per $1 million spent, compared to just 7 jobs created per $1 million spent on highway projects. Cost benefit analysis show that up to $11.80 in benefits can be gained for every $1 invested in bicycling and walking.
• While bicycling and walking fell 66% between 1960 and 2009, obesity levels increased 156%.
• On average, the largest 51 U.S. cities show a 29% increase in bicycle facilities since the 2010 report.

All of which underscores the need to improve bicycling safety, as biking becomes more popular across the country.

Middlesex Chamber Has 33% More Members Than Next Largest

Each December, Connecticut's Governor appears at the monthly breakfast of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, at the invitation of long-time President Larry McHugh.  If there was any question as to why that particular chamber of commerce consistently draws headliner featured speakers, the numbers remove all doubt.  Stats reported by the Hartford Business Journal indicate that the Middlesex Chamber has 2,400 members, far outdistancing the runner-up Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, with 1,800 members. Rounding out the top five:  Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, with 1,600 members; the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, with 730 members; and the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, with 700 members.  The MetroHartford Alliance is #6, with 600 members, followed by chambers from Greater Southington  (590 members), Greater Manchester (550 members) Greater Meriden (550 members), Glastonbury (550 members) and West Hartford (457 members).

The next speaker for Middlesex?  Former UConn baseketball star and current member of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, Rudy Gay, on August 3, who follows NASCAR stand-out Joey Logano, a Middletown native (and McHugh's former next door neighbor).

New Focus on Attracting Sports Tournaments, Conventions to CT

The newly formed Connecticut Convention and Sports Bureau (CCSB), which brings together the former Greater Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau and the State Department of Economic and Community Development - now with  oversight responsibility for state tourism programs - could be the key for a renewed effort to attract events to the state.  The convention and sports bureau is a private, nonprofit agency, funded by $1.3 million in state funds, with  a 40-member sports advisory board, already established by state law.  An op-ed in The Hartford Courant Sunday proposed a reinvigorated effort to attract sports-related tournaments and conventions, including use of state natives whose athletic success has been noteworthy (such as NHL Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick of Hamden).   Also in the news:  AEG Facilities’ Chuck Steedman, Senior Vice President & General Manager of the XL Center, has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the CCSB and the Chair of the commission’s sports marketing arm.  And a longtime activist in encouraging sporting events in the state, Jay Sloves of the marketing firm Elkinson & Sloves, was among those receiving recognition in the final awards ceremony of the GHCVB last month.  Also recognized were Robert J. Martino of the law firm of Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C. and Neletta Cochrane of CTTransit.

Market "En Plein Air" in Old Lyme Celebrates CT’s Harvest

As the saying goes, Connecticut is Still Revolutionary.  And as history buffs will remind you, at the time of the Revolutionary War, France was on our side.  Which brings us to Saturday, July 28 (from 9am to 3pm) when the abundance of a French country market comes to Connecticut.  For the 14th year, the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme hosts Market En Plein Air, a place for artisan bakers, organic farmers, and specialty food producers to show off their specialties. Last year, over 6,000 people attended the event, part of Old Lyme Midsummer Festival. A chefs’ competition, an artisan craft fair, dog contest, book signings, and hands-on activity area round out the food-focused experience! Modeled after the outdoor markets found in villages throughout France, Market En Plein Air features fresh organic fruits and vegetables, flowers, breads, fine cheeses, herbs, and specialty foods  -- all of the highest quality and all produced in Connecticut.  There will be 28 specially selected vendors on hand with items to sample and take home. Festivalgoers can enjoy a prepared lunch by Gourmet Galley and stroll the Museum’s 11-acre historic site along the banks of the Lieutenant River.

Next to the Market on the grounds of the Museum is Hands-On/Minds-On, where visitors of all ages enjoy fun, creative projects provided by area cultural organizations from 10am to 3pm.  At 12pm the Bee and Thistle Inn and Spa presents BEAT Shoreline Chef Competition. Just like on TV, four local chefs are given secret ingredients selected from Market En Plein Air vendors. Using those items, they prepare a dish to be judged on taste and presentation. Spectators watch as the chefs prepare their items. The winner will be selected at 1:30pm.

