Connecticut - Geography-Climate, Education, Sports teams, Trivia
pop (2000e) 3 405 000; area 12 996 km²/5018 sq mi. A state in NE USA, divided into eight counties; the Constitution State, Nutmeg State or The Insurance State; densely populated; explored by Adriaen Block, 1614; one of the original states of the Union, fifth to ratify the Federal Constitution, 1788; capital, Hartford; other chief cities, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, Stamford; the Thames, Connecticut, and Housatonic Rivers flow S through the state to empty into Long Island Sound; highest point, Mt Frissell (725 m/2379 ft); coast largely urbanized, with many industries; interior mainly woodland and forest, with some cropland producing dairy produce, poultry, and tobacco; machinery, transport equipment, electrical goods, firearms, metal products.
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| Official language(s) | English | ||||||||||
| Capital | Hartford | ||||||||||
| Largest city | Bridgeport | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 48th | ||||||||||
| - Total |
5,549 sq mi (14,371 km²) |
||||||||||
| - Width | 70 miles (113 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 110 miles (177 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | 12.6 | ||||||||||
| - Latitude | 40°58'N to 42°3'N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 71°47'W to 73°44'W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 29th | ||||||||||
| - Total (2000) | 3,405,565 | ||||||||||
| - Density |
702.9/sq mi 271.40/km² (4th) |
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| - Median income | $55,970 (4th) | ||||||||||
| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point |
South slope of Mount Frissel Note: The peak of Mount Frissel is in Massachusetts 2,380 ft (726 m) |
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| - Mean | 500 ft (152 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point |
Long Island Sound 0 ft (0 m) |
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| Admission to Union | January 9, 1788 (5th) | ||||||||||
| Governor | M. Jodi Rell (R) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators |
Chris Dodd (D) Joe Lieberman (I) |
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| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | CT Conn. US-CT | ||||||||||
| Web site | www.ct.gov | ||||||||||
Connecticut (IPA: /kəˈnɛtɪkət/) is a state in the New England region of the United States, located in the northeastern part of the country. Connecticut is also one of the most densely populated states in the nation and has strong economic connections to New York;
Geography-Climate
Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York State, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital is Hartford, and the other major cities include New Haven, New London, Norwich, Stamford, Waterbury, Danbury and Bridgeport. There is an ongoing civic pride and economic competition between Hartford and New Haven, which stems back to the days when the two cities shared the state's capital, and even back to the rivalry between New Haven Colony and Connecticut Colony.
The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state.
The Connecticut River cuts through the center of the state, flowing into Long Island Sound, Connecticut's outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.
The state, although small, has regional variations in its landscape and culture from the wealthy estates of Fairfield County's "Gold Coast" to the rolling mountains and horse-farms of the Litchfield Hills of northwestern Connecticut. Connecticut's rural areas and small towns in the northeast and northwest corners of the state contrast sharply with its industrial cities, located along the coastal highways from the New York border to New Haven, then northwards to Hartford, as well as further up the coast near New London.
The northern boundary of the state with Massachusetts is marked by the distinctive Southwick Jog/Granby Notch, an approximately 2.5 mile (4.0 km) square detour into Connecticut slightly west of the center of the border.
The southwestern border of Connecticut, where it abuts New York State, is marked by a panhandle in Fairfield County, containing Greenwich, Stamford, Fairfield, Westport, Wilton and Darien, housing some of the wealthiest residents in the world. This irregularity in the boundary is the result of territorial disputes in the late 1600s, culminating with New York giving up its claim to this area, whose residents considered themselves part of Connecticut, in exchange for an equivalent area extending northwards from Ridgefield, Connecticut to the Massachusetts border as well as undisputed claim to Rye, New York.
Race and ancestry
| Demographics of Connecticut (csv) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By race | White | Black | AIAN | Asian | NHPI |
| AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | |||||
| 2000 (total population) | 87.09% | 10.46% | 0.73% | 2.83% | 0.13% |
| 2000 (hispanic only) | 8.31% | 1.04% | 0.14% | 0.07% | 0.04% |
| 2005 (total population) | 86.09% | 10.88% | 0.76% | 3.56% | 0.15% |
| 2005 (hispanic only) | 9.74% | 1.09% | 0.16% | 0.07% | 0.05% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (total population) | 1.89% | 7.19% | 6.59% | 29.77% | 15.41% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (non-hispanic only) | -0.11% | 7.16% | 3.74% | 30.12% | 16.21% |
| Growth 2000-2005 (hispanic only) | 20.87% | 7.40% | 18.36% | 14.98% | 13.68% |
As of 2004, 11.4% of the population (400,000) was foreign-born, and 10% of the foreign-born in the state were illegal aliens (about 1.1% of the population).
