New Haven Leads the Way in Major Transportation Infrastructure Projects Underway

There’s a decidedly New Haven bend to the state’s largest ongoing transportation infrastructure projects.  A listing of the largest Department of Transportation (DOT) projects indicates that of the top 20 projects, eight of them are in New Haven, including four of the top six. The largest project is the construction of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, better known ats the Q-bridge, which carries I-95 over the Quinnipiac River.  The $417 million project began in 2009 and is slated for completion in 2015.

The second largest project is less than a stone’s throw away.  The reconstruction of the I-95/I-91/Route34 interchange in New Haven began in 2011 and is estimated to be completed in 2016, at a cost of $359.9 million.

Ranked as the third largest DOT infrastructure project now underway is the reconstruction of the Moses Wheeler Bridge, which brings I-95 over the Housatonic River in Stratford.

It’s back to New Haven for the fourth largest ongoing project, the facilities improvements to the New Haven Rail Yard, including construction of a component changeout shop.  The estimated cost is $160.9 million, with the project due to be completed next April.

The Hartford-New Britain area of central Connecticut has the fifth largest project, the construction of the CTfastrack bus corridor.  The I-95 West River Bridge replacement in New Haven is number six, followed by catenary replacement in Bridgeport (number 7) and New Haven (number 8).

There are approximately 200 track miles of overhead catenary lines powering trains in Connecticut.  Officials have described the job of replacement those lines “while still operating the nation’s busiest commuter rail services, as a “monumental task.”  The original lines were put in place at the turn of the century – the 20^th century – more than 100 years ago.

The full list of the top 20 projects currently underway in Connecticut was compiled by Hartford Business Journal with data provided by the state Department of Transportation.

Celebrated DJ Who Started at WCCC Going Strong as Station's Rock Era Ends

There were two milestones in radio broadcasting during the past 12 months that connected to the career of on-air personality and Hartford native Rusty Potz. Last week, Potz’ former radio home, WCCC in Hartford, was sold to new owners who abruptly ended the station’s decades-long rock-n-roll format. It was in the early ‘70’s that Potz was a leading DJ at the Hartford station, which later that decade featured a DJ named Howard Stern. Potz was well known in Hartford, moving on, like Stern, to new opportunities. That’s where the other milestone draws attention. Potz didn’t move too far – to radio station WLNG in Sag Harbor on Long Island. And he has been there ever since – from 1975 though the station’s 50th anniversary celebration last year, and continues on the air six days a week.

As WCCC has slipped away, WLNG is going strong. The station’s oldies format, local news coverage, and community orientation has loyal listeners in high places, as was evident in March this year.

The Sag Harbor Express reported this spring that WLNG was the prime topic of conversation on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Mr. Fallon asked Mr. Joel to join him in crashing Sag Harbor’s oldies station WLNG 92.1 and the singer, a longtime resident of Sag Harbor, enthusiastically agreed, the newspaper reported. The celebrities plugged the small station in front of a nationwide audience—over four million— resulting in a flood of listeners and website traffic for WLNG.

“We’re a nostalgia station,” Potz told the Sag Harbor Express last year. He is the executive vice president and has been with the station for 38 years. “We’re a part of people’s lives… People like a station that’s familiar. They want to know what they can expect. The oldies we play, we have just about every hit that ever came out.”

Potz earned his degree from the University of Hartford, and has been in radio since 1963 - on 20 different radio stations, most of them in Hartford, New Haven, and Springfield, MA.  At one time, he worked at four stations simultaneously.

In 1967, at WPOP Rusty's show was the top rated evening show in Connecticut, his station biography reports.  In 1969 WAVZ in New Haven received the TV-RADIO MIRROR award for Rusty's show as the top show on the east coast. Rusty was the program director at WCCC in Hartford for many years, including the years when the station featured the "All Request Radio" format, and came to WLNG on September 1, 1975.

The history of WCCC counted numerous broadcasters who went on to enduring careers. Howard Stern is perhaps the best known nationally. But for listeners in Eastern Long Island, Rusty Potz remains a household name.

