CT Ranked 14th Among Smaller States for Small Business Activity; MA Is 2nd Among Large States

Small business activity is on the rise in 49 of the 50 U.S. states, according to a new report from the Kauffman Foundation. The report provides a broad index measure of small local business activity, analyzing the states in peer groups of the 25 largest states by population and the 25 smallest states by population.  Connecticut ranked 14^th among the smaller 25 states, for the second consecutive year, and was the lowest-ranked New England state. The density of established small businesses per 100,000 residents increased slightly from the previous year, from 1,147.3 to 1,167.4 in 2015.  Established small businesses are defined in the study as businesses over the age of five employing at least one, but less than fifty, employees.  The rate of small business ownership also grew slightly in Connecticut, from 6.14 percent to 6.34 percent.

Demographic trends for Connecticut noted in the report indicate an increase in native-born small business ownership, and upticks in the percentage of small businesses led by Latinos, 55 to 64 year-olds, 35-44 year-olds, high school graduates and college graduates.  More small businesses are run by men than women.

Overall, what the report describes as “Main Street entrepreneurial activity – an indicator of the number of established small businesses and the number of business owners in a location – experienced a large increase in 2015, reversing a six-year downward and stagnant trend in the U.S.”

"Following a post-recession downward and stagnant trend in small business activity, we're now seeing Main Street Entrepreneurship begin to rise," said E.J. Reedy, director in Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation. "This obviously is good news given that these small businesses make up 63 percent of all employer firms nationally."

The Kauffman Index: Main Street Entrepreneurship State Trends report includes these findings:

Among the 25 largest states, the five states with the highest activity were Minnesota, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. Among the 25 smallest states, the states with the highest activity were Vermont, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Iowa, Oregon, Idaho, and Kansas.

Insights on business owner demographics for the 25 smallest states, including Connecticut:

• States with the highest rates of female business owners were Vermont, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and South Dakota.
• States with the highest rates of older adult business owners (ages 55-64) were South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Montana and Nebraska.
• States with the highest rates of young adult business owners (ages 20-34) were South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Vermont.

Tennessee is the only state that did not show an increase in established small business activity in 2015 compared with 2014.

The new Main Street Entrepreneurship Index is an indicator of small business activity, presenting trends over the past two decades, focusing on established small businesses (firms older than five years with less than 50 employees) and trends in ownership rates. The Index measures business activity along two distinct and complementary dimensions: the rate of business owners in the economy – the percentage of adults owning a business in a given month, and established small business density – the ratio of established small employer businesses compared to population.

The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship is the first and largest index tracking entrepreneurship across city, state and national levels for the United States, and also presents demographic characteristics of the business owners.

In a companion study and report, focusing on the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, Small business activity is on the rise 38 of the top 40 largest metropolitan areas, the top five metropolitan areas for small business activity as measured by the Index were New York, Boston, Providence, San Francisco and Portland.  The report on metropolitan areas noted that “the one to experience the biggest increase in rankings was Providence, which moved up three spots to tie with Boston for second place in the 2015 Index.”

Health Care Seen as Economic Driver in Connecticut, Propelling Growth

The first thought that comes to mind when someone mentions health care is likely not “economic driver.”  If a new marketing initiative by the Connecticut Health Council succeeds, that may be changing. Newly launched in January 2016, the Connecticut Health Council's "Did You Know" campaign is a multichannel content marketing program designed to raise awareness of the health sector's importance as an economic and employment driver in Connecticut. The initiative highlights data that may have escaped widespread attention across the state, with the aim of “promoting Connecticut as a center of health excellence.”

The campaign includes a series of informational posters, now on display at the State Legislative Office Building in Hartford through the end of January, along with “traditional print and broadcast media content, social media alerts, and thought leadership.”  Among the stats highlighted:

• The healthcare sector in Connecticut has grown 12.5% over the past seven years, and now employs 266,400 people.
• There are 20,434 registered healthcare employers in the State of Connecticut.
• From 2007 to 2014, healthcare and social services was the fourth fastest growing employment category in the state.
• Connecticut’s healthcare sector generated $29.6 billion in estimated total before-tax revenue in 2012.

