News

Stormwater Permit Revisions Still Drawing Objections From Towns, Officials

By John Voket

Published: January 31, 2015 12:00 am

On Monday, January 26, Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) released revisions to a proposed permit for the management and oversight of municipal stormwater systems. ...

Malloy Links I-84 Widening To Region's Economic Growth

By John Voket

Published: January 30, 2015 12:00 am

DANBURY — At a brief, windswept press conference staged at the I-84 Exit 2 Welcome Center January 22, Governor Dannel P. Malloy said widening Interstate 84 in both directions through Danbury is critic...

NYFS Receives Grant From Fairfield County's Community Foundation

Published: January 30, 2015 12:00 am

Fairfield County’s Community Foundation has awarded a $40,000 competitive grant to Newtown Youth & Family Services Inc (NYFS). This grant will provide funding for a NYFS case manager to serve as a res...

Selectmen Review, Approve Police, Parks, Highway Dept. Budget Requests

By John Voket

Published: January 30, 2015 12:00 am

In a special meeting Wednesday, January 29, the Board of Selectmen continued the process of reviewing and approving recommendations for a dozen department budget requests, including several of the lar...

Management Takes Steps To Address Growing Pains At Nunnawauk Meadows

By Nancy K. Crevier

Published: January 30, 2015 12:00 am

Since opening in 1975 with 40 one-bedroom units, Nunnawauk Meadows has provided affordable housing for the elderly in Newtown. The community on Nunnawauk Road, off Mile Hill Road, has expanded more th...

Plowing Snow Onto Roadways Illegal, Dangerous

Updated: December 06, 2023 3:30 pm

Plowing snow from private driveways and walkways onto roadways is illegal and dangerous.

Fire Marshal Urges Snow Removal

Published: January 30, 2015 12:00 am

The town fire marshal’s office is asking for help from the public in terms of snow removal. Fire Marshal Bill Halstead asks that people who have a conventional fire hydrant, a dry hydrant, or a fire s...

Newtown Dodges Juno's Worst, Residents Cooperate With Travel, Parking Bans

By John Voket, Kendra Bobowick and Andrew Gorosko

Published: January 30, 2015 12:00 am

This summary of Winter Storm Juno also appears in The Newtown Bee print edition of January 30, 2015. Stories by Bee Editorial staff were also posted online as the storm approached, arrived and the...

Yoga Dimensions To Support Women's Center

By Nancy K. Crevier

Published: January 29, 2015 12:00 am

Newtown resident Barbara Cottingham sits on the board of the Women’s Center, and is always trying to get the word out on the many services provided by the Danbury-based support service that assists mo...

Police Reports, January 15-24, 2015

Published: January 29, 2015 12:00 am

Evading Responsibility Police report that while on patrol in Dodgingtown about 2:35 am on January 20, they spotted a utility pole near 3 Hattertown Road that had been struck by a vehicle and had ...

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.

What’s Going On In The Borough?

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.

What’s Going On In The Borough?

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

What’s Going On In The Borough?

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