It’s Saturday night and rather than let another day go by without a posting, the Blogster offers a guest slot to Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele, who could become a candidate for governor next year if Gov. Jodi Rell decides to cut and run. This piece came from Fedele’s media person, Laura Fanelli, so we wouldn’t be surprised if she had something to do with the copy.
If you’re wondering what Fedele’s doing for that $110,000 salary, the Blogster would like to remind you that the Republican lieutenant governor also presides, rather effectively, over the state Senate and its 24-12 Democratic majority.
Here’s Fedele’s PR piece, in its entirety, punctuation shortcomings and all:
Radio & TV, Knives, Cows & Oriental Grass:
Fourteen Days of Business Expansion Around Connecticut
It’s a pretty widely held belief in the news industry that bad news sells. Well, that may be true but I’d like to remind you that with the bad comes the good and that in these crazy economic times there is some good happening.
Take my schedule for the last two weeks: starting the week after the long Labor Day weekend I attended ribbon cuttings at several businesses around the state. Some may scoff at the thought of ribbon cuttings. Well ribbon cuttings represent job creation, business expansion and additional investment in Connecticut’s economy, workforce and quality of life.
The middle of the week found me in northeastern Connecticut visiting with a number of farmers, agricultural business owners and even a microbiologist who developed a new kind of oriental species of decorative grass. Connecticut’s agricultural industry is in the billions and needs to be supported and nurtured. And yes, to use a pun, we need to help our farmers grow their business.
From my agricultural visits, I moved on to another ribbon cutting celebration: a large distribution center and warehouse expansion in Norwalk. More jobs, more investment in Connecticut.
Turn the calendar page and I began the next week with yet another ribbon cutting celebration and grand opening of NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution Media Center. Three nationally televised talk shows are now being filmed on location in Stamford bringing opportunities for people interested in getting into the television industry, young film students, filmmakers and crew members. Each of these ribbon cutting celebrations means economic growth for the surrounding community as well: restaurants, dry cleaners, realtors, gas stations: the more employees there are, the more services are needed.
Along with the expansion of the television industry in southern Connecticut, the music industry is also expanding in northern Connecticut. The second week found me celebrating another business expansion and relocation of a company that is a vital part of the music industry and supplies equipment to artists that are familiar to all of us who love music.
On the other end of the spectrum of business news in these last 14 days, I attended a HYPE event. HYPE stands for Hartford Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs. These are the business owners of tomorrow. Some are starting their business, others are learning how to run a business and even more importantly, they are networking: learning from each other, creating their dream, building their business and meeting others who have done the same. These are the business leaders and business owners of tomorrow.
I wrapped up my week by meeting another group of future business owners and Connecticut professionals: it was my privilege to welcome 22 new American citizens to Connecticut at a Naturalization Ceremony held at the Hartford Public Library. As an immigrant myself who has achieved the American Dream, it was my honor to meet our newest citizens. They came from Jamaica, Poland, Nicaragua and Africa.
Their stories and experiences are different but they are following their dream and I encouraged them not to stop: to take advantage of any and all opportunities for education, to improve their speaking and writing skills and pursue their economic dreams. It is all possible here in America.
That’s a view of Connecticut in just two weeks: business expansions in every corner of the state, a successful agricultural industry, young professionals chasing their dreams and newly naturalized citizens just beginning their journey here in our country.
It was an amazing week for me and a terrific week for Connecticut’s economy. By no means have we turned a corner—I expect the bad news will continue for sometime unfortunately. I have said repeatedly and I strongly believe this to be true: we will come out of the current economic turmoil in a much stronger position if we can make Connecticut a friendlier state in which to do business; if we keep business costs low, cut taxes and help young people like those I met at the ribbon cuttings, agricultural stops, HYPE and the Naturalization ceremony achieve their economic dreams.
If we can take a minute from all the bad news that’s fit to promote and remember there is good economic news going on in Connecticut. I saw it myself in just the last 14 days.