Strategies to Advance Transit-Oriented Development Outlined by Coalition

Strategies including community engagement, placemaking, mixed-income housing, complete streets, parking configuration, green infrastructure and energy efficiency are outlined in a comprehensive 68-page “toolkit” focusing on opportunities to extend transit-oriented development in Connecticut, as the state moves forward with significant rail and bus initiatives.

 Working in partnership, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Partnership for Strong Communities, Regional Plan Association and Tri-State Transportation Campaign have created a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Toolkit that highlights key strategies necessary for developing competitive and sustainable TOD in Connecticut.  The toolkit has been shared in recent weeks with interested officials  and organizations around the state, and discussed at two public forums in Bridgeport that brought together more than   80 municipal leaders from the region.

The document outlines the primary components of a TOD program that meets common community goals of strengthening town centers, supporting municipal budgets, expanding housing and commercial opportunities, and minimizing environmental impacts. Among the central components outlined:

• The process and design for getting TOD built in a community, from developing a community vision and supportive zoning, to determining how accessible a station is for non-drivers.
• The demographic trends that favor mixed-income, transit-accessible housing, the fiscal impacts of residential TOD, and mechanisms to include affordable housing within TOD development.
• Complete Streets strategies that enhance streets and sidewalks to promote walking and biking to a station and to TOD built around it. Transit access, walking an bicycling, and the mix of uses in TOD mean that TOD districts require less parking than traditional development.
• Best practices for managing parking, including parking maximums, shared parking, and transit incentives.  
• Information and resources for incorporating green infrastructure and energy solutions in a community. Green infrastructure minimizes wastewater and pollutant impacts from development. Energy-efficiency, local energy generation and micro-grids help communities use less power and withstand disruptions to the regional energy supply.

Efforts are continuing by the organizations participating in the effort, and others pursuing a transit-oriented development agenda, to coordinate with key state agencies regarding strategies to move TOD forward in the state, especially along key transportation corridors.  Officials are working to secure funds for a new TOD position that would initially provide technical support to Meriden and other towns on the upcoming New Haven - Hartford - Springfield rail and CTfastrak bus lines and to develop a funding source to support financing and land acquisition for priority TOD sites.

 Transit-oriented development is described in the toolkit as “development that’s built to take advantage of the ability of people to access it with transit - a strategy for growth that produces less traffic and lessens impact on roads and highways.”  The overview also points out that “households located within walking distance of transit own fewer cars, drive less, and pay a smaller share of their income on transportation related expenses. Homes and businesses can be built with less parking, reducing the cost of development, making development more feasible in weak markets, and increasing local tax revenue.”

How Numbers Sound Can Create Misperceptions of Value, Study Finds

Harvard Business Review is featuring three-year old research by UConn marketing professor Robin A. Coulter that found people unconsciously associate certain letter sounds, such as the "s" and "i" in "sixty-six," with smallness and the "t" and "oo" of "twenty-two" with largeness, and these associations interfere with the accuracy of their quantitative perceptions.  Next time you hear an advertisement on tv or radio featuring a sale price, the findings would be good to keep in mind.

The  2010 study by Keith S. Coulter and Robin A. Coulter, “Small Sounds, Big Deals: Phonetic Symbolism Effects in Pricing” is receiving renewed attention as part of Harvard Business Review’s “Daily Stat,” an email newsletter sent to subscribers.  It was featured as the lead item on May 15, 2013.

The study findings, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, pointed out that when sale prices are said in English, an $11.00 to $7.88 (28.4%) discount is perceived as greater than a $10.00 to $7.01 (29.9%) discount; however, when these same prices are said in Chinese, the latter discount is correctly perceived as greater.  So, the sounds of the language matter.

"Number sounds impact price magnitude perceptions only when consumers mentally rehearse a sale price, as they might do when comparing items on a shopping trip," Science Daily reported when their research was initially released. The study’s bottom line: the mere sounds of numbers can non-consciously affect and distort numerical magnitude perceptions.

Dr. Robin Coulter is Department Head and Professor of Marketing at the UConn School of Business. She teaches in the undergraduate, Executive M.B.A. and Ph.D. programs in the areas of consumer behavior, integrated marketing communications, and marketing management. Dr. Coulter’s research interests include cross-cultural consumer behavior, branding, advertising effects and effectiveness, pricing, and services marketing.  She has published in a variety of marketing and social science journals, and participated last month in the Geno Auriemma UConn Leadership Conference.

