There is no "problem" with Hartford

[ironchapman]

I didn't imply anything of the sort if you ever passed reading comprehension! I didn't compare Providence to anything ..I complemented the entire Northeast region on the benefits that we should promote as a region...Your overly-dramatic comments about some comparison that you think I'm trying to make are ridiculous! I am one of the most outspoken reality based posters on the Providence forum....How many Ivy league schools are in the South or Midwest? What's the densest city in the South or Midwest? (4K per sq. mile) People move to these places because of a cheaper cost of living.....and now who's complaining about gas prices? ...answer...Northeastern white suburban commuters who buid homes far away from where they work (Prov.and Htfd.)and people from low and miidle income families that live in the sprawled out South....and eventually you'll here the ex- New Yorkers who moved to Atlanta complaining because they spent 10K in gas this year to get to work..No matter where you live in this country, it's all relative. There is always a balance. I just posted something in the Prov. forum stating that this is what we need to build on as an area. We,as an area, have a much more educated workforce as a whole. There is a talent pool that is generated here that could compare to no other....if only we could convince them to stay here and not go to Atlanta? Maybe, just maybe, we , as an area, should focus our attention on transportaion and convenience factors while marketing this as an alternative to higher gas prices and longer commutes.This could be the catalyst that creates our dilapidated cities into DESTINATIONS. As far as being overt and/or negative, this is an opinion blog.The positive and negative aspects need to be heard for a successful debate on how to move forward as a region. I refuse to portray Providence and Hartford as 2 cities that escaped the Bubonic Plague to emerge as royal Renaissance cities alone. We are moving in the right direction collectively and need to contine to do so in the future with smart decisions...I know I may piss people off from both forums, but I feel that debate is HEALTHY. ...I love New England cities..(Lowell, Lawrence, and New Bedford too) I would like us as aregion to be more open minded with our decisions and collectively create a "vibe" throughout the U.S. as a destination much like Portland, OR and Minneapolis has done. The  whole states of Mass., Conn., and R.I. are smaller than te Florida Panhandle.This would involve transportation to be #1 priority  and have efforts collectively funded and divided among 3 states......

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ivy League is strictly a term used to describe many presigious New England and Mid-Atlantic Universities. There are several in the South that would meet those standards, though: Vanderbilt, Tulane, and Duke to name a few. the densest city in the South (though few people actually consider it a part of the South) is Miami: 39 sq. mi. with 398,000 people. If you want more on this, I will gladly discuss it with you at one of the places I suggested earlier.

Other than that, I quite enjoyed this post. Good work. A very good analyzation of the current situation in many New England cities.

[MadVlad]

If it didn't mean a loss of power in Congress and the Senate, I certainly would think that all of New England should be one State. I also think that Maryland and Delaware should be one state in that case. I'd go into more details, but I don't want to get into the comapring cities thing....

[uconn99]

Ivy League is strictly a term used to describe many presigious New England and Mid-Atlantic Universities. There are several in the South that would meet those standards, though: Vanderbilt, Tulane, and Duke to name a few. the densest city in the South (though few people actually consider it a part of the South) is Miami: 39 sq. mi. with 398,000 people. If you want more on this, I will gladly discuss it with you at one of the places I suggested earlier.

Other than that, I quite enjoyed this post. Good work. A very good analyzation of the current situation in many New England cities.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ivy league isn't just a name given to good schools. Most people don't know where Ivy League came from. It is all centered around sports. "League"

Big Ten, ACC, Big East, Ivy League, ect.......

Ivy League is the name generally applied to eight universities (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale) that over the years have had common interests in scholarship as well as in athletics.

In 1936 the undergraduate newspapers of these universities simultaneously ran an editorial advocating the formation of an ``Ivy League,'' but the first move toward this end was not taken until 1945. In that year, the eight presidents entered into an agreement ``for the purpose of reaffirming their intention of continuing intercollegiate football in such a way as to maintain the values of the game, while keeping it in fitting proportion to the main purposes of academic life.'' To achieve this objective two inter-university committees were appointed: one, made up primarily of the college deans, was to administer rules of eligibility; the other, composed of the athletic directors, was to establish policies on the length of the playing season and of preseason practice, operating budgets, and related matters. Two other inter-university committees on admission and financial aid were added later.

