Religion

A Community Gathers To Celebrate 'The Miracle Of Hanukkah'

By Shannon Hicks

Published: Dec 27, 2017 12:00 AM

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-298484" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/SH_menorah-lighting-at-Adath-Israel-02-gathering-before-event-WATERMARKED.jpg" alt="SH_menora...

Celebrating The Story Of Christ's Birth

Published: Dec 24, 2017 12:00 AM

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-297627" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/St-Rose-Live-Nativity-group-manger-incl-Holy-Family-by-Kerry-DeLeon.jpg" alt="St Rose Live Na...

Young's 'Everlasting Light' To Be Part Of Christmas Eve Morning Service

Published: Dec 21, 2017 12:00 AM

RIDGEFIELD - St Stephen's Episcopal Church in Ridgefield will hold just one morning serviceÃ¢ÂÂ at 10 Ã¢ÂÂon Sunday, December 24, versus the usual two. "This year December 24 i...

Congregation Adath Israel To Host Community Menorah Lighting

Published: Dec 19, 2017 12:00 AM

Congregation Adath Israel of Newtown and Hadassah of Greater Newtown/Danbury are co-sponsoring a large menorah lighting on Tuesday, December 19, at 6 pm, to mark the eighth night of Hanukkah. The ligh...

Preparing To Honor The Reason For The Season

By Shannon Hicks

Published: Dec 15, 2017 12:00 AM

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-296756" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/St-Rose-Live-Nativity-pvw-shepherds.jpg" alt="St Rose Live Nativity pvw -- shepherds" width="800...

Newtown Mother-Son Team Celebrate Collaborative Memoir

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: Dec 12, 2017 12:00 AM

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-296153" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/This-Child-of-Faith-book-cover.jpg" alt="This Child of Faith book cover" width="300" height="...

12/14 Memorial Services Planned

Updated: Dec 13, 2018 04:44 PM

Local houses of worship have announced plans for those who wish to join together to honor those killed on 12/14 and/or to continue personal healing.

'A Special Time Of Gathering' Celebrated At Trinity Church

By Shannon Hicks

Published: Nov 23, 2017 12:00 AM

Giving thanks, being grateful for what one has, and feeling blessed to be able to join with others of differing faiths were all among the ideas celebrated Sunday during this year's Interfaith Service ...

Annual Fall Fair Offers Crafts, Music, And More

By Eliza Hallabeck

Published: Nov 12, 2017 12:00 AM

Christ the King Lutheran Church held its annual Fall Fair on November 4. Tables were set up throughout the Mt Pleasant Road church for the event with a range of items for sale, from crafts to bake sal...

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service Being Planned

By Shannon Hicks

Published: Nov 09, 2017 12:00 AM

NOTE (Monday, November 13, 2017): This post has been updated. A potluck dinner following the interfaith service will be presented by Trinity's youth, but is not part of the public event Sunday eve...

SMT Corp Expands ISO/IEC 17025 And SAE AS6171 Accreditations To UK Laboratory, Strengthening Global Counterfeit Detection Capabilities

Snapshot: Brady Dunn

Kling Brothers Builders Offers Community A Different Type Of Career Path

Newtown Woman’s Club 2025 Pewter Ornament ‘A Transfusion Of Patriotism’

Borough Board Of Burgesses Continues Discussion Of Insurance Policy

Unfortunately, I think this is likely to get worse, not better... Based on both public comments and private conversations, I’m increasingly concerned that our newly elected First Selectman intends not just to install these cameras, but to expand their use for full-blown enforcement and fines. Try getting a straight answer out of him about the long-term plan and you quickly realize how vague the responses become. Tyler is absolutely right to raise the privacy issue. These systems don’t just “catch speeders” — they quietly build a database of where we drive, when we drive, and who is in our vehicles. Once that infrastructure is in place, it becomes very easy to justify expanding its scope: more cameras, more locations, more uses, and eventually more automated enforcement. If Newtown is going down this road, residents deserve clear, written answers to some basic questions before anything is expanded: What limits will be placed on how and where cameras are used? Will footage and plate data be used only for speed enforcement, or for other investigations too? How long will data be stored, and who can access it? What safeguards will prevent vendors and individuals from abusing this information? Without firm, enforceable rules in place, “just a few cameras to slow traffic” can turn into something very different over time. I support safe roads — but not at the cost of unchecked surveillance and vague promises from our leaders. You try getting straight answers out of our First Selectman, myself and others have not been able to...

Discusses Traffic Cameras

I had to hold back a laugh at the idea that 7:30 pm is apparently such a late-night hardship that we’re already talking about moving meetings earlier. For a lot of residents, 7:30 is the earliest they can realistically get to Town Hall after work, family obligations, and the rest of real life. Shifting BOS meetings to 7:00 might make the calendar look tidier for those in the building, but it makes participation harder for the people who pay for the building. If the new First Selectman’s week is already booked solid and evening meetings feel like a strain, that’s not a reason to move the goalposts on public access—it's a reminder that the job is supposed to be demanding. Public service means accommodating the public, even when it’s inconvenient.

Walczak Adjusts To New Role, First Board Meeting

Real people were just in a frightening car accident. To immediately frame their misfortune as rhetorical ammunition against new housing — affordable housing included — feels less like concern for “health and safety” and more like opportunistically using a scary moment to support a pre-existing position. If we’re going to debate this proposal, we should do it honestly: with data on traffic volume, accident history, engineering recommendations, and the town’s housing needs, not by seizing on a single crash as proof that 300 apartments are inherently unsafe. Newtown deserves a thoughtful, fact-based conversation about growth, safety, and affordability — one that doesn’t turn other people’s bad day into a political talking point.

How Many Accidents Will It Take?

To add context that did not occur at the meeting would not be an accurate representation of the meeting and would, in fact, be editorializing to shape public opinion. The editorial staff here do not consider ourselves to be final arbiters of what the truth is (and if we did, it would make us partisan and biased), and we would need to provide a source for any dissenting information (sourcing all information in an article is literally Journalism 101). There were no such sources present at the meeting in question, and so it would not be appropriate to include such information in an article about the meeting. Dissenting voices appear in meeting stories when there were active participants with dissenting opinions, such as during public participation or the words of a council member who disagreed. It should be noted that the Interfaith Council, like many local boards and commissions, conduct meetings that are open to the public. This was not an article on the actions of the Greater Danbury Area Unites for Immigrants, or on immigrants, or on ICE's actions in the community, where including other voices or perspectives would be appropriate. We appreciate your opinion, but we stand by our meeting coverage and consider this discussion closed.

NIC Speaks With Danbury Unites For Immigrants, Discusses 12/14 Service

Propaganda is the systematic dissemination of information, often biased or misleading, to shape public perception and behavior toward a specific political cause or point of view. I'm not asking for Newtown Bee to editorialize, but providing context, where appropriate, to provide the reader with a more holistic view of the facts seems like a reasonable practice, particularly when encouraging the reader to decide what to believe/not to believe. Absent that context, this feels biased and misleading and intended to shape public perception.

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A Community Gathers To Celebrate 'The Miracle Of Hanukkah'

Celebrating The Story Of Christ's Birth

Young's 'Everlasting Light' To Be Part Of Christmas Eve Morning Service

Congregation Adath Israel To Host Community Menorah Lighting

Preparing To Honor The Reason For The Season

Newtown Mother-Son Team Celebrate Collaborative Memoir

12/14 Memorial Services Planned

'A Special Time Of Gathering' Celebrated At Trinity Church

Annual Fall Fair Offers Crafts, Music, And More

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service Being Planned