Theophrastus Bombastus

http://frontstreetdistrict.com/directions.html Grrrrrrrrr... someone send these people a note - both sets of directions are wrong. You can't turn left on Columbus from the southbound State St. exit off 91, and Exit 48 is in Enfield.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc...,2804670.column http://blogs.courant.com/rick_green/2009/0...er-ra.html#more Maybe we can just hook those train-wheelie-things up to everyone's car.

NEW WEBSITE UP: http://frontstreetdistrict.com/

Looks like it will come down to a political battle between Bristol and NB http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-new-b...0,7915237.story

Sounds like it's on............ http://www.courant.com/community/news/nb/h...0,2070929.story RAPID TRANSIT - Hartford-New Britain Busway Projected For Service In 2013

Good article on just one of the many obstacles for rail. http://www.slate.com/id/2218394/ Stop This Train! Are trains slower now than they were in the 1920s? By Tom Vanderbilt Posted Friday, May 15, 2009, at 12:22 PM ET Quick: Can you think of a technology that has regressed since the early 20th century? Technological progress is usually considered a given. Think of the titters when you see Michael Douglas in Wall Street walking on the beach with a bricklike mobile phone. Then, it was thrilling, almost illicit-Gekko can call Bud Fox from the beach. Now, the average 12-year-old has a far superior phone: smaller, camera-equipped, location-aware, filled with games and a library of music, and so on. We've seen vast improvements in just a few decades, which means the gulf between now and, say, the 1920s seems almost unimaginable. There is at least one technology in America, however, that is worse now than it was in the early 20th century: the train.

I see.................... wait for it....................... A FOUNDATION AND SOME RE BAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! About frakkin' time.

What the F? Funding IS available... B.O. already announced that! Jeez, Dodd is a useless pustule. State Seeks Funding For More Commuter Rail Service Associated Press 1:58 PM EDT, May 8, 2009 U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd and Connecticut's General Assembly leaders are discussing whether federal money might be available to help revive commuter rail service between New Haven and western Massachusetts. Dodd and the lawmakers meet Friday to discuss the project, a 64-mile link between New Haven and Springfield, Mass. Regular commuter rail service has not been available there for decades, though many people use Amtrak. Supporters think reviving the service would ease highway congestion and boost economic development. The current law on nationwide transportation funding and policies expires Sept. 30. Congress is working on updates, and many Connecticut and Massachusetts officials hope commuter rail service will get more funding in the new package.

I vote for HartfordTycoon.... seriously, let's get two full-scale modern terminals in place, high speed rail from Htfd/Spfld/NH, international flights, decent retail, etc. Bradley Adminstrator Resigns The Hartford Courant 12:45 PM EDT, April 17, 2009 Bradley Airport Adminstrator Jeff Schultes has resigned after less than a year on the job, the state Department of Transportation announced Friday. The resignation takes effect May 1. A DOT spokesman said Schultes was leaving for " personal reasons," but would not elaborate. "Both the governor and the Connecticut DOT...are intent on bringing in top quality leadership in the near future," DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said. "That ball is rolling."

I'm leaning towards the "Give it up, already!!" school of thought. If they want to build it and use it just as an economic development engine fine, but I think it will have limited use as a large-scale public transportation engine.... http://www.courant.com/community/news/nb/h...0,2578110.story

I don't think this should be taken as an honor...... Keep it Down! This Is America's Quietest City By LEANNE GENDREAU Updated 2:30 PM EDT, Wed, Apr 15, 2009 We like to think of us as pretty civilized in Connecticut, not a rowdy bunch. The people at Men

EZ come, EZ go... Northwest Suspends Bradley's Amsterdam Flight By ERIC GERSHON {sodEmoji.|} The Hartford Courant 12:23 PM EDT, March 27, 2009 For Northwest Airlines, it's on again, off again with Bradley International Airport. Bradley officials said today that the airline, now part of Delta, has "suspended" the flight to Amsterdam that was scheduled to resume on June 3, citing "the challenging economic climate and poor advance reservations." It was just last December that the airline announced it would take a second shot at making money on the Hartford-Amsterdam route that it flew from July 2007 through early October 2008. The airline blamed record-high fuel prices as the reason for ending the flight the first time. In December, Northwest said its merger with Delta, which created the world's biggest airline, would generate enough passenger volume to support the flight. Fuel prices had also fallen precipitously. And Bradley had promised to chip in $500,000 to help advertise the return of the Amsterdam flight and offset fees it charges the airline. "Given the challenging economic climate and poor advance reservations, airline officials from Delta Air Lines decided that the flight is not financially viable at this time, but will be reconsidered as economic conditions improve," Bradley said in a statement. "A reduction in the flight schedule from daily to four times a week, and lower fuel costs, still couldn't offset a drop in demand, which has affected the entire industry."

