You could excuse the rather packed list of 19 speakers scheduled for Monday’s big announcement overlooking College Street and the quickly disappearing Richard C. Lee (Route 34) Connector — or the fact that some of them spoke a little longer than perhaps they might have as part of a lineup that deep.

It’s not every day a city breaks ground on 500,000 square feet of mostly already-leased bioscience lab, research and meeting space that will help knit together downtown with Yale’s medical campus and the Hill neighborhood beyond, and directly provide 700-1,000 jobs.

The event, held in a parking lot overlooking the development site and downtown, also kicked off Phase 3 of the Downtown Crossing project, designed to reconnect parts of the city that were separated by the urban renewal projects of the 1950s and ’60s. As part of the work, South Frontage Road will be closed for five months. Read More

When a SpaceX rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida Thursday afternoon, headed for the International Space Station, a medical imaging device made by a Guilford company was on board.

A research team is studying whether the company’s pocket-sized ultrasound device, Butterfly iQ, can be used to help astronauts monitor their health in space.

The device is the brainchild of legendary Connecticut scientist and serial entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg. His Guilford-based company Butterfly Network Inc. launched the portable imaging wand commercially in 2018 and went public earlier this year. Read More

The mayors of several cities are pushing for a tiered payment program in lieu of taxes.

Regional leaders held a news conference on Friday morning.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker joined Hamden Mayor Curt Leng, West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi, Guilford First Selectman Matt Hoey, New London Mayor Michael Passero, Joe DeLong, the executive director of CCM, and Ginny Kozlowski of the New Haven Economic Development Corporation.

They called on Gov. Ned Lamont to support full funding for the tiered payment in lieu of taxes program in the biennium budget.

The "PILOT" program will honor the bipartisan commitment made with the passage and his signing of House Bill 6516 on March 4.

Speakers highlighted the collaborative work of municipal leaders across the state that have supported this measure, as well as its critical role for business and economic growth across the region. Read More

Cambria Hotels, an upscale brand franchised by Choice Hotels International, Inc., continues its expansion around the country with the official start of construction on the Cambria Hotel New Haven in New Haven, Connecticut. The six-story, 130-room hotel is expected to open in summer 2022.

The Cambria Hotel New Haven is a short walk to Yale University, Yale New Haven Hospital Saint Raphael Campus, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, and Yale School of Medicine. The hotel is also near New Haven Green, West River Memorial Park, Hammonasset Beach State Park, and Yale Bowl football stadium.

“The groundbreaking of the Cambria Hotel New Haven illustrates the tremendous expansion of the brand. So far this year, we have already debuted new hotels in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida; Rock Hill, South Carolina; and Washington, D.C.,” said Janis Cannon, senior vice president, upscale brands, Choice Hotels. “We look forward to bringing Cambria to even more of our guests’ favorite destinations this year, including Austin, Texas; Detroit; and Nashville, Tennessee. Cambria satisfies guests’ travel curiosities with inspiring design, approachable indulgences, and special moments, whether they’re looking to escape for an outdoor adventure, soaking in the sun by the beach, or being in the heart of the action downtown.” Read More

Several of Connecticut’s public and private economic development organizations — including the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), AdvanceCT and MetroHartford Alliance — have strategies and marketing plans in place to promote Connecticut as a satellite location for companies located in larger nearby cities.

In fact, they are actively talking with Boston and New York City firms about establishing remote work hubs in Connecticut, where employees who favor living in a lower-cost or less-densely populated area could primarily work. Read More