WTIC License Renewed by FCC Following Nearly 3-Year Odyssey

Concluding a process that dragged on for nearly three years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has renewed the broadcast license of Hartford’s WTIC-AM. The FCC action, confirmed to CT by the Numbers, comes three months after a federal appeals court upheld former Gov. John G. Rowland’s conviction for violating federal campaign laws.  Just days after that ruling, the FCC lifted a years-long enforcement hold on the station’s license renewal, which then allowed the agency to consider the long-pending license renewal.

The station’s broadcast license expired 2 ½ years ago, on April 1, 2014.  In accordance with FCC procedures, the station filed a license renewal application on November 27, 2013.  By September 2014, the FCC’s enforcement division placed the renewal application on “enforcement hold.”  It remained on enforcement hold – which precluded consideration of the application – until June of this year.

The license was renewed  on September 13, 2016 for the customary period of eight years, retroactive to the expiration date of the previous broadcast license in 2014.  It comes at a time when CBS Radio, which owns WTIC-AM, is seeking to sell or spin off its radio holdings. The agency’s renewal of the WTIC-AM broadcast license is scheduled to expire on April 1, 2022.

“We’re pleased with the FCC’s decision to renew the station’s license and look forward to many more years of providing the Hartford community with local news and engaging talk radio,” WTIC-AM 1080 Program Director Jenneen Lee said.

At the time that Rowland was accused of secretly accepting pay as a political consultant, he was also an afternoon radio host on WTIC-AM. His use of the airwaves in order to favor the candidate, Lisa Wilson-Foley, whose spouse was paying Rowland at the time, was raised during his trial.  Rowland recently retained a new legal team and appears to be planning to pursue an appeal this fall at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The station could – and did - continue broadcasting while the FCC held the renewal application. Stations in such a status routinely continue to operate without any interruption until a decision on license renewal is made.  As the agency’s Enforcement Bureau considered “an alleged violation of FCC rules,” the agency’s Media Bureau could not proceed with a decision on whether or not to renew the station’s broadcast license.

FCC officials have indicated that most often enforcement holds are instituted due to a complaint being filed that requires investigation, but they would not confirm whether that was true in this instance.  That information is only made available to the licensee or their attorney, according to an FCC official.  Hartford Attorney Ken Krayeske filed an informal objection on October 1, 2014 to WTIC’s broadcast license renewal, alleging that the station “demonstrated serious malfeasance” and “helped conceal violations of federal law.”  The FCC confirmed the receipt of that objection.

Rowland resigned from his drive-time talk show on WTIC-AM in April 2014.  The station currently airs a locally-originated sports talk program in that time slot.

CBS Radio operates 117 radio stations in 26 U.S. markets, including Hartford’s WTIC-AM, WTIC-FM, WRCH-FM, and WZMX-FM.

Leadership Greater Hartford Launches New Brand Identity As 40th Anniversary Approaches

Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH), the region's highly regarded go-to source for tackling community challenges through knowledge and cooperation, has unveiled its new logo and visual identity, which reflects the organization’s growth and prominent role in strengthening community leadership connections. Three pillars, “Community. Leadership. Connections,” informed the design of the organization’s new logo and form the backbone and structure of the new website, www.leadershipgh.org. "We are proud of our past and look forward to the future. While our logo is changing, one thing that will never change is our purpose and mission,” said Ted Carroll, President of Leadership Greater Hartford. “It is important that our brand reflect the organization we have become and where we will continue to be headed in the future - making our communities better and stronger.”

The website points out that “more than 600 employers have enriched the development of their staff and become involved with civic progress; 2500+ students from four dozen schools across the region have gained broader perspectives and wider circles of friends; more than 500 seniors gained the opportunity to continue giving back to the communities they’ve seen undergo so much change in their lifetimes.”

As Leadership Greater Hartford has grown and evolved, broadening participation and developing an array of effective programs and initiatives, the organization notes that the business landscape has changed, including in market demographics, competitive environment, and the acceleration of social media.

