*In case you missed the headline and press release elsewhere in this week's Enjoy section, there is exciting news this week for the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission. The group's monthly coffeehouse/variety show event, Flagpole Radio Café, will c

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: May 29, 2009 12:00 am

*In case you missed the headline and press release elsewhere in this weekâs Enjoy section, there is exciting news this week for the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission. The groupâs monthly coffeehouse/variety show event, Flagpole Radio CafÃ©, will celebrate its first season finale this weekend with a live broadcast on WPKN radio (89.5 FM).

If you cannot make it to the performance in person for some reason, you can still catch the performances by headliner DARIA MUSK, with mom WENDY MUSK also performing, not to mention Grammy Award-winning dobro player STACY PHILLIPS, along with music by JIM ALLYN and others. The fun happens Saturday night, starting at 7 pm, on the main stage at Edmond Town Hall (which is a change from the upstairs/Alexandria Room at the same location), 45 Main Street.

Tickets are $5 and $10, and reservations can be made online at NewtownArtsCommission.org. If further information is needed, call 364-0898.

*Meanwhile, tickets for STAIND, who will be at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford on Thursday, July 16, will be on sale Friday morning at 10, priced at $29.50 and $37.50.

Shinedown, Chevelle and Halestorm will all have opening sets.

Then tomorrow morning, tickets for an August 29 show by BLINK 182 at the Comcast Theatre (formerly the Meadows) in Hartford will be going on sale. Those tickets are $26 for the lawn area, and $31 to $69 for the reserved area including general admission pit area (ask for pit access when you order your tickets). Weezer, Taking Back Sunday and Chester French will all be opening that night. There are a limited number of $20 lawn tickets also available for this show; ask about those if you buy tickets Saturday morning.

Tickets for either of these shows will be available through LiveNation.com or 877-598-8659.

*NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK will return to Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday, June 18, and pop sensation Jesse McCartney has been added to the bill. Tickets are already on sale for that one, priced at $65 and $85; visit any TicketMaster outlet or vendor or stop by the casinoâs box office if you find yourself in Uncasville any time soon.

*HALL & OATES, who will be honored with The Chairmanâs Award for Sustained Craetive Achievement by The National Association of Recording Merchandisers this summer, will be at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, August 8. Tickets for that show are $45 and will be on sale Saturday morning starting at 10 through TicketMaster. Tickets will also be available through the casinoâs box office beginning Sunday morning if they donât sell out within the first 24 hours of their availability.

*Newtown-based OVLOV will be one of four bands performing at Bethel Municipal Center on School Street next weekend as part of âSchoolâs Out!,â a fundraiser for Bethel Public Libraryâs Capital Campaign.

For local bands will be playing to raise funds for the library on Saturday, June 6,, and admission is just $5. Ridgefield-based Split for the City, One Good Vibe from New Milford and Make Amends from Bethel will also be sharing the bill for Saturdayâs event, which will run from 7 to 11 pm.Â

Admission is payable at the door, but additional information is available from the library; call 794-8756.

*Itâs great to know that no matter how big some bands get, they still recognize local fundraising causes. This weekâs Tip of the (Boston Red Sox) Hat goes to DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, who recently announced that they would donate a portion of each ticket purchased for their upcoming performances at the Comcast Theater in Hartford to The 2009 Susan G. Komen Connecticut Race for the Cure. This is the same band that last year held a benefit at Madison Square Garden called âStand Up For A Cure,â which went toward cancer research.

Granted the amount of the donation from the concert tickets will probably be a tiny fraction of the full cost of each ticket, but this comes nevertheless from a band that has long been an advocate for cancer research and a champion of humanitarian and environmental causes over the years. These guys have donated more than $6 million through its philanthropic arm, Bama Works, since its inception a decade ago. Theyâre OK in my book.

The 2009 Komen Connecticut Race will take place Saturday, June 6, in Bushnell Park in Hartford. Online race registration is open until May 31 at KomenCT.org and provides opportunities for people to register as an individual or team captain, join a team as a member, pledge support for a team or individual, Sleep in for the Cure, or volunteer to work at the Race.

Tickets for the Dave Matthews Band show, remarkably, are still available for both of the Hartford shows (at least as of Tuesday morning when I went looking) Reserved seats are $75 and lawn seating is $40.50.

Until next week Iâll be seeing you... on the road.

Questions and comments should be sent to Shannon Hicks c/o The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown CT 06470, or shannon@thebee.com, or call the office at 426-3141. Shows listed at clubs are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

UPCOMING SHOWS

MAY 29 â Hank Williams Jr at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville; The Adults at Proud Maryâs, Newtown; Tom Dobson at Bank Street Coffeehouse, New Milford; Tara Hack at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook;

May 30 â Jess Bartolotta at Mocha Coffee House; Flagpole Radio CafÃ© at Edmond Town Hall, Newtown, featuring Daria Musk, Wendy Musk, Stacy Phillips, et al; Hat City Blues Band at Bank Street Coffee House, New Milford.

JUNE 1 â Dark Star Orchestra at The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield (also June 2);

June 2 â Dark Star Orchestra at The Ridgefield Playhouse;

June 5 â Dave Mathews Band at The Comcast Theatre, Hartford, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force opening (also June 6);

June 6 â Dave Mathews Band at The Comcast Theatre, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force opening; Ovlov, Split for The City, One Good Vibe and Make Amends at Bethel Municipal Center;Â

June 9 â Blues Traveler at The Ridgefield Playhouse;

June 12 â 2009 Vans Warped Tour at the Comcast Theatre, Hartford; Hammer of the Gods at The Ridgefield Playhouse; Ryan Cabrera at The Webster Underground, Hartford; Orleans at Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk;

June 13 â Brad Paisley at The Comcast Theatre, with Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne opening;

June 14 â Janeâs Addiction at The Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford.

