Like a needle discovered in a haystack by sitting on it, an otherwise little known and even less talked about local zoning designation has received a remarkable amount of attention in recent weeks.
Representatives of various cultures, colors, faiths, abilities, and orientations bring a diverse palette of possibility and promise to communities like Newtown.
The latest installment of an occasional Editorial Ink Drops feature we titled “Standing O’s And Oh Nos” — because some issues and individuals in the community deserve this kind of heightened focus, for good or for ill, right at the top of our front page.
On the occasion of Sunshine Week, observed March 13-19, The Newtown Bee is reminded of the preamble to Connecticut’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, the first such legislation in the country, that w...
As Connecticut moves through its annual Consumer Protection Week activities this week, we are prompted to recall two familiar sayings.
The first is “caveat emptor,” a fairly familiar Latin term that m...
I am glad to see First Selectman Bruce Walczak engaging the electorate. Mark your calendars, folks — apparently, communication from Town Hall is possible after all.
Unfortunately, Bruce Walczzzzak is starting to look like just another politician: campaign on change, criticize the last guy, ask taxpayers for more staff, and then tell residents the job still cannot be done.
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.
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.
