Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • June 15, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY CT plans $200M, five-year Charter Oak bridge project Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last week announced a five-year, $200 million con- struction renovation to the Charter Oak Bridge in Hartford designed to allevi- ate congestion on I-91 North on the south side of the city. The new state budget going into effect July 1 provides funding for the project meant to make it easier and quicker for motorists to merge onto I-84 East from I-91 North. That interchange frequently causes backups on I-91 North that can extend up to 1.4 miles because of long lines of drivers waiting to get into the right lane to exit onto I-84 East. The renovation will widen I-91 North between exits 27 and 29, including modifying four bridges; replace the I-91 North ramp at Exit 29; realign Route 15 North; and widen the southern approach to the Charter Oak Bridge. Construction is expected to begin in 2018 and be complete in 2023, cre- ating 1,100 jobs. The $200 million will be funded by 80 percent federal funds and 20 per- cent state funds. TRANSPORTATION CTfastrak expanding to Manchester The CTfastrak bus route from New Britain to Hartford will expand further to East Hartford and Manchester now that the adopted state budget includes $6.5 million in bonding for the project. Rather than building a new dedicated bus line, the expanded route east will use I-84 HOV lanes into East Hartford and Manchester. The expansion is part of Malloy's five-year, ramp-up plan to modernize Con- necticut's transportation system. The CTfastrak route from New Britain to Hart- ford began in March, averaging 14,500 daily commuters in May. ECONOMY & LABOR Slight growth for CT GDP last year A key measure of Connecticut's economic output ticked up between 2013 and 2014 but at a slower pace than the national average, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Connecticut's gross domestic product — the value of the goods and services cre- ated — rose to $232.62 billion, up 0.6 percent from $231.18 billion in 2013, BEA said. That growth ranked 42nd across the country, which averaged 2.2 percent growth. Two states, Alaska and Mississippi, saw GDP declines. The three industry sectors that contributed the most to Connecticut's growth included professional, scientific and technical services, management of compa- nies, and health care and social assistance, according to BEA. HEALTH CARE & INSURANCE More CT hospital execs made $1M+ in 2014 Last year, 19 Connecticut hospital executives earned more than $1 million in total compensation, according to a recent report from the state Office of Health Care Ac- cess. That was up from 16 executives during the year ended Sept. 2013. In 2012, 18 executives had salary and fringe benefits in the six figures. The president and CEO of Yale New Haven Health System, Marna P. Borg- strom, had the highest pay package in the state, at $3.52 million, according to OHCA's report. Seven YNNH executives made more than $1 million last year. Christopher Dadlez, president and CEO of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, had the second-highest pay package, at $3.14 million, ac- cording to OHCA. Hartford Healthcare warns of jobs cuts The two-year budget recently approved by the state legislature will result in reduced jobs and services at Hartford Healthcare, the five-hospital system's president and CEO warned last week. Elliot Joseph said in a statement that the budget "turns a deaf ear to our state's hospitals." The budget cuts Medicaid spending, caps hospitals' use of tax credits, and increases the state hospital tax. Combined with state cuts over the past three years, the impact on Hartford Healthcare amounts to $100 million, Joseph said. Hartford Healthcare, which has more than 18,000 employees, is calling on lawmakers to blunt the impact during their upcoming deliberations over "budget implementer" bills, which have included last-minute changes in past sessions. MANUFACTURING CT allots $7M for mfg.-worker retraining Connecticut is earmarking $7 million over two years to imbue its aging manufacturing workforce with next-generation skills to compete in a global economy, authorities said. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last week unveiled the Incumbent Worker Training Program through the Manufacturing Innovation Fund. The state Department of Economic and Community Development will fund it as part of the $30 million innovation fund targeted at boosting Connecticut's diverse manufacturing base. A matching fund program, the incumbent worker training program requires companies to contribute at least $1 for every dollar of program funding offered, authorities said. Grants range from $5,000 to $100,000 per calendar year. The program will enable Connecticut manufacturers to send existing em- ployees to a third-party vendor, such as a community college, industry or trade group, or another training provider in order to enhance or upgrade their skills. MARKETING & ADVERTISING Dunkin' Donuts buys naming rights to Hartford ballpark When Hartford's ballpark opens for its inaugural 2016 season, it will bear the name of the ubiquitous New England coffee and breakfast retailer Dunkin' Donuts, the Hartford Yard Goats announced last week. Dunkin' Donuts Park will play host to 71 home games beginning in April 2016. The Double-A team, currently called the Rock Cats, is playing its final season in New Britain this year. The price of the sponsorship was not disclosed, but a city consultant esti- mated last year that the park could get $340,000 for naming rights in 2016. The sponsorship includes signage at the park's main entrance, atop the park's video board, and a logo mowed into the outfield grass. The park will also sell Dunkin' Donuts coffee exclusively, the team said. UTC adds two years to tennis tourney sponsorship United Technologies Corp. said it has renewed its fledgling sponsorship of the Connecticut Open women's tennis tournament through 2017. This summer's tournament, slated for Aug. 21-29 at Yale University, will be the second year of UTC's title sponsorship. The aerospace giant signed on a year ago to sponsor the former New Haven Open at Yale, and in doing so changed the name to the Connecticut Open Presented by United Technologies. Financial terms were not disclosed. Before UTC signed on last June, the tour- nament had not had a title sponsor since 2010. BIOSCIENCE CT biofund doles out $11M to researchers Overseers of the state's Regenerative Medicine Research Fund said they have awarded $11 million to Connecticut scientists conducting stem cell research. The money will be split among 22 awards, ranging from $200,000 seed grants to $750,000 established investigator grants for researchers at UConn and Yale. UConn researchers will receive eight grants totaling $3.5 million while Yale researchers will get 14 grants totaling $7.5 million. Included in the UConn money is $750,000 for Multiclonal Therapeutics, a startup founded by Jackson Laboratory researchers and headquartered at the school's tech incubator in Farmington. The company will use the grant to pursue preclinical models of a lung regeneration mechanism for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which makes it difficult to breathe. BY THE NUMBERS $300,000 The settlement a Cheshire dentist and his two co-defendants have agreed to pay the state to settle Medicaid fraud allegations. 868 The number of registered medical marijuana patients in Hartford County as of June 5. 23,700 The number of low-income residents who will lose Medicaid coverage under the state budget cuts passed early this month. 19 The number of Connecticut hospital executives who made more than $1 million in fiscal 2014, up from 16 executives a year earlier. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ After CT tax hike, Indiana joins circling sharks ■ CT plans $200M, five-year Charter Oak bridge project ■ More CT hospital execs made $1M+ in 2014 ■ The highest paid public university presidents ■ Senior-care facility bows in S. Windsor 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 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW The Charter Oak bridge in Hartford. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D A rendering of Dunkin' Donuts' signage on Hartford's new minor league stadium. R E N D E R I N G | C O N T R I B U T E D

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