🌱 What will replace East Hartford’s once-troubled Church Corners Inn?

Hey there, East Hartford! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• What will replace East Hartford’s once-troubled Church Corners Inn?
• How a dinner in East Hartford helped seal UConn’s new coach
• Which East Hartford supermarket just sold a $10,000 winning ticket?

Also on today's calendar: St Joseph Church $4000 Cash Bingo and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What did one tuna say to the other after getting caught stealing files from work? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Thursday: Windy; a p.m. snow shower, with a high of 35 and low of 21 degrees.
• Friday: Breezy in the morning, temps: high: 35, low: 20.
• Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high of 37 and low of 26 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Apartments, shops planned for complex rebuild of historic but blighted CT landmark (courant.com) — A long-blighted landmark in downtown East Hartford, the historic Church Corners Inn on Main Street, is poised to become 24 mostly market‑rate apartments with ground‑floor shops if town approvals move forward. The town, which bought and emptied the problem property, is working with a historic redevelopment firm seeking tax credits to preserve key architectural details while transforming the site into new housing and commercial space by 2028.
   

2. Dom Amore: After breaking bread with UConn's perfect closer, Candle had an offer he couldn't refuse (idahostatesman.com) — UConn has hired longtime Toledo coach Jason Candle to lead its football program, following a key recruiting-style dinner in East Hartford with Geno Auriemma and university leaders. Candle, praised for player development and loyalty in the transfer-portal era, is expected to build on Jim Mora’s recent progress and lean on UConn’s winning coaching culture across other sports.
   

3. Supermarket scratcher delivers five figure payday in Connecticut (shorenewsnetwork.com) — A C-Town Supermarket customer in the heart of East Hartford just scored a $10,000 prize on a $100,000 CA$HWORD scratch ticket, according to the Connecticut Lottery. The mid-tier winning ticket was sold Tuesday, Dec. 9, and the anonymous winner now has 180 days from purchase to claim the cash. The store also joins a growing list of Hartford County retailers seeing big lottery payouts this month.
   

4. Hartford named top housing market for 2026, New Haven No. 9 by Realtor.com (wtnh.com) — East Hartford is part of the greater Hartford housing market that Realtor.com just ranked as the nation’s top market for 2026, with combined sales and price growth projected at 17.1%. The report cites relative affordability, limited new construction, and strong, well‑qualified buyers in an older housing stock as key drivers.
   

📸 Around East Hartford

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🗓 Upcoming Events in East Hartford

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Friday December 12

• St Joseph Church $4000 Cash Bingo
  St. Joseph Catholic Church, 33 West St, Vernon
  7:30 pm

Saturday December 13

• Cool Yule 2025! A Big Band Swing Celebration Featuring the Music that Ended WWII
  Terrazza Restaurant, 9 Rose Hill Rd, Portland
  6:00 pm
• Connecticut Symphony Orchestra presents Winter Miracles
  Town Hall Auditorium, 50 S Main St, West Hartford
  7:30 pm

Sunday December 14

• Christmas Carol Service
  10 Elm Hill Rd, Vernon
  4:00 pm

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Thursday December 11

• Bingo Comedy Show
  The 196 Club , 196 Trumbull St , Hartford
  7:30 pm

Friday December 12

• Magic of Lights
  Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field , 615 Silver Ln , East Hartford
  5:00 pm
• Answer Show #2 (in Auditorium)
  Hall High School W Hartford, CT 06117
  7:00 pm
• Comedy Night at Brew Ha Ha at River
  River: A Waterfront Restaurant and Bar , 100 Great Meadow Rd , Wethersfield
  8:00 pm
• Dark Horse Saloon
  Rocking Horse Saloon , 181 Ann Uccello St , Hartford
  9:00 pm

Saturday December 13

• Magic of Lights
  Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field , 615 Silver Ln , East Hartford
  5:00 pm
• Comedy Night at Brew Ha Ha at River
  River: A Waterfront Restaurant and Bar , 100 Great Meadow Rd , Wethersfield
  8:00 pm
• Atomic Dogs
  The Main Pub , 306 Main St , Manchester
  8:00 pm

📣 East Hartford Shout Outs!

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Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making East Hartford PatchAM possible:

• Sacred Touch Homecare LLC — (860) 659-6555
  your family is our family

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• East Hartford Public Schools posted a job opening for Thrive Out of School Programs - Senior Group Leaders (2 positions available) in East Hartford. Apply here.
• TJX Companies, Inc. posted a job opening for Retail Sales Associate in East Hartford. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near East Hartford here.

Ok East Hartford! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I could get canned for this!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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