Category: Business - Page 161

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Westport News Gets New Editorial Boss

Hearst Newspapers announced today that its Connecticut newspapers, including the Westport News, is getting a new executive editor.

Barbara Roessner: veteran Connecticut journalist. Facebook.com photo

She is Barbara T. Roessner, a veteran Connecticut journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner. She spent 31 years at the Hartford Courant before she was fired in 2009 as managing editor when Tribune Co. merged the newspaper’s news operations with co-owned WTIC-TV Fox 61.

She replaces David McCumber of Wilton, who joined the Connecticut newspapers in April 2009 from the Hearst-owned Seattle Post-Intelligencer where he was managing editor. He will take over as Hearst Washington bureau chief.

Both appointments are effective Aug. 1, said Mark E. Aldam, president, Hearst Newspapers. He worked with Roessner when he was at The Courant where he was senior vice president/chief operating officer until 2006 when he joined Hearst.

Many Still Skeptical About Steelpointe’s Future

By Neena Satija

www.ctmirror.org

Almost 30 years after city officials in Bridgeport started talking about developing a little peninsula on the water next to I-95, the first tenant has finally committed to moving in. The outdoor goods store Bass Pro Shops will open a retail outlet at Bridgeport’s Steelpointe Harbor as early as next year, officials have announced. (See WestportNow July 8, 2012)

This is what the developers envision Bridgeport’s Steelpointe Harbor will look like when it is completely built out. Ctmirror.org/image courtesy of Bridgeport Landing Development LLC.

The news will help jump-start a development crippled by litigation, corruption scandals and a financial crisis.

Once it is built at an expected cost of $1 billion, Steelpointe is meant to be a modern mixed-use development with 1,000 to 1,500 housing units; a million square feet of retail and office space; a hotel and a 250-slip marina. Officials say it will redefine a city once known for its rich industrial heritage, which is now largely lost.

But decades of empty promises and a sputtering economic recovery mean many are still skeptical about Steelpointe’s future.

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Friday, July 20th, 2012

Unemployment in June at 6.4 Percent

Westport’s unemployment rate in June jumped to 6.4 percent from 6.0 percent in May, the Connecticut Department of Labor said today.

The department said the number of Westport unemployed in June was 830, up from 766 in May.

The June labor force in Westport numbered 12,951 up from 12,824 in May, and there were 12,121 employed, up from 12,058 employed in May.

A year ago in June, Westport’s unemployment rate was 6.3 percent.

State Unemployment Rate Increases to 8.1 Percent

By Nicholas Rondinone

www.ctmirror.org

The state’s unemployment rate rose above 8 percent last month for the first time this year to 8,1 percent—despite the addition of 1,400 jobs, the Connecticut Department of Labor reported today.

The state’s unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in June, up three-tenths of a percentage point from May. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Ctmirror.org graphic

Government sector cuts of 3,600 jobs,—2,900 of which came from local public administration—offset the addition of 5,000 jobs in the private sector, the department said.

“June’s mixed results are a mirror of the strengths and weaknesses of the current job market,” said Andy Condon, director of the labor department’s Office of Research. “Overall job growth is slow, though the private sector continues to show a decent recovery.”

Connecticut’s unemployment rate was at its highest from August to December, 2010, when it peaked at 9.4 percent.

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Friday, July 13th, 2012

Drawing a Crowd

The Vineyard Vines store on Westport’s Main Street drew a crowd today as the annual sidewalk sales event got under way. It continues until Sunday. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Thursday, July 12th, 2012

Comings & Goings: Panera Bread Before P&Z Tonight

Panera Bread is seeking to move into a space currently occupied by a nail salon at Westport’s 1860 Post Road East in the shopping center anchored by HomeGoods. Tonight the bakery-cafe company goes before the Planning and Zoning Commission to seek approval of a change of use from retail to a restaurant. True Grace Nail Spa, which opened in December 2010, will relocate within the same shopping center. Angie Greene-Hicks, Panera marketing manager for western Connecticut, said the company plans to open in Westport in early winter and will employ 40 to 60 people. It now has 13 cafes in the area, including in Norwalk and Southport, she said. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Sunday, July 8th, 2012

Bridgeport Lands Big Fish for Steel Point Waterfront Area

Ten miles north on I-95 from Westport’s Exit 18, if all goes according to plan, by Christmas 2013 Bass Pro Shops, the nation’s largest outdoor retailer, will open a 150,000-square foot store on the long vacant Steel Point waterfront area of Bridgeport. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy joined Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and other dignitaries in making the announcement today. The store will create about 150 construction jobs and 300 full- and part-time jobs, according to Finch. The company said in a news release: “More than just a fishing and hunting store, Bass Pro Shops will also offer equipment and clothing for hiking, backpacking, wildlife viewing, camping, outdoor cooking and more. A gift and nature center will also serve up a wide variety of outdoor-related items from lamps and dishes to bird feeders and furniture.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed graphic

Friday, June 29th, 2012

Connecticut Still Revolutionary, But No Minute Man?

By James Lomuscio

The Mystic Aquarium is featured in one ad. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

One print ad shows a young girl cheek-to-cheek with a whale at the Mystic Aquarium. The caption “When was your last mystical experience?” It is followed by a slogan “Connecticut: still revolutionary” and an invitation to go to CTvisit.com.

Another print ad depicts a happy couple near the New London lighthouse. It states, “Let our history rekindle yours,” followed by the same “Connecticut: still revolutionary” slogan.

The catchphrase—the Nutmeg State’s answer to “I Love New York”—is the brainchild of Westporter Tony Kobylinski’s New York City ad firm Chowder, Inc. His firm won the the creative bid for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s $22 million state marketing campaign to promote tourism and Connecticut as the place to do business. (See WestportNow Jan. 25, 2012)

Kobylinski, an art director, said the slogan was created by his company’s co-creative director, writer Jim Ritterhoff. Part of their challenge was to educate people who know little about Connecticut including, according to their focus groups, that it has a coastline.

Thursday, June 28th, 2012

Comings & Goings: J. McLaughlin Closing

J. McLaughlin, an apparel retailer at 1026 Post Road East (and formerly at 91 Main St.) is closing on July 15, according to Samantha Holmes, acting store manager and area director. “It has not been a good location for us, and it’s too big with enormous overhead,” she said. A store employee said the company, which has Connecticut stores in Greenwich, New Canaan, and Washington Depot, may find another location in the area. Holmes said the store, which has been at its present location since November 2010, would participate in Westport’s annual sidewalk sale July 13-15 and then close for good. Sale items will include fixtures and displays, she said. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

Comings & Goings: Suzie CreamCheese Closing

Suzie CreamCheese, a women’s apparel shop at 68 Church Lane, near the Christ & Holy Trinity Church, is closing by the end of the month or early July, according to owner Westporter Robin Singer. The shop has been in its present location since August 2011 after it moved from 1330 Post Road East which it occupied for six and a half years (see WestportNow July 2, 2011). “I want to do something different from the traditional retail business,” said Singer. She said her plan is to create a “pop-up” business that will expand her apparel lines to include home goods, jewelry and vintage style items. She said the pop-up shops, which will retain the Suzie CreamCheese name, will be open three times a year—at the start of fall, spring and summer. In addition, Singer plans an accompanying online business. “I expect to start around October,” she said. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com