Two local mothers have created a pair of special events for Friday to mark Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day, a very personal day for each of them.
Advanced Master Gardener and Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Michelle MacKinnon (pictured) will present a program on Wednesday, October 13, at Newtown Senior Center, 8 Simpson Street.
MacKin...
The Flagpole Photographers Camera Club invite the public to its October events, which open with a presentation on nighttime photography. The club continues to conduct meetings and programs livestream....
Newtown Community Center has announced plans for the return of Spooktacular Drive-Thru, an event that was very popular during its inaugural offering in 2020.
I have to love how the NIMBY crowd now opposes senior housing—yet if a developer proposed family homes on that same land, they'd be the first to complain that the added tax revenue wouldn’t cover the cost of more kids in the school system.
On a more positive note, I’m excited to hear that Aquila’s Nest is looking to add a beer and liquor permit. They have such an awesome venue and host some of the most creative events in town. Every time I visit, I find myself wishing there were more drink options—so a beer and liquor selection would definitely be a welcome addition.
It was an awkward meeting, discussing duplicative work and confusing processes, but not “uncomfortable.” In hindsight, the misstep was not putting an appointed alternative, independent of political pressures that prioritizes independence and expertise over electability and partisan loyalty, into the Charter. Look no further than the BOF funding recycling for only half a year, an apparent ~$400k punt until just after the election, to see how political pressures influence decision making.
While it's encouraging to see the town taking steps to put the sewer fund back on track, it's important to recognize how we got here. A significant factor contributing to the current financial strain was the $3.8 million expansion of the municipal sanitary sewer system in 2016—an expansion that was intended to support future development that continues to be blocked by persistent NIMBY opposition.
That investment was predicated on growth that has yet to materialize, leaving ratepayers footing the bill for infrastructure that's currently underutilized. Meanwhile, residents are now facing annual 9% rate increases just to stabilize the system—yet they’re not benefiting from the expansion that was supposed to help distribute those costs more broadly through new hookups.