In addition, the marketing campaign also highlights that thee of the top 10 fastest growing companies headquartered in Connecticut in 2014 were healthcare related companies, and that Connecticut’s healthcare sector has the fifth highest number of sole proprietorships of any sector in the state, with the seventh highest revenues. Connecticut’s “unique base of health sector assets” include health insurance companies, hospitals, medical schools, research capacity, and specialty practices, according to the organization’s website.

Founded in 2012 by the MetroHartford Alliance, the Connecticut Health Council is an association of health sector leaders who work to advance the development of businesses, initiatives and technology that improve health care and wellness both nationally and in the State.  The organization, which currently has 90 partners, fosters “collaboration, education, entrepreneurship and networking among leaders of for-profit and non-profit health sector entities.”

Speaking at this month’s Economic Summit & Outlook in Hartford, Oz Greibel, President & CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, spoke to the need to highlight the data at the State Capitol, where the info-posters are on display.  “(The campaign) is based on the notion of the health sector as an economic and employment driver – and a place for additional capital investment.  Making sure that people at the legislature understand the importance of this sector, and that the actions that they take can be either helpful or detrimental, to long-term growth.”

The Council's primary activity is to host programs focused on health sector topics that feature speakers of regional, national and international renown, the website points out. The Council also provides “a forum for a robust network of experts, professionals and other parties interested in promoting Connecticut as a center of health excellence and the health sector as a primary driver of economic and employment growth in our State.”

As Greibel described it, the Council’s activities are designed specifically “to leverage the extraordinary resources we have in Connecticut in the health care disciplines.”

Highlighting the impact of the state’s hospitals, the Council points out that Connecticut hospitals provide jobs to 55,000 full-time employees and spend $4.2 billion on goods and services.  Overall, Connecticut hospitals contribute $21.9 billion annually to the state and local economies.

The Connecticut Health Council is co-chaired by Marty Gavin, President & CEO of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and Bob Patricelli, Chairman & CEO of Women’s Health USA.  The executive director is Amy Cunningham.

GE Leaves Wisconsin for Canada, Blames Government; Cuts Thousands of Former Alstom Jobs Across Europe

Virtually unnoticed amidst the attention given to the months long saga of GE’s decision to move its corporate headquarters from Fairfield was another relocation by the company – this time not only leaving a state, but the United States.  And in that instance as well as the latest decision, government was cited as a reason for the departure. Less than four months ago, GE announced it was leaving Waukesha, Wisconsin for Canada, and moving 350 jobs north of the border.  GE closed a long-time engine manufacturing plant in Wisconsin and announced plans to invest $265 million to build a new one in Canada in order to take advantage of Canadian export credit financing.  The new plant was expected to be completed in 20 months and was described by GE as “a flexible production facility that can expand over time and also support manufacturing requirements for other GE businesses.”

The company said the new state-of-the-art plant in Canada and will be a flexible facility that can expand over time and also support manufacturing requirements for other GE businesses. GE notified employees in Waukesha and more than 400 U.S. suppliers of its plans. In Wisconsin alone, suppliers generated almost $47 million in revenue from the plant, GE said at the time.

“We know these announcements will have regrettable impact not only on our employees but on the hundreds of U.S. suppliers we work with that cannot move their facilities, but we cannot walk away from our customers,” said John Rice, Vice Chairman, GE, when the Wisconsin move was announced.

The blame, according to a GE news release, rested on Congress, which allowed the nation’s Export-Import Bank to cease functioning.  Last week, in an effort to break a political logjam in the Republican-controlled Congress, the White House announced it would nominate a Republican to lead the agency.

When the company announced its decision to leave Wisconsin for an unnamed Canadian city, it pointed the finger squarely at Congress:

“GE is currently bidding on $11 billion of projects that require export financing. While more than 60 other countries have export credit agencies (ECAs) that support domestic manufacturing for export, the US does not. The authorization for the U.S. export credit agency – the Export-Import Bank, or Ex-Im – lapsed on July 1. For the last year, exporters and suppliers have called upon Congress to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank to support manufacturing jobs and level the playing field for U.S. companies that compete globally. Most countries are hungry for manufacturing and export jobs. The U.S. remains the only major economy in the world without an export bank.”

The headquarters move to Boston was not GE’s only major announcement this week.  The company also announced plans to cut 6,500 jobs in Europe as it moves to integrate Alstom SA’s power business and push through cost savings from the acquisition, made last year.  The acquisition included facilities in Windsor and Bloomfield in Connecticut, including about 1,000 jobs.  No word on whether cuts may be coming there as well.  Published reports indicated that GE has not yet announced how many jobs it could eliminate in the Americas, Africa and Asia, where it is also working to integrate Alstom’s operations with its own power business.

