Date: Fri 08-May-1998

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Aug 13, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNON

Quick Words:

Lilith-Femmes-WestFest-wicked

Full Text:

ON THE ROAD/SHANNON HICKS

All I know is the following bulletin came over the FAX last Friday:

"On May 17, Propellerheads will drop a bomb on the live MRQ radio show.

Planning airwave strikes with an onslaught of percussive clusterbombs they

will wipe out the main stage and devastate the crowd."

Here's a show I am NOT going to be missing this time around: THE VIOLENT

FEMMES are at WestConn this weekend, the featured band at the university's

annual WestFest.

The Femmes are the performers of one of the most quintessential college albums

ever, the indefatigable platinum-selling self-titled debut album of 1982

("Blister In The Sun," "Add It Up," "Gone Daddy Gone," "Kiss Off," etc). There

have been 10 full albums since, plus a "special" CD called Why Do Birds Sing a

few albums ago. Opening for the Femmes will be local group SANS CHERUBS.

WestFest is open to the public, not just the students at the university.

Tickets for WestFest are $18 for general admission. They can be purchased in

advance at any TicketMaster outlet (Filene's at Danbury Mall), or the day of

the show at the gate. Gates will be opening at noon, the Cherubs will be on

stage around 1 pm, and the Femmes are slated to start up around 2 or so.

WestFest is an outdoor event, so bring mats/blankets and/or folding chairs for

your seats. Don't try to carry in a cooler or any outside food or drink. The

Ives Center has a complete concessions stand, and coolers will be confiscated

at the entrance.

And let's not pull a repeat of the idiocy that went on at UConn two weekends

ago.

Next weekend the Woodbury Ski Area & Skate Park will open its 27th annual

outdoor concert series. Four concerts are planned again this year, with the

first one being presented Saturday, May 17. A Grass Roots Festival will offer

performances by JIGGLE THE HANDLE, STONY HILL, FREE BEER CHICKEN and EMPTY

STREETS. Tickets are $12 in advance or $20 at the gate; children are

half-price for either category. The concert will run 11 am to 6 pm, rain or

shine.

New this year is the availability of reserved seats and preferred parking.

Coolers are allowed into the park at no additional charge.

Future events this year will be a Cutting Edge Alternative Festival Saturday,

June 27; the 25th Annual Reggae Festival Sunday, July 26; and a One World

Festival Sunday, August 23. For ticket sales or other information, call WSA

directly, 263-2203 or 263-2213. To purchase tickets in advance, use either of

those numbers to charge tickets, or visit any Strawberries Records & Tapes

store.

The LILITH FAIR returns to Connecticut on July 11 this year. Tickets for the

show, which will be at the Meadows in Hartford, are going on sale Saturday

morning. Costs are $26.50 for lawn seating, and $43.50 or $54 for seats in the

Pavilion. The tour kicks off June 19 in Portland, Ore., this year, and

includes 57 North American dates. The tour runs through August 31.

Appearing in the Hartford show will of course be SARAH McLACHLAN, the Fair's

founder. Also appearing on the Main Stage will be BONNIE RAITT, NATALIE

MERCHANT, LAUREN HILL and TRACY BONHAM. Second and Village Stage performances

will include HEATHER NOVA, IMANI COPPOLA, GARRISON STARR and DONNA MARTIN. The

show will start at 4:30 that afternoon.

I hate this weather. I was reminded earlier this week by a friend who said we

go through this nasty period of mugginess (an odd adjective, if you think

about it, but exactly fitting) and wicked humidity every year during the

spring. Like a traumatic incident one's memory quickly buries in the deep

recesses of the memory, though, I forget each year's miserable spring

humidity. Because each spring I mope about the awful weather, forgetting each

previous year's similar trials. It's just so unbearable!!!

Until next week, I'll be seeing you... on the road, cursing at the weather -

especially if it's like this for Saturday afternoon's Femmes show - but still

driving with both hands on the wheel!

COA Welcomes New Alternate, Discusses Senior Alliance

BOE Recognizes 2026 Profiles In Professionalism Honorees

C.H. Booth Library Hosted Another Successful Volunteer Fair

Fire Reports | April 28-May 4, 2026

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 08-May-1998

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