Week in Review: March 30-April 5

by Lauren Milka
DTHartford Staff

       The city of Hartford has been flooded with the hope of change and new beginnings over the past week. Last Wednesday, a charrette was held at the University of Hartford Handel Performing Arts Center to discuss the redevelopment of the area of Albany Avenue and Homestead Avenue. This area of Hartford, just beyond downtown, is full of abandoned buildings and vacant lots, but it is also an area that gets much commuter traffic. The redevelopment ideas were spread across tables used by many different groups sharing their own ideas for projects. RealHartford's Kerri Provost shared the experience, explaining that several of the ideas that were being shared were, in her opinion, not thought out too well. She says about one idea for relocating Hartford Lumber: "Having to interrupt and press for an answer, I learned that no, the businesses being considered for relocation had not been approached." 

     The people in attendance were allowed to vote about what ideas they liked or not, but as Provost explains: "At the charrette, participants were encouraged to vote for designs they liked and provide comments. An Albany/Homestead Goals Timeline Sheet was given so opinions on priorities and timeframes could be given, but they were just distributed with no explanation." 
Provost's story about her experience at the charrette can be found on her blog here. 

     The very next day on Thursday, April 4, Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the state's new gun control bill, which was the same day that would have been one of the Newtown victim's 7th birthday. Mayor Pedro Segarra of Hartford said of the signing "Today is an historic day for the state of Connecticut. [...] We have proven today that you can achieve consensus and move beyond the partisan bickering to affect real change." The entire quote from Mayor Segarra can be found here from Hartford Cityline's author, Vanessa de la Torre. Photos from the signing can be found here from the Hartford Courant's website. 

     On Friday, April 5, the excitement over the new bill for the state of Connecticut carried over into the messages of those urging Congress to move forward with a national gun control bill. US Sens. Blumenthal and Murphy were at Hartford City Hall preparing to speak with Congress and urge them to make further progress on the bill, showing that it can in fact be done. CT NewsJunkie contributor Christine Stuart wrote about the aftermath of the state's bill, and what this means now for the country. She writes: "They need 60 votes in the Senate to proceed with a debate on legislation that would expand criminal background checks to all gun purchases and put an end to gun trafficking. An assault weapons ban and a ban on high-capacity magazines seems out of reach, but [Blumenthal and Murphy] remain hopeful those measures will also get a vote." Stuart's story can be found in its entirety on CT NewsJunkie. 

     Stuart also mentions in her article about President Obama's visit to Hartford, happening this coming Monday, April 8 at the University of Hartford. Tickets to the event were available for a limited number of current faculty, staff, and students on Friday, who are anticipating the President's speech about national gun control. The Connecticut Post expanded on the details of the new state bill, as well as details about the President's coming visit. 

     In a state where new beginnings are afoot, the University of Hartford had students and staff volunteers venture downtown to help with the new beginnings of the coming springtime. The school's third annual event "Hawks Helping Hartford" happened on Friday, April 5 -- which was one of the first days of the year that has actually felt like Spring weather -- with four different areas needing service. Volunteers started their work with a meeting on campus at the campus center before heading out to their four different sites: Mortensen River Front Plaza, where volunteers swept, planted, and mulched for spring beautification; Hyland Park, where volunteers made repairs to the Little League field; Clay Arsenal and Albany Avenue, where volunteers picked up litter in the area; and Tabor House, a home for homeless men living with HIV/AIDS, where volunteers cleaned and inside and outside of the home. The Hartford Guardian has more details about the day of service.