As President Dodds pointed out at the time, the general principles agreed on by the eight universities were essentially the same as those set forth in the Harvard-Yale-Princeton Presidents' Agreement of 1916 (see Big Three).

The first step toward organizing full league competition came in 1952 with the announcement that, beginning with the fall of 1953, each college would play every other college in the group at least once every five years. This plan was superseded in 1954 when the presidents announced the adoption of a yearly round-robin schedule in football, starting in 1956, and approved the principle of similar schedules in ``as many sports as practicable.''

Thereafter, the Ivy Group (as the league was called in the Presidents' Agreement of 1954) established schedules in other sports, including some in existing leagues with non-Ivy members. As of 1977, the Ivy League colleges competed, round-robin, in football, soccer, basketball, and, with certain variations as noted, in baseball (also Army and Navy), fencing (except Brown and Dartmouth), ice hockey (except Columbia), squash (except Brown, Columbia, and Cornell), swimming (except Columbia, but also Army and Navy), tennis (also Army and Navy), and wrestling (except Brown and Dartmouth). Ivy championships in cross-country and track were determined at the annual Heptagonal Meets, in golf at an Ivy championship tournament, and in rowing at the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges Regatta.

The mid-seventies brought the inclusion of women's teams in the Ivy League program with the institution of championship tournaments in basketball and ice hockey, and a move toward round-robin competition in field hockey, lacrosse, and other sports.

Other instances of increasing formalization of the Ivy League occurred in the seventies -- two of them involving Princetonians.

Since 1971, the Bushnell Cup has been awarded to the Ivy football player of the year, who is selected by vote of the eight coaches. This trophy, presented to the Ivy League by the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials, was named in honor of Asa S. Bushnell '21, the first commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, in appreciation of ``his great contribution to the advancement of college athletics.''

In 1973, to provide greater coordination of the athletic interests of the eight universities, the post of executive director of the Council of Ivy League Presidents was created, and Ricardo A. Mestres '31, financial vice-president and treasurer of the University, emeritus, was elected first incumbent. Mestres served in this post until 1976, when he was succeeded by James M. Litvack, visiting lecturer in economics and public affairs in the University.

[ironchapman]

^Indeed. Thanks for filling me in, but how many Ivy League schools are there outside of New England and the Mid-Atlantic States? There are still many schools outside of the Ivy League that are certainly Ivy League quality (i.e. Vanderbilt and Duke especially)

[TheBostonian]

^Indeed. Thanks for filling me in, but how many Ivy League schools are there outside of New England and the Mid-Atlantic States? There are still many schools outside of the Ivy League that are certainly Ivy League quality (i.e. Vanderbilt and Duke especially)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hasn't Stanford been rated higher than Harvard by US News and World Report in recent years? The Ivy League designation certainly doesn't create an exhaustive category of the best schools. Look at Bush with his Harvard and Yale education. I believe he was rejected by Texas A&M graduate school or a different Texas school) before Harvard Business accepted him. Who has the higher admissions standards? Ha! MIT, a prestigious Northeastern school, isn't Ivy Leage.

[ironchapman]

Hasn't Stanford been rated higher than Harvard by US News and World Report in recent years?  The Ivy League designation certainly doesn't create an exhaustive category of the best schools.  Look at Bush with his Harvard and Yale education.  I believe he was rejected by Texas A&M graduate school or a different Texas school) before Harvard Business accepted him.  Who has the higher admissions standards?  Ha!  MIT, a prestigious Northeastern school, isn't Ivy Leage.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Harvard was ranked best in the world this year according to one site I remember visiting. Stanford was right behind.

I'll see if I can find a link.

[TheBostonian]

Harvard was ranked best in the world this year according to one site I remember visiting. Stanford was right behind.

I'll see if I can find a link.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I might be wrong about Stanford. I thought it topped the US News and World Report list.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/r...tudoc_brief.php

Maybe it was a past year. But I don't feel like searching through them.

[ironchapman]

^That's the one I was talking about.

