FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com
September 23, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 38
FALL DEFAULT RILES HIMES
FCBJ this week DOWN ON THE FARM Participation lags for farm-chef project … 5
‘A PLACE WE’VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE’
MONEY FOR STEAK HOLDERS The intersection of food and finance … 14
By JEnniFER BiSSEll jbissell@westfairinc.com
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CLASS IS IN SESSION FCBuzz trips the light fantastic … 18 CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE Newsmakers and their doings … 20
MEDIA PARTNER
An over the edge employee rappels off 101 Park Ave. in Stamford.
BUSINESS, COMMUNITY GO OVER THE EDGE By JEnniFER BiSSEll jbissell@westfairinc.com
TO CLIMB OVER THE EDGE of a high rise is usually a cry for help. But at a recent fundraiser in Stamford it was a sign of help. Nearly 20 community members rappelled off the roof of 101 Park Place at Harbor Point earlier this month to raise roughly $30,000 for the Special Olympics in Connecticut. By raising a minimum of
$1,000 each, participants were given the chance to climb down one of the tallest buildings in Stamford, standing 15 stories high. Leading the way, John Freeman, the senior vice president and general counsel of Harbor Point, was the first to go “over the edge,” as the name of the event put it. “It was really scary, but it’s for a great cause,” Freeman said. “You have to go » Business, page 7
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SPECIAL DELIVERY The Stamford Post Office’s mixed-use future.
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.S. Rep. Jim Himes, a Greenwich Democrat, spoke to the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce Sept. 16 calling for Congress to reach a deal over deficit reduction strategies. At the end of September the county faces a government shutdown unless Congress agrees to a debt ceiling resolution. The Treasury Department said if no deal is reached, it won’t have enough money to pay the government’s bills by mid-October. “We’re not talking about the budget anymore,” Himes said, emphasizing the problem was larger than any single-year budget line item. “The debt ceiling does nothing to limit debt because (Congress) always raises it. “But if we get to Oct. 19 or 20, and the world believes we won’t honor our (debt) obligations, then we’re in a place we’ve never been before,” he said. Himes, speaking to a group of about » Fall, page 6
information central By Bill Fallon bfallon@westfairinc.com
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tatistics gathered The Business Council of Fairfield County say it’s time to make room for Stamford among the world’s international cities: polyglot and thrumming. For the last five years, 60 percent of births there have been to foreign-born women and fully one-third of four-year degree holders are foreign-born. » Information, page 6