Entrance to activities is free. Admission to the Museum and riverfront gallery, which features the special exhibition, On Hudson: Highlights from the Albany Institute of History & Art will be reduced to $5 for the day. The Florence Griswold Museum exit 70 off I-95.  More info at (860) 434-5542 and www.FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org.

CT High School Star to Make Major League Debut for NY Mets

Just a day before sports attention is drawn to the London Olympics, which begin on Friday, the eyes of New York Mets fans will be drawn to Phoenix, as the team will be attempting to end a monumental losing skid with a rookie pitcher from Connecticut making his Major League debut. Matt Harvey, the Mets’ first-round selection in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, will step onto a Major League mound for the first time in Phoenix in a series-opening contest against the Diamondbacks. The Mets have lost 13 of theirlast 14 games.

Harvey, who attended Fitch High School in Groton, went 7-5 with a 3.68 ERA in 20 starts for Triple-A Buffalo, with 112 strikeouts in 110 innings.  Harvey, 23, is 6’4” and weighs 224 lbs. In his two seasons in the minors, Harvey is 20-10 with a 3.48 ERA and struck out 268 batters in 245 2/3 innings.

The Hartford Courant’s Dom Amore has surveyed some Connecticut-connected former major leaguers about their first game in the majors, as all eyes in Mets-land turn to Harvey and hope.  Read the rest of the story.

New Website Spurs Action by U.S. Senator on Mortgage Aid Fraud Claim

The ranks of state news websites grew by one more in Connecticut with the recent launch of ctlatinonews.com, with former WFSB-TV reporter Diane Alverio among the organizers of the initiative.  The demographics of the niche being sought by the new web site were immediately understandable:  of 3,577,000 residents in Connecticut, 482,000 identify themselves as Hispanic and almost 75 percent of them were born in the U.S. Within weeks of getting underway, the site is not only reporting news, it is making news happen as well. In response to reporting earlier this week about a New Britain resident who is facing foreclosure of his home and possible eviction this week - allegedly due to mortgage aid fraud by a California-based business - U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to begin an investigation into the company.  Blumenthal’s office will also be contacting Wells Fargo, which held the homeowners’ mortgage, to seek a stay of execution on the eviction notice.

In launching the news site, ctlatinonews.com said its audience focus would be the increasingly growing, under-served Latino market that is English dominant, citing 2010 U.S. Census data that reported among Hispanics living in Connecticut and employed here, there are:

• 127,000 in the IT and financial services sector
• 45,000 in management or professional positions
• 60,000 in service industries

Their audience also includes, apparently, at least one United States Senator.

Workshops to Detail New State Grants for Towns Improving Commercial Centers

Legislation approved earlier this year created the Main Street Investment Fund Program, which will provide grants of up to $500,000 to eligible municipalities (under 30,000 population) that have approved plans to develop or improve their town's commercial centers. The Main Street Investment Fund Program is administered by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) through an application process. Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC), in collaboration with OPM, is holding a series of workshops to provide information on this program, including who may apply and project eligibility requirements. These workshops will be held around the State during the week of July 30, and are open to municipalities, town officials, economic development professionals and others interested in this program.

• Mon. July 30, 2012 - The Lyceum, Hartford, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
• Tue. July 31, 2012 - Chamber of Commerce, Waterbury, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
• Wed. August 1, 2012 - The Johnson Room-ECSU Library, Windham, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
• Thu. August 2, 2012 - Ft. Trumbull State Park Conference Center, New London, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
• Fri. August 3, 2012 - United Way of Greater New Haven, New Haven, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Eligible projects are those that are part of a plan (such as a Town Commercial Center Plan) previously approved by the governing body of the municipality to develop or improve town commercial centers are eligible. These plans should include strategies/improvements to attract small businesses, promote commercial viability, and improve aesthetics and pedestrian access.  The funds can be used for signage, lighting, landscaping, architectural features and cosmetic and structural exterior building improvement.

