Answers to Frequently, Sporadically, and Rarely Asked Questions
History
Real Hartford began in March 2007 as a “Town Blog” hosted by CT Local Politics. In July 2009 it moved to its current address. During the life of this site, I have lived in the South Green, West End, and Frog Hollow neighborhoods. I enjoy being in a vibrant and diverse community, and only blocks from “New England’s Hispanic Main Street‘” (a designation that makes me both smile and roll my eyes).

This online news site was born all slimy, kicking and screaming out of my discontent with how my home was being portrayed by the mainstream media and by some vocal, ill-mannered people in surrounding towns. It has been nurtured by those in the community who also understand that stereotypes are for the intellectually lazy.
Content and How to Contact Author

Content (text, title, etc.) on this site may not be republished at length without prior permission. Doing so is considered plagiarism. Photos may not be republished without prior permission. I teach students how to avoid plagiarism and I can spot it a mile away, especially  when the person using my work is getting paid for it and nobody has cut me a check.

To inform about upcoming actions and events in Hartford CT, send press releases to me by email; please give at least several days of notice before an event, as there are not legions of reporters here, just me. When my schedule allows, I go to events that seem to have the intention of improving life in Hartford, continue to add vibrancy to the city’s cultures, or have a socio-political aim. Unlike the television news or newspapers, I apply critical thinking. I do not have loyalty to any politician, political party, organization or corporation; additionally, I do not claim to approach any story, event, or issue with an ounce of objectivity, as humans are not objective beings. National events get plenty of coverage on blogs and in the mainstream media, so limit press releases to local events. I almost exclusively write about Hartford. Generally speaking, I am not going to waste virtual ink on events that I can not afford to attend. An exception will be made occasionally if I believe the cause is a very good one or if something about the event seems particularly awesome to me. I could cite the economic meltdown we’ve been experiencing as my reasoning for this, but it’s not. Hartford has consistently been plagued with high poverty rates, yet it is the capitol of the richest (or second richest, depending on the year) state in the country. So, I have to ask: Is it good for the Hartfordites? Is this event something that either the majority of my neighbors could afford to attend or something that will benefit the community greatly?

I also publish what I think my imagined audience might want to read. The mainstream media already over-reports on certain crimes in the city, while consistently ignoring crimes that occur outside of the city, except for in rare cases.

It is often easier to define by negation. I am not interested in: the Mayor’s current legal woes, most gang/drug-related violence, major music stars, or maintaining the status quo. I am also not interested in making knee-jerk reactionary pleas about every cause, every event, every change that occurs. My professional experience is in composition and rhetoric; if a person makes everything seem urgent, then nothing seems urgent. Think about it.

From research, observations, and conversations, I try to develop as complete of a picture as possible — if not on Real Hartford, at least in my own head as far as background information goes. If an entity declares something to be groundbreaking or pioneering, I tend to respond with hesitation, if at all. Hartford has history, and the sooner new residents, businesses, and corporations realize that, the better. I am very interested in long term vision and accountability.

Contacting Me

Use email.

Random Other Thoughts

Photo and Video Permission

All photos and video, unless indicated otherwise (scroll mouse over picture), are property of Kerri Ana Provost. If you wish to use them, you must contact me for permission before using the photo, whether it is for profit or not.

Title and Content

The title “Real Hartford” has been in use since 2007. It is a trademark of this site. The content of the site, unless explicitly noted otherwise, has also been produced by Kerri A. Provost and should not be reprinted without direct permission from the author. These are norms that should not even have to be explained.

Social Media

I do not believe that all online news sites instantly fall into the “social media” category. Take a look at a local newspaper’s blogs.  Some of them, no names need be given, can not string sentences together and are trying awfully hard to be chirpy and social. Others are the authors’ published equivalents of verbal diarrhea, with a tablespoon of overly insular references. Yuck! But, there are others that could replace 90% of the “traditional newspaper.” They get the inside angle and make fact checking a priority over speed. Just as writing quality and style differs from site-to-site, so does purpose. The intention, for some, is to collect lots of comments. For others, it is to publish news, without dealing with the headache of a traditional news template.

While this online news site is not social media, I do have a Facebook and Twitter account which fit more neatly into that category.

Where Can I Buy Food in Hartford?

Like, everywhere. There are actually several posts about this, so explore the archives.

Do I Need a Car to Live in Hartford?

No. You need air, food, water, and sunlight in order to live. Did you fail Biology?

Do You Feel Safe?

Yes. Do you?

Why Do You Live in Hartford?

I like it.

I have a choice about where to live.

I believe that it is important to live in the community where one works. It is also awfully convenient to do so because it opens up many more options for transportation.

Besides that, I like living in a place with arts, culture, events, and diverse food options. Many of my friends live here. There’s nothing like going to grab a coffee and spontaneously running into three or four friends.

Well, you get the picture. You can look up this in the archives as well.

Where Can I find Parking?

Where isn’t there parking?

You can read about bicycle parking here, private motor vehicle parking here, and people-watching here. Also, the guide to restrooms in downtown can be found here.

Why aren’t you out there promoting yourself?

The purpose of Real Hartford is to publish the best possible quality of writing about Hartford that (primarily) one person can produce. This one person is an independent woman who works full time so that she can contribute property tax to the City of Hartford. Full-time educating plus full-time writing. This person also does not need to have her existence validated through a myriad of appearances.

If time allows, I participate in activities that seem either enriching to myself or the community. This means I turn down some invites.

Here are a few of the public appearance invitations that I received because of Real Hartford and ultimately accepted:

2008: “Monday Monday” at Pearl Street Arts Center (now City Arts on Pearl)

2008: Face the State

2011: “The Occupy Wall Street Movement: What is it and (Why) is it Important?” panel discussion at Trinity College

How Can I Support Real Hartford?

You can spread the word!