Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 7, 2023 3 BIZ BRIEFS operating revenue at current rates is roughly $368.7 million. The hard-nosed rate analysis by PURA is part of a new approach, called performance-based rate- making, which factors in outcomes and value to customers. It has been a hallmark of PURA Chairman Marissa Gillett's tenure. UConn, WFSB partner to offer college sports content for 2023-24 season UConn has partnered with Channel 3 WFSB, and its sister station WWAX, to televise college sports content during the 2023-24 season. Under the exclusive media part- nership, UConn Football Coach Jim Mora will appear in an Aug. 26 season preview show at 7 p.m. on WFSB. Also, WFSB will broadcast the UConn vs. Sacred Heart football game at 12 p.m., on Nov. 18. Other aspects of the partnership are in the works and will include content for men's basketball, ice hockey, baseball, softball and several coaches' shows, according to UConn. Budr Cannabis opens West Hartford's first dispensary West Hartford's first adult-use cannabis dispensary is now open. Budr Cannabis, owned by local home healthcare entrepreneur Derrick Gibbs Jr. and industry veteran Carl Tirella Jr., on July 31 debuted its 4,000-square-foot dispensary at 1037 Boulevard. The adult-use cannabis retail site is one of five Tirella and Gibbs plan to open across the state by 2025. The business is an equity venture partnership with a team of social equity entrepreneurs and Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries (GTI), which owns West Haven cannabis cultivation facility Advanced Grow Labs and two Connecticut dispensaries. Former Bloomfield train depot eyed for gastro park A developer has proposed a gastro park with four food trucks on a mostly vacant parcel at 64 Jerome Ave. in Bloomfield., a former train depot on the Griffin Line. The Griffin Line, part of Central New England Railroad, runs through the eastern side of the property. A boarded-up building on the site, long considered an eyesore in the city's downtown, has not been used as a train station for decades. Property owner Dr. Kenneth Miller, of Baltimore, purchased the 3.1-acre property from the Bloomfield Farmers Exchange in 2009 for $350,000. Miller, a decade ago, proposed converting the dilapidated building into a center for creative arts, but the project never materialized. Now, the Planning and Zoning Commission is considering a special permit to allow an outdoor food court and four licensed food trucks on the property. The applicant is Michael Brown of Simsbury. CT lost 4,600 jobs in June as warm weather impacts hiring trends Connecticut's economy lost 4,600 jobs during the month of June, but the state's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in June, after job growth slowed a bit, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 209,000. The Connecticut Department of Labor also revised its May job gains upward to 5,300 positions added that month from the 5,000 initially projected. Nonfarm employment totaled 1.69 million at the end of June, up 1.2% from a year earlier, DOL data shows. Connecticut DOL Office of Research Director Patrick Flaherty said June is typically a big hiring month, "however, in Connecticut, the warm weather resulted in earlier hiring in both winter and spring of 2023." He said the largest June job declines were in the same industries with strong May job gains, including accommodation and food services. The state saw "a hiring bump in May as restaurants and hotels brought on staff to meet tourism demand, hiring they would normally do in June," Flaherty said. Meanwhile, the state's labor shortage has eased a bit with 90,000 jobs currently available, down from 104,000. To date, Connecticut has gained 14,100 jobs in 2023. UConn Athletic Director David Benedict. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Lifetime Achievement Honorees (from left) I. Bradley Hoffman and Jeffrey S. Hoffman, Co-chairs of the Hoffman Auto Group, speaking at the 2022 C-Suite Awards. Every year, Hartford Business Journal recognizes top executives who have made significant contributions to their companies over the year. For more information, visit HartfordBusiness.com/HBJ-events MAJOR SPONSORS SUPPORTING SPONSOR EVENT PARTNER C-SUITE 2023 AWARDS | NOVEMBER 28, 2023 NOMINATE TODAY

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