Planning to vote at the April 27 Budget Referendum? Then 'Watch & Learn' during our special live webcasts highlighting two major spending authorizations you will be making.
Multiple Grammy-winning jazz guitar icon John Scofield is describing his upcoming socially distanced shows at the Ridgefield Playhouse like the musical equivalent of a tightrope walk.
The Charlotte Helen Bacon (CHB) Foundation is organizing a free StoryWalk on the Fairfield Hills campus from Saturday, April 10, to Sunday, April 18.
StoryWalk is an innovative and delightful way for ...
Want to be completely informed when you vote in this year’s budget referendum? Tune in at 5:30 pm Monday, April 5 and 12 to learn about the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial and Emergency Communications system improvements.
Flagpole Photographers Camera Club invites the public to join members for the club’s April events, which includes a portrait photography presentation and a monthly competition.
Julia Gerace will lead ...
The Mark Twain Library and Redding League of Women Voters present the second installment of the series “Conversations: Truth, Myth & Democracy” on Thursday, April 1.
C.H. Booth Library has scheduled three lectures that will continue the Main Street institution's concerted efforts toward diversity, equity and inclusion programming.
Bruce’s letter paints a picture of runaway development, but the real story is the collapse of local cooperation — not the rise of §8-30g. That law has been on the books since 1990. For decades, towns and developers worked together to shape projects that made sense: added sidewalks, deeper setbacks, fewer units — genuine compromise.
What’s changed isn’t the law, it’s the politics. A loud social media mob has made any compromise politically toxic. The “no growth” crowd demands nothing be built anywhere, ever, and bullies anyone who suggests otherwise. Planning and zoning boards no longer negotiate; they hunker down, hoping to appease the Facebook comment section.
But here’s the irony — when compromise dies, developers stop compromising too. Once a project triggers §8-30g, the town can fight it, but state law ensures the developer will eventually win. So instead of working out a reasonable design, everyone heads to court. The developer doubles the unit count to pay for the lawyers, and the town burns taxpayer money trying to lose more slowly.
That’s how we end up with the very projects the NIMBY mob fears — because they made reasonable development impossible.
If people truly care about Newtown’s character, they need to stop the performative outrage and start engaging in real planning again. Screaming “no” to everything isn’t preservation — it’s self-sabotage.
I’m honestly surprised Bruce had to look up what an “agreement in principle” means. After years of business experience and managing 200 people, I would have expected that term to be familiar by now. Hard to believe it’s a new concept at this stage in his career. Although rest assured Newtown, vote row A and when times get tough, we have Google to help the selectman.
I asked AI what does agreement in principle mean
An "agreement in principle" is a preliminary, non-binding understanding reached between two or more parties that outlines the fundamental terms of a future contract. It is considered a stepping stone toward a formal, legally enforceable agreement.
This type of agreement is used to establish mutual intent and a basic framework for negotiations before the parties commit to a detailed, final contract.
