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www.HartfordBusiness.com June 27, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 7 WHAT'S AHEAD: ■ 7/4 Focus: Bioscience ■ The List: Physical Therapists ■ Nonprofit Profile: Connstep Inc. CALENDAR TUESDAY, JUNE 28 Connecticut Data Collaborative Conference The Connecticut Data Collaborative is hosting a statewide conference that will highlight the rapidly expanding volume of state and municipal data that has been added to the publicly accessible website, www.ctdata.org, and the many ways the data can be used by a range of businesses, town and city governments and various organizations in the state to further policy development, evaluation and analysis. The conference will also launch a new pilot program, CTData Academy, being developed to increase data literacy, build data capacity and enable nonprofits, state and local government, community groups and business organizations across the state to more effectively curate their own data and use open data sources in order to better understand, measure, advocate and impact their clients, residents and customers. The June 28 conference will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Institute of Technology & Business Development at CCSU, 185 Main St., New Britain. For more information or to register contact: Michelle Riordan-Nold, 860.571.6214, mrd@ctdata.org. F O R A C O M P L E T E L I S T O F G R E A T E R H A R T F O R D B U S I N E S S E V E N T S , G O T O W W W . H A R T F O R D B U S I N E S S . C O M A N D C L I C K O N ' C A L E N D A R . ' A L L C A L E N D A R I T E M S M U S T B E S U B M I T T E D E L E C T R O N I C A L L Y V I A O U R W E B S I T E , H A R T F O R D B U S I N E S S . C O M . HEALTH CARE Medical marijuana patient rolls climb 44% The number of medical-marijuana users registered with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection has jumped 44 percent since December. That follows an increase of more than 40 percent in the prior three-months period. As of June 19, there were 11,058 registered medical marijuana patients in the state, compared to 7,665 as of Dec. 15. New Haven County continues to lead the state when it comes to medical-marijuana patients with 2,702 registered users. Hartford County, formerly third, is now in second place with 2,466 regis- tered users. Fairfield is next in line with 2,377 users. Blumenthal asks DOJ to block health insurer mergers Connecticut's senior U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said last week he opposes two pending insurance mega-mergers and is asking the Department of Justice to block the deals. Blumenthal co-authored a letter with several other U.S. Dem- ocratic senators asking the Department of Justice to reject the proposed Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna mergers because of their "detrimental impact" on "premium prices, jobs and health care costs for consumers and businesses." "These mega-mergers are job killers." Blumenthal said. "I strongly support steps to help these insurers succeed and expand here in Connecticut, so they can do more business and more hir- ing here. We need them — as thriving, independent competitors." The senators said both deals would substantially harm competition. Blumenthal's public opposition to the mergers puts him a tricky spot since Cigna and Aetna are both based in Connecticut. YOUR LIFE'S WORK DESERVES MORE THAN A DEADBOLT. HD Surveillance anD Detection Get Cox Business Security Solutions with HD Surveillance and Detection. View crystal-clear video in high definition, day or night, with our lineup of HD commercial cameras. Receive text and email alerts if an alarm is activated. On call 24/7, it goes the extra mile to protect your business. Security that means business. call ( 877 ) 404-2523 visit coxbusiness.com/securitysolutions *Cox Business Security is available to business customers in Cox Business Connecticut service areas. Service not available in all areas. Service Agreement required. Other restrictions may apply. © 2016 Cox Business. All rights reserved. ENERGY & UTILITIES CT institutions part of $70M federal energy investment Three Connecticut institutions are part of a winning bid for a $70 million federal energy efficiency innovation investment, ac- cording to a White House announcement. As members of the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC), University of Connecticut (UConn), and Connecticut Center for Advanced Tech- nology (CCAT) will receive support from the Department of Energy to boost research that will help manufacturers reduce costs and increase energy efficiency. The Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition will bring to- gether nearly 200 partners to launch the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute, focused on accelerating the development and adoption of advanced sensors, data analytics, and con- trols in manufacturing, while reducing the cost of these tech- nologies by half and improving the efficiency of U.S. advanced manufacturing. Medical marijuana is weighed at a dispensary. P H O T O | H B J F I L E