Biography
Tom Condon, deputy editorial page editor, is a columnist, editorial writer and editor of Place, a Sunday Commentary section of The Hartford ...
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Count Inmates In Hometowns, Not In Cells
May 8, 2013
If a Hartford resident is in a Somers prison, should he be counted for census purposes as a resident of Somers or of Hartford?
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New Storrs Center Showcases Smart Growth
April 3, 2013
The University of Connecticut was placed in an ideal spot for its original 19th-century purpose, an agricultural school. But as it evolved into a multi-faceted research university, the location became something of a challenge. There wasn't much decent housing in the area, and no real town center.
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TEST New Storrs Center Showcases Smart Growth
April 3, 2013
The University of Connecticut was placed in an ideal spot for its original 19th-century purpose, an agricultural school. But as it evolved into a multi-faceted research university, the location became something of a challenge. There wasn't much decent housing in the area, and no real town center.
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A Nation Clogged By Wasteful Car Culture
March 20, 2013
I learned a little after the fact that the writer Jane Holtz Kay passed away late last year at age 74. She was a lot of things — architecture critic for The Nation, preservationist, Boston activist.
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Time To Renew The Fight Against Sprawl
February 27, 2013
In March of 2003, the demographer Myron Orfield warned that Connecticut, despite its wealth, was not on a path for healthy growth.
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Yale's Architecture Echoes Past In Present
February 7, 2013
Like many Connecticut residents who didn't matriculate at Yale, I know the university in bits and pieces — a lecture at the law school, a play at the Rep, a dinner at the Commons. I don't have a good sense of how the whole place fits together, yet it is fascinating to explore.
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Veterans Know What Guns Can Do
January 23, 2013
If President Barack Obama is looking for allies in his quest to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people, I suggest he think about veterans. Not necessarily the guy who ran the movie projector at Fort Dix, but men and now women who served in combat and combat support in our last half-dozen wars. These people have seen what firearms can do, to the victim and the shooter. They should be heard.
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Why I Don't Keep A Gun In My House
January 9, 2013
After the Newtown massacre, a friend asked me if I kept a gun in my house. No, I do not, for several reasons. The first is personal experience.
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Art Donation, Stalwarts Depart To Close 2012
December 19, 2012
A few things to wrap up before the ball comes down on 2012:
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Looking For Tech In All The Right Places
October 31, 2012
We've listened to endless blather during this campaign season about how tax cuts will create jobs. I think Bruce Carlson has a better idea. He's finding potentially viable products developed by private industries in the state that for some reason have not been brought to market, and finding ways to do so.
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Sentimental Journey For Jews To Hartford's North End
October 17, 2012
An old city is a living palimpsest, a parchment constantly being erased and written over by migration and development. But the old is never entirely erased, it is there for the looking.
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Hartford Could Borrow From Southern Cities
October 3, 2012
I wanted to see some cities in the South; my sainted wife Anne indulged me for our 25th anniversary last month. We went by train from Hartford, stopping for a few days each in Washington, Richmond, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga. From which, a few observations.
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Knowing History Makes People Feel At Home Here
September 13, 2012
Despite a surge of initiatives from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the state's economy continues to suffer. So let me throw out another economic development idea — how about if we require the teaching of Connecticut history in our schools?
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Bicyclists Need Safe Routes, Tougher Laws
August 29, 2012
Though I have an ounce of empathy for Michael Koistinen, I'm glad he got a real sentence for killing a bicyclist. Too many people don't.
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Unlocking Mystery Of Painting Found In Prison
August 15, 2012
You read from time to time about someone finding a rare and valuable painting in an attic, an old trunk or under another painting. But a prison?
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Busway Needs A Salesman Like Bill Veeck
August 2, 2012
The deal is done, most of the contracts are let, the construction is under way — and some politicians are still bashing the New Britain-to- Hartford busway. This potentially transformative project has become a punching bag for some of the candidates in the coming congressional primaries.
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State Ignores Crumbling Mansfield School
July 3, 2012
A photographer friend called a few weeks ago, from the grounds of the former Mansfield Training School in Mansfield. "One of the buildings has a hole in the roof with a tree growing through it," he said.
