The Bobcats have won the festival of top-tier state teams three years in a row, and have proven that Connecticut’s answer to Boston’s Beanpot can be a springboard for bigger things.

“I love the time of year that we do it,” Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. “You’ve got your team set, you’re getting ready. You’re not fully into playoff mode but you’re getting there, and any time you can play for a trophy, better that it’s late in the year, it is a great springboard to get us ready for an ECAC run and hopefully for all four of us, an NCAA run.”

Dom Amore: With Hudson Schandor’s rock-steady leadership, UConn hockey striking for new territory

The Bobcats knocked off UConn in 2023 and carried that momentum all the way to the Frozen Four, where their will to survive and advance culminated in a national championship. They knocked off the Huskies again last January at the XL Center to skate back to Hamden with the trophy, and again played deep into the NCAA Tournament.

This fifth staging of CT Ice, rotating to Fairfield and Sacred Heart’s lavish new Martire Family Arena this weekend, finds all four teams with varying degrees of tournament hope. UConn and Quinnipiac start off at 4 p.m. Friday, with Yale vs. Sacred Heart to follow.  The winners meet Saturday night. The $70 million arena has 3,600 seats and a full house, or near to it, is expected.

For UConn, getting over the in-state hump could be the springboard to a breakthrough to the national stage. The Huskies have had a productive start to the second half, sweeping New Hampshire at home Jan. 11-12 and getting a win and a tie, four of six points, in a weekend series at Maine last week. They are No.9 in the all-important PairWise ratings, which is well into at-large territory for the NCAA Tournament. With Hockey East stacked with five of the top nine teams, none of its contenders would want to have to win the conference tournament to move on to the big one.

The NCAA Tournament has eluded UConn since it joined Hockey East in 2014, as has the CT Ice trophy.

“I have always said, from my years of coaching in the Beanpot (while at Boston College) and this tournament, I think it’s a great dress rehearsal for what’s to come,” UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “When you’re playing in a game where there’s a trophy on the line, it’s single elimination, it prepares your team to play a little bit differently. It’s different from the following weekend, we play Providence and if you lose the first, it doesn’t mean your chances of winning anything are gone.”

Quinnipiac (14-7-2), at No. 14 in PairWise, could push itself back up onto familiar territory with another Connecticut crown, or at least better position itself for the ECAC Tournament. Yale (5-11-1) beat Boston University on Dec. 29, indicating the Bulldogs can be a dangerous underdog. Sacred Heart (14-8-4), which snatched the first CT Ice title in 2021, is in first place in its conference, Atlantic Hockey America, and has impressive out of conference wins over Cornell and UMass.

“We’ve played some really good teams during the year and have had some ups and downs,” Pioneers coach C.J. Marottolo said. “But you pull experiences. We’ve come from behind, we’ve had good third periods, we’ve had good starts. There are a lot of things that create experiences for your team. On any given night, any team can beat anybody. The three teams in this tournament, it’s unbelievable competition.”

UConn has risen on the shoulders of veterans Hudson Schandor, who has more than 100 career points, and John Spetz, who returned for a fifth season. Heroics have been coming from a variety of players. Joey Muldowney scored four goals in the win at Maine last Friday and Avon’s Jake Percival came up with a goal late in the third period to force OT in the second game.

“Maine’s a very tough  place to play,” Cavanaugh said, “one of the best atmospheres in college hockey, a tough place to get points. I was proud of the team’s effort, but there’s a long way to go. From week to week, it can change very quickly. In tournaments like this, we’re going to have to play our very best. Quinnipiac’s a three-time champion and they’ve got a lot of pedigree.”

Freshman Claire Murdoch brings a mature game to UConn women’s hockey

Quinnipiac has lost four of five games earlier in the season against Hockey East opponents Maine, New Hampshire and Northeastern, but is unbeaten in its last five games. Sophomore Mason Marcellus (five goals, 18 assists) leads the team in scoring, and has 59 points in 62 college games. Senior Jack Ricketts leads the Bobcats with 10 goals.

Junior Felix Trudeau, with 13 goals and 14 assists, leads Sacred Heart with 27 points in 26 games.

Ronan O’Donnell, a first-year player from Fairfield, leads Yale with nine goals and five assists. The Bulldogs’ captain is senior Will Dineen, from the famous hockey family, including his father, Kevin, the Whalers captain in the 1990s, and grandfather Bill, who coached the Whalers in the 1970s.

“I came into the year expecting a lot,” Yale coach Keith Allain said. “We had a good, big freshman class, our seniors are great. We’ve been pretty banged up all through the fall. So I went into Christmas break not really sure what we had, but we’re getting healthier and since we’ve come back we’ve played well. We’re a better hockey team than we were Dec. 1, that’s for sure, and we’d like to use a tournament like this to make sure we’re a better team Feb. 1 than we are right now.”