An additional Connecticut connection was apparent recently. One of Potz’ guests on his WLNG program last month was former Channel 8 newscaster and ESPN broadcaster George Grande. Both were quite prominent on the Connecticut broadcast scene in the ‘70’s. Grande hosted the first edition of SportsCenter on ESPN in 1979, going on to a sportscasting career in New York, Cincinnati and as host of the annual Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony for more than two decades.

Greater Hartford Ranked #19 Among Best Places for Graduates in STEM Fields

If you’ve graduated college with a solid background and degree in hand in one of the in-demand STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), there are some regions in America that are better than others to pursue your career. A new comparison of metropolitan areas across the country has ranked Greater Hartford as the 19th most desirable area in the country for college graduates who studied one of the STEM fields.

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford finished just ahead of San Diego – Carlsbad – San Marcos, California. One slot above Hartford in the rankings was Columbus, Ohio. Boston and Hartford were the only northeast cities to make the top 20 list.

Of all the jobs in the Hartford-West-Hartford-East-Hartford metropolitan area — which covers Hartford, Tolland and Middlesex counties — 6.6 percent were in STEM fields. That fact alone accounted for 50 percent of the total score Nerd Wallet assigned to the metro area, Hartford Business Journal reported. It also accounted for the area's $81,932 median annual wage for STEM jobs and its median gross apartment rent of $948.

The website Nerd Wallet determined the best places for STEM graduates by analyzing the following factors in the 75 largest U.S. metropolitan areas:

• Income levels for STEM jobs: They looked at the annual mean wage for STEM occupations in each metro area, and factored in median gross rent as a cost of living metric to see how far the average income goes in each place.
• Size of STEM industries: They included STEM occupations as a percentage of all jobs in a city to measure the robustness of the STEM industries and gauge availability of STEM jobs.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual mean wage for a STEM job is $79,395 — nearly 71% higher than the national annual average wage across all occupations and industries.  The top 10:

1. San Jose – Sunnyvale – Santa Clara, California
2. Seattle – Bellevue – Everett, Washington
3. Washington, DC – Arlington, VA – Alexandria
4. Houston – Sugar Land – Baytown
5. San Francisco – San Mateo – Redwood City, California
6. Austin – Round Rock – San Marcos, Texas
7. Boston – Cambridge – Quincy, Massachusetts
8. Raleigh – Cary, North Carolina
9. Denver – Aurora – Broomfield, Colorado
10. Dayton, Ohio

The analysis used U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from May 2013 and rent data from the 2012 U.S. Census.

The region's focus on the STEM fields begins well before college graduation.  One recent example:  earlier this year, the CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering was ranked 15th in the nation and first in Connecticut in U.S. News & World Report's latest "Best High Schools" edition. The Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy in East Hartford ranked 31st nationally and second in the state.

Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Would Consider Coworking, If Only They Knew What It Was

Good news, bad news. That might be the best way to describe the results of a national survey by CoworkCT into public awareness of, and interest in, coworking. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) said they would consider working in a collaborative work environment once they understood the concept (good news), but 60% said they had never heard of it (bad news). CoworkCT, a network of coworking communities whose members include small businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and contractors who share space, resources, and ideas, conducted the national survey to better understand how familiar Americans are with coworking. Answer:  they're not.

A new website will be launched next week at www.coworkct.org, with more information about coworking in Connecticut.  Additional data, links and information will be added to the current test site, to assist in explaining the coworking concept to what the study suggests will be a receptive public.

According to the survey, the demographic groups most inclined to consider a coworking environment were 18 to 34 year olds (75%) and residents of the Northeast (72%). That is certainly true of Connecticut, which has seen growth in the concept in recent years, with coworking locations established in communities across the state, including Danbury Hackerspace, reSET (Hartford), the Grove (New Haven), B-Hive (Bridgeport), Stamford Innovation Center and Axis 901 (Manchester).  Each will have a presence on the news website, reflecting their growing community presence.

CoworkCT reports that the average cost of a coworking membership is $200 per month and the average cost of a private desk or office in a coworking facility is $350. The data from the survey showed that on average, people think the monthly cost of an individual coworking membership is $1,300.  Not even close.