LGH will celebrate its 40th anniversary on November 15, with their annual Polaris Awards Gala.  As the organization enters its milestone fortieth year, it is “well-prepared and firmly engaged to be a relevant, forward-thinking resource for the community – both the private and public sectors – for the next 40 years,” officials said, as the website highlights that “our program participants have completed more than 200 community impact projects, we have trained and placed more than 450 individuals on more than 125 nonprofit boards, and program graduates volunteer at a rate of 137% higher than that of the rest of the country.”

The web redesign and visual identity was developed by MRW Connected, Inc. “All of us at MRW Connected engaged with Leadership Greater Hartford in the exciting process of re-branding and re-messaging this important organization in their 40th anniversary year,” explained MRW Connected president and founder Tom Willits.

Officials indicated that LGH staff, organization leadership and Board members, program participants as well as the Greater Hartford community, were involved in the process “to better understand their organizational objectives and accomplishments.  In this way we helped Leadership Greater Hartford realize their goals of creating an updated look and responsive, engaging website that truly represents the inspired leadership development work they do and allows the community-at-large easier access to their programs and their network," Willits added.

Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that supports and strengthens the local community by training and connecting aspiring and established leaders.  The well-known LGH programs for professionals include Quest, Executive Orientation, Hartford Encounters, Leaders on Board and Summit.  Encore Hartford and Third Age Initiative are aimed at late-career individuals and retirees; Common Ground, Leading Off Campus and Summer Nexus are designed for high school and college students.

For more information about how to be a participant or sponsor, or to inquire about customized training with Leadership Greater Hartford, call 860-951-6161 (x1800), email info@leadershipgh.org visit .leadershipgh.org, or follow LGH on Facebook and Twitter @leadershiphtfd.

Opioid Epidemic Leads Conference Marking 100 Years of Public Health in CT

Tackling the opioid epidemic at the federal, state, and local levels will be the focus of the featured panel when the Connecticut Public Health Association (CPHA) celebrates 100 years of public health in Connecticut at the 2016 CPHA annual conference in November. In addition to the expert panel on opioid abuse, there will be more than 30 presenters on public health topics, a presentation on the history of CPHA and public health in the state, and a look forward to the future and innovations on the horizon in health research, policy, and community programs.

“Today, more than ever, the value of public health in saving lives and reducing health care costs is at the forefront of public policy,” the organization’s website points out.  Members represent a wide variety of disciplines, and “are united in the goal of protecting and promoting the public's health.”

Keynote speaker will be Camara P. Jones, MD, MPH, PhD, President of the American Public Health Association (APHA).  Dr. Jones is a research director on social determinants of health and equity in the Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and President of the American Public Health Association (APHA).

She seeks to broaden the national health debate to include not only universal access to high quality health care but also attention to the social determinants of health (including poverty) and the social determinants of equity (including racism). As a methodologist, she has developed new ways for comparing full distributions of data (rather than means or proportions) in order to investigate population-level risk factors and propose population-level interventions.

Opioid abuse has hit record levels in the United States, with drug overdose deaths quadrupling over the last 15 years, the CPHA points out. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Connecticut is experiencing a death rate for drug and opioid overdoses that surpasses the national rate and has reached epidemic proportions.

The conference is being held at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven on November 10.  The theme is “Back to the Future – 100 Years of Public Health in Connecticut and Beyond.” The annual meeting is the oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in Connecticut, attracting hundreds of attendees each year.

“State of Innovation” Specialty License Plate Is Latest to Join List of Choices

Connecticut, with more than 50 special license plates featuring everything from animals to war survivors, now has one more available for purchase by state residents. At the fifth annual Westport Mini Maker Faire earlier this year, it was announced that a new “State of Innovation” license plate was being developed by a non-profit organization, Remarkable STEAM.   The organization has now announced that their design has been approved, and sales of the new plate are underway.

Individuals can transfer an existing plate or obtain a vanity plate.  A portion of the proceeds goes to Remarkable STEAM, Inc, a 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation, best known for the Westport Mini Maker Faire.  Remarkable STEAM initiatives support job creation and educational programs.

State law allows the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue of special background plates on behalf of non-profit organizations. The organization must be non-profit, must submit a copy of the organization's charter or by-laws, provide a letter of good standing from the State of Connecticut Secretary of State’s Office (if required) and supply any Internal Revenue Service ruling on their non-profit tax exemption status.