Dom Amore’s Sunday Read: CT Sun staying put, charting new course into WNBA future; On Titans’ Will Levis, Coach K’s idea

That, plus those who operate the restaurant are known as “well respected veterans in the hospitality industry.”

Not only was it recently named 2024 restaurant of the year, that honor also made the relative newcomer the first Fairfield County restaurant to capture the state title from Connecticut Restaurant Association.

Bar Rosina’s in Greenwich topped all the others in the CRA’s Crazies awards, where 25,000 votes were cast by the public and industry experts.

CRA president and CEO Scott Dolch, who didn’t have a vote in the awards, said the win “is a big deal in that area, especially a restaurant that is a stone’s throw from the New York line getting recognized as the best in the state.”

The restaurant was opened in August 2021 by longtime friends Chef Jared Falco, 39, and Coby Blount, 40, who specializes in working front of house and is general manager.

The two met working in a restaurant in 2014 and became fast friends with a dream to open their own place.

“I’ve had the opportunity to dine at the restaurant and their food, drinks and overall hospitality was extraordinary,” Dolch said.

Falco, who has been experimenting with cuisine since childhood, as both of his parents worked, later “fell in love with business,” he said.

Receiving the Best Restaurant in Connecticut award, “blew me away,” he said.

“For me it was a surprise. We were significantly younger and never thought we had a shot,” he said.

But Dolch isn’t surprised, he said all the signs of success were there.

“They are both well respected veterans in the hospitality industry in Fairfield County,” Dolch said.

He said Chef Jared was a finalist for Chef of the Year at the CRAZIES in 2022, their bartender Juan Meyer was up for Bartender of the Year in 2022 and the restaurant was a finalist for Restaurant Newcomer in 2022. This is the 6th year of the awards.

“Also know that Chef Jared has a huge chef following among the chef/culinary community, he is a rising star who works hard on his craft day in and day out,” Dolch said.

Guests who have reviewed the restaurant online rave about the food and atmosphere in the restaurant with simple, but elegant decor.

“The food here was fantastic! Awesome drinks and wine list too,” one guest wrote. “Everything is made in house with a clear passion for food. We ordered a lot, and everything was absolutely delicious.”

Another wrote: “We love bringing the family here… The ambience in the restaurant is perfect, with a solid menu and wine list to match. Wood fired pizzas with perfect base/crust and all homemade pasta.”

Blount said they’re going for an “upbeat, energetic vibe,” and reviews indicate that’s been accomplished.

Everything on the menu is from scratch, the pasta, the cheese, and the fresh produce flows from many sources, as the restaurant has a garden, they buy at farmer’s markets and Blount’s father-in-law, a silent partner, contributes from his own massive garden.

The restaurant is named after Blount’s father-in-law/silent partner’s late mother, Rosina, an avid cook and gardener.

Blount said they buy products “hyper local,” including meats.

“We do our best to make guests happy,” Blount said. “I like that every day there’s a new challenge… a new chance to make someone’s day better.”

The menu is brimming with interesting offerings, including appetizers such as ravioli filled with house made ricotta and truffle; octopus and potato with marinara, pimento, lemon aioli; chicken cutlet with house breading, parmesan, lemon; grilled artichoke with garlic aioli.

One online reviewer said Bar Rosina’s Caesar salad is “the best” she’s ever had.

They carry 11 kinds of New York-style pizza, eight pasta dishes and entrees such as center cut veal chop parmesan, Branzino, New York strip, and chicken scarpariello.

One reviewer said Bar Rosina, “Is a place I dream about now.”

“A fantastic restaurant where you walk in and immediately feel at home. The attention to detail is everywhere,” they wrote.

Another reviewer wrote the pasta was “delicate, yet firm,” with the most perfect juxtaposition of mouthfeel.”

Customers say Chef Jared and Blount are quick to engage them.

“These guys are the best,” the reviewer wrote.

“I was like, ‘Oh. My. Goodness,’” Innerarity said.

“I’ve never seen this in all my coaching years. I have two freshmen who are leading the team in scoring.”

They are both guards: Mireidys Cruz-DeJesus, who is averaging 15 points per game and Kailyn Grate (18 ppg) for Prince Tech (9-2).

“They are amazing,” Innerarity said. “It was a total surprise.”

Cruz-DeJesus is a 3-point specialist. Both can handle the ball. In a 60-33 win over Abbott Tech last Wednesday, Cruz-DeJesus had 26 points and Grate had 25.

The Falcons are beating teams they haven’t been able to beat in years. They beat Windham Tech in their first game, 51-28. Ellis Tech beat Prince three times last year; Prince Tech beat Ellis 46-43 on Jan. 7.

The freshmen, Innerarity said, are unselfish and play well together.

“They’re not trying to outdo each other and they’re not in competition with each other,” she said.

