Obituaries

Arthur Hilario, Jr

Published: May 04, 2015 12:00 am

Arthur Hilario, Jr, 61, of New Milford, beloved husband of Jenny (Iapaluccio) Hilario, died unexpectedly May 2, in New Haven. He was born in Bridgeport, November 2, 1953, son of the late Silbina (Simo...

Michael S. Gilbertie

Published: May 04, 2015 12:00 am

Michael S. “Mickey” Gilbertie, 86, of Newtown died May 4 at home, surrounded by his loving family. He was born September 17, 1928, in Westport, and was the son of the late Amy and Michael Gilbertie. H...

Albert J. Silvestro

Published: May 04, 2015 12:00 am

Albert J. Silvestro, 87, of Sandy Hook died suddenly at home April 30. He was born December 29, 1927, in Bridgeport, and was the son of the late Domiana and Lorenzo Silvestro. After serving in the mil...

Jim Mangold

Published: April 29, 2015 12:00 am

Jim Mangold, 88, died peacefully at home in Sarasota, Fla., April 20. He was a longtime resident of Newtown, and more recent resident of Danbury and Sarasota. He was born in Pittsburgh, Penn. Mr Mang...

Dorothy Charney

Published: April 28, 2015 12:00 am

Dorothy “Dos” Charney, 79, of New Fairfield died April 24. She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., January 26, 1936. Ms Charney lived her life with unique style, humorous character, and a loving family. Her f...

Frederick S. Cisko, Jr

Published: April 28, 2015 12:00 am

Frederick S. Cisko, Jr, 86, of Shelton, and previously of Newtown and Bridgeport, died April 26 in St Vincent’s Medical Center, Bridgeport. He was the devoted husband of 65 years to Angeles “Ann” (Fer...

Donald Robert Sturges

Published: April 28, 2015 12:00 am

Donald Robert Sturges, 65, died suddenly April 22, at his home in Olongapo, Philippines. He was the son of Jean Stempel of Lenox, Mass., and the late Robert Sturges, born April 4, 1950. He was raised ...

Margaret Ellen Lewis Anderson

Published: April 27, 2015 12:00 am

Margaret Ellen Lewis Anderson, 69, of Castleton, Vt., died April 23 at her residence, after a long illness. She was born July 11, 1945, in Bridgeport, and was the daughter of the late Eleanor (Ludwig)...

Glenna Jean Rees

Published: April 27, 2015 12:00 am

Glenna Jean (Pinney) Rees, 85, of Sandy Hook died at home April 24, surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Albany, N.Y., October 7, 1929, and was the daughter of the late Helen Pinney Gall a...

Felice Talamo

Published: April 27, 2015 12:00 am

Felice “Felix” Talamo, 61, of Newtown died April 22, after a long courageous battle with cancer. He was the beloved husband and best friend to Jeanne Talamo for 37 years. He was born August 6, 1953, a...

Capeci Announces Reelection Campaign With Running Mate Charlie Gardner

Newtown Bridge Club Expresses Gratitude

Says Assembly Ordinance 'Ill-Conceived'

Opposes Ordinance On Protests

Opposes Potential Ordinance For Demonstration Permits

The bottom line is this: costs are up, and no group—including teachers—is exempt. Ignoring Anthem’s recommended 22% increase last year may have directly caused the $2 million shortfall. Everyone has to share in the fix. That might mean higher premiums and leaner benefits. Complaints alone won’t solve the problem—realistic solutions will. I urge all Newtown Teachers to email their Union leaders and express their support for higher premiums.

Discusses Town Self-Funded Insurance Plan

Its really easy to make assertions and cast doubts from behind a keyboard....a little too easy aparently. You might try conducting the actual research BEFORE doing it next time. If you do, you too will find that there's no need to imagine such a policy to improve public transparency and participation. Take a look at Ridgefield's P&Z meeting agendas on their website for starters. They are just one town that provide links to electronic copies of applications and other public documents, so that their commissioners and residents can easily access them and be well-informed, before meetings and public hearings occur and without making them drive to town hall (during business hours) to ask their land use staff to pull the files and make copies of them, saving everyone time (time is money), and gasoline, and missed work. Most applicants alrleady submit electronic copies, and for those who don't, it's a lot easier for a staffer to scan them once, than to have to make copies every time someone asks for them. And please don't misrepresent or slander those who advocate for smart, low impact & sustainable development policies and practices as 'anti-development'.