The logo production and cost incurred will be the responsibility of the organization. The logo prototype design, preferred in PDF format, must be submitted to the DMV. The logo can be no larger than 2 inches wide and 3.5 inches high. DMV has final approval on all the plate and logo designs.

A liaison for the organization must be appointed. This individual will be responsible for all communications with the DMV as well as certifying and authenticating (by signature) each member’s application, submitting the logo design to DMV for approval, submitting 400 applications with the required fee prior to the manufacturing of the special background plates, and submitting a Special Interest Plate disclaimer.

Many organizations in Connecticut offer license plates to their members and the general public.  General categories include animals, colleges, environment, organizations, police and fire, cities and towns, and recreation.

Organization vanity plates include Amistad, Benevolent & Protective Order of the Elks, IUOE Local 478, Grand Lodge of Connecticut, Knights of Columbus, Olympic Spirit, P.T. Barnum Foundation Inc., Preserving Our Past CT Trust for Historic Preservation, Red Sox Foundation, Lions Eye Research Foundation, Special Olympics, Federated Garden Clubs, Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Keep Kids Safe, New England Air Museum and the U.S.S. Connecticut Commissioning Committee.

All fees established and collected pursuant to the United We Stand plate (except moneys designated for the administrative costs of the DMV) shall be deposited in the United We Stand commemorative account.  Funds are directed to the United States Department of State Rewards for Justice program and is used solely to apprehend terrorists and bring them to justice. The account will also be distributed to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management for the purpose of providing financial support and assistance to the former spouses and dependents of persons killed as a result of the acts of terrorism committed on September 11, 2001.

When individuals purchase a Keep Kids Safe plate, a portion of the fee goes to the Keep Kids Safe Fund, which “makes many worthy projects happen for youngsters.”  The fund awards grants to schools, hospitals, municipalities and other non-profit organizations working to make all Connecticut children safer from severe and preventable injuries, according to the DMV website.

In most cases, remake of a current plate is $70; a new vanity plate is $139, a new series plate is $50.  For others, including the UConn Huskies plate, the price tag is somewhat different.  Off-the-shelf license plates cost $55, remake of a current plate is $75, a new vanity plate costs $144, according to the DMV website.

The Support Our Troops plate sends a portion of the fee to provide funding for programs to assist Connecticut troops, their families and veterans. When you buy a Red Sox plate, a portion of the fees support and help fund academic scholarship programs in Connecticut.

Also included are 17 varieties of military specialty plates, including Disabled American Veteran, Gold Star Family, Iwo Jima Survivor, Korean War Veterans Association, Marine Corps League, Laos Veterans of America, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Pearl Harbor 1941, U.S. Submarine Veteran, National Guard Association of Connecticut, First Company Governor’s Foot Guard, First Company Governor’s Horse Guard,

Colleges with designated plates include Central Connecticut State University, Penn State Alumni, University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, and University of New Haven.  Cities with available plates include Meriden, Norwich, and Stafford.

Organizations interested in launching a new special plate, should contact the DMV Special Plate Unit at (860) 263-5154 for further information.

CT Residents Concerns About Health Care Affordability, Job Prospects Increase; More Expect to Leave, Even as Optimism Grows

Nearly two-thirds of Connecticut residents are concerned about the affordability of health insurance, a jump of 12 percentage points in just the past year, and the highest level since the quarterly Inform CT Consumer Confidence Survey began 18 months ago. And slightly more than 4 in 10 Connecticut residents now say it is likely that they will move out of the state within the next five years, reflecting concerns about a lack of jobs, declining business conditions and health insurance costs. Yet, many residents continue to say that Connecticut is a good place to live and raise a family, and some optimism is evident in consumer spending expectations.  The survey found that:

• 41% say it is likely they will make a major consumer expenditure (for furniture or other products) during the next six months.
• 31% say it is likely they will purchase a car in the next six months.
• 71% indicated they expected to take a vacation outside of Connecticut in the next six months.

All are the highest percentages since the quarterly survey began in 2015.