Last year, the Falcons were the 24th seed in Class MM and lost to Berlin 56-19 in the first round of the state tournament. This season, they’re ranked fourth in Class MM behind Tolland, Sheehan and East Catholic.

Top performances

Maddie Begnini, Mercy: Begnini hit nine 3-pointers and had 33 points as Mercy defeated Foran 61-38 Friday.

Yzabella Colon, Plainville: Colon scored 17 points in a 46-36 win over Hall Saturday and had 15 points in a 57-52 win over Innovation Wednesday.

Maddy Handrahan, Glastonbury: Handrahan had 24 points, six assists and six steals in a 47-44 overtime win over Acton-Boxboro (Mass.) at the Hoophall Classic and had 13 points, three assists and five steals in a 27-21 win over Simsbury Thursday and 18 points in a 68-32 win over Middletown Monday.

Aniya Jenkins, Windham: Jenkins, a senior, scored her 1,000th point and had 24 points in an 85-24 win over Montville Friday.

Kylie Lake, Old Saybrook: Lake had 24 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in Old Saybrook’s 57-51 win over Cromwell Friday.

Sybil Neary, Old Lyme: Neary had 20 points, 13 rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block in a 37-35 win over Montville Monday.

Megan Wresien, Sheehan: Wresien had three 3-pointers and 17 points on Tuesday against Sacred Heart but Sheehan lost in overtime.

Symber Sutton, Innovation: Sutton scored 31 points in a 67-35 win over Weaver Friday.

Sophie Tumulis, Stafford: Tumulis had 15 points and 14 rebounds, two steals and five blocks in a 40-38 win over Comp Sci Tuesday.

Bailey Winner, East Windsor/Bloomfield: Winner had 21 points in a 54-45 win over Canton.

Storylines

Conard senior Emily Knowles set or tied a slew of school records in Conard’s 68-45 win over Bristol Eastern Tuesday. Knowles scored 40 points, which broke her record from last year of 38 points) and tied the school record for 3-pointers (7), broke the record for points in a half (29) and tied the record for points in a quarter (19 in the first quarter).

Sheehan had its nine-game win streak broken when the Titans lost last Tuesday to Sacred Heart 48-45 in overtime. Megan Wreisen scored 17 points for Sheehan (10-2).

Windsor lost last year’s mid-season transfer from New Jersey, Kamaria Bowens (who helped Windsor’s run to the Class L quarterfinals) when Bowens moved to Bristol and is now playing for Bristol Central. But Windsor got revenge of sorts, beating Bristol Central, 67-60 in overtime Jan. 13.

Games to Watch

Plainville (8-3) at Tolland (8-1), Tuesday, 6:45 p.m.: Tolland’s only loss came to Glastonbury and the Eagles, the top-ranked team in Class MM, have won four straight games.

Ledyard (7-3) at Windham (8-1), Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Windham’s only loss came Jan. 9 to New London, 40-35, while Ledyard has won its last three games.

East Catholic (9-2) at St. Paul (5-2), Thursday, 7 p.m.: St. Paul, last year’s Class M champion, has won its last two games after losing to WCA, while East Catholic has won six straight.

Coventry (10-1) at Granby (7-3), Friday, 6 p.m.: Coventry dropped its first loss to Woodstock Academy 47-41 Jan. 13 but bounced back to beat East Granby and Stafford.

The play, running Jan. 23 through Feb. 16, is set in a Black community in the late 1960s, a time period Hartford Stage successfully conjured for the Dominique Morisseau’s “Detroit ‘67” in 2019. This production features several actors who are steeped in Wilson’s work. Some even knew and worked closely with the playwright, who died in 2005.

Jerome Preston Bates, who plays Holloway in the show, said his first Wilson play was a production of “Two Trains Running” in Philadelphia in the early 1990s playing a different character, West. The next one he did found him originating the role of Floyd Barton in the world premiere production of “Seven Guitars” at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. When “Seven Guitars” moved to Broadway Bates went with it, understudying two of the lead roles. Next was “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” at the New Federal Theatre in New York. Then he did Wilson’s “Jitney” at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre. Pittsburgh is where Wilson began his writing career and where most of his plays are set.

“That was four in a row,” Bates said, enough to get him known in theater circles as “an August Wilson actor” though he said there was a 17-year gap before he did another one.

There are 10 plays in Wilson’s Century Cycle, with each play taking place in a different decade of the 20th century. The plays are meant to stand apart from each other, but characters from some plays are mentioned in other ones and there are recurring themes. All the plays concern the difficulties of Black life in America.

Bates directed staged readings of every one of the Century Cycle plays in Augusta, Georgia between 2005 and 2008, and is in the process of doing them all again now in the same city.

Working on important early productions of “Seven Guitars” and “Jitney,” Bates got to know Wilson personally. “During ‘Seven Guitars’ he was still writing, by pencil and paper, the script,” Bates said. “He would give us new pages every day. He was looking up while he was writing, very much in the room. I got to be around him. For ‘Jitney’ I got a little closer to him.

