Content about Connecticut

NEW YORK CITY — It’s the nation’s most comprehensive health insurance reform since Medicare. And it’s been endorsed as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, how will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) affect your dry cleaning business? Will your premiums go down? Will it be easier to shop for insurance? Will the available policies offer better coverage? And will you be protected from those profit-busting price hikes that so often occur when one employee in a small group gets seriously ill?

We’ll answer your most important questions at the end of this article. Here’s one thing to get out of the way first, though: No employer will be required to provide health insurance. However, some employers, as you will see, will pay penalties if they do not provide insurance and their employees decide to buy insurance from the new statewide insurance pools.

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — When Best Cleaners owners Bill and Shawn McCann completed the conversion of their family-owned business to the GreenEarth® dry cleaning method a decade ago, they knew it was the right move for many reasons.

Despite the significant cost of modifying equipment in all 11 Connecticut locations, they believed that switching from perc to the environmentally safe silicone-based solvent would be a win-win for everyone. Customers’ clothing and household goods would be treated to a kinder, gentler cleaning process while chemical odors would become a distant memory. Soon, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection recognized Best with a Green Circle Award for voluntarily implementing a facility-wide pollution prevention plan.

In recognition of Best’s leadership and commitment to keeping Connecticut green, Connecticut State Sen. Paul Doyle recently presented the McCanns with a citation from Gov. Dannel “Dan” Malloy honoring the 10th anniversary milestone and Best’s ongoing community support.

ORANGE, Conn. — The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists (AWGS) has partnered with Carbonfund.org to offer brides the option of carbon-neutral gown cleaning and preservation.

“More brides than ever are concerned about their carbon footprints, and brides now can ensure the beauty of their wedding gowns and help safeguard the planet’s future, too,” says Kermit Engh, AWGS president.

NEWTON, Mass. — Zoots Corp. sold its Virginia stores and plant to Palm Springs, Calif.-based U.S. Dry Cleaning Corp. (USDC) this week and will auction off equipment and supplies at its former Wallingford, Conn., production facility early next week.

USDC paid $1.9 million to assume control of Zoots’ 11 retail locations in Hampton Roads, Va., and plant in Portsmouth. The purchase represents U.S. Dry Cleaning’s first entry into East Coast markets in its effort to become a nationwide consolidator of drycleaning operations.

NEWTON, Mass. —  Zoots Corp. has moved out of Connecticut, according to a story appearing Thursday in the Connecticut Post, selling or closing all nine of its locations.

The Newton, Mass.-based company filed papers indicating it would likely close a production facility in Wallingford, Conn., late last year, but said that stores and routes would continue to operate statewide under the Zoots brand.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Zoots Corp. has filed a notice with the Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL) indicating it plans to close its Wallingford, Conn., plant as early as next month, laying off about 80 employees.

Rick Simoneau, Zoots executive vice president of operations, told the Connecticut Post that a final decision has not yet been made about the facility, and all retail locations will remain open. In addition, the company will offer any displaced employees the option of relocating to another Zoots facility.