The quarterly survey is released by InformCT, a public-private partnership that provides independent, non-partisan research, analysis, and public outreach to help create fact-based dialogue and action in Connecticut.  Administered by researchers from the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. (CERC) and Smith & Company, the analysis is based on the responses of residents across Connecticut and addresses key economic issues, providing a glimpse of the public’s views.

Despite qualms about the state’s economy, residents are increasingly optimistic about their own financial circumstances.  One-third (32%) say they are better off now than six months ago, and 42 percent believe they will be better off six months from now than they are today.  Both numbers are 5 percentage points higher than they were a year ago.  The overall view of the state’s fiscal picture differs:

• A year ago, 40 percent of those surveyed disagreed with the statement that the Connecticut economy is improving. That percentage has now climbed – one year later – to 49 percent, nearly half the state.
• The percentage who believe that the state’s economy is improving has dropped from 29% a year ago to 23% during the second quarter of this year.
• Residents of New London and Fairfield County most strongly believed that business conditions had improved over the previous six months, with Middlesex, Windham and Litchfield more likely to say that business conditions had worsened.

Increasingly, residents believe that jobs are “very hard to get” in Connecticut compared with six months ago (from about one-quarter to one-third of those surveyed in Q2 2016 versus Q2 2015), and are, in growing numbers, saying they would rather leave than stay.

• A year ago, 32 percent of those surveyed said it was very likely or somewhat likely that they would move out of Connecticut within the next five years.
• A year later, that percentage has climbed by 10 points to 42 percent.

At the same time, about half of those surveyed say that “Connecticut is a good place to live and raise a family” – a number that has remained consistent for the past year and a half.  Only 1 in 4 disagree.  More than half of 18-21 year-olds and 22-25 year olds say they are likely to leave in the next five years; in all other age categories it is less than half, with those age 56-65 the least likely.

Concerns about having “enough money to retire comfortably” have remained steady for six consecutive quarters, with about less than 1 in 4 expressing the opinion that they anticipate having sufficient funds. And 1 in 4 now say it is likely that they will refinance their home or purchase a new home in the next six months, the highest percentage since the quarterly survey began.

With increasing calls for regional support of Hartford and regional approaches to tackling budget challenges, the survey found that an increasing number of residents in Connecticut believe that a range of services “could be effectively delivered regionally.”

Forty-three percent, an increase from 40 percent in the year’s first quarter, answered “all of the above” when asked if education, libraries, public health, public safety and animal control could be provided regionally.  Among those services individually, there was slightly greater support for a regional approach to public safety, slightly less for each of the others.  The largest increase was for “all” of the services.

The question of what residents in the region consider to be the “best way to grow the economy” saw a preference for investing in schools and community features over recruiting companies, by an increasing margin.  In this year’s first quarter, the margin was 52% to 48%. In the most recent quarter that margin had grown by 9 percentage points to 61%-39%, from just over half to more than 6 in 10.

Childcare Costs Continue to Outpace Inflation, Low Income Families Hit Hardest; CT 6th Most Expensive

One of the more notable aspects of the latest data on consumer prices provided this month by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is the striking increase in childcare and nursery school prices.  That data, along with statistics that reflect the impact of those increasing costs on families ability to afford such care, highlight the struggles and disparities that continue to exist, in Connecticut and nationwide. Over the past 25 years, childcare and nursery school costs have risen 177 percent, while prices more generally have risen just 77 percent.  Childcare and nursery school costs have been outpacing general inflation for at least 25 years (the data do not go back any further than 1991);  this is putting a significant strain on the budgets of low-income families.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research points to an August 2014 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that found a two-parent, middle-income family (those making between $62,000 and $107,000 per year) will spend an average of $245,000 (in 2013 dollars) on their kids between the ages of zero and 17.

Significantly, due to rising income inequality, poor families are finding it harder to give their children the same opportunities afforded to rich children, the study points out. At present, families in the top fifth of the income distribution spend seven times as much on their children as families in the bottom fifth.

“This inequality can also be observed for paid leave: about 23 percent of workers in the top tenth of the wage distribution have access to paid family leave, compared to just four percent of workers in the bottom tenth,” the findings show.

Child care in Connecticut, the Economic Policy Institute points out, “is expensive.” Connecticut is ranked 6th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for most expensive infant care.