Other key findings from the research include:

• Nearly 40% of respondents said that collaboration with other professionals (not necessarily within their organization) was the most attractive feature of a coworking space, followed by 19% of respondents who chose affordability
• Forty percent of respondents thought small businesses with fewer than 10 employees were best-suited for coworking, followed by 21% of respondents who said entrepreneurs would be the best fit
• More than half of respondents (55%) said they thought it costs more than $500 per person per month for an individual space in a coworking environment

CoworkCT is a network of Connecticut coworking communities where members share space, resources, and ideas. The goal of the network is to educate the public on the benefits of coworking and increase general awareness for the collaborative work style.

CoworkCT is coordinated by CT Next, Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem supporting the success of companies and entrepreneurs by providing guidance, resources and networks to accelerate their growth. The statewide network “connects promising companies to mentors, collaborative work spaces, universities, vendors, suppliers and other like-minded entrepreneurs to help facilitate the growth and scalability of their business.”  CT Next is a program of CT Innovations, the leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticut’s innovative, growing companies.

Among the other coworking sites in Connecticut that are expected to be invited to the new CoworkCT website are SoNo Spaces in South Norwalk, Group 88 in Simsbury , and The Soundview, Colodesk and Comradity, all in Stamford.

The national data in the report was based on an ORC International telephone CARVAN® Omnibus survey conducted among a sample of 1,006 adults 18 and older living in the continental U.S. Interviews were completed from April 24 to 27, 2014.

New CT Law Responds to Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Student Athletes As Debate Continues

Research shows that an EKG exam, coupled with a complete medical history, and a thorough physical exam is the best way to prevent sudden cardiac arrest. That statement, on the home page of the organization “Screen Across America,” is followed by this statistic: Cardiac arrest is the #1 cause of death of student athletes.” Screen Across America is a consortium of organizations that provide heart screenings to students. They have a presence in 26 states; Connecticut is not one of them. The organization “believes that this should be a standard of care because thousands of children die every year from sudden cardiac arrest.” New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Vermont are among the states with local organizations advocating for screening. Connecticut does have a chapter in the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA). The Naugatuck-based chapter raises funds to place Automated External Defibrillators in Connecticut schools.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the divided opinion among the medical community, as well as athletics departments, athletes and parents. The publication reported that “whether to screen young athletes’ hearts – as is done in nations such as Italy and Israel – represents one of the hottest debates in American cardiology.”

The article noted that opponents and proponents of screening each have medical studies backing up their positions, and that proponents were encouraged recently when the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced they would be creating a registry for studying sudden death among those 24 and younger.

Hartford Hospital’s chief of cardiology, Dr. Paul Thompson, told the WSJ that when a young athlete dies from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), “it probably could hve been detected. But when a screen finds it in a young athlete without symptoms, we don’t know that it ever would have caused him problems. Meanwhile, he gest labeled a cardiac cripple for life.”

The Screen Across America consortium does not have a particular organizational model across all locations. Each locale operates “independently of each other,” the website points out, with some being nonprofits and others for profits. “Some of us charge for heart screenings while others offer it free of charge. Our screening protocols may differ slightly. However, many of us have adopted the Seattle Criteria – a set of guidelines made by international experts in the field of sports cardiology,” the website explains.

Another organization advocating screening is “Parent Heart Watch,” which was founded in 2005, as was SCAA. It was started by four parents who each saw their child die from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The organization’s website says that “research has shown that SCA is the leading cause of death on school property with one student athlete falling victim to SCA every three to four days. Heart disease is the second leading cause of disease-related fatalities in youth according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” The organization also provides information on timely, effective medical responses to cardiac arrest.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, SCA takes the lives of thousands of children every year. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates at least 2,000 such deaths occur annually, according to the website of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. During the 2014 Connecticut legislative session, a proposal that became Public Act 14-93 earlier this month was approved, which will direct the State Board of Education, in conjunction with health experts, to develop a sudden cardiac arrest awareness program for use by local boards of education. The program must include information on:

• SCA warning signs and symptoms, including fainting, difficulty breathing, chest pain, dizziness and abnormal racing heart rate
• Risks of continued athletic activity after exhibiting SCA symptoms
• Means of obtaining treatment for a suspected occurrence of SCA
• Proper methods for returning students who experience SCA to athletics.

It will also require school coaches to:

• Review the SCA awareness program each school year, beginning in 2015
• Immediately remove students from play who show symptoms of SCA
• Not permit students removed from play to return without the written clearance of a licensed healthcare professional.

