In the very same spot where carpenters bought nails by the pound and rope by the foot, you can now buy pizza. The Colony Grill, which also has restaurants in Stamford and Fairfield, opened its doors in Milford on May 20 in the very spot on the green where Harrison's Hardware used to be. The sprinkler system sent thousands of gallons cascading into the store through the next morning, ruining just about everything. Topping choices are hot oil, meatballs, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, black olives, cherry peppers, stingers (hot peppers), anchovies, green peppers and bacon. "Originally, when the first Colony opened (in Stamford) in 1935, there were more items in the menu, but gradually the pizza stuck and everything else faded away," Martin said.

Landmark building is home to family business tradition The 26-year-old grew up in a family business involving antiques sales in locations from Southbury to New York City. Living upstairs in the circa 1934 home, Krul has turned the downstairs into rooms of kitchenware and kitsch, fishing and hunting gear, smoking pipes, old glass bottles and more. Before opening the shop in late March, Krul sold antique fishing gear and other items through his Facebook page and in antiques mall spaces. A New Milford High School Class of 1912-13 group photo hangs on one wall in the shop.

The company, which offers flexible work spaces for all manner of businesses, has 1,500 locations worldwide and several in this area, including one each in Greenwich, Norwalk and Shelton, and two in Stamford. Each location has its own personality, said Lisa Whitley, market team leader for Connecticut and Westchester, based in the Greenwich center at 500 W. Putnam Ave., where many clients who use the 45 offices are in financial services. During the snarled commuting situation last week, when train service was shut down following the May 17 rail collision, Regus opened its offices to beleagurer commuters. BrandView, a U.K.-based company that expanded into Stamford last month, set up a satellite office with Regus at 263 Tresser Boulevard, accommodating a staff of three with plans to expand.

Municipal bonds continue to provide a reliable refuge from stock market volatility and a steady source of tax-free income. While that's nothing to brag about, it's a substantially higher yield than the roughly 2 percent that 10-year Treasury bonds offer, without factoring in the tax-exempt advantage that munis offer. While other mutual fund categories have consistently attracted new cash, investors have been pulling money out of muni bond funds. Investors, particularly those in the top tax brackets, fear a budget proposal by President Obama that would cap the amount of muni bond income that an individual can claim as exempt from federal taxes. If Congress accepts Obama's proposal -- something highly uncertain in this fiercely partisan environment -- the tax-exempt benefit would be capped at 28 percent for the top 2 percent of earners. [...] someone in the top 39.6 percent bracket who paid zero federal taxes previously on $100,000 in muni income would pay $11,600 under Obama's proposal. [...] consider whether munis' tax advantages will offset the higher pretax returns you'd normally expect from investing in a taxable bond fund. In April, there are often seasonal factors in play, as some investors liquidate their muni holdings to pay annual tax bills. [...] that has not been as big a factor in recent weeks as the Obama administration's budget and the proposal on capping exemptions.

Wall Street Journal writer Robert Powell points out the difficulties in "How a Pick for a Financial Adviser Can Go Wrong" (May 17, Wall Street Journal, http://tinyurl.com/k5ykd32). How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad, I included a sample training module in the appendix to show how advisers are trained to provide retirement income advice. Citing another firm's study, he says that "advisers in different channels use not only different products but also different strategies to generate retirement income for their clients." Financial advice for retirement is not uniform -- different advisers sell different financial products and services based on the types of firms they work for. [...] those who don't focus on retirement investing may not change their methodology whether the client is a retiree who needs income or a youthful investor accumulating a nest egg. By cash flow, I mean money that comes into the household (pension and Social Security) and money that goes out of the household (living expenses, gifting, etc.). By understanding your current cash flow, you'll know how much money you'll need to withdraw from your investments to pay for living expenses. Armed with your personal cash flow, you'll in a better position to start defining your investment goals.