What’s New on HartfordInfo.org

October 2011

This newsletter provides periodic updates about recent additions to HartfordInfo.org. Please feel free to forward this message to others. To be added to the distribution list send an email message through our feedback page.

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New Community Programs on HartfordInfo.org:

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New Data on HartfordInfo.org:

Neighborhood Snapshots — Statistical profiles of each Hartford Neighborhood based on the 2010 Census data, the American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2000 Census data are presented on spreadsheets for easy comparison. Go to www.hartfordinfo.org, and click on Neighborhood Snapshots in the center panel under Data Sets.
Hartford at a Glance — Statistical profile of the City of Hartford in comparison to Hartford County and the state of Connecticut based on the 2010 Census data, the American Community Survey (ACS) and other data sources and presented on spreadsheets for easy comparison. Go to www.hartfordinfo.org, and click on Hartford at a Glance in the center panel under Data Sets.

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New Reports on HartfordInfo.org:

Sizing the Green Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment — Covering the years 2003 to 2010 for every county in the United States, this report represents the first study of the U.S. clean economy to provide timely information on the dynamics of the U.S. green sector. Click here for the report.
Common Ground, Inc. and the Former Swift Factory Site: Potential for a Community Land Trust in Hartford — This document suggests various organizational models for the redevelopment of the former Swift factory, a vacant building on 2.6 acres in Northeast Hartford. Click here for the report.
City of Hartford: The Neighborhood Conditions Report — A report from the City of Hartford on its efforts to fight blight, including descriptions, photographs and summaries of the activities to rehabilitate or clear blighted properties as of June 30, 2011. Click here for the report.
Global Report Card — This website shares facts about educational performance of U.S. students compared with international peers and competitors. Click here for the website.
No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration — Forty percent of incarcerated youth in the U.S. are held in long-term locked youth correction facilities, even though such institutions have never been found to reduce the criminality of troubled youth. Click here for the report.
Immigration Policy Report: 2011 Immigration-Related Laws and Resolutions in the States (January-June) — In the first half of 2011, state legislators introduced 1,592 bills and resolutions relating to immigrants and refugees, an increase of 16 percent compared to the first half of 2010. Click here for the report.
Construction Outlook (North Central Connecticut) — This report by Capital Workforce Partners summarizes current and potential construction activity, including workforce implications, in North Central Connecticut. Click here for the report.
An Independent Review: City of Hartford, Connecticut Police Department Internal Affairs Division — This report, produced by Marcum LLP, is an independent review of the operations of the Hartford Police Department Internal Affairs Division. Click here for the report.

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New Articles on HartfordInfo.org:

Through agreements with the Hartford Courant, the Hartford Business Journal, the Hartford News, the Hartford Advocate, and the Northend Agent's, and with the Capital Region Report, Cityline, Real Hartford, Urban Compass, and 40-Year Plan blogs, HartfordInfo.org offers selected articles as permanent additions to the Web site. Some recent articles:

Good News in Hartford

City Graduation Rate Rises to 60% — The city's graduation rate rose to 60 percent this year — about double the rate of five years ago still well behind the statewide average. Click here for the article.
Hartford Public Library Rebuilding Reputation, Reshaping Role — Under the leadership of CEO Matt Poland, Hartford Public Library is becoming a 21st century learning center that supports public education for all ages, economic development, capacity building, access to technology, the arts and community discourse. Click here for the article.
Things are Looking Up — Hartford was in its heyday when most of the homes in Asylum Hill were built. Much of the magnificent architecture in Asylum Hill remains. Click here for the article.
City Hopes to Ignite a Neighborhood Renaissance — Hartford’s unfinished $77 million showpiece police-fire-emergency dispatch headquarters is under construction and is expected to have a positive impact when it opens in July 2012. Click here for the article.
New Life Sprouts in Downtown Hartford — Meghan Freed knew things were changing when an out-of-town visitor asked her where to get a newspaper and a good cup of coffee on a weekend morning in downtown Hartford - and she had more than one suggestion. Something organic is happening in downtown Hartford. Click here for the article.
Coltsville 'So Close' to Becoming National Historic Park — Coltsville, the brick buildings that made up the renowned 19th-century factory village in South Hartford, is on the verge of becoming a National Historic Park, with the hope that the prosperity it brought to Hartford in the 19th century will repeat in the 21st. Click here for the article.