Keith Coulter is Associate Professor of Marketing at Clark University.  He is a UConn graduate, and was a visiting Assistant Professor at Eastern Connecticut State University in the ‘90’s

The study authors found that “small sounds can create the impression of big deals” and that number-sound effects were more likely to occur when a frame of reference (a regular price) was provided, Science Daily reported, noting that the sounds of numbers at times created false impressions of value. For example, participants perceived a $10 item marked down to $7.66 to be a greater discount than a $10 item discounted to $7.22.

CT Beer Week Highlights Growing Local Industry, Economic Benefits

In case you hadn’t heard, we're in the midst of the first annual Connecticut Beer Week, and the theme is “Brew and Buy Local.”  The week-long promotion,  a collaboration of events hosted by brewers, wholesalers, retailers and restaurants throughout Connecticut, seeks to draw attention – and customers - to microbreweries in the state  that make specialty craft beers in numbers that are growing.

About 17 production breweries and more than 35 bars and restaurants are expected to participate during the week, with events that include brewery bus tours, beer tastings and live music performances. The local events coincide with American Craft Beer Week.  Connecticut beer manufacturers, distributors and retailers are highlighting the state's growing craft beer industry and encouraging consumers to buy local brews.

One of them, Willimantic Brewing Co,. has served home-brewed beer since 1997 in a renovated post office building. It produces about 800 barrels of beer annually and runs beer dinners and other events to educate customers, the Associate Press reported.

About 2,300 craft breweries operate in the U.S., according to the Colorado-based Brewers Association. About half are brewpubs, which brew and sell beer on location, and the other half are microbreweries that are usually restricted from selling retail.  The association defines a craft brewery as a facility that produces 6 million barrels or less of beer annually, is independently owned and uses traditional ingredients.

A $2-per-barrel reduction in the federal excise tax on beer, from $9 to $7, set off the revolution in American "craft" beer that began in 1976 and led to a surge in the number of U.S. breweries, which at the time numbered only a couple of dozen, the Wall Street Journal reported. The tax cut, pushed by a coalition of brewers and labor unions, was enacted just as popularity was soaring for hobbyists' home-brewing clubs, which produced Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head, among a growing roster.

Earlier this year, a report by the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) highlighted the overall economic impact of the beer industry in Connecticut:

• Connecticut beer distributors directly employ 1,084 people.
• When the impacts of Connecticut distributor operations, capital investment and community involvement are considered, the total number of impact jobs is 3,013.
• Connecticut beer distributors generate $545 million in total economic impacts.
• Connecticut beer distributor activities contribute $126 million to the federal, state and local tax bases. This does not include an added $97 million in federal, state and local alcohol excise and consumption taxes on beer sold in Connecticut.
• The Connecticut beer distribution industry contributes more than $303 million in transportation efficiencies for the beer industry each year.
• Beer distributor contributions to local community activities generate $1.5 million in impacts annually.

Microbrewers in the state benefit from the local and organic food movements that have seen increasing sales around the nation. Jason McClellan, owner of Olde Burnside Brewing Co. in East Hartford, told the AP that he buys many ingredients in-state. State government regulates the production and sale of alcohol at brewpubs and microbreweries.

The state is also supporting the industry as an economic driver A 2011 law established the Connecticut Brewery Trail, which permits authorized beer manufacturers and retailers to display signs advertising their association with the trail. It’s intended to make residents aware of what's available in their own backyard and to inform out-of-state travelers about the state’s home-grow beers.  Road signs for the brewery trail have not been erected yet, but the information is available online. The breweries include:

• Thomas Hooker Brewing Company
• Olde Burnside Brewing Company
• New England Brewing Company
• Cottrell Brewing Company
• Cavalry Brewing Company
• City Steam Brewery Cafe
• Back East Brewing Company
• Half Full Brewery
• Relic Brewing
• Two Roads Brewing Company
• Beer'd Brewing Co.
• Thimble Island Brewing Co.