• The average annual cost of infant care in Connecticut is $13,880—that’s $1,157 per month.
• Child care for a 4-year-old costs $11,502, or $959 each month.

Childcare is also “unaffordable” for a large percentage of Connecticut famiies.  The Economic Policy Institute indicates that infant care for one child would take up 16 percent of a typical family’s income in Connecticut, noting that according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), child care is affordable if it costs no more than 10% of a family’s income. By this standard, only 28.1% of Connecticut families can afford infant care.

A minimum-wage worker in Connecticut would need to work full time for 36 weeks, or from January to September, just to pay for child care for one infant. And a typical child care worker in Connecticut would have to spend 63.6% of her earnings to put her own child in infant care, according to the data.

CEPR points out that other costs for raising children have increased as well, also outpacing the inflation rate. For instance, elementary and high school tuition and fees have risen 3.2 percent over the past year (four times the overall inflation rate of 0.8 percent); college tuition and fees are up 2.7 percent. At the same time, infant care in Connecticut costs $3,752 (37.1%) more per year than in-state tuition for 4-year public college, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), public expenditure on pre-primary education and childcare is just 0.4 percent of GDP in the United States; this is far lower than the rates of spending in Denmark (2.0 percent of GDP) or Iceland and Sweden (1.6 percent). By this measure, the U.S. comes in 33rd out of the 36 countries surveyed by the OECD, according to the CEPR report.

Public expenditure on pre-primary education spending is 0.3 percent of GDP in the U.S. but averages 0.5 percent in the other OECD countries; even more shockingly, public expenditure on childcare is just 0.06 percent of GDP, well short of the 0.4 percent average from the rest of the OECD. Nor do differences in GDP make up for the latter gap.  In 2011, public expenditure on childcare was $794 per child in the U.S., less than one-third of the OECD average. By contrast, public spending on childcare is $7,100 per child in Finland, $6,400 in Norway and Denmark, $5,900 in Sweden, and $5,700 in Iceland — despite the fact that the U.S. is substantially richer than all those countries except Norway.

In a separate survey, the OECD found that just 14 percent of all public spending on children in the U.S. went to children age five and under — dead last among the 32 OECD countries in the sample. In the United States, 14 percent of all public spending on children goes to children ages zero to five; 41 percent goes to children ages six to 11; and 45 percent goes to children ages 12 to 17. For the other 31 countries (data were not available for Canada and Turkey), 26 percent of all public spending on children went to children ages zero to five; 35 percent went to children ages six to 11; and 39 percent went to children ages 12 to 17, the Center for Economic and Policy Research explained.

Americans Moving Less Often, Changing Jobs Less Frequently - Divorce May Be Among Reasons Why, UConn Researcher Says

Surprisingly, Americans are moving far less than they used to, only about half as much as they moved 50 years ago.  And Americans aren’t moving or changing jobs with the frequency of decades past.  Counter-intuitive, but true, according to the mounting data. In the early 1980s, about 17 percent of Americans changed their address each year. Now it’s less than 12 percent. Bigger moves, between different states, have dropped even faster, the Boston Globe reported this month.

“When Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, about one in 10 Americans changed occupations in a given year. As of 2012, it’s more like one in 24,” the Globe reported, citing data from a team of researchers at the Federal Reserve and the University of Notre Dame.

A researcher at the University of Connecticut has developed a theory regarding a key contributing factor to the diminishing moves and job changes.

“I’ve been banging my head against a wall for almost a decade, trying to figure out why migration rates are declining like this,” says Thomas Cooke, professor of geography in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Cooke spent the spring of 2015 in the Department of Demography at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands on a Fulbright fellowship, where he worked on just this problem, UConn Today reported. His research findings give the first direct evidence for one major factor contributing to this trend: divorce and child custody.

“Changes in family complexity, like divorce and child custody, make a big difference for migration,” he told UConn Today.  Cooke’s current work stemmed from the idea that in the 21st century, families are becoming increasingly complex. More women are working, people often live with elderly parents or grandparents, and step-children and cousins often live under the same roof.

Less moving is not good news for the economy, published reports have indicated.

