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NSSF 'Not A Good Neighbor' -
NAA Rally Calls Out NSSF Policies, Urges Divesture Of Gun Industry Holdings

By Nancy K. Crevier

Published: January 22, 2015 12:00 am

Side by side, but definitely not arm in arm, supporters of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and Newtown Action Alliance (NAA) lined Mile Hill Road in front of NSSF headquarters Tuesday a...

Police Reports, January 10-20, 2015

Published: January 22, 2015 12:00 am

I-84 DUI State police report that at about 3:35 am on January 18, they spotted motorist Melissa Toon, 35, of New Haven driving on eastbound Interstate 84, near the Exit 9 interchange, but failing...

VFW Ladies Auxiliary Members Celebrate 20 Years

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: January 21, 2015 12:00 am

Newtown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 308 Ladies Auxiliary members are celebrating. Several members received their 20-year pins Saturday, January 10, “a little something to make the day a little more ...

Developer Sues, Seeking To Expand Sewer District

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: January 20, 2015 12:00 am

A land development firm has sued the Water & Sewer Authority (WSA), seeking to have a judge order the WSA to expand the municipal sanitary sewer service district so that all of a 35-acre parcel at 79 ...

Hearing Is Next Step For 2015-16 School Budget

By Eliza Hallabeck

Published: January 17, 2015 12:00 am

After three budget workshop meetings, the Board of Education finished hearing reports from representatives of the different areas of the superintendent’s proposed 2015-16 budget at its workshop meetin...

Advisory Commission Working On Final Report

By Associated Press

Published: January 17, 2015 12:00 am

HARTFORD — An advisory panel charged with looking at public safety in the wake of the deadly Newtown school shooting agreed on January 16 to include in its final report a recommendation to ban the sal...

NAA To Protest NSSF Trade Show And Policies

Published: January 17, 2015 12:00 am

Newtown Action Alliance (NAA) will hold a rally outside the headquarters of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), 11 Mile Hill Road, Newtown, on Tuesday, January 20, at 4:15 pm, “to expose t...

Resolve To Be Part Of The Solution: Winter Coat Drive For Dorothy Day House

Published: January 16, 2015 12:00 am

As you kick off the new year, remember that the next eight weeks will likely bring bitter cold to the Northeast. And there are many who need help braving the elements. Readers are being asked to help ...

EDC Workshop Reviews Town's Potential For Economic Growth

By John Voket

Published: January 16, 2015 12:00 am

A wide representation of Newtown staff, along with elected and appointed officials, gathered with Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) representatives January 13 for a presentation illustrating...

Severe Weather Protocol Reactivated

By Shannon Hicks

Published: January 16, 2015 12:00 am

With below zero wind chills expected tonight, Governor Dannel P. Malloy Malloy is reactivating the state’s Severe Cold Weather Protocol through tomorrow morning. The protocol activates a network of pr...

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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NSSF 'Not A Good Neighbor' -NAA Rally Calls Out NSSF Policies, Urges Divesture Of Gun Industry Holdings

Police Reports, January 10-20, 2015

VFW Ladies Auxiliary Members Celebrate 20 Years

Developer Sues, Seeking To Expand Sewer District

Hearing Is Next Step For 2015-16 School Budget

Advisory Commission Working On Final Report

NAA To Protest NSSF Trade Show And Policies

Resolve To Be Part Of The Solution: Winter Coat Drive For Dorothy Day House

EDC Workshop Reviews Town's Potential For Economic Growth

Severe Weather Protocol Reactivated

NSSF 'Not A Good Neighbor' -
NAA Rally Calls Out NSSF Policies, Urges Divesture Of Gun Industry Holdings