By Ann Radelat

www.ctmirror.org

Washington – The massive omnibus spending bill creates winners and losers – and at first blush it seems that Connecticut is chiefly in the winner’s column.

Like other state governments, the Malloy administration is still trying to determine the impact of the $1.1 trillion federal budget approved by Congress last week.

But there’s no doubt that at least one big winner is Connecticut’s defense industry. The omnibus bill allocates more than $6 billion for the Virginia-class submarine program, a sub built by Groton-based Electric Boat.

Also fully funded is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, whose engines are built by Pratt & Whitney.

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Veria Living, a New York-based media brand devoted to showcasing healthy lifestyle and wellness programming, announced today that one of its affiliated entities has acquired dLife, the Westport-based producer of diabetes education information and programming.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Dlife has its headquarters at 10 Franklin St. in Westport’s Saugatuck section. There was no word on whether the acquisition would impact the continued presence in Westport of dLlife and its employees.

“The acquisition provides new opportunities for the Veria Living brand to build upon recent momentum in the health and wellness space,” the announcement said.

Westport Boathouse Beverage Founder/Brewer Nick Shields poured samples of his Spiked Seltzer at Total Wine in Norwalk today. Shields, a fifth generation brewer, is launching his Spiked Seltzer first in retail stores. The 120-calorie drink features Westport prominently on its label. The name Boathouse Beverage, Shields says, was inspired by the Westport Rowing Club. His firm is based on Imperial Avenue in Westport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Allan Siegert for WestportNow.com

Johanna Rossi, a Westport resident, was honored at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today as she brought down the gavel at the closing bell. The honor was a result of her winning Trader’s Magazine 2013 Wall Street Women “Industry Trailblazer” award. Rossi is senior trader at Alden Global Capital. Photo from NYSE video

The day after Christmas is second busiest shopping day of the year—second only to the day after Thanksgiving—and Westport stores today reflected that. Brooks Brothers on Main Street was busy with shoppers taking advantage of steep discounts and those returning or exchanging Christmas gifts. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The state’s unemployment rate would approach a gloomy 11 percent if more than 64,000 people hadn’t left the workforce since mid-2010, the University of Connecticut’s economic think-tank reported today.

And while the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis recognized Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s efforts to grow the economy, it said the budget deficits that have been projected after the next election, coupled with a failure to invest enough in the state’s infrastructure, remain big obstacles.

While the state Labor Department released a 7.6 percent jobless rate late last week, the center’s latest quarterly analysis called it “superficially encouraging” and “misleading” because of how much the state’s workforce is shrinking.

“The SA (seasonally adjusted) figure is a smoke screen on the true situation,” the center wrote. “The improving unemployment rate is, in large measure, an artifact of declining participation.”

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