Award-Winning Start-Up Accelerator to Launch Largest Class of Social Enterprises, Fledgling Businesses

When the Hartford-based Social Enterprise Trust, known as reSET, was among the winners of the U.S Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Competition last year – the only Connecticut organization to do so and one of 80 nationwide – it was not known what earning that designation, and  the $50,000 that came with it, would mean for reSET’s Impact Accelerator program. Now, the picture is becoming clearer – and boosting Hartford’s reputation as a city for socially committed entrepreneurial start-up businesses.  The expanding initiative is attracting not only home grown companies, but start-ups from elsewhere across the country, including as far away as California.

Tailored for impact-driven businesses but available to all early-stage ventures, reSET’s Impact Accelerator, now beginning its fourth year, has as its primary objective to test and hone entrepreneurs’ models, and to connect them to networks, mentors, customers, and resources.

A cohort of 22 businesses have been accepted to the program and most of their models are impact focused, serving the educational technology, health and health tech, energy, and agriculture industries. More than 60 percent of them are already generating revenue.  It is the largest group of companies to take part in the accelerator program at reSET, and the first to include a handful of out-of-state participants.

Running from January 20 to June 2, reSET’s accelerator will feature a more flexible program designed for busy, full-time entrepreneurs, as well as a ‘pay what you can’ model.  Entrepreneurial teams will attend five weekend summits, with 30+ optional workshops, mentor office hours, and consultations with an Entrepreneur in Residence conducted during the week.

At program’s end, a $25,000 accelerator funding pool will be available to the cohort, and they'll have priority access to reSET’s investment fund as well, via mentors and advisors that can help them put their best foot forward with their applications, according to reSET officials.

The 2016 cohort includes: Agyncy (www.agyncy.com), AmRide (www.amride.com), Asarasi (www.asarasi.com), BLT Robotics (www.bltrobotics.com), Doors to Explore (www.doorstoexplore.com), DopaFit (www.mydopafit.com), Enviro Power, LLC (www.enviropowertec.com), Keep Sight (www.keepsight.com), Lion’s Heart (www.lionsheartservice.org), Mivy (www.mivyapp.com), Movia Robotics (www.moviarobotics.com), Muni (www.muni.info), myHomeProNetwork (https://myhomepronetwork.com), Plucked (www.pluckedadmissions.org), RepVisits (www.repvisits.com), ScripFlip (www.scriptflip.org), SnapSeat (www.snapseatbooths.com), Tainted Inc. (www.tainted-beauty.com), Text Engine (www.textengine.info), The TubieGuard (the-tubieguard.myshopify.com), Trekeffect (https://trekeffect.com), and Untapped Potential (www.upotential.org).

“We’ve made a strategic shift with our accelerator model so it can accommodate more participants at one time, which we feel will really encourage more collaboration,” said Rosie Gallant, reSET’s Director of Programs. “The shift will help tee up the accelerator for our annual Impact Challenge as well, since the program will wrap in the spring right around when applications will open for the competition in which participants will vie for this year’s $100,000 prize purse.”

reSET is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the social enterprise sector.  Its strategic goals are threefold: to be the “go-to” place for impact entrepreneurs, to make Hartford the Impact City, and Connecticut the social enterprise state.  reSET aims to inspire innovation and community collaboration, and to support entrepreneurs in creating market-based solutions to community challenges.  reSET’s goal is to meet entrepreneurs wherever they are in their trajectory and to help them take their businesses to the next level.

Health Care Providers, Insurers Need to Collaborate to Improve Care, Rein in Costs

When Eric Schultz began his keynote remarks, the President and CEO of Massachusetts-based Harvard Pilgrim Health Care made sure to alert his audience to his homegrown pedigree.  Whether his youth in the Naugatuck Valley, college years (five of them) at UConn, or graduate work at Yale contributed to Harvard Pilgrim’s more-than-solid inaugural years doing business in Connecticut isn’t certain, but the above-expectations numbers are indisputable.  And Schmitt made clear that his nonprofit health insurance company is looking for even greater achievements in his home state. Since entering the Connecticut market in the summer of 2014, the company has been aggressively growing its customer base in a competitive market while working diligently to grow and expand its network of doctors.  Harvard Pilgrim Health Care announced recently that its Connecticut membership has grown to more than 24,000, exceeding expectations for 2015. It now serves more than 800 Connecticut businesses.  Twenty-nine of the state’s 30 hospitals are now in-network.

