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AUGUST 3, 2020 VOL. 56, No. 31
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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Colin Cooper, the state’s first-ever chief manufacturing officer. Photo courtesy Connecticut Governor’s Office.
CT’s manufacturing czar doubles down on optimistic outlook
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BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN
CHEECH ANDDecision CHONG TWB Loan ARE BACK Banner Ad 6” w x 1.5” h 3-24-20 PAGE
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C
olin Cooper can be a master of the understatement. “It’s been an actionpacked eight months or so,” Cooper, who became the state’s first-ever chief manufacturing officer last fall, told the Business
Journal. “When I first started, I really tried to get out and about to the state’s manufacturing community to talk to different stakeholders — business owners and other leaders — to get a sense of what the headwind issues were,” the former CEO of the Whitcraft Group in Plainville said.
TOP OF THE WORLD EMPIRE STATE REALTY TRUST REHABS, REOPENS FAMOUS OBSERVATION DECK
Even with the arrival of Covid-19, however, Cooper said he’s still trying to maintain contact with manufacturers large and small. “The consensus out there — before the pandemic and now — is that there are three top problems: Workforce development, workforce devel» OPTIMISTIC
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BY PETER KATZ pkatz@westfairinc.com
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real estate investment trust that counts among its holdings office and retail properties in Westchester and Fairfield counties has reopened to visitors the observation decks at another of its properties that happens to be an iconic structure: the Empire State Building. Empire State Realty Trust has made some changes and imposed new regulations at the landmark building because of the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, if King Kong returned to the top of the Empire
State today he’d be required to wear a mask and stay at least 6 feet from Fay Wray. Last December, shortly before the pandemic hit the U.S., Empire State Realty Trust had completed a $165 million redevelopment of the 86th floor observation deck and 102nd floor top deck observatory. A glass elevator carries visitors between the floors. As part of the redevelopment, the observatory entrance, previously on Fifth Avenue, was relocated to 34th Street. In response to the virus, visitors now arriving at the discrete observatory entrance will under» EMPIRE
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