I sat at his tables. I got books from him. In one of them he wrote ‘To Jerome Preston Bates, the first Floyd Barton,’” he said.

Winter theater in CT offers a range of shows from big musicals to insightful intimate dramas

Hartford Stage has now brought Bates back to his first Wilson play, “Two Trains Running.” The play, set during the heated Civil Rights protests of the late 1960s, takes place in a diner in the Hill district of Pittsburgh. The seven characters, which include the diner’s owner Memphis and his employee Risa, debate issues of the day, including the death of a local religious leader, whose body is lying at a funeral home on the same block, the likely sale of the diner, various work and life troubles and the potential payout from the neighborhood numbers racket.

Bates has appeared on Connecticut stages before in other great Black dramas such as Michael Henry Brown’s “Generations of the Dead in the Abyss of Coney Island Madness” at Long Wharf Theatre in 1990 and Samuel E. Kelley’s “Pill Hill,” both in its premiere at the Yale Repertory Theatre’s Winterfest in 1990 and when Hartford Stage did it in 1992. He had to step into the Hartford production at short notice and despairs that he didn’t get a chance to get to know the city. Now he gets another opportunity. “It’s incredible to come back to Hartford after 32 years,” the actor said.

It’s a welcome return to Connecticut for the play as well. The world premiere of “Two Trains Running” at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven in 1990 featured the stellar cast of Laurence Fishburne (who won a Tony for playing Sterling when the show moved to Broadway), Samuel L. Jackson, Samuel E. Wright, Ella Joyce, Sullivan Walker, Leonard Parker and Al White. When the production went to Broadway two years later, Fishburne, Walker and White were still in the cast, while Roscoe Lee Browne replaced Wright as Holloway, Anthony Chisholm, not Jackson, was Wolf, Cynthia Martells was Risa and Chuck Patterson, rather than Parker, was West.

Bates’ character Holloway is described in Wilson’s stage directions as “a man who all his life has voiced his outrage at injustice with little effect. His belief in the supernatural has enabled him to accept his inability to effect change and continue to pursue life with zest and vigor.”

The rest of the cast includes David Jennings as Hambone, Rafael Jordan as Sterling, Postell Pringle (from Hartford Stage’s production of “The Hot Wing King”) as Wolf, Taji Senior as Risa, Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. (the artistic director of HartBeat Ensemble who is making his third appearance in a Hartford Stage play following “All My Sons” and “It’s a Wonderful Life”) as Memphis and Jeorge Bennett Watson as West.

Yale Rep was known for nurturing Wilson’s work. Lloyd Richards, who directed the world premieres of five of the plays in the Century Cycle, was the Yale Rep’s artistic director in the 1980s and also the artistic director of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford where most of the plays had their first readings. This meant that other Connecticut theaters tended not to do the plays. But with “Two Trains Running,” Hartford Stage has now done four Wilson plays in the past 18 years, the previous ones being “Fences” in 2007, “Gem of the Ocean” in 2011 and “The Piano Lesson” in 2016.

Gilbert McCauley, who is directing “Two Trains Running” for Hartford Stage, has never directed this play before, though he’s helmed productions of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” (in Ghana), “The Piano Lesson” and “Fences.” He has seen “Two Trains Running” done and, like a lot of Wilson fans, is “not sure why it doesn’t get done more often, though I do know of two other productions coming up right now. There’s something about how it speaks to people today. There’s a harmony of meaning in a way, all this stuff happening at that time in this Pittsburgh neighborhood. The language of it is heightened. The subject matter ranges from gritty to everyday to humorous to sad.”

McCauley is a professor in the theater department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where is he starting rehearsals on a production of Aishah Rahman’s “Unfinished Women Cry in No Man’s Land While a Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage” immediately after “Two Trains Running” opens in Hartford.

He met Hartford Stage’s artistic director Melia Bensussen through the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society union (for which Bensussen serves on the executive board). “I reached out to her last year about doing a different Wilson play,” McCauley said. “Melia is a great artistic director. You don’t always get someone who’s so welcoming.”

The director noted that “Two Trains Running” is the play in the Wilson cycle that takes place in the late 1960s, when, in real life, its playwright was in his early 20s just starting his writing career and especially aware of what was happening on the streets of Pittsburgh. Another distinction of this play is that unlike “Fences” or “The Piano Lesson” or several other plays in the cycle, it doesn’t involve members of the same family. “It’s a motley crew, all from different backgrounds,” McCauley said.

The play is willfully “deceptive,” the director said, in how it reveals its greater, more universal meanings by “talking about everyday things. These are people who have come to their last refuge here. They are dealing with a world outside that’s not so friendly to them and does not have their best interests at heart. There’s this destruction going on all around them. I wanted to evoke the sense of this place that is worn but very cared for, that feels like a safe place.”