With more than 500 business leaders in attendance at an annual Economic Summit & Outlook last week, brought together by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and MetroHartford Alliance, Schmitt spent some time touting a new model launched in the state of New Hampshire that he believes may be a glimpse into the direction the industry is moving. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care’s footprint in New England now covers “where 90 percent of New Englanders live,” in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire. 

Schultz, who succeeded now-Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in leading the organization five years ago, pointed to what he described as “a practical example of how an insurance company and groups of providers can work together to get control of medical cost trends and to help improve medical outcomes and help create better experiences for physicians and their patients.”

The goals, Shultz explained, are to reduce insurance premium trends by 10 to 15 percent, to improve clinical outcomes, to create a better “practice environment” for medical staff and to grow business.  The partnership is driven to “produce something that’s better than what we have today, because we know the financing of health care is largely broken in the U.S.”

Launched in October 2015 and in business as of January 1, Benevera Health, a joint venture led by senior leadership at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Dartmouth-Hitchcock, is a population health company, centered around “clinical and medical informatics.”  Dartmouth-Hitchcock, a nonprofit academic health system that serves a patient population of 1.2 million in New Hampshire and Vermont, is led by Dr. James Weinstein, recently named as one of “100 Physician Leaders to Know” by a national health care trade publication.

“We are combining insurance data with clinical data,” Schultz said, “from their electronic medical records and our claims system, and creating a very powerful source of information.”  That information, he stressed, could be used to better understand what’s happening in regards to patient care, and it can help to redesign and improve clinical care.  This has the potential to be especially important in chronically ill patients, noting that 10 percent of patients drive 50 percent of health care costs.  “It is a great financial opportunity and a great clinical opportunity.”

“The magic,” Shultz noted, is in having the provider and the payer sit down together and figure out” what should be done.  Too often in the past, he said, providers and insurers haven’t gotten together – a lack of cooperation and collaboration that contributes to higher costs and to disconnects regarding patient care.  His expectation is the Benevera will “reduce headaches” that insurance companies often cause providers, reduce duplication and costs, and improve patient care. 

In fact, when the new venture was launched last fall, officials from the two companies stressed that the groundbreaking entity, “will take health care coordination to a new level by bringing together clinical, financial and operational data from across partner institutions to provide actionable analytics for clinicians to further improve the quality and efficiency of patient care.”  They added that  “at the center of this approach will be locally-based care advocates who will identify early opportunities to engage patients – especially those with chronic, complex or emerging conditions - and provide them with one-on-one support.”

Schultz noted that insurance companies tend to resist providers suggesting how insurance plans ought to be designed.  He disagrees with that resistance.  “If more insurers took more input from providers on plan design, we’d be a lot better off.”

Harvard Pilgrim is the only not-for-profit, regional health plan operating in four contiguous New England states.  Harvard Pilgrim’s flagship health plans in New England provide health coverage to 1.3 million members, while another 1.4 million individuals are served through Health Plans, Inc., a subsidiary that provides integrated care management, health coaching and plan administration solutions to self-funded employers nationwide.  Schultz holds an MBA in Health Care Leadership from Yale University’s School of Management, as well as a bachelor of science degree in biology and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Connecticut.

“We’re about change and driving change,” Schultz told those attending the Hartford summit, “and I believe we need to do more of that.”  He’s hoping to build a similar structure in Connecticut, and in other states around the country, because “it’s exactly what we need to do.”

Link to CT-N video of Economic Summit & Outlook.

Income Inequality in CT's 4th Congressional District is 4th Largest Gap in Nation; 2nd District Has Least Income Inequality in State

Connecticut’s 4th Congressional district, centered in Fairfield Country, has been ranked as the district with the 4th highest level income inequity in the nation.  A year ago, the 4^th C.D. was ranked fifth. A ranking of congressional districts of by their level of income inequality, conducted by Bloomberg, uses the Gini coefficient, a formula that measures the distribution of income across a population. The closer a Gini number is to 1, the greater the level of inequality; the closer to zero, the closer to perfect equality. The average score for the United States was 0.4804.

