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6 Hartford Business Journal • December 7, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY UConn proposing four-year, 31% tuition hike UConn administrators will propose to the board of trustees a tuition plan that will hike costs for in-state students 31 percent over four years. Currently, UConn tuition is $10,524 annually for in-state students and $32,066 for non-residents. For in-state students, the proposal being pre- sented this month to trustees would increase tuition by $700 in the first year — starting in the fall 2016 semester — and increase over the following years by $775 in 2017-18; $850 in 2018-19; and $950 in 2019-20. Out-of-state and international students' tuition would go up by $950 for 2016-17, and then again by $1,050 for 2017-18; $1,150 for 2018-19; and $1,250 for 2019-20. The tuition increase will contribute $12.8 million toward closing UConn's anticipated $40 million budget gap in 2016-17. The remaining $27.4 million gap will be mitigated through cuts, restrictive hiring, operational efficiencies, and other measures, the university said in an announcement. TECHNOLOGY Farmington's Evariant raises $42.3M Farmington healthcare software provider Evariant said last week it raised $42.3 million in Series C financing. The funding will allow the company to grow its engineering, services, and custom- er-success teams to expand its healthcare provider footprint. Evariant recently opened its fourth office in Austin, Texas, which functions as the company's technology hub. Goldman Sachs led the funding round with participation from Health Enter- prise Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Evariant makes a healthcare customer relationship management (CRM) system that helps health systems attract profitable patient volume and connects patients with providers around their care in new value-based healthcare delivery models. ECONOMY & LABOR Worker deaths decline in 2014 Worker deaths in Connecticut were lower than usual in 2014, according to new information supplied by the state Department of Labor. The construction and transportation and warehousing sectors saw the most on-the-job deaths. The report said 33 workers lost their lives in the state in 2014. That's com- pared to 4,679 work-related deaths across America in the same time frame. On average, 39 people a year die on the job in Connecticut. Connecticut's construction and transportation and warehousing sectors each had seven deaths for a combined 42 percent of 2014 deaths. There were three deaths in the government sector; in the past four years this sector accounted for 16 percent of deaths. EDUCATION Study: Public supports laws against workplace weight discrimination There's broad public support for government policies and laws against weight discrimination in four nations where this form of bias is prevalent, according to a recent multinational study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut. The findings of the study suggest that a key condition needed to foster policy change — strong public support — is present in the United States and three other countries surveyed: Canada, Iceland and Australia. The countries were selected for their comparable rates of overweight and obese adults, as well as similarities in sociocultural values of thinness, parliamentary or congressional democracies, and other societal factors. Public support was strongest for workplace laws that would prohibit employers from discriminating against people based on their weight status, the study showed. The study, which surveyed 2,866 adults between February and July 2013, is the first to examine public support in multiple countries for government legal measures to address weight discrimination, according to its authors. ENVIRONMENT Report: CT among best prepared for climate change A first-time analysis of the country's preparedness for climate-driven, weather- related threats concluded that Connecticut is in the top five most-prepared states. "States At Risk: America's Preparedness Report Card" was released last week by nonprofit news organization Climate Central and consulting firm ICF International. The report gave Connecticut an "A-" grade. Four states received an "A," in- cluding Massachusetts. The report assessed the threats of extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland flooding and coastal flooding. It considered actions states are taking to: reduce current risks, assess vulnerability to future risks, and plan for and attack future risks. The report said Connecticut faces considerable and significantly increasing threat levels from extreme heat, inland flooding, and coastal flooding between now and 2050, but the state has prepread itself by creating a hazard mitigation and climate preparedness plan and by assessing shoreline and inland flooding risks. ENERGY & UTILITIES ISO NE expects sufficient winter power supplies Regional grid operator ISO New England said last week that electricity sup- plies should be adequate to meet consumer demand this winter, but it warned that reliable operations could be threatened by natural gas pipeline constraints. The organization said it identified 4.2 megawatts of natural gas-fired gener- ating capacity that may not be able to receive sufficient fuel on any given day in the months ahead. Most natural gas pipeline capacity is dedicated to commercial and residential heating, rather than power generation, ISO NE said. ISO NE has once again instituted a program that incentivizes oil-fired genera- tors and those that can access liquified natural gas to procure enough fuel in advance of the colder months. That so-called winter-reliability program helped keep the lights on in the region last winter, it said. HEALTH CARE Johnson Memorial OK'd to join Trinity-NE Health State regulators have given approval to Stafford Spring's Johnson Memorial Hospital to become part of Trinity Health-New England. In the last eight years Johnson Memorial twice filed for bankruptcy. Trinity Health-New England will also acquire assets of several affiliated orga- nizations, including Johnson Health Care Inc., and Home and Community Health Services Inc. Trinity Health-New England recently finalized its acquisition of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital and Sisters of Providence Health System in Springfield, Mass. This past January, Johnson Memorial Hospital announced an asset purchase agreement with St. Francis Care (the previous parent company of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center). The acquisition by Trinity Health-New England terminates Johnson's bankruptcy proceedings. Trinity will assume Johnson Me- morial's outstanding debt at the final closing in late December. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW Comptroller projects deficit grows to $122.4M State Comptroller Kevin Lembo reported last week that the state's deficit has increased $4 million to $122.4 million. He said that accounts for about $102.8 million in previously announced rescissions in spending. In a letter to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lembo said the Office of Policy and Manage- ment's latest deficit projection is feasible based on its past success in achieving overall budgeted savings goals. However, Lembo said the ongoing collaborative budget talks involving the ad- ministration and legislative leaders still need to trim up to $370 million in light of troubling economic trends over the past two months. "I am very concerned about more recent disruptions to the state's positive eco- nomic trends," Lembo said in a statement. "Of greatest concern are the last two con- secutive months of state job losses and the related negative impact on the withhold- ing portion of the income tax." He said $350 million is a reasonable reduction target. That projection could change if interest rates rise, Lembo added. BY THE NUMBERS $122.4M The state's current fiscal year deficit after lawmakers have already cut more than $100 million from the budget. 6.8% Connecticut's year over year home price increase in October, including distressed sales, according to CoreLogic. $35M The amount Connecticut would reap in economic value if it didn't tax hopsitals, according to a recent study by the Connecticut Hospital Association. 330 The number of two-lane road miles Connecticut resurfaced this year, which was 25 miles higher than in 2014. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ AT&T raises price for grandfathered unlimited data plans ■ Study: CT second best state to live in ■ UConn proposing four-year, 31% tuition hike ■ Fishman's last day as Travelers CEO ■ Comptroller projects increased deficit of $122.4M 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 UConn President Susan Herbst is trying to figure out how to close the school's $40 million budget gap in 2016-17. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D