New Haven's Prometheus Research Has Triple-Crown Worthy Win Streak

If innovation, recognition and funding are the triple crown of research technology, New Haven-headquartered Prometheus Research is in every sense a leader.

Autism Speaks and Prometheus Research have teamed up to develop a new, more user-friendly assessment portal through which parents can complete surveys for use in autism research.  The tool, called the Online Clinical System for Research (OSCR), allows parents to complete forms over the web and makes them accessible to Autism Speaks' Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) scientists, among others.  Assessments collected via OSCR provide important clues for autism research, increase the power of statistical analyses, and are easily shared with scientists and clinicians via a secure browser.

Autism Speaks is now able to view OSCR data alongside information on patient visits, diagnosis, biospecimens, and medications, points out Prometheus CEO, Dr. Leon Rozenblit.  "Through its support for new study configuration and data re-purposing, the integrated data management platform will enable Autism Speaks to significantly grow their research capabilities."  Autism Speaks' VP of Clinical Programs, Dr. Clara Lajonchere , explained that “This web-based patient-facing data collection interface will allow families to work more closely with researchers and healthcare professionals in real time.  Questionnaires can be integrated with electronic medical records or made available to clinicians prior to a clinical visit allowing healthcare professionals to better understand patient needs."

Also within the past month, P to extend its Open Source Research Exchange Database (RexDB) for the management of autism spectrum disorders research. The project aims to empower autism investigators to make more effective use of their data and more efficiently exchange data across the scientific community.  

Collaborating with Prometheus on the grant are the Yale University Child Study Center, the Marcus Autism Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, the University of Missouri Thompson Center, and others. SBIR grants are judged for scientific and technical merit, including significance of the problem being addressed, the innovative nature of the proposed solution, the overall strategy for execution, and the quality of the research team.

And finally, completing a very good month, Prometheus Research was named as one of the top ten Best Places to Work in Connecticut by the Hartford Business Journal. Prometheus received the recognition for the second year in a row.  The survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best employers in Connecticut, benefiting the state's economy, workforce, and businesses. Prometheus Research was selected in the small business category.

Autism Speaks is the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization. It is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, the grandparents of a child with autism.  Wright is the former vice chairman of Connecticut-based General Electric and chief executive officer of NBC and NBC Universal.

Prometheus Research's mission is to help research institutions and funding organizations get more utility from their data.  Prometheus offers integrated data management services, expert consulting, and software customization to deliver sensible solutions powered by their adaptable, open-source, web-based RexDB technology.  The company was founded a decade ago, and is an active community participant, most recently sponsoring an Arts for Autism contest at the Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School in New Haven.  Winning artwork was featured by the company on social media channels and provided inspiration for t-shirts to be worn by the Prometheus team during the Autism Speaks Walk.

Thriving Initiatives on State Main Streets Gain Recognition

Communities and organizations actively championing the revitalization and economic development of downtowns across Connecticut - through initiatives ranging from rebuilding and redesigning downtown spaces to working with local partners to provide fresh food for downtown residents- are gaining recognition for their efforts.

Initiatives and organizations from Hartford, Waterbury, Willimantic and Storrs Center and among those selected for 2013 Awards of Excellence, to be presented by the Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC) at their annual awards gala, being held in Hartford for the first time on June 10.  The projects and programs range from Fireball Run and iQuilt to vibrant partnerships bringing business, education, municipal and community organizations together to advance new initiatives.  The recipients are:

• Main Street Partnership (sponsored by Webster Bank) - "Brass City Market on Field" Indoor Farm Market, to Brass City Harvest, Main Street Waterbury, Naugatuck Valley Community College, Waterbury Development Corporation and the City of Waterbury.
•  Economic and Business Development - "Make New Friends, but Keep the Old": Retention and Relocation of Existing Businesses during Development of Storrs Center, to Mansfield Downtown Partnership, UConn, Town of Mansfield, LeylandAlliance, Milone & McBroom, Cipparone & Zaccaro, and the Business Owners of Mansfield & Storrs Center.
•  Public Space Master Plan - The iQuilt Plan (Downtown Hartford), to iQuilt Partnership, City of Hartford, and Suisman Urban Design.
• Historic Preservation - End of an Era": Past Identity/Future Vision and the Portrait Project (Downtown Willimantic), to Harrison Judd, Thread City Development, Inc., Eastern CT State University, Windham Textile & History Museum, Town of Windham, TBS Properties, Windham Region Chamber of Commerce, ArtSpace Windham Gallery.
•  Downtown Event -  Fireball Run 2012 (Downtown Waterbury), to Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce, City of Waterbury, and Main Street Waterbury.
• Business Owner of the Year (sponsored by Webster Bank) - Dr. Richard A. Fichman, Fichman Eye Center, in the Upper Albany Main Street District, Hartford

