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Train Wreck Rider confidence in MetroNorth plummets By Michael C. Bingham
I
f truth in advertising were the watchword of the day, Metro-North Railroad’s recently released study of riders’ opinion’s of the commuter line’s recent performance would be called a customer-dissatisfaction survey. Conducted in June but released only this month, the survey reveals that commuters’ satisfaction with Metro-North has plunged 20 points in just 12 months, to 73 percent. As if to prepare readers for bad news, the study’s very first sentence (under the heading “Overall Context”) reads: “Metro-North’s 2014 Customer Satisfaction Survey was conducted in June 2014, following a period which saw several incidents occur on the railroad which adversely impacted perceptions of the
‘There’s definitely a shortage [of qualified technology workers], and one of the issues is that the universities aren’t teaching
Continued on page 11
required.’ — Bruce Seymour,
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Government Is the Problem Enter Your Events on www.ctcalendar.com
New Yankee Institute head Liebau would like to unleash the power of free enterprise in Connecticut
Three months ago Carol Platt Liebau, 47, was named president of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy in East Hartford, a research and ‘citizen-education’ non-profit that advocates for free-market, limited-government public policies. Founded in 1984, Yankee bills itself as ‘an entrepreneur in the marketplace of ideas,’ to borrow from John Milton, with a libertarian bent.
WHO’S WHAT, WHERE
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Before we get to the Yankee Institute, tell me about your own background.
My family and I have lived in Connecticut for about three years. I’ve worked in a variety of capacities — as a lawyer, author, guest radio talk-show host, on Capitol Hill — in a variety of public-policy capacities. What is the mission of the Yankee Institute?
The Yankee Institute exists to develop and advance policies that offer opportunity, ensure fairness and promote prosperity for all generations of Connecticut’s people. We advocate for free-market, limited-government public-policy solutions. As a 501(c)(3) the Yankee Institute does not participate directly in partisan politics. So how does it go about advancing its policy agenda?
We actually work with politicians from all parties. The thing we care about is that people embrace our ideas — it isn’t necessarily a partisan enterprise.
Does it have a specific list of legislative priorities? If so, what are the most important ones?
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He didn’t do a good job telling voters what he would do as governor.
It’s important to make sure you have a plan, and when you have a plan to make sure people understand what your plan is. Often political consultants advise candidates — especially people who are running against an unpopular incumbent like Dan Malloy — simply to be not the other guy.
So how do you actually go about advancing your agenda? Do you meet with lawmakers, for example?
Primarily our work has centered on providing intellectual ammunition — [e.g.] a variety of studies and other documents that help policy-makers from both sides of the aisle and no party at all to be better informed about the impact of whatever public policy we’re discussing, and sometimes offering suggestions about how those policies can be improved.
We work on a variety of legislative priorities. We have not been lobbying. But november 2014
can make the state a better place to live. The problem is that, especially in a state where one party controls [both chambers of the legislature as well as the executive branch], and where you have people who clearly are used to voting for just a single party, it seems to me that if you’re representing the minority party or the out party you have to be prepared with a plan that you are also prepared to repeat over and over with good cheer and patience why your plans that involve more of a freeenterprise, limited-government approach may be more conducive to creating a prosperous environment and creating jobs than the high-tax, big-government model that Connecticut has had under Gov. Malloy. That didn’t seem to happen [in the Foley campaign]. And especially given the fact that plenty of the [Connecticut] press lines up a little to left, it seems to me you also have to be very capable of projecting the fact that you care about all of Connecticut’s people and their success as much as you care about your own. Tom Foley obviously feels that way — he wouldn’t go to the expense and trouble of running for office if he didn’t. But the problem is that he was not able to convey that effectively enough to convince voters who have been told for a long time that people in his party are somehow evil.
generally we make policy suggestions. For example, we recently published a public pension study called ‘Born Broke: Our Pension Debt Problem,’ discussing the radical underfunding of Connecticut’s [public-employee] pensions. In that we actually make a public-policy suggestion — for example, that the state consider moving from defined-benefit pensions to a defined-contribution system for younger or newer employees in an effort to stem
the tide of debt that’s working up through the unfunded pension liabilities. You were quoted in a Hartford Courant article about why Tom Foley lost the gubernatorial election. What was the gist of your analysis?
You always run the risk in the aftermath of an election to seem as though you’re piling onto people who make an effort to get out in the public square and run for office because they have a vision about how they
The un-Malloy.
Right. But in my opinion, our people deserved better than that. One of the Yankee Institute’s initiatives is the Connecticut Sunlight Project. What is it?
Some time ago the Yankee Institute thought it was important that the cost of [public employees’] salaries be accesContinued on page 10
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PUBLIC EDUCATION
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This Just In: Many CT Students Trapped in Failing Schools New advocacy group study says 40,000 young people affected in state’s cities
Editorial How Foley Blew It
I
n the wake of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s razor-thin reelection November 4, scores of pundits across Connecticut have weighed in on why Republican challenger Thomas C. Foley could not push the ball across the goal line against an unpopular incumbent.
Op-Ed
Mitch McConnell, Change and Hurting America By Glenn Mollette
Now it’s our turn. As a chief executive who presided over the largest tax increase in Connecticut history after promising not to raise taxes, Malloy was ripe for the picking in 2014. (His approval ratings even in Washington was so low that Vice President Joe Biden called him “O’Malley” at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony in May.)
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A
verage America doesn’t feel better off since Election Day. More of us are feeling the pain of the new government health-care laws. My personal medical insurance premium will increase in January. My deductible goes from $3,000 to $5,000 and my co-pay also goes up. Beginning in January 2015, my medical insurance will be the worst I’ve had in my life. I suspect that during this past election millions of Americans started waking up about ObamaCare. The new Senate and House must edit the healthcare laws. Allow the very poor of America to be on Medicaid and those with preexisting
conditions to buy into Medicare. Allow working Americans to buy and bargain for their own health insurance and allow us to do it across state lines.
WHO’S WHAT, WHERE
Many voters were additionally put off by Malloy’s relentlessly negative personal attacks on Foley, portraying him as an out-of-touch plutocrat and vulture capitalist who bought and flipped companies for the sole purpose of throwing widows and orphans into debtors’ prison.
And yes, Malloy’s attacks were intensely personal, calling Foley out for the name of his “$5 million yacht” and owning “fighter jets” (what, you didn’t know that Foley has his own air force?). The Malloy camp also endeavored, preposterously, to link the Republican to “hard-right” Tea Party groups. (In Connecticut? Really?) But the Greenwich businessman did himself no favors by running a lackluster campaign that failed to address what Tom Foley would actually do if elected. Instead, Foley mainly portrayed himself as the unMalloy who would reverse the incumbent’s disastrous policies. Why have American political campaigns devolved into vicious mudslinging melees, particularly since 2008? For one thing, negative campaigning works, and even highly personal attacks that would seem to have little or no bearing on a candidate’s fitness for office increasingly gain traction with voters. Foley’s cardinal sin, apparently, was his success in the business arena. Throughout the long, expensive campaign, Foley stayed on the high road – never attacking Malloy personally. Instead he focused on the incumbent’s “failed” policies and promised to do better. If negative campaigning resonates with voters in the short term, in the long run it feeds into one of the most alarming threats to our democracy — declining voter participation. It is true that Barack Obama’s historic 2008 run to the presidency stimulated a spike in voter participation — particularly among young people and minorities — the long-term trend is downward, as voters in many races become so disgusted with negative ads from both sides that they can’t hold their noses long enough to vote for either of them. If ever there was an election cycle in which a Democratic incumbent in a deep-blue state was vulnerable, 2014 was it. But Tom Foley never made his case with regard to why voters — especially independents, who outnumber both Democrats and Republicans in the state — should vote for him.
Glenn Mollette (glennmollette.com) is a syndicated columnist and author.
Americans are tired of our jobs going overseas. Minimum wage, even if it’s $10 or $12 an hour, is
However, companies must also decide how they are going to handle medical insurance. If we continue to demand more taxes and more medical insurance burdens from companies they will move somewhere else. Or, they will continue to downgrade full-time employees to part-time employees. Average America is not ready to eliminate fossil fuels. We like solar, wind and natural gas. We also know that we are loaded with coal and oil. We need to use our fossil fuels while developing technology that uses cleaner and more efficient sources of energy. More Americans would like for us to be discon-
nected from Middle Eastern oil. We are tired of being tied to Saudi Arabia or Iraq for oil. Actually we are sick and tired of the Middle East in general. Maybe, I shouldn’t speak for any other Americans. However, it seems I am safe to speak for a large number. Mitch McConnell and a host of other Republicans were elected because that is what America could do. We could vote and bring about change. There is broad frustration and even anger toward Washington and our current policies. The Republicans need to work together and get something right for the next few months. Some of us are doubtful about a Democratic President and a Republican Congress accomplishing anything. However, this is America and we can dream.
“It is critical that our state leaders continue and accelerate progress that’s been made over the last four years,” added Alexander. “We need to take bold action to provide all kids with great schools and the opportunity for life long success.”
The majority of these schools are concentrated in five cities—Bridgeport, Hartford, New Britain, New Haven and Waterbury—and disproportionately impact students of color and students living in poverty. On average, 87 percent of students at these schools are AfricanAmerican or Hispanic, while 90 percent of students come from low-income households.
While the ConnCAN report highlights successful schools across the state, it also draws attention to family demand for superior schools, including the 4,000 Connecticut families on charter-school waiting lists and the vastly oversubscribed application process for seats in magnet schools, illustrated by the 20,000 students who applied for 5,000 seats in Hartford’s magnet schools this year. These numbers reflect the chronic and persistent failure in Connecticut’s lowestperforming schools and the lack of quality alternatives available to needy families.
“Every child in Connecticut deserves a high-quality public education. Yet our analysis shows a persistent failure to provide educational opportunity to our most vulnerable students,” said ConnCAN CEO Jennifer Alexander in a statement. “A small and growing number of schools across this state are producing great results for kids, especially students of color and those living in poverty, but far too many students remain trapped in broken schools with no viable alternatives. This is unfair and unacceptable.
Mitchell Young
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ConnCAN CEO Jennifer Alexander
ConnCAN asserts that this is a solvable problem that will require Connecticut’s political leaders to improve current, outdated policies that constrain educators’ ability to meet the needs of students and prevent parents from seeking out and enrolling their children in higherperforming schools. The brief is based on an analysis of data that was gathered for ConnCAN’s Report Card Project. To learn more about the study visit conncan.org.
Among financial institutions doing business in the state, Webster was cited as top 7a lender, the No. 1 504 third-party lender and was tops in total loan volume. This year marked the seventh consecutive year Webster posted top 7a volume, and 14th year in a row for top 504 volume. A subsidiary of Webster Financial Corp., Webster Bank has $22 billion in assets and provides business and consumer banking, mortgages, private banking trust and investment services through 165 banking offices and 311 ATMs.
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WATERBURY — At the U.S. Small Business Administration’s annual Lenders & Partner’s meeting October 29 in Hartford, Webster Bank was honored for its commitment to small-business lending in Connecticut.
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The brief also underscores the daunting costs of this crisis. According to the brief, the 8,000 students who drop out of schools each year will generate $4 billion in lost state revenue over their lifetimes — not to take into account tens of millions of dollars flowing into state prisons rather than into the state’s economy each year.
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And even though Republicans posted modest gains in the General Assembly, 2014 represents a lost opportunity for the GOP in what not so terribly long ago was one of the most Republican states in the Union.
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Thousands of illegals continue to come to America. Many of them of them are hardworking people. They simply want to be in America and have a better life. I don’t blame them. However, the majority of Americans want them to fill out their paperwork. We want these people to be documented and follow the legal path to living in America. Most Americans would agree on making the path clear and obtainable. We simply do not want to just reward these people with citizenship if they broke the law to get here.
not enough. We need $20 and $25 an hour jobs that pay benefits. We need to reward companies for keeping jobs in America. We don’t want to reward them for moving jobs to another country.
NEW HAVEN — This month the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) released an issue brief detailing an education crisis that it says is trapping nearly 40,000 students in 63 persistently failing schools across the state.
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HIGHER EDUCATION
UNH Makes ‘Best for Vets’ Grade
WEST HAVEN — As Veterans Day approached, Military Times announced that the University of New Haven was one of 140 U.S. colleges to be named in the publication’s fifth annual “Best for Vets: Colleges 2015” rankings. The rankings factor in the most comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military students’ success rates. (See related story this issue.) According to Sean-Michael Green, UNH’s associate vice president for graduate enrollment and marketing. “I view this as a good starting point to expand our services to veterans. We will continue to build on this foundation with the goal of serving as a premier institution for veterans and service members not just in the U.S. but around the world.” “Best for Vets: Colleges 2015” is an editorially independent news project that evaluates multiple factors that make an organization a good fit for service members, military veterans and their families. Only two Connecticut colleges made the 2014 list: UNH and the University of Connecticut. For the full “Best for Vets: Colleges 2015” rankings, visit militarytimes.com/ bestforvets-colleges2015.
Wallingford Tech Firm Fetches $60 Million
UIL Won’t Terminate Purchase of Phila. Gas Works
Connecticut Payroll Tax Rate Highest in U.S.
City Council opposed sale of publicly owned utility NEW HAVEN — UIL Holdings Corp. announced November 10 that it would not terminate its planned $1.86 billion purchase of Philadelphia Gas Works at this time. In its announcement the parent of the United Illuminating Co. and Southern Connecticut Gas Co. expressed “disappointment” that the City Council of the Pennsylvania city opposed the sale of the publicly owned gas utility in an October meeting. UIL “will continue to monitor developments in Philadelphia to assess the advisability of further delaying termination of the agreement.” Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter had hailed the planned sale to UIL as a win for the roughly 500,000 ratepayers, the municipal pension fund, and efforts to boost the region’s energy sector. The council said an outside consultant it hired found that the city would net $200 million to $400 million, far less than the $400 million to $600 million cited by Nutter’s administration. Council officials noted other
concerns, including the lack of a guarantee that rates would stay “reasonably affordable” after a promised three-year rate freeze. “On October 28 we expressed our disappointment in the City Council’s announcement that it would not endorse the sale, and stated that we would determine whether to exercise our contractual right to terminate the agreement and make a determination on future action within two weeks,” said James P. Torgerson, UIL’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
IRS: FUTA to rise to 2.3 percent EAST HARTFORD — OEM America President David Fernandez is criticizing a newly announced tax that makes Connecticut the most expensive in the country.
