Creative Writing in Hartford
While riding my bike past The Beacon Light and Supply Company’s Walnut Street facility on the day it didn’t rain, I noticed their fantastic sign with the vintage-modern lettering.
But the official sign is not nearly as interesting as the mural that Quirk Middle School students have drawn on the lower portion of the wall. Very creative - a modern version of the painted ads that used to be common on the side of city building.
Hartford Public Safety Complex
Work continues on the future Hartford Public Safety Complex on High Street. These pictures show the progress as of Saturday, June 27, 2009. The current schedule calls for the project to be complete in April 2011, and look something like this.
The roof of the former Hartford Board of Education building has been removed as crews work to preserve the historic brick facade. Looking into the structure, the second floor railing and spindles are visible in the small atrium beyond the front door. You can also see the supports for the former drop ceilings, hanging well below the actual ceilings.
Below the pictures are links to articles that have been written about the project over the past few years.
July 26, 2006: Half Million for New Public Safety Complex (The Hartford News)
March 12, 2007: City Council Authorizes the Use of Eminent Domain (HartfordInfo.org)
July 17, 2007: Public Safety Complex Nears Reality (WFSB)
January 21, 2008: Conflict Holds Up New Public Safety Complex (Hartford Business Journal)
May 20, 2009: Public Safety Complex (courant.com CityLine)
June 8, 2009: Downtown Public Safety Complex Good for Residents, Development (Hartford Courant)
June 26, 2009: House Approves Larson’s Funding for Hartford Public Safety Complex (tmcnet.com)
Anyone Want Some Styrofoam?
My education about the ubiquitous white packing material began with an electronic smack-down from the good folks at Dow Chemical who invented Styrofoam(R). Their product is an extruded polystyrene, and far superior to the white material (expanded polystyrene) of everyday life. The real Styrofoam(R) was used by the US Navy to make life rafts during World War II, and continues to be used for insulation and craft projects. They specifically distance themselves from the coffee cups, coolers, and packaging materials that the uninformed commonly refer to as styrofoam.
While there is an abundant amount of information about the origin and uses of the various polystyrene derivations, there does not seem to be much guidance about how to safely dispose of it. The best general article I found takes on the recycling challenge directly. The website has a search feature to look for local drop-off sites, and suggests a number of re-use options for those of us that cannot recycle directly.
Recycling in Greater Hartford is overseen by the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, who maintain links to the programs of the individual towns. Here in Hartford the curbside recycling program does not include polystyrene, which I learned this week (see photo). And I had even bundled the pieces with twine just like the newspapers and magazines - what a waste! The pickup people gave the pile a once-over and then continued on their way. Calls to the Waste & Recycling Division of the Hartford Department of Public Works and the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority have not yielded any definitive answers. I’ll update the post if one (or both) gets back to me with helpful information.
So I guess that leaves me to dispose of this stuff on my own - does anyone want some styrofoam? I have some excellent pieces for protecting the corners of rectangular items…