FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com
October 28, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 43
THE NEW ENERGY BOOM
FCBJ this week SICK OF WORK Some professions seem to possess a bad-health link … 9
STATE IS A LEADER IN ECO-FUNDING BY JENNIFER BISSELL
WARMING TO AN INCUBATOR The Stamford Innovation Center attracts the American dreamer … 10
jbissell@westfairinc.com
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HEY, WANT A JOB? David Lewis dissects the worthy help-wanted ad … 14
SOUND BUSINESS MODEL
NEWSMAKERS The hip, the happening, the recently promoted … 20
MEDIA PARTNER Norm Bloom of Norm Bloom & Son L.L.C.
OYSTERS THRIVE, BUT NOT ON THEIR OWN BY BILL FaLLoN bfallon@westfairinc.com
WHEN JIMMY BLOOM EASED the 52-foot, 36-ton Grace P. Lowndes into the Norwalk dock of Norm Bloom & Son L.L.C., her deck was piled with 500 bushels of oysters. The sturdy boat dates to 1931 and Jimmy, 27, is the third generation Bloom to pilot her. The Grace P. Lowndes was met by several of Bloom & Son’s 50 employees. A clockwork ballet of worker, winch and oyster began. The entire Bloom & Son operation is geared
to moving, not storing, product: oysters — by far the company’s main product — then clams, then lobsters. “If there are no orders, I don’t catch,” Norm Bloom said. The oysters are sorted into keepers, shells and throwbacks and in the sorting — sometimes done out on the water; this day in a cooled, cement-floored room dockside — the industry perpetually rejuvenates itself. The sunny October day, the picture-perfect Norwalk harbor and the evident bounty of the Long Island Sound could be mistaken for a simple business model: head out, load up, sell big. » Oysters, page 6
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Author, author! Suzanne Mernyk wrote cancer out of the script
fter only 10 months, Connecticut’s clean energy financing program for commercial buildings is among the largest in the nation. Since the program’s launch in January, nearly 20 building owners across the state have received $15 million in funding to finance building energy improvements. The only state to finance more is California, though its programs are much older. “We’re beyond our expectations,” said Genevieve Sherman, a senior manager at the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA). “It really illustrates the interest and need for this kind of financing.” Whereas energy upgrades often produce savings over time, finding the upfront capital can be a challenge for business owners. To solve the issue, Connecticut’s General Assembly created last year the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, to help building owners connect with lenders to secure the necessary funding. Whether it’s for solar panels, weatherization of an office building or simple efficiency upgrades at a manufacturing facility, the program has its benefits. Businesses save on their energy bills; bankers have secured loans through the state-run program and cities reduce their energy consumption. Building on programs in roughly 30 states, Connecticut’s C-PACE program is the first to include a statewide platform, as opposed to individual city-run initiatives. Additionally, it’s the only program » Energy, page 7