Connecticut has a large Italian-American population, although residents of British, Irish, German, and other ancestries are also present, with old-stock Americans being the largest percentage of the population in the eastern part of the state. Connecticut also has a sizable Polish American population, with New Britain containing the largest Polish-American population in the state.
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Connecticut are:
Christian – 83% Protestant – 48% Baptist – 10% Episcopal – 6% Methodist – 4% Lutheran – 4% Congregational/United Church of Christ – 2% Other Protestant or general Protestant – 22% Roman Catholic – 34% Other Christian – 1% Jewish – 3% Other Religions – 1% Non-Religious – 13%There is a significant Jewish population in the state, concentrated in the towns near Long Island Sound between Greenwich and New Haven, in Greater New Haven and in Greater Hartford, especially the suburb of West Hartford. This is due to Fairfield County having become a bedroom community for higher-paid New York City workers seeking a less urban lifestyle, as well as the spread of businesses outwards from New York City having reached into southwestern Connecticut, most notably to Stamford. The state did not have an income tax until 1991, making it an attractive haven for high earners fleeing the heavy taxes of New York State, but putting an enormous burden on Connecticut property tax payers, particularly in the cities with their more extensive municipal services. Exacerbating this problem, the state has a very high cost of living, due to a combination of expensive real estate, expensive heating for the winters, the need to import much food from warmer states, and the dependence on private automobiles for mobility.
Homes in southwestern Connecticut on the fringes of the New York City metropolitan area are quite expensive, often starting around $500,000. Although Connecticut has the highest percentage of million-dollar homes in the Northeast (and third in the country), the majority of these homes are located in the western third of the state, in Hartford suburbs including Glastonbury, Avon, Simsbury and West Hartford, and in New Haven suburbs including Orange, Cheshire, Madison, and Clinton. All wages of a Connecticut resident are subject to the state's income tax, even when the resident works outside of the state. However, in those cases, Connecticut income tax must be withheld only to the extent the Connecticut tax exceeds the amount withheld by the other jurisdiction. Since New York state has higher tax rates than Connecticut, this effectively means that Connecticut residents that work in New York state pay no income tax to Connecticut.
Connecticut levies a 6% state sales tax on the retail sale, lease, or rental of most goods.
All real and personal property located within the state of Connecticut is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute. There is railway service along the coastline from New York City to Boston, including commuter rail service between New Haven and New York and a new commuter service along the river north of New Haven, with spur service running northwards to cities such as Hartford. Bus service is supplied by Connecticut Transit, owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The Interstate highways in the state are I-95 (the Connecticut Turnpike) running southwest to northeast along the coast, I-84 running southwest to northeast in the center of the state, I-91 running north to south in the center of the state, and I-395 running north to south near the eastern border of the state. The other major interstate traffic arteries in Connecticut are the Merritt Parkway and Wilbur Cross Parkway, which together form State Route 15, running from the Hutchinson River Parkway in New York State parallel to I-95 before turning north of New Haven and running parallel to I-91, finally becoming a surface road in Berlin, Connecticut. Other major arteries in the state include U.S. Route 7, State Route 8, and State Route 9. See List of State Routes in Connecticut for an overview of the state's highway system.
I-95 from south of New Haven to the New York border is one of the most congested highways in the United States due to increasing population density, increasing business in the New York area, inadequate capacity and a general increase in American driving. Connecticut was the first state in the United States to elect a woman as governor, Ella Grasso in 1974.
The highest court of Connecticut's judicial branch is the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of Connecticut.
Politics
Presidential elections results| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 43.95% 693,826 | 54.31% 857,488 |
| 2000 | 38.44% 561,094 | 55.91% 816,015 |
| 1996 | 34.69% 483,109 | 52.83% 735,740 |
| 1992 | 35.78% 578,313 | 42.21% 682,318 |
| 1988 | 51.98% 750,241 | 46.87% 676,584 |
| 1984 | 60.73% 890,877 | 38.83% 569,597 |
| 1980 | 48.16% 677,210 | 38.52% 541,732 |
| 1976 | 52.06% 719,261 | 46.90% 647,895 |
| 1972 | 58.57% 810,763 | 40.13% 555,498 |
| 1968 | 44.32% 556,721 | 49.48% 621,561 |
| 1964 | 32.09% 390,996 | 67.81% 826,269 |
| 1960 | 46.27% 565,813 | 53.73% '657,055 |
Connecticut is a generally moderate to liberal state, allotting its electoral votes to Democratic candidates in the past four Presidential elections but to Republican Presidential candidates five times in the 1970's and 1980's.