In addition, it calls for creation of a consent form for parents of student athletes to sign on the warning signs, symptoms and treatment of SCA and relevant school policies. Similar legislation has already been adopted in Pennsylvania, several other states are also considering SCA bills, according to the SCAF. The provisions of the new law take effect a year from now, with the school year that begins in the fall of 2015.

Connecticut’s legislation was inspired in part by the tragic story of Andy Peña, a Darien student athlete who died of sudden cardiac arrest in 2011, just one month away from turning 15. Andy’s parents, Victor and Giovanna, founded the Andy Smiles Forever Foundation in his memory, to educate the general public and support research on the causes and prevention of sudden cardiac death amongst youth, officials said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hiheVyvFQiA

Middle School Girls to Focus on STEM Fields at Annual Innovation Event

Connecticut’s drive to promote the development of the STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and math – to boost Connecticut’s economy and create sustainable jobs includes women and girls as essential to the efforts’ success. That aspect will be front and center on Saturday, June 7, when the Connecticut Technology Council sponsors the annual Girls of Innovation program in Hartford, geared specifically to middle school age girls, entering grades 7 and 8, “to experience science and its challenges in a fun, interactive way,” according to program organizers.

Girls of Innovation “inspires today’s middle school students to consider careers in science and technology-related research, health services and business areas.” During the day, volunteers drawn from the Connecticut Women of Innovation program and CTC membership meet and work with the girls. They talk with the students about their experiences and careers and guide them through the challenges created by the Staff Scientists at the Connecticut Science Center.

Hank Gruner, Vice President of Programs at the Connecticut Science Center, which hosts the program, understands the need to develop programs that will bring more middle school girls into science and technology fields. “The Connecticut Science Center feels strongly that this type of project is essential for Connecticut’s future science and technology workforce,” says Gruner.

Officials point out that although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM related careers. A key message from the Girls of Innovation program is to show participating middle school students real scientists who are “like me” and to inspire girls with the confidence, enthusiasm and persistence to continue pursuing their scientific interests. The program achieves that by bringing the girls together with women working in STEM careers who can talk with the girls about their own career path and interests and choices they made while growing up. The program sponsor is Covidien. New this year, and as a thank you to the girls participating in the science challenge, program sponsors will be coordinating a hands-on activity and distributing Genius Boxes at the conclusion of the event. A Genius Box is a do-it-yourself, boxed project containing all the necessary materials a child needs to complete the challenge inside.

The Genius Box co-founders will be distributing their prototype Circuits Genius Box to the middle school girls at the event, completing a Flying Saucer circuits activity in small groups with program participants and then presenting each girl with a box to take home containing two remaining Circuits activities - a DIY Circuit Board to light up an LED and sound a buzzer, made up of a 3 volt battery, paper clips, and fasteners, and also a Pop-up LED Circuits card made from a 3 volt battery and copper wire.

A new entrepreneurial start-up developed as part of a college challenge by students Kate Pipa and Shivangi Shah, Genius Box delivers a monthly themed box of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) experiments “right to your door, packed with projects and learning opportunities.” The drive behind the business is clearly stated: “We empower the changemakers and problem-solvers of tomorrow, today.”

The mission of the Connecticut Technology Council is to build an interactive community of innovators and their supporters that can leverage these great advantages to create a thriving economy, job growth, a global reputation for entrepreneurial support, and a lifestyle that attracts the best and brightest people to come here and retains the young people who have grown up here. The CTC recently hosted the 10th annual Women of Innovation awards, which recognized 59 women from across Connecticut for their innovation and leadership contributions in the STEM fields.

Who Knew? Northeast is Hotbed of Entrepreneurial Activity, For Some More than Others

Takes one to know one. Or, more accurately, know one and you may become one. That’s the bottom line of an exploration into entrepreneurship by a Kauffman Foundation researcher, who found that the Northeast is the best place to catch the entrepreneurial bug. As Connecticut sinks increasing dollars into initiatives to encourage entrepreneurship, develop jobs, and turn ideas into businesses (often with state financial incentives) the report offers guidance of factors influencing the frequency of entrepreneurial launches.  Connecticut Innovations,  established and supported by state government,  helps Connecticut businesses grow through creative financing and strategic assistance,  and is the nation's sixth most-active early stage investor.

