Hartford Business Journal

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Please address all correspondence to: Hartford Business Journal, 100 Allyn Street, Suite 3, Hartford, CT 06103 Stay Connected For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to: www.HartfordBusiness.com HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on Linkedln:www.linkedin.com/company/the-Hart- ford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend: www.hartfordbusiness.com/enewsletters Hartford Business Journal (ISSN 1083-5245) is published bi-weekly, 27x per year — including two special issues in November and December — by New England Business Media, LLC, 100 Allyn Street, Suite 3, Hartford, CT 06103. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and at additional entry points. Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Tom Curtin | President, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Editorial Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139 gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Drew Larson | Web Editor, ext. 121 alarson@hartfordbusiness.com Beat: Energy Michael Puffer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Real Estate, Economic Development, Banking & Finance Hanna Snyder Gambini | Staff Writer hgambini@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Economic Development, Arts, Culture & Tourism Skyler Frazer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Government, Manufacturing, Cannabis David Krechevsky | Staff Writer, ext. 702 davidk@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Health Care, Bioscience Stephanie R. Meagher | Research Director Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer Business Tom Curtin | Publisher, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Jessica M. Quinn | General Manager, ext. 137 jquinn@hartfordbusiness.com Daniel Schilke | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 135, dschilke@HartfordBusiness.com Emily Paskind | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 133, epaskind@hartfordbusiness.com Donna Hogan | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 101, dhogan@hartfordbusiness.com Paul Stone | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 136, pstone@hartfordbusiness.com Tracy Rodwill | Human Resources Manager trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Production Bartosz Zinowko | Production Director, ext. 147 bzinowko@hartfordbusiness.com Trinity Sunderlin | Graphic Designer tsunderlin@hartfordbusiness.com 4 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 13, 2024 Former Waterbury mayor enters private sector with Eversource consulting gig Eversource Energy has enlisted former Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary to join its arsenal during an ongoing high-stakes battle with its regulator over cost recovery. O'Leary, who did not seek reelection to a fifth term as Waterbury's mayor last year, reached an agreement with Eversource in March to work as a part-time community engagement consultant. O'Leary, who has more than 40 years of experience in leadership roles in police and government agencies, is working in the private sector for the first time. O'Leary said he has formed an LLC and is providing consulting services for several businesses. In the new Eversource gig, O'Leary travels around the state spreading good cheer about the energy company with municipal leaders and legislators. NYC marketer sees opportunity for NBA expansion team in Hartford-Springfield A New York City marketer has a vision for New England to have an NBA expansion team that would play at the XL Center in Hartford. Called the New England Founders, the team would have dual homes at the XL Center and MassMutual Center in Springfield. The Founders would play most of their games at Hartford's 15,000- seat arena and about 10 per season at the MassMutual Center. It's the brainchild of Clar- ence Blair, a Springfield native, who heads B.L.A.I.R. Creative Marketing Solutions. He's devel- oped a marketing plan, has created a website — www.newen- glandfounders.com — and plans to meet with leaders from both cities. He's also advertising on social media. "We're trying to inspire the region and let it gain its own Eversource President and CEO Joe Nolan. Eversource plans to cut investment in CT by $500M over 5 years due to regulatory 'uncertainty' E versource Energy officials said during their first quarter earnings call that the utility company plans to cut its capital expenditures in Connecticut by nearly $100 million in 2024, and by $500 million over the next five years, as a result of the state's "uncertain" regulatory environment. John Moreira, Eversource's executive vice president, CFO and trea- surer, said the reductions will continue "until we see Connecticut's regu- latory decisions come back into alignment with law and state policy." Eversource President and CEO Joe Nolan added that he has "serious concerns" about the company's ability to implement clean energy tech- nologies and reduce carbon emissions, in light of the ongoing dispute over cost recovery. At the crux of Eversource's ongoing dispute with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is whether the utility can recover costs upfront for capital investments. Nolan said cost recovery cannot be deferred into the future, under uncertain terms. However, PURA has said that utilities "may only earn a return on capital assets that are complete and servicing customers." "As it stands, regulatory policies in Connecticut discourage invest- ment in utility innovation, as well as our participation in a wide range of clean energy initiatives that rely on our balance sheet and our capital resources," Nolan said. identity," Blair said in an interview. "We've been underserved in the (professional sports) realm. It's a great, vibrant area, and I think more eyes can be on it." Blair is also interested in the possibility of building a new state-of-the-art arena in a central location between the two cities, potentially in Enfield or Windsor Locks. He said the Springfield-Hartford market is ripe for a professional sports team, as evidenced by a 2019 survey by Sports Media Watch, which ranked the market 13th among the 56 metered markets in the U.S. for average NBA regular season rankings. Also, Nielsen ratings for 2023-24 show the Hartford-New Haven region is the largest television market in the U.S. without a professional "big four" sports team (meaning a team that competes in the NBA, NHL, MLB or NFL). Connecticut's only major league team, the NHL Hartford Whalers, departed in 1997. Blair's efforts likely face an uphill climb. According to NBC Sports, the expansion fee that new owner- ship groups must pay to the NBA is about $3 billion. Adding an NBA franchise in Hartford/Springfield would also likely get pushback from existing teams in nearby New York (the Knicks and Nets) and Boston (the Celtics). CT seeks to block crypto exchange Binance from operating in state Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is going to prison, and the state Department of Banking wants to make sure his money-laundering cryptocurrency exchange stops operating in Connecticut. The billionaire founder of Bam Trading Services Inc., which does business as Binance.US, pleaded An NBA expansion team, the New England Founders, is being proposed for the Hartford-Springfield market. IMAGE | CONTRIBUTED HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Neil O'Leary

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