This is a peek into Al's Market & Deli, which is under construction
It was previously noted that Al’s Market and Deli would be opening on Asylum Street in Hartford. What I did not know then was the extent of this development.
Last night, on Asylum Street, I overheard a considerably irritated man grousing: “what the *bleep* do I have to do to get a bodega sandwich?!”
The Hartford Business Journal reports that this market will have hours that actually acknowledge the existence of city residents: weekdays 7am to 10 or 11pm and weekends until 3am. So, if you need yourself a bodega sandwich at 9pm, you’ll soon be able to get one.
The Hartford Courant also has published about the grocery store.
Capital Community College, located on Main Street, has received the Leader College designation from the national nonprofit Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count organization. It has received this honor “for demonstrating sustained improvement and accomplishments on key student achievement indicators.”
The college has recently implemented several initiatives through Achieving the Dream, such as:
- The Black & Latino Male Resource Center: Mentors helping minority men navigate the challenges of college,
- Learning Communities: Interactive environment and tutoring support for students in a developmental sequence, to help them transition to credit courses, and
- Math Intervention: Using embedded tutors and math tutoring software to help developmental math students in and out of the classroom.
Other colleges that have been dubbed as Leader Colleges include: Alamo Community College District, Brazosport College, Martin Community College, Northampton Community College, Northern Virginia Community College, and Yakima Valley Community College.
The frogs and turtles are part of the playground in Bushnell Park near the carousel. 
The smell of corn popping in the carousel was drifting through the park.
I liked being able to look up and barely see any buildings. Sometimes it’s just nice to look at trees.
There are tables that look like stacked books. Because of the aging process, the one I sat at seemed particularly forboding.
Admission to State Parks and Forests will be free on May 22nd and 23rd, which is great if you want to be around hundreds of other people taking advantage of a time sensitive offer. Who can be blamed for wanting to visit the beach for free, rather than shell out $14 for parking during the season?
Still, we have many consistently free or low-cost recreation options that do not involve long drives. The Riverfront is one of them.
The paved and unpaved trails along the Connecticut River are among my favorite places to walk and bike because they are typically not crowded, except for days when major events are happening there. The unpaved trails are fine for walking, though my point of comparison is always the trails that I walked on during an adventure course in college. These were places in Eastern Connecticut that barely qualified as trails, were big on root structure (as in, roots leaping out of the ground), and were suddenly intersected by spring flood rivers. I don’t remember signing a waiver, though today, I’m quite sure I would have to do so before each and every class. Anyway, the Riverfront trails are cakewalk, or shall I say, Sculpture Walk. Continue reading 'Down by the Riverside'»
The fifth annual Bright Star Vision Ghana Village Benefit will take place at ArtSpace Gallery from 6:30-10pm on Saturday, February 20th. There will be appetizers, drumming, shopping, a spoken word performance, and other family friendly activities.
Bright Star Vision has been helping the village of Dalive in Ghana. They have built water filters, a library, and a kindergarten. Additionally, they have donated books, clothing, and medical supplies.
Guardian Angels' promotional fliers are posted on a number of telephone poles on South Whitney. These began appearing in this neighborhood during the past week, but were not posted when the group was planning to organize in Hartford a few months back.
Toni Gold writes about making Main Street work again:
Take back Main Street. Redesign it and reclaim it as a walkable, bikeable, green and transit-friendly promenade, with this key piece: Bring back a trolley, also called a streetcar or tram, on real tracks, running every 10 minutes back and forth through the heart of downtown, from the South Green to Keeney Clock Tower.
Susan Campbell follows up on the homelessness SNAFU with a column urging people to work on solutions, not bandages:
The capital city is bending under the weight of so many homeless people vying for too few services. Shelters are full, temperatures are plummeting, and a recent dust-up over where to put people who might otherwise be curled up under a bridge showed our ugly underbelly.
And the Remove Sunglasses at Tunnel blog deals with the very serious topic of gun control. Instead of staying inside and reading, you should really be outside enjoying the 55 degree weather. It won’t last.
The Smart Growth America website wants to know what is it that you love about your community:
Your community is more than just the setting and background for your life — it’s the place you’ve chosen to live in each day. From the people you know and the things you buy to the way you spend your time, place matters. Our communities shape, and are shaped by, us.
This holiday season, take the time to appreciate what makes your neighborhood a great place to live. Your community isn’t a given — it’s a gift. Tell us what you love about the place you call home. We might feature your answer and your community, on our blog!
Why not take a minute to give your community a shout out?
Since I’m in the middle of something pretty epic, blogging is likely to be erratic for the next few weeks.
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