For five days last week, 19 Newtown teenagers worked through 100-degree Oklahoma heat, dodged powerful thunderstorms, avoided rattlesnakes, scorpions and other creatures foreign to most New Englanders...
A paint-spattered drop cloth clung to furniture and covered part of the floor in Southbury artist David Merrill’s living room.
Stepping indoors Thursday, July 18, from a sticky heat, he and Newtown re...
My vegetable garden is struggling this year. Peas and lettuce were late and now are bolting in the heat. The beans leapt out of the soil and have continued to stretch for the sun, battling the peas (w...
“A Glimpse Of The Garden” is a seasonal miniseries focusing on the heart of a gardener’s work — a special spot, an extraordinary plant, a place of respite, or a place that evokes a heartfelt memor...
On a blazingly hot and humid July 19, midway through the first session of the nonprofit Jessica’s Camp horse training scholarship program, a half-dozen 6- and 7-year-old girls who are learning about t...
July 29, 1988
The Heritage Preservation Trust of Newtown, Inc was formed July 27 in a historic action. In less than an hour, with about 30 persons present, incorporation papers and by-laws were r...
Occupation: I’m a CPA, and a partner in Stockwell & Bates, LLC. My partner Linda and I started the first all-women’s CPA firm in the state in 1992. We’ve always been here in Newtown. I’m also a CD...
Efforts to share stories about inspiring teachers in the early stages of planning Saturday’s Great Newtown Reunion reunited one former Newtown student with a teacher who had deeply impacted her life.
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A post on The Bee Facebook page this week confirms our faith in humanity. On Friday, July 12, Nicole Capener lost her paycheck. The following Monday, it was sitting on her desk — “Clearly rained on, r...
The idea that a freshman Democrat would be able to stand up to the special interests and prioritization of urban districts that are the base of that caucus to deliver results for Newtown is laughable - especially someone who could not even build the "relationships, coalitions, and the support necessary" to garner the endorsements of her fellow Democrat Council members ahead of Newtown's local caucus this spring.
More likely Newtown would see something akin to Leeper in Fairfield, performative actions after vote counting, while privately advancing their party's interests over their community's.
Dear Alyssa, Kelela, and Brandon,
We send our sincere sympathy to you and your family. We will also keep you in our prayers asking our Lord to grant you comfort and peace.
With love,
Vince and Sandy Venitelli
Bruce, your advice that voters should “read, listen, and engage” would be much more persuasive if you practiced it yourself.
You campaigned on openness and responsiveness. You declared that “evasive answers or silence are unacceptable in government” and promised to answer constituent inquiries within two days. Yet you never answered my straightforward public question about Main Street demonstrations, traffic disruption, pedestrian safety, and the effects on local businesses.
After taking office, meaningful public engagement has largely been replaced by “Brews with Bruce” at the Senior Center—requiring reservations and, for some residents, a day pass. That is not accessible, townwide engagement. Previous first selectmen held open coffee hours and walk-and-talk sessions that any resident could attend.
Then came the failed storm communications, your apology, and another promise to communicate better—followed shortly afterward by more silence while multiple police agencies conducted a significant search near Saw Mill Road.
You now tell voters to examine what candidates say and “how they say it.” I would suggest going one step further: compare what politicians promise while seeking office with what they actually do after winning.
Your record presents a stark contrast. You told voters exactly what they wanted to hear to get the job, then failed to live by those promises. Whether that is dishonesty or simply indifference, it is the same familiar, two-faced politics you once claimed you would replace.
Nothing says “I care about Newtown homeowners” quite like lining Main Street with plywood campaign billboards—apparently built just inches below the size at which officials say they can take action. At this rate, we’ll need property-tax relief just to offset the loss in curb appeal.
