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By Kerri Provost, August 24, 2010 7:00 pm

Entering The Hartford Club reminded me of how I felt during my first year of college. It was a monumental crossing of a threshold that seemed so off limits to me. While The Hartford Club is far more opulent than my alma mater, my anxiety level was nearly the same when approaching both places. Would it be obvious that I did not belong? I would learn, of course, that there were others like me — first generation college students. First time Hartford Club crashers. Trespassers. There was paperwork proving my right to enter, but still, a trespasser at heart.

I would observe how others moved about, spoke to one another, sat in certain groupings. In both experiences, even when I gained cultural literacy, when I began to blend, I knew that at the end of the day, there was part of me that would never, ever, feel at home. Today, as I walked home from The Hartford Club, it became much more apparent. The achievement gap that was being spoken of was purely academic for much of the audience. It was one thing to talk about discrepancies in performance and economics; it is quite another for these disparities to be palpable. In the Georgian Revival private club on Prospect Street, there is mouthwash in the “ladies lounge.” In my neighborhood, there is litter strewn across the school lawn. The litter has been there all summer long and the school is one of the lowest ranked in Hartford. It remains so, even after being shut down and later reopened as a “new school.” The kids who can not read, who are dropping out, who are creating all the financial burdens we heard about in this morning’s forum — they are not some sad abstract statistic; they are the kids that I pass every time I take a walk around the block.

Slamming the Door on the Achievement Gap

The MetroHartford Alliance forum held at The Hartford Club this morning was titled Hartford Public Schools Education Reform and Next Steps. Presenters included Superintendent of Hartford Public Schools, Dr. Steven J. Adamowski; Executive Director of Achieve Hartford!, James L. Starr; and the Commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Connecticut, Michael P. Meotti. All speakers addressed the issue of closing Connecticut’s achievement gap.

The very phrase “achievement gap” softens the issue. Education Week explains the achievement gap as:

[...] the disparity in academic performance between groups of students. It is most often used to describe the troubling performance gaps between many African-American and Hispanic students, at the lower end of the performance scale, and their non-Hispanic white peers, and the similar academic disparity between students from low-income and well-off families. The achievement gap shows up in grades, standardized-test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and college-completion rates. It has become a focal point of education reform efforts.

While National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results have shown that, over time, black and Hispanic students have made great strides in narrowing the breach that separates them from their white peers, that progress seems to have come to a halt since the mid-1980s.

The achievement gap, to put it in more direct terms, refers to the racial and economic disparities in educational outcome. Connecticut has the dishonor of having the greatest achievement gap in all 50 states, based on the NAEP results. The Superintendent stated that there is a 93% poverty rate within the Hartford school district, based on eligibility for free/reduced school lunch. There are correlations between poverty and other social problems: of those in Hartford who have dropped out of school, 60% have been incarcerated. Continue reading 'Old School, New School'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 9, 2010 1:08 pm

This week’s Hartford Business Journal lists the top twenty largest in-state banks. Of the twenty, only two are headed by females — New Alliance Bank and Guilford Savings Bank. To put it another way, there are four people with the first name of John who are the heads of banks on this very same list. Continue reading 'Is it the Future Yet?'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 5, 2010 8:52 am

…but Hartford ranked higher than New York City on a positive list: best cities for working mothers.

Greater Hartford Real Estate Blog has more details about this.

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By Kerri Provost, July 30, 2010 8:45 am

Thursday evening, Tom Maziarz and Mark Alexander of the CT Department of Transportation presented information and study updates pertaining to high speed and intercity rail. The meeting, held at Union Station, was standing room only. Among those in attendance: Mayor Segarra, Chief Operating Officer David Panagore, a representative for Senator Dodd, the Massachusetts DOT, State Representative David McCluskey (West Hartford) and State Representative Bob Godfrey (Danbury).

The meeting was basically divided into four parts: discussion of the New Haven-to-Springfield section of the project, discussion of the regional (CT, MA, VT) section of project, presentation of the environmental review, and time for public comment.

