CRN Retail Event of the Year
Sales Tax Free Week Returns in August
VT Retailers Working on Flood Recovery
News and notes from around the State Capitol
News and notes from around the state
- Mark your calendar for the Connecticut Retail Network’s big event of the year, our annual awards breakfast, which brings Connecticut’s retail community together.
- It will be held this year on Thursday, October 12 at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford.
- Stay tuned for additional details, including updates on plans for the Retailer of the Year and other engaging aspects of the program. We hope to see you there!
Sales Tax Free Week Returns in August
- Connecticut’s Sales Tax Free Week returns the week of August 20-26. Once again this year, during this one-week sales tax holiday, retail purchases of most clothing and footwear items priced under $100 are exempt from the Connecticut sales and use tax.
Vermont Retailers Working on Flood Recovery
- Our friend and colleague at the Vermont Retailers and Grocers Association, Erin Sirgrist, is on the Board of the recently established Vermont Main Street Recovery Fund that was created to help raise funds to help Main Street retailers in Vermont in the aftermath of the significant flooding there.
- You can learn more about the Recovery Fund by going here: Vermont Main Street Flood Recovery Fund. And you can make a donation by going here.
- Please consider contributing to this worthy cause.
- If you have any questions or would like to reach Erin directly, you can email her at erin@vtrga.org.
News and notes from around the State Capitol
- There is more talk about a Special Session in the fall.
- This week, legislative leaders hinted that they might convene a Special Session in September to pass a bipartisan proposal that would reschedule Connecticut’s presidential primary to early April. CTNewsJunkie has the details of the plan here.
- As of now, no definite word yet on whether a Special Session will be called, but if one is called, it would also deal with the issues of paid sick leave and association health plans (AHP).
- CRN will continue keeping an ear to the ground listening for any news of a Special Session in the fall.
- Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday that he was handpicking a former federal prosecutor to head an independent investigation into a state police scandal involving the widespread falsification of traffic stop tickets. CT Mirror reports on that story here.
- Also on Monday, in a race that we have been keeping an eye on for a while, the Hartford Democratic Town Committee held its nominating convention.
- Arunan Arulampalam, chief executive officer of the Hartford Land Bank, defeated two veteran Democrats with long tenures in the State Senate – John Fonfara and Eric Coleman.
- It’s likely all three will be on the ballot at the September Democratic primary. The Hartford Courant reports the details here.
News and Notes from around the state
- Connecticut lost 4,600 jobs in June, according to monthly, seasonally adjusted data from the Department of Labor. CTNewsJunkie has the numbers here.
- Electric vehicle maker Tesla has been selling its cars to U.S. consumers since 2008, but not in Connecticut, due to state law. On Wednesday, Mohegan Sun announced that Tesla plans to open a “Sales & Delivery Center” at the casino’s mall before the end of this year. CT Mirror reports on the announcement here.
- Some University of Connecticut students are getting expelled for vandalizing their campus following their men’s basketball team’s April victory in the NCAA championship game. The Associated Press has that story here.
Have a great summer
- Friday Facts is planning to take some time off during the month of August, but will be back in the fall.
- Should events warrant, we will keep in touch with Connecticut retailer business leaders in the weeks ahead. And if you have any questions you can always reach out via email at tim@ctretailnetwork.com
- Have a wonderful summer!