Education

Academy Students Will Study Journalism in CT Public Broadcasting Partnership with School — Connecticut Public Broadcasting recently signed a formal agreement with the Hartford school system that establishes an educational center at the network's Asylum Hill headquarters. Click here for the article.
Two Million Dollar Donation Answers Prayers at St. Augustine — St. Augustine School in the city's South End recently received an anonymous donation of two million dollars. Click here for the article.

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Neighborhoods

A Food Super-Pantry — Freshplace, a super food pantry housed in what once was an old dairy in Hartford's North End, is the product of five years of planning in an unusual collaboration among three heavy-hitting area nonprofits. Click here for article.
Life on the Hill: The Victorian Lady Lives on — A 120-year-old house known as “The Victorian Lady” has been saved from demolition, gutted, moved, renovated, restored and is now one of the finest residences in Asylum Hill. Click here for the article.
Parkville, USA: A Brief History — Although Parkville is one of Hartford's smaller neighborhoods, it is one of its most distinctive and vibrant neighborhoods in the city. Click here for the article.

Arts and Culture

Artists Canoe Underground to Explore Buried Park River in Hartford — A concrete crypt snaking beneath the city of Hartford is irresistible art for Joe McCarthy and Peter Albano. So is the prospect of bringing new life to the largely forgotten and very buried Park River that flows far beneath Hartford. Click here for the article.
Arts Groups in Connecticut Struggle with Slashed Budgets — The reality of public funding of the arts in these days of lingering recession and public fiscal crisis is harsh. Click here for the article.

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Downtown Development

Desire For Elm St. — It's the forgotten gateway to downtown Hartford: the Whitehead Highway, a spur off I-91 that ends at Pulaski Circle at Bushnell Park. But now, the new owner of 50 Elm St., a decaying, three-story building across the circle from the park, hopes to give new visibility to the area. Click here for the article.
Tavern will Tell the Tale — How will we know in five or 10 years whether downtown Hartford is on the upswing? Here's a possible indicator: the Arch Street Tavern. If it is open and thriving, then there are likely more people living downtown, businesses in the now-vacant space on Front Street, more meetings and conventions in the convention center. Click here for the article.

Economic Development

Five Questions: Bruce Goldsmith of Hartford's Baronet Coffee — Bruce Goldsmith is the third generation to run the family coffee business. After purchasing Hartford's Baronet Coffee in 1947, the company has prospered despite losing its facilities twice. Click here for the article.

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Hartford History

Soldiers and Sailors Arch to be Rededicated — The Connecticut Civil War Commemoration Commission and the Bushnell Park Foundation recently rededicated the Soldiers and Sailors Arch for its intended purpose — to honor the more than 4,000 Hartford men who served in the Civil War and the 400 who died in it. Click here for the article.
A Poet's Legacy: The Wallace Stevens Walk — Among Hartford's literary luminaries over the past two centuries, Wallace Stevens is right there. The Hartford Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens have created the Wallace Stevens Walk, which follows the route Stevens took every day from his home to his office at the Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. building. Click here for the article.

Notable Transitions

Retiring Hartford Police Chief Redefined Cops' Roles — Hartford Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts grew up in Hartford and has a good feel for how the streets work. Mr. Roberts subtly redefined the role of his officers, asking them to be social workers, educators and community helpers as well as crime-fighters. Click here for the article.
John B. O'Connell was Hartford's “Mr. Republican” — John B. O'Connell had a major impact on Hartford government, and will be dearly missed. Click here for the article.

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