Bordonaro: Hartford s comeback depends on a return of office workers hartfordbusiness.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hartfordbusiness.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Should Connecticut end its participation in paying jobless residents an extra $300 in weekly federal unemployment benefits?
It’s a key question many state governors are asking themselves as the U.S.’ economic recovery continues to be hampered by a labor shortage, particularly for lower-wage jobs.
At least 21 (mostly red) states have already told the federal government they will no longer be paying out the extra funds, which were established during the pandemic and are scheduled to end this September.
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Greg Bordonaro
Gov. Ned Lamont said he plans to continue the extra jobless benefits until they expire, but I think the additional aid should run out sooner, maybe July 1, as long as the spread of coronavirus continues to subside and more people get vaccinated.
Newly released data from national real estate brokerage firm CBRE confirms what many in Connecticut have speculated over the past year: the Nutmeg State’s suburbs became a desirable destination for New York City residents in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 27,000 people left New York City and its surrounding metro areas for Connecticut last year, according to CBRE’s recent analysis of change-of-address data from the U.S. Postal Service.
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Greg Bordonaro
The surge in new residents could finally reverse a decade-long population attrition in the state. We’ve seen other benefits from this trend including a much healthier short-term state budget outlook. Comptroller Kevin Lembo recently projected the state’s current fiscal year, which ends June 30, could end with a $250 million surplus, which was higher than expected.
Published May 08. 2021 12:01AM
Chris Powell
Amid dissension and turnover at Hartford s Wadsworth Atheneum, an art museum of international standing, Hartford Business Journal editor Greg Bordonaro wrote the other day that the city has an image problem, especially when compared to West Hartford, about which The New York Times recently published a report lauding, among other things, the suburb s great restaurants. (The Times seldom cares much about anything in Connecticut unless it s edible.)
But while the Times was merely patronizing, Bordonaro was profoundly mistaken. For the dissension at the art museum has no bearing on Hartford s image, and the city doesn t have an image problem but a reality problem.
On April 9, the Hartford Courant ran an article quoting the former board chair of the Wadsworth Atheneum, who essentially shredded one of the city’s most prized arts institutions, calling it old, unengaging and lacking “robust enthusiasm.”
Another board member criticized the museum’s “medieval castle”-like look, arguing it’s not inviting to the local community.
Less than a week later (on April 14), the New York Times published a gushing article about the town of West Hartford calling it a “A Suburb With an Urban Aesthetic.”
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Greg Bordonaro, Editor
The story published several anecdotes of in- and out-of-state residents bidding thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars over asking price to try to purchase a home in the town. The author lauded West Hartford for its good and diverse schools, urban vibe and top-notch restaurant scene.