Fun in CT? Ranked 37th in the US, But Among Leaders in Marinas, Fitness Centers, Money Spent on Recreation

While Connecticut ranked 37^th overall among the nation’s 50 states analyzed for their “fun” quotient, the state did have some standout rankings in specific categories – including the amount of money individual residents spend on recreation.  Despite ranking 35^th overall in “entertainment & recreation” categories and 40^th in “nightlife,” the state reached the top five in three sub-categories. In the analysis by the financial website WalletHub, Connecticut ranked third in the number of fitness centers per capita, at 15.7. New England neighbor Massachusetts ranked #1 with 17, and New Hampshire, New Jersey and Montana rounded out the top five in that category.

Connecticut ranked #1 in number of marinas per capita, tied with Maine and Rhode Island. Connecticut has 3.48 marinas per 100,000 residents, the data indicated. Maryland and Vermont ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

In another top five finish, Connecticut ranked fourth in Personal Expenditures on Recreation per capita, at just over $1,900. Minnesota ranked first at $2,058. The Top 5 states, in order, were Minnesota, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

Overall, the “most fun states” were Nevada, South Dakota, Colorado, North Dakota, New York, Wyoming, Oregon, Louisiana, Montana, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Florida, Vermont and California.  At the bottom of the list were Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia and Mississippi.

The overall rankings were weighted 80-20 between Entertainment & Recreation and Nightlife.  The Entertainment & Recreation categories included restaurants, beaches, movie theaters,  national parks, arts venues, and state spending on parks and recreation. The nightlife category included average beer & wine prices, movie costs, music festivals and access to bars.

Data used to create the ranking, which included 22 separate sub-categories, were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Park Service, Council for Community and Economic Research, TripAdvisor, Beachapedia, Stadium and Arena Visits, Graphiq, American Gaming Association and WalletHub research.

16 CT School Districts Named Among Nation's Best Communities for Music Education

Sixteen Connecticut school districts are among 527 districts across the being recognized as being among the Best Communities for Music Education (BCME). The annual listing of outstanding music education programs, now in its 18^th year, is developed by The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation in cooperation with researchers at The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

The awards program recognizes outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have made music education part of the curriculum. Designations are made to districts that demonstrate an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education. These districts "set the bar in offering students access to comprehensive music education," according to officials at the NAMM Foundation.

The Connecticut school districts earning a slot on the Best Communities list:  Avon Public Schools, Bethel Public Schools, Bristol Public Schools, Canton Public Schools, Cheshire Public Schools, Fairfield Public Schools, Glastonbury Public Schools, Newington Public Schools, Newtown Public Schools, Plainville Community Schools, Regional School District No. 8, Simsbury Public School District, Southington Public Schools, Torrington Public Schools, West Hartford Public Schools, and Westport Public Schools.

To qualify for the Best Communities designation, local school districts answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

Last year, 13 Connecticut school districts were named, among 476 districts nationwide.  New to the list this year are Avon, Fairfield, Plainville, and Regional School District No. 8.  Falling from the list is Wilton.   

The designation takes on added significance this year, officials point out, with new research showing strong ties between K-12 school students who actively participate in school music education programs and overall student success. A recent study of students in the Chicago Public Schools by brain researchers at Northwestern University, detailed in Neuroscientist and Education Week, builds on previous findings that participation in music education programs helps improves brain function, discipline and language development, according to officials.

“Studying music has intrinsic benefits and, on its own, is core to learning.  Also, the links between student success and music education have now been demonstrated by brain researchers in multiple studies,” said Mary Luehrsen, Executive Director of The NAMM Foundation. “The schools and districts our foundation recognizes are building on that connection between music and academics. These schools and districts are models for other educators who see music as a key ingredient in a well-rounded curriculum that makes music available to all children, regardless of zip code.”

The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by The National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,300 members around the world. Its mission is to advance active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving, and public service programs.

