Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • May 16, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW Law establishes entrepreneur learner's permit program Similar to a driver's permit program, the governor has signed into law legisla- tion creating an entrepreneur learner's permit program. While it doesn't require a road test, it does provide entrepreneurs just starting out a two-year grace period. The idea behind the new law, which takes effect July 1, is to assist first-time entrepreneurs in starting new information services, biotechnology and green technology businesses by providing reimbursements to them for any state filing, permitting or licensing fees associated with the formation of such a business in the state. The program will be overseen by Connecticut Innovations. ACCOUNTING Grant Thornton moves to downtown Hartford Chicago accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP has finally found its new down- town Hartford home. The accounting-consulting firm said last week it relocated its temporary Rocky Hill office to 90 State House Square downtown. The national firm en- tered Connecticut in 2011 following its acquisition of Boston-based CCR LLP, which had a Glastonbury office. Grant Thornton said it is occupying 7,928 square feet of space in its new Hartford quarters and has plans to double its Connecticut workforce over the next two years. Grant Thornton, which also has a newly designed Stamford office, had 19 local CPAs and 40 staff in Connecticut as of Aug. 2015, according to Hartford Business Journal's Book of lists. ECONOMY & LABOR Homelessness continues to drop in CT Connecticut continues to make gains in its effort to end homelessness, ac- cording to a new annual count of homeless residents in the state. The Point-in-Time Count report released last week showed that overall, homelessness in Connecticut is down nearly 4 percent compared to 2015, and has dropped by 13 percent since 2007. The report identified 3,902 individuals experiencing homelessness, down from 4,038 residents in 2015, the previous low point in the annual count. BIOSCIENCE Jackson Lab discovery may lead to new ways to treat brain diseases Researchers at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, and their col- laborators said they have found that the buildup of certain molecules in the brain may lead to diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and Lewy body dementia. Their finding, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci- ences, shows that a buildup of the basic building blocks of lipid molecules called "sphingolipids" could be linked to epilepsy, dementia and other neu- rodegenerative diseases, according to the researchers, who add that under- standing how sphingolipids work may lead to new approaches to treating those diseases. ADVERTISING, MEDIA & MARKETING New Bradley marketing effort urges travelers to 'love the journey' The Connecticut Airport Authority got a briefing last week on the new mar- keting campaign for Bradley International Airport — a blunter, catchier, more technologically up-to-date version than in past years. The campaign — which urges travelers to "love the journey" — involves digital, radio, television and print advertising, including digital billboards, and many ads aimed at passengers on Metro-North trains to and from New York City. "What we're really selling is convenience," CAA Executive Director Kevin Dillon told the board members. "We're trying to show people the distinction between this airport and the other competing airports." The campaign targets business and leisure travelers in Fairfield, New Haven, and New London counties, Springfield, and Albany, "where people are deciding among nearby airports," said Dan Odonnell of the Odonnell Co., which is man- aging the campaign. (Journal Inquirer) EDUCATION Yale deemed best college value in CT Yale is considered the best value for a college education in Connecticut. It took that top spot from UConn in a study released last week. SmartAsset's second annual Best Value Colleges study shows Yale leads for Connecticut this year, after the list was topped by UConn in 2015. Schools were ranked as a result of their performance in categories including scholarships provided, starting salary, tuition, living costs and retention rate. Yale had an overall education value index of 80.64, according to SmartAsset, which gave 25 percent weighting to starting salary, tuition, and living costs; and 12.5 percent weighting to scholarships and grants and student retention rate. UConn had a score of 64.67. The remaining top five schools in Connecticut and their scores were: Trinity College, 54.21; Fairfield University, 51.28; Wesleyan University. Quinnipiac to launch engineering school After a $9 million investment, Quinnipiac University will launch its new school of engineering this fall. It will be the Hamden university's ninth school. Justin W. Kile has been appointed founding dean of the new School of En- gineering. It will offer programs in civil, industrial, mechanical and software engineer- ing leading to bachelor of science degrees. In addition, it will offer a bachelor's degree program in computer science. For the last four years, engineering courses have been offered by Quinni- piac's School of Business and Engineering. HEALTH CARE UConn Health moves patients into new hospital tower UConn Health has begun moving patients into its new 11-story John Dempsey Hospital tower in Farmington. About 80 to 100 inpatients took part in a move last week, according to a notice from UConn Health. The new hospital tower includes 169 single-bed inpatient rooms, an expanded new emergency department and 28 bed intensive-care unit, among other features. BY THE NUMBERS 3,902 The number of homeless residents counted in Connecticut in 2016, which was down 4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Point- in-Time Count report. $225,000 The median sales price of a single- family home in Connecticut during the month of April, down from $232,000 in the year-ago period. 1.7% The percentage of Connecticut mortgages in foreclosure in March, down from 2 percent a year earlier. $5M The amount of money the town of West Hartford is offering UConn to buy the school's West Hartford campus, which is less than half the amount of a previous offer. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Senate GOP leader blasts CBIA ■ Quinnipiac to launch engineering school ■ ADP: CT 2nd worst in job growth ■ Grant Thornton moves to downtown ■ Yale deemed best college value in CT 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, CT Health Care Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW TOP STORY Budget to close FY 2017 deficit State lawmakers late last week debated in special session a $19.7 billion spending plan for the 2017 fiscal year that would help close a projected $1 billion deficit. According to the legislature's Office of Fiscal Analy- sis, the revised midterm budget makes combined Gen- eral Fund changes of $961.6 million, including $844.1 million in expenditure cuts and no tax increases. A major part of the budget is approximately $300 million in salary reductions for state employees. This could result in up to 2,500 layoffs. The budget also revises how the Office of Policy and Management and the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Anal- ysis calculate estimates for future expenditure growth. Currently, OPM and OFA determine growth based on current spending. The proposed bill would calculate growth only through fixed-cost drivers, which would include debt service, Medicaid, pensions and other entitlements. P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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