The Planning Department of Newtown has issued the following memo, June 30, 2020:
The State Plastic Bag Tax will be reinstated on July 1, 2020. In order to allow...
To the Editor:
I am often asked about the various types of support and expenditures that the library cycles through each year, and I hope this letter to the edi...
The American Library Association (ALA) announced that Newtown’s C.H. Booth Library was selected for the second consecutive year to participate in Libraries Lead...
To the Editor:
We have been Newtown residents for over 15 years. I am deeply offended by the letter that was published in The Bee last week from Clinton DePaolo...
The Newtown Bee is seeking resident input through Twitter. Periodically, we will post a question to our Twitter account (@TheNewtownBee) with #TellTheNewtow...
WATERBURY — Chase Collegiate School is offering online summer studies and enrichment programs from July 6 through August 7.
Students have adapted and excelled w...
Jerome “Jerry” Alexander Rekart passed peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, June 30, at his home in Newtown. He was 80 years old. Jerry was the son of the late A...
What are newtownbee.com readers reading? Each week we compile a list of the top most read stories published to our site.
Here is a roundup of the week’s top fiv...
Summer life may look different this year, with ongoing pandemic precautions and safety measures, but we know residents are still making memories.
The Newtow...
There is plenty to read at newtownbee.com, but so much more information to be found in print. If you read the print edition of The Newtown Bee, or subscribe, yo...
I agree with the points raised here for ordinary times; however, the magnitude of the surplus funds this year is extraordinarily large. Projected start of year surplus is now a seven figure number, approaching 2% of the annual school budget. Is there a point at which the surplus becomes so large that taxpayers should be allowed to vote on what is done with it? At present, we vote on the school budget, which is tied to a specific operating plan. What goes into that plan is debated in a public forum and single digit percentage changes are considered substantial and important to taxpayers. If we underspend that plan by a similar significant amount, should it really be a given that the money can be spent on items not in the specific voted upon operating plan without taxpayer input? For nominal amounts, I agree with BOE discretion, but when the amounts grow as large as they have this year, I'm not so sure that's the right approach. It starts to render the vote on the budget and operating plan less meaningful.
I would suggest you look up the Connecticut Constitution. The present one (that State and Local officials take an oath to uphold) was adopted by referendum, in 1965. Black people did vote in Connecticut then and were present at the Constitutional Convention. As to the Federal Constitution, it has been construed by the Supreme Court to apply to All Citizens.
Could The Bee please explain the article published last week, but not available on the website, about how Eversource had actually lowered generation rates, starting 7/1/2020? There was no mention of the rate increase that folks are complaining about. I have been quite confused about what is going on, although of course what matters most is the "amount due" on the bill. The regulations and the way our bills are broken out are confusing, but it doesn't help when the local news source seems to be reporting something so different from what people are actually experiencing.
Not a criticism of you, but I am appalled you had to define "Pandora's Box". What is the state of our education system.
Good points all, and they have kept coming up since we purchased Fairfield Hills all these years ago.
What will the effect be on our municipal services. Will we need more police ? Will our all volunteer Fire Departments be able to handle the building project at completion. (Last year the Fire Chief in Brookfield spoke against a apartment project saying in part, they did not have sufficient apparatus and in the event of a major incident they could not guarantee sufficient manpower.)
What exactly is "affordable housing". I know it is a percentage of the median income. My brother lives in Stamford. A developer got around zoning by building affordable units. To qualify you can make up to $80,000 a year. Of course they are making rents at the high end of "affordable".
We need to do something with Fairfield Hills. Maybe we should have gone with a golf course or Horse facility. It is not generating any tax revenue, is taking money from the town, and those abandoned buildings, and tunnels underneath, are becomming more and more dangerous every year.
