CT Seeks to Use Assets to Maximize International Business

Connecticut's strong standing (and potential) as an international business gateway is often underestimated.  With plans proceeding to maximize the use of Bradley International Airport, as the state's new, more nimble airport agency (Connecticut Airport Authority) nears selection of an executive director, a quick glimpse of the state's standing is in order.  Worthy of note:  Connecticut's more than 800 foreign-based corporations employ more than 100,000 people.  Among the goals for Bradley - re-establishment of a direct-to-Europe route. Some of the vital stats, as outlined by the state Department of Economic and Community Development:

• Connecticut is a leader in research and development, ranking #2 in expenditures as a percentage of overall Gross State Product (GSP).
• Connecticut is a global competitor, ranking #6 in world GDP per capita. (Behind Singapore, ahead of Norway)
• Connecticut's workers are among the most productive in the nation, ranking #4 among states.
• Connecticut is a leader in communications technologies, ranking #5 in broadband telecommunications.
• Connecticut is a leader in insurance and finance, ranking #2 in total employment.
• Connecticut is a leading exporter ranking #10 in per capita exports.
• Connecticut ranks #5 in the number of scientists & engineers per 100,000 employees.

Young Worker Safety Is Connecticut Priority

Three Connecticut state agencies are collaborating to promote young worker safety in Connecticut, where 44 percent of teens work a paying job during the school year, and 12 percent of teens report having a work-related injury.  The Department of Public Health, Department of Education and Department of Labor, working with the Connecticut Young Worker Safety Team, report that young workers, age 15-24, have approximately twice the rate of non-fatal injury as older workers.

Teacher Appreciation Week Arrives; Negotiations Continue

As the Connecticut General Assembly and Malloy Administration grapple with education reform in an effort to forge a compromise package  prior to the end of the regular legislative session at midnight Wednesday, this week will be observed in schools throughout the state and around the country as Teacher Appreciation Week. On Tuesday, May 8, students all across America will show their appreciation by recognizing their teachers, and the impact that teachers have on their future - individually and collectively.  As the AFT Connecticut website points out, "teachers – the people who educate us and give us the vital knowledge which we need to live our lives. They encourage, support, discipline and prepare us for the road ahead and now it’s time for us to show them our appreciation."

Schools and school districts around the state are observing the annual appreciation week with a variety of activities, and a number of websites have cropped up, including a national site simply called,  thankateachertoday.org  The Students First organization is providing students and parents an opportunity to record a message to a teacher, which can be heard on their national website.

Public Transportation vs. Congested Highway Corridors

According to Smart Growth America, investment in public transportation creates 31 percent more jobs than investment in road and bridge infrastructure.  Transit use also reduces traffic congestion, which can also serve to benefit the economy.  In 2011, congestion cost Connecticut nearly $1 billion in lost time, wasted fuel and lost productivity, according to the 2011 Urban Mobility Report. Among the most congested highway corridors in the nation:  Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport, as reported in the 2011 Congested Corridors Report, developed by the Texas Transportation Institute, part of Texas A&M University.  The inaugural 2011 report is the first nationwide effort to identify reliability problems at specific stretches of highway responsible for significant traffic congestion at different times and different days. Analyses are performed along 328 specific (directional) freeway corridors in the United States.

CT Science Fair Winners Headed to National Competition

Of the 446 projects entered in Connecticut’s only statewide science fair, nearly 200 projects earned honors. Top overall winners as well as the top high school winner of the new Urban Schools category and the winner of the Alexion Biotechnology category will represent the state at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF), May 13 to 18, in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Connecticut Science Fair is made possible by a grant and volunteer support from its presenting sponsor United Technologies Corporation and by contributions from industrial and individual supporters.

The winners were announced at Quinnipiac University, which hosted the science fair.

Shifting Religious Landscape in Connecticut

So much for that old-time religion.  Declining enrollment in Catholic schools is only part of the bigger religion trend in Connecticut, as is reported in the 2010 U.S. Religious Congregations & Membership Study, an update of a 50-year-old national census released Tuesday by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.  Hartford Courant columnist Susan Campbell describes  it asthe most detailed report of its kind, with county-level information on 236 religious groups from Amish to Congregationalists, Hindus to Methodists. In Connecticut, the report paints a radically changing religious landscape where evangelical Protestant groups are growing, while more mainline groups such as Roman Catholic and United Church of Christ churches are losing adherents. In Connecticut, the report said Catholics saw an 8.7 percent drop in membership since 2000, and the loss of 12 congregations, while in the same period, United Church of Christ membership dropped 22.7 percent, with a loss of 11 congregations.