An element of mystery has been added to the 23rd Annual Community
Congress of Hartford Areas Rally Together (HART) this Friday,
October 16, at 6 pm at Burns School. According to a press release
issued by HART announcing the annual meeting, several busloads
of HART members will pay a visit to an official "who has
been a barrier to progress on an important neighborhood issue"
immediately after the Congress. A HART spokesman refused to identify
the official or the location of the "visit" but did
indicate that it was related to the insurance industry.
Hartford's high car insurance rates, which have been a priority
for HART since the group was founded in 1977, will be among the
top issues at Friday's Congress. Other main issues up for discussion
are building trade and construction jobs, after-school programs
for youths, education, downtown development and its effect on
the city's neighborhoods, environmental justice and public safety.
Among the officials scheduled to speak at Friday's meeting are
U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, Mayor Mike Peters, Councilwoman
Frances Sanchez, State Senator John Fonfara, State Representative
Art Feltman, Arthur Anderson, Chairman of the Capital City Economic
Development Authority, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and
James McDonough, Director of Strategy for the Office of National
Drug Control Policy. For more information, call 525-3449.