Republicans are the minority in the state legislature, but they currently hold three of the five congressional seats, while Democrats Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman are Connecticut's senators.
Democrats hold a registration edge in most parts of the state, especially in the cities of Hartford (the state capital), New Haven and Bridgeport.
The state's Republican-leaning areas are Litchfield County and adjoining towns in the west of Hartford County, the Naugatuck River Valley, and some of the affluent Fairfield County towns near the New York State border.
Pundits such as Michael Barone speculate that Connecticut voters are hesitant to give one party control of state government after the massive expansion in taxes and spending that occurred in the final years of the William O'Neill administration.
Following Rowland's resignation, Connecticut passed a campaign finance reform bill that will ban contributions from lobbyists and state contractors in future campaigns.
Local Government
Unlike most other states, Connecticut does not have county government;
Five of Connecticut's cities have population over 100,000 (as of 2005):
Bridgeport: 139,008 New Haven: 124,791 Hartford: 124,397 Stamford: 120,045 Waterbury 107,902In addition, twelve more cities and large towns have populations over 50,000: Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich, Bristol, West Hartford, Meriden, Hamden, Fairfield, Manchester, Milford, and West Haven. New Haven and Bridgeport also have per capita incomes under $17,000
Education
Connecticut is well-known as the home of Yale University, which maintains a consistent ranking as one of the world's greatest and richest universities, and has the most selective undergraduate program of any university in the United States (an 8.6% acceptance rate in 2006). Yale is one of the largest employers in the state, and its research activity has recently spun off dozens of growing biotechnology companies, which have brought in billions of dollars to the economy of New Haven and the State in general.
Colleges and universities
| Asnuntuck Community College Albertus Magnus College Briarwood College Capital Community College Central Connecticut State University Charter Oak State College Connecticut College Eastern Connecticut State University Fairfield University Holy Apostles College and Seminary Middlesex Community College Manchester Community College Mitchell College Northwest Connecticut Community College Norwalk Community College Paier College of Art Post University Quinnipiac University Rensselaer at Hartford | Sacred Heart University Saint Joseph College Southern Connecticut State University Trinity College Tunxis Community College United States Coast Guard Academy University of Bridgeport University of Connecticut University of Hartford University of New Haven Wesleyan University Western Connecticut State University Yale University |
Sports teams
Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association From 1979 to 1997, the National Hockey League had a franchise in Hartford, the Hartford Whalers.Minor League Hockey Teams:
Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League(The Danbury Trashers of the United Hockey League have been dissolved by the league after their owner, James Galante was arrested in June 2006 on accusations that he was running a mob-related scheme to control trash hauling prices and was paying hockey team employees under the table and against league rules.)