“The transaction made strategic sense for UIL when we announced For now, UIL’s Torgerson is keeping the agreement in March of this year, his company’s Philadelphia Gas Works and continues to make strategic options open. sense today,” he added. “Accordingly, with time remaining for the City 16. The company said that if the Council to consider the transaction Philadelphia City Council doesn’t at its upcoming meetings, we believe adopt an ordinance approving the that it would be premature to exercise deal by December 31, the asset-purour right to terminate at this time.” chase agreement will automatically UIL said it has had the contractual terminate. right to end the deal since July
Fernandez’s East Hartford-based company provides payroll, human resources, workers compensation and health insurance services to small businesses throughout the state. The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) reimbursement rates for this 2014, just announced by the IRS, charges employers 2.3 percent on employee payrolls. Most states charge 0.6 percent. The next highest states are Indiana at 2.1 and California at 1.8 percent. Fernandez observes that some Connecticut small businesses were unprepared for this tax increase. “Lots of businesses that use ADP or Paychex for payroll haven’t been withholding enough this year,” he says. “Those companies are going to have to write a pretty big check next month.”
DREAM
OEM’s payroll clients are somewhat insulated from this action, since the company has been anticipating this higher rate, and has been withholding accordingly, Fernandez adds. They will still have to pay the higher rates, but will not have the pay all at once.
REALITY
“We see this kind of businessunfriendly attitudes throughout our business,” Fernandez says. “Fees tacked on to workers compensation, fees added to health insurance — the small businesses we work for feel like they’re a government piggy bank. Our products help them some, but there’s always another agency with its hand out.”
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ROCKY HILL — Connecticut Innovations Inc. (CII), the state’s quasi-public technology-investment arm, has announced that Bio-Techne, a Minnesota company engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of biotechnology products and clinical calibrators and controls, had completed its acquisition of a CII portfolio company, Wallingford-based CyVek. Terms of the deal included a reported $60 million in cash as well as other financial considerations. Since 2010 CII has invested approximately $2 million in CyVek and expects a return of approximately three times that amount. “The investment in CyVek helped generate a return for Connecticut Innovations and create jobs — two things that are core to our mission,” said David Wurzer, CII’s executive vice president and chief investment officer. “CyVek’s primary operations will remain in Connecticut, which will have a positive economic impact on the state, and the return from this acquisition will allow CII to invest in other innovative companies.” “The acquisition of a young startup company by a reputed worldwide industry leader like Bio-Techne is exciting, impressive and a testament to the value of what we have created,” said Per Hellsund, president and CEO of CyVek. CyVek was founded in 2010 by Hellsund and Kevin Didden, who engaged team members from CyVera, a successful startup company that was sold to Illumina in 2005. In 2014, CyVek was the recipient of the Connecticut Business Champions award for innovation as well as the Frost & Sullivan award for innovation. Serial entrepreneur Didden, who served as board chairman at CyVek, sits on the board of directors of CiDRA, and is the former chairman of CyVera. He has worked with CII since 1997. Together Didden and CII have attracted more than $200 million of out-of-state equity funding to Connecticut. “Our long-standing relationship with Connecticut Innovations has helped to grow nearly 300 high-tech jobs in Connecticut and has generated healthy returns for our companies and for the state,” said Didden. “This is the fourth business we’ve built and sold with the assistance of CII and I look forward to continuing our relationship and serving as a resource for other Connecticut entrepreneurs.”
CyVek developed a multi-analyte immunoassay technology, the CyPlex System.
WHEN WE SAY HOUSTON, WE MEAN BUSINESS. BDL DAILY NONSTOP TO HOUSTON IAH • OCTOBER 6, 2014: BDL to Houston nonstop begins on United Airlines. • It means the development of a strong CT connection to a major business and energy hub. • It also means 26 nonstop flights now happen each day out of BDL.
Fernandez urges Connecticut’s leaders to repay the federal unemployment fund, so that the state’s FUTA rates will come back down to normal.
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TRANSPORTATION
Bankwell Does Holiday Good Deeds
Bradley Awards Demolition Contract
WINDSOR LOCKS — A Massachusetts company will demolish Bradley International Airport’s Terminal B, which closed in 2010, the Connecticut Airport Authority has announced. S&R Corp. of Lowell, Mass. will also demolish a viaduct roadway that runs in front of the terminal, which is slated to be replaced in 2018. The work will mean that all lanes of traffic on Bradley’s upper roadway will be diverted to the lower roadway just after the Sheraton, hotel CA A said. The right line of the lower-level arrivals roadway will also be closed. A new terminal will mean more opportunities for overseas flights, which Bradley has not had since 2009. The CA A is trying to attract Aer Lingus to offer service from Bradley to Ireland. The agency held an invitation-only event earlier this month in Hartford with an Aer Lingus official for local businesspeople to show their support for the service.
HAMDEN — Seventeen boxes of non-perishable food, collected by the staff of Bankwell (formerly Quinnipiac Bank & Trust Co.), were donated to St. Anne’s Soup Kitchen in Hamden. “St. Anne’s has been a pillar in Hamden for its gracious contributions to people in need,” said Bankwell Regional President Mark Candido. “Not only do they serve hot prepared meals, they send people home with food and clothing when often they have nowhere to turn for aid.” A pickup truck loaded with boxes of food, collected during an October 25 shredding event in Bankwell’s parking area in Hamden, was earmarked for St. Anne’s. “We also collect clothing and shoes that go to St. Anne’s along with other local charities and social services,” Candido explained. “Shortly we’ll begin our Winter Coat Drive with the same goal of maintaining Bankwell as a cornerstone in helpful community service.”
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Luke Abous-Salam, St. Anne’s manager, was on hand personally to pick up the food donations. Bankwell staff members, Mark Candido, Leila Votto and Ken Innocenzi joined in to L-r: Bankwell Regional President Mark Candido, the bank’s Leila Votto and Ken present the donations. Bankwell has offices in Hamden and North Haven.
Innocenzi with Luke Abous-Salam, St. Anne’s manager.
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UIL Expects Gas Bills To Stay Stable
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safety pf railroad operations, and the railroad’s on-time performance record.”
Stored gas purchased at low prices may protect customers against price spikes NEW HAVEN — UIL Holdings Corp. and its natural gas-distribution subsidiaries — the Southern Connecticut Gas Co., Connecticut Natural Gas and the Berkshire Gas Co. of Massachusetts — expect gas bills to remain relatively stable this winter. The companies have portfolios of firm capacity that access ample and low-cost gas supplies, including supplies from the Appalachian basin, where the discovery of vast stores of gas in the Marcellus Shale formation has improved the domestic supply picture. The companies have supply commitments arranged and have been storing natural gas purchased at low, off-season prices, according to John P. Rudiak, senior director of energy supply for UIL’s Connecticut gas operations. That means customers should continue to be largely insulated against significant price increases, even if the spot market cost of natural gas delivered in New England rises sharply during the heating season, Rudiak added. “We’re filling our gas storage with the lowest-price gas that we’ve put into storage in years,” Rudiak said. “That gas will be available for withdrawal this winter for our customers.” Stored natural gas can account for almost half the consumption of CNG and SCG firm customers during the
ON THE RECORD Continued from page 3
sible to the taxpayers — the people who are paying those salaries. That information had not been readily available before, and so the Yankee Institute through Connecticut Sunlight made it its business to make that information accessible to anyone who cared to see [the information is available at yankeeinstitute.org]. That has been done, and now in fact the state has replicated the Connecticut Sunlight site — although they don’t publicize it — such a site does exist. And we salute them for that. Why doesn’t the state’s business community push back more vigorously against the anti-business activities of the Democrats in Hartford?
In some ways businesses have tried to do so. But there’s been no unifying voice behind their efforts that can carry those thought into Hartford as well as unify businesses across the state and let them know they are not alone in what they are experiencing and how they feel about it. I’ve only been at Yankee Institute a few months as president, but that is one of my goals: to try to amplify the voices of the businesses and the people in Connecticut who struggling beneath a tidal wave of high taxes, overregulation and policies that deter entrepreneurship and job creation rather than promoting [them]. Part of the issue is that there are relatively few actual business people in the legislature compared to, say lawyers or people who have spent their careers inside the public-policy hive.
To the extent that that’s true, that’s a shame. Business people need to be represented and their voices need to be heard. Small business is really the engine of job creation in the state. And when you have policies that make it prohibitively difficult to operate a small business, then obviously 10
In addition to the decline in overall satisfaction with Metro-North, the study acknowledged that on-time performance declined by 28 points to just 58 percent.
winter heating season, Rudiak said. The commodity cost of natural gas is reflected on customers’ bills under the PGA (Purchased Gas Adjustment) line item. Pittsfield, Mass.-based Berkshire Gas issued a similar forecast. “We’re optimistic that winter pricing will remain stable, comparable to last year,” said Chris Farrell, Berkshire’s director of corporate communications and government relations.
Moreover, New Haven Line riders were significantly less satisfied with MetroNorth than their counterparts on the Hudson and Harlem lines. Their satisfaction with Metro-North plunged to 58 percent, 29 points below last year. Customer satisfaction west of the Hudson was stable over the same period.
Meanwhile, UIL officials said they expect to be able to comfortably meet their customers’ gas needs this winter, despite recent reports about constraints in the transmission system. “Even as we continue to grow our system in Connecticut and bring natural gas to towns and neighborhoods that did not have it before, we have firm capacity contracts in place to guarantee that both our new and existing customers have access to this inexpensive and environmentally friendly fuel,” said Robert Allessio, president of SCG and CNG. UIL’s natural gas distribution companies are supplied by major transmission pipelines that bring in natural gas from regions where it is produced, including the Appalachian basin and Canada. The companies supplement these pipeline supplies with reserves of liquid natu-
people who are looking for jobs are going to suffer because no one is going to hire. Gov. Malloy’s economic-development strategy seems to be to throw millions of dollars at cherry-picked companies so they either stay here or relocate some operations here. Is that a fair characterization?
Certainly that’s been one of the most public and publicized components of it. It seems to me that rather than the governor picking winners and losers — and winners who are all too likely to be cronies — a better approach would be to create a climate in the state through public policy that is more conducive to businesses and more welcoming to businesses — whether they’re friends of the governor, or contributors to the governor, or not. Many inner-city parents say they want increased school choice for their children — but then they continue to send anti-school-choice Democrats to Hartford. Why the disconnect?
Those of us who advocate for greater freedom when it comes to education don’t necessarily make our case as effectively as we could. Part of our goal as the Yankee Institute is to [advance] some policies that could be of help. [These include] ‘A Map to Renewal,’ a public-policy document you can find on our website. We believe that parents should be able to have state money follow children to their school of choice. We don’t think it’s an acceptable status quo that spending for kindergarten through 12th grade has increased by 51 percent over the last decade while academic achievement has remained flat. What we need to do is to try and facilitate a system that incentivizes schools and educators and parents to seek better standards and better outcomes. That means that rather than paying underperforming schools more money, it means letting each child take state money with him or her to wherever he or she wants to go [to school]. It would lead to much-needed shaking up of the status quo and perhaps even some com-
ral gas stored at local facilities, as well as large reserves from underground storage facilities in several states. In addition, the companies offer larger industrial and commercial customers the opportunity for lower rates if they are willing to switch temporarily from natural gas to other fuel sources at times when demand is unusually high. This helps level out short-term spikes in demand for natural gas during certain peak periods, ensuring sufficient supply.
petition among educational alternatives. That would help the people who need it most, which is obviously struggling low-income families who are trapped in terrible schools.
“Metro-North customers were right to express deep dissatisfaction with levels of service after the particularly difficult year the railroad has had,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in a statement. “Our commuters have a right to expect a culture of safety and on-time performance levels of 95 percent or better. It is clear that Metro-North has a long way to go. Recent positive indicators for reliability have not been sustained, and service is clearly unacceptable for New Haven Line customers.”
Not exactly a vote of confidence for MTA Metro-North Commission Joe Giulietti, who arrived at the beginning of the year from Florida to considerable fanfare. He previously served as executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. “A 20-point drop in customer satisfaction with Metro-North performance is a lot more than a wakeup call for a railroad that has struggled for many months with very big issues and challenges,” said state transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker. “We have been working closely with President Joe Giulietti and his top leadership team to instill a safety culture in Metro-North, and we will redouble our efforts to identify a remedial action plan for service reliability that our customers deserve.” In a letter to Metro-North, Redeker directed the railroad to deliver a complete assessment of every cause for failed train performance and an action plan to bring on-time performance to a minimum of 95 percent. Redeker has asked that the assessment and plan be on his desk by December 1.
Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.
Which is not where politicians’ children go to school.
Right. Politicians who are quite happy to send their own children to private school try to foreclose that option for the least privileged among us — which in my opinion is just outrageously wrong. When people talk about ‘underfunding our schools,’ it seems to me they could more productively look at how we can actually improve the [academic] outcomes rather than just define how much we ‘care’ by how much taxpayer money we want to spend to get no better results. Most of the people who will read this are business owners and managers. What can they do to help steer the ship in a better direction?
For one thing, we would love for them to reach out to us and let us know they are with us and willing to stand alongside us as we fight for freedom and more limited government. Because what the Yankee Institute is going to try to do is to undertake a meaningful expansion in terms of its ability to influence the public debate and influence lawmakers through targeted legislative outreach and undertake a couple of initiatives designed to look at entities that are standing in the way of reform in this state and make suggestions about legislation that could change life in Connecticut for the better. How about in the meantime?
