Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1243056
6 Hartford Business Journal • May 4, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Authority has ordered that a moratorium on utility shut-offs for commercial and industrial ratepayers, originally set to expire May 1, be extended to June 1. PURA also ordered utilities to begin offering all ratepayers "an adaptable, flexible payment plan" that it's calling the COVID-19 Payment Program. Bristol greenlights $5M downtown apartment complex A Southington development firm plans to break ground in the coming months on a $5-million apartment complex in downtown Bristol after receiving a tax break and other development approvals from the city. Carrier Construction Inc. will erect 32 market-rate apartment units in two, three-story buildings on a long-vacant property on Main and Summer streets. Developers will begin demolishing a blighted multi-family home at the six parcel property sometime in May, and will start construction shortly after. The apartment community — known as Residences on Main — will be completed in the next 18 months. Farmington's CytoVeris raises another $3.7M CytoVeris, a Farmington biotech developing guided-surgery tools for tumor removal, has raised $3.7 million. President and CEO Alan Kersey said his company, which raised a similar amount in 2018, plans to use the new funds to expand its team, continue to gather data, and build and test its first prototype. CytoVeris' technology uses an optical technique called Raman spectroscopy, through which a laser probes tissue several millimeters deep to help surgeons discern cancer tissue from healthy tissue in real time during surgery. UHart enacting voluntary furloughs, pay cuts to combat COVID-19 losses The University of Hartford in April enacted voluntary pay cuts and furloughs, while temporarily eliminating retirement contributions to recover some of at least $10 million in refunds and other revenue losses the school experienced amid COVID-19 shutdown measures. UHart President Greg Woodward told employees the university will recover most of that lost revenue from student housing and summer program refunds with the $4.4 million it received from the federal stimulus package; voluntary furloughs and salary reductions through June, 30 ($1 million saved); eliminating retirement contributions for fiscal 2020 and the first half of fiscal 2021 ($4.46 million in savings); and canceling scholarships for now-canceled summer programs ($1.5 million in savings). Woodward said he expected a multimillion-dollar budget deficit before the pandemic added an additional $10 million shortfall. Spectrum, Aetna, ESPN among CT's most valuable 2020 brands Five Connecticut-based companies, led by Stamford telecommunications giant Spectrum, are among America's top 100 or so most valuable brands, according to annual rankings by Brand Finance. In its latest rankings of the nation's top 500 brands, the London-based valuation and strategy consultancy named Spectrum, valued at $19.2 billion, as Connecticut's most valuable brand for the fourth consecutive year. Hartford health insurer Aetna, owned by Rhode Island-based pharmacy giant CVS Health, is ranked second in the state, valued at $8.4 billion. Aetna ranked 90th in the nation, although it fell 23 spots in the rankings vs. 2019. Bristol sports media giant ESPN, valued at $8.2 billion, is the state's third most valuable brand and ranked No. 94 nationally, also down eight spots from the year prior. LATEST HEADLINES >> Latest Headlines continued GOODSPEED MUSICALS Our stages may be dark right now, but our lights are blue in tribute to all those working to keep us safe and healthy. THANK YOU! CytoVeris' chief scientist Dr. Rishikesh Pandey conducts research on Raman Spectroscopy R&D Systems. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED