Real Hartford

A Bailout By Any Other Name…

It’s become a real source of irritation with me lately. Why are we willingly using the sanitized terminology for what a bailout actually is–corporate welfare?

If these banks were unemployed or underemployed folks, they’d be told that they just are not working hard enough. Their sacrifices are not great. To achieve that American Dream, one must pull herself up by her own bootstraps. Can’t expect Uncle Sam to do that for you.

A Better Direction for Local News

Heather has ended her blogging hiatus. Urban Compass is back in action. With the “new and improved” Hartford Courant, she could not have picked a better time to return to bringing us well-researched and intelligent analysis of political events in both Hartford and Springfield.

A Rainy Saturday Not at the Mall or Movies

At noon I met up with some Hartford blogger friends at the new restaurant–Tanuki Japanese Noodle Kitchen–on Pratt Street. They brought out each meal on it’s own tray (a nice tray, not a plastic cafeteria tray) and warned us that the soup would be very hot, which it was. We did not have a chance to get dessert, but I heard the words “shaved ice” and “creme brulee.”

From there, we attempted to visit Sadhna’s, which was closed. Window shopping was still fun. It looked like tables were being set up for a wedding reception in the center of the G. Fox building, outside of the Gershon Fox Room.

Being curious, we took a tour of Hartford 21 to see how the other half lives. There was a fitness center, massage room, library/den with a big screen tv, conference room, pool table, and room for parties. In the lobby, there was a small room full of “emergency” items like Tums, bags of chips, and laundry detergent. We were shown a 2-bedroom apartment on the 23rd floor which offered an amazing view of the city. All of the amenities were nice, but it was the view that got my attention. Generally, I am not an higher than four or five stories up in any given building, so this was a rare perspective for me. The apartment itself was beautiful, as it should be for over $3000/month. Everything in it was shiny and new, and the woman showing us the place was very polite, even though she was told that we were just curious, and not actually interested in moving there. Personally, it seemed more like a place that’d be nice to live for a few weeks, but I could not imagine that kind of lifestyle, plus, I like buildings to have more character. There was one thing that the saleswoman mentioned that I thought did fit my lifestyle very well–residents are able to give the concierge a list of people who are *not* allowed in the building, you know, like ex-boyfriends.

From there, we wandered over to the Hartford Public Library for the main event–Sari Katha: Sari Stories. This was the first fashion show that I have been to in Hartford, and was pleased with it, since it was more about giving the stories about where each sari style might come from, rather than about designer names. They did have pictures of sari couture though! SNEHA, “a support group for women of South Asian origin,” was the organization behind the show. In the program, they write: “Saris are often described as traditional attire by the mainstream media in the United States. Yet for those of us who wear saris–regularly or for special occasions–saris are part of our contemporary apparel. Every time we wear a sari we become a visible symbol of our community. Saris link us to women in our countries of origin and to thousands of years of tradition.”

The models ranged in age from young high schoolers to women of a certain age. Instead of struttin it, the women sort of swayed to the background music. While each woman modeled her sari, we were given background information and referred to a map of India.


From there, I took a little walk down the Riverfront. The Celtic festival was canceled because of the rain, so there were empty tents set up and a few wayward people wandering who looked like they might not have gotten the memo of the cancellation. One of the Lincoln Sculpture Walk statues (the turkey) had been removed for minor repairs.

Later, I met up with friends from out-of-town at The Russell, on the corner of Pratt and Trumbull. I had eaten their pasta at a First Thursday event at the Wadsworth, and I had been into the building back when it was Xando’s, but I had not been into The Russell proper before. It was definitely as romantic a setting as every review claims it to be. Too bad I wasn’t actually on a date for this. The friends I was with were making sad attempts to hit on our waitress, perhaps under the influence of the plush seating and red lights. I had a vegetarian wrap and mango sorbet. They had wild mushroom ravioli. We sat around raving about the food and waitress for a few hours. In fact, my friends were so impressed that they thought the $10 they paid to park was worth it for the experience.

If I wanted to extend the day, I could have then rushed over the see a concert at Real Art Ways. There’s no shortage of things to do here.

Debate Watch Party

The University of Hartford chapter of College Democrats, along with the Government and Law Society, the Roosevelt Institute and Pi Sigma Alpha are having a Debate Watch Party tonight at 8:30 at the Fireside Lounge in Regents Park Dorms on the University of Hartford campus.

Hartford and Israel?