[Business people] should look carefully at the [politicians] they support — in municipal and state [government], whatever party they are, look to make sure that they are more committed to helping those who create jobs do what they are able to do — rather than simply redistribute wealth.
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Sikorsky Lands $1.3B Contract STRATFORD — The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy have ordered 102 helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The Defense Department awarded $772 million for 41 UH-60M helicopters and 23 HH-60M helicopters for the Army, and $535.3 million for eight MH-60S helicopters and 29 MH-60R helicopters for the Navy. The work will be performed in Stratford, where Sikorsky is headquartered. The contract awards are a continuation of an overall $8.4 billion contract, according to a statement from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office. The Navy had earlier planned to cancel the purchase of the 29 MH-60R helicopters next fiscal year, which elicited a protest from Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He argued it would hurt military readiness and would have resulted in a $250 million contract termination charge to the government, according to a statement.
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Petitioning Against Future Rate Hikes
our most vulnerable citizens can afford $150 more a year.”
Valley WorkPlace Opens Doors ANSONIA — The WorkPlace is open for business at the Ansonia American Job Center, 4 Fourth Street. Its location is convenient for Valley jobseekers looking to find a job or get a better job. The office will offer computer and technology access as well as classroom space for workshops and seminars. As part of the American Job Center Network the Ansonia location will provide services to unemployed and underemployed individuals seeking jobs and job search assistance at no cost. Job seekers are afforded convenient access to the employment, education, training and information services they need at a single location. Individuals may register for computer classes, job skill workshops, personal career counseling and skills testing. Additionally the American Job Center provides a number of no cost services to employers including posting of employment opportunities on our job boards, referrals of qualified job candidates from our extensive pool of clients and access to worker training grants. For more information, visit workplace.org.
WESTBROOK — State Sen. Art Linares has created an online petition at senatorlinares.com where area residents can sound off about electric rate hikes and urge state regulators to oppose future hikes. “Many people have asked me what they can do to help me to fight rate hikes,” said Linares in a statement. “One way is to take our message to the decision-makers. The signatures on this petition will be delivered to state electricity regulators soon. The message we are sending is clear: We cannot afford higher electricity rates.” On September 3 Linares joined with area residents at New London City Hall to voice his opposition to the proposed Connecticut Light & Power rate hike. Linares addressed state regulators during a packed public hearing on the proposal. “I have received many calls and emails on the issue of the rate hike. All of the calls and emails have been from people who are opposed to the rate hike. This rate hike could cost the average ratepayer an extra $150 a year. A senior citizen from Clinton told me there is no way he and his wife can afford to pay an extra $150 a year. There are many, many more people who are in the same situation. Please consider them when you make your decision. Reject this request for a rate hike. There is no way that our seniors, our working families, and
Designing Man at QU HAMDEN — Ram Castillo, an awardwinning graphic designer and author of the new book, How to Get a Job as a Designer, Guaranteed: The Most Effective Step by Step Guide for Design Students and Graduates, will discuss “The Birth of a Designer,” at 2 p.m. on December 6, in the Mount Carmel Auditorium in the Center for Communications and Engineering on the Mount Carmel Campus of Quinnipiac University. Castillo is regarded as a career expert for emerging designers, offering advice that helps students transition from education to working in the real world. During his talk, he will share his strategy for forging an effective path to get hired. In addition, he will discuss the importance of education, design, portfolio creation, networking, interviews and overcoming fears and hindrances that can hold young designers back.
SUCCESS IS 1% INSPIRATION, 99% KNOWING WHO TO ASK. The truth is, you don’t need to have all the answers when you know someone who does. At Marcum, our team members put to work their decades of experience to answer your toughest questions quickly and effectively. Need some answers? Ask Marcum. marcumllp.com/bnh
The Connecticut chapter of AIGA, the professional organization for design, is sponsoring the event. For more information, call 203-582-8652.
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From Soldiers & Sailors to Successful Scholars
Marine Corps veteran Chris Esposito (left) of East Haven, and U.S. Navy veteran Sam Byrd of Middletown, in the Veterans Lounge at Gateway Community College.
Area colleges offer help to returning veterans and their families By Thomas R. Violante
N
ovember signals the celebration of Veterans Day, with parades and memorials in honor of those who have worn the uniform of our armed forces keeping our country safe and free. But once they’ve completed their tours of duty, many veterans find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to jobs and education. Luckily, for those who wish to earn a degree in their chosen field, there are many opportunities to explore at area colleges and universities, as well as ample funding for tuition and expenses. Jason Burke, director of veterans and military affairs at Quinnipiac University, says his school offers a robust program to veterans returning from overseas who seek a career in the field of their choice. “Quinnipiac needed better customer service for veterans going back to school because the admissions, bursars and registrars offices get crowded with so many students applying,” says Burke, himself a veteran of the U.S. Navy. “With veterans coming back to school, there are some added steps especially if they’re using veterans benefits. Trying to find someone within those offices who can talk about the VA [Veterans Administration] benefit piece is important so I was put in this position. I learn something every week about the VA.” “All five branches of the armed forces are represented here,” says Burke. “It can be intimidating for a veteran to come back to school, especially if a service member had not been to college before. Your typical student goes [to college] coming out of high school. It’s a little bit different with a veteran. It can make someone anxious. On top of that, how do you navigate the VA process? How do you implement your benefits for school?” Burke provides individual counseling for students in school as well as those who call in for information. “I take those burdens away from them so they can just concentrate on being a student,” says Burke. “That’s paramount — make the student veteran feel at ease to just come here and be a student and not worry about the financial side of it and why there is a hold up on their account.” Burke says that all degrees are available to veterans but they need to declare a major. “Even if they’re coming as a true freshman, we treat them as transfer students so it’s a little less work on 14
the application process because they have military service that transfers as credit,” adds Burke. “They’ve taken courses in military training that translate to civilian experience.” Burke notes that Quinnipiac has 87 veteran students and 52 dependents of veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill (see accompanying story).
the school’s recreation center on campus through an organization called Connected Warriors Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps improve the quality of life for wounded veterans by facilitating increased connection to their families, friends, community and the world.
“We have started construction on a veterans-specific ‘ready room’,” says Burke. “It’s located in the former law school, now the School of Communication and Engineering, on the first floor so that it has some visibility. It’s going to be a great space. We have over 20 students using the state vocational rehabilitation program, which is a disability benefit used for education that’s structured a little bit differently. We offer tuition assistance via the Department of Defense for active duty and reserve personnel. For this program, they go through their command career counselor and request it through their specific service. It pays up to $250 per credit hour.”
“We provide counseling on campus, but it’s not veteran-specific,” says Green. “It’s open to all students and that includes veterans. But at the same time, with the VA Hospital literally next door, we have a very close relationship working with them. Not only do we refer students to the VA Hospital, but they sometimes refer people who are interested in higher education to us.”
Burke says the school will honor veterans on Veterans Day, with a flag-raising ceremony and a dinner. At the University of New Haven, veterans can take advantage of all courses offered at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, explains Sean-Michael Green, UNH’s associate vice president of graduate enrollment and marketing at the University of New Haven and a veteran of the Marine Corps. “This fall, we have 263 students using veteran benefits on campus, of which approximately 220 are veterans and the balance are dependents of veterans,” says Green. “Our community encompasses the whole military community, including family members, so we count this whole group when we speak of our veterans population.” Green says his school doesn’t just offer a single program to veterans. “We try to give a variety of options for veterans that either need some sort of service, or want some sort of formal or informal networking opportunities, or they want to be involved in a veterans-friendly community,” says Green. “The opportunities include the veterans lounge, which serves as a one-stop shop in many ways and is a place where business is conducted. But it’s also a place for congregating and spending time exclusively around peers.” Green says that other opportunities include specialized yoga classes open only to veterans and held in
Green says that UNH’s veterans are enrolled not only in every degree program but at every level of undergraduate and graduate degrees. These include business, engineering and criminal justice and forensic science in the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences. For qualified veterans, UNH also participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program (see accompanying story).
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t Post University in Waterbury, some 300 students and dependents receive veterans benefits, of which there are between 30 and 50 veterans enrolling this academic year, says Dave Renza, director of military programs and a 13-year veteran himself of the Army National Guard, where he served as a combat medic and retention specialist.
“Our programs are geared to not just educating veterans but also getting them degrees that are going to be very applicable to the jobs they are seeking,” says Renza. “Veterans are very career-specific. Veterans’ employment recently has been a cause that’s been taken up and championed at the federal level so it’s of great concern. I know that the overall unemployment rate among veterans is typically about three percent higher than the national average. If you look at young veterans aged 18 to 40, the rate is about 10 percent higher than the overall rate. They’re startlingly high numbers.” Renza adds that Post has created programs for veterans that include business administration and criminal justice. “Not only are we geared toward finding employment for veterans, but also geared toward utilizing the Www.Conntact.com
experience and training that veterans have had in the military and being able to transfer that over to their civilian jobs,” says Renza. “We have the ability to work with veterans funding through all the GI bill chapters. A few of us on campus are trained as VA certifying officials and we have one VA certifying official who communicates with the VA and lets them know who has registered here.” Renza adds that Post also works with people from vocational rehabilitation and the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
“We have specially trained academic support counselors who are able to help veterans and get them focused on how many classes they have left to take,” says Renza. “We’re very focused on serving veterans, since many of us are veterans and were also students. Some of our veterans have not been to school in a long time. We’re able to help them through that process. We can empathize with them and help make it a little easier for them. We’re honored to work with them everyday — it’s a pleasure.”
“She has been fantastic with directing people to the appropriate person with whom they need to speak about benefits provided by the Veterans Administration locally or nationally,” says Kovacs. “Overall, our approach to working with veterans is that it’s not new to us. We’ve had them attend classes for almost as long as the school has been coeducational. We work with them to make sure that they get college credit for any military training they’ve received, as appropriate.”
“For veterans who may not have GI benefits left, we work with them as well to seek financial aid,” says Renza. “We get students from all parts of the country and we have a strong veteran population locally that’s growing as word of our program gets out. Since we do have a strong online component to our program, veterans from all over the country are coming on board with us. We’re excited about what we’re doing and how we’re able to offer this program to veterans everywhere with some of the advancements in online education.”
More than 60 students and dependents receive veteran’s benefits during 2014, including several who are veterans themselves, says Andrea Kovacs, vice president of marketing for Albertus Magnus College.
Kovacs adds that veterans may take nationally recognized standardized tests on courses taken while in the military that may be applied toward their academics at the college.
“We are sticklers about not allowing veterans to waste their benefits,” says Kovacs. “I think that’s really important. Veterans come back to school and they don’t quite know how to get everything out of the benefits they’ve earned. One of our objectives is to make sure that they do. They should come away with a degree and it’s wasteful if they don’t.”
Though Post doesn’t have a specific veterans lounge or center on campus, it’s something the school might consider, adds Renza.
Kovacs credits her school’s registrar, Angela Haggerty, with guiding incoming student veterans on the path to admission.
“It may include any military training they might have gone through,” says Kovacs. “Most veterans don’t seek the kind of program one would take directly from high school, although they could if it works for them with their work schedule. For instance, someone who returned from a tour in Iraq was working an evening shift. What made the most sense to them was to come during the day. We would work with them to make sure that happens.”
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Kovacs says that, generally, veterans come back to school long after the age of 19. “They’ve experienced things that a typical 19-yearold has not,” explains Kovacs. “They’re really good at working on a team and being very focused on an objective, and accomplishing the objective, and understanding all the parts to that objective. They excel in our adult programs which are flexible in their delivery. They may take a class online or in a classroom. They may take a class that meets one night a week on campus and the rest of the work is done online. That’s one of the things we’re really good at. “It’s particularly helpful to our veterans who study here because life fits in around school, so they’re able to accomplish their objective of finishing school,” she adds. “We have experts in our admissions and financial-aid offices who can direct them to the right people to make sure they maximize their benefits and that they come away at the end of this experience having accomplished their degree.” Kovacs says that Albertus has a veteran’s center on campus within the student center, where veterans may come together to socialize or study. The school also has an official student veterans association on campus. “What’s interesting about serving veterans is that we’re not just serving the individual veteran,” says Kovacs. “We’re also serving their entire family. This is the stuff that fills your cup. When you meet the families of people and you know what they’ve gone through and know what they’ve sacrificed, it’s awesome to be able
to help that family accomplish their next goal. It feels really good.”
J
ack Mordente, director of the veterans office at Southern Connecticut State University and a veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Reserves, established a full-time office in 1975 under a grant to work with Vietnam veterans. The program has grown into the on-campus veterans program that includes 325 active-duty military, veterans, National Guard, reservists and dependents.
“We have a drop-in center that was actually used as a model for what became ‘oasis’ centers at other schools,” says Mordente. “A women’s organization came to meet with us and decided that if the school provides the space, they would provide needed items like computers, furniture, microwave oven, a refrigerator and a TV.” Mordente says veterans earn GI Bill benefits while on active duty and, if they serve three years or more, the bill pays 100 percent of their tuition, fees and books not to exceed $1,000 per year. “They also get a monthly basic allowance for housing (BAH) check for $2,538,” says Mordente. “If they serve less than three years, a percentage of that benefit is available. For veterans who are rated at 30-percent disabled or more by the VA, they qualify for a vocational rehabilitation education program. It provides everything that the Post-9/11 GI Bill does except
it pays for all of a student’s tuition, books, supplies, a laptop and a wireless connection at their house.” Mordente says that Connecticut has a war veterans tuition waiver program for which Vietnam veterans qualify, though their other benefits may have ended. “We have undergraduate and graduate student veterans who know in which field they want to major,” says Mordente. “Some of the transition issues they experience are like other students. They haven’t been in school for a long time. They’re older than other students in their classes, which is an adjustment. I’m very proactive with the veterans in terms of services I provide including counseling, academic advising, liaison with local, state and national organizations on their behalf. We maintain a listserv for them to provide information on job fairs and other opportunities. Mordente says that both undergrad and graduate courses are available to veterans. The school will host a Veterans Day ceremony to take place on November 12. “Our legislature recently passed a bill for veterans,” says Mordente. “Many have a military job skill they acquired that may relate to a civilian job skill, which requires certification test. The test is waived for qualified veterans. Transferring military training into college credit is a big issue nationwide. A statewide committee has been formed to study ways we can be more proactive in transferring more military credits toward college credits. I think we should give veterans a semester’s worth of credits for courses that are transferred. For instance computer skills training can
‘When you meet the families of [veterans] and you know what they’ve gone through and know what they’ve sacrificed, it’s awesome to be able to help that family accomplish their next goal. It feels really good.’ — Andrea Kovacs, Albertus Magnus College
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be transferred to computer credits in college. At our school, it’s up to the individual departments right now to decide on what can be accepted for credit.”