Additional information and registration is available at www.ctmainstreet.org  Towns must submit applications for the grants by September 28, 2012.

Abundance of Maps and Data on CT Environmental Conditions

Connecticut Environmental Conditions Online (CT ECO) is an overflowing website providing access to data and information - the collaborative work of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the University of Connecticut Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) - to share environmental and natural resource information with the general public. The website makes available an enormous range of maps and tools for viewing Connecticut’s environmental and natural resources such as protected open space, farmland soils, wetland soils, aquifer protection areas, water quality classifications, and drainage basins. Each can be viewed separately or in conjunction with other environmental and natural resource information.

CT ECO's mission is to encourage, support, and promote informed land use and development decisions in Connecticut by providing local, state and federal agencies, and the general public with convenient access to the most up-to-date and complete natural resource information available statewide.

Among the dozen agencies providing data are the Connecticut Departments of Public Safety, Transportation and Office of Policy and Management, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Geological Survey.

If you’re interested in any of the maps or information – including maps of every town in the state – it is worth a look.  And even if you’re not, it’s worth a look just to see the volume of information that is available.  For those interested in staying up-to-date on any changes to the site, that is only an email away.

Connecticut's Innovation Remembered on Apollo 11 Anniversary

This weekend, 43 years ago, eyes on every continent around the globe were riveted to grainy  television images emanating from the surface of the moon as Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the lunar surface (July 20, 1969).  Connecticut was especially proud of its role in the space program, highlighted by the engineering at Hamilton Standard in Windsor Locks, which produced the astronaut’s space suits including the environmental control and life support systems, oxygen supply and carbon dioxide removal equipment. Connecticut innovation and ingenuity was serving the national interest yet again.  It was, and is, certainly not the only example.

Years later, in 1970,when the Apollo 13 was nearly doomed in orbit by an explosion, Hamilton Standard engineers were among those playing a pivotal role in devising solutions that brought the astronauts safely back to Earth.   The Apollo 13 mission later became the subject of a popular movie.

One more example, which pre-dates the space program:  when the Smithsonian highlighted ten inventions inspired by science fiction, among them was the work of Igor Sikorsky, inventor of the modern helicopter, who was inspired by a Jules Verne book, Clipper of the Clouds, which he had read as a young boy. Sikorsky often quoted Jules Verne, saying “Anything that one man can imagine, another man can make real.”

Today, the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, based at the University of Hartford and including higher education institutions from across the state, is among the Connecticut-based organizations that seek to continue recognizing and encouraging students who are hard at work pursuing scientific investigation with an eye towards applications that will advance exploration.   The annual Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair - next to be held in March 2013 at Quinnipiac University - also highlights the accomplishment of students, at the high school level.  And earlier this year four Connecticut students captured Grand Awards at the 2012 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest pre-college science fair.

Fewer New Voters Than in 2008; Young Voters Lead Way

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has reported that 45,191 new voters have registered to vote in Connecticut since the beginning of 2012, bringing the total number of Connecticut registered voters to 1,962,905, just a month before statewide and local primaries.   The number of newly registered voters this year trails 2008 figures at the same time;  in 2008 more than 100,000 new voters had registered.  Similar to 2008, however, young voters are the largest group of new voters to register so far in 2012 with 18,952 voters between the ages of 18-29 registering in the last seven months. There is one month to register with either the Democratic or Republican party if individuals wish to vote in the upcoming statewide primary on Aug. 14, when there will be at least 24 primaries for federal and state elections. Primaries will be held for Republican and Democratic voters for the offices of United States Senator, Congress, General Assembly, Registrar of Voters and Probate Judge.

According to the Secretary of the State’s Office, there are 720,161 registered Democrats, 411,062 Republicans, and 817,432 registered as unaffiliated. Among the 45,191 newly registered voters since Jan. 1, 13,851 registered as Democrats, 9,256 registered as Republicans and 21,091, registered as unaffiliated.