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G R E AT E R H A R T F O R D ' S B U S I N E S S N E W S w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m For more B2B news visit JUNE 1, 2015 Volume 23, Number 27 $3.00 Subscribe online J U N E 4 T H H A R T F O R D For more info: www.CTBEXPO.com Index ■ Executive Profile: PG. 5 ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ Focus: PG. 9 ■ The List: PG. 10 ■ Deal Watch: PG. 14 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 28 Decision 2015 This week Hartford Business Journal kicks off its coverage of the 2015 Hartford mayoral race. Over the next month and a half HBJ will publish a Q&A with each candidate covering a range of business and economic development topics. In this issue, Hartford attorney John Gale shares his perspectives. PG. 3 Coordinated Care Two Greater Hartford healthcare practices are teaming up to push a patent-focused model of care in the region. PG. 9 A region taps Marfuggi's passion to reclaim its river By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com H artford's annual Riverfest, the signa- ture event for Hartford and East Hart- ford's approximately three miles of river-park frontage, is a major draw for state residents and tourists. Since its debut in 1999, Riverfront Recap- ture CEO Joseph Marfuggi and his team have been too busy overseeing Riverfest prepara- tions and logistics along with a half-dozen other annual events on the Connecticut River — ranging from dragon- and scull-boat racing to tournament fishing — to fully enjoy them. But this year will be different, says Marfuggi, who is retiring July 1 — 10 days before the start of Riverfest 2015. He has spent the last 29 years as top manager, strategist, and key fundraiser, helping Hartford and East Hartford as well as riverfront supporters reconnect and expand historic ties to the river. Now, he says, it's his turn to reap some of the fruit of the more than $150 million public- private investment in one of the Greater Hart- ford region's biggest land reclamation projects. "I want to be lazy and have some fun,'' 73-year-old Marfuggi said. "I want to go to a Riverfest event and not have to worry about whether it's going to rain.'' Joseph R. Marfuggi retires July 1 after nearly three decades heading up Riverfront Recapture. Continued on page 19 P H O T O | S T E V E L A S C H E V E R H A R T F O R D MAYORAL RACE 2015 By Brad Kane bkane@HartfordBusiness.com T he state is launching a $60,000 medical marijuana marketing campaign this month aimed at enlisting more Con- necticut doctors to prescribe the drug, just as the fledgling industry faces increased competition from the black market, which is being flooded with product from states that have legalized cannabis. The Department of Consumer Protection will target the state's 10,000 doctors by adver- tising on medical journal websites and speak- ing at physician group meetings, in order to recruit more providers to become certified prescribers of medical marijuana. The cam- paign will run for four to six months; the $60,000 will be funded out of DCP's budget. The marketing push is part of a larger Video: Growing Marijuana Hartford Business Journal got a behind-the-scenes tour of Connecticut's first producing medical marijuana facility, Theraplant. Check out the video at HartfordBusiness.com Continued on page 20 CT makes $60K medical marijuana push on doctors A Theraplant employee weighs the buds extracted from a marijuana plant. P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y | T H E R A P L A N T L L C Manufacturer's Plea A local manufacturing executive sounds off on the state's business climate and urges lawmakers to invest in the aerospace industry. PG. 28