Haven who comes in once a week and is located in the oasis. He works with any veterans who need to get connected to the center or to the VA Hospital.”
Kellie Byrd-Danso, director of veterans affairs at Gateway Community College, says one of her staffers, Rick Palinko, who is also a veteran, takes on the task of walking student veterans through the process of selecting the right classes, connecting them to a counselor or academic advisor and bringing them to disability services, if need be.
“My experience at Gateway has been great,” says Chris Esposito, an East Haven native who now lives in Branford. He is a four-year Marine Corps veteran who will graduate in December. “I attended school in San Diego when I got out of the service and didn’t have that great of an experience there. But since I’ve started school at Gateway, it’s been a great experience.”
“Whatever it is that the veteran needs to get acclimated to the campus, that’s what [Palinko] does,” says Byrd-Danso. “We treat our veterans just like any other student here. They can take whatever program they’re coming in for, depending on the source of funding. If they’re using their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits or if they’re on state vocational rehabilitation, they may have already met with a counselor and mapped out a career plan. If not, we help them do that here in our office. They are eligible for any class that they are interested in taking.”
Esposito, who is majoring in human services, plans to complete a BS degree in social work when he transfers to Southern Connecticut State University in spring 2015. His last tour of duty was in Kuwait.
Byrd-Danso says the school has an oasis that is just for veterans. “It’s their lounge and they may use it as a study room,” she says. “They socialize and gather there to build camaraderie with one another. We have a representative from the Veterans [Administration] Center in West
“I’ve used all of my Post-9/11 GI Bill and I’m currently using vocational rehabilitation funding,” adds Esposito. “We’ve had some job fairs here. My career goal is to work in the Veterans Administration.” “When I was getting close to my separation from the Navy, I took out a map of the U.S. and drew an ‘X’ on all the states that I didn’t want to live in,” says Sam Byrd, of Middletown, O., a five-year U.S. Navy veteran who will complete his core studies in math and science at Gateway by 2016. “It left most of New England and I picked the one with a nice central location to be able to travel and see the area. I picked New
Haven based on the fact that there are a lot of good schools in the area and it’s near a train station.” “When I came down here for a week, Gateway pretty much got me set up and made everything really smooth,” says Byrd, who resides in New Haven and is president of the Armed Forces Veterans Club at Gateway. “The Veterans Center here helped me.” Byrd served on the U.S.S. Santa Fe out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He plans to transfer to a four-year college to finish his degree in physics. Funding other than the Post-9/11 GI Bill may be provided by Connecticut’s tuition-waiver program for veterans, says Byrd-Danso. “A lot of veterans are here full time getting their associate degree,” she adds. “Their area of interest varies. We have some that are taking the Firefighter I and II certificate program. We have some who are taking general studies and liberal arts because they’re planning to transfer to a four-year school. We have five work-study student veterans who are paid by the federal government. They work with us in our office and are taking courses in human services, liberal arts leading to nursing school, and business. They also work in the oasis helping other veterans there. They act as mentors and tutors for their fellow veterans. It’s a great program.”
GET DOWN TO BUSINESS. QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Supportive faculty, advanced technology and a leading curriculum place us among the “Top US Business Schools” and “America’s Best Colleges” according to The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. We’ve also earned accreditation from AACSB International, a distinction awarded to less than 30% of American business schools. Learn more at Quinnipiac.edu/gradprograms. • MBA • MBA-CFA® Track (Chartered Financial Analyst) • MBA in Supply Chain Management Track • MBA in Health Care Management Track • JD/MBA • Master of Science - Information Technology* - Organizational Leadership* - Business Analytics* • Graduate Certificates in Health Care Administration - Health Care Compliance - Long-term Care Administration *offered only online
Veterans Assistance Programs Explained Yellow Ribbon Post9/11 GI Bill will pay: • All resident tuition and fees for a public school • The lower of the actual tuition and fees or the national maximum per academic year for a private institution. Cost of actual tuition and fees may exceed these amounts if one is attending a private school or is attending a public school as a nonresident student. Institutions of higher learning (degreegranting institutions) may elect to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program to make additional funds available for a veteran’s education program without an additional charge to one’s GI Bill entitlement. Degree-granting institutions of higher learning participating in the Post-9/11 GI Bill Yellow Ribbon Program agree to make additional funds available for a veteran’s education program without an additional charge to their GI Bill entitlement. These institutions voluntarily enter into a Yellow Ribbon Agreement with the Veterans Administration and choose the amount of tuition and fees that will be contributed. VA matches that amount and issues payments directly to the institution.
Available Benefits & Eligibility Only veterans entitled to the maximum benefit rate, as determined by service 18
requirements, or their designated transferees may receive this funding. Activeduty service members and their spouses are not eligible for this program. Child transferees of active-duty service members may be eligible if the service member is qualified at the 100-percent rate. To receive benefits under the Yellow Ribbon Program: • You must be eligible for the maximum benefit rate under the Post-9/11 GI Bill • You must not be on active duty or a spouse using transferred entitlement • Your school must agree to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program • Your school must have not offered Yellow Ribbon to more than the maximum number of individuals, as stated in their participation agreement • Your school must certify your enrollment to VA and provide Yellow Ribbon Program information • Benefits expire 15 years after you leave the service, instead of the previous ten years. You may be eligible if you fit the following circumstances: • You served an aggregate period of 36 months in active duty after September 10, 2001 • You were honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability and you served 30 continuous days after September 10, 2001.
• You are a dependent eligible for Transfer of Entitlement under the Post-9/11 GI Bill based on the service eligibility criteria listed above.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
State of Connecticut Tuition Waivers for Veterans Veterans may attend Connecticut public colleges and universities tuition-free. Connecticut statutes provide that tuition may be waived for qualified veterans attending the University of Connecticut, Connecticut state universities and the 12 community-technical colleges. Waivers cover only the cost of tuition for credit-bearing undergraduate and graduate programs. Other charges, such as for books, student activity and course fees, parking and room and board are not waived. To qualify for a waiver at the University of Connecticut and Connecticut state universities, veterans generally must be admitted to a degree program. The community-technical colleges are more flexible. Tuition Coverage Tuition waivers for veterans cover 100 percent of tuition for General Fund courses at all public colleges and universities and 50 percent for Extension Fund
and summer courses at Connecticut state universities. Source: Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling for Veterans Educational Services Educational funding may be available to veterans who demonstrate a need for training or retraining to better prepare them for today’s competitive job market. If a veteran wishes to attend a local community college or university, he/she will be informed of the veteran tuition waiver benefit to determine eligibility. The veteran will be instructed to file for financial aid. If in need of financial assistance beyond this, she or he can request funding from the Residential and Rehabilitation Services Director, if eligible. Instruction in basic computer skills, use of Windows programs and use of the Internet are arranged through the Vocational Department at a local training facility. Personal enhancement classes such as Tai Chi and CPR are also offered at the facility.
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The “lack of talent” complaint has been something of a broken record in Connecticut recently, most notably in the manufacturing industry. But it’s something of a common issue in the tech sector, which poses a hurdle to New Haven’s steadily growing innovation sector.
State government officials in Connecticut have shown considerable interest in stimulating entrepreneurial activity, especially with the launch of the CTNext innovation ecosystem in 2012 that established four “innovation hubs” in New Haven, Hartford, Stamford and Storrs. CTNext provides an array of resources to entrepreneurs and startup ventures, including access to funding, incubator space, mentors, seminars and more. But that still doesn’t put qualified candidates at employers’ doorsteps. The Connecticut IT Job Trends report (compiled by Skillproof) for November shows job openings are growing year over year: Compare 620 IT job openings in October of last year to 690 openings this year, with the most needed skills being not just business analysis but programming know-how in languages like SQL and Java. But New Haven’s blessing and curse of proximity to the major cities and technology hubs of Boston and New York means it’s easy to lose the talent that is incubated here. A notable example of “startup flight” is the Yale-spawned Panorama Education, which decamped last year for Boston, citing a lack of sufficient talent in south-central Connecticut. Bruce Seymour is managing director of MEA Mobile, an Elm Street software company that develops apps such as Printicular, which allows users to send photos from their mobile phones to Walgreens stores for high-quality print-
Seymour is dedicated to New Haven and wants to keep his company here, but that doesn’t mean recruitment hasn’t been a challenge.
Nevertheless, he adds, students are still learning the fundamentals that straddle multiple disciplines — it’s just a matter of translating those into real-world experiences. Seymour has taken advantage of Connecticut Innovations Inc.’s (CII) Technology Talent Bridge program, which links small tech companies with undergraduate interns in what is supposed to create a win-win: the company fills positions, and Connecticut retains its talent. “There should be more programs like it,” he says. The Talent Bridge program gives a $25,000 grant to offset the costs of training the interns, thereby reducing the burden. “I can train people all day long, but I can’t afford to,” he explains. “I have to make money.” Getting the real-world experience necessary to be a viable job candidate is an especially daunting obstacle when you’re fresh out of school. The A100 apprenticeship program tries to bridge that gap, giving promising computerscience grads a chance to work in real-world settings on real projects. The program is run by local development firm Independent Software. Its founder, Derek Koch is also head of The Grid, New Haven’s branch of Connecticut’s statewide Innovation Ecosystem initiative designed to stimulate entrepreneurism.
‘There’s definitely a shortage [of qualified technology workers], and one of the issues is that the universities aren’t teaching the skills that are required.’ — Bruce Seymour, MEA Mobile. 20
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“There’s definitely a shortage [of qualified technology workers], and one of the issues is that the universities aren’t teaching the skills that are required,” he says. “It’s a challenge because the technology landscape changes so fast you can’t keep up with it.”
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Koch has been one of the most visible figures in New Haven’s growing startup scene; he says hooking up students and recent graduates with rewarding work experience will help them not only to learn but want to remain here and build careers. “A lot of people immediately leave [after college] but if they stay in the local environment they put down roots. Even if they don’t stay forever, it roots them long enough for something else to take shape. At minimum it creates a larger community,” he says. Nevertheless, he adds, “It’s not fair to say the workforce is where it needs to be, because it’s definitely not.” A100 Program Director Krishna Sampath says the initiative’s apprenticeships provides that extra world experience that a student won’t necessarily have with just school alone, particularly when it comes to collaborating and working with others. “To get a job and be successful on day one, you really have to have a lot of work experience,” he says. “That’s why we’re doing it this way in a simulated job-like environment. You’re always going to be working with other people. This gives [apprentices] those experiences they can talk about in a job interview.” There is still an in for those who aren’t the right candidates for A100 though. Independent Software hosts a weekly Study Hall event that allows beginners and experienced programmers november 2014
alike to discuss and work on projects together. Rob Steller is founder and CEO of West Hartford-based Stellar Learning Innovations, which develops educational programs and Web apps. He has benefited in hiring a software developer from the A100 program but bemoans the lack of similar resources in the Hartford area, and the challenge in getting funding as an educational startup. “I don’t think we have a shortage of talent, but a lot of it may go to Boston or New York — which then causes a vacuum here,” he says. “It’s more an issue that Connecticut is not the best place for startups. The state tends to invest more in biotech and pharma companies. A lot of startup people I meet outside Connecticut always ask me why the hell I’m still there.” The answer to that quandary is that Steller, like most who chose to remain in Connecticut, love living here, have set down roots and built networks here, but in the meantime the promise of greater opportunity in New York and Boston can be tempting.
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onathan Hochman is the founder of Cheshire-based marketing and technology firm Hochman Consultants, which specializes in Web development and performance. The 1990 Yale computer science graduate says some of the blame for the 21
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I don’t think we have a shortage of talent, but a lot of it may go to Boston or New York — which then causes a vacuum here’ — Rob Steller, Stellar Learning Innovations lack of tech talent can be laid on his alma mater. Acknowledging that the number of computer science majors at Yale has increased in recent years (he says there were only about 50 when he was a student), the department has barely expanded. “The talent pool is weak because our top university in the state isn’t training as many computer scientists as we need,” says Hochman. “Imagine what Connecticut would be like if Yale was putting out as many [computer-science grads] as Stanford. MIT was responsible for all the technology companies on Rt. 128 in Massachusetts; they’re anchored around universities. I’d say it’s a missed opportunity for Connecticut and Yale.” Hochman argues that turning out more computer science graduates from Yale would have a profound impact on the economy of the region and state. It’s those graduates who would put their ideas to use and start new companies. Connecticut already has a strong presence of venture capital on its side.” And then would come the ripple effect: “They will go and become professors in other universities in Connecticut, they’ll become the hot startups, the mentors and the angel investors that will then fund a new generation,” Hochman says. “Even if the community colleges wanted to train people in cod-
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“It depends what your requirements are: If you’re looking for general-purpose programming experience and computer sciences, there’s plenty of that available,” he says. “But if you’re UBS and you want a programmer who also has an MBA in finance or any domain experience in your industry, that does make it more challenging. You’re shrinking your pool of possible candidates” by remaining in Connecticut. New Haven Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson, longtime president of the Connecticut Technology Council, says that regardless of fluctuating talent availability in New Haven,
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ing, you need qualified instructors — and those are few and far between.” Data-management software developer Core Informatics, however, doesn’t seem to have had a problem finding qualified programmers. The company has not only found talent through such programs as A100, but through Connecticut universities as well. He says Core may be at an advantage since it works in the bio- and life sciences — both surging industry sectors in the state — but whether there are sufficient qualified workers depends on the employer.
