By James Lomuscio

Even in a down economy, innovative, entrepreneurial startups can take off. Such is the case with Weston Software, Inc. located at 728 Post Road East in Westport.
In the Money: John Babyak (l) and Hank Voight of Weston Software. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Today the company, which moved to Westport six weeks ago from Southport,  received a $500,000 grant from Connecticut Innovations (CI), the state’s quasi-public authority overseeing technology development and innovation.

The money, granted through CI’s Seed Investment Fund, is for Weston Software’s Power One, a technology platform that the Connecticut Technology Council last year voted “the most promising software of the year.”

Gov.  Jodi M. Rell, in making the announcement, said she hoped the grant would help to grow technology jobs “in Westport and throughout Connecticut.”

Westport’s unemployment rate in June fell to 5.9 percent from 6.3 percent in May, the Connecticut Department of Labor said today.

The 6.3 percent May rate was the highest since January when it was 6.6 percent.

The Department of Labor said the June labor force in Westport numbered 12,917 persons with 12,154 employed, a high for the year.

It said the number of unemployed in June was 763, down from 806 in May.

Minuteman switches from tabloid to broadsheet. WestportNow.com photoAt a time when most newspapers are downsizing, the Westport Minuteman, owned by New Jersey-based Journal Register Company, is expanding, at least in size anyway.

The weekly newspaper, founded in 1993 by a group of Westport investors, has been a tabloid from its inception. The new format, known as “broadsheet” in the newspaper industry, allows for more and longer news stories, larger photographs, and bigger ads.

It now has the format of rival twice-weekly Hearst Corporation-owned Westport News, which also began 40 years ago as a tabloid.

“We definitely believe our new larger format will be a big plus,” said Westport Minuteman Editor Tom Henry in today’s ediiton.

Beadwave Jewelry & Supplies at 179a Main St. behind Talbot’s has closed and announced plans to reopen its business in Arizona in the fall. Owner Pam Morris sent a message to customers advising them of the move and inviting them to keep in touch through a Web site. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Westport’s largest employer, Bridgewater Associates, might be leaving town for Stamford, according to reports from Business Insider and Westfair Online.

With about 900 employees, the hedge fund operates out of sprawling headquarters at One Glendinning Place, as welll as other offices on Riverside Avenue and the Nyala Farms complex.

Its decision to move “could be the most significant in the commercial real estate market in the second half,” said Westfair, citing real estate brokers. 

It would also have an effect on local tax revenues as Bridgewater pays $236,000 annually in personal property taxes, according to the Tax Assessor’s office.

A new retail women’s apparel shop, Dress Code, will open Thursday at 578 Post Road East in the location formerly occupied by Princess Jewelers. Owner Mary Perkins, a Queens native and now an East Norwalk resident, previously lived in Westport for 13 years. Prior to Dress Code, Perkins operated a home decorating business in Fairfield from 1997 to 2007.  “I will now offer beautiful clothes consistent with my background in beautiful decor,” she said. “The shop specializes in dresses, tops and skirts.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

After 13 years in its current location at 20 Wilton Road on the west bank of the Saugatuck River in Westport’s center, the Peter Coppola Salon is moving to 616 Post Road East in the strip of stores that includes the Bombay Restaurant. Owned by Newtown resident Vincent Palumbo, Peter Coppola Salon will reopen there in September and not lose a day because the move will take place on a weekend. Marcy Wright, Coppola’s general manager, said the business is moving because the current site—part of the Inn at National Hall complex—has been sold and is being converted into an all-office complex. “We’re so thrilled to be moving to space on Post Road where we’ll be closer to the center of town with lots of foot and vehicle traffic—so many more people who did not know us will begin to see us,” she said. “It will be amazing and beautiful.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

No more fueling up at Westport’s Christie’s Country Store at 161 Cross Highway. Jon DiGuiseppi, service advisor, said they stopped pumping gas last September and then recently removed the pumps (inset) and underground tanks. “We’re in the part of town that doesn’t have high traffic volume and our underground tanks were aging,” said DiGuiseppi. He said the replacement of the tanks would be a large investment “so we felt it was time to get rid of them.”  But there is a positive side, he said. “We now have more parking and can accommodate more customers.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The formal opening of the retailer 4 @ 1 was celebrated today with a ribbon–cutting ceremony at 141 Post Road East, opposite the downtown post office.  Westport First Selectman Gordon F. Joseloff (l) and Lisa Thygerson (r), president of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce, joined the co-owners Seham Ibrahim and husband Akram Enany. The shop occupies the same location as a former retailer called “& Company” which was managed by Enany who describes the new store as one that specializes in “high end apparel for men, women and children as well as household accessories such as towels and linens.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com