Cigna Recognized for Cultural Competency Efforts

Health disparities directly and indirectly cost the U.S. economy $309 billion annually, and it is estimated that approximately 30% of direct medical costs for Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are unnecessary costs resulting from health disparities, according to a paper prepared by Connecticut-based Cigna. Indirect costs, the paper points out, include lost work productivity and premature death. The paper, focusing on Cultural Competency in Health Care, is part of an initiative by Cigna that has been recognized with an "Innovation in Advancing Health Equity Award" by the National Business Group on Health, which honored the insurer for its ongoing commitment to promoting health equity and reducing health care disparities in the workplace and community.

"Health equity exists when all people, regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, geographic location, or other societal constructs have the same access, opportunity, and resources to achieve their highest potential for health. It is our hope that these companies provide an example and encourage other employers to advance health equity," said Brian Marcotte, president and CEO of the National Business Group on Health.

Cigna was recognized for its nationwide program, America Says Ahh, to improve preventive care and encourage regular check-ups. A key feature of the campaign is the TV Doctors of America preventive care advocacy campaign featuring five famous TV doctors.  Among them is Alan Alda, best known for his role on M*A*S*H.  Alda will be on Hartford on Saturday evening at The Connecticut Forum.

“For Cigna's network doctors and clinicians, we created and delivered an in-depth cultural competency training with an emphasis on engaging Hispanic patients, and produced an external white paper on Cultural Competency in Health Care,” said Peggy Payne, a leader within Cigna's Health Equity Strategy area.

“The U.S. population is increasingly diverse. Cultural competency is essential to deliver health care services that meet the needs of each individual and improves overall health,” said Christina Stasiuk, D.O., National Medical Director for Health Equity at Cigna.

Racial and ethnic minorities currently make up about a third of the U.S. population, and are expected to become a majority by 2055, the paper points out, noting that:

• Hispanics will continue to make up the largest portion of the minority population
• The Asian population is expected to grow at the fastest rate between 2015 and 2055
• The foreign-born population will increase at a higher rate than the native born population, accounting for approximately 20% of the U.S. population by 2060

As the U.S. becomes more diverse, it is likely that more individuals will have limited English proficiency or will not adhere to Western cultural norms, which may contribute to greater health disparities, the Cigna paper points out.

“Reducing health disparities is a business and social imperative. Minority populations will likely become an increasing share of providers’ patient panels, employers’ workforces, and health plans’ customers, requiring that all stakeholders seek ways to promote health equity to improve health and access, reduce costs, and improve experience,” the Cigna paper emphasizes, suggesting employers can take to build cultural competency and improve health outcomes for all their employees by:

• Expanding their human resources leadership team to include experts in cultural competency and diversity
• Instituting multicultural staff representatives to support onsite health services, such as health fairs and open enrollment
• Seeking feedback from diverse groups of employees about their experiences as health care customers
• Providing materials and benefits information that are culturally competent, e.g., culturally adapted or language-specific
• Proactively gathering the demographic data of their workforce to measure and take action on health trends
• Collaborating with their health plan to better engage employees in their health

Cigna indicates that the company has “ongoing efforts to help ensure that Cigna staff is culturally and linguistically competent.”

The National Business Group on Health is the nation's only non-profit organization devoted exclusively to representing large employers' perspective on national health policy issues and helping companies optimize business performance through health improvement, innovation and health care management.

https://youtu.be/foL9gfbfweY

Disconnected Youth: Fewer in Connecticut Than Nationally; Disparities Reduced But Continue

Fewer young people across the country are disconnected from school and work today than were before the Great Recession, according to new national data. The 2015 youth disconnection rate, 12.3 percent, is below the 2008 rate of 12.6 and well below the 2010 youth disconnection peak, 14.7 percent. All of Connecticut’s five Congressional Districts show lower rates of disconnected youth than the national average.

That’s a 16 percent drop over five years translates to roughly 900,000 fewer young people cut off from pathways that lead to independent, rewarding adulthoods, according to data compiled by the Social Science Research Council.

The report, “Promising Gains, Persistent Gaps,” compares the degree of youth disconnectedness in Congressional Districts across the country.

