Thoughts about the strength, vitality and growth of our community
The other day, the Hartford Courant ran an article about seeing the state, one beer at a time: Questing. The article described a Simsbury couple’s five-year effort to drink a beer in each of the state’s 169 towns. Katie Martin Continue reading Questing
The other night I happened to watch the documentary Stephen Curry: Underrated. In case the NBA or sports in general are not your thing, Steph Curry is a basketball star who plays with the Golden State Warriors. He has won Continue reading Steph Curry’s Anxiety Dream
Carolyn and I recently cruised from Venice to Turkey, with stops in Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece. It was a time to reflect on America, on democracy, and on freedom. We had a guide in Turkey, a young Christian woman who Continue reading Appreciating the United States
I continue to think about consolidating municipal government in the capital region of Connecticut, and I’ll continue to write about it. To recap, I believe: Hartford and several surrounding towns should merge into a municipality of 300,000 people or more. Continue reading How West Hartford Will Save the Capital Region
Here are a few things I’ve been thinking about: Carolyn and I went to the 20th Annual Polaris Awards Wednesday night, the primary fundraiser for Leadership Greater Hartford. LGH trains and connects ordinary citizens in greater Hartford who want to Continue reading A Few Unrelated Thoughts
I’ve been reenergized a bit by Mayor Bronin’s wisecrack several months ago. At an event to promote the Hartford 400 interstate highway design project, someone suggested that since the project would connect Hartford and East Hartford much more closely than Continue reading Hartford and East Hartford Can’t Do It Alone
I returned to regionalism recently, talking about Mayor Bronin’s recent comments and his general lack of interest in pursuing regional solutions to move greater Hartford forward. I tried not to be critical of his passive approach to the problem, because Continue reading LEADERSHIP
I recently attended the MetroHartford Alliance’s Pulse of the Region at Dunkin Park. It was a farewell event of sorts for Mayor Luke Bronin, and it got my regionalism juices flowing again. One of the questions from the audience at Continue reading Let’s Talk About Regional Government
A few weeks ago, I wrote an essay expressing my concern that commentators were encouraging us to believe that there is a “housing crisis.” I suspected that those commentators, and perhaps the Hartford Courant, had a more specific agenda. My Continue reading Talking Frankly about Taxes
Two recent opinion pieces about housing in the Hartford Courant caught my attention. One, by David Fink, was prominently displayed on December 29. The second, by House majority leader Jason Rojas, appeared on January 3rd. I’ll start by saying that Continue reading Should Connecticut’s Governor Fix Local Problems?