Here's something for you policy wonks to chew on: http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/secretary/re...aenslanding.pdf I am confused about the "GROVE STREET CONNECTOR" section - where exactly will this be? I thought the plan was to gid rid of pedestrian overpasses....

Any new dirt piles or holes in the ground to report?

What students would live there? UConn 'Hartford' (undergrad) is in West Hartford, UConn Law is effectively in West Hartford, and the MBA program in Htfd is mainly Executive MBA and one-off classes, most of whom would not live there.... maybe there's enough demand for corporate housing?

I support the private sector as a rule, but I'm not sure about the timing... it seems like all the $$$$$$ is going to be with the 'gubmint' for a while. There's a poll on the website. I didn't know that BDL was self-supporting..... http://www.courant.com/business/hc-bradley...0,3030817.story GOP Legislators Suggest Selling Bradley Airport By ERIC GERSHON {sodEmoji.|} The Hartford Courant February 19, 2009 The Brooklyn Bridge isn't for sale

New leasing brochure (new to me at least): http://www.cceda.net/data/Unsorted/Retail_...ion-62999-1.pdf Any word at ALL about possible tenants?????

maybe not for much longer BANKRUPTCY: Tribune Clarifies Vendors' Payments December 10, 2008 Monday's filing for bankruptcy protection by Tribune Co. raised questions about when and whether some outside vendors, including free-lance journalists, will be paid. In a message to vendors on Monday, Tribune, which owns The Courant, said all claims for work done after the filing will be paid "in the ordinary course." But vendors who provided goods or services prior to the Chapter 11 filing may have to wait as Tribune sorts out its obligations in bankruptcy proceedings. It was unclear Tuesday how long the wait would be. On its website, Tribune is telling vendors that they will have to file a claim. The website message says it may take months to generate a full list of claims. Courant executives and a company spokeswoman said Tuesday that they were unable to provide an accounting of how many of the paper's vendors must wait for payment or how much the paper owes them.

FYI.... Construction on Phase I of the Front Street Entertainment and Commercial project is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 3, 2008. This construction will cause some traffic changes that are expected to be in place until the spring of 2010. The traffic changes are as follows: - Front Street will be closed to all pedestrian and vehicle traffic between Constitution Way and Columbus Boulevard. Arch Street will remain open to traffic and Constitution Way will remain open to provide access to the Front Street-North garage. - Most of the construction will take place east of Constitution Way. Signs specifying the closure of Front Street and providing direction into the Front Street-North Garage will be placed at Columbus southbound and at the Whitehead Highway-Columbus ramp. - The sidewalk on the west side of Columbus Boulevard will be closed starting from the corner of Front Street and Columbus down to Arch Street. The sidewalk on Arch Street closest to the construction site up to Constitution Way and on Constitution Way over to Front Street will also be closed. A small area of the corner of Arch and Columbus will remain open for safe crossings. Pedestrians heading towards Main Street may cross Columbus from the Convention Center at Arch Street then use the sidewalk on the south-side of Arch Street. Pedestrians may then access Travelers Plaza via Prospect Street.

to IAH 1/17: BDL = 355 BOS = 218 PVD = 238 LGA = 218

RANT ALERT Why are flights SO MUCH MORE EFFFFFING EXPENSIVE now from BDL than from ALL the other regionals - PVD, BOS, HPN, LGA etc etc etc - I thought 'they' were trying to get people away from the huge urban airports!! It's not really a supply and demand thing either, since BOTH are way down. WTF!

Boy, will that ever look stupid with the top 4 floors hacked off. http://hbnitkin.com/news/pdf/HartfordCourant_12-15-07.pdf Maybe they will call it "Flat St." And, why on his website does he NOT have it under "Space Available"???? http://hbnitkin.com/availabilities.php

HARTFORD DEVELOPMENT Costly Hartford Development Plans Falter By JEFFREY B. COHEN October 15, 2008 Five thousand people. That's how many residents developer Larry Gottesdiener said downtown Hartford needs to have to reach the same density

Oh well, baby steps - best we can hope for in this market I guess... http://www.courant.com/community/news/hfd/...0,5995085.story Despite Slumping Economy, Hartford's Front Street Project Advances By JEFFREY B. COHEN October 2, 2008 Front Street could have been Hartford's Blue Back Square, a retail and residential hub just west of the Connecticut Convention Center anchoring downtown Hartford's state-funded rebirth. Nothing close to that has happened yet. But come early next month, Front Street will quietly become a construction site for a much less ambitious goal

Why can't someone pin down ESPN and get them to commit to SOMETHING, I'm sure that would help out the leasing process.