Economists worry that the lower turnover is an indication of stagnation, not stability, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this year. “Workers are staying put because there are fewer better jobs to move to, or they face other barriers that are keeping them locked in their current positions. And with declining job movement may come slower gains in overall employment, wages, productivity and, ultimately, economic growth,” the LA Times reported.

The Globe report suggests that “one big reason people jump between states and careers is because they’re lured away by the promise of higher pay and grander opportunities. The fact that fewer people are moving suggests fewer are getting those life-altering chances.”

The Times reports that experts also blame government policies for suppressing job creation and labor market mobility, whether through taxes or burdensome regulations.  Government restrictions on who can work in which jobs have expanded greatly over time, academic economists Steven Davis and John Haltiwanger, who have written extensively on labor market flows, told the Times. Citing other research, they note that the share of workers required to have a government-issued license to do their jobs rose from less than 5 percent in the 1950s to 29 percent in 2008.

A New York Times report in May, citing data highlighted by the Brookings Institution, indicated that “Fluidity rates varied widely throughout the country, but the Brookings paper found that they declined in every state. Most of the largest drops occurred in the West: Oregon, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Alaska were all in the bottom 10.

States with the most activity included North Carolina, South Carolina, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Illinois – but even these were not as fluid as they used to be, the paper reported.

There are broad adverse economic consequences to the lack of mobility, the Globe reports.  “A recent study authored by two Harvard professors found that poor states are barely gaining any ground. Between 1880 and 1980, income differences among the states tended to shrink about 2 percent a year. This catch-up growth was only half as fast from 1990 and 2010. And if you focus on the few years just before the recession that began in 2008, there was virtually no convergence at all.  Should this trend continue, the gap between rich and poor America may become a permanent feature of economic life,” the newspaper reported.

Cooke focused on child custody following divorce. His analysis confirmed that divorced people with children were even less likely to move than those without children. The findings support the idea that people’s lives are still linked, even if they divorce, Cooke explained.  At the University of Connecticut Cooke has directed both the Urban Studies program and the Center for Population Research. His research focuses on the family dimension of internal migration, and the shifting concentration of poverty. In 2013 he earned the Research Excellence Award from the Population Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers.

Cooke noted that the findings are the first direct evidence of divorce and child custody affecting migration in the U.S. Unlike the ’60s and ’70s, when state divorce proceedings usually awarded custody of children to the mother, joint custody is the norm today, he pointed out.

Combined with other factors affecting migration, such as the ease of telecommuting and the use of technology to communicate with loved ones far away, these divorce factors could spell a new era of rootedness, Cooke predicted.

Officials Seek to Turn State Schools “Red, White and Blue” Starting This Fall

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell have launched what they’re calling the Red, White, and Blue Schools Initiative. The Initiative is a partnership between the State Department of Education and the Office of the Secretary of the State that will reward schools that develop programs that foster strong civic engagement among students. The program is available to all K-12 schools in Connecticut and will begin this fall with the start of the 2016-17 school year.

Each year, a theme will be announced and schools will be encouraged to teach the theme through interdisciplinary activities, whole-school events, extracurricular clubs/activities, student-centered learning and community outreach.

The theme for the first year will be “The Electoral Process,” since the year will include the presidential election, inauguration of the nation’s next president, and the beginning of the next session of Congress, as well as elections for all of Connecticut’s legislative and U.S. House seats and one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats.

“It is critical that we equip young people with the knowledge and perspective it will take to be informed, active citizens in a global society,” Commissioner Wentzell said. “The Red, White, and Blue Schools Initiative encourages schools to think outside the box about ways to engage students more actively in community and government.”

“A presidential election gives us so many opportunities to learn about democracy. Students can learn how voters are registered and polling locations are set up as well as how the votes are counted. What better time to learn about our democracy than an election year?” Secretary of the State Merrill said.  The Republican and Democratic parties will be selecting their presidential nominees this month, at national conventions held in Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Schools that want to participate in the program will have to meet certain criteria to be considered a Red, White, and Blue School. Requirements include integrating lessons about civic engagement into social studies classes and at least two other subjects and holding a whole-school event focused on student engagement, such as a mock election or a student-led candidate forum.

A fact sheet on the new initiative indicates that community outreach will be part of the program, urging that schools “work with local community organizations, business or government entities to increase student knowledge of implications and effects of elections on the community.”