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businesses here will still get things done even if it means outsourcing. “If a business person wakes up this morning and has money to develop a new product, one way or another they’ll get it done,” he says. “They might be annoyed that their developer is 3,000 miles away, but it gets done. Otherwise they can’t compete.”
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But that doesn’t mean New Haven doesn’t need to up its game. “Having said that, we absolutely need to have more great developers here,” Nemerson says. “If a businessperson wakes up and there’s no electricity, they’ll think ‘I have to move to a better town.’ Labor is the same way. Anyone who can’t get the job done will have a board of directors telling them, ‘Move 70 miles [to New York], you dummy.’ We’re trying to avoid that.”
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When it comes to avoiding that circumstance, the universally accepted solution is to ramp up efforts in high schools and universities to churn out tomorrow’s developers. Nemerson would like to see an
Members of Independent Software’s A100 apprenticeship program present their work during a recent session. The A100 program provides real-world experience and training to students and promising developer talent to become more desirable candidates for Connecticut’s technology jobs.
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institution that takes the idea of A100 and expand it to allow newcomers, career-changers and others a chance to join the pool. “People are looking for that great developer and we need to make sure they’re here,” says Nemerson. “Everyone understands what we should be doing, but I’m not convinced we’re doing it quickly enough.”
K
och would like to see that too, but it remains to be seen how the idea will come to fruition. In the meantime, he stresses that schools need to start teaching
programming at earlier ages and in ways that provide not just theory, but experience. Corporate engagement is key, too. “In a lot of the successful apprenticeship programs around the world, the corporate community is involved,” Koch notes. “If we have a strong community and can build on corporate involvement and university involvement, and there were a real sense of working together. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say we’d be a leader in developing talent locally. That’s a real prescription for moving the needle.”
Some argue more talent leads to more opportunity. Hochman says if there were more computer-science graduates moving through the local incubators, that would function as a catalyst. “The state should look at its jobtraining program and see what can be done to get people into the field, and the universities need to think of what they can do to get more graduates — and Yale is at the top of that pyramid,” he says. That could in turn lead to more vigorous businesses development, which Gregory says is the key element.
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“Business activity begets more business activity,” he says. “If I know I can always get another job in my field just a short drive away, it’s less risky for people. If we can build that critical mass, we’ll not only retain the talent coming out of UConn and Yale, but they’ll actually want to stay and won’t feel like they’re forced to go to Manhattan or Boston.” But in spite of all these concerns, many industry observers maintain a positive outlook for New Haven and Connecticut, thanks not only to its location and resources, but to a palpable buzz in the startup community and a growing sense of vitality in the city that wasn’t there even a few years ago.
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“The fact that you can jump on MetroNorth and be in New York in an hour and a half, or Stamford in 45 minutes, makes New Haven an ideal location for startups. You’re close to big money,” Hochmann explains. “The state is also willing to put money into startups.”
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Koch agrees, and says it’s merely a matter of time before it all comes to fruition. “We have all the right ingredients,” he says. “I think in two years we’ll look back and say this was an amazing time that we all got to be a part of, and New Haven will be an example for other places.”
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“One thing we really have going for us in south-central Connecticut is quality of life. The shoreline is a great place to grow up and raise a family and the cost of living is much less relative to the suburbs of Manhattan or Boston,” Gregory says. “That message may resonate more with people who are a little older than with kids who are just out of school and want to go where they can have a good time. But we have things in our repertoire that are attractive even against New York and Boston.”
Sampath is himself a transplant to New Haven who fell in love with the community once he got here.
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It helps for some that Connecticut is an attractive place to live, too.
“There’s a vibrant community and sense of place in New Haven,” he says. “It represents what Connecticut is all about. We wouldn’t settle for just ‘all right.’ I don’t think Connecticut is the type of place that settles for mediocrity. It’s pushing for something excellent and glorious.”
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“We have everything we need to keep and attract people,” Seymour adds. “New Haven has a very bright and lively tech scene and the outlook is excellent. We just need to get the message out.”
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Your name in lights: The lobby of the century-old Palace Theatre sets an elegant stage for a company function.
Walking into the Palace Theater, which is on the National Register of Historic places, employees may choose to be greeted by their name in flashing lights, but the climax of their event will be their presentation — not exactly the one they may hold on the theater stage, but a scheduled Palace performance itself — pre- or post-business function. The theater boasts a diverse variety of shows, not excluding plays and musicals, comedians, concerts, operas and other theatrical productions. With a number of spaces to choose from within the building, a full-service technical director, or the option for a behind-the-scenes tour of the theater’s nearly century-old grandeur and architecture, employees will not be yawning or squirming in their seats. Marcucci says the theater has been a corporate hit of late, particularly with nationally known organizations such as Major League Baseball and ESPN. Apart from the idea of performances, some businesses may have a different kind of “art” in mind for their functions. When it comes to corporate fun and success, Art Plus Studio in New Haven literally “paints the picture” for companies and their employees. The venue welcomes coworkers to not only paint canvases together under the step-by-step instruction of a professional artist, but it has an array of team-building programs to boost employee relationships. Visitors can bring their own beverages and catering of their choosing. Employees have the option to work together to create a company mural, paint their own portraits or compete in groups and produce paintings that reflect their company’s mission or function theme.
The Place Is the Thing For corporate functions attendees will long remember, Connecticut companies seek venues certain to surprise
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company with its name emblazoned along the big screen of a flashing marquee would be in for more than an average business function — at Palace Theater in Waterbury, that is — if the company booked this spot for its annual meeting — a likely upgrade from mundane get-togethers of former years. For whatever company decides to rent this space, its employees are sure to be dazzled.
The Palace is among a number special venues in New Haven County that house corporate functions of every stripe; one of many places which 26
manages to break employees away from the typical hotel ballroom, restaurant or catering hall. “There has been growth in people searching out new and unique spaces,” says Sheree Marcucci, marketing and public relations officer for the theater, “giving guests something to marvel at instead of just hosting in a blank banquet space.” Numerous business leaders agree, holding a corporate get-together at a space that is considered more “outside the box” tends to maximize the employee experience, in turn, engaging the business for the better. When employees are interact-
“Our events stimulate creativity, demonstrate the value of a group effort, and give participants a sense of achievement,” says Erin Curley, private events manager for the studio.
ing with, or truly interested in, their corporate surroundings, they are in the stage to bond with the company and come away with a more positive experience.
She adds, “Companies are striving more than ever before to cultivate a climate that encourages creativity, productivity and loyalty.”
So where else can businesses look to book their upcoming events, whether they are conferences, holiday celebrations, orientations, team-building parties, or annual meetings? The unusual spots below are just some of greater New Haven (and New Haven County’s) unconventional spaces where companies might find their own “new havens.”
By setting the stage for employee interaction and inspiration, Art Plus Studio seems to project and provide the ultimate in attitude and atmosphere. Additionally, the studio’s guides can also travel to businesses’ offices or venues of choosing to host events.
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Another out-of-the-ordinary event partner in greater New Haven is the Wine Institute of New England (WINE). The institute specializes in educational classes and presentations that cover all aspects of wine — including appreciation — and the entertainment is a free plus. When businesses opt to plan a customized event with WINE, they can decide on a venue and whether to partake in several team-building activities, such as blind tastings (where coworkers break off into teams to identify a “mystery” wine together), and role-playing (where, for exam-
I
ple, coworkers can pretend they are trying to sell wine at a restaurant, and their recently-acquired knowledge will be tested).
f “trendy” is not quite what a company is going for, it can seek out an older space that feels, literally, like home.
Renée Allen, founder and director of WINE, says most wineries in Connecticut have been receptive to hosting WINE functions as well. She observes the business culture seems to be aware of the benefits of being versed in wine, to which she attributes her increasing requests for corporate functions.
At the Augusta Curtis Cultural Center in Meriden, businesses have three levels of rental space to choose from in the 100-yearold Greek Revival building, which housed the Silver City’s first library.
“It definitely became a trendy thing to do,” says Allen.
“We are a more engaging atmosphere,” says Staci Roy, executive director of the center, “as we have the feel of your own living room with working gas fireplaces and
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rental. The club’s beachside dining space is suitable for any function.
The Curtis Center has hosted an endless array of corporate events, not limited to sales and lunch meetings, conferences and seasonal parties. The cultural center serves not only as a pleasant space rich with beauty, but a quaint atmosphere appropriate for professionals with an appreciation for history.
Whether attending for work or play, they of course still mean “business.”
Venues like Augusta Curtis seem to “light” the way for “bright” ideas regarding spaces that skew from the norm, but the next space truly claims that notion — literally.
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At Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, a company may come for a conference, but leave convinced to come back for the park’s beloved carousel. While the 42-acre park is perfect for department picnics and different corporate celebrations, as it boasts a small building surrounded by grass and small hills along the beach, Sabrina Bruno, events coordinator at the park, mentions it is more challenging to host daytime meetings with the sunlight gleaming into the space where the stillfunctioning, century-old carousel resides. However, wi-fi is available “for the work (and play) world,” as Bruno notes. Not far down the Sound, businesses can find another beach retreat — this one equipped with two pools and restaurants, bocce, basketball and tennis courts, and, appropriately, a tiki bar. At East Haven’s Silver Sands Beach & Tennis Club, all the club amenities are available for
Other local out-of-the-box corporate function ideas include Watson Adventures scavenger hunts (statewide), the New Haven-based THEY improv traveling entertainment group (which offers murder mystery dinners, comedy, game shows and employee motivation events), and local, team-building adventure activities hosted by national organizations such as American Outback Adventures & Events, and InnerWork.
C
onsidering that Connecticut is rich with colonial history, it is no surprise to some venue owners that companies are seeking out many of these special facilities — the state is recognized for its countless historical houses and sites. Even museums and picturesque historic sites, such as the New Haven Museum, Waterbury’s Mattatuck Museum and Dudley Farm in Guilford provide educationrich surroundings featuring original exhibits, which offer that something extra to local employees scheduled to make required daytrips with their companies.
Of all the options Elm City professionals have for beyond-the-norm function sites and events, Mila D’Antonio, editor-in-chief of 1to1 Media, mentions the significance and demand for a social component at these sites as well — social media. D’Antonio’s company specializes in providing multimedia Www.Conntact.com
content and resources on customer, business and marketing strategy. “Every component matters,” says D’Antonio. “It is not just about the physical space.” She notes the necessary usage of event hashtags for social media network Twitter, as well as mobile apps and agendas available to companies attending conferences. Such “networking” can leave room for even further and longer lasting connections. D’Antonio agrees it is important to think “outside of the box” in order to keep employees engaged. She mentions she had also kept this in mind while planning a recent event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, noting it was a place more people would be motivated to attend.
the e-book, The Executive’s Guide to Corporate Events and Business Entertaining: How To Choose and Use Corporate Functions to Increase Brand Awareness, Develop New Business, Nurture Customer Loyalty and Drive Growth, by Judy Allen (2007), explains. Allen stresses the advantage of generating a “wow” factor at events, with the purpose of sending attendees home with “an emotional and energetic high.” D’Antonio reiterates it is important to choose something “new, unique
or different,” whether it be a space, or even a speaker. Businesses’ consciousness of the importance of innovative company outings, along with social media and client referrals, seem to be the reason for the popularity of more unusual venues being utilized, as Art Plus Studio’s Curley notes. “The business world is evolving,” notes Curley. “Executives are learning the more they give, the more they’ll get back.” Curley and WINE’s Allen have both reported a steady growth
in requests for corporate-geared functions using their services; Allen also notes that companies must be picking up on the trend, leaving the venues with plenty to entertain. They don’t plan on slowing down. For the benefit of any business, greater New Haven continues to provide corporate gathering opportunities that “spark” almost any interest: Whether on a scale small or grand, Palace Theater’s Marcucci says, “People want to see their name in lights!”
Creating an extraordinary and memorable experience, according to an online report by Benchmark Resorts & Hotels, is a driving force behind the growth in businesses’ initiatives to seek unusual venues for their functions, in addition to an enthusiasm for team-building activities. “Those properties partnering with local assets, such as wineries, historic and natural wonders, intriguing adventure resources, and unique off-site reception & dinner venues have a strategic advantage in the pursuit and the capturing of meeting demand,” says the report. Creative Producers Group, a company specializing in company engagement and event production, also suggests to “break the event design mold” and tradition, as it mentions in an online post. Furthermore, employees should be anticipating an experience that is meaningful, memorable, and/ or magical, as an excerpt from
\cutline2\A New Haven’s Art Plus Studio, employees can learn to collaborate more effectively by making art together.
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SPECIAL EVENTS
St. (14th Fl.) Bridgeport. Free. 203-335-3800, brbc. org.
Join Junior Achievement for its fifth annual Partners in Achievement breakfast, networking event and fundraiser. Hear firsthand from young people, educators and volunteers from local schools who have taken part in JA programs throughout greater New Haven. 7:15-9 a.m. November 14 at New Haven Lawn Club, 193 Whitney Ave., New Haven. Reservations. 860525-4510, kmcgurk@jaconn.org.
Each third Friday the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce (GNHCC) hosts Discover the Chamber, an informational and networking session for new and prospective members. Free pizza, even! Noon November 21 at GNHCC, 900 Chapel St. (10th Fl.), New Haven. Free. 203-787-6735, gnhcc.com.
Connecticut Business Connections meets first and third Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. November 4, 18 at Tuscany Grill, 120 College St., Middletown. 860-343-1579, connecticutbusinessconnection.org. The Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce’s (GVCC) Valley Business Network meets first and third Wednesdays. 8-9:15 a.m. November 5, 19 at GVCC, 10 Progress Dr. (2nd Fl.), Shelton. Free. 203-925-4981, laura@greatervalleychamber.com. The Trumbull Business Network meets Wednesdays. 7:30-8:30 a.m. November 5, 12, 19, 26 at Helen Plumb Building, 571 Church Hill Rd., Trumbull. Members free (annual dues $50). Reservations. 203-452-8383, trumbullbn.com/ contactus.htm.