[ctman987]

People move to these places because of a cheaper cost of living.....and now who's complaining about gas prices? ...answer...Northeastern white suburban commuters who buid homes far away from where they work (Prov.and Htfd.)and people from low and miidle income families that live in the sprawled out South....and eventually you'll here the ex- New Yorkers who moved to Atlanta complaining because they spent 10K in gas this year to get to work..No matter where you live in this country, it's all relative. There is always a balance. I just posted something in the Prov. forum stating that this is what we need to build on as an area. We,as an area, have a much more educated workforce as a whole. There is a talent pool that is generated here that could compare to no other....if only we could convince them to stay here and not go to Atlanta? Maybe, just maybe, we , as an area, should focus our attention on transportaion and convenience factors while marketing this as an alternative to higher gas prices and longer commutes.This could be the catalyst that creates our dilapidated cities into DESTINATIONS. As far as being overt and/or negative, this is an opinion blog.The positive and negative aspects need to be heard for a successful debate on how to move forward as a region. I refuse to portray Providence and Hartford as 2 cities that escaped the Bubonic Plague to emerge as royal Renaissance cities alone. We are moving in the right direction collectively and need to contine to do so in the future with smart decisions...I know I may piss people off from both forums, but I feel that debate is HEALTHY. ...I love New England cities..(Lowell, Lawrence, and New Bedford too) I would like us as aregion to be more open minded with our decisions and collectively create a "vibe" throughout the U.S. as a destination much like Portland, OR and Minneapolis has done. The  whole states of Mass., Conn., and R.I. are smaller than te Florida Panhandle.This would involve transportation to be #1 priority  and have efforts collectively funded and divided among 3 states......

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I fully agree that CT, Mass ( Outside of the greater Boston area) and RI need to work on imroving the transportation system and the doesnt mean improving I-95, it means instituting more public transportation methods and that actually getting people to use these modes of transportation which will be very hard because for example CT is a suburb state and changing peoples views on public transportation will be hard but it can happen. Although Northern New Jersey and Southwestern CT are both well connected to NYC the public transportation system in my opinion travels farther out into the state of NJ then it does in CT.

MetroNorth brings most of its commuters into NYC from most places between NYC and New Haven and so past New Haven the public transportation system is somewat lacking. Although NJ has its problems they have improved and besides an undergroud subway that you can take to get into the city from Hoboken there is also the ferry which brings you into the city and then gives you free bus rides around the city. There are also numerous towns in NJ that have daily buses to the city and are located in Central NJ and there is also the train network in New Jersey that is a bit more complex and more used then the one in CT but CT can improve by for example constructing the New Haven/Hartford/Springfield railway.

On another topic it is human nature that wherever someones job is located they will put up with whatever they have to so that they can go to work and make money. So if there job is located in they city and they live in a suburb thats 1/2 hour away from work and they find out that the cost of gas and the hassle of rush hour is getting to them then they need to do something about it- move closer, move into the city, use public transportation- whatever it takes.

[Florida]

^I usually wouldn't say anything like this, but I think your generalizations about people from the South or so called "bible belt", are absolutely wrong, Virgo.

First you ASSUME that the economies of all of the states in the south center around Wal-Mart... I hope you were able to chuckle at that because I thought it was funny! Arkansas is the only state, I know of, that truly reeps a significant benifit from the Wal-Mart cooporation. Yes, people in the south, and througout the rest of the United States of America enjoy the convienance of a 24 hour store, wether the name be Wal-Mart, Mejier, or 7-11, thats just pure human nature.

Hartford is exciting to a person from Tallahassee because Hartford is a beautiful city, with wonderful chemistry between the man-made and God's natural creation. I see a little bit of Tallahassee when I look at Hartford.

I first fell in love with Hartford when I saw the State House or Capitol Building as we call ours here in Tallahassee. Then there were the images of the growing downtown, with its elaborate architecture, and historic charms mixed in with the modern day progressive highrises. Seen from a distance I saw the Hartford downtown as an island in the middle of a sea of red, yellow, and green canopy, and it reminded me of Home.

When I look at Hartford I see a quality city, with clean streets, beautiful homes, and charming landscapes... I don't see excitement you think we're lacking in the South... take my word, we know how to have fun too. I

I don't know if the great state of Florida is one of the 44 you're licensed in, but you don't have to worry about earning my "Wal-Mart money".

[virgo20]

^I usually wouldn't say anything like this, but I think your generalizations about people from the South or so called "bible belt", are absolutely wrong, Virgo.

First you ASSUME that the economies of all of the states in the south center around Wal-Mart... I hope you were able to chuckle at that because I thought it was funny! Arkansas is the only state, I know of, that truly reeps a significant benifit from the Wal-Mart cooporation. Yes, people in the south, and througout the rest of the United States of America enjoy the convienance of a 24 hour store, wether the name be Wal-Mart, Mejier, or 7-11, thats just pure human nature.

