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Local Students Participate In #WalkOutToVote

Published: November 06, 2018 9:10 am

Students from Newtown High School will join their peers across the country as they participate in a Walkout To Vote.

Dental Associates Candy Buy Back, Tuesday

Updated: November 06, 2018 10:15 am

Dental Associates of Connecticut, 32 Church Hill Road, will buy back unopened 2018 Halloween candy for $2 per pound, up to a maximum of ten pounds per child.

Police Seek Info On Auto Accident

By Andrew Gorosko

Updated: November 05, 2018 10:10 am

Police are seeking the public’s help in finding a man who was involved in an accident early Monday, November 5, which resulted in a power outage in the Parmalee Hill Road area.

Time To Help The Newtown Fund Holiday Basket Program

Published: November 03, 2018 9:00 am

The Newtown Fund is asking for the community’s help to bring joy to families in need during the upcoming holiday season. The Holiday Basket Program, sponsored by The Newtown Fund, annually benefits about 80 Newtown families who qualify for assistance by providing holiday gifts and food.

EverWonder Receives Jeniam Foundation Grant, Announces Annual Fundraiser

Published: November 03, 2018 8:15 am

EverWonder Children’s Museum has received a $20,000 grant from The Jeniam Foundation, a family-based foundation committed to helping local communities. The museum is also planning a fundraiser, scheduled for November 16 in Sandy Hook.

Retail Center Expansion Gains Wetlands Permit

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: November 03, 2018 7:00 am

The firm that is constructing a retail center at 73-75 Church Hill Road, near Exit 10 of Interstate 84, has received a modified wetlands/watercourses protection permit from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) for an expanded version of the project, which remains under construction.

Planters’ Choice Nursery Seeks To Rectify Violations

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: November 03, 2018 7:00 am

Town land use agency officials are “restarting the clock” on an application from a local plant nursery that seeks to rectify a range of wetlands violations that a town inspection has uncovered at the business’s nearly 100 acres of growing areas at Huntingtown Road and Meadowbrook Road.

Newtown Lions Club Selects Winner For 2018 Classic Mustang

By Alissa Silber

Published: November 03, 2018 6:00 am

After thousands of entries had been cast, the Newtown Lions Club had its much-anticipated Classic Mustang Car Raffle drawing on Saturday, October 20. Club members and hopeful ticket-holding members of...

Special Absentee Voting Hours On November 3

Published: November 02, 2018 4:35 pm

Special absentee voting hours will be held November 3, from 9 am to noon.

Candidates Rack Up Endorsements — And A Minor Controversy

By John Voket

Updated: November 02, 2018 11:15 am

Let it not be said that Newtown candidates went all the way to Election Day without at least one controversial bump in the road.

Snapshot: Debi Modzelewski

10U Baseball State Tourney Will Take Place At Glander Field Complex

Newtown Rail Trail Fundraising Goal Reached, Clearing Way For Construction

My Backyard Habitat: Pollen Distribution — How Plants Are Pollinated

FONS Holds Third Annual Membership Dinner

With the publication of installment No. 26, Trump’s Triumphs has now consumed enough broadsheet paper—approximately 3.6 miles—to stretch from the center of Newtown, past the dump, and nearly to Sand Hill Plaza. That is the amount of paper used to print these 26 installments alone. Do you think they will stop before we get to Monroe? If Trump becomes 48 in 28 then we would make the sound for sure!

Elections Have Consequences XXVI

Dave, you are right that only those in the Borough signed onto the law suits, as it was made clear during the Borough meetings that signers had to be residents of the Borough. However, as you know, there was a concerted effort by the Newtown Conservation Coalition to organize people (throughout town) and to orchestrate actions intended to foil the overall development. If one searches the Bee for “Newtown Conservation Coalition” one will find many articles and editorials that cite the coalition. More that 18 of those articles and editorials, from March 2024 through February 2025, are about the Castle Hill Development and include direct quotes from the NCC head/founder including, e.g.,: 1) Newtown Conservation Coalition founder Dave Ackert has sagely urged his fellow NCC members to “stick to the relevant regulations issues and concerns in your testimony,” as “general opinions and concerns will not be considered when making their decision." [https://www.newtownbee.com/08292024/borough-zoning-to-begin-20-60-castle-hill-public-hearing." [https://www.newtownbee.com/08292024/borough-zoning-to-begin-20-60-castle-hill-public-hearing] 2) “We’re being sold a lot of things,” said Ackert. “The developer said he is going above and beyond in preserving open space, but the only part [of the plan] that doesn’t have houses are the steep slopes. He’s not avoiding buildable land, he’s using every buildable inch.” [https://www.newtownbee.com/09272024/borough-zoning-hears-perspectives-on-castle-hill-development] In addition to the articles and editorials, you (Dave) also wrote over 8 letters related to the development, in essence speaking for the residents, e.g., saying “On behalf of hundreds of concerned residents living within 500 feet who signed protest petitions, and residents downstream who’s property and finances could also be negatively impacted, I ask the BOS to rescind the discontinuance decision now.” [https://www.newtownbee.com/07102025/discusses-rochambeau-trail-and-6-commerce-road] The main tools for the Newtown Conservation Coalition are FOI complaints and legal action. These actions have increased the amount both the Town and the Borough have had to pay for legal counsel over the last few years. The cost is shared by all households and businesses for Town actions. Unfortunately, it is shared by very few, relatively speaking, for Borough actions. This year’s Borough costs are $58,000 to date. There were FOIA/legal actions in 2024 and 2025 too. Eventually, we will all see if that was money well spent. My sense is that the answer is no.

What’s Going On In The Borough?

my concern is not limited to this single FOIA request or this one case. It is the broader pattern of obstructionism, fear-mongering, and personal nastiness reflected in your Facebook page and other public commentary. You routinely call people to action by presenting only one side of complicated issues, assigning the worst possible motives to those who disagree with you, and giving little consideration to the legitimate concerns or perspectives on the other side. That may generate outrage and attention, but it does not make you a constructive participant in Newtown’s civic affairs. You are entitled to question public officials and pursue whatever legal remedies are available to you. But you should not pretend that your own conduct, rhetoric, and repeated escalation of disputes have played no role in the hostility and expense surrounding these matters. Newtown would be a nicer and more productive community with less of this kind of divisive behavior.

My "actions" were a single request for audio recordings of public meetings. It would have cost the Borough ZERO dollars to turn those over, as required by law. Instead, the Chair of the Borough Zoning commission decided, unilaterally, without informing the rest of his commission, to fight that Freedom of Information request. Mr. Johnson attempt to deflect blame falls flat on its face here. Facts matter.

Can you name a single person involved in one of the lawsuits who does not reside in the Borough? I'll wait......

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Local Students Participate In #WalkOutToVote

Dental Associates Candy Buy Back, Tuesday

Police Seek Info On Auto Accident

Time To Help The Newtown Fund Holiday Basket Program

EverWonder Receives Jeniam Foundation Grant, Announces Annual Fundraiser

Retail Center Expansion Gains Wetlands Permit

Planters’ Choice Nursery Seeks To Rectify Violations

Newtown Lions Club Selects Winner For 2018 Classic Mustang

Special Absentee Voting Hours On November 3

Candidates Rack Up Endorsements — And A Minor Controversy