While preparation for Saturday's ING Hartford Marathon has understandably gotten the media focused on public safety, there's apparently significant road construction coordination going on behind the scenes. Officials are getting Broad Street in working order (again) in time for the runners to pound the pavement, and there's somewhat off-the-wall talk of using the new Hartford-New Britain busway as a possible marathon route. That and more in today's fall foliage edition of The Wheelhouse Digest.
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GOP CANDIDATES GET BUSY
Over a year away from the general election, the race among Republican candidates for governor is already tight.
Tom Foley, Toni Boucher and John McKinney each reported raising about $30,000 before the end of September in their respective bids for governor. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton raised about half that amount, but he's also running for re-election this year. McKinney, the only major candidate to formally announce his candidacy, said he's actually raised $90,000, most of it after the filing deadline.
Read more at The Connecticut Mirror.
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NORWICH FREEDOM BELL RINGS IN ITS NEW ARCH
The bell marks the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
A custom-cast bell is housed in a newly mounted arched tower in front of Norwich City Hall. Nearby, a black granite plaque features an engraving of the text of the Emancipation Proclamation. The bell rang on Wednesday night to mark the completion of a three-year project to pull these elements together in time for a planned October 19 dedication. Residents can request for the bell to ring on special occasions.
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AMONG BUSWAY USES: MARATHON ROUTE?
Roads... are for running.
If you're planning to attend the ING Marathon in Hartford on Saturday, you may notice that Broad Street is paved again. Last year, the state DOT had its own race on to repave the road in time for runners, only to tear it up again and get back to busway construction. Now that the street is nearly complete, Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony that maybe the Hartford-New Britain busway itself would make a good partial marathon route. Next up: DOT sponsorship of the marathon?
