News

Police Department Planning For Hiring, Promotions

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: September 08, 2014 12:00 am

Police Chief Michael Kehoe has updated Police Commission members about police department staffing matters, including plans to hire two new officers, plus plans for promotions involving the naming of o...

New Mini Mart Owner Requests Modest Tax Abatement

By John Voket

Published: September 06, 2014 12:00 am

From the barren, pocked lot where a boxy Shell station once stood greeting residents and visitors exiting Interstate 84 onto Church Hill Road, a new, more aesthetically pleasing Colonial-looking mini ...

SHS Staffers Aim To Inspire A Nation To Promote 'Common Sense' Gun Laws

By John Voket

Published: September 06, 2014 12:00 am

The small, occasionally boisterous but often hushed group of women gathered around a set of tables one recent afternoon at a Newtown restaurant could have been mistaken for any group of friends or co-...

Deadline Extended: Raffle Supporting Reach Newtown To Last All Month

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: September 06, 2014 12:00 am

While driving a larger-than-life bright orange chair through New York City recently, Newtown resident Douglas Calderone soon realized that its eye-catching qualities could do more than raise a smile. ...

Investigation Continues To Determine Start Of Fire That Heavily Damaged Sandy Hook Home

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: September 05, 2014 12:00 am

Fire officials this week were continuing their probe into the cause of a September 2 Alpine Circle house fire that heavily damaged a two-story Colonial-style home on that road in the Riverside section...

Proposed NHS Auditorium Add-Ons Revealed During BOF Capital Plan Review

By John Voket

Published: September 05, 2014 12:00 am

Following a discussion this week among leading town officials about the rollout of a townwide facilities review, the Board of Finance discussed with First Selectman Pat Llodra and school district offi...

Council Sets $1.25 Million Asset Cap For Tax Relief

By John Voket

Published: September 05, 2014 12:00 am

With more than a quarter-million dollars remaining unspent in a tax relief fund for qualifying town seniors and those with disabilities, the Legislative Council engaged in a spirited discussion Septem...

Finance Board Hosts Officials For Update On Enrollment, Facilities Analyses

By John Voket

Published: September 05, 2014 12:00 am

The Board of Finance was joined by members of the Boards of Selectmen and Education as well as members of the Legislative Council for the first part of a regular August 28 meeting, which provided an o...

Visiting Newtown, September 9: Injured Veterans To Cycle 355 Miles For Ride 2 Recovery Minuteman Challenge

By Shannon Hicks

Published: September 05, 2014 12:00 am

More than 150 cyclists including injured veterans — men and women from all branches of the Armed Forces — and their supporters will be participating in the Fifth Annual Ride 2 Recovery (R2R) Challenge...

School District Receiving Additional $3.1 Million SERV Grant

By John Voket

Published: September 04, 2014 12:00 am

Newtown School Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, joined US Representative Elizabeth Esty, Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and US Department of Education Office of Safe and Healthy Sch...

The Way We Were

Silver Alert For Blue McGrath Ended

Top Of The Mountain

Cargo Van Driver Taken To Hospital Following Collision With Gas Tanker

Knotweed Initiative Program Planned

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

The ‘Me’ Generation

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