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52 Hartford Business Journal•November26,2012 www.HartfordBusiness.com Celebrating 20 Years of Business News University of Hartford president Walter Harrison is named chair of the NCAA's Commit- tee on Academic Performance. Steven Spielberg films the latest Har- rison Ford/Indiana Jones adventure in Connecticut to take advantage the state's new 30 percent movie tax credit that makes the Nutmeg State the most gen- erous in the nation to filmmakers. 2008 The state reallocates a $15 million grant initially earmarked for the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art after two expansion plans unravel. The museum unveils a new plan for renovation and restoration instead of a new and ostentatious building. International law firm Dewey & LeB- oeuf closes its downtown office in Goodwin Square. State Treasurer Denise Nappier asks Citi- corp and Merrill Lynch to grant shareholders a non-binding vote to ratify compensation pack- ages of its top executives. Connecticut is a major shareholder in both. Lincoln Financial Group has invested about $600,000 in 16 pieces of original public art reflecting the life and lessons of Abraham Lincoln. The sculptures are erected along the Riverfront Recapture walkway. • Nearly three years after Mayor Perez promised citywide free wire- less internet access, the project is tabled. Small local access attempts have been plagued with technical problems. State nursing programs are facing a faculty shortage as they scramble to fill the statewide nursing shortage. An estimated 2,000 students who applied for nursing programs are turned away. ESPN, the 29 year-old sports media giant, is again expanding its 116-acre Bristol campus with the construction of a 130,000-square- foot office building for its mechanical support staff. This is the fourth major construction project since 2004. • Crisis rocks financials and insurers as Congress approves a $700 billion economic bailout plan. The Hartford and Phoenix companies are hit especially hard, while Cigna, Aetna, MetLife and Travelers feel the pain too. Plans are announced to close the Goodwin Hotel, signaling trouble for Hartford's seven- year $1 billion revi- talization project. Hartford drivers are swapping coins for credit cards or coins at the city's 250 new "pay and dis- play" parking kiosks in the business district. Robinson & Cole, Hartford's largest law firm, adds more than 30 attorneys, includ- ing nine partners from San Francisco-based Thelen LLP. 2009 Hartford Financial Services Group begins its search for a CEO, while collecting $3.4 bil- lion in federal aid. Business closings hit a record 6,944 for the first half, after almost a year-long down- ward trend, while new business starts reach their lowest in nearly a decade. Stamford was hardest hit, followed by Hartford, Norwalk, Greenwich and Danbury. Health-insurer mergers raise fears among state and federal medical groups who suggest consolidation will likely hurt consumers and physicians in CT. Pratt & Whitney announces plans to close two plants and move 1,000 jobs out of state. Connecticut's unemployment fund goes broke and must borrow nearly $1 billion from the federal government to pay job- less claims. 2010 Christopher Dodd, 66, announces his retirement after five terms in the U.s. Sen- ate. He is chairman of the Senate Bank- ing Committee. Wachovia disap- pear in Connecticut as 75 offices are rebrand- ed as Wells Fargo branches two years after Wachovia was acquired. Approximately $12 billion in short and long- term "have-to-do" highway, bridge and public transit projects in Connecticut will not go for- ward because they lack funding, at least in the foreseeable future. The backlog raises deep concern about Connecticut's infrastructure. Founder and CEO of SS&C Technologies Bill Stone oversees a $161 million IPO. The Visa Championship gymnastics event comes to Hartford with top level sponsors Basement Systems, Connecticut Children's Medical Cen- ter's Elite Sports Medicine, McCarter & English, and Travelers Slammed by one of the worst recessions in recent history, 31 percent of the 100 Con- necticut-based nonprofits in the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut's seventh annual Nonprofit Pulse Survey report they are concerned that their organi- zation could cease operations within a year. Most have depleted funds to meet operating costs — plus there is an increased demand for services. Double A Charter Inc. of Rocky Hill sells its assets. Peter Pan of Springfield has acquired the charter business and moves into the Rocky Hill facility. DATTCO of New Britain purchases the shuttle division assets and contracts, plus has hired most of the employees. TIMELINE The Past 20 Years 2007 2008 2009 State Treasurer Denise Nappier ESPN expansion Construction on ESPN's new 130,000-square-foot office building began in 2007 and was completed by 2010. Northland Investment Corp. closed its downtown Goodwin Hotel after losing millions running it. Robinson & Cole Managing Partner Eric D. Daniels, second from right, and Thelen Hartford office Managing Partner Norman H. Roos, right, shake on their deal, as other attorneys look on. Penny for your thoughts Lincoln Financial Group invested about $600,000 for the commission of 16 pieces of original public art reflecting the life of Abraham Lincoln. The sculptures, erected along the Riverfront Recapture walkway, include Bruno Lucchesi's "Lincoln Meets Stowe" depicting the historic meeting of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Abraham Lincoln. Christopher Dodd, 66, announces his retire- ment after five terms in the U.S. Senate. William C. Stone, chair- man and CEO of SS&C Technologies in Windsor. University of Hartford President Walter Harrison is named chair of the NCAA's Committee on Academic Performance.