The survey indicated that the likelihood of a person knowing entrepreneurs varied widely by location, income, gender, and age. Respondents were much more likely to know entrepreneurs if they were male, had modest income, or were middle-aged. And they were much less likely to know entrepreneurs (or be entrepreneurs) if they were female, had a higher income, or were located in the Midwest or South.

The study suggests that there could be “material increases in entrepreneurship simply through doing a better job of exposing people to existing entrepreneurs, especially peers or contemporaries.” Entrepreneurship grows, the study found, where it is planted.

Key factors to consider when attempting to encourage entrepreneurship, according to the study:

• Women have less exposure to growth entrepreneurs than men
• The young have much more exposure to growth entrepreneurs
• People in lower income strata are much less likely to be exposed to growth entrepreneurs

The study concluded that “In all cases, an individual’s exposure to entrepreneurs—and to growth entrepreneurs in particular—may increase his or her likelihood of being one. Entrepreneurship can be viral, but must be introduced early and often in environments where it is least often seen.”

The study distinguished between entrepreneurial companies and “growth entrepreneurial companies,” those companies growing more than 20 percent a year and with more than $1 million in sales, generate more employment and contribute more to wealth and GDP than do slower-growing ventures.

The likelihood of a respondent reporting knowing an entrepreneur in the United States was 36.7 percent. The likelihood of knowing a growth entrepreneur was considerably lower, at 15.4 percent.

When broken down by gender, the likelihood of males knowing an entrepreneur was 39.9 percent, females 35.8 percent. For growth entrepreneurs, the gender gap was considerably wide, 24.8 percent to 12.1 percent.

A year ago, CTNext, Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem managed by Connecticut Innovations (CI), announced the launch of the Entrepreneur Innovation Awards (EIA), a competitive pitch process that provides awards up to $10,000 to entrepreneurs in Connecticut for growth-related activities. CI helps innovative companies in four key ways: by offering equity, debt, grants and strategic guidance.

A month ago CTNext announced the winners of the latest round of EIA awards; Connecticut-based companies and entrepreneurs, received $10,000 for their project ideas. CI also selected David Wurzer, formerly a senior managing director at CI, to be chief investment officer and executive vice president. As part of his new role, Wurzer will be responsible for the management of the investment function, staffing needs, portfolio and risk management, outreach to stakeholders, budget planning and performance measurement.

The study “Getting the Bug: Is (Growth) Entrepreneurship Contagious?” was conducted by Paul Kedrosky of the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation, and is aimed at providing data to guide efforts across the country to grow entrepreneurship. The survey, which categorizes responses of 2,000 individuals by age, income, gender, and location, was done via Consumer Google Survey.

Investor Opportunities in Mobile Technology, Consumer Products Focus of Back-to-Back Conferences

It is described as “the Biggest and Most Disruptive Platform in Human History,” by William Davidson, Senior Vice President of Qualcomm.  Davidson will be the keynote speaker Wednesday in New Haven at “Connecticut Mobile Summit – Exploring Mobile Venture Opportunities and Challenges.”  Connecticut’s top mobile industry executives will be meeting to discuss how to accelerate mobile adoption, engagement and monetization, according to conference organizers.

Conference officials note that “penetration of smart phones into the workplace has been persistent since the iPhone launch in June of 2007. More recently, tablets have supplanted PCs as productivity boosters.”  The Connecticut Mobile Summit is designed to help educate Connecticut’s investment and technology communities in mobile venture opportunities and challenges.

In addition to Davidson, expert panelists participating include Carissa Ganelli, Founder & CEO, LightningBuy; Drue Hontz, Founder & President, KAZARK, Inc.; John Nobile, Founder & President, Tangen Biosciences; and Nadav Ullman, Founder & CEO, Dashride.

“In three to five years any enterprise that has not implemented mobility solutions for its customers, employees, and suppliers will be leapfrogged, disintermediated, or go bankrupt. Connecticut cannot afford to be behind this curve,” observed event moderator, Brenda Lewis, Principal of Transactions Marketing, Inc.