Calls For Policies To Create Greater Transparency

It’s important that we separate a genuine desire for transparency from what has become a pattern of disruption and obstruction masked as civic engagement. David Ackert’s latest complaint is not a new concern, but part of a sustained campaign of vexatious FOIA requests and inflammatory rhetoric that continues to cost this town hundreds of thousands in staff time and outside legal review—with little to no benefit for the broader community. The First Selectman’s February 2024 commitment was reasonable: to draft a policy that balances transparency with practicality and compliance with existing Freedom of Information laws. What’s unreasonable is the ongoing expectation that a town of our size can operate like a large city, livestreaming and archiving every meeting, while simultaneously enduring frivolous complaints that only serve to harass rather than improve. Let’s be clear: the issues described—meeting room size, screen visibility, etc.—are operational and solvable, but not constitutional crises. And it’s disingenuous to pretend that these challenges are proof of secret dealings or intentional violations. When every town meeting becomes a battleground for the same facebook NIMBY mob demanding more "access" while refusing to engage constructively, the result is not democracy—it’s dysfunction. At some point, we must ask ourselves: who is truly advocating for the town’s best interest, and who is weaponizing FOIA and public participation as tools of obstruction? Accountability matters, and that applies equally to those making the accusations.

To be clear, there are different types of open space designations in the State of CT. The "Open Space or Recreation" designation simply means that the open space is open to the public for passive recreational activities (e.g., Hiking, Fishing, Horseback Riding, etc.), as opposed to the types of open space that are closed to the public. I'm confident that our terrific Conservation Commission will fulfill their responsibilities associates with Open Space land, as outlined by the town Charter, including the recommendation of specific rules on what's allowed and what's not for the Board of Selectmen to approve. Also, make no mistake, the final language of the law is completely aligned with the resolution passed by a vote of 2-1 at the 10/7/24 BOS meeting. That resolution reads "....the Board of Selectmen will request that state legislators designate 6 Commerce Road as Town Open Space and request the economic development restriction be removed from the 6 Commerce Rd. deed....." Interestingly, on November 1st, the First Selectman wrote a letter to Mitch Bolinsky and Tony Hwang saying "....Following a resolution adopted by the Board of Selectmen on October 7th, and subsequently endorsed by the Legislative Countil on October 23rd, we seek to enact legislation that would remove the economic development stipulation from the deed of 6 Commerce Drive." Not only did he change the name from 6 Commerce Road to 6 Commerce Drive, but he also changed the request to suit his desire for the property instead of what was voted on, by omitting the part about designating it as open space! Thankfully, he attached the 10/7/24 BOS meeting minutes to his letter, where our state reps were able to reference the actual accurate resolution language, which again, matches the final language of Special Act 25-15. The only clarification needed, is why the First Selectman changed the wording of his Nov. 1st letter, from what the BOS approved on October 7th.

It’s Done: 6 Commerce Can Be Open Space

I am feeling like Mr. Ackert's quest/request for greater transparency of our town's governance is disingenuous. First off, I cannot imagine how a "town-wide policy to provide greater transparency" could possibly be worded, and I think that Mr. Capeci was just being polite in agreeing that we should have one. Secondly, Mr. Ackert is accusatory, as if he believes something nefarious is behind the lack of transparency, where it exists, while I do not believe this at all. Third: The time, effort, and upkeep to have absolutely every town meeting interactively live, recorded, and fully documented, would obviously NOT save the town money, and I doubt that other towns of our type "implemented these policies long ago." And lastly, after having witnessed the town meeting behaviors of the anti-development faction, I am certain that we should not facilitate their ability to sit at home and harangue the poor people who work so hard IN PERSON, to make our town a better place.

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Arthur Hilario, Jr

Michael S. Gilbertie

Albert J. Silvestro

Jim Mangold

Dorothy Charney

Frederick S. Cisko, Jr

Donald Robert Sturges

Margaret Ellen Lewis Anderson

Glenna Jean Rees

Felice Talamo