Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • February 27, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY Norwegian Air brings trans-Atlantic flight to Bradley Airport Beginning in June, Norwegian Air International will launch summer and winter flights to Edinburgh, Scotland, out of Bradley International Airport, the airline announced. This will be the second airline that has added an international flight at Bradley in less than a year, following the addition of Aer Lingus flights to Ireland last fall. The business community has long advocated for flights out of Bradley to Europe and other international destinations as a way to encourage economic development. Norwegian flights from Windsor Locks will operate three times a week beginning June 17, and twice weekly during the winter season, at an intro- ductory one-way cost of $65, including taxes, the airline said. The new Connecticut trans-Atlantic flight is one of 10 new Norwegian Air routes to northern Ireland and Scotland from: Stewart International Airport north of New York City, T.F. Green Airport in Providence, R.I., and Bradley, the airline said. Norwegian is a low-cost air carrier. EDUCATION UConn STEM building to undergo $85M renovation UConn trustees last week authorized spending $85 million to renovate its Edward V. Gant building in Storrs, which is heavily used for enrollment and re- search in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The first phase of improvements to the 285,000-square-foot complex in- cludes work on classrooms, lecture halls, teaching and research laboratories, faculty offices and support space. The building's façade and roof will be reconstructed to better prevent leaks and save energy, while the outdoor plaza area will be improved to be more invit- ing and accessible to the campus community. The University Information Technology Services (UITS) data center will also remain and continue to be fully operational throughout the project renovation, UConn said. TRANSPORTATION $50M expansion OK'd for Hartford regional rail system The state Bond Commission has approved $50 million to help fund the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) rail line expansion. Department of Transportation (CTDOT) Commissioner James P. Redeker said the money was authorized on Feb. 1. The funding will support design and environmental permitting for the new CTrail Hartford Line stations in North Haven, Newington, West Hartford, Windsor, Windsor Locks and Enfield. It will also help pay for 7.5 miles of double track from Windsor to Enfield. Scheduled to launch in 2018, the CTrail Hartford Line will offer more frequent and faster passenger rail service between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield by increasing the number of round-trip trains from six daily Amtrak intercity and regional trains to a total of 17 round-trip trains a day to Hartford, and 12 trains per day to Springfield. The majority of the existing rail stations will be replaced and several new stations will be built, Redeker said. HEALTH CARE Fewer employers offer health insurance, fewer employees sign up The percentage of employers offering health insurance fell to 45.7 percent in 2015, the latest data available, driven largely by more small employers not offering health benefits, according to a new study. In Connecticut, 48.6 percent of all employers offered employer-sponsored health insurance, down from 52.3 percent in 2014. In Connecticut, 98.1 percent of large employers offered health plans, up from 97.9 percent in 2014, but only 32.8 percent of small employers offered it, down from 36.5 percent a year earlier, according to researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC), a program of the Robert Wood John- son Foundation and a part of the Health Policy and Management Division of the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Rate of CT workplace injuries, illnesses exceeds nation's More than 36,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported among Connecticut's private-industry employers in 2015, resulting in an inci- dence rate of 3.2 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers and higher than the national rate of 3.0, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Connecticut was among 21 states that had a workplace incidence rate sig- nificantly higher than the national rate, Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown said. BY THE NUMBERS 48.6% The percentage of Connecticut companies that offered employer- sponsored health insurance in 2015, down from 52.3 percent in 2014. $3.3B The value of the shares Hartford health insurer Aetna plans to repurchase after its proposed merger with Humana fell through. 2,307 The number of single-family homes sold in Connecticut in January, up from 2,020 in the year-ago period, according to Connecticut Realtors. $50M The amount of money approved by the state Bond Commission to expand the New-Haven-Hartford- Springfield rail line program. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ $50M expansion OK'd for Hartford regional rail system ■ UberEATS food delivery expands into Hartford area ■ Malloy, again, fights to eliminate alcohol minimum pricing laws ■ Eversource to spend $75M on tree trimming ■ UConn STEM building to undergo $85M renovation 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 P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D A Norwegian Air plane (like the one shown above) will soon be flying out of Bradley Airport. GOVERNMENT, POLITICS & LAW Malloy, again, fights to eliminate alcohol minimum-pricing laws Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is proposing an update to state law that would prevent retailers from selling liquor at higher prices set by liquor wholesalers. The state's 1981 minimum-pricing law requires retailers to sell liquor products at a minimum price above wholesale. This means that — unlike every- where else in the nation — retailers cannot set the prices of the products they sell in their own stores, Malloy said. Malloy would modify the law to allow small busi- ness owners to sell wine and liquor at actual cost paid. This is the standard used in each of Connecti- cut's neighboring states and nearly everywhere else throughout the country, he said. Malloy's proposal, brought up for the third year in a row, faces significant opposition from smaller liquor stores, which fear it will give larger retailers a competitive edge by allow- ing them to significantly discount their prices Battle over labor's wages heats up at Capitol The clash over labor costs intensified last week at the state Capitol. While one legislative panel split down the middle over whether to raise Con- necticut's minimum wage, unions and their allies rallied to battle proposals that would allow communities to cut worker wages on public construction projects. In little over an hour, the legislature's Labor and Pub- lic Employees Committee defeated one bill that would have raised the minimum wage, and then adopted a second measure that ordered the same increases. Both bills would increase the minimum wage, which currently is $10.10 per hour, to $11 next January. It would increase by another $1 per hour each January until it reached $15 in 2022. From there, the minimum wage would be tied to the consumer price index and rise annually in pro- portion to the rate of inflation. Meanwhile, the Con- necticut Building Trades Council, other unions and their allies rallied to block proposed changes to Connecticut's prevailing-wage statute. – Keith Phaneuf | CT Mirror P H O T O | F I L E

• Cover