Category: Business - Page 67

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Lawmakers Set Aside Partisanship to Back Bioscience Industry

By Keith M. Phaneuf

www.ctmirror.org

While partisan politics has bogged down many state legislative debates, Democratic and Republican leaders announced today they can agree on how to better support and plan the growth of Connecticut’s bioscience industry.

Top leaders in the Senate and on the Commerce Committee highlighted three bills that develop a strategy to elevate Connecticut to a national leader in biomedical research.

“Connecticut is locked in a global competition to create good-paying jobs and support high-growth industries,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said. “… Connecticut possesses all of the ingredients to capitalize on the exponential growth that is set to occur in precision medicine and biomedical research.”

“We have an incredible workforce in our state and Connecticut should always be looking at new ways to support those workers and to grow new job opportunities,” said Senate Republican President Pro Tem Len Fasano of North Haven.

CT Mirror Names New CEO, Publisher

The board of directors of The Connecticut News Project, publisher of The Connecticut Mirror and its sister websites TrendCT and CT Viewpoints, announced today that it has named Bruce Putterman as its chief executive officer and publisher.

Bruce Putterman: takes over April 10. Contributed photo

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit online news publication covering state and federal government, public policy, and politics. WestportNow is a partner of The Connecticut Mirror.

“Connecticut residents can depend on the CT Mirror to keep them informed, making government and policymaking more transparent,” Ulysses B. Hammond CNP’s board president said.

“To be accountable to our mission and audience, this means CNP needs to be agile and cutting edge. Our board was very impressed by Bruce’s leadership skills, record of innovation, business experience, collaborative style, and knowledge of Connecticut. His combination of skills is just what we need to advance our mission.”

Monday, March 27th, 2017

Sessions Immigration Threat Could Cost CT Millions in Federal Grants

By Ana Radelat

www.ctmirror.org

Washington — Attorney General Jeff Sessions today threatened to strip Justice Department law enforcement grants from states and cities that do not cooperate completely with federal immigration authorities, which could put millions of dollars received by Connecticut and several of its cities at risk.

The state, and cities including Hartford and New Haven, do not comply with all federal “detainers” — requests to keep jailed immigrants detained for 48 hours after their scheduled release so federal immigration officials can pick them up for deportation. Connecticut law enforcement also has been told by Gov. Dannel Malloy they don’t have to ask those apprehended or detained about their immigration status.

Sessions said these “sanctuaries” for immigrants could also see a “clawback’” of policing money that already has been distributed by the Justice Department. The Office of Justice Programs gives out more than $4 billion in grants every year, including tens of millions of dollars to the state of Connecticut and its cities and towns.

“I urge our nation’s states and cities to consider carefully the harm they are doing to their citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and to rethink these policies,” Sessions said at a White House news conference. “Such policies make their cities and states less safe, and put them at risk of losing valuable federal dollars.”

Sunday, March 26th, 2017

Letter: BOF Members Say Tell State Westport Is Not Its Piggy Bank

(Editor’s note: The following letter is from six Board of Finance members. Member John Hartwell decided not to participate)

Dear Westport Resident:

Westport has worked hard to prudently manage its finances and tax base. All branches of our town government, many elected officials and volunteers, have worked collaboratively, on behalf of all residents, to ensure we have a high quality of life at a cost all residents and businesses can afford. Sadly, maintaining this balance will be more difficult in the future.

Today we are faced with grim economic news from the State of Connecticut. This is not a one-off problem and it will continue for years to come. Because of our state government’s inability to manage its budget and to control spending resulting in a projected deficit of over $1.5 billion next year alone, Westport finds itself in a difficult position.

Instead of tackling a state government that has grown too large and too expensive for the residents of Connecticut, the state is largely trying to solve its budget problems by shifting costs to towns.

First, the state is decreasing or totally eliminating payments it has made to Westport for either education or other services which equals $3 million-$4 million in 2018 alone. We assume this revenue from the state, which directly supplemented our operating budgets, is permanently gone.