“Two Trains Runnings” runs through Feb. 16 at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is no 2 p.m. matinee on Jan. 25 and no public performance on Feb. 4. $20-$105. hartfordstage.org/two-trains-running.

Well over a century later, the city now is aiming in a big way to build on recent efforts to again raise its profile as a center of innovation — this time in technology. Hartford — now among the poorest cities in the nation — is aspiring to become a center for what is expected to become the most consequential technology ever: artificial intelligence.

Hartford is among more than 30 applicants — municipalities, colleges and universities and economic development groups — vying for funding in a $100 million state program to promote the development of what are considered key innovative industries. Those include biotechnology, financial technology, insurance technology, and advanced manufacturing.

The state is expected to announce finalists this week in the “Innovation Clusters” program, which promises investments up to $50 million. The finalists will be asked to submit more detailed proposals, perhaps collaborating with other applicants with similar ideas. Multiple recipients are expected to be chosen by early fall, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development, which is administering the program. The funding requires a match from other sources.

“We think that with the kind of corporate footprint we have, and the incredible higher-end institutions we have, here in this region, we can build something truly special, something unique, something that draws folks to this region and builds out a workforce that is unparalleled in this country when it comes to AI,” Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam told a recent gathering of business and community leaders.

Hartford’s AI aspirations could cost as much as $100 million over seven years, beginning first with temporary space and then a permanent location that might take two years to build.

City officials declined to name potential locations for the AI center, saying it’s too early in the planning.

But some say possible candidates could include the area around where the city wants to demolish a former data center, just east of Dunkin’ Park. City officials have said the razing of the data center could clear the way for advanced manufacturing and technology uses, as well as a hotel and apartments. An AI center with laboratory space would likely be combined with other uses, including housing, co-working space and a hotel, according to its application filed with DECD.

Other potential sites are Constitution Plaza and the former Stanley Black & Decker manufacturing accelerator space or even the transit-oriented development envisioned for the site of the decaying One Talcott Plaza. The city is seeking state funds to demolish both the data center on Windsor Street and the Talcott structure, but those requests are pending and are not necessarily assured.

An ‘AI sandbox’

The region’s major insurers — the majority of them with a significant presence in Hartford — have written letters of support for Hartford’s vision for AI. Those include Travelers, The Hartford, Cigna and CVS Health, the parent of Aetna. In addition, other major corporations such as Hartford Healthcare, the parent of Hartford Hospital and six others in Connecticut, and manufacturing giant Stanley Black & Decker have lined up behind Hartford.

Hartford also is drawing support from colleges and universities, which see the core of the city proposal in the Connecticut AI Alliance. The alliance, now being organized to strengthen the state’s approach to AI, sees Hartford’s plans in partnership with industry, academia, non-profits and government to use AI to solve real-world problems.

Jennifer Widness, president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, said AI technology is evolving so rapidly that no one organization can keep up, and resources are limited so collaboration is necessary.

Hartford’s plan for an “AI sandbox” will help “ensure that our evolution is informed by industry needs so that we may train the workforce of the future and so that we may accelerate innovations in health care, insurance, manufacturing and municipal government,” Widness said, in an email.

Hartford leaders, including City Council President Shirley Surgeon, support the effort because it has the potential to bring AI skills and employment to Hartford residents.

Even with the support, Hartford still must raise the matching funds that are required under the clusters program.

Building on a foundation

An AI center in Hartford would build on a foundation of other software and digital service companies such as GalaxE.Solutions and HCL Technologies that have planted their flags in Hartford in recent years. The biggest boost, however, came in 2018 when India-based tech giant Infosys established a hub at downtown Hartford’s Goodwin Square tower.

Jeff Auker, the city’s director of development services and a former Infosys executive in Hartford, said the AI center would be separate from what the corporations are spending on AI — estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But collaborations with them are absolutely foreseen, Auker said.

The city also isn’t focusing on the incubator space for start-ups that could too easily relocate, Auker said.

Auker said Hartford’s sweet spot is the area between the large companies and the start-ups. This is where new ideas — some developed at colleges and universities — are tested and worked on in a lab using digital tools that are commercially available.

“There’s a big gap between what the universities do and where does the IP get created,” Auker said. “Where does it get applied to particular problems? So this is the space that we want to play in. We don’t want to take away from investments that Yale, UConn and other schools are putting into it. We don’t want to compete with OpenAI and Microsoft and Google for who can create the best model. That’s trillions of dollars of investments.”

The problems could range from finding ways for municipalities to become more efficient, say, in permit reviews or how police deal with routine reports. The center could help smaller companies who can’t afford to invest in AI to find better ways of doing business. Research could delve into “population health,” the study of the health of certain demographic groups and how to improve it.