Disconnected youth are teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor working. Being detached from both the educational system and the labor market during the pivotal years of emerging adulthood can be dispiriting and damaging to a young person, and the effects of youth disconnection have been shown to follow individuals for the rest of their lives, resulting in lower incomes, higher unemployment rates, and negative physical and mental health outcomes. The harms accrue not only to young people themselves, but reverberate across time and place, making youth disconnection a national concern that must be addressed by society at large.

Youth disconnection rates vary enormously by congressional district—from an impressively low rate of 4.4 percent in Wisconsin District 2, the mostly urban Madison area, to an alarmingly high rate of 23.1 percent—or nearly one in every four young people—in Kentucky District 5 in rural Appalachia.

Connecticut fares relatively well.  Northeastern and Midwestern congressional districts have lowest rates of youth disconnection, 11.1 percent on average.

Connecticut’s best ranked Congressional district is the 2^nd, in Eastern Connecticut, with an 8.7 percent of youth ages 16-24 disconnected, ranking 60^th among the nation’s 435 Congressional districts.  Next best if Connecticut’s 5^th district, in Western Connecticut, ranked 116^th with 9.9 percent disconnected youth.  The 3^rd C.D. ranks 134^th, at 10.1 percent; the 4^th C.D ranks 104^th with 10.3 percent; and the 1^st C.D. ranks 167th at 10.9 percent.

On average, a gap of 7.4 percentage points separates the best and worst districts within a state. Connecticut’s gap is only 2.2 percentage points.

The greatest disparity is found in New York State; a worrisome 15.2 percentage points separate New York’s District 20 in the Albany area (7.1 percent) and District 15 in New York City’s South Bronx (22.3 percent).

The most equitable state in terms of youth disconnection is also found in the Northeast; a nearly negligible 0.1 point separates Maine’s District 1, which hugs the southern coast and includes the capital, Augusta (9.8 percent), and District 2, a more rural district that encompasses most of the state (9.7 percent).

The analysis found that nationally, young women are slightly less likely to be disconnected than young men. And there is “astonishing variation in disconnection rates by race and ethnicity.” The share of young people cut off from workforce and educational opportunities, the report found, ranges from only one in fourteen Asian American youth to more than one in four Native American youth. The Asian American youth disconnection rate is 7.2 percent; the white rate is 10.1 percent; the Latino rate is 14.3 percent; the black rate is 18.9 percent; and the Native American rate is 25.4 percent.

The report concludes that “at-risk youth need the kind of support from communities and institutions that other young people take for granted: safe places to live and food on the table; caring adults to help them navigate the often-bewildering transition from child to adult; opportunities to try new things, to fail, and to try again; and experiences that build not just hard and soft skills for the marketplace, but also self-knowledge, agency, and confidence.”

Safest States for Driving? CT Ranks #8 in USA

Connecticut is the eighth safest state in the nation for drivers, according to a new analysis of driving safety across the country. The report was derived from analyzing fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and correlating the data with speeding, distracted driving and drunk driving statistics. Analysts for Safewise, a home security company that studies a variety of public safety issues, compiled the report, which found:

• The majority of Connecticut's road fatalities come from drunk driving, however, Connecticut is among the top 10 states for fewest speeding fatalities.
• Connecticut is among the nation's slowest average speed limits. SafeWise analysts found that slower speed limits lead to fewer fatalities, which explains why Connecticut is among the safest states.
• Connecticut bans all forms of cell phone use, however, the state is among the worst for distracted drivers.

The safest states, according to the survey, are Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Utah and West Virginia.

The report revealed that the safest states for driving typically have lower speed limits and less restrictions on phone use. The states that have longer commute times and slower speed limits have less fatalities. More dangerous roadways tend to be long interstates with speed limits in the 70’s and 80’s. States with younger median ages and higher birth rates correlated with higher fatality rates.  Inexperienced drivers and large families alike seem to be more distracted when on the road.

“Over the past few years, fatal crash statistics have increased substantially,” said Robert Dillman, owner and lead instructor of the Georgia-based NEVO Driving Academy. “According to data released by the National Safety Council, in 2016, the United States reached a 10 year peak in crash related fatalities. With regards to traffic and driver safety, from 2013 to present, we are trending in the wrong direction.”

