Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com November 14, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 7 WHAT'S AHEAD: ■ 11/21 Focus: Banking & Finance ■ The List: Largest Small Business Lenders ■ Nonprofit Profile: Greater Hartford Legal Aid CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16 The Economy, The Markets and the Next President Ron Insana, a contributor to Comcast NBCUniversal's networks CNBC and MSNBC, will present the talk, "The Economy, The Markets and the Next President," at 2 p.m. on Nov. 16, in the Mount Caramel Auditorium at Quinnipiac University, 275 Mount Carmel Ave., Hamden. Insana is a contributor to CNBC and MSNBC, where he discusses economic and market issues of the day. He also delivers The Market Scoreboard Report to radio stations around the country. He has written for Money magazine and USA Today and has hosted two nationally syndicated radio programs. In addition to his work as a business journalist, Insana was the CEO of Insana Capital Partners, from 2006-2008, which, at its peak, managed the $125 million Insana Capital Partners "Legends Fund." This event, sponsored by Quinnipiac's School of Business and Comcast, is free and open to the public. ENERGY & UTILITIES Mattress recycling saves $1.5M in disposal costs Connecticut's Bye Bye Mattress Program has recycled 150,000 mattresses, saving cities and towns more than $1.5 million in dis- posal costs, according to the first annual report released by the Mattress Recycling Council. Robert Klee, commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said the program has created jobs and saved municipalities $1.5 million in disposal costs. The program de- buted in May of 2015 and issued its first annual report last week. The program also has recovered more than 2,800 tons of steel, foam and other materials that will be made into new products and expanded the collection network to 101 free drop-off sites that more than 2.3 million residents across Connecticut can use, according to the report. The program requires used mattresses to be recycled and is funded by a $9 fee collected by retailers when a new mattress or box spring is sold. ECONOMY & LABOR Bloomfield's Ace Hardware closing Bloomfield's Ace Hardware store is closing 18 months after opening due to poor traffic, its Connecticut operator says. Closeout sales of floor merchandise and inventory at the 699 Park Ave. store began last Friday under a state-issued closeout-sales li- cense and will continue until all is sold, according to Boston retail liquidator Gordon Brothers, which is overseeing the liquidation. Owner Andy Grant said in a statement that his three other Ace Hardware stores in Middletown, Rocky Hill and Norwich will remain. Retail-hardware giants The Home Depot and Lowe's operate warehouse-size stores in Bloomfield's nearby Cottage Grove Road retail corridor. REAL ESTATE CT foreclosures drop in Sept., like most of U.S. Connecticut foreclosure inventory declined in September by nearly 26 percent, paralleling a national trend, according to data from CoreLogic. The property analytics firm released its national foreclosure report last week, which shows foreclosure inventory declined 31 percent nationwide in September and completed foreclosures de- clined by 7 percent compared with September of 2015. In Connecticut, completed foreclosures declined by 44.6 percent, from 4,428 to 2,451, CoreLogic reported. The foreclosure inventory rate in Connecticut was 1.4 percent, while the serious delinquency rate registered 3.5 percent, a drop of 26.9 percent year over year, CoreLogic said. Foreclosure inventory represents the number of homes at some stage of the foreclosure process. Completed foreclosures reflect the total number of homes lost to foreclosure. Since the financial crisis began in Sept. 2008, there have been approximately 6.4 million completed foreclosures nationally, the report states. Ron Insana Patricia L. Boye-Willams pboyewilliams@murthalaw.com Hartford – 860.240.6168 Patti Boye-Williams practices in the fi rm's Environmental and Renewable Energy Practice Groups. Jodie L. Driscoll jdriscoll@murthalaw.com New Haven – 203.772.7748 Jodie Driscoll practices in the areas of Commercial Real Estate, Banking, Aff ordable Housing, and Municipal Law. Kelly A. Trahan ktrahan@murthalaw.com Stamford – 203.653.5417 Kelly Trahan represents clients in all aspects of Commercial Real Estate and Asset Based Transactions. Murtha Cullina Promotes Three Attorneys to Counsel B O S TO N + H A R T F O R D + N E W H AV E N + S TA M F O R D + W H I T E P L A I N S + W O B U R N M U R T H A L AW. CO M © 2016 Murtha Cullina LLP Contact: Jennifer M. 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