The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce hosts its monthly networking event, Business After Hours, at the Shubert Theater, which this year marks its centennial. 5:30-7:30 p.m. December 3 at Shubert Theater, 247 College St., New Haven. $10 members, $45 others. 203-782-4342, gnhcc.com.
WHO’S WHAT, WHERE SYMPOSIA,
CONFERENCES & EXPOSITIONS
The Bridgeport Regional Business Council and the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce co-sponsor Come Together for Business: Expo 2014. 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. November 18 at Insports Centers, 29 Trefoil Dr., Trumbull. Admission free 2-5 p.m.; keynote speaker and lunch $30 members, $40 others. 203-335-3800, brbc.org. “Build Your Network To Grow Your Business” is the theme of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce’s newly rebranded business expo now known as The Big Connect. Highlights include four “Power Matching Networking Sessions” (limited to 27 participants per session; pre-registration a must). Morning roundtable discussions include “Hiring, Performance Reviews, Disciplines and Terminations,” “Wage Theft,” “Creative, Low-Cost Employee Incentives” and “The Accountable Patient.” Keynote address (“Mission in a Bottle”) address will be delivered by Yale School of Management Professor Barry Nalebuff, founder of Honest Tea. Elena Bertozzi, a Quinnipiac associate professor of digital-game design and development will discuss “Gamification: How To Retain, Engage and Reward Your Customers” (2:30 p.m.). The day culminates in Business New Haven’s Rising Stars Awards Event. 7:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. November 20 at Toyota Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Rd., Wallingford. Free (except luncheon and Rising Stars event). 203-787-6735, gnhcc.com. The University of New Haven’s Center for Family Business presents a conference, Harnessing the Power of Systems Thinking & Mapping To Transform Your Company. Led by Joe Laur, founding partner of the consulting firm SEED Systems, session will help business owners/ manager map and understand the systems that make their companies tick, and use that process to give them a greater grasp of the loops, patterns and leverage points so they can take action to achieve desired results. 5-9:30 p.m. December 9 at Oak Lane Country Club, 1027 Racebrook Rd., Woodbridge. Also 8-11:30 a.m. December 10 at Bigelow Tea, 201 Black Rock Tpke., Fairfield. 203-931-6031. The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce hosts its 2015 Regional Economic Outlook Breakfast. Speakers include Donald KlepperSmith, chief economist and director of research for DataCore Partners, LLC in New Haven, and Matt Wiggin, executive director of local and regional business communications and public affairs for Aetna Inc. 7:30-9:30 a.m. December 11 at New Haven Lawn Club, 193 Whitney Ave., New Haven. $55. Registration. 203-782-4342, gnhcc.com.
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE Each third Wednesday the Bridgeport Regional Business Council opens its doors to current, new and future members. Learn more about the BRBC, its programs and many membership benefits. 8-9:30 a.m. November 19 at BRBC, 10 Middle
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The New Haven chapter of Business Network International meets Wednesdays. 8-9:30 a.m. November 5, 12, 19, 26 at the Bourse, 839 Chapel St., New Haven. $100 registration; $365 annual fee. 203-789-2364, boursenewhaven.com.
Celebrate the season when the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce hosts its Annual Holiday Gathering — one of the chamber’s largest networking events of the year. 5-7 p.m. December 10 at Courtyard by Marriott, 780 Bridgeport Ave., Shelton. $20. 203-925-4981, greatervalleychamber.com.
Group meets second and fourth Tuesdays. 8:4510 a.m. November 11, 25 at GVCC, 10 Progress Dr. (2nd Fl.)., Shelton. Free. 203-925-4981. The Hamden Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Business Network II (formerly Leads Group II) meets second and fourth Tuesdays. Noon November 11, 25 at Lifetime Solutions Community VNA, 2 Broadway, North Haven. Free. 203-288-7305. The Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce’s (GVCC) Seeds-to-Leads Group meets second and fourth Wednesdays. 8 a.m. November 12, 26 at GVCC, 10 Progress Dr. (2nd Fl.), Shelton. Free. 203-925-4981, laura@greatervalleychamber.com. The Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce’s QNet Group meets the second and fourth Wednesdays. 8-9 a.m. November 12, 26 at 100 S. Turnpike Rd., Wallingford. Free. 203-234-0332, 203-269-9891, quinncham.com. The Greater New Haven chapter of Toastmasters meets second and fourth Wednesdays. 6:30
p.m. November 12, 26 at New Haven City Hall, 165 Church St., New Haven. 203-871-3065. Connecticut Business Connections meets second Thursdays. 7:30 a.m. November 13 at the Greek Olive, 402 Sargent Dr., New Haven. 860343-1579, connecticutbusinessconnection.org. The West Haven Chamber of Commerce’s Leads Plus A.M. Group meets second Thursdays. 8:30 a.m. November 13 at 140 Capt. Thomas Blvd., West Haven. 203-933-1500. Middlesex County Toastmasters meets second and fourth Thursdays. 7 p.m. November 13 at Middlesex Community College, 100 Training Hill Rd., Middletown. 860-301-9402, middlesex.freetoasthost.com. The Jewish Business League meets third Wednesdays for networking and information-sharing. 7:30-9:15 a.m. November 19 at Temple Beth David, 3 Main St., Cheshire. $8 advance, $10 at door. tinyurl.com/8-alnnuz.
The West Haven Chamber of Commerce’s Leads Plus P.M. Group meets fourth Thursdays. Noon at 140 Captain Thomas Blvd., West Haven. 203-933-1500. The West Haven Chamber’s Women in Business meets the fourth Monday of each month. 11:45 a.m. November 24 at American Steakhouse, 3354 Sawmill Rd., West Haven. 203-933-1500. Editor’s note: Fraternal meeting listings can be found on our website (ctcalendar.com) along with additional events taking place statewide.
Send CALENDAR listings to Business New Haven, 20 Grand Ave., New Haven 06513, or e-mail to news@conntact.com.
Milford Chamber of Commerce’s Wednesday Morning Leads Group meets 8:30-9:30 a.m. November 5, 12, 19, 26 at Milford Chamber of Commerce, 5 Broad St., Milford. Free. 203-8780681, chamber@milfordct.com.
It’s not too soon to plan for the Quinnipiac Chamber Holiday Party. Think of it as a kind of Business After Hours on steroids. “Abundant hors d’oeuvres and two glasses of wine,” organizers promise — think of the marriages at risk! 5:308:30 p.m. December 10 at Gouveia Vineyards, 1339 Whirlwind Hill Rd., Wallingford. $40 members, $50 non-members. 203-269-9891, maribel@ quinncham.com.
The Greater New Haven Business & Professional Association, an association of predominantly African-American business people, holds networking sessions Wednesdays. 11 a.m.noon November 5, 12, 19, 26 at 192 Dixwell Ave., New Haven. Free. 203-562-2193. The Connecticut Alliance for Business Opportunities (CABO), which describes itself as the state’s LGBT chamber of commerce, meets first Thursday mornings. 8-9:30 a.m. November 6, December 4 at the Pond House in Elizabeth Park, 1555 Asylum Ave., West Hartford. $15 members, $25 others. 203-903-8525, thecabo.org.
EDUCATION
The Entrepreneur Business Forum (EBF) meets Thursdays. 7 a.m. November 6, 13, 20 at Hamden Healthcare Center, 1270 Sherman La., Hamden. Free. 860-877-3880.
Human Resources
The Professional Networking Group of Waterbury (PrefNet) meets Thursdays. 7 a.m. November 6, 13, 20 at Waterbury Regional Chamber, 83 Bank St., Waterbury. 203-575-101, ProfNetWaterbury.com.
For the final installment of its six-session Human Resources Roundtable Breakfast Series, the labor and employment group of the law firm of Carmody & Torrance presents a roundtable discussion designed principally for HR professionals and in-house counsel. 8 a.m.-9:15 November 20 at 50 Leavenworth St., Waterbury. $65. Reservations. 203-578-4247, aslack@carmodylaw.com.
The Hamden Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Business Network IV meets first and third Thursdays. 8 a.m. November 6, 20 at chamber office, 2969 Whitney Ave., Hamden. Free. 203-985-1200.
Legal The New Haven County Bar Association’s Ask a Lawyer program offers free ten- to 15-minute consultations with an NHCBA attorney to all comers (no pre-registration necessary) each third Wednesday. 5-7 p.m. November 19 at Hagaman Memorial Library, 227 Main St., East Haven. Free. 203-468-3890, hagamanlibrary.info.
Professor Barry Nalebuff, will deliver the keynote address at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce’s newly rebranded business expo now known as The Big Connect. November 20 at Toyota Oakdale Theatre.
Management
Small Business
Fred Pryor presents Managing Multiple Priorities, Projects & Deadlines. One-day seminar will help attendees handle imposing demands without long workdays, stress-filled schedules, burnout and panic. Learn how to prioritize crucial projects, manage conflicting demands, reduce pressure and master multiple tasks with aplomb. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. November 3 at Omni New Haven Hotel, 155 Temple St., New Haven. $49. Registration. 800-780-8476, pryor.com.
The Community Economic Development Fund’s (CEDF) Business Education Center presents a two-session workshop, Tax Issues for SmallBusiness Owners. Learn about the taxes affecting your business as well as filing responsibilities and deadlines. Certified CPA instructors will help attendees understand reporting and compliance responsibilities and answer questions about payroll taxes, sales tax and personal property tax. 6:30-9 p.m. November 17-18 at Career Resources, 350 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport. $30. Registration. 203-235-2333, cedf.com.
Will I Be Ready When OSHA Arrives? That is a question that every employer should ask him/ herself. This two-hour seminar, sponsored by the law firm of Carmody & Torrance, will help employers answer that question so your company will be in a better position to survive an OSHA inspection. Primary presenter Joseph Wellington has 21 years’ experience in addressing OSHA compliance matters for manufacturing, construction and service-sector employers. 8:30-10:30 a.m. November 5 at Timexpo Museum, 175 Union St., Waterbury. $75 per company (may have multiple attendees). Registration. carmodylaw.com.
The Milford Chamber of Commerce’s Tuesday Morning Leads Group meets. 8:30 a.m. November 4, 11, 18, 25 at Milford Chamber of Commerce, 5 Broad St., Milford. Free. 203-8780681, chamber@milfordct.com.
Under the auspices of the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, SCORE volunteers offer free and confidential Mentoring to entrepreneurs and small-business owners the third Wednesday of each month. Counselors have experience in such areas as marketing, management, business-plan preparation and more. Call for appointment. 9, 10 & 11 a.m. November 19 at Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, 100 S. Turnpike Rd., Wallingford. Free. Reservations. 203-269-9891, maribel@quinncham.com.
LEADS/NETWORKING GROUPS The Fairfield I chapter of Business Network International meets Tuesdays. 7-8:30 a.m. November 4, 11, 18, 25 at First Congregational Church, 148 Beach Rd., Fairfield. Free. 203-430-4494. The Waterbury chapter of Business Network International meets Tuesdays. 7-8:30 a.m. November 4, 11, 18, 25 at the Village at East Farms, 180 Scott Rd., Waterbury. 203-755-5548, waterburybni.com. The Shoreline chapter of Business Network International meets Tuesdays. 7:15-8:30 a.m. November 4, 11, 18, 25 at Parthenon Diner, 809 Boston Post Rd., Old Saybrook. 203-245-0332. The Hamden chapter of Business Network International meets Tuesdays. 7:15-8:45 a.m. November 4, 11, 18, 25 at Knights of Columbus, 2630 Whitney Ave., Hamden. Free. 203-294-1505, hamdenbni.com.
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The Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Alliance Leads Group meets first and third Thursdays. 8-9 a.m. November 6, 20 at GVCC, 10 Progress Dr. (2nd Fl.), Shelton. 203-925-4981, nancie@greatervalleychamber.com. The Milford chapter of Business Network International meets Fridays. 7-8:30 a.m. November 7, 14, 21 at Hilton Garden Inn, 291 Old Gate La., Milford. Free. 203-214-6336, greatermilfordbni.com.
Things may already be on the bright side for your business. But when you want to take it to the next level, there’s a bank that’s ready to set your dreams in motion – and pretty fast. That’s because at START Bank, you have access to senior decision makers, who want nothing more than to help you expand, renovate, hire – whatever your dream may be. When you grow, we grow. And when you’re ready to shine, we’re here to help.
The Sound chapter of Business Network International meets Fridays. 8-9:30 a.m. November 7, 14, 21 at Parthenon Diner, 374 E. Main St., Branford. Free. 203-208-1042. Milford Chamber of Commerce’s Friday Morning Leads Group meets. 11 a.m.-noon November 7, 14, 21 at Milford Chamber of Commerce, 5 Broad St., Milford. Free. 203-878-0681, chamber@milfordct.com. The Hamden Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Business Network III (formerly Leads Group III) meets second and fourth Mondays. 5 p.m. November 10, 24 at SBC Restaurant & Brewery, 950 Dixwell Ave., Hamden. Free. 203-288-6831. The Hamden Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Business Network I (formerly Leads Group I) meets second and fourth Tuesdays. 8 a.m. November 11, 25 at 2969 Whitney Ave., Hamden. Free. 203-281-1233. The Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce’s (GVCC) Women in Networking Leads
november 2014
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TECHNOLOGY REALESTATE Datto Tops Tech List MARKETING&MEDIA HEALTHCARE EMPLOYMENT TECHNOLOGY REALESTATE
UNH Galvanizing Tech Students W WEST HAVEN — The University of New Haven is partnering with San Franciscobased Galvanize for an accredited master’s degree program in data science. Galvanize has a series of innovation co-working/educational campuses in Colorado and San Francisco. The one-year Master of Engineering in Big Data program will launch in January 2015 in San Francisco, and is now accepting applications via GalvanizeU.com.