In addition, the 2013 Nationally Accredited Main Street Programs - Simsbury Main Street Partnership, Upper Albany Main Street (Hartford), and Main Street Waterbury will be recognized, and The Connecticut Light and Power Company Award for Outstanding Contributions to Main Street Revitalization will be presented to longtime activitst Toni A. Gold of Hartford.

"Connecticut's city centers are critical drivers of commerce and competitiveness," said Governor Dannel P. Malloy. "I applaud the 2013 award winners for their efforts to make Connecticut's downtowns thrive. The collaboration to create more livable communities is to the benefit of all Connecticut's residents."

Connecticut Main Street Center is a statewide nonprofit that inspires great Connecticut downtowns, Main Street by Main Street. Its mission is to be the champion and leading resource for vibrant and sustainable Main Streets as foundations for healthy communities.

The Connecticut Main Street Awards of Excellence, established a decade ago, recognize outstanding projects, individuals and partnerships in community efforts to bring traditional downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts back to life, socially and economically. Submissions were judged on criteria which included innovation, replication, representation, partnerships utilized, and outcomes.

Awards will be presented at the 2013 Connecticut Main Street Awards Gala on June 10th at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Downtown Hartford. Major Sponsors include Fuss & O'Neill, Webster Bank, Baywater Properties, Travelers, and Renaissance Downtowns.

New Partnership to Encourage Focus on Workforce Skills Gap

A new partnership has been formed to enhance communication between members of the public and community leaders on important issues in the Capitol region, and public events to facilitate the conversation are already on the calendar for this month.

Working in collaboration, CT News Project (parent of CT Mirror), WNPR, and the Hartford Public Library, with the support of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, have launched the Community Information Hub for the Capital Region to increase opportunities for people to have their voices heard on issues affecting them and their communities.

The Community Information Hub will offer web-based and community-based forums and dialogues where concerned citizens can report and discuss issues they care about and work together towards solutions. The online resource will provide residents with a broader platform to share their perspectives and ideas for community action.

The Community Hub also will present and connect to data and other information on issues and sponsor public events.  In its first public event, the Community Information Hub will host a forum on the workforce skills gap in Connecticut on Tuesday, May 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Hartford Public Library.

The Hub will also offer people the opportunity to participate in a community conversation on the workforce skills gap and training programs on Saturday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Hartford Public Library.

The Community Information Hub builds on the ongoing partnership between The CT News Project’s online news site, CT Mirror, and WNPR to collaborate on web and radio stories, cross marketing, and to share reporters and other resources. Both operations are located in the same facility at 1049 Asylum Avenue in Hartford.  The project also integrates and expands on the Hartford Public Library’s experience in providing facilitated community dialogues through its Hartford Listens series.

Offered in collaboration with East Hartford-based  Everyday Democracy, these events will inform residents of the issues, and the dialogues will help residents develop action agendas. Recent community dialogues focused on adult learning and the special needs of children of incarcerated parents.

The hub project is supported by two civic engagement staff:

• Heather Brandon serves as the director of civic media at CT News Project and WNPR, a new position responsible for efforts to promote civic engagement throughout Connecticut. Brandon will lead the partnership’s efforts to create a new civic media website, and will also develop and coordinate public issues forums and events. Brandon is a former freelance producer for Morning Edition, Where We Live, and The Colin McEnroe Show at WNPR.
• Tricia Barrett serves as the project’s community dialogue coordinator at Hartford Public Library and is responsible for the planning and implementation of all aspects of community conversations as well as related activities in the Community Information Hub project. Barrett is the former educational services manager at the Hartford Courant.