Found this interesting press release on the City of Hartford website (Dude, is anyone going to tell them to get rid of the circa 1999 scrolling marquee?):

(September 19, 2008)— Mayor Eddie A. Perez is looking forward to Hartford building
economic development bridges with Jerusalem to help create jobs, increase trade, and
improve the quality of life in Connecticut’s Capital City through high paying
employment.

“Hartford has a world-class medical community and we could strengthen hospital related
jobs and businesses by building relationships with companies in Jerusalem that
manufacture medical devices. I look forward to our business leaders building
partnerships that could bring new firms to Hartford and help us grow and take a leading
role in this global economy,” says Mayor Perez.

The Mayor has just returned from the 26th Jerusalem Conference of Mayors, hosted by
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski. The U.S. Conference of Mayors participated in this
trip through the Council for World Jewry and the American Jewish Congress.

Mayor Perez adds, “This trip was a unique opportunity to learn and adopt best practices
from other cities from around the world. Economic development, green technology, and
healthcare are issues that impact all of us. This conference provided a fresh look at how
we can all work together to use technology to improve the quality of life in urban areas.”

In addition to Hartford, the United States delegation included mayors from Albuquerque,
New Mexico, Augusta, Maine, Lansing, Michigan, Nashville, Tennessee, and Tucson,
Arizona. Mayors from about 40 cities in South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and
Africa also participated in this global conference.

This event concluded just before International Peace Day, which is Sunday, September
21st. The day was established in 1982 by a United Nations resolution so that the entire
world can engage in realistic acts of peace. Mayors from around the world meeting to
improve quality of life issues through economic development and green technology
demonstrates proactive measures that are taking place today to make way for a better
tomorrow.

Is it weird that Hartford would seek advice from a nation that continues to have ongoing violent conflict? Or do we get to ignore the Palestine/Israel thing now?

I’m aware that many nations/countries have wars and conflicts, but wouldn’t it have made more sense to turn to Japan on this one?

Improving Hartford and Attracting People Downtown in Three Easy Steps

Julie (Live in Hartford) dug through the archives, and found that these concerns were addressed about a decade ago. It’s kind of what we tell students learning how to do research– you are joining an ongoing conversation; the conversation did not begin with you. Go read her blog entry about it.

Fake Fendi Merchants, Beware!

Police busted two dudes for selling counterfeit goods. Any thoughts on this?

Upcoming Lectures at Capital Community College

These are free and open to the public. This is on the bus-line and cheap parking can be found at the Morgan Street Garage. CCC is located at 950 Main Street, in the former G. Fox building.

Thursday, September 18th
1-2pm
Constitution Day Lecture in Centinel Hill Hall
Featuring Prof. Joanne Freeman of Yale University
“Learning to Think Nationally: The Realities and Challenges of America’s Founding”

POSTPONED: Tuesday, Sept. 23rd
noon
Prof. Derek Maxfield of Capital Community College
“Breaking the Presidential Mold: Electing Andrew Jackson”

Tuesday, Sept. 30th
noon
Prof. John Sheirer of Asnuntuck Community College
Will present his new book Loop Year: A memoir chronicling my year of hiking and caring for the same Somers, CT, trail every day for a year.

Happy Biking!

Did you know?

Section 14 - 286a. Rights, duties and regulation of cyclists.
Every person riding a bicycle upon the traveled portion of a highway shall be granted all of the rights
and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to motor vehicles. No parent of any child shall knowingly
permit any such child or ward to violate any provision of the general statutes relating to bicycles.
Every person riding a bicycle along any sidewalk or across any roadway shall be granted all of the
rights applicable to pedestrians walking in such areas.

Section (NEW 1998) Public Act 98-165. An act concerning the rights and duties of bicyclists.
A surcharge of 100% of the fine imposed when the driver of a vehicle fails to grant or yield the
right-of-way to a person riding a bicycle and shall be credited to the special transportation fund.

To stock up on cyclist and pedestrian-related knowledge, check out the Connecticut Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

Peace It Up!

This Friday at the CT Convention Center from 8am-4pm:

In order to spur continuous progress in reducing youth violence in our communities, Communities Empowering Youth (CEY) is hosting its second annual Peace It Up conference! The conference is being sponsored by Communities Empowering Youth (CEY), which is a partnership initiative of Capital Workforce Partners & the City of Hartford’s Office for Youth Services. It is intended to bring together the many audiences that must be part of crafting solutions to the problem of youth violence: community providers, funders, youth, the faith community, workforce, policy makers and legislators.

Continue reading Peace It Up!…