FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com
April 1, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 13
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
FCBJ this week
MUSIC
THE LEGISLATURE has scrapped a bill that would have revised the state’s requirements for contracting with minority-owned businesses … 3
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HIS EARS PAGE 2
MORE PEOPLE IN THEIR 20S and 30s are returning to Fairfield County than initially believed, according to new Census data … 5
BY PATRICK GALLAGHER pgallagher@westfairinc.com
T
ing in September could reach markets. Since February 2011, when the wholesale cocoa price hit a 32-year high of about $3,475 per metric ton, the average market price of cocoa has fallen by more than a third to about $2,200 per metric ton this past February, according to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). However, the ICCO has warned that global cocoa bean demand for the 2013
he Federal Trade Commission has endorsed a proposal in the Connecticut General Assembly that seeks to cut health care costs by allowing advanced practice registered nurses to operate more freely and without the direct supervision of a doctor. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Theresa W. Conroy of Seymour, would remove the requirement that advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) practice in collaboration with a licensed physician in certain instances where APRNs would diagnose, treat or prescribe medications for patients. A day prior to a March 20 hearing before the General Assembly Committee on Public Health, the FTC issued an extensive report, which recommends “that the Connecticut legislature seek to ensure that statutory limits on APRNs are no stricter than patient protection requires.” The report, which was completed by the FTC staff at Conroy’s request, concluded that the bill — absent any safety concerns — “appears to be a pro-competitive improvement in the law that would benefit Connecticut health care consumers” by allowing APRNs to “practice to the full extent of their training, education and abilities.” Meredith Wallace Kazer, an APRN and associate dean of Fairfield University’s School of Nursing, said studies have repeatedly demonstrated that APRNs have been successful in working independent
» Candy, page 6
» Under, page 6
WHILE COLLABORATIONS between nonprofits may yield stronger programs, they don’t always mean cost-savings, a new report shows … 8 TRAVEL PROVIDERS and the state’s hotel industry are looking to capitalize on the “new golden age of travel” … 14
EXCLUSIVE: MEDIA PARTNER
Bill examines role of nurses, potential for cost savings
Paul r. fonteyne says the world’s largest private pharmaceutical company feels right at home in Connecticut as the state looks to grow its biosciences industry.
CANDYMAKERS SOUR OVER COCOA SHORTFALL BY PATRICK GALLAGHER pgallagher@westfairinc.com
AMERICAN CONSUMERS are projected to spend a whopping $2.5 billion on candy and chocolates this Easter season. But with cocoa prices increasingly volatile, local chocolate shops and confectioners are looking ahead to the fall, when industry analysts say the effects of an anticipated 45,000-metric-ton shortfall for the global production cycle end-
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