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Galvanize has previously offered a sixmonth learn-to-code program, but the accelerated master’s program, developed over the past two years, will give students access to skills, mentors and employers in the data science field.
HEALTHCARE Datto is still the fastest-growing technology company in Connecticut.
The Norwalk-based data-backup and disaster-recovery provider was named the overall winner of the Marcum Tech Top 40 for the second consecutive year. The annual event honors the 40 fastest growing technology companies in the state, narrowing down winners in six categories: Software, New Media/Internet/Telecom, Life Sciences, Energy/ Environmental Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing and IT Services. Datto was the overall winner as well as the winner in the IT Services category, posting overall revenue growth of 1,436 percent since 2010.
Middlebury-based global payment service iSend, which allows people living or working abroad to send bill payments and gift cards to family members back home, took top honors in the New Media/Internet/Telecom category, also for the second year in a row, with 675 percent revenue growth over four years. Other winners included Revolution Lighting Technologies (Stamford, Advanced Manufacturing),
FuelCell Energy (Danbury, Energy/Environmental), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Cheshire, Life Sciences), and Square 9 Softworks (New Haven, Software), which beat out 13 other companies in the running with 448 percent four-year revenue growth. For consideration for the Marcum Tech Top 40, companies must have at least $3 million in annual revenue and demonstrate growth over the previous four years. The Top 40 is a joint effort from the Connecticut Technology Council and investment firm Marcum, LLP.
Other area companies that made the Top 40 include: APS Technology (Advanced Manufacturing, Wallingford), Proton OnSite (Energy/Environmental, Wallingford), Cervalis (IT Services, Shelton), Bio-Med Devices (Life Sciences, Guilford), HealthPlanOne (New Media, Shelton), Reality Interactive (New Media, Middletown), Clarity Software Solutions (Software, Madison), Core Informatics (Software, Branford), Fitlinxx (Software, Shelton), Higher One (Software, New Haven) and Tangoe (Software, Orange).
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needs of the construction industry since 1965.
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Students will have to complete 30 credit hours covering statistics, machine learning, computer science, practical coding abilities and real-world projects. The course is targeting recent graduates in engineering, mathematics, computers science and other technical fields, and is also open to those looking to expand their skill sets.
Hamden, CT Total Project Size: 21,000 Square Feet
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This project was a 21,000 square foot renovation which includes a new showroom, service bay for 10 vehicles, bathrooms, waiting area and ofces. Construction included new high-end nishes and extensive mechanical, electrical and plumbing.
The courses will be delivered in San Francisco by faculty appointed by UNH. The university will be granting the master’s degrees.
Quinnipiac University’s professor Wendy Ceccucci
Icahn Joins CT W Bioscience Industry
The city won the 2014 eCities Award from Google, given to the “strongest online business community” in each state, where businesses are using the Internet to grow and improve local economies.
A new genomics research facility of the New York City-based Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is setting up shop in Branford, projecting to create 142 new jobs over the next five years.
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The state of Connecticut is supporting Icahn’s 16,500-square-foot facility with a $9.5 million loan administered by the state’s Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD). That loan could be forgiven by up to $7.25 million if the company hits its job-creation target.
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The Branford facility will continue DNA testing, research and clinical tests for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Genomic medicine analyzes sequencing of individual DNA, RNA, blood, tumor and other samples to more accurately define a patient’s condition, leading to more specific and presumably more helpful treatments. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai was founded in New York City in 1963.
Google: Norwalk Is CT’s eCapital NORWALK — According to the gods of Google, Norwalk is Connecticut’s “digital capital.”
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The online portal for the searching of land deeds and public records at the Norwalk Town Clerk’s office was one of the main reasons the city was chosen as an innovative and technologically advanced capital. Google partnered with independent research firm Ipsos MORI to analyze the online strength of small businesses in cities nationwide, conferring eCity status on those with the highest scores. Ipsos used population size and AdWords data to narrow down the top five cities in each state before measuring the online presences of small and mid-sized companies in each area.
Professor Gets High Marks HAMDEN — A Quinnipiac University professor has been honored for a paper of her own. Computer information systems professor Wendy Ceccucci shared a win for “Best Conference Pedagogy Paper” at the International Association for Computer Information Systems conference in October, for a research paper co-written with professors from James Madison University, Merrimack College, Penn State and Appalachian State universities. The paper, “Does Personality Play a Role In Computer Information Systems Course Performance?” measured the possible influence of Jungian personality traits as
a factor in student success in computer information systems courses. Of the Meyers-Briggs personality types — extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, judging/perceiving — the researchers found that thinking-type students performed better than the feeling types, and judging-type personalities did better than perceivers.
Build on
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The paper was co-written by S.E. Kruck (JMU), Patricia Sendall (Merrimack), Alan Peslak (Penn State) and Scott Hunsinger (Appalachian State). Ceccucci has been on the Quinnipiac faculty since 1995.
BRBC Launches New Site
Many local companies are happy they did. That’s because they recognized the benefits of working with an established company for every phase of construction, including design/build expertise. As your local Butler Builder ®, we offer a full-range of systems construction capabilities that combine efficiency, functionality, and virtually endless design possibilities. Give us a call today, and put us to work on your project.
BRIDGEPORT — The Bridgeport Regional Business Council’s online presence has gotten a facelift, with a newly re-designed website at brbc.org as part of a marketing campaign highlighting the region’s business community. The new site features modern design with links to information for members, networking opportunities and resources. New features include a Member Spotlight Video section, currently showcasing three companies (Two Roads Brewing of Stratford, Bridgeport’s Schwerdtle Stamp Co. and the Trumbull Marriott).
Contact us at 1-855-BUILD-86 or visit us on the web.
The site was designed by Trumbull firm Website Republic, working in conjunction with members of the Business Council’s marketing committee.
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BRANFORD — Connecticut’s bioscience industry has a new player.
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In the U.S. about 200,000 people have ARDS, a disease with a death rate of 40 percent, and there are 12 million patients with COPD. “These patients have few therapeutic options today,” Xian says. “We hope that our research could lead to new ways to help them.”
Cry Me a River
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NEW HAVEN — The phrase “tears of joy” never made much sense to Yale psychologist Oriana Aragon. But after conducting a series of studies of such seemingly incongruous expressions, she now understands better why people cry when they are happy.
“People may be restoring emotional equilibrium with these expressions,” said Aragon, lead author of work to be published in the journal Psychological Science. “They seem to take place when people are overwhelmed with strong positive emotions, and people who do this seem to recover better from those strong emotions.” There are many examples of responding to a positive experience with a negative emotion. A crying spouse is reunited with a soldier returning from war. Teen girls scream at a Justin Bieber concert and so do soccer players as they score a winning goal. “I was surprised no one ever asked why that is,” she said. Aragon and her Yale colleagues ran subjects through some of these scenarios and measured their responses to cute babies or happy reunions. They found that individuals who express negative reactions
YNHH’s Churchwell Has a Heart
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to positive news were able to moderate intense emotions more quickly. There is also some evidence that strong negative feelings may provoke positive expressions; for example nervous laughter appears when people are confronted with a difficult or frightening situations, and smiles have been found by other psychologists to occur during extreme sadness. These new discoveries begin to explain common things that many people do but don’t even understand themselves, Aragon said.
Health Workers: File This While 78 percent of full-time employees in health care, pharmaceutical and biotech roles feel it’s either “important,” or “very important” to their jobs to be able to easily share files with co-workers, partners and customers, the industry still faces several challenges in the workplace with nearly all employees facing some type of collaboration challenge: 83 percent say they are concerned about the security and privacy of their files. Seventy-two percent of full-time employees in healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotech see keeping everyone up-to-date as a challenge, while 52 percent rate issues with organizing files as a challenge. Meanwhile, 50 percent say they have issues with sharing large files, and 42
percent report issues with “anytime” access Findings from enterprise file-sharing service provider Soonr as a part of its 2014 “State of Mobility in the Workplace” study, reveal gaps in new regulations and preparedness for internal collaboration in the healthcare industry.
AHCT Rolls Out Insurance ‘Avatar’ HARTFORD — Access Health CT (AHCT) has become the first state-based health exchange to launch an online avatar to help consumers compare plans and shop for health insurance. Named “Tina,” this virtual assistant offers guidance and answers to consumer questions on the AHCT website. AHCT worked with CodeBaby, a global customer engagement and leading intelligent virtual assistant technology provider, to develop and launch Tina. Her guidance is available in 120 different places on the AHCT website, in both English and Spanish. Consumers can compare plans and shop for coverage online at accesshealthct.com beginning November 15. The 2015 open enrollment period will continue through February 15, 2015. Access Health CT is the state’s ObamaCare-mandated health insurance exchange, created by the General Assembly in 2011.
Discover what know-how can do. Whether you’re starting a business or expanding an existing one, People’s United Bank offers a wide range of credit lines, loans and commercial mortgages to help your company reach its goals.* Former ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson, Jocelyn Maminta, medical correspondent for WTNH-TV, David Hill, MD professor of medicine and director of the global public health program at Quinnipiac’s Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, and Tim Johnson, MD senior medical contributor for ABC News.
PEOPLE
Cara CEO Featured at Conference SHELTON – Biopharma Cara Therapeutics, a developer and commercializer of new compounds designed to alleviate pain and pruritus by selectively targeting kappa opioid receptors, has announced that its president and CEO, Derek Chalmers, will present a company overview at the 2014 Stifel Healthcare Conference on November 18 in New York City. A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed under “Events and Presentations” in the News & Investors section of the company’s website, CaraTherapeutics.com. (An archived webcast recording will be available on the website for approximately 30 days.) Cara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that is de34
veloping a novel and proprietary class of product candidates that target the body’s peripheral nervous system and have demonstrated efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe pain without inducing many of the undesirable side effects typically associated with presently available pain therapeutics.
NEWS
Access Health CT Signs Analytics Vendor HARTFORD — Access Health CT, the state’s Affordable Care Act-mandated health insurance exchange, has selected Maine-based Onpoint Health Data to provide data management and analytics services for its all payer claims database (APCD). The five-year deal is valued at $6.9 million.
Created by a 2012 state law, the database is designed to provide insight into healthcare utilization and cost trends. Insurers are required to submit claims data to the database. Under the contract, Onpoint — which presently manages APCDs in Rhode Island, Vermont and Minnesota — will design and build database infrastructure and develop reporting and analytics and Web hosting. One of the nonprofit company’s duties will be scrubbing personal details from data, a process known as “de-identifying,” before releasing it to researchers and other requesters. It will also create reports and a website for the public to examine data and trends.
Jackson Labs Probes Lung Regeneration FARMINGTON — A research team led by Jackson Laboratory professors Frank
McKeon and Wa Xian this month reports on the role of certain lung stem cells in regenerating lungs damaged by disease. The work, published in the journal Nature, sheds light on the inner workings of the still-emerging concept of lung regeneration and points to potential therapeutic strategies that harness lung stem cells. “The idea that the lung can regenerate has been slow to take hold in the biomedical research community,” McKeon says, “in part because of the steady decline that is seen in patients with sever0e lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and pulmonary fibrosis.” Nevertheless, he notes, there are examples in humans that point to the existence of a robust system for lung regeneration. “Some survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS], for example, are able to recover near-normal lung function following significant destruction of lung tissue.” The research team also showed that when individual lung stem cells are isolated and subsequently transplanted into a damaged Www.Conntact.com
Beginning December 1 Churchwell will oversee all cardiovascular operations at YNHH.
NEW HAVEN — Yale-New Haven Hospital has named Keith Churchwell, MD vice president and executive director of Heart and Vascular Services, effective December 1. Churchwell is leaving his postion of executive director and chief medical officer for the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute in Nashville, Tenn. to serve in this new role. Board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, Churchwell has been at Vanderbilt since 1999 and since 2006 has also served as director of cardiac imaging for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Churchwell also served as associate professor of medicine and radiology. Before that he was a partner with Page-Campbell Cardiology Group, which entered into a clinical partnership with the division of cardiovascular medicine at Vanderbilt in 1998.
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Churchwell earned his medical degree from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and bachelor’s degree from Harvard College. He completed his postgraduate training in cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology at Emory School of Medicine. At YNHH he will have direct oversight of all cardiovascular operations. *Credit requests are subject to approval. ©2014 People’s United Bank | Member FDIC | Equal Opportunity Lender
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MARKETING&MEDIA Middle-Schoolers Mull BRIDGEPORT — “Manufacturing Mania” came to Bridgeport last month.
The event, part of the “Connecticut. Dream It. Do It.” campaign, attracted close to 400 middle school students from Bridgeport, New Haven and West Haven to introduce them to advanced manufacturing.
HEALTHCARE
Held at the Webster Bank Arena during Manufacturing Month, the event offered technology demonstrations and hands-on activities. Students worked to build a model carnival ride as quickly and accurately as possible and designed and produced customordered ice cream sticks — as well as an opportunity to meet with area manufacturers.
“Connecticut. Dream It. Do It.” is a part of a nationwide campaign by the Washington, D.C.-based Manufacturing Institute to improve the image of modern manufacturing, funded in Connecticut by the Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD) and administered by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT). Karen Jarmon, senior communications advisor with CCAT, says her group is working with manufacturers in the state to ensure there are enough new workers going
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through the manufacturing pipeline to address ongoing challenges to maintain a welltrained workforce.
She says reaching students when they are still in middle school is critical in shaping their perceptions of the manufacturing industry and putting manufacturing on their radar screens as a potential career choice. “In the seventh and eighth grades, students are just making decisions about their career interests or which high schools they want to go to. We want to give them the opportunity to experience how high-tech manufacturing is today and what careers are like now,” Jarmon says.