The New Haven-Hartford-Springfield proposal was announced by Governor Rell and would cost $480 million in total, with $220 million of the funding coming from federal sources. The catch here is that the federal money is going to support high-speed intercity passenger rail; this means that to ensure the funding, all of those criteria must be met in some way. During the public portion of the discussion, Toni Gold asked about how the high speed could possibly work with so many street crossings and stations. In such a congested area, it seems like the trains would either present a danger or never truly reach a “high-speed.” Responding to someone else’s question about what actual speeds the trains would travel at, Maziarz said that they would hit 110mph at some point, but more realistically travel at around 80 mph. As in a previous meeting, emphasis was put on the fact that trains would slow down when going through cities.

Another requirement of the federal grant is that the “states develop proposals that were part of comprehensive, integrated regional rail visions.” Work done to the regional part of this would include restoring “Montrealer Route,” dealing with the need for train storage and yard space in Springfield, creating”intermodal connections”, and restoring inland route and service capacity between New York City and Boston. Currently, there is only one round trip train per day on the Inland Route — by 2030 this would increase to six roundtrips per day. In 2010 there are six roundtrips from Hartford per day, which would increase to 15 in 2030. There will also be an improvement in the time that trips take. Currently, a trip from White River Junction to Penn Station takes seven hours and thirty-six minutes. They hope to reduce this to five hours and thirty-two minutes in 2030. The trip from Hartford to Penn Station would be improved by thirty-seven minutes. Continue reading 'High Speed & Intercity Rail Meeting at Union Station'»

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By Kerri Provost, July 26, 2010 2:36 pm

There are many ways to look at economic disparities. Another way is to examine how Hartford compares to other areas of Connecticut. The following data is provided by OpenSecrets.org and is evaluated by zip code for 2008 and 2010:

06105: The West End and part of Asylum Hill has made the top political contributions (in terms of money) in the city. OpenSecrets.org ranks this area as giving six times what the average one does. Continue reading 'Who Gives Two Cents?'»

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By Kerri Provost, July 12, 2010 12:27 pm

It’s a little nauseating how frequently people whine about how the City can not do X,Y, and Z because of budget constraints. Obviously, we do not have a limitless well to draw from, but it takes very little creativity to see where the city can trim fat in order to fund better projects and services.

Here’s a tip for all the politicians who might have just no idea of where to start cutting back:

Look for examples of clear waste. This photo was taken yesterday in Bushnell Park in the late afternoon. It was hours from sunset and not remotely overcast, yet the lights were on in the park. How much money is wasted just by leaving the lights on?

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By Kerri Provost, July 10, 2010 6:49 am

The demolition of the structure at 1161 Main Street will only be a success if what happens afterward is meaningful, expedient, and future-thinking. While the promised attempt for the City to acquire and destroy this property has many gleeful, the absence of a strong and specific plan for the vacant plot is, at the least, eyebrow-raising. Mayor Segarra, in a press release said:

This is a critically important project. This is an economic development priority for a number of reasons. This is prime real estate that connects our Downtown with our neighborhoods. It is important to beautify all aspects of our city, our visitors deserve to look out of a hotel window and have a wonderful view of our glorious city, our arts community— like the neighboring Hartford Stage which is in the process of a multi million dollar renovation— deserves a neighboring entity that will contribute to the quality of life of Hartford. The reasons to act now are plenty. I can’t think of a single reason to wait any longer.

The 1161 property has been considered an eyesore, which it surely is, but the blight extends beyond this building. This section of Main Street is an example of some of the worst design decisions of the 20th century, which a poorly conceived and maintained roadway. It’s the spot where motorists clog the streets to exit from or enter I-84. Pedestrians wishing to travel along this section of Main are forced to play Frogger with impatient drivers, as the crosswalks are seemingly nonexistent. Malfunctioning WALK signals are a common complaint. Continue reading '1161 Main: Only One Part of the Downtown Blight Problem'»

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By Kerri Provost, June 11, 2010 9:14 am

For the price of free, someone wandering through the Connecticut Convention Center yesterday was able to score free tickets to a New Britain Rock Cats game, lip balm, pens, bottle openers, candy, Panera food samples, coupons for Moe’s Southwest Grill, and entrance to a number of seminars. Among the seminars: “Optimizing Your PR for Social Media and the Web,” “Using Linkedin to Prospect and Connect,” “How to Get Started in Social Media,” and “Power Past Your Competition: How to Harness the Tools of Social Media to Succeed.” Any guess at what the buzzword of the day was?

