National attention for a shocking hit and run. More gun violence. The closure of a historic hotel. This bad news, compounded by the savage beating of Nick Carbone -- a former city official -- an ongoing grand jury investigation into the mayors' office, and the loss of former mayor, and city champion Mike Peters.

But despite the news, city officials remain optimistic. Especially about the changing state of the school system - long one of the nation's worst. New buildings are going up, improving the high school experience for thousands of students and a new science center downtown has hopes of attracting new visitors.

Today, Where We Live, we continue our "State of the Cities" series and talk with Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez about city life, relationships with the surrounding suburbs, and how they're working with the state during this budget crisis.

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