‘Most consequential technology’

AI, at its most basic, is technology that allows computers to perform tasks that were previously thought to required human intelligence. AI systems can perceive learn, reason and solve problems, at a quicker pace than humans.

Modern AI has been developing since the 1950s with the advent of the computer. In recent years, new uses have accelerated rapidly: self-driving cars; voice assistants like Siri and Alexa; chatbots and virtual customer service; and “recommendation engines” that use machine learning to suggest products, services or content to user.

Worries over how AI will impact the existing workforce, especially in lower-paying jobs vulnerable to automation, have been highlighted in several high-profile studies. One, from consulting firm McKinsey & Co., pointed to a deepening of the racial economic divide because a disproportionate number of low-wage jobs are held by people of color.

But the 2023 study also noted that AI could “unlock” the path to more high-paying jobs based on experience rather than solely the college degree.

In his farewell speech as president last week, Joe Biden pointed to the double-edge sword of AI.

Biden called AI “the most consequential technology of our time, perhaps of all time.”

“Nothing offers more profound possibilities and risks for our economy, and our security, our society,” Biden said. “For humanity, artificial intelligence even has the potential to help us answer my call to end cancer as we know it. But unless safeguards are in place, AI could spawn new threats to our rights, our way of life, to our privacy, how we work, and how we protect our nation. We must make sure AI is safe and trustworthy and good for all humankind.”

Biden called on America to lead the development of AI, not China.

The coming realization that AI is quickly permeating the workplace was on full display in Hartford last week. Google and Charter Oak State College announced a free online course for adults to learn about AI and how it is expected to dramatically reshape the workplace.

The regulation of AI is expected to be debated at the state Capitol this legislative session. Gov. Ned Lamont said last week he is concerned about regulating the industry because it could stifle innovation. There are already consumer protections in place, Lamont said.

The state Innovation Cluster initiative replaced the earlier “Innovation Corridor” program. Hartford also sought funding in the previous program, targeted to the city’s Parkville neighborhood. The corridor program proved difficult because state funds could only account for 20% of the project. Finding matching funding proved a difficult, if not insurmountable, obstacle. The Innovation Cluster program requires a direct match.

Daniel H. O’Keefe, DECD’s commissioner, said the cluster initiative has two goals: the development of next-generation technology, such as AI, to the benefit of the state’s mainstay industries; and how it can encourage startups to flourish. Both will help build the state’s workforce in the future, O’Keefe said.

“In my background as a technology investor, I’ve seen large waves of innovation,” said O’Keefe, who invested high growth, innovative companies in the software, consumer and fintech markets for 25 years prior to his appointment at DECD. “I lived through the Internet, the mobile Internet, and I think AI has implications that are larger than both of those.”

Reporting by Courant Staff Writer Christopher Keating is included.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.

Firefighters responded to a blaze at an unoccupied building on Ward Street around 11:45 p.m. and found that the three-story structure was fully engulfed in flames, according to the Hartford Fire Department.

The fire was so intense the structure collapsed and spread to another three-story building occupied by multiple families, fire officials said. Everyone inside made it out safely.

The fire was put out but not before the vacant building and the multi-family structure sustained heavy damage. As a result, 20 people were left without a home, officials said. This included 18 adults and two children.

The fire department’s Special Services Unit and the American Red Cross responded to assist the displaced residents.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Key Capture Energy appears on the brink of winning CT Siting Council approval to build a nearly 5-megawatt facility in Granby, even though municipal leaders have been warning for months that the plan creates pollution and safety risks that Granby can’t overcome.

Based on a straw poll of Siting Council members on Jan. 9, the plan is poised to win official approval in a formal vote next week.

The Albany-based energy company has said for the past half-year that its facility would be safe, and the Siting Council this month concluded it meets fire safety regulations. But Granby leaders contend otherwise.

“It is difficult to imagine a more inappropriate site for a Battery Energy Storage System facility,” First Selectman Mark Fiorentino said Thursday. “The Salmon Brook site is surrounded by a high-density residential area, is adjacent to a busy retail center, and is located on a groundwater aquifer that supplies potable water to a significant portion of Granby.”

Fiorentino issued a statement calling on Siting Council members to reconsider their support, and warning that his town is at severe risk if the council makes an error.

“The project involves clear, significant public health and safety risks that can be completely and easily avoided with no discernable impact on the state’s goals related to renewable energy and power grid resiliency,” he wrote. “The council need only follow a safety guideline it utilized just two months ago to deny similar, but smaller, BESS projects in New London and Waterford.”

Granby’s central complaint is that if a battery storage unit burns, it could create a so-called thermal runaway in which materials burn so hot that firefighters can’t extinguish them, and must instead leave them to simply burn out. During that time, toxic chemicals could be draining into a nearby aquifer or into Salmon Brook, the town warned.