Saturday, March 25th, 2017

Working Late at Anthropologie

Anthropologie employees were working late tonight to get the new store ready for its official opening on Friday, March 31. The company said 150 full and part-time workers were employed to get the new Bedford Square in shape for opening day. The store, owned by Urban Outfitters, is the anchor tenant in the building that formerly was home to the Westport Weston YMCA. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Thursday, March 23rd, 2017

Connecticut, U.S. Unemployment Rates Were 4.7% in February

By Mark Pazniokas

www.ctmirror.org

The Connecticut unemployment rate rose from 4.5 percent in January to 4.7 percent in February as the state posted a net loss of 1,600 jobs, nearly all in the private sector, the state Department of Labor reported today. The U.S. unemployment rate also was 4.7 percent.

A job sector with some sensitivity to the weather was the hardest hit: the leisure and hospitality industry shed 3,200 jobs. The trade, transportation and utilities sector lost 1,900 jobs, with retail cutbacks being the biggest factor, the DOL said.

Those losses were partially offset by gains of 3,100 jobs in education and health services, 1,200 in construction and 900 in professional and business services.

The jobs gain of 5,700 reported in January was revised upward to a gain of 6,500 jobs.

Friday, March 17th, 2017

Gallery: DonutCrazy Officially Opens

Gallery: DonutCrazy officially opened today in the eastbound station house at the Metro-North Westport station in Saugatuck. Taking part in a ribbon cutting were (l-r) Deputy Police Chief Sam Arciola; Jason Wojnarowski, owner; First Selectman Jim Marpe, and Mathew Mandell, executive director of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce. The store replaces Steam, which opened in January 2014 and closed one year ago. DonutCrazy currently operates in Shelton, Stratford, Bridgeport, and New Haven. It offers coffee, tea, espresso, cappuccino and latte, juice and an assortment of takeout foods in addition to its wide range of donuts. It is open 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays plus Saturdays and Sundays. WestportNow.com photos

Thursday, March 16th, 2017

U.S. DOJ Official Warns of Cyber Threat

The Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce and Sach Walsh Insurance today sponsored a cyber security seminar run by the Travelers Institute, held at the Westport Inn. It was part a national series to help businesses understand the ongoing threat of cyber invasion. Keynote speaker Josh Goldfoot, principal deputy chief, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (above), told the 150 attendees, “The public has to understand the terrible situation we are in. There are over 4,000 ransom ware attacks per day, up 300 percent from last year.” This attack is where a hacker gains access to a computer, encrypts it, and demands money to unlock it. He said the first solution is not to open unknown email attachments and ensure software is always up to date. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Monday, March 13th, 2017

Marpe Watchful as Ridgefield Plans to Sue State

By James Lomuscio

First Selectman Jim Marpe said today he is closely monitoring but not joining Ridgefield’s threat to sue the state over Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s push to municipalities to pay 30 percent of teacher pensions.

Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi threatened legal action last week if Malloy moves ahead with his proposal. Other towns have reportedly gotten behind Ridgefield.

“I’m in touch with First Selectman Marconi and a number of other town chief executive officers in the area who are exploring this option, and I will monitor their activity,” Marpe said.

“There is some belief it’s not legally possible for a municipality to sue the state, so it would be interesting what the research finds,” he added.

Saturday, March 11th, 2017

Comings & Goings: Anthropologie Closes Before Move

Anthropologie, 1365 Post Road East, closed today and employees packed up. The women’s casual fashion store, owned by Urban Outfitters, will reopen March 31 at its new location in the new downtown Bedford Square development. According to Anthropologie operations manager, Karen Secrist, the current store has about 50 employees and the new store will expand to 150 employees in addition to 50 part-time personnel during the opening period. The new location has 40,000 square feet, about four times the space at 1365 Post Road East. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com