Home Ownership in CT: Not Best, But Not Worst

When it comes to home ownership, Connecticut is in the middle of the pack among the nation’s 50 states.  A new report ranks the state at number 30, in the lower echelons of the states.  And when the report, by financial website ValuePenguin, identified optimal factors when considering homeownership, Connecticut faired more poorly in some key factors. Connecticut ranked 48th in affordability, followed only by California (49) and Florida (50).  New Jersey and Massachusetts were just ahead of Connecticut.  The best states for affordability were South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho.

Ten factors, organized into three key categories were used to measure and rank the states. The three key categories of focus were: Housing Market Strength, Residual Costs, and Living Factors.

Factors that weakened a state’s position included propensity for crime, weak housing markets, and heavy burdens of costs to maintain a home – for instance the likelihood of property damage caused by storms and other calamities. Attributes that strengthened a state’s position included homeownership affordability, low mortgage rates, and low risk of calamities.

The 10 worst states to be a homeowner, according to the report, are Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, New Mexico, and Alabama.  The best states, according to the analysis, are Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Maine and Minnesota.

In terms of livability, the top states in the nation are the New England states of New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.

Best Small Cities to Start A Business? CT Has Only One - Danbury - Among Top 700 in USA

Only one Connecticut community is ranked in the top 700 “best small cities to start a business” in a new survey of 1,260 cities across the nation.  Danbury, ranked at number 170, was the sole Connecticut city to earn a slot among the nation’s business-friendly small cities.  The next Connecticut municipalities on the list were Torrington, ranked at number 749, and East Hartford, at number 775. To determine the best small cities in which to start a business, the financial website WalletHub’s analysts compared across three key dimensions: 1) business environment, 2) access to resources and 3) business costs. Included were cities with a population of between 25,000 and 100,000 residents.

Among Connecticut municipalities, also reaching the top 1,000 nationwide were East Hartford (775), Bristol (836), Westport (861), West Hartford (876), and Shelton (919).

The Danbury city website highlights that “assets and resources include a pro-business climate, a creative, educated and talented workforce, an excellent education system, transportation advantages, a superior quality of life and much more.”  The website highlights a Danbury business each week.

"We analyzed 21 Connecticut cities and out of these, Danbury ranked the highest at 170," said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. "Although it offers a strong business environment, the city has high business costs overall. Most of the cities (14 of them) ranked below the 1,000 rank because these fail to offer a thriving business environment, with little access to the resources needed to start a business as well as restrictive labor costs."

The analysis evaluated each of the three key dimensions using 16 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for launching a business. “ A city with a smaller population can offer a greater chance of success, depending on an entrepreneur’s type of business and personal preferences,” WalletHub points out.

The business environment category (50 points) includes average length of work week, average growth in number of small businesses, number of startups per capita, average revenue per business, average growth of business revenues and industry variety.  The access to resources category (25 points) includes financing accessibility, human resource availability, higher education assets, working age population growth and workforce educational attainment.  The business costs category includes office space affordability, labor costs, corporate taxes, and cost of living.

Also earning a slot on the “Best Small Cities to Start a Business” list were East Haven (1,004), Norwich (1,014), New London (1,015), New Britain (1,022), West Haven (1,026), Wethersfield (1,028), Newington (1,032), Milford (1,053), Stratford (1,060), Norwalk (1,063), Meriden (1,079), Middletown (1,117), Naugatuck (1,185) and Trumbull (1,239).

Data used to create the ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, AreaVibes, Yelp, Indeed, U.S. News & World Report, Tax Foundation and LoopNet, according to WalletHub.

The top small cities for business in the U.S., according to the analysis, were Holland, MI; Carbondale, IL; Springville, UT; East Chicago, IN; Jefferson City, MO; Wilson, NC; Enid, OK, Rio Rancho, NM; Clearfield, UT and Cheyenne, WY.  The top ranked city in New England was East Providence, RI, ranked at number 38.

