In a continuing effort to deliver more high-quality, focused content of importance to the community, The Newtown Bee is launching “Diversity Discussions,” a webcast series in partnership with First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, featuring local public officials and elected leaders responding to questions and concerns submitted to the newspaper in writing.

On the heels of a significant demonstration on June 7 that saw as many as 1,500 residents and visitors converge on Main Street protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, Minn., police officers, the first webcast will welcome the first selectman, Police Chief James Viadero, Newtown Police Commission Chairman Joel Faxon, and Vice Chairman Scott Cicciari.

“It’s important for Newtown residents to know how their police department is run, especially regarding its oversight by elected citizens,” Rosenthal said. “As part of the webcast discussion, I’m hoping we will be able to highlight the relationship between — and role of — the police commission with the chief and the police department, as well as the department’s existing policies, including how officers are trained and expected to interact with the public.”

“We appreciate the opportunity as citizens of Newtown and as elected police commissioners to have an open dialogue about diversity in Newtown,” Cicciari added.

Faxon concurred.

“We are hopeful that Newtown citizens will participate and learn about the operation and oversight of the police department by the police commission, the extraordinary efforts made by the NPD to be transparent, and our forward-looking practices, procedures, and accreditation,” he said. “We also encourage constructive input by the public to help us all improve our daily work and outreach.”

“Diversity Discussions” will kick off at 4:30 pm on Thursday, June 18. The approximately 30-minute session will be captured on the Zoom web meeting system and will be viewable by the public as a Facebook Live event on The Newtown Bee’s site, as well as on the Facebook pages of other possible partners.

Residents are invited to submit questions to webcast host and Newtown Bee Associate Editor John Voket — at john@thebee.com. Please put 'Diversity Discussions' in the subject line, and submit by 12 pm on June 18.

A future segment of “Diversity Discussions” will welcome school district representatives to highlight the ways that diversity and inclusion is promoted both in policies and as part of the local school district’s curriculum. Another will outline particulars about Newtown’s planning and zoning in relation to affordable or workforce housing developments, and the role and responsibilities of Newtown’s Fair Housing officer.

Expanding Web, Video

This new series is among a number of recent initiatives to provide residents with broader access to in-depth coverage of important local information that has long been available in The Newtown Bee’s weekly print edition.

The newtownbee.com website regularly receives an average of 30,000 page views weekly, and its social network audience exceeds 17,000 followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on its YouTube channel. These are important component’s of the local news organization’s reach.

These platforms, however, only showcase a portion of the content available to The Newtown Bee’s thousands of print subscribers. This newest web series, like all of The Bee’s web-based features, is produced to provide the newspaper’s readers with supplemental content they may not get in print.

Over the course of the coronavirus health emergency, The Newtown Bee launched a series called “COVID-19 Clips,” video outreach messages produced in partnership with the first selectman’s office. Fourteen segments have been produced to date, and are promoted at newtownbee.com, on our Facebook and Twitter pages, and are permanently archived on The Newtown Bee’s YouTube channel.

These segments have included Viadero, as well as Health District Director Donna Culbert, Superintendent of Schools Lorrie Rodrigue, Board of Education Chair Michelle Embree Ku, and Human Services Director Natalie Jackson talking about specific aspects of the pandemic and local response affecting their departments or agencies. The latest segment welcomes Newtown Community Center Director Matt Ariniello, Rosenthal, and Parks & Rec Director Amy Mangold talking about plans to reopen facilities and expand programming.

Watch it here:

On June 9, The Newtown Bee also presented the pilot of another series, this one specifically serving Newtown’s growing business and professional communities and nonprofits. Produced in partnership with the local Chamber of Commerce, the first “Zoom & Learn Lunch League” episode featured Newtown resident and registered interior designer Agni Pavlidou Kyprianou, NCIDQ, owner of APK Designs.

Kyprianou, who also serves on Newtown’s municipal design advisory board, and the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission, provided a number of observations, research, and tips for businesses and business owners who either just began reopening under state Phase 1 guidelines May 20, or will be planning to reopen when Phase 2 of Governor Ned Lamont’s reopening initiative happens on June 17.

Rosenthal provided an official welcome to the program, and Chamber President Scott Anders sat in and posed questions as well.

View the first segment of our “Zoom & Learn” below:

Anyone can peruse the inventory of videos on that site to view any or all of the “COVID-19 Clips.” Our “Diversity Discussions” will also be archived on The Bee’s YouTube channel following the live webcasts.