Residents weigh in on town land sale
RIDGEFIELD -- The town should encourage the construction of housing that ordinary people can afford, rather than luxury condominiums. The was the opinion several people expressed at a public hearing Wednesday on the town's plan to sell 10 acres of the Schlumberger-Doll Research Center property for $4 million to Toll Brothers, which builds expensive condos. Voters will decide whether the sale goes through in a town referendum on May 13. "We ask the voters and the Board of Selectmen to consider that instead of high-priced condominiums, mixed-income housing -- which includes a combination of market-rate, moderate and lower-income homes -- will more effectively address the needs of our community, both now and in the future,'' said Lynda Hanley, of the Ridgefield League of Women Voters. "It's nothing against Toll Brothers,'' said David Goldenberg, chairman of the town's Affordable Housing Committee. "But this is the wrong use of this property.'' CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Region 12 heads to the polls
Voters in Region 12 will answer two questions Tuesday, April 29, on a referendum that might well prove a fork in the road for the school district.At issue in the towns of Washington, Roxbury and Bridgewater:
1) Should the district bond $40.9 million to build a consolidated elementary school on the Shepaug Valley Middle/High School campus and do repairs/renovation to the current facility?
2) Should the regionalization plan that requires each of the three towns to have its own elementary school be amended? CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Senate approves workers history curriculum
HARTFORD -- A seemingly minor bill that would include labor history and free market capitalism in the public school curriculum sent the state Senate into a 90-minute debate Wednesday on the U.S. Constitution, balancing checkbooks and the 27th anniversary of the building collapse that killed 28 construction workers in Bridgeport. When the rhetoric died down, the bill passed 25-10. It next heads to the House. It would order state education officials to develop a curriculum, but would not require its inclusion in local school programs. Majority Democrats who promoted the bill said the effects of labor rights and landmark strikes are being lost on the next generation of state residents. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The nuts and bolts of CTFastrak
NEW BRITAIN — More than 150 people got the opportunity Wednesday night to learn everything they’ve always wanted to know about CTFastrak but were not afraid to ask.
Connecticut’s bus rapid transit system is scheduled to begin operations in March 2015. Attendees at the Institute of Technology and Business Development grilled Michael Sanders, CTfastrak transit administrator, with more than 40 questions ranging from how many new bus drivers will be hired — more than 100 — to will there be lavatories at the bus stations — No. Few of the trips are long enough to merit rest rooms. Formerly, CTfastrak was known as the New Britain-Hartford Busway. The project includes 10 stations in New Britain, Newington, West Hartford and Hartford with buses running every three to seven minutes during peak commuting hours. Traveling on a bus-only road, CTfastrak offers faster travel times for riders, providing service from Bristol, Waterbury, Southington, and Cheshire to destinations in the CTfastrak corridor. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Masonicare to break ground on upscale retirement community in Mystic
WALLINGFORD >> Masonicare will break ground late next month on a $35.4 million upscale retirement community off Coogan Boulevard in Mystic. Masonicare at Mystic will be a 179-unit community that will include independent and assisted living rental apartments. It also will include some assisted living space for individuals with memory care needs, said Margaret Steeves, vice president of marketing for the Wallingford-based nonprofit provider of senior health care services.
The ground-breaking is scheduled for May 22 in Mystic, which is a borough within the town of Stonington. Residents are expected to begin moving into the facility by summer 2015, Steeves said.
Stephen McPherson, Masonicare’s president and chief executive officer, said construction of the new complex will be done by Klewin Construction of Stonington. Stonington First Selectman Edward Haberek Jr. said in a statement that the new Masonicare facility “will provide needed services to the community, additional revenue for our town and new quality jobs for our residents.” The facility is expected to have 150 full- and part-time employees when it opens, according to Steeves. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
USJ's Gengras Center remake starts May 2
Groundbreaking is set for noon May 2 for the first phase, $10 million addition to its Gengras Center, the school said Tuesday. The 30,000-square-foot Gengras Center opened in 1965 as the first of its kind to offer education and vocational training to middle-school pupils with cognitive, physical and behaviorial disabilities. It also serves as a teaching lab for future instructors. Gengras' 22,000-square-foot expansion will add new classrooms for pupils with autism spectrum disorder, as well as therapy space, a gym, art room and music room. Phase I occupancy is set for June 1, 2015. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The Hartford plans to move 700 workers from Simsbury to Hartford
HARTFORD — The Hartford plans to relocate 700 workers from its Simsbury offices to its headquarters on Hartford's Asylum Hill in a deal that has been in the works for months.
The Hartford Financial Services Group made the announcement Wednesday. It also confirmed plans to spend at least $140 million in renovations, already underway, to existing space at its Hartford campus — room enough to absorb the 700 workers, the insurer said. The city council on Monday will consider phasing in tax increases over seven years that would result from the renovations. The renovations would push up property values and assessments by the city. City leaders praised the influx of 700 workers and the renovations. The news comes just weeks after accounting firm CohnReznick announced that it will move nearly 200 workers to downtown Hartford by the end of the year. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE