Category: Business - Page 47

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Real Estate Report: Niche Market for Those Seeking Newer Homes

By Judy Szablak

Special to WestportNow

Just over 18 percent of Westport’s available single-family home inventory was built after 2015, and their average list price is just over $2.7 million.

Featured Home: This home at 53 Clinton Ave. is listed at $1,659,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of Weichert Madison and Post

However, there are a number of newer homes to choose from that were built between 2000 and 2010.

And this creates a bit of a niche market for those who want a newer home and are essentially priced out of it.

According to the statewide SmartMLS, those 47 homes available offer the would-be new construction buyer an interesting alternative.

Tuesday, November 7th, 2017

Westport Man Gets 4 Years for Embezzling Almost $1M

A federal judge today sentenced a Westport man to four years in prison for embezzling more than $984,000 from his roofing employer over a six-year period.

Claude Carnahan: reports to prison Jan. 10. LinkedIn.com photo

U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport also ordered Claude Carnahan, 54, to undergo three years of supervised release following his imprisonment and to pay full restitution to his company, Nations Roof LLC.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately 2008 until approximately 2014, while serving as the regional controller for Nations Roof, Carnahan embezzled from the company by issuing company checks made payable to credit card companies with which he had personal accounts.

He then engaged in a sophisticated scheme to cover up his fraud, prosecutors said.

Bridgewater: WSJ Article on ‘Consensual Relationship’ Inaccurate

Westport’s Bridgewater Associates today described as inaccurate a Wall Street Journal report that it made a settlement to a woman who was fired after having a consensual relationship with top executive Greg Jensen.

Greg Jensen: report is “inaccurate and salacious.” File photo

Shortly after the incident occurred about three years ago, the company heard from another female employee that Jensen had molested, the newspaper said.

The woman who complained of being groped has also left the hedge fund but did not leave because of the incident, and was not fired, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Neither woman was identified in the article.

In a statement, Jensen, Bridgewater’s co-chief investment officer, described the description of his behavior as “inaccurate and salacious.”

Saturday, November 4th, 2017

Getting Attention in Pink

Isabella Ashley, 2, of Norwalk today attracted Westport Main Street passersby to the new pop-up Cat Perkins shoe store at 136 Main St. Cat Perkins manufactures its shoes in New York City, where it is based, which are designed to allow women to attach fresh “uppers” to soles to create their own styles. The store will be open until Dec. 31. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Helen Klisser During for WestportNow.com

Thursday, November 2nd, 2017

CT-N’s Nonprofit Staff to Cease Operations Friday

By Mark Pazniokas

www.ctmirror.org

The Connecticut Public Affairs Network, the nonprofit operator of CT-N since its inception in 1999 as the provider of gavel-to-gavel cable-television coverage of the General Assembly, said today it will end operations Friday, unable to abide by a slashed budget and the loss of editorial control imposed by the legislature.

Paul Giguere, the president of the nonprofit, informed the Office of Legislative Management in a letter that it would cease operations of CT-N at 5 p.m. Friday, ending a tenuous day-to-day deal in place since the expiration of its contract on Sept. 30 and an extension Oct. 31.

“After careful consideration and much deliberation, our organization cannot escape the conclusion that the recent actions to eliminate CPAN’s editorial discretion combined with the drastic reduction in funding has transformed CT-N into a project no longer consistent with our organization’s fiduciary obligations in either the financial or mission sense,” Giguere wrote.

William A. Bevacqua, the network’s vice president of communication and administration, said the legislature rejected a counteroffer that would have temporarily extended its contract, allowing time for it seek outside funding and operate CT-N under a new public-private partnership.

Comings & Goings: Pop-Up Cat Perkins Shoes to Main St.

Cat Perkins Shoes has opened a pop-up store at 136 Main St. with plans to stay open until Dec. 31. The space was occupied until two years ago by Johnston & Murphy, the upscale shoe and clothing brand. Cat Perkins manufactures its shoes in New York City, where it is based, which are designed to allow women to attach fresh “uppers” to soles to create their own styles. According to Catherine Levene (l), co-founder with Debra Perkins, the prices for the bottom part of the transformative shoe start at $167 and the interchangeable “uppers” range from $78 to $128. Pictured with Levene is Robert Klein, director of product. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Westporters Promote Fairfield County for Business

Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe today led a contingent of town representatives and commercial property owners, as part of a larger group known as the Fairfield 5, to New York City to promote Fairfield County as a place to locate or relocate businesses.

The Westport delegation included (l-r) David Waldman, First Selectman jim Marpe, Matthew Mandell, and Roger Leifer. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The lunchtime gathering, held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, was the first attempt for this new partnership of towns that includes Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Fairfield and Westport.

Fairfield 5 was formed this summer to advance the idea that together they can pitch lower Fairfield County as an inviting economic powerhouse. (See WestportNow Sept. 1, 2017)

About 60 persons attended, including executives, site locators and real estate brokers. They heard from each mayor or first selectman, Catherine Smith, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic Development, and C. Yvonne Hickey from Xerox, a company that she said “enjoys being in and its relationship with Norwalk.”

Chase T. Rogers to Resign as CT Chief Justice

By Mark Pazniokas

www.ctmirror.org

Chase T. Rogers today announced her intention to retire in February after nearly a decade as chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, capping a period of great turnover on the state’s highest court.

Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers listens to opening statements in a case heard in September. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) CTMirror.org photo

In an e-mail to Judicial Branch staff announcing her departure, Rogers wrote that, when she was appointed chief justice in 2007, she thought holding the position for 10 years was appropriate.

“I continue to believe that and, therefore, have decided to move on to new tasks before I overstay my welcome,” she wrote.

Rogers, 60, pointed to numerous reforms the branch has undergone in recent years to improve services amid state budget cuts and an increasing number of impoverished, self-represented defendants.

Wednesday, November 1st, 2017

Putting Westport on the Map, a Walking Map

By James Lomuscio

At a time when sidewalks are making a comeback and there’s been a lot of talk about the need to make Westport more pedestrian friendly, Matthew Mandell’s latest brainchild seems like, well, a no brainer -– a walking map of the downtown and Saugatuck.

Matthew Mandell shows off the new Westport walking map. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Mandell, executive director of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce (WWCC) and creator of the Slice of Saugatuck, the Dog Festival and Tuesdays at the Train, is now focusing on foot traffic.

“About a year ago I was at a conference, and I saw that SoNo had done this, so I thought I would put this on my shoulders,” he said, adding that local businesses were very receptive.

To that end he has had 6,500 of the color, foldout maps printed in the first run, 3,500 of them glued into the WWCC’s 64-page, 20018-19 visitors guide.

Comings & Goings: Calypso St. Barth Closes

After six years, Calypso St. Barth, a woman’s apparel store, has closed at 1 Main St., in what once was the old Westport Library. It was not a happy ending. A sign on the door said: “To All Our Faithful Clients: We apologize for the store closing. It wasn’t in our control. In fact our company SOLERA CAPITAL FAILED TO PAY THEIR PEOPLE, down from charities, ups, the light company even the STORES rent, etc. The list goes on. WE ARE DEEPLY SADDENED THIS HAS HAPPENED, WE WILL MISS YOU ALL AND HOPE TO SEE ALL OF YOU IN HE NEAR FUTURE SOMEWHERE ELSE. LOVE ALWAYS, THE CALYPSO TEAM.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Bob Eckman for WestportNow.com