[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

You're missing my point. I don't disagree with what you stated above. My initial comment noted how CT's extreme wealth gap - largest in the nation - affects where our state stands on the list of public school rankings. You began to refute that by saying MA's wealth gap is greater, which statistically, it doesn't come close. I stand by my original statement.

I'm not saying rankings are meaningful or that they should be taken seriously. The extreme poverty affects our rankings. Nothing more, nothing less.

I never said "Massachusetts". I said "metro Boston" which turns out to be incorrect when I looked it up. The Boston Globe has said Boston and I assumed it was the metro area. Boston is the #1 city. Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk is the #1 metro area.

New York is the #1 state with Connecticut #2. That's both using the Gini coefficient from census data and by looking at the top-1% versus the bottom 99%.

I don't see how a big wealth gap makes schools in failed cities any better or worse. The whole country socioeconomically self-segregates with the affluent college educated professionals in suburban enclaves that keep the poor people out who would pollute their school systems. If you're affluent and live in one of those places, it's great. I certainly benefited from it. If you're poor with inadequate parenting and lousy role models & peers, you're stuck in that failed urban school system with pretty low odds of escaping. I don't care if that's Hartford, Springfield, the Bronx, Camden, or Baltimore. There's nothing special about Connecticut. It shares the same issues as the rest of the Northeast Corridor states.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I never said "Massachusetts". I said "metro Boston" which turns out to be incorrect when I looked it up. The Boston Globe has said Boston and I assumed it was the metro area. Boston is the #1 city. Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk is the #1 metro area.

New York is the #1 state with Connecticut #2. That's both using the Gini coefficient from census data and by looking at the top-1% versus the bottom 99%.

I don't see how a big wealth gap makes schools in failed cities any better or worse. The whole country socioeconomically self-segregates with the affluent college educated professionals in suburban enclaves that keep the poor people out who would pollute their school systems. If you're affluent and live in one of those places, it's great. I certainly benefited from it. If you're poor with inadequate parenting and lousy role models & peers, you're stuck in that failed urban school system with pretty low odds of escaping. I don't care if that's Hartford, Springfield, the Bronx, Camden, or Baltimore. There's nothing special about Connecticut. It shares the same issues as the rest of the Northeast Corridor states.

I guess I'll repeat, again, that when diverse states are stacked up against less diverse states, the extreme poverty in diverse states works against them in rankings. So while New Jersey's top districts could perform better than New Hampshire's top districts, NJ will still come out below NH due to your Camdens and Newarks.

Anyway, this conversation is meaningless to me, so I'm out!

[NewEnglandMan22]

Originally Posted by beerbeer

This is the problem.

My Grandfather Started My Business. The State Is Hurting It. - Hartford Courant

I completely agree!!! The last few sentences she states how much she likes CT but the previous paragraphs would certainly make it seem otherwise right? Do we really need to give so many of these ungrateful silver-spoon elitists a platform to bash the state?

The amount of times the state has bent over backwards for the aerospace industry here is shocking and yet she seems entirely unaware of this treatment. I found her acrobatic ability to shovel every negative economic cliche at CT quite impressive though!

[SeaDoo342]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I guess I'll repeat, again, that when diverse states are stacked up against less diverse states, the extreme poverty in diverse states works against them in rankings. So while New Jersey's top districts could perform better than New Hampshire's top districts, NJ will still come out below NH due to your Camdens and Newarks.

Anyway, this conversation is meaningless to me, so I'm out!

And on a smaller scale you see that happen with towns. Even when looking at income... you have a town like Oxford or Monroe, which have an average income of 105k/107k, and West Hartford at 84k. WH's most wealthy are probably wealthier than the other two, but WH has condos and working class sections that Oxford/Monroe don't have. So that's why rankings aren't all they are cracked up to be..

[synchem]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

I have driven in Boston during the AM + PM rush hours, and its the only place I've seen where the EZ pass lanes were longer than the cash lanes at the tolls.

Since MA switched to all electronic tolls I would assume this doesn't happen any more.

Definitely during the week I'd say this was the case. The weekend was always the reverse with cash lines much longer.

[beerbeer]

Could Red Sox Triple A farm club leave Rhode Island for Hartford? Many obstacles but owners don't say "No."

"It would be premature and inappropriate to comment on that possibility," said Larry Lucchino, former Red Sox president and CEO who is the leader of the Pawtucket ownership group.