All of Connecticut’s Congressional Districts, with the exception of the Fourth District, did better than the national average in the degree of income inequality.

Bloomberg Businessweek has previously pointed out that the U.S. congressional districts with the most inequality share certain traits: “they contain a small, enormously wealthy elite surrounded by impoverished neighbors.” Most of the districts with the greatest disparity are located in or near major urban metropolitan areas.

The greatest income inequality in the most recent analysis indicated that the Congressional Districts with the most income inequality are Pennsylvania’s 2^nd District, New York’s 10^th District, and Florida’s 27^th District.  Following Connecticut’s 4^th District on the list are Illinois; 7^th District, and three additional Congressional Districts in New York – the 12^th, 7^th and 16^th.  Rounding out the 10 C.D.’s with the most income inequality are Ohio’s 11^th District and Georgia’s 5^th District.

In Connecticut’s 4^th Congressional District, which includes Bridgeport, the state’s largest city, as well as the communities often referred to as the “Gold Coast,” 59.3 percent of the population has household income in the highest quintile, while 6.7 percent of households have income below the poverty level.

Connecticut’s 5^th Congressional District (.4810) ranked number 88 on the list of Congressional Districts with the most income inequality among residents.  The state’s 3^rd Congressional District (.4792) ranked at number 95, and the 1^st C.D. (.4631) at number 175.  Much later in the rankings, Connecticut’s 2^nd District (.4261) came in at number 387, indicating it is the C.D. in Connecticut with the least income inequality.

The Gini coefficient, which is calculated by the U.S. Census from household income share by quintiles, was used to measure distribution of wealth. It ranges from zero, which reflects absolute equality, to one, complete inequality. The data was updated in November 2015, using 2014 data.  In 2014, a person living alone making less than $12,071 was classified as in poverty. The threshold increases for each additional household member and varies by the number of adults and children in each household.

CT Start-Up Wins MassChallenge, Takes Home $300,000 to Advance Work in Glucose Monitoring

Connecticut-based Biorasis, with roots at UConn, was recently awarded the MassChallenge’s top prize at their annual awards ceremony in Boston.  The company was one of only four “Diamond Winners,” receiving a cash prize of $100,000. They were also one of two teams to receive the Sidecar Award, providing an additional $200,000 in non-dilutive funding. Biorasis Inc. is a rapidly growing medical device company committed to advancing the field of metabolic monitoring through development of implantable biosensor platforms and basic research in the areas of drug delivery, nanotechnology and microelectronics.  The company’s goal is to vastly improve the quality of life of diabetics.

The technology developed by Biorasis, the Glucowizzard™, is an ultra-small implantable biosensor for continuous, reliable glucose monitoring. This needle-implantable device wirelessly transmits glucose levels to a watch-like unit for real-time display, which in turn communicates with personal digital accessories like a smartphone. Continuous metabolic monitoring “holds great potential to provide an early indication of various body disorders and diseases,” the company website explains, adding that Biorasis’ implantable multi-sensor platform is “capable of such real-time, continuous monitoring.”

Biorasis is in the business of developing a miniaturized, hypodermic-injectable biosensor for reliable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with autonomous operation for 3-6 months that requires no user intervention.

Their solution “eliminates surgery for sensor implantation and extraction, restores active life style, enables remote care for juveniles and the elderly, enhances compliance, and saves 50-70% in annual healthcare costs.”

The company’s co-founders and scientific advisors are:

• Faquir Jaina, a Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Connecticut. He has over 35 years of experience in design, modeling and fabrication of micro/opto-electronic devices, integrated circuits and multiple quantum-well light valves/modulators.
• Fotios Papadimitrakopoulos, a Professor of Chemistry and Associate Director of the Institute of Materials Science at University of Connecticut. He has over 20 years of experience in the areas of polymers, nano/bio-systems and supramolecular assembly of nanostructures.

The company continues to grow, and their scientific team is currently expanding. The Biorasis website indicates that the company is seeking individuals with “a proven track record and experience in the areas of medical devices, electrochemistry, polymer science, pharmaceutics, animal studies, microelectronics and device packaging.” Inquiries can be directed to Biorasis at the UCONN Technology Incubation Program in Storrs.  Additional investors are also being sought.