Accent on Exports in Connecticut; State Supports Business Outreach Overseas

If Connecticut were a country, it would be the sixth-most productive in the world, according to the state’s annual report by the department of Economic and Community Development. A critical building block for economic productivity is exports, and a look at the data reveals some surprisingly positive statistics. The backdrop is offered by more than 700 global companies that have subsidiaries here, employing more than 100,000 people, the Organization for International Investment points out.  The state’s convenient access to a variety of transportation options all provides access; there were 4.6 million tons of cargo carried on Connecticut rails in 2015, for example, and 11.4 million tons of freight shipped through Connecticut ports in 2013.

The U.S. Commercial Service and the Connecticut District Export Council have teamed up to create a series of events throughout Connecticut marking the annual Connecticut Export Week. These events will take place during  April 24-28. Connecticut Export Week 2017 will educate businesses on initiating and or expanding their global market. Officials describe Connecticut  Export Week 2017 as the only free event of it’s kind in the nation.  A series of free events and webinars will be offered at locations around the state.  Topics include exporting to China, expanding to new markets, initial market research, how to develop and maintain an export network, and export logistics.

“The ease of global travel and freight movement by rail and highway makes Connecticut a prime location for domestic and international trade,” the report points out.  Leading exports include: Aerospace/Transportation Equipment, Non-Electrical Machinery, Computers and Electronics, Chemicals, Electrical Equipment, Fabricated Metals Production, and Primary Metal Manufacturing.

The top three trading partners for the state are Germany (10.8% of state exports), Canada (10.7%), France 12.7%, United Arab Emirates (10.4%) and Mexico (8.7%).

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) recently called on companies to apply for grants of up to $7,000 for a wide range of export-related activities. Funding is from the Small Business Administration (SBA), which awarded Connecticut a $244,000 grant to help increase state exports and the number of small businesses that export. The Department has provided more than 350 grant awards allowing Connecticut companies to participate in Medica, the leading international medical device trade show in Dusseldorf, Germany; Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial technology trade show in Hannover, Germany; and the international air shows in Farnborough, U.K. and Paris. Additionally, companies can request reimbursement for trade shows, trade missions and other export activities specific to their industry.

“These investments are helping Connecticut’s small businesses compete in the global economy,” said DECD commissioner Catherine Smith. “For example, grants have been provided to companies to help offset the costs of attending the Farnborough Air Show, one of the most important air shows in the world. Without these grants many of the suppliers and component manufacturers in Connecticut’s supply chain could not attend, missing a key opportunity to establish important contacts and build relationships with the leading aerospace contractors across the globe.”

Hartford Baseball Being Broadcast in Spanish, English

The Hartford Yard Goats minor league baseball team has played the first of 70 home games at Dunkin' Donuts Park. The broadcasts, like the season, have begun with new homes. All 140 games will be broadcast on the Yard Goats Radio Network, which can also be heard on-line at yardgoats.com and on smart phone devices through the iheartradio app.  The Yard Goats will also have all home games broadcast in Spanish through a partnership with iHeartMedia and WPRX 1120AM. At part of the team’s outreach to the region’s Spanish-speaking population, pocket schedules in Spanish that will be distributed throughout the Greater Hartford area.  According to the 200 U.S. Census, 43 percent of Hartford's population is Hispanic.  

Jeff Dooley is set to begin his first season as the "Voice of the Yard Goats" after calling New Britain Rock Cats broadcasts for the past 18 years. He is the lead play-by-play announcer for all games on radio and television and hosts complete coverage of the Pre-game and Post Game shows for all games, home and road. His broadcasts can be heard on i-Heart Media Hartford affiliate, News Radio 1410 AM (WPOP), AM 1150 (WMRD), AM 1420 (WLIS). Home games are streamed on MiLB.TV.

Dan Lovallo also returns to the Yard Goats broadcast booth. He broadcast the team’s games on radio from 2000 through 2008 and worked on select broadcasts the last two seasons. He has an extensive background in broadcasting professional baseball and sports in general.  In 1983, Lovallo began broadcasting games for the Kinston, NC Blue Jays, then affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. Lovallo moved on to the Richmond, VA Braves in 1985, then the top farm club of the Atlanta Braves.

