FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNAL December 21, 2015 | VOL. 51, No. 51
16 | GOOD THINGS HAPPENING
6 | HOME SALES
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Long-simmering immigration issues get Stamford airing A HISTORICAL FIVE-STATE ISSUE NOW AFFECTS 25 STATES
BY BILL FALLON bfallon@westfairinc.com
F From left, Margie McHugh, director of the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Policy in Washington, D.C.; and Northern Westchester County and Neighbors Link Stamford directors Carola Baroco and Catalina Semper-Horak
or Margie McHugh, immigration is the white-hot issue she faces each and every day as director of the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Policy in Washington, D.C. “You have no idea how little conversation happens about some really significant issues,” in regard to immigration and integration, McHugh said. Other countries address immigration and integration in a holistic approach that is not replicated in the U.S., she said.
“I am very worried about refugee resettlement programs right now. Not only with the Syrians and the sorts of things Donald Trump has been saying. The truth is the refugee program has been in trouble for a number of years.” McHugh made her points at an event sponsored by Neighbors Link Stamford, which works to integrate immigrants into the community and into society. Among the issues fueling immigrant backlash, she said, is that the traditional handful of immigrant gateway states — » IMMIGRATION, page 6
Coworking spaces gain traction in the state BY REECE ALVAREZ ralvarez@westfairinc.com THE RISE OF COWORKING SPACES, shared facilities for entrepreneurs and professionals, is a relatively new phenomenon to Connecticut that is quickly emerging as a hallmark of the wave of new economies to follow the techrevolution.
“I think people want a simpler more efficient way to work, they don’t want the baggage of signing a couple of years lease if they are trying to start a business,” said Sheelah Quinn, Workpoint’s sales and event manager in Stamford. Opened on Nov. 1, Quinn has been running frequent tours for prospective clients and already
has a membership of at least 20 coworkers ranging from media and tech professionals to hedgefunders and lawyers who want to have all the appearances and amenities of a high-end office without the long term lease and overhead that comes with it. “This is a very hi-end club feeling type setting, these are multimillion dollar views,” she said. “There is no way anybody is going to able to afford space like this anywhere here on the water.” As whispers of Stamford developing into a tech town circulate, Quinn said professionals in digital fields and media in » SPACE, page 4
An impromptu co-working invitation.