MassChallenge, an independent nonprofit organization, envisions “a creative and inspired society in which everyone recognizes that they can define their future, and is empowered to maximize their impact.” They note that “novice entrepreneurs require advice, resources and funding to bring their ideas to fruition. Currently there is a gap between the resources these entrepreneurs need and the ability of the entrepreneurial ecosystem to provide them.” To bridge that gap, the organization’s primary activities include running an annual global accelerator program and startup competition, documenting and organizing key resources, and organizing training and networking events.  They “connect entrepreneurs with the resources they need to launch and succeed immediately.”

CT is a Top-10 State in Energy Efficiency, Recent Growth of Solar Power Capacity

An annual ranking from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) rated Connecticut among the top ten energy-efficient states in the country along with Massachusetts, California, Vermont, Rhode Island, Oregon, Maryland, Washington, and New York, with Minnesota and Illinois tied for 10th place. Connecticut was noted for its financial incentives and energy efficiency investments. The state  ranked 6th in the 2015 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, the same position it held in 2014. The state also earned the same number of points as it did in 2014, totaling 35.5 points out of 50.

According to the report, “Connecticut’s leadership is committed to pursuing policies that encourage energy efficiency within the state, although processes like building code adoption have moved relatively slowly in recent years. Connecticut has put significant resources behind the launching of its green bank. While there are signs of early success, these projects will need to be closely tracked as other states look to Connecticut as an example. Connecticut will need to realize even higher levels of savings in the future in order to remain in the top tier and meet state energy savings targets.”

Connecticut earned 15 out of 20 points for its utility policies and programs, 6 points out of a possible 10 points for transportation policies, 5 points out of 7 for its building energy code stringency and compliance efforts, earned 3 points out of 4 for its combined heat and power policies and programs, 5.5 out of 7 points for state-led energy efficiency initiatives, and 1 point out of 2 for appliance standards.

At the bottom of the list were Mississippi, South Dakota, Louisiana, Wyoming and North Dakota.

The ACEEE also developed a similar rating system for the nation’s largest cities, ranking the top 50.  Leading the list were Boston, New York City, Washington, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, Austin and Denver.  The only Connecticut city to crack the top 50, Hartford, ranked at number 45.  Connecticut’s Capitol City earned 23 points out of a possible 100, in an analysis that included local government operations, community-wide initiatives, building policies, energy & water utilities, and transportation.

The report noted that “policymakers, regulators, and citizens are increasingly recognizing that energy efficiency is a crucially important resource. States and localities are leading the way when it comes to implementing energy-efficient policies and programs.”

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization, acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. The organization believes that “the United States can harness the full potential of energy efficiency to achieve greater economic prosperity, energy security, and environmental protection for all its people.”

Another  recent study, “Lighting the Way III: The Top States that Helped Drive America’s Solar Energy Boom in 2014,” by the research and policy arm of Environment Connecticut finds Connecticut ranks 10th nationally for solar power capacity per capita installed in 2014, with 13 watts of solar electric capacity per person installed last year. Nevada led all of the states in 2014, with 119 watts per capita, according to the study. Part of this success is credited to supportive state policymaking.  The organization points out that “solar power has tripled in the U.S. in the last two years, with another American family or business going solar every four minutes.  That’s in part because the price of solar has dropped more than 50 percent since 2011.”

They add that “research shows the cities and states with the most solar power aren’t necessarily the ones with the most sunshine; they also include states with smart pro-solar policies.  States like Connecticut have outpaced sunnier locales like Florida because of policies that allow increasing numbers of homeowners, businesses, communities and utilities to go solar.”

olar power in Connecticut has grown 221 percent per Capita since 2012, ranking the state 13th in the nation, the report points out. The top solar growth states in the nation, like Connecticut, have adopted renewable energy requirements, strong laws allowing solar customers to sell their excess power to the electric grid, and other policies encouraging growth of the industry, the report indicates.  The industry is also adding jobs much faster than the overall economy, employing 1,600 people in Connecticut last year, according to www.solarstates.org

“Demand for solar power in Connecticut is growing exponentially,” said Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank. “Consumers continue to demand solar power despite a 70 percent reduction in state incentives. In fact, increased private investment has enabled the market to offer lease and loan products that deliver immediate positive cash flow to consumers. This makes solar PV a cleaner, cheaper and more reliable alternative."