Dooley was behind the microphone for some of the most memorable moments in Rock Cats history, including three Eastern League Playoff Series, a major league exhibition game with the Minnesota Twins, and the only two no-hitters in franchise history. He was the television play-by-play broadcaster for the 2013 Eastern League All-Star Game and called the 2003 EL All-Star game on radio. Additionally, Dooley was the master of ceremonies at the All-Star Luncheon at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol. Additionally, Dooley is the play-by-play voice of the University of Hartford Men's Basketball Team.

In 1990, Lovallo returned to his home state of Connecticut and eventually joined WDRC radio in Hartford to become news and sports director. He now joins Brad Davis on mornings on the Talk of Connecticut network. His assignments included broadcasting women's and men's professional basketball, college basketball for the University of Hartford.  In addition to Yard Goats broadcasts, Lovallo continues to serve as radio "Voice of the Manchester Road Race," and broadcasts high school football games on WAPJ radio. He is also the publisher and editor of two baseball-related websites, Your Baseball Buzz and Baseball on the Fly.

The team’s 70 home games broadcast in Spanish on 1120-AM WPRX in Hartford, will have the father-son duo of Danny and Derek Rodriguez at the microphone.

"We are extremely excited to partner with WPRX and bring Yard Goats Baseball to a new radio audience," said Yard Goats owner Josh Solomon.  "It is really important to our organization to have our broadcasts also available in Spanish, knowing how much the Hispanic community loves baseball, and we feel this is a wonderful way to reach the Latino community."

WPRX AM 1120 is a community based radio station with local programming such as news, traffic, and weather.  WPRX, which transmits 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, has live on air talent from its studio and also is very involved with local community events making it a natural fit with the Yard Goats.

"We are thrilled to be to partnering with the Hartford Yard Goats and having their home games broadcast in Spanish on our radio station," said WPRX owner Oscar Nieves.  "So many of our loyal listeners love the game of baseball and are excited about the new Yard Goats brand.  We know that this is going to be a home run."

Stamford Ranks #7 Among Small Cities of the Future in the Americas

Stamford is a "City of the Future," ranking seventh among small cities in the America’s for economic growth, according to a new report.  The city ranks behind Sunnyvale, Irvine and Fremont, CA; Bellevue, WA; Ann Arbor, MI, and Fort Lauderdale. Also ranking in the top 10 are Cary, NC; Plano, TX; and Guelph, Ontario.  It was one of three top-ten showings for Connecticut's third largest city. In addition to its overall position among just over 200 cities with populations between 100,000 and 350,000, Stamford placed second among small cities for connectivity, just behind Jersey (New Jersey) and ahead of Newark, Yonkers, Paterson, Elizabeth, and Sunnyvale, Hayward, Fremont and Vallejo in California.

The city also placed ninth for economic potential in the analysis and report released this week by a division of the Financial Times.  The top cities in that category included Sunnyvale, Bellevue, Fremont, Irvine, Cary, Ann Arbor, Waterloo (Ontario), Plano and Chattanooga.

The 2017-18 rankings for the American Cities of the Future were developed by the Financial Times’ FDI unit, which studies foreign direct investment.  In total, 421 locations were analyzed for the study. Data was then collected under five categories: Economic Potential, Business Friendliness, Human Capital and Lifestyle, Cost Effectiveness and Connectivity. ‘Small’ locations (209 locations) had immediate city populations of between 100,000 and 350,000, according to the study’s methodology.

“This is really good news for Stamford,” Joe McGee, vice president of public policy for The Business Council of Fairfield County, told the Stamford Advocate. “This index is closely watched by people who look at the hot places to invest, and clearly Stamford is one of those places. That connection to New York is really advantageous to Stamford.”

Among larger cities, the top 10 in the Americas are New York, San Francisco, Houston, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Boston, Atlanta, and Sao Paulo.

A year ago, Stamford  launched the City’s new business portal,  Stamfordbusinessportal.org, created "to eliminate red tape and streamline the process for planning and starting a small business in Stamford," according to officials.  The multilingual website was designed and created by six interns during the summer of 2015, including four from the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program. The website includes links for permitting and licensing, starting a business and business incentives.

Stamford was the only Connecticut city to earn a spot on the lists.