“The formation of the Community Information Hub in partnership with the Connecticut News Project, WNPR and Hartford Foundation for Public Giving leverages our assets in new ways and puts the library at the center of an important community movement. We are already at the heart of the community, and civic engagement is at the heart of where the public library is going in the 21s century.”said Matthew K. Poland, chief executive officer of Hartford Public Library.

The Community Information Hub is supported by a three- year, $374,362 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

 “The Hartford Foundation supports the Community Information Hub partners’ goal of broadly engaging the community, reaching residents and organizations from throughout the region, including local schools, faith-based organizations and diverse nonprofit and community leaders,” said Linda J. Kelly, president of the Hartford Foundation.

To register for the workforce skills gap forum log onto: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?llr=eco8pgdab&oeidk=a07e7adwjkh9a034b6f&oseq= 

To register for the community dialogue on the workforce skill gap log onto http://workforcedialogue.eventbrite.com/#

Women-Owned Businesses in Region Growing Across Many Fields

They are some of Connecticut’s most successful companies that you've never heard of.  And perhaps a few that you have. What they have in common is ownership. They're owned by women -  in some cases 100 percent owned.

Who are they?

Among the leaders are Farmington-based Companions & Homemakers, which topped a newly published list with 1,600 local employees and 4 local offices, West Hartford’s Companions for Living, with 114 employees, iTech Solutions, also in Farmington, Caring Solutions, Phoenix Manufacturing Inc. and Andrew Associates, all headquartered in Enfield.  The Walker Group (Farmington), Infoshred (East Windsor) The Human Resource Consulting Group (Seymour)Merry Employment Group (West Hartford) and Sandair Systems Inc (Windsor) are also 100 percent owned by women.

The Hartford Business Journal listed the firms as part of their ranking of the largest women-owned businesses (ownership exceeding 50 percent) in the Hartford region.   The 25 firms were led by a top 10 in fields including home health care, aerospace, advertising, information technology staffing, janitorial services, and family maintenance services.  Of the 25 businesses, only 3 were launched since 2000.  The remainder date back to the last century, including two, Post Road Stages (1912) and Beacon Light and Supply Company (1932), to the first half of the century.

The number of women-owned businesses in Connecticut increased 35 percent since 1997 and sales at those firms increased 67 percent, according to a census analysis by American Express Open, released earlier this month.

Women starting their own business have opportunities to learn from others who’ve blazed the trail.  The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Women’s Business Center Program is a national network providing business training, counseling and other resources to help women start and grow successful businesses. In Connecticut, network participants are The Entrepreneurial Center at the University of Hartford, the Stamford/Southwest Women’s Business Center of the Women's Business Development Council in Stamford, and the Naugatuck Valley Women’s Business Center at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury.

Last week, Connecticut Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman visited some women-owned small businesses that have received financial assistance from the state’s Small Business Express. The stops included Dottie’s Diner in Waterbury, The Dutch Bulb Lady in Waterbury, Richards Machine Tool Co. Inc. in Berlin, LSC Distribution in Hartford and American Masons & Building Supply Co. in Hartford.

Earlier this year, a national survey of women business owners (WBOs) conducted by Web.com Group, Inc. and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) found a pervasive sense of economic optimism, including a prediction by most WBOs (85 percent) that more women will become entrepreneurs in 2013 than in past years.  WBOs also plan to invest more (38 percent) or the same (54 percent) in hiring this year than they did in 2012 – a positive sign for the economy.

With regard to public policy matters, the top four issues on the minds of WBOs are: the state of the economy (57 percent), health insurance cost and affordability (40 percent), business tax issues (36 percent), and access to a quality workforce (36 percent). Though two in five WBOs said that health insurance costs and affordability are important issues to them, many (71 percent) feel that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) will have no impact upon the way they do business.

Startups with Female Directors, Local Connections Have Better Chance of Survival

Newly incorporated companies with one female director have a 27% lower risk of becoming insolvent than comparable firms with all-male boards, according to a team of researchers led by Nick Wilson of Leeds University Business School in the UK and reported in the Harvard Business Review. The effect decreases as the number of female directors rises, suggesting that what matters is diversity rather than the specific number of women on the board. Earlier this year, data developed by a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee indicated that companies whose directors include one or more women are 38% less likely to have to restate their financial-performance figures to correct errors than firms with all-male boards. In addition, previous research shows that groups with greater gender diversity generate more-innovative thinking in problem solving.

