Work was under way today at the 30 Charles St. building in Westport’s Saugatuck area that soon will house celebrity chef and restaurateur Mario Batali’s Tarry Lodge Enoteca & Pizzeria. The new restaurant at the former site of Abbondanza, the specialty food store and catering service and its Bonda restaurant, is scheduled to open in late spring. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Sam Sagnella

With $4 gasoline a reality for some U.S. drivers, Westport was almost there today as well, but a survey found it still pays to shop with a wide range of prices in effect.
Regular gas was just under $4 today at the Mobil station at 302 Post Road East in Westport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Sam Sagnella for WestportNow.com

The median price for cash-paying regular unleaded gasoline customers was $3.39/gal, with the average having risen to $3.47 per gallon, the survey found. Prices at 12 service stations with Westport addresses ranged from a low of $3.33 to as high as $3.99 for a single gallon. 

The highest observed was $3.99 at the Mobil station at 302 Post Road East at around 11:45 a.m. The lowest was at Mercury Fuel near the Fairfield Line.

According to GasBuddy.com the average for regular unleaded gasoline in Connecticut today was $3.397/gal, compared to $3.343 a week ago and $2.811 a year ago. The national average is $3.222.

Lisa Thygerson, executive director of the Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce since May 2009, has resigned to take a position as manager of a Citibank branch in Stratford, according to Chamber officials.
Lisa Thygerson: moving to Citibank. Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Thygerson, former manager of the Commerce Bank in Westport – later taken over by TD Banknorth—will leave effective March 4 for the Citibank job in Stratford, where she lives with her family.

“This was a hard decision for her but one that she felt she had to make at this time,” said Paul Gehr, chair of the Chamber board of directors in an email to board members. “Lisa has really helped turn things around at the Chamber over the past two years and we will truly miss her.”

The board scheduled a meeting on Wednesday to discuss finding a successor.

Dave Matlow contributed reporting for this article.

Connecticut consumers will soon have new safeguards in the state’s deregulated energy market.
Jeffrey Mayer: “Order is the product of careful effort.” Dave Matlow/WN file photo

The Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC), after months of research, discussion and input from utilities and suppliers, has released its Draft Decision on Marketing Practices.

The order lays out guidelines for suppliers and aggregators who offer electricity consumers alternate energy supply. 

Since 2007, Connecticut homeowners and businesses have been free to purchase their electricity supply from independent marketers. The regulated utilities continue to maintain the wires and provide emergency services.

By Dave Matlow

Two financial heavyweights met at the Westport Public Library tonight to shed some light on what one described as “a strange moment in economic history.”
David Komansky (l) and Marc Lasry discuss the economy tonight at the Westport Public Library as Richard Murphy, contributing editor of Fortune Magazine, listens. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

David Komansky, retired chairman of Merrill Lynch, and Marc Lasry, CEO and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group, a global player in distressed securities, met in the library’s McManus Room to share thoughts on the recession, rising unemployment and the confusing fact that corporate profits are up.

It was the third successive year the two Westporters had teamed up for a February library appearance to talk about the economy.

Moderated by Richard Murphy,  contributing editor at Fortune Magazine, Komansky and Lasry had a rapt, packed audience holding on to their every word, as most hoped to see a glimmer of hope on the financial horizon.