Hartford is exciting to a person from Tallahassee because Hartford is a beautiful city, with wonderful chemistry between the man-made and God's natural creation. I see a little bit of Tallahassee when I look at Hartford.

I first fell in love with Hartford when I saw the State House or Capitol Building as we call ours here in Tallahassee. Then there were the images of the growing downtown, with its elaborate architecture, and historic charms mixed in with the modern day progressive highrises. Seen from a distance I saw the Hartford downtown as an island in the middle of a sea of red, yellow, and green canopy, and it reminded me of Home.

When I look at Hartford I see a quality city, with clean streets, beautiful homes, and charming landscapes... I don't see excitement you think we're lacking in the South... take my word, we know how to have fun too. I

I don't know if the great state of Florida is one of the 44 you're licensed in, but you don't have to worry about earning my "Wal-Mart money".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What are you ? 18? You don't even know what the fvck you're talking about.You probably have never even been to New England....so shut up!! Come here in person and then maybe you could understand what the economy is like and realize how we have struggled collectively to come back from our heydays as urban cores..Tallahassee and Ft. Walton and the panhandle is loaded with uneducated morons who see "canopies" after they've just smoked the last crack pipe....And they're economy does revolve around Wal-Mart and other big-boxes....I've been there! I'm sure you're one of the few that come from an educated family down there...and I'm sure Tallahasse has a few nice spots..but the quality of life is not the same....Come to Broad St. in Prov., Park St. in Htfd., Blue Hill Ave. in Boston, tell me how charming and clean they are!!!Until you've actually been here, keep pulling up UP and looking at all the beautiful canopies as you sit there and get high....And don't tell me how to voice my opinion when I've been here for nearly 30 years and been all over the country including shiIIy sprawled-out geriatric Florida!!! ( including the capital).... What was your point with that last post?

[Recchia]

Dude....it sounded like he was complementing Hartford...chill out damn...

[SOCOM]

There's certainly no need to be calling people uneducated morons. I've lived in New England and New York all my life and I admire many things about the south, and have quite a lot of fun visiting from time to time.

How about expressing your opinion w/o attacking people? Just a thought.

[Cotuit]

People were warned, consequences have been executed. I asks that the people who remain continue with their civilized discussion.

[uconn99]

We really don't need people like Virgo on this board. Chill out, respect a users input, and shut up.

[Florida]

What are you ? 18? You don't even know what the fvck you're talking about.You probably have never even been to New England....so shut up!! Come here in person and then maybe you could understand what the economy is like and realize how we have struggled collectively to come back from our heydays as urban cores..Tallahassee and Ft. Walton and the panhandle is loaded with uneducated morons who see "canopies" after they've just smoked the last crack pipe....And they're economy does revolve around Wal-Mart and other big-boxes....I've been there! I'm sure you're one of the few that come from an educated family down there...and I'm sure Tallahasse has a few nice spots..but the quality of life is not the same....Come to Broad St. in Prov., Park St. in Htfd., Blue Hill Ave. in Boston, tell me how charming and clean they are!!!Until you've actually been here, keep pulling up UP and looking at all the beautiful canopies as you sit there and get high....And don't tell me how to voice my opinion when I've been here for nearly 30 years and been all over the country including shiIIy sprawled-out geriatric Florida!!! ( including the capital).... What was your point with that last post?

[KRC]

People were warned, consequences have been executed. I asks that the people who remain continue with their civilized discussion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

THANK YOU! Hopefully this will prevent our urban discussion from deteriorating to the immature crap I've been reading in other UP areas.

[MadVlad]

I'm 20. I have been to Hartford... like I said, I love that city. 

But if my being involved in these discussions incites this much anger, I figure I'll just keep my distance and watch as this city grows from afar. 

For all of you who were kind... thanks. 

-TJL

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

TaureanJ, we here in Hartford would like you to keep posting your thoughts, just my opinion...

[TheBostonian]

THANK YOU!  Hopefully this will prevent our urban discussion from deteriorating to the immature crap I've been reading in other UP areas.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think one of this forum's biggest assets, on top of everyone's passion for all things urban, is the fact that it is moderated.

[KRC]

I think one of this forum's biggest assets, on top of everyone's passion for all things urban, is the fact that it is moderated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sing it brother!