Bipartisan legislation signed by Governor Malloy earlier this year lays a foundation for continued growth of solar power, and jobs, in Connecticut, Environment Connecticut points out, citing the stated goal of building enough residential solar systems to power over 40,000 homes in the state by 2022.

Economic Divide Evident in Comprehensive Statewide Survey; Residents Generally Happy in CT, But 1/3 Face Barriers, Financial Challenges

The largest-ever quality of life survey of Connecticut residents, conducted during the past six months,  has found that four out of five adults report feeling happy and satisfied with where they live; but one-third of adults report just barely or not getting by financially.  The disparities in quality of life across the state’s population were a constant running through the survey results. In-depth interviews were completed with 16,219 randomly-selected adults in every Connecticut city and town. Although Connecticut does well when compared to national and international averages of health, income, and education, survey officials said, results reflect that disparities are still great, with a sizeable share of residents continuing to face significant barriers to economic success, safety, health, and other critical aspects of well-being.

The 2015 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey, which asked more than 100 questions of survey respondants, created a detailed portrait of social and economic conditions in towns throughout Connecticut and adjacent sections of New York State.  DataHaven, a non-profit group leading the collection and study of neighborhood-level public data on key social and economic trends, undertook the survey with assistance from Sienna College in New York. It is said to be the most intensive effort of its kind in the United States, according to the survey’s leaders.  Among the key findings:

• 74% of men and 75% of women in Connecticut report feeling mostly or completely happy during the previous day. However, this measure varied widely by income, ranging from 53% among adults earning less than $15,000 per year to 89% among adults earning $200,000 or more.
• Although official unemployment rates have fallen substantially since 2012, 14% of Connecticut workers are still considered “under-employed,” meaning that they have no job and would like to work or they are currently working part-time but would prefer to have a full-time job. Within the Greater New Haven region, the “under-employment” rate among workers fell from 21% in 2012 to 13% in 2015.
• Two-thirds (66%) of Connecticut residents say that they are either doing alright or living comfortably when asked how they are managing financially these days. However, 11% are finding it difficult or very difficult, and an additional 21% say that they are just getting by.
• Many in Connecticut still struggle to afford food, adequate housing, and reliable transportation. One out of every ten adults identifying as white or Asian-American, and one out of every four adults identifying as African-American or Latino, reported that they did not have enough money to buy food for themselves or their family at some point during the past 12 months – in some cases, facing this situation almost every month of the year. About 6% of adults reported that they did not have enough money to provide adequate housing for themselves or their family, and 13% reported a lack of reliable transportation, at some point in the past year.

“The purpose of the DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey is to produce the highest-quality, neighborhood-level information on issues that are most meaningful to local residents,” explained Mark Abraham, Executive Director of DataHaven.  Abraham also pointed out that “the initiative is helping to strengthen collaborations between dozens of organizations and agencies that are working together to measure social progress and improve population well-being at the statewide and local levels.” The metrics in the survey complement traditional statistics on topics such as employment, personal income, reported crimes, tax base, and industry output.

More than 50 of Connecticut’s leading foundations, hospitals, community institutions, and government agencies have supported the survey initiative.  Major funders are located in Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Waterbury, New Britain, Norwalk, Danbury, Greenwich, Middletown, Derby, Bristol, Norwich, New London, Manchester and other cities across the state.

The survey also found that residents of some urban neighborhoods have substantially lower rates of overall satisfaction with where they live as well as much greater concerns about government responsiveness, police effectiveness, and public services. On the other hand, cities such as Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and New Haven have relatively higher proportions of adults who are optimistic that their neighborhood is improving, and residents of higher-income neighborhoods within these city centers are in some cases significantly more satisfied with local quality of life than the average resident.

"The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy along with other funding partners invested in the first ever statewide Community Wellbeing Survey, a scientific survey of the state’s entire adult population that will provide timely, powerful knowledge about our communities and enable us to better know the people and places we care about,” added Maggie Osborn, President of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy.

In a departure from most statewide and national surveys, officials said, the DataHaven program brings together existing grassroots efforts across the state – effectively unifying more than a dozen pre-existing regional or local surveys into a single, high-quality effort that now covers all areas in Connecticut. The power of the survey results was greatly enhanced both by the number of respondents, as well as by having the same questions being asked of respondents in many different areas.