Triple A Baseball In Hartford? With Many Obstacles To Overcome, Long Shot At Best - Hartford Courant

[Matrix2791]

Originally Posted by beerbeer

Could Red Sox Triple A farm club leave Rhode Island for Hartford? Many obstacles but owners don't say "No."

"It would be premature and inappropriate to comment on that possibility," said Larry Lucchino, former Red Sox president and CEO who is the leader of the Pawtucket ownership group.

Triple A Baseball In Hartford? With Many Obstacles To Overcome, Long Shot At Best - Hartford Courant

I'm surprised Providence isn't trying harder to get the team in their city? I wonder how it easy it would be to expand Dunkin Donuts stadium to 10,000 seats? Long shot yes, but we do have a shiny new stadium.

[MMS02760]

Originally Posted by Matrix2791

I'm surprised Providence isn't trying harder to get the team in their city? I wonder how it easy it would be to expand Dunkin Donuts stadium to 10,000 seats? Long shot yes, but we do have a shiny new stadium.

No place in RI was or is willing to throw out the type of money (in excess of 70M) that Hartford did in exchange for bankruptcy.

The new Pawsox ownership initially wanted to move the club to downtown Providence. The plan was however heavily dependent on taxpayers. The proposal had the owners paying upfront for the 85M downtown stadium and parking garage. The stadium would however be owned by the state and the state would have had to pay a net 4M to the Pawsox each season over the 30 year lease deal ($120 million over the life of the lease). People in RI balked at this sweetheart deal for the owners. Also complicating the move was the site the Pawsox chose. The land in question was freed up by the relocation of Route 195. It was slated for park space and bio-technology type businesses (it is just south of the downtown between Brown and the hospital complexes). A stadium did not fit the vision for this area.

Ownership went back to the drawing board and developed a more balanced financing deal keeping the team in its longtime home city just north of Providence. Legislation in the RI General Assembly was recently drafted for a new 83M stadium adjacent to Route 95 alongside the Blackstone River in downtown Pawtucket but it stalled before the session ended. It calls for the State of RI to contribute 23M and the City of Pawtucket 15M. The Pawsox would add $45 million ($12 million upfront, the rest paybacks on money borrowed by the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency). The legislation did not make it to a vote during the last state general assembly session before the Pawsox-City of Pawtucket exclusive deal date expired. It is expected to come up in the next session (possibly in the Fall).


New PawSox Ballpark Bill Emerges in Rhode Island Senate | Ballpark Digest

[Matrix2791]

Originally Posted by MMS02760

No place in RI was or is willing to throw out the type of money that Hartford did in exchange for bankruptcy.

The new Pawsox ownership initially wanted to move the club to downtown Providence. The plan was however heavily dependent on taxpayers. The proposal had the owners paying upfront for the 85M downtown stadium and parking garage. The stadium would however be owned by the state and the state would have had to pay 4M to the Pawsox each season over the 30 year lease deal ($120 million over the life of the lease). People in RI balked at this sweetheart deal for the owners. Also complicating the move was the site the Pawsox chose. The land in question was freed up by the relocation of Route 195. It was slated for park space and bio-technology type businesses (it is just south of the downtown between Brown and the hospital complexes). A stadium did not fit the vision for this area.

Ownership went back to the drawing board and developed a more balanced financing deal keeping the team in its longtime home city just north of Providence. Legislation in the RI General Assembly was recently drafted for a new 83M stadium adjacent to Route 95 alongside the Blackstone River in downtown Pawtucket but it stalled before the session ended. It calls for the State of RI to contribute 23M and the City of Pawtucket 15M. The Pawsox would add $45 million ($12 million upfront, the rest paybacks on money borrowed by the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency). The legislation did not make it to a vote during the last state general assembly session before the Pawsox-City of Pawtucket exclusive deal date expired. It is expected to come up in the next session (possibly in the Fall).

Proposed Downtown Pawtucket Ball Park


Blackstone River on the left and Rte 95 on the right in photo. Site is approx 6 miles north of downtown Providence close to the Massachusetts border. (site of present APEX pyramid shaped building)

New PawSox Ballpark Bill Emerges in Rhode Island Senate | Ballpark Digest

I'm sure little Rhody can swing $23 million...

[MMS02760]

Regarding the Courant story on Triple A Baseball in Hartford, more background and history on the Pawsox stadium situation in RI:


A new ballpark without fleecing taxpayers

http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Oli...entity=ar01700