I spoke briefly with the Adriaen’s Landing folks, inquiring about the progress of Front Street. They said that a major announcement should be made in August. When asked who has signed on for the new development, they did not indicate that there were any definite takers, except that ESPN has shown a real interest in opening what sounds like a sports bar.

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By Kerri Provost, May 27, 2010 8:03 am

This has been the question posed, but the definition of caring is one that I reject. The Courant has framed the issue as follows: Hartford residents do or do not care about the city based on political corruption and/or low voter turnout.

As if those were the only indicators of caring!

Don’t Blame Me for Perez
I have voted in every election. Because I am not able to see the world through rose-colored glasses, I know that people can be corrupt, evil, or just plain stupid, regardless of party affiliation; thus, I do not vote along any party line. Although I do not despise him as many do, I have never voted for Perez. And guess what? Many others in Hartford did not vote for him either. Citing as proof that Hartford residents do not care because Mayor Perez was reelected is like saying Americans did not care because GWB was elected twice. I do not understand why some would cast their votes in favor of certain candidates, but they do.

Low voter turnout is a problem, but it is not a problem unique to Hartford. Even in presidential elections, Americans do not take part as they could. Do we blame voters for not participating in a system that they view as broken or unable to be affected by the people? I don’t. I’ll admit to not always believing that my vote matters, but I do it anyway…in the same way that I wear a seatbelt or a bike helmet. It might be futile, but then, it might not, and it does not hurt me to do so.

Instead of framing the outcome of an election as a sign that Hartford residents do not care, why do we not ask instead why better candidates are not running for political office?

I do not care about Perez
Sure, I care about him as a human being. He’s never been unpleasant in my very few interactions with him. But I do not care about his trial. There. I said it.

The media cares about the Perez trial because it is scandalous (low grade scandal is what I would call it) and scandal sells papers, gets viewers, and allows “reporters” to sit in a court room tweeting inane, irrelevant observations, passing that off as news.

It’s not that I am a supporter of corruption. If the Mayor did in fact do something illegal, he should be punished appropriately for it. But — here’s a shocker — his fancy counter tops do not affect my everyday life. They are not the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing before I go to sleep. No, the last thing I think about when going to bed is how the “noise ordinance with teeth” is more like one with dentures, in that when residents call for enforcement, the teeth have been removed. I care about the need for stronger enforcement of leash laws. There are people who let their pit bulls roam, which causes problems when they tangle with other dogs; there are some in my neighborhood who are afraid they will be bitten. Another thing I care about is how lackadaisical traffic law enforcement is. The police only need to park themselves at the corner of Broad and Capitol to meet any ticket quotas they might have. Every single time I am at this intersection I see people running red lights, speeding through the intersection, and doing other amazingly idiotic things, like texting while turning. Sit by the highway on and off ramps. I would feel safer standing in the middle of a driving school parking lot. I care about low literacy, bullying in schools, and the lack of employment for residents. I care that in certain neighborhoods where there are high rates of diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, I see prominent billboards advertising alcohol and fast food. I care about the way downtown landlords price out low income residents or new small businesses, how the city demolishes buildings they own rather than maintain them so that they can be used, how the parks are not maintained as they should be, and how a minority of violent thugs make life unbearable in small sections of the city.

When I do not have so many other things to care about, then maybe I will have room in my brain for caring about a rather minor accusation made of a politician, who, by the way, has not gotten us into a war (or two), permitted torture, or wrecked the economy. Let’s prioritize our outrage. If Perez acted illegally, then he should be punished, but there is no need to sensationalize the trial, as this is not worthy of sensationalism.

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By Kerri Provost, March 24, 2010 9:01 pm

Wednesday evening’s Frog Hollow NRZ meeting was full of irony.

The meeting began with discussion about blighted properties, including the Capitol West building. While considering possible proactive measures to take about the Myrtle Street eyesore, which is one of the first sights to greet visitors to Hartford, Glenn Geathers — Project Manager of Department of Development Services Economic Development Division — basically told concerned residents that there was nothing to be done, even though no positive changes have been made to this property in years. He said that the economy dried up the owner’s grand vision of developing this structure into condominiums. So, we’re told to sit tight and wait.

When the main topic of discussion — the “emergency” demolition of the Lyric Theater — came up, Geathers espoused the same sentiment. Sorry folks. Nothing for you to do here. Move on. Continue reading 'Lyric Theater Demolition: “Order Letter is Official and Cannot be Changed”'»