But in its 33-page analysis of the proposal, Siting Council staff on Jan. 3 gave no evidence that the facility would violate fire safety standards or state health and water protection codes. Although the proposed site is within Granby’s aquifer protection zone, it doesn’t fall into any state-designated zone, the analysis noted.

In a non-binding straw poll Jan. 9, five members said they intend to approve KCE’s plan at the council’s Jan. 23 meeting, while just two said they’d vote against it. A sixth indicated strong support, but said he would need to review evidence before voting.

“I don’t care for the site myself, but I see no reason not to approve it,” said Chairman John Morissette, one of the five yes votes. “The characteristics of the site meet all the requirements. There could be better sites but this is the site they chose.”

Council member Quat Nguyen, however, agreed with the town’s objection that firefighters aren’t guaranteed an unimpeded way to reach the site.

“Should there be an emergency or fire, the current indirect access could hinder the ability of fire trucks or equipment to maneuver around,” he said, adding that he will be a no vote.

Brian Golembiewski said he’d approve the project with provisions that KCE do what’s possible to reduce operational noise and prevent tree clearing that could endanger northern long-eared bats. He also said KCE should be required to document any training or equipment it provides to local volunteer firefighters.

Several council members noted that Connecticut’s power system needs more battery energy storage units. KCE has said its project would be a benefit to the region.

“The project is located at an area on the distribution network with appropriate charging and injection capacity to allow a project of this size to operate. The project will be able to support the future build out of renewable intermittent energy in this rural area of the grid,” the company said in its application.

“The project will be able to indirectly benefit the electric system due to its availability to charge from resources that may be generating at a time of low demand and make the energy available during periods of high demand,” it said.

Connecticut gives authority to the Siting Council on matters like KCE’s plan, and town officials said they’re frustrated that they don’t have more of a voice in the matter. If the council won’t or can’t value public safety adequately, something is wrong, Fiorentino said.

“Under the state’s regulatory system, we have no authority or ability to protect our own citizens,” he wrote. “We must rely on the Connecticut Siting Council to do so.”

And now on Fridays, she’s taking extra care of those with allergies or sensitivities to gluten.

In addition to her regular menu in Rocky Hill, which already has many gluten-free dishes, Robaina is introducing Gluten-free Fridays with additional menu items such as organic chicken cutlets and tenders; eggplant torta and cutlets; artisanal beef and chicken meatballs, house-made soups, sauces, and entrees; frozen gluten-free gnocchi and imported Italian gluten-free pastas.

She also will add more flourless dessert choices.

She’ll use handcrafted sauces made exclusively with tamari (a gluten-free brewed soy sauce), gluten-free flours and rice panko.

“For me, cooking is about giving life a flavor, whether it’s through bold, comforting dishes or providing safe, delicious options people can trust,” she said. “Food is how I share my culture (Cuban), my story, and my love for life.”

She said gluten-free Fridays enures she can cater to all food lovers, “ensuring everyone can enjoy flavorful, fulfilling meals made with the same passion and care that defines everything we do at Ani’s Table.”

The usual non-gluten free foods will also be available on Fridays.

Ani’s Table sells gourmet quality heat and serve meals such as braised short ribs; chicken coq au vin; signature lasagne with beef, pork, veal; duck fried rice; shrimp lo mein; gumbo with shrimp, beef, sausage; teriyaki salmon; sesame tuna and noodles; Moroccan lamb stew. There’s also a half roasted chicken dinner with butternut squash and asparagus.

Ani’s Table also has a deli that sells sandwiches on house made panini.

Her popular, fast-growing business, open for nearly two years, attracts customers from all over the state.

Robaina, former executive chef at Pond House in Elizabeth Park, is located in the old DiFiore’s space at 397 Cromwell Ave.

It’s not that the river had suddenly gotten choppy; it’s waves of consternation on the East Hartford side and further, where everyone from local police to a state agency and local river stewardship organization have gotten involved in asking what the heck the sailboat is doing anchored on the river in the middle of the winter.

The sailboat, which looks like it is about 30 feet long, was anchored south of the Founder’s Bridge.

A spokesman for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said the agency, which heard from the East Hartford Harbormaster, initially consulted Department of Motor Vehicles registration records “which indicated that the vessel was currently registered.”

However, also according to the DEEP spokesman, the agency has since “learned in subsequent conversations with the Harbormaster, the boat was sold to a new owner prior to DEEP’s involvement which was not immediately apparent since the DMV does not collect or share information on vessel sales. Because the boat was not re-registered after the sale, the registration ceased to be valid, and as a result, the vessel is now considered unregistered.”

And that, according to DEEP, which cited a state law on the matter, means the “vessel now qualifies as abandoned due to its improper registration and having been left on Connecticut waters for more than 24 hours.”

