Worker killed at RI submarine plant

A Rhode Island man has died while working at the Electric Boat manufacturing plant in North Kingstown, R.I.

Oakleaf Turns To Public Sector For New Leadership

When Steve Preston took over as administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2006, he inherited an organization in turmoil.

Creating A New Generation Of Workers

Business community key to city’s learning academies

To grow the city’s work force and narrow one of the widest academic achievement gaps in the country, Hartford next fall will open High School Inc., an insurance and finance academy for high school students.

Forced Marriage

Financial Cloud Pushing Nonprofits To Merge

Connecticut’s professional nonprofits, squeezed by falling donations at a time when demand for their services is rising, are feeling greater pressure to merge to survive.

Flu Fighter

Holly Bessoni-Lutz, clinical manager of independent living services, VNA HealthCare

Holly Bessoni-Lutz of VNA HealthCare has helpful advice for employers to keep their workplaces flu-free.

Cordani Moving Up

Cigna Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer David M. Cordani will be named CEO, replacing Chairman and CEO H. Edward Hanway, who will retire at the end of 2009.

Blumenthal Blasts Court Ruling

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal blasted an appeals court ruling Tuesday that rejected the New England state’s effort to gain more control of the region’s power grid.

Squeeze Your Way To Business Growth

If you want to grow your small business, it’s time to squeeze some oranges.

New Home Construction Continues Decline

New construction for homes in Connecticut continues its freefall, dropping 47 percent in May compared with a year ago figures, according to the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

Progressive’s “Name Your Price” Tool Aims For Cost Transparency

In the ultra competitive business of auto insurance, innovation, marketing and advertising can make or break a company.

New Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly To 627K

The number of Americans filing new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week, and the total unemployment benefit rolls rose to more than 6.7 million.

Northeast Home Sales, Prices Drop Again In May

Home sales in the Northeast declined more than 13 percent in May from year-ago levels, the worst showing in the country, as the specter of job losses loomed over the region.

New Owner For Chester Restaurant

The Chester property straddling a waterfall at 129 West Main St. that was previously home to the Sage American Grill & Riverside Bar has been sold for $1.3 million, realty brokers say.

Empty Nest Pushes Girl Scout Exec East

Diane Koster approached being an empty nester like few have. She and her husband picked up their roots in Iowa and moved 1,100 miles east to Hartford to pursue a new start as vice president of fund development and communications for Girl Scouts of Connecticut. Koster had held a similar position with Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois for seven years.

Junior Achievement Of Southwest New England

Mission: Junior Achievement gives children, from kindergarten to Grade 12, the knowledge, tools and inspiration to be successful and money-smart for life. The three pillars of JA programs are financial literacy, workforce readiness and entrepreneurism.

Chase Challenge Raises $1.1 Million

Ten years ago, the Chase Family Foundations challenged participants in Foodshare’s “Walk Against Hunger” to bolster their fundraising efforts. The first 50 walkers to raise $500 or more would have their gift to Foodshare matched by the Chase family. The family’s challenge has now raised more than $1.1 million to fight hunger in Greater Hartford.

Commencement — The Beginning Of Life Changes

Commencement is that rite of passage where mostly young people stare up at the speaker and patiently tolerate one final lecture before they have signed evidence that they have completed their studies and are ready to take on the world.

Thinking Like Businesses

With shrinking donations and increasing demands, the state’s nonprofits are beginning to act a lot like their for-profit counterparts.

The Return Of Tom Dodd

I write this column reluctantly. More than once, I have seen the personal and family toll taken by political scandal. When I worked as a journalist full time, I used to recoil when colleagues went after politicians without mercy, hiding behind the phrase; “They knew what they were getting into when they decided to step into the public life.”

Friendlier Business Climate Needed

It’s a funny thing about this economic crisis. Most of us would agree that state and federal regulators should have provided more oversight in recent years, particularly in the housing market and financial sectors, where the downturn began. Of course, the great irony is that — while we needed increased scrutiny then — now the threat to economic recovery is overreaction and overregulation by elected officials and policymakers.

A Mediocre Strategy

States and counties and cities across the country have various schemes in place to keep the local folks employed, proud, and disinclined to escape.