The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce announced its new website at its Business After Hours event Tuesday night at the Lucille Lortel Barn at the Westport Country Playhouse. Lisa Parrelli Gray (r) executive director of the Chamber, introduced Westporters Michael and Lynn Bud, the developers and designers of the site, to outline its friendly features. Lynn Bud told the Chamber attendees, “We try to make the static responsive and the complicated simple.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Citi Private Bank celebrated the opening of its Westport office at 274 Riverside Ave. Monday night with a reception at The Whelk on Riverside Avenue. Pictured (l-r) are Peter Charrington, CEO of Citi Private Bank’s North American business, Westporters Beryl and Roger Leifer, Patty McDermott, managing director, Westport office, and (rear) Eugene Miller, director, Westport office. “Connecticut is an extremely important market for us and we are so delighted to now have a physical presence in Westport,” said McDermott. “Ultra high net worth families in Connecticut over the last five years have been looking for more dedicated service, closer to home, while markets remain volatile.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Journal Register Co., whose holdings include the weekly Westport Minuteman newspaper, is back in bankruptcy protection, three years after emerging from a previous Chapter 11 filing.

The latest filing, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York on Wednesday, was caused by continuing sharp declines in print revenue combined with growing pension liabilities, a legacy from the days when it was much bigger, the company said.

Journal Register has 18 newspapers and other media properties in 10 states that also include the Fairfield Minuteman and the New Haven Register. The company said it expects normal operations to continue during the Chapter 11 reorganization.

Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund, acquired Journal Register last year. An Alden affiliate, Digital First Media, currently operates Journal Register. Its chief executive, John Paton, has become a vocal advocate of newspapers shifting their focus from print to digital and has required all company reporters to carry digital cameras and recorders.

By Keith M. Phaneuf

www.ctmirror.org

The gap between Connecticut’s top wage earners and others continues to grow in the aftermath of the Great Recession, according to a new study that also warns the “have-nots” make up an increasing share of the state’s population.

Connecticut Voices for Children, a New Haven-based nonprofit public policy group, also used its annual Labor Day weekend report to highlight shrinking manufacturing jobs and to outline growing economic problems for black,  Hispanic and younger workers.

“The recession and recovery have worsened opportunity gaps and set us on an economically devastating course,” said Orlando Rodriguez, senior policy fellow at Connecticut Voices and co-author of the report, which was released today. “We can no longer afford to delay action.”

The state’s median hourly wage has declined since the recession began, from $20.61 in 2008 to $20.29 in 2011, after adjusting for inflation.

Most of the growth recorded over that period involved Connecticut’s highest wage-earners. Workers in the top 10 percent of earners saw their average hourly rate rise from $46.10 to $47.87. Among the top 20 percent, the hourly rate rose from $35.09 to $36.08.

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