DataHaven designed its 2015 Community Wellbeing Survey with the support of nearly 100 local government, academic, health-care, and community partners as well as a panel of epidemiologists and survey research experts. The 20-minute survey, conducted by the Siena College Research Institute (SRI) in Loudonville, New York, involved landline and cell phone interviews with nearly 17,000 randomly-selected adults throughout Connecticut and adjacent sections of Westchester County between April and October, 2015.

Sciences at Southern Get Dynamic New Home; Local Companies Help Along the Way

Students attending Southern Connecticut State University this semester are the first to use the campus’ new Academic Science & Laboratory Building, opened this fall, with local companies playing an integral role from design and construction to providing scientific equipment for the new facility. Officials say Southern's ongoing expansion of its science programs has been greatly enhanced with the construction of the 103,608-square-foot, four-level academic and laboratory science building. Situated adjacent to Jennings Hall, the existing home for the sciences on the New Haven campus, the new building extends the university’s capacity to educate more students in the STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The new science building also features a high-performance computing lab for research in theoretical science, bioinformatics, and computer science, two aquaria, and six rooftop telescope stations.  A collaboration between Southern and PerkinElmer, based in Massachusetts and with offices in Shelton, has also provided a boost. Equipment includes several analytical instruments to improve research capabilities and provide students with opportunities to do cutting-edge work.

Configured in the shape of an “L,” the new building works in concert with two pre-existing science buildings — Jennings and Morrill halls — to enclose a new “science enclave.” With very visible scientific displays and instrumentation inside and outside the building, the new center has quickly assumed a symbolic as well as actual role for the sciences on campus.

Embracing innovative sustainable design, it houses teaching and research training laboratories for nanotechnology, physics and optics, the earth sciences, the environmental sciences, cancer research, astronomy, molecular biology and chemistry.

“Built to the latest standards in sustainability, this signature building will truly enhance our ability to foster the next generation of Connecticut scientists,” Southern president Mary A. Papazian said at last month’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Werth Center for Marine and Coastal Studies –named in honor of the Werth family following a $3 million gift from the Werth Family Foundation -- is housed on the second floor.  The center will have several new labs, including an analytic lab (where mercury levels can be determined) and a sediment coastal science lab (where levels of sediment can be tested).

The Center for Nanotechnology will be located on the ground floor, where the laboratory space is designed to isolate the building's vibrations -- considered important when dealing with microscopic materials.  A saltwater aquaria room with a touch tank is featured in the new building, providing a “centerpiece of outreach to area schools and the community.”

The building includes expanded wings for Earth Science, Environmental Science, Molecular Biology, Chemistry, and Physics teaching and research laboratories.  There are scientific displays throughout, illustrating the research interests of faculty and the students, including a replica of a nanotube — a focal point in the center of the building.  Rain water collection, which is being used to water the science quad and faculty garden was also integrated into the design. Designed for LEED Silver certification, many sustainable design features can be seen throughout the building’s footprint.

PerkinElmer delivered instruments and services “designed to help improve human and environmental health,” Christine Broadbridge, SCSU’s director of science, technology, engineering and math initiatives, recently told the Fairfield County Business Journal. “At Southern, we are proud to have a strong relationship with PerkinElmer, an important leader of business and science here in Connecticut.”

Ted Gresik, senior director of PerkinElmer, expressed his appreciation in being given the opportunity to work with Southern and accelerating its science through access to its innovative technologies.  At the ribbon-cutting, he said “We recognize the opportunity for Southern Connecticut State University and Perkin Elmer to work together on research, and technology initiatives toward developing programs where students can acquire a diverse set of scientific and technical skills which will facilitate a transition to career opportunities within the science industry.”

Plans for the new Academic Science & Laboratory Building at Southern began back in 2007 with a comprehensive 10-year capital improvement plan, dubbed CSUS 2020, for upgrading the four institutions of the Connecticut State University System.  Approved by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the plan was developed during the administration of Chancellor David G. Carter.  It included upgrades and repairs to existing facilities, as well as construction of a new Visual & Performing Arts Center at Western Connecticut State University, which opened in September 2014, a new academic and classroom building at Central Connecticut State University, which opened two years ago, and a Fine Arts Instructional Center at Eastern Connecticut State University, scheduled to open early next year.

The Science Building at Southern was designed by Centerbrook Architect and Planners of Centerbrook, CT, with construction by FIP Construction of Farmington.  (see video about the Academic Science & Laboratory Building)