The Westport/Weston Chamber of Commerce, along with the Westport Downtown Merchants Association, today announced a fund-raising drive to buy new automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for Westport. Barbara Sweet (r), executive director of the Chamber, told a Town Hall news conference the new machines, which cost just under $2,000 each, will also be suitable for use on children. First Selectwoman Diane G. Farrell (l) sits with children from the Westport/Weston YMCA who were guests at the event. (CLICK TO ENLARGE ) WestportNow.com photo

Westport’s Playtex Products Inc. said Monday a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that said Procter & Gamble Co. engaged in false advertising regarding tampons.

In 2003, Playtex filed suit claiming that P&G made false claims in a series of television commercials and print ads for a then-new tampon product, Tampax Pearl.

The suit claimed that P&G falsely said that its Tampax Pearl product had a plastic applicator superior to that of Playtex’s product, Gentle Glide. In addition, the suit claimed that P&G falsely said its Pearl product contained a ” braid” that provided better absorbency than Gentle Glide.

A spokesperson from P&G was not available to react to the decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Westport Inn received the Operational Excellence and Market Excellence Awards at the recent annual meeting of Meyer Jabara Hotels, and Lance Herman, general manager, was honored as Manager of the Year. 

Meyer Jabara, a Danbury-based company, operates The Westport Inn as well as 24 other hotels in 12 states.

The awards were an impressive victory for the Inn because the management team has been in place only 17 months, according to an announcement.

Benenson Capital Partners, owners of The Westport Inn, hired Meyer Jabara Hotels in August 2003 to manage the property.

CNN reported today that attorneys for Westport’s Martha Stewart may be able to negotiate a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would permit Stewart to return to the helm of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia at some point.

The network quoted a person familiar with the situation as saying,“If she’s living straight and narrow, will the public be at risk if she became CEO again?”

The SEC has filed an insider trading case against Martha Stewart, in which it is seeking to bar her from acting “as a director of, and limiting her activities as an officer of, any public company.”

That case is separate from the federal obstruction of justice charges for which Stewart is serving a five-month prison sentence. She is due to be released next week.

The media company owned by Westport’s Martha Stewart—Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.—reported lower fourth quarter earnings today. It cited declining magazine advertising revenues and softness in its television division.

Stewart, who is scheduled to be released March 6 from a prison in West Virginia, will return to the New York-based multimedia company as it warned that losses for the first quarter will be larger than what analysts expected.

Stewart, who owns about 60 percent of the company’s shares, will be allowed to work at the firm while serving five months house arrest at her home in Bedford, N.Y.

Martha Stewart Living said it lost $7.33 million, or 15 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2004, compared with a profit of $2.37 million, or 5 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Westport’s Playtex Products Inc. said today its new management will overhaul the maker of baby care and personal care products by cutting more than 300 positions by the end of 2005, or about 20 percent of its workforce.

The moves are aimed at cutting costs, the company said. Playtex has its corporate headquarters in the Nyala Farms office complex just off I-95

The realignment will affect all of its locations and functions and will also include facility consolidations, outsourcing and accelerated depreciation on certain assets.

Aside from the staff reduction, Playtex said it plans to outsource its household glove manufacturing to Malaysia and reduce the office space of its corporate headquarters and reorganize its divisions.

Westport’s Terex Corp., the world’s No. 3 maker of construction equipment, indicated in a statement issued today “in response to market rumors” that it could beat earnings expectations in 2005.

The company—located at 500 Post Road East—said it expects earnings in the range of $3.40 to $3.60 per share on revenue of $5.4 billion to $5.6 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call forecast 2005 earnings of $3.50 on revenue of $5.13 billion. Wall Street is expecting the company to report earnings for 2004 of $2.47 per share.

“As previously reported, many of our businesses are experiencing increased demand and we expect that demand to continue in 2005,” said Ronald M. DeFeo, chairman and chief executive, in a statement.

At a time when Internet shopping is booming, Martha Stewart’s company plans to shut down its online store and catalog next month, Newsday reported today.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. is holding a “final tag sale” on its Web site, marthastewart.com. Only magazine subscriptions and flowers will continue to be sold online after February, the newspaper said.

The move comes as retailers such as Home Depot rush to expand their Web offerings. And the National Retail Federation reported that online purchases soared 25 percent during the holidays to $23 billion.

Experts questioned why Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, an early entrant in Internet retailing, is throwing in the towel, the report said.

The Westport Board of Finance tonight gave a generally positive initial response to a proposal to improve Westport’s downtown by the Downtown Merchants Association. The plan, explained by association vice president David Waldman, envisions a public-private partnership that would include construction of a combined retail-residential building and parking deck off of Elm Street. Its $14.5 million cost would be advanced by the town and be repaid partially with revenues from parking meters the first to be installed in Westport’s center. Board member Gavin Anderson (l) warned that the town would be “crossing a bridge” by installing parking meters and said they would change the character of downtown Westport. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo