A look back at this historical week...

Wow what a week it has been. There has been lots of news this week from Washington to Hartford and every place in between.

HEALTH CARE

I will first start with health care. I try to stray away from politics on this blog but this is to big not to mention. Congress has successfully passed a health care reform bill. Although this bill is not perfect it is a good start. We will significantly decrease the number of uninsured Americans and assist small business in obtaining health insurance for their employees through tax credits. Every American should have access to quality health care. The cost of health insurance is astronomical and must be tamed. No family should have to worry about their health because they cannot afford insurance. In Connecticut $100 million dollar of federal funding could come to UCONN's John Dempsy Hospital in Farmington if its the recipient of a federal grant. The $100 million is critical to the hospital's renovation and addition. All five of Connecticut's US Representatives voted in favor of health care reform. The state's two US Senators also support the bill - though Senator Lieberman does have serious concerns.



LYRIC THEATER

I next move on to the Lyric Theater at 585 Park Street (at Broad) in Hartford. Thanks to the joys of Twitter the Hartford community was informed that at least part of the long vacant theater will be demolished at 7:30AM Saturday March 27. As this post is published the theater is now simply a vivid memory in people's minds. The theater opened in the 1930's but has been vacant since 1970s. The building includes two parts with one facing Park and one on Broad. The city currently owns the building and a city building inspector ruled the building unsafe and in danger of a possible collapse. There have been reports that parts of the building had fallen onto the sidewalk. If this building is a safety issue it must be dealt with. However, it is simply unacceptable that this building was left to deteriorate to a state in which its about to collapse - especially while it was under government ownership. Countless cities across the world have moved on the from the 1960s where it was normal to demolish our past to make way for the future. Historic buildings are now treasured in cities worldwide but this phenomenon still does not resonate in the way it should in Hartford. We still lose historic buildings to demolition in Hartford and in addition there are numerous historic buildings throughout the city that sit vacant.

I have heard that the demolition cost around $93,000, which was be paid from an emergency demolition fund. This means over the last few years the city has been pumping money into this building for nothing. More money should have gone into the building to properly renovate it because now what the city has spent has essentially done is throw money down the drain. The Hartford community pulled together and tons of people called the offices of the Mayor and City Council and discussed the issue on their blogs and on Twitter. While we cant cry over spilt milk (though this is easier said then done) we must learn to not let the milk spill again. All to often we lose historic buildings and end up with obscene vacant lots or parking lots - something I fear will happen to the site of the Lyric which sits in heart of one of the city's most bustling thoroughfares.

A major issue with the Lyric demolition is that no one knew about. If it wasn't for Twitter I would not have known about it. I believe that every time the city intends to knock down a building it should notify the public. Demolitions should be placed in the newspaper and/or on the city's website (as a cost saving measure). This should also be done in advance of emergency demolitions.

SHAWS SUPERMARKETS

About 1 month ago Shaws announced that it would be closing all its Connecticut locations. In total they employ about 1,000 people in the state. Shaws has found buyers for all their locations except for the stores in New Haven and Manchester. While I do not focus on New Haven in this blog I must mention this closing because its a major blow to New Haven and the future of urban grocers in Connecticut. As everyone in Hartford knows it is very difficult to attract full scale grocery stores to urban areas. When Shaws opened on Whalley Ave in the Dwight neighborhood in 1998 it was hailed by both community leaders and residents as a major success. The store was drawn in by Yale and the city. The store is a short walk from downtown which made it a great draw for Yale students as well as city residents. This Shaws was a typical suburban grocer. It was not part of a mixed use complex nor did it have limited parking. This being said it was easily accesible by public transit and was surrounded by many homes that existed before the supermarket came and whose inhabitants could simply walk on over to Shaws. Even though the design does not work for me it should be appealing to potential buyers. The store's design is comparable to stores in the suburbs which makes the fact that a potential buyer could not be found even more disheartening.

As of Saturday March 27 Shaws New Have is officially closed. The closest supermarkets to the former Shaws within New Haven are a Stop & Shop about 3 miles north, a C-Town about 3 miles south and another C-Town about 3 miles south east. I must also mention there are 2 Gourmet Heavens which have groceries and are open 24/. This being said the loss of Shaws is still devastating and it should be very obvious to potential grocers that there is a market and a room for another full scale grocer in New Haven. Currently the community and Yale are discussing what to do next. Many in the city are waiting to see what type of grocer will open at 360 State Street - the newest luxury residential tower downtown which has retail space that is required to have some type of grocer per city orders.

MARLIN FIREARMS

Over to North Haven now where Marlin Firearms announced the shocking news that it would be shutting down its plan there by June, 2011 which employees 265 people. We in Connecticut see this all to often. We are continually losing jobs because our state is not welcoming to business. The cost of doing business here is astronomical. There is no reason to do business here, nevertheless in our urban cores. Marlin's roots date back to 1870 when they started in New Haven. Despite these roots they are giving up on Connecticut. Our state leaders and agencies have stepped up to offer assistance to workers in finding new jobs however the key component many overlook is that these jobs do not exist in Connecticut. At this time I must remind everyone that November is steadily approaching and we need a governor who will be able to put Connecticut back on track and fast.





FORECLOSURES CONTINUE...

Back up to Hartford now where the newest bankruptcy filing downtown was made by Bushnell Regency, a company that owns the majority of the condos at Bushnell on the Park. The company owns 129 of 180 units. They had until Friday to pay $9.8 million to Wells Fargo Co. Bushnell Regency bought the building in 2002 from Aspen Real Estate which bought it in the 1990s from the plagued Colonial Realty. The building was built in 1978.

This is just the latest fiasco in a series of blows to downtown Hartford that I fear many are underestimating. Less then 1 week ago Northland Investment defaulted on its $33 million dollar loan for Goodwin Square. The company has reportedly missed multiple payments. Last September Northland's Metro Center at 350 Church received a foreclosure notice followed by City Place II. Northland owes a lot of money and if the company does not deal with their money problems correctly they are in danger of losing these properties. It is also yet to be seen what the financial state of Northland's other properties in Hartford is like.

Additionally, I reported last week on the money troubles the Waterford Group was having at the Hilton downtown. I have my fingers crossed that these problems, which are much smaller then Northland's, have been averted.

HIT AND RUN AGAIN

And to top it all off I was deeply saddened to hear of the latest hit and run in Hartford. This morning a Hartford Hospital employee on his first week of work was hit and killed on Retreat Avenue. The driver who was operating a stolen car drove away from the scene of the crime. The severely damaged car was found crashed and abandoned. Hartford Police are working on finding the driver who they assume was injured. This crash brings back horrific memories of the hit and run of Angel Arce Torres on Park Street (not to far from this crash scene) back in the summer of 2008.

Honestly what is this city coming to? There is a complete disregard for human life. This must change. We can not let our city become be condemned due to a few bad apples. I thought after Hartford made national news after the Torres hit and run that the bad apples in this city had learned their lesson. I guess not. I hope that this city will begin to change for the better or the future prognosis for Hartford, its people and its economy do not look good.

AND FINALLY THE GOOD NEWS...CUPCAKES

Yes this week has been eventful but maybe we can all look on the bright side. What bright side you ask. Well, Hartford like New Haven now has a cupcake truck. We no longer have to wait for the New Haven truck to make periodic tricks to the Capital City. The Cupcake Brake is very welcomed news for Hartford because well I personally love desserts. For more info on The Cupcake Brake and to learn where it stops visit: http://www.thecupcakebrake.com/