State measures to help small businesses: Don’t wait

An unprecedented amount of state and federal financial assistance is within reach for Connecticut businesses and nonprofits crippled by the public safety measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That was the message to about 700 business owners, concerned workers, chambers of commerce and the self-employed who tuned in to a virtual town hall meeting Thursday evening, March 26. A similar informational session, targeting not-for-profit groups, was held the following day.

The March 26 discussion, moderated by Fran Pastore, founder and CEO of the Women’s Business Development Council, featured Gov. Ned Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-3).

Also during the one-hour forum, questions from attendees were fielded by Kurt Westby, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor, Glendowlyn Thames, deputy commissioner for the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), and Mark Hayward, interim district of the U.S. Small Business Association. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also spoke.

“We need to get some really hard answers in front of people because they’re starting to panic,” moderator Pastore told the panel.

The main topics of discussion centered on the Connecticut Recovery Bridge Loan Program and the expansion of unemployment insurance aimed at putting money directly into the pockets of laid-off workers. “This is about pushing liquidity into the system and getting people back into work,” said Hayward.

Officials outlined details of the bridge loan program, which makes available $25 million to businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 100 employees, to assist with cash flow. Loan amounts are up to the lesser of either three months operating expenses and/or $75,000, according to Lamont. The loans, which carry 12-month terms, with a 6-month extension option, require a personal guarantee and credit score.

“We structured it in a way that this was a bridge to an SBA loan or private lender. It’s for the most vulnerable of small businesses out there,” said the EDC’s  Thames.

“Absolutely,” added Bysiewicz. “We want our loans to be available as fast as possible so people can survive until the federal dollars come.”

In order to be eligible, employers must be in good standing with the state Department of Revenue Services and DECD, have been profitable prior to March 10, 2020, with no adverse personal credit reports 60 days past due in the last 6 months.

State officials urged businesses to apply quickly for the bridge loan, as it is available on a first-come, first-served basis, with 500 businesses already signed up, noted Bysiewicz. The hotline number for businesses or nonprofits to call is 860-500-2333. Eligibility and application details are also available on the state’s COVID-19 website at www.ct.gov\coronavirus under the business recovery section.

Westby of the state Department of Labor also outlined a “supersized” unemployment package to help the jobless, including giving unemployed workers an additional $600 weekly in benefits above what they would normally receive for the next four months.

“This is a significantly broadened program. It’s not a giveaway, and it’s not benevolence. It’s insurance,” said Blumenthal.

“I know we are in a health-care crisis, but not a recession,” Lamont said. “We want to make sure each and every one of you is ready to hit the ground running when we get to the back side of this crisis.”

Editor’s note: The Lakeville Journal is providing content related to the coronavirus outbreak for free as a public service to our readers. Please support local journalism by subscribing to The Lakeville Journal, The Millerton News, or TriCornerNews.com or by becoming a contributor to our membership model. Click here for more information.

Latest News

Bunny Williams's 
‘Life in the Garden’
Rizzoli

In 1979, interior decorator Bunny Williams and her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli, had a fateful meeting with a poorly cared for — in Williams’s words, “unspoiled” — 18th-century white clapboard home.

“I am not sure if I believe in destiny, but I do know that after years of looking for a house, my palms began to perspire when I turned onto a tree-lined driveway in a small New England village,” Williams wrote in her 2005 book, “An Affair with a House.” The Federal manor high on a hill, along with several later additions that included a converted carriage shed and an 1840-built barn, were constructed on what had been the homestead property of Falls Village’s Brewster family, descendants of Mayflower passenger William Brewster, an English Separatist and Protestant leader in Plymouth Colony.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Creators: Sitting down with Garet Wierdsma

Garet&Co dancers

Jennifer Almquist

On Saturday, March 9, the people of Norfolk, Connecticut, enjoyed a dance performance by northern Connecticut-based Garet&Co, in Battell Chapel, titled INTERIOR, consisting of four pieces: “Forgive Her, Hera,” “Something We Share,” “bodieshatewomen,” and “I kinda wish the apocalypse would just happen already.”

At the sold-out show in the round, the dancers, whose strength, grace and athleticism filled the hall with startling passion, wove their movements within the intimate space to the rhythms of contemporary music. Wierdsma choreographed each piece and curated the music. The track she created for “Something We Share” eerily contained vintage soundtracks from life guidance recordings for the perfect woman of the ‘50s. The effect, with three dancers in satin slips posing before imaginary mirrors, was feminist in its message and left the viewer full of vicarious angst.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dealing with invasive species

Sam Schultz, terrestrial invasive species coordinator with PRISM, is holding a tool she calls a “best friend” in the battle against invasives: the hand grubber. She was one of the presenters at the Copake Grange for a talk about invasive species Saturday, March 2.

L. Tomaino

According to Sam Schultz, terrestrial invasive species coordinator with the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), one of the best ways to battle invasive species is with a hand tool called the hand grubber.

In her work in managing invasive species, she refers to it as a “best friend.” Schultz and Colleen Lutz, assistant biologist with the New York Natural Heritage Program, delivered a lecture on invasive species at the Copake Grange Saturday, March 2.

Keep ReadingShow less
Arts Day for young creatives

Fourth graders at Arts Day

Lynn Mellis Worthington

Fourth graders from all of the schools in Region One gathered Wednesday, March 6, at the independent Kent School to expand their artistic horizons.

It was the 28th year that Region One has held Fourth Grade Arts Day, and this year’s event was coordinated by Kent Center School music teacher David Poirier. He quickly pointed out, however, that it was a team effort involving all of the art and music teachers in the region. He also saluted Geoff Stewart of Kent School, chair of the performing arts department and director of the theater.

Keep ReadingShow less