The new study found that new firms are less likely to face the hazard of insolvency when they have boards with more experienced directors, directors with greater networking relationships, more local directors, more female directors, directors with low levels of recent insolvency experiences and low levels of recent director turnover. Results suggest that the background, experience, networking, gender diversity and composition of new boards are important in determining the trajectory of success or failure of new firms.

The recent research tends to support efforts made during the tenure of Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, who as fiduciary of the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, the state’s pension funds, has advocated for independent directors and gender diversity on boards as part of a comprehensive shareholder activism program aimed at increasing the value of the state’s shares in a range of investments.

The data is also of special relevance to Startup Connecticut, the Connecticut franchise of The Startup America Partnership, which is based on the premise that young companies that grow create jobs. As a core American value, entrepreneurship is “critical to the country’s long term success and it’s time to step up our game,” the website points out. Startup Connecticut’s mission is to “evangelize and celebrate entrepreneurship and innovation” in Connecticut. The most recent Start Up Weekend was held in Storrs in March.

In analyzing the impact of local directors, as compared with those from outside the start-up’s immediate geographic area, the study found that local knowledge local networks and/or relationships reduce insolvency risk. Directors in local networks that have “built trust and loyalty may be receiving more time and support in the surrounding economy. As insolvencies result from unpaid debts, such a local connection may mean that new firm directors face less pressure from creditors and potential insolvency proceedings: they can buy more time from local network members to resolve issues.”

Connecticut Sales Tax is 10th Highest in Nation; Louisiana Promotes Tax-Free Guns & Ammunition Days

When Connecticut’s sales tax inched upwards from 6 percent to 6.35 percent in 2011, the state made its way into the top ten sales tax states, leaving behind a gaggle of 16 states perched at 6 percent or slightly higher, but below the new Nutmeg rate of 6.35 percent.

Today, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators, Connecticut sits at number ten in the nation for its sales tax rate.  Close on our heels are Massachusetts, Texas and Illinois at 6.25 percent, and Kansas at 6.3 percent. Leading the pack is California at 7.5 percent, with five states - Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Tennessee - at 7.0 percent.

Five states - Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon - have no sales tax.  However, Alaska and Montana permit local sales taxes and Delaware imposes a rental and service tax.  The five states with the highest average combined rates of state and local taxes are Tennessee (9.44 percent), Arizona (9.16 percent), Louisiana (8.87 percent), Washington (8.86 percent), and Oklahoma (8.67 percent), according to the Tax Foundation.

Many states have sales tax holidays on select products for specific time periods during the year, with the majority focusing on back-to-school items or energy saving products.  Alabama, Louisiana and Virginia offer two or three tax-free days for the purchase of hurricane preparedness related equipment.  In Connecticut, clothing and footwear are exempt for a week in late August, just as families are doing their last-minute shopping for the start of the school year.

Tax-Free Days for Gun Sales

In Louisiana, firearms including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and revolvers, ammunition and hunting supplies are tax-free for three days in September.  In 2012, the days were promoted on the state’s website with a promotional video announcing the “Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday.” Among the additional items that can be sold tax-free are knives, bows & arrows, off-road vehicles and safety gear.   The annual three-day tax holiday was approved by the Louisiana legislature in 2009.

The previous year, South Carolina waived the state’s sales and use tax on purchases of handguns, rifles and shotguns during a Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday, held just after Thanksgiving on Nov. 28 – 29, 2008.  The bill become law after the veto by then-Governor Mark Sanford was overridden in the legislature.  The 48-hour tax break on firearm purchases also applied to any local sales and use tax.  The tax break did not apply to accessories such as ammunition, black powder, holsters, archery supplies and similar items.  The tax holiday, which must be approved annually by the legislature, has not been held the past two years, as the state’s fiscal situation tightened.

 A similar proposal in West Virginia was vetoed by then-Governor Joe Manchin (D) in April 2010.  Manchin was elected to the U.S. Senate later that year.