Minor League Baseball Teams:
Connecticut Defenders Double-A Affiliate of the San Francisco Giants New Britain Rock Cats Double-A Affiliate of the Minnesota TwinsBoth of the Eastern League
Independent League Baseball Teams:
Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League Manchester Silkworms of the New England Collegiate Baseball League New Haven County Cutters of the Canadian-American League Stamford Robins of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League Torrington Twisters of the New England Collegiate Baseball LeagueProfessional Cycling Teams:
Team Nerac.com presented by OutdoorLights.comThe Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) is the state's sanctioning body for high school sports. (Discuss) Anne Baxter, Actress ("All About Eve", "Razors Edge" "Hotel" TV Series) and grandaughter of Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, lived in Easton, Connecticut until her death in 1985 George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States, born in New Haven Abacu Racey, retired racing greyhound, lives in Wethersfield David Pogue, New York Times Technology Columnist lives in Westport Kevin Bacon, actor, maintains a residence in Sharon. Fox, actor, maintains a residence in Sharon James Greco, CEO of Bruegger's Bagels, lives in Cheshire Dorothy Hamill, Olympic gold medalist, born and raised in Greenwich Rip Hamilton, plays for Detroit Pistons, went to UCONN- Katherine Heigl, actress on hit tv series "Grey's Anatomy", was born and raised in New Canaan Leona Helmsley, real estate maven and "Queen of Mean" maintains a 50+ acre estate in Greenwich Katharine Hepburn (1907 – 2003) , actress, was born in Hartford and lived in Old Saybrook Charles Ives (1874 – 1954) , American composer, was born in Danbury Jeffery Immelt, CEO of General Electric (GE), lives in New Canaan Craig Janney, Hockey player, was raised in Enfield. Bruce Jenner, Olympic gold medalist, born in Newtown Tebucky Jones, who currently plays for the New England Patriots of the NFL, lives in Farmington Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State, lives in Kent Ivan Lendl, former tennis pro, maintains a residence in Litchfield Barry Levinson, director, producer, and writer of many movies like "Rain Man", owns a house in Redding Christopher Lloyd, actor, born and raised in Stamford John Mayer, singer, native of Fairfield Pedro Martinez, professional baseball player, ace pitcher for the New York Mets resides in Greenwich Charles Peter McColough, former Chairman and CEO of the Xerox Corporation, lives in Belle Haven, Greenwich Vince McMahon, Chairman of the WWF/WWE, lives in Greenwich Jesse Metcalfe, actor, plays John Tucker in John Tucker Must Die, was raised in Waterford Robert Mitchum (1917 – 1997), actor, was born in Bridgeport Ellen Muth, actress, was born in and maintains a residence in Milford Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and former U.S. presidential candidate, native of Winsted Kevin Nealon, actor and comedian, born and raised in Bridgeport Paul Newman, salad dressing guru and actor, lives in Westport Frank Oz, actor, maintains a residence in Sharon Carl Pavano, professional baseball player for the New York Yankees, born and raised in Southington John Ratzenberger, actor, born in Bridgeport Keith Richards, member of The Rolling Stones, lives in Weston Alex Rodriguez, All-Star Third Baseman for the New York Yankees, has a home in Stamford Bill Romanowski, former professional football player, born in Vernon Diana Ross, singer, maintains a residence in the waterfront Belle Haven section of Greenwich Meg Ryan actress in When Harry Met Sally grew up in Bethel Patty Hearst Shaw, heiress of the Hearst media empire, lives in Westport John Scofield, famous Jazz guitarist, grew up in Wilton Jimmy Shea, Olympic gold medalist, born and raised in West Hartford Meryl Streep, actress, maintains a residence in Washington, Connecticut Rip Torn, actor, maintains a residence in Lakeville The Rock, pro WWE wrestler, went to elementary school at Shepherd Glen in Hamden Seth MacFarlane, creator of the FOX animated sitcom Family Guy was born and raised in Kent Kyra Sedgwick, actress, maintains a residence in Sharon Melissa Toddy, nationally-renowned Deputy Assistant Public Defender, specializes in Habeas Corpus proceedings, lives in Wethersfield Bobby Valentine, former professional baseball player and manager, born and raised in Stamford James Van Der Beek, actor, born and raised in Cheshire Mo Vaughn, former professional baseball player, born in Norwalk Diane Von Furstenberg, Fashion Designer, resides in New Milford, Connecticut with media mogul husband Barry Diller Sam Waterston, actor in Law & Barnum (1810–1891), American showman, best remembered for founding Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, was born in Bethel Walter Camp, football coach known as the "Father of American Football", born and raised in New Haven Samuel Colt (1814–1862), inventor of the revolving cartridge firearm, was born in Hartford Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758),a colonial American Congregational preacher and theologian, was born in East Windsor Nathan Hale (1755–1776), captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, American hero and official State Hero of Connecticut, widely considered America's first spy, was born in Coventry. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), financier and banker, one of the wealthiest men in America at the turn of the century (1901), was born in Hartford Israel Putnam (1718–1790), American army general who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War, lived in Pomfret Wallace Stevens (1879–1955), American Modernist poet, lived in Hartford from 1916 until his death Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896), abolitionist and writer, most famous for writing Uncle Tom's Cabin, was born in Litchfield and raised in Hartford Mark Twain (1835–1910), humorist, novelist, writer, and lecturer, best know for writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, lived in Hartford and died in Redding Noah Webster (1758–1843), lexicographer, textbook author, spelling reformer, political writer, and editor, was born in what is now known as West Hartford Eli Whitney (1765–1825), inventor and manufacturer, created the first cotton gin in 1793, graduated from Yale College in 1792 and died in New Haven
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