“As we understand, the Town of East Hartford is in the process of submitting the necessary paperwork to DEEP to initiate the abandoned vessel process. Under the law, once DEEP receives this paperwork, DEEP attempts notification to the vessel owner who then has 45 days to remove the boat,” the DEEP spokesman said. “If the vessel remains unclaimed after that period, it will not be available for general claim by others, but ownership is transferred to the complainant — in this case the Town of East Hartford. At that point they can handle the boat as needed.”

East Hartford Police Department Public Information Officer Marc Caruso confirmed that the department is “in the process of filing the proper paperwork for an abandoned vessel with DEEP.”

Caruso also said that the sailboat had not capsized, and, in fact, was “secure now by ice.” He said there were no water tow companies able to come out and tow the vessel “due to the weather and ice” but that the boat is “not an immediate hazard.”

Caruso declined to name the owner of the boat; DEEP was asked to identify the owner of the vessel but did not. The Courant has requested a copy of the police report on the issue.

Caruso later said that he spoke with the “owner” and “he is going to move the boat as soon as weather and conditions permit.”

The reported owner called WFSB, according to the news station, telling them the boat was there because “the prices of marinas are way too high.” The Courant is not naming the man because he was not named by authorities.

Photos shared with the Courant from people who work nearby show the vessel has moved and that most recently it appeared to be listing to starboard with its keel in the mud. One local river watcher said he has seen the boat “getting bashed by ice floes.”

The DEEP spokesman also said that, once the vessel is “identified as abandoned, which can be documented by filing of a police report or by the submission of the notice of abandoned vessel to DEEP, as noted … the town is indemnified against harm to the vessel in the processing, storage or movement of the boat. Therefore, under (state law) once East Hartford has documented that the boat is abandoned, they may move the boat.”

The spokesman said that “It’s important to note that after the 45-day period, the boat is not listed for general public claim. Rather the vessel becomes the property of the complainant.”

The boat also drew the attention of others familiar with the river.

Michael Zaleski, president & CEO of Riverfront Recapture, Inc., an organization that acts as stewards of the river and manages nearby parks, said the organization is aware of the concerns but does not have authority to do anything about it.

“Riverfront Recapture is aware of the sailboat that has been anchored in the river south of the Founders Bridge for several months,” he said. “We have advised the owner on several occasions that the location is not a safe one, especially during the winter. We have also discussed the presence of the boat with the East Hartford Harbormaster, East Hartford Police Department and state DEEP.”

The East Hartford mayor’s office also was aware of the boat, said Marissa Baum, head of communications for the office of the mayor. Baum said in general that the mayor doesn’t comment on ongoing police matters. She also noted that the police department is working with DEEP to address the situation in ways “that align with their policies and procedures and there will be a resolution as the process allows.”

Regarding anchoring in the Connecticut River, the DEEP spokesman said it is allowed, as long as it is not in a federal navigation channel, it isn’t a navigation hazard, it isn’t impacting a riparian property owner’s right to access and it is not inconsistent with the provisions of a state-approved Harbor Management Plan (East Hartford does not have one).

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that police said they spoke to the owner of the boat and he said he planned to move it.

The 38-story office skyscraper on Asylum Street was purchased in 2015 by Boston-based Paradigm Properties, for $113.3 million. The real estate investment firm borrowed $79.3 million to acquire the office tower, according to documents filed in Superior Court in Hartford on Dec. 30.

The loans that financed the purchase were subsequently sold to investors, which are represented by Wilmington Trust.

In its court filing, Wilmington alleges that “because of the financial performance of the property, borrower does not have adequate funds on hand to meet the property’s financial commitments or have sufficient capital on hand to fund prospective operational needs.”

In addition, “borrower has acknowledged in writing that it is unable to pay its debts as they come due, which is an event of default” in the loan agreement.

Paradigm could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

CityPlace I joins other major office properties in the city that are struggling financially.

Major office towers — 20 Church Street, the “Stilts Building,” Metro Center and a massive chunk of Constitution Plaza — are mired in foreclosure. That’s a concern for property tax revenue that funds city government because foreclosures — and even buildings that are partially empty — typically push down building values that form the basis of assessments. And office towers in Hartford have historically been a major contributor to tax revenue.

There’s also the vexing problem of what should be done with the towers when there is little to no post-pandemic demand for big office leases. Some may not lend themselves to apartment conversions.

One report earlier this year from commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield placed the overall office vacancy downtown at a troubling 35%, and some major office landlords say it is closer to 40% when leases that are soon expiring are taken into account.

The pandemic shifted large populations of office workers to their homes and many returned only part-time to the office. In response, major corporate tenants cut back on their leased spaces.

CityPlace was hit particularly hard when its major tenant, UnitedHealthcare dramatically downsized its space. According to sources familiar with the deal, the health insurance giant cut its 350,000- square-foot space to a little over a tenth of what it had previously leased

The next court date for the receivership request for CityPlace is Feb. 6.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosseln@courant.com.