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The Way We Were

It’s important to clarify the tone and context of Derek Pisani’s remarks, particularly the satirical line about suing Newtown for "Gross Stupidity." This was clearly a tongue-in-cheek jab at the exhausting culture of legal threats that’s become a staple on the local Facebook Group forums. It was a reflection of frustration over endless regulatory hurdles and obstructionism, and the desire to avoid common sense solutions not an insult aimed at residents. Satire, is meant to provoke thought and highlight the absurdities. If we are unable to distinguish between satire and literal threats, perhaps the comment hit closer to the truth than we’d like to admit. Rather than focusing on Pisanis style, we should be discussing the substance of what he’s pointing out: that Newtown’s progress is being routinely blocked by a small but vocal contingent who seem intent on saying “no” at every turn. They are saying no to any development, no to common sense solutions to crowd control, etc. Newtown deserves leaders who are willing to call things as they see them, even if their language ruffles feathers. That doesn’t mean they lack respect for constituents—it means they care enough to challenge the Mob and push for solutions. Isn't that what we elect people to do? I applaud Pisani's dedication, he certainly has earned my vote. Regardless, let’s not reduce conversation to tone-policing and outrage. Let’s focus on the issues that matter.

Who is Calling Newtowners Stupid?

Thank you for pointing out the trail access provisions included in the BOS motion—it’s an important clarification that deserves more attention in this conversation. If the development is, in fact, required to provide permanent free public access and commit to ongoing maintenance of this section of the Rochambeau Trail, that is a remarkably beneficial outcome for the town. oIt’s not every day that a private project shoulders the long-term burden of preserving and caring for a public historical corridor at no taxpayer cost—especially one that previously had no formal access, upkeep, or visibility. Let’s be honest: the idea that the only way to protect history is by preventing any development nearby is a rigid and unworkable standard. What’s being proposed here appears to strike a rare balance—historic preservation, public access, and smart development all rolled into one. That’s not a loss its a win. So rather than allowing a handful of voices to derail progress under the banner of “historic purity,” maybe it’s time to acknowledge the reality: this trail is better off with structured stewardship and visibility than remaining an overgrown ghost on old maps. Let’s move forward. Bring in the easement, bring in the public access—and yes, bring in the bulldozers!!! Progress and preservation can coexist. Let’s not let the NIMBY use fear or nostalgia keep us stuck in the past.

Discusses Rochambeau Trail And 6 Commerce Road

I've heard that several people are under the impression that the public might be banned from the Rochambeau Trail. Points 2 and 3 from the BOS motion (included in full below) make it clear that public access to the trail is part of the requirements for the developer. From what I understand, it requires free public access to the trail in perpetuity. Technically, this could be argued to be a "payment-in-kind," that attempts to balance public good with overall town growth. We can argue about weather that balance is acceptable and how the trail may be affected, but with the understanding that the trail is expected to be maintained as a publicly accessible trail regardless. July 15, 2024 Board of Selectmen approved motion: Discontinuance of Reservoir Road: Selectman Cruson moved the resolution: Resolved, that the Newtown Board of Selectmen, in accordance with Section 2-115(d)(8) of the Town Charter and Conn. Gen. Stat. §13a-49, and subject to the conditions set forth below, hereby discontinues an unimproved portion of Reservoir Road described as “Portion of Reservoir Road to be Discontinued “on that certain survey map which will be recorded on the Newtown Land Records titled “Map Showing Portion of Reservoir Road to be Discontinued” dated August, 2023 and revised September 15, 2023, and certified substantially correct by Gregory Szyszowski of SLR (the “Survey Map”), said discontinuance contingent and effective only upon the completion of the following: 1. The approval of an application for the development of land in the manner described in a letter from Attorney Thomas W. Beecher to First Selectman A. Jeffrey Capeci and Members of the Board of Selectmen dated May 30, 2024, pursuant to the “Residential Open Space Development” regulations of the Borough of Newtown by the Borough of Newtown Zoning Commission, and construction of that approval project within the timeframes required for special exception approval; 2. The inclusion of the discontinued portion of the road as part of the final Declaration of Conservation Restriction; 3. The conveyance of a mutually agreeable public easement to the Town of Newtown for pedestrian, bicycling, equestrian, and all other passive recreational uses (to exclude the use of motorized vehicles except as may be necessary by the Town or its designee to effectuate the purpose of the easement), and for municipal utility purposes; Be it further resolved, that Castle Hill Real Estate Holdings, LLC., its successors and assigns, shall not use any portion of the discontinued road as a vehicular road or access way to and from any developed portions of the property. Be it further finally resolved, that should any of the foregoing contingencies not occur, then the discontinuance contemplated herein shall not become effective and this resolution will become null and void. From: https://www.newtown-ct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif12216/f/minutes/bos_7-15-24_min-_att_final.pdf

Is this paper road (roads that only exist on paper map but not in reality) even owned by the Town? Many roads that predate the Town's road standards are privately owned and were never accepted by the Town, such as many of the nonconforming roads around the lake communities where the property owners own right to the center line. That is something we had to deal with when working on the Roads Ordinance a few years back. We also had to deal with a private road to run the utilities to the new SHS.

For anyone who wants to know, I cant post a link here, but Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority has an entire website. Look up "HRRA whats in whats out"

I Get It!

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*In case you missed the headline and press release elsewhere in this week's Enjoy section, there is exciting news this week for the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission. The group's monthly coffeehouse/variety show event, Flagpole Radio Café, will c

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