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“Perceptions on manufacturing — that it’s dark, dank and dangerous — have lingered for a long time,” she adds. “The environment is completely different today. The students are not as set in their perceptions in the middle school grades as they might be in high school.” Ten of the twelve participating schools over the two-day event were from Bridgeport, but 30 students each from New Haven’s Davis Street Arts & Academics Magnet and West Haven’s Bailey Middle schools also took part. The event also featured remarks from Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch as well as Eryn Bingle, a representative of U.S. Rep. Jim Himes’ (D-4) office.
EB Plans $31M Expansion GROTON — The defense industry continues to be a cornerstone of Connecticut manufacturing, as nuclear submarine maker General Dynamics’ Electric Boat division plans to expand its Groton headquarters. The $31.5 million project will allow the company to add up to 200 new workers to its 8,700-strong workforce. The state’s Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD) will aid the expansion with a $10 million loan, which is completely forgivable if it hires those 200 new employees within 24 months. The company expands to accommodate increased hiring and industry demands. The U.S. Navy awarded Electric Boat a $17.6 billion contract in April to construct the next order of Virginia-class submarines.
Fuel Cell Powers New Facility DANBURY — The future for Fuel Cell Energy is looking green. The designer and manufacturer of cleanenergy fuel cell power plants is undertaking $65 million expansion project in two stages, all with a little help from the state Department of Economic & Community Development, which is providing a $20 million loan for the project. The first ($23 million) stage involves expanding Fuel Cell Energy’s 65,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Danbury by an additional 90,000 square feet, which is slated for completion in 2016. Manufacturing equipment will be added as needed to increase annual production capacity from the current 100 megawatts to at least 200 megawatts. The second ($42 million) stage involves the installation of a fuel cell to power and heat the facility, testing and prototype manufacturing capabilities, as well as provide hydrogen for the manufacture of fuel-cell components. Additional manufacturing will also be relocated from Fuel Cell’s Torrington facility to Danbury. Half of the state’s $20 million loan will be allotted to each phase of the project, repayable at two-percent interest over 15 years. A total of $10 million will be forgivable if the company maintains and creates additional jobs, and the expansion qualifies for a further $10 million in Urban and Industrial Sites reinvestment tax credits. Fuel Cell currently employs 625 workers globally, and has customers in nine countries.
Praxair Stays In Town DANBURY — Praxair is staying put. The industrial gases company turned down offers to relocate to New York and Texas to keep its headquarters in Danbury, and is investing $65 million in a 100,00 square-foot expansion to its facility there. This move will maintain 535 workers statewide, with growth of up to 120 jobs expected over the next five years. The company
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employs 27,000 people worldwide and operates in 50 countries. The state Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD) is assisting Praxair with a $10 million loan, and the company is also eligible for more than $20 million in additional tax credits. The company also recently announced plans to expand its nitrogen production capacity over the next two years at its Kirtland, N.M. facility to more than 800 tons of liquid nitrogen per day, more than triple its current storage capacity.
MTAP Applications Now Open Applications are now being accepted for small businesses to get funding for the 2015 Manufacturing Technical Assistance Program (MTAP), administered by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT). Aimed at small companies (including startups) with fewer than 100 employees and in good standing with the state, MTAP provides funding and resources for projects that demonstrate a critical need for the company, including machining process and inspection process improvements, prototype development, additive manufacturing (3-D printing) and more. Emphasis will be given to projects that support manufacturing growth in Connecticut, including jobs and revenue. Up to 15 projects are expected to be funded at up to $75,000 per project, and winning companies will have access to resources at CCAT’s Advanced Manufacturing Center. Applications are due by noon December 31, with selections made and funding provided by January 19, 2015. Projects should start by February 15, 2015 and be at least mostly completed within six months. More information can be found at ccat.us/ mantech/process-solutions/programs/mtap.
UNH Cites Sikorsky STRATFORD — Sikorsky Aircraft earned recognition from the University of New Haven, receiving the Exemplary Partner Award from the school’s Tagliatela College of Engineering for the company’s support of the Tagliatela’s programming over its five-year partnership with the school. Sikorsky’s vice president of engineering and research says UNH is a prime source of engineering talent for the company. The two have notably partnered for the two-week Team-based Engineering and Manufacturing (TEAM) Summer Camp at the university, which gives high school STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students a hands-on introduction to engineering projects. In other United Technologies Corp. news (Sikorsky is a UTC subsidiary), UTC Aerospace Systems was awarded a $22 million U.S. Air Force contract to provide upgraded wheels and brakes for 475 of its F-15 aircraft. The contract also has a follow-on option valued at $30 million. — John Mordecai
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State Adds Jobs in September TECHNOLOGY
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WETHERSFIELD — Connecticut’s nonfarm employment rebounded somewhat in September, adding 11,500 positions (0.69 percent), according to preliminary jobs data calculated from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’s (BLS) monthly employer survey (seasonally adjusted). In addition, the August 2014 initial reported loss of 3,600 jobs (-0.22 percent) was also revised by 2,400 jobs to a smaller decline of 1,200 (-0.07 percent). The state’s nonfarm employment level at 1,679,200 for September 2014, has reached another new recovery highpoint and has now added 26,100 jobs (1.58 percent) over the year.
has now expanded by 21,983 (1.2 percent) citizens over the year to date.
“September employment numbers are very encouraging with strong gains in estimated payroll employment. Some of this gain was expected, especially in local public education and leisure & hospitality where seasonal shifts may have been missed in August,” said Andy Condon, director of the Office of Research. “Both Connecticut’s nonfarm employment and unemployment rate are back to late 2008 levels. However, monthly sample-based labor statistics can be volatile in either direction and should be looked at in context of longer trends over several months.”
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“Both Connecticut’s nonfarm employment and unemployment rate are back to late W 2008 levels.” – Andy Condon, director of the Office of Research.
MARKETING&MEDIA The state’s unemployment rate was measured at 6.4 percent in September 2014. This is down 0.2 percent from the August 2014 figure of 6.6 percent and lower by 1.3 percentage points from the September 2013 unemployment rate of 7.7 percent. The unemployment rate has not been this low in the state since November 2008. The number of unemployed residents has declined by 23,682 (-16.5 percent) since September 2013 to 119,842, which is a new recovery low point. Connecticut’s labor force
The September 2014 preliminary nonfarm job numbers have five of the six major Connecticut Labor Market Areas (Bureau of Labor Statistics-recognized LMAs) adding jobs, while just one LMA listed a decline. For the second month in a row, the largest labor market in the state, the Hartford LMA (2,700, 0.5 percent), was also the biggest job gaining LMA in magnitude in September 2014. The Norwich-New London LMA (1,100, 0.9 percent, best percentage-wise over the month) and the Bridgeport-Stamford-
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Hamden Job Center Offer Workshops
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onnecticut Department of Labor employees in the agency’s Hamden American Job Center, located at 37 Marne Street, will offer a variety of training and employment workshops in December to assist area residents. Advanced registration is encouraged due to space limitations.
December 2: Military to Civilian Résumé Workshop (1-4 p.m.). Veterans are encouraged to participate in this workshop, which covers the basics of developing an effective résumé. Topics covered include: translating military skills and accomplishments into civilian terminology; understanding federal résumé formatting and common résumé mistakes to avoid. Ample time will be allowed for participants to ask questions of members of the state Department of Labor’s Office for Veterans’ Workforce Development. December 3: Résumé Basics (9 a.m.-noon). This workshop will provide attendees with information they need to create a professional and effective résumé. December 5: Successful Job Search Strategies (9 a.m.noon). Attendees will learn useful job search strategies and gain pointers on telephone skills, networking, the hidden job market and interviewing. December 9: LinkedIn (9-11 a.m.): This workshop uses a lecture/PowerPoint-based format to help participants learn the importance of utilizing LinkedIn and developing an effective profile page to aid in their job search. December 10: Internet Job Search (9-11 a.m.): This workshop will give participants an overview of job38
WHO’S WHAT, WHERE
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Norwalk LMA (1,100, 0.3 percent) added a similar number of jobs, while the New Haven LMA (600, 0.2 percent) and the Danbury LMA (500, 0.7 percent) also were positive last month. The Waterbury LMA (-300, -0.5 percent) was the only LMA to lose ground in September, while the Norwich-New London LMA (-1,100, -0.9 percent)
search strategies using the Internet, and will provide useful information on the most helpful websites to visit. December 11: Résumé Basics (1-4 p.m.). This workshop will provide attendees with the valuable information they need to create a professional résumé. December 12: Interviewing Techniques (9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.). Learn interview preparation and techniques and discover the best way to respond to questions from an interviewer, how to negotiate a “win‐win” package, and learn what to say and when and how to say it. Call 203-859‐3200 to register for these no‐cost workshops.
State Adds Clean Energy Jobs Connecticut announced the addition of 275 new clean energy and clean transportation jobs in the third quarter of 2014, ranking the state No. 7 in the U.S. for growth, according to a new report. Nationwide, more than 18,000 clean energy and transportation jobs were announced in 23 states during the third quarter, with the majority coming from the manufacturing sector, according to a report by Environmental Entrepreneurs, a business advocacy group for the clean energy industry that tracks jobs announcements related to solar, wind and other energy efficient projects. Nevada, New York, and California announced the largest number of new clean energy jobs (6,556, 3,882, and 2,070, respectively).
The private-sector workweek, not seasonally adjusted, averaged 33.9 hours in September 2014, lower by twotenths of an hour from the year-ago estimate of 34.1 hours. Average hourly earnings at $28.26, not seasonally adjusted, were up 33 cents, or 1.2 percent, from the September 2013 hourly private sector pay figure of $27.93. The resultant average private sector weekly pay was tallied at $958.01, up $5.60, or 0.6 percent over the year.
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Program To Assist Vets Expanded HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy earlier this month announced that a pilot program connecting Waterbury-area veterans, military service members and their families with state employment and social services will be expanded to greater Bridgeport in December. In January of this year the state’s Department of Social Services (DSS) and Department of Labor (DOL) launched the program, Supporting Military Members/ Veterans and Their Families in Accessing Community Services, to improve outreach and access to job-related services, health coverage, food assistance and other support. “As part of our efforts to serve military families and veterans, I asked our labor and social services commissioners to ensure that all possible steps are being taken in their areas of responsibility,” said Malloy. “We are extremely pleased with the progress made with a pilot program in Waterbury, and I have authorized its expansion to the Bridgeport area.” The Waterbury-area pilot program successfully increased the number of veterans and military service members participating in DOL’s employment services and DSS’s medical, food and financial assistance benefits. “In Connecticut and across the country, there are service members and veterans who are finding it difficult to support their families or themselves,” said Malloy. “We need to do everything possible to increase their opportunities in the job market and to make sure they are aware of all the services they are entitled to. It’s our job to step up for these men and women, as they have stepped up for us.” Www.Conntact.com
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Webster Bank has promoted Kara Williams of Middletown to senior vice president and director of internal audit. Williams joined Webster in 2012 from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she most recently was senior manager of its Northeast assurance practice. A CPA, Williams earned a BS and master’s in accounting from the University of Connecticut.
Richard S. Guralnick, CCIM of Cheshire has joined OR&L Commercial as a vice president and senior commercial broker. Guralnick has been active in the commercial real-estate industry in Connecticut for more than 25 years, most recently with H. Pearce Commercial. He holds a BA from Colgate and an MA from Colgate Rochester. He currently serves on the executive committee of the Connecticut chapter of CCIM where he previously was chapter president, followed by a two-year term as CCIM Institute’s regional vice president for New England & New York.
Bond, a 107-year-old construction management and general contracting firm, has promoted Anthony Bond, a fifth generation member of the Bond family, to vice november 2014
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president, gas transmission and distribution services. Also, Alan Watson has been promoted to vice president, electrical transmission and distribution services. Bond has been with the firm for more than eight years, most recently working to develop Bond’s New Haven office. He holds a BS in business administration from the University of Vermont, and an MS in construction management from Wentworth Institute of Technology. Watson is a ten-plus year Bond employee who has more than 18 years of experience with large-scale construction projects.
Roberta Godden of Norwalk has been named director of sales and marketing at the Meadow Ridge senior living community in Redding. Previously, Godden was regional sales manager of Present Seniority Inc. in Pleasanton, Calif., where she recruited, hired, trained and managed sales teams for up to seven California CCRC communities and identified and implemented systems for measuring metrics and coaching team members to success.
Goodspeed Musicals’ Board of Trustees has selected Michael Gennaro as the new executive director of the two-time Tony
Award-winning theater. Gennaro succeeds Michael Price, who will retire at the end of this year after concluding his 46th season at Goodspeed. Gennaro has led a number of the most prominent theatrical institutions in America including the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago and Trinity Repertory Theatre in Providence, R.I., where he has served as executive director since 2007. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Fordham University Law School.
Wesson Energy Inc. in Waterbury has named Janice Lea of New Milford to the new position of director of marketing, effective November 3. Before joining Wesson Energy, Lea was the marketing and communications manager with Connex Intl. in Danbury. Before that she was vice president of marketing for the Savings Bank of Danbury. She is an active member of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce Women’s Business Council Steering Committee, and also served as a member of the New England Financial Marketing Association Board of Directors.
Nicholas Wormley of North Haven has been named executive director for university
advancement at Sacred Heart University. He will focus on creating and nurturing giving opportunities for athletic capital projects and raise funds to support the operations of Sacred Heart’s Division I athletic program. This includes enhancing a culture of philanthropic endeavors focused on improving athletic facilities, scholarships and operation accounts. Wormley joins SHU from his alma mater, Quinnipiac University, where he served most recently as associate vice president for alumni and parent development. He holds both an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Quinnipiac University.
State insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi will leave state government to join Evercore, a New York-based global investment banking advisory firm, as a Senior Advisor focusing on insurance. Leonardi was appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in February 2011 to head the state’s Department of Insurance, a regulatory agency with jurisdiction over one of the largest insurance industries in the United States. For 22 years prior to the appointment, he was CEO of Northington Partners Inc., an Avonbased investment banking, venture capital and private equity boutique that specialized in the insurance industry. Leonardi will leave the Department of Insurance effective December 11.
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