Participating schools will be encouraged to take innovative approaches to teaching civics in the classroom and to consider involving extracurricular activities that promote civic and community engagement.

The new initiative was announced at the Timothy Edwards Middle School in South Windsor in June.  The program timeline calls for schools to complete their electoral process projects by January 2017, with the submission deadline for project material in March and school designations and award winners announced in May.  A website for the program is also planned.

PHOTO: State Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill

Hartford’s Innovation, Manufacturing History Highlighted in Exhibits at Smithsonian and State Capitol

On Wednesday, July 13, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History will make public a special portion of their collection with “Objects Out of Storage: Hartford, CT.”  The special exhibit, led by curator Susan Tolbert and historian Eric Hinz, will take place at noontime in the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation in the nation’s Capitol. Describing Hartford’s prominent manufacturing history, Hinz said “Hartford, CT, is a classic story in the history of American technology. If you have ever wondered why people refer to “Yankee ingenuity,” this is what they are talking about.”  He adds, “In the mid and late 1800s, the United States overtakes Great Britain as the world’s foremost economic superpower, largely on the strength of its prowess in inventing and manufacturing new technologies. Hartford is at the center of that revolution.”

Hartford, described as “one of the birthplaces of American mass production,” is well represented in the ongoing exhibit, Places of Invention, which “takes visitors on a journey through time and place to meet people who lived, worked, played, collaborated, adapted, took risks, solved problems, and sometimes failed—all in the pursuit of something new.”

The exhibit notes that by the 1850’s “Hartford became the center of production for a wide array of products—including firearms by Colt, Richard Gatling and John Browning; Weed sewing machines; Royal and Underwood typewriters; Columbia bicycles; and even Pope automobiles.”

The Lemelson Center is located at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Constitution Avenue between 12th and 14th Street NW, in Washington, DC. The Lemelson Hall of Invention and Innovation is located on the Museum's first floor in its Innovation Wing. In the exhibit, which debuted  last summer, Hartford is featured with Silicon Valley and just four other locations: Hollywood, home of Technicolor; the Medical Alley of Minnesota, where cardiac innovations of the 1950s flourished; the Bronx, N.Y., birthplace of hip-hop in the 1970s; and the current, clean-energy innovations of Ft. Collins, Colo.

Among the featured innovations on display is the bicycle, manufactured for the first time in the United States in Hartford.  As the Smithsonian historian explains, “sensing a commercial opportunity, Albert Pope began importing bicycles from England and hatched a plan to produce them domestically in 1877. Within a year, Pope rode the train from Boston to Hartford, then, ‘to the amazement of the city’s onlookers, rode his high-wheeler from the station down Capitol Avenue to the Weed Sewing Machine Company.’”

The history continues: “Pope approached factory superintendent George Fairfield with a proposal: would Weed agree to build a test run of 50 bicycles under contract? When Fairfield agreed, Pope (via the Weed Sewing Machine Company) became the first domestic manufacturer of bicycles in the United States. By 1895, Pope’s expanded Hartford operations included five factories set on 17 acres, employing 4,000 workers, making him Hartford’s largest employer.” Pope manufactured bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles.

That chapter in Hartford history has recently captured the imagination of a well-known Hartford artist, whose cut-paper recreations of that chapter of the city’s transportation and recreation breakthrough is now available for display, having just completed an exhibition at the Connecticut State Capitol.

Jeanne Manzelli, a resident of Windsor, has a BFA in Sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art and her MED in Art Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her experience includes a 20 year career in design, manufacture, appraisal and sale of jewelry, two decades as mural artist working closely with interior designers as an industry professional, and 14 years teaching basic and advanced drawing, sculpture and 3D design as well as color theory at Tunxis Community College.

Her latest endeavor is a departure, and a salute to an innovation from a century and a half ago. The intricate designs, accompanied by information panels highlighting the history, are now available to be displayed at public facilities, such as schools, libraries, and community centers.  Manzelli looks forward to sharing her work (and is seeking a sponsor to underwrite the exhibit), as well as stimulating a conversation about innovation in Hartford, then and now.