Davidson is senior vice president of strategy and operations for Global Market Development in Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. In this role, he handles reporting and operations as well as executing on strategic global business initiatives. In addition, Davidson is senior vice president of investor relations where he serves as the primary liaison with the investment community and Qualcomm shareholders. Davidson has more than 25 years of experience in technical sales, marketing and general management roles in the telecommunications industry.

The half-day conference is being presented by the Connecticut Technology Council, Crossroads Venture Group and AT&T. The event is supported by Mea Mobile.

Opening remarks will come from Bruce Carlson, Acting CEO & President of the Connecticut Technology Council, Liddy Karter, Executive Director of Crossroads Venture Group, and Claire Leonardi, CEO of the recently re-branded Connecticut Innovations.  The event is $40 for members of the Connecticut Technology Council and Crossroads Venture Group, $50 for non-members.

The following day, the Northeast Consumer Product Conference will be held in Stamford, with the Connecticut Technology Council and Crossroads Venture Group joined by the Connecticut chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) as sponsors.  The conference is described as the Northeast’s largest ‘mergers and acquisitions’ conference focused on early state and middle market consumer-facing companies.  It brings together operators, buyers, investors, and transaction professionals to discuss the challenges and opportunities within consumer industries.

The Stamford conference will include expert-led panels reviewing the state of the capital markets and share strategies for consumer marketing in a digital world, for both early and late stage firms.

Keynote presentation will be from Mike McMahon, President, Spire, a Datalogix company.  Panelists for a session on “Raising Capital in Today's Environment,”  to be moderated by Ramsey Goodrich, Managing Director, Carter Morse & Mathias, include Richard Baum, Managing Partner, Consumer Growth, Partners; Christopher Bradley, Principal, Mistral Equity Partners; and Tom Hayes, Managing Partner & Principal, New England Consulting Group.

ACG CT President Karin (McKittrick) Kovacic said, “This conference brings together owners and managers with investors and transaction professionals to discuss the challenges and opportunities within the consumer products sectors.”

The Connecticut Chapter of ACG is one of the fastest growing ACG chapters in the country, with close to 300 local professionals focused on middle-market corporate growth (i.e.: mergers and acquisitions, financing opportunities, business development, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, etc.), including a diverse group of private equity funds, intermediaries, lenders, and service providers.

The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) is a statewide association of technology oriented companies and institutions, providing leadership in areas of policy advocacy, community building and assistance for growing companies.  With over 2,000 member companies that employ some 200,000 residents, the CTC works to position Connecticut as a leader in idea creation, workforce preparation, entrepreneurial aptitude, early stage risk capital availability and providing on-going support and mentoring to high potential firms.

Amateur Radio, Invented in Hartford, Will Celebrate 100 Years with National Convention Here

Before smart phones, before the internet, there was Amateur Radio, better known as Ham Radio.  And it began in Hartford – spreading quickly around the world a century ago.  The province of hobbyists and enthusiasts, Ham Radio often became a lifeline when disasters struck and traditional phone lines were rendered inoperable.

Technology has surely changed, but a thriving American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio, will mark the 100th anniversary of its founding this summer at the Connecticut Convention Center in its birthplace, Hartford.

The organization’s Centennial Convention will be July 17-19, 2014, according to ARRL President Kay Craigi.  The theme will be: Advancing the Art and Science of Radio—Since 1914.  Ham Radio remains a popular hobby and service in which licensed Amateur Radio operators (hams) operate communications equipment.  ARRL has over 162,000 members and employs approximately 100 people, with national headquarters in Newington.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator W. Craig Fugate, call sign KK4INZ, will be the keynote speaker at the ARRL Centennial Banquet on July 18.

It all began in May 1914 when Hiram Percy Maxim (1869-1936), a leading Hartford inventor and industrialist, founded the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), together with Clarence Tuska, secretary of The Radio Club of Hartford.  ARRL headquarters moved to Newington in 1938 and is visited by nearly 2,000 groups and individuals each year. The site is home to The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, call sign W1AW. ARRL's mission is based on five pillars: Public Service, Advocacy, Education, Technology, and Membership.

Although Amateur Radio operators get involved for many reasons, officials say, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and pass an examination for the FCC license to operate on radio frequencies known as the "Amateur Bands." These bands are radio frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by ham radio operators.

