Hartford Business Journal

4 Hartford Business Journal • January 22, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Briefs CT out of running for Amazon's HQ2 Amazon has released a "short" list of cities it's considering for its second headquarters. And, not surprisingly, Connecticut isn't on it. The 20 potential cities include Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Montgomery County in Maryland, Nashville, Newark, New York City, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Toronto and Washington D.C. Last year, Amazon received bids from 238 cities and regions from across 54 states, provinces, districts and territories across North America. The company said it would make a decision in 2018. Called HQ2, the new facility will cost at least $5 billion to construct and operate, and will create as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs. Hartford and East Hartford teamed up for a bid, as did the town of Enfield and the Stamford region, but none of them were selected. Amazon said it evaluated each of the bids based on the criteria it previously outlined, such as proximity to a major airport and ability to attract tech talent. Personal income in CT, long lagging, fell last fiscal year Though state government received some good fiscal news in the form of surging income tax receipts, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has warned officials to temper their expectations. And a recent analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts supports the argument for caution, showing Connecticut has been lagging the nation in personal income growth since the last recession. And most recently that meager growth has been slowing down. The analysis found personal income has grown nationally by 1.6 percent annually — adjusted for inflation — between 2007 and the second quarter of 2017. And in Connecticut growth has been just 0.6 percent annually over that period. Personal income growth here wasn't just poor over the past decade. During the last fiscal year, Connecticut's personal income fell 0.6 percent compared with the prior year — one of just 10 states to fall nationally and fifth-lowest overall. Among neighboring states, only Rhode Island lost ground in the 2016-17 fiscal year with personal income dropping 0.1 percent. Growth in Massachusetts (1.1 percent), New York (0.7 percent), and New Jersey (0.3 percent) did fall short of the 1.3 percent national growth rate. – Keith Phaneuf | CT Mirror Manchester engineering firm Fuss & O'Neill appoints new CEO Manchester engineering firm Fuss & O'Neill Inc. has named Chief Operation Officer Kevin Grigg its new CEO, effective July 1. The board of directors chose Grigg to replace Peter Grose, who has been CEO for the past eight years and will retire after 39 years with the firm. Grigg has been with the firm for the past five years in a career spanning more than 30 years, and has managed projects and business units in the environmental, facilities, water and transportation markets. Fuss & O'Neill operates 10 regional offices throughout all six New England states, two LLCs and has more than 300 employees. CT joins multi-state, 'net-neutrality' appeal Connecticut and 20 other states and the District of Columbia have teamed up to ask a federal appeals court to restore rules permitting the internet to operate openly and fairly. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said his office had joined New York's attorney general and 19 others in petitioning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission's December ruling that repealed its 2015 order on so- called "net neutrality" rules. In Jepsen's petition, Connecticut argues that the FCC's action was "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion" and that it violated federal laws and regulations. As previously reported, net neutrality would prevent internet providers from blocking a rival's content or creating "fast lanes" for companies willing to pay extra to deliver their content more quickly. "The Internet should always remain open and free," Jepsen wrote. "In the face of the FCC's action, and the inaction of Congressional leadership to right this obvious wrong, state attorneys general are today taking this first step in asking the court to overturn the FCC's order. I'm proud to stand with my colleagues in strong support of net neutrality and opposed to the FCC's illegal action." Week in Review TOP STORY Dillon: Aer Lingus' Dublin flight to remain as Norwegian Air quits Bradley A s Norwegian Air plans to end short-lived flights to Scotland out of Bradley International Airport, airport operators are anticipating an aircraft upgrade in 2019 for Aer Lingus' route to Dublin. Norwegian Air, which began summer and winter flights to Edinburgh, Scotland, in June, announced Jan. 15 it would be ending the service March 24. The airline said it's canceling the flight after Scotland postponed a reduction in air passenger taxes, which is undercutting Norwegian Air's ability to offer ultra-low-fares, said airline spokesman Anders Lindström. Its business model for U.S. flights to Edinburgh was predicated on seeing those taxes being reduced, he said. T.F. Green Airport in Providence and Stewart International Airport in New York — the two other airports Norwegian Air links to Edinburgh — will see service reductions, Lindström said, for the same reasons Bradley service was eliminated. The Norwegian route was the second trans-Atlantic flight out of Bradley. Aer Lingus' flight to Dublin remains solid, said Connecticut Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon. "While we are certainly disappointed by the discontinuation of the Norwegian service, the CAA will continue moving forward with our strong partnership with Aer Lingus," he said. "The route between Dublin and Bradley has shown promising growth, and, after recent discussions, we are confident that the Bradley route is currently in line for an aircraft upgrade in 2019." Aer Lingus is going to be replacing its fleet with more efficient Airbus aircraft that offer greater passenger amenities, Dillon said. BY THE NUMBERS $184M The total estimated cost this year and next of recently restored cuts to Con- necticut's Medicare Savings program. 21 The number of states, Connecticut included, that as of last week had signed on to a federal appeal of the Federal Communications Commis- sion's repeal of "net neutrality" rules. $900M The amount of money headed for Connecticut's Rainy Day Fund, a windfall attributed to the recently enacted federal tax cuts. 0.6% The annual drop in personal income in Connecticut last fiscal year. TOP 5 MOST READ On HartfordBusiness.com • 1. Dillon: Aer Lingus' Dublin flight to remain as Norwegian Air quits Bradley • 2. Ex-Angelo's restaurant auction underway • 3. Report: Greater Hartford proving more attractive for office, industrial tenants • 4. UConn startups raise record-setting $60M in funding in 2017 • 5. Chris Dodd joins D.C. law firm 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 Linkedln: 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 PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Kevin Grigg, CEO, Fuss & O'Neill Inc. Norwegian Air will make its last flight out of Bradley International Airport March 24.

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