Connecticut is Finalist to Host 2021 Solheim Cup, Prestigious Women’s U.S. vs. Europe Golf Event

Connecticut is in the running to host the 2021 Solheim Cup, often described as the most exciting event in women's professional golf, in what would be a significant coup for the state’s sports fans. The female equivalent of the men’s Ryder Cup, the tournament is held every odd-numbered year and matches the best players from the United States against the best from Europe.

Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield is one of six finalists to host the 2021 Cup, along with Inverness in Toledo, Scioto Country Club outside Columbus, Oak Tree National in Edmond, Okla., Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, and a to-be-determined course in San Antonio, Texas.

The 2017 edition is slated for play at the Des Moines Golf & Country Club on August 14 – 20, 2017.  Scotland recently won the right to host The Solheim Cup in 2019.   The 16th edition of the team event will be played at the world famous PGA Centenary Course at The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

Officials at the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau recently confirmed that conversations are underway that may result in the event being played in Fairfield County in 2021 – if Connecticut is selected from the field of finalists. Presentations by competing cities are being made on July 19 in Chicago.  The state should learn of the selection decision by the end of the year. Connecticut’s elected officials, at the state and federal level, have provided support for the Brooklawn bid.  

Brooklawn Country Club was formed in 1895 and from its earliest days, was conceived as a family club. Rich in history, Brooklawn was one of the first dozen or so clubs to join the United States Golf Association in 1896. Brooklawn has been the site of numerous amateur and professional championships including the 1974 USGA Junior Championship, the 1979 U. S. Women’s Open, the 1987 U. S. Senior Open and the 2003 USGA Girls Championship.

Although more than a year away, Des Moines is already spreading enthusiasm and selling tickets to the week-long event.  The August event traditionally draws some 200,000 fans for the three days of competition and preceding practice rounds.

“The support that the Des Moines community has shown for golf events in the area has been tremendous. Based on the incredible welcome that we’ve already seen from the city, state, and local organizers, I have no doubt that the 2017 Solheim Cup is already on track to be one of the best event we’ve ever staged,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “From the very first time we met the Des Moines Golf and Country Club leaders, we realized that we were able to think big, rally the support of the community, and facilitate corporate and fan experiences that will take The Solheim Cup to a new level.”

Des Moines Golf and Country Club was the site of the 1999 U.S. Senior Open Championship which drew a record 252,800 spectators.

After an extensive and very competitive bidding process for the 2019 event, the final decision saw Scotland edge out a strong bid from Sweden, according to published reports.  There were 10 countries - Denmark, England, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Wales – that submitted expressions of interest in hosting the 2019 event, the next time it is to be held in Europe.

Ivan Khodabakhsh, chief executive of Ladies European Tour said: “The competitive nature of the bidding process for the 2019 event is testimony to the growth in interest in women’s professional golf and women’s sport in general. The Solheim Cup has grown to be the biggest event in the women’s game delivering outstanding value to its partners at a local, national and international level.”

There is no early word on what impact the recent “Brexit” vote that is expected to lead to the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union might have on the event.

Last month, the victorious 2015 U.S. Solheim Cup team visited Washington D.C. to be recognized for their accomplishments last September in defeating the European Team and winning back the Cup after back-to-back losses. The team sported matching red, white and blue sneakers for their Oval Office meeting with President Obama.

Scotland’s bid, which was led by the EventScotland team within VisitScotland’s Events Directorate and backed by The Scottish Government, was submitted in August and received huge support from stars across the golfing, sporting and media spectrum.  John A. Solheim, PING Chairman and CEO, commented: “I am excited that the Solheim Cup will be returning to Scotland, home of Europe’s first win.  Gleneagles is certainly one of the great venues in golf and I’m sure that the members of the 2019 Solheim Cup teams will be up to meeting the challenges of this exceptional golf course.”

In the 1930’s, A. W. Tillinghast, one of history’s premier golf architects who also designed, among others, the courses at Winged Foot Golf Club, Baltusrol Golf Club, Bethpage State Park and Quaker Ridge Golf Club, redesigned the Brooklawn course in Fairfield into its present form.  Des Moines Golf and Country Club is the second Pete Dye-designed venue to host The Solheim Cup following the 2005 tournament at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indiana.