Earlier this year, a Texas lawmaker proposed that the Lone Star state's independence be celebrated by making Texas Independence Day, March 2nd, a tax-free holiday for gun purchases in that state.  The proposal would include no sales tax on shotguns, rifles, pistols, revolvers and other handguns, gun safes, gun cases, cleaning supplies and optics, ammunition, archery equipment, hunting stands, blinds, and decoys, the NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth has reported.

 Top ten sales tax rates (percentage):

1.  California            7.5
2.  Indiana                 7.0
3. Mississippi          7.0
4.    New Jersey        7.0
5. Rhode Island      7.0
6. Tennessee          7.0
7. Minnesota          6.875
8. Arizona                 6.6
9. Washington        6.5
10. Connecticut   6.35

The Sales Tax Institute notes that many states allow non-standard rates on many items including meals, lodging, telecommunications and specific items and services. State laws regarding county or local taxes, in addition to the state sales tax, also vary.

Hometown Names Go Beyond Hometown for Connecticut Banks

What’s in a name?  In the banking industry in Connecticut, quite often it is the name one of the state’s towns.  Although there are more than two dozen out-of-state banks dotting our landscape, nearly an equal number of locally-based institutions have not only adopted the name of their hometown, they’re keeping that name even as the venture into neighboring communities – and well beyond.

Does Farmington Bank have the same cache in South Windsor?  Or Newington?  Does Rockville Bank sound as inviting in West Hartford as in Vernon?  Essex Savings Bank in Madison?  Jewett City Savings Bank (“your hometown bank”) in Brooklyn?  Simsbury Bank in Bloomfield? Or Savings Bank of Danbury, in Waterbury?

The recent opening  of Rockville Bank’s first west-of-the-river branch in West Hartford (joining 18 east of the Connecticut River), nearly simultaneous with Farmington Bank’s opening in South Windsor and Newington Center, reflects the growing trend of “hometown” banks expanding their footprint beyond the four corners of their town borders – and seeing no need to change the name on the door.

In fact, last year Farmington Bank - now with 20 branches in central Connecticut - was recognized as the #1 small business lender in the state by the Small Business Administration (SBA) of Connecticut.  For SBA's fiscal year 2011-12, Farmington Bank approved 57 loans, totaling $8,628,000.

The town names doing double-duty as bank names:  Fairfield, New Canaan, Groton,Darien, Essex, Farmington, Greenwich, Suffield, Guilford, Jewett City, Litchfield, Milford, Naugatuck, Putnam, Rockville, Salisbury, Danbury, Simsbury, Stafford, Thomaston, Torrington, Wilton and Windsor.

And then there is Connecticut Community Bank, which operates five divisions, using five different names, which each utilize the names of their local communities in Darien, Greenwich, Norwalk, Stamford, and Westport.

Not to mention the regional institutions… from Fairfield County Bank to Northwest Community Bank, Naugatuck Valley Savings and Loan to Bank of Southern Connecticut and Eastern Savings Bank.  There’s also the Quinnipiac Bank & Trust Company – not quite a region, but not quite a town.  (Not connected with the university – neither is Southern or Eastern in the previous group.)

There is also Union Bank with 19 locations in Western Connecticut, which has nothing to do with the town of Union, clear across on the other side of the state.  And some local banks, such as The Community’s Bank with a single location in Bridgeport, or three of the state’s largest, Bridgeport-headquartered People’s United, Waterbury-headquartered Webster, and Middletown-headquartered Liberty Bank, which are very much homegrown but without the name of the their hometown in their moniker.

The list more than two-dozen banks, with a hometown in their name, according to the State Department of Banking:

Bank of Fairfield

Bank of New Canaan

Chelsea Groton Bank

Chelsea Groton Bank

Darien Rowayton Bank

Essex Savings Bank

Farmington Bank

First Bank of Greenwich

First National Bank of Suffield

Guilford Savings Bank

Jewett City Savings Bank

Litchfield Bancorp

Milford Bank

Naugatuck Savings Bank

Newtown Savings Bank

Putnam Bank

Rockville Bank

Salisbury Bank and Trust Company

Savings Bank of Danbury

Simsbury Bank & Trust Company

Stafford Savings Bank

Thomaston Savings Bank

Torrington Savings Bank

Wilton Bank

Windsor Federal Savings and Loan Association