“The 2014 ARRL Centennial is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, who explained that the convention will include presentations and forums, exhibits, vendors, demonstrations, flea market, activities for youth, and a banquet.

 “We’ve also planned some very special centennial-themed activities,” Inderbitzen added, “including coach bus trips to ARRL headquarters and W1AW—the Hiram P. Maxim Memorial Station in nearby Newington. We want ARRL members to come with all of their experiences from the first one hundred years of Amateur Radio and ARRL, and leave with a shared vision for ARRL’s second century.”

More information about ARRL and Amateur Radio is online at www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio. Details on the centennial convention are available at www.ARRL2014.org.  The organization has also developed a 25 minute documentary about the history of Amateur Radio, which is available on You Tube.  Fans of the ABC Television show “Last Man Standing” may be aware that its main character, “Mike Baxter” — played by Tim Allen — is supposed to be a radio amateur, KAØXTT

Fastest Internet Download Speeds in CT? Killingworth, Storrs & Stonington Lead 26 Towns in Top U.S. 1,000

Killingworth is the Connecticut town that has the fastest internet download speed.  It is one of 26 towns and cities in the state to rank among the top 1,000 communities with the fastest internet speeds in America, according to recently compiled data.  The only other Connecticut towns to rank among the top three hundred nationwide were Storrs, Stonington, East Haddam, and Weston.   Of the state’s cities, only Stamford and Norwalk reached the top thousand fastest download speeds nationwide.

Recent data reflects that although the national average speed is 18.2 Mbps, the highs and lows – or have’s and have-nots – are quite apparent by region, with the Northeast, especially the I-95 corridor, fairing quite well. 

Data from over 5,600 cities and towns represented in Ookla's Net Index, illustrated by Congressional district, shows relative download speeds across the contiguous U.S., from January through July 2013. (Blue means a faster download speed; red means a slower download speed, on the map.)  The disparities are clearly evident between different regions of the country.

The fastest internet speed in Connecticut is in Killingworth, at 30.28, ranking #179 among cities and towns across the country.  Close behind is Storrs (Mansfield) at 30.20, ranking #181.  Rounding out Connecticut’s top 10 communities with the fastest internet download speeds are Stonington (29.09, #262),  East Haddam (29.00, #269), Weston (29.88, #280), Westport (27.36, #454), Greenwich (26.14, #630), and Bloomfield (25.99, #655), Mansfield (25.99, #656) and Guilford (25.92, #664).

Seventeen of the top 25 towns are in New York or New Jersey The fastest single location, with an average download speed of 85.5 Mbps belongs to Ephrata, Wash., a small town of 7,000 that happens to be home to its own fiber optics provider.   Kansas City, Kan., where Google developed a fiber optic network, comes in second, clocking in at 49.9 Mbps. The worst speeds can be found in Northeastern Arizona, where Chinle and Fort Defiance both clock in at less than 1.5 Mbps, according to Gizmodo, which published a report on the data.

The next ten fastest communities include the only cities to earn a spot on the top 1,000, Stamford and Norwalk.  Connecticut’s second ten are: New Canaan (25.88, #672), Redding (25.79, #691), Tolland (25.40, #734), Canton (25.36, #743), Orange (25.00, #786), Avon (24.62, #834), Torrington (24.58, #837), Darien (24.57, #839), Stamford (24.51, #851), and Norwalk (24.49, #854).

Six additional towns were among the top 1,000 nationally.  They are:  Woodstock (24.43, #865), Fairfield (24.43, #866), Mystic (24.34, #879), Milford (24.25, #894), Woodbury (24.21, #900), and Hebron (23.93, #950).  All are well above the national average.

Ookla's data are primarily coming from the site Speedtest.net.  For a complete list of cities and towns by speed click here.  The metropolitan Northeast, Florida, and most of Arizona come in pretty strong.

Reaching the next five hundred (between 1,000 and 1,500) from Connecticut were Winsted, Coventry, Bridgeport, Monroe, Groton, Southbury, Pawcatuck, Litchfield, Woodbridge, Watertown, Danbury, Brookfield, Newtown, Shelton, Stratford, Deep River and Gales Ferry, at number 1,477.  There were 43 Connecticut towns and cities  among the top 1,500 nationwide.