News

Fire Reports | November 26-December 2, 2025

Published: Dec 08, 2025 08:00 AM

Fire reports from Wednesday, November 26-Tuesday, December 2, 2025.

Police Reports | November 15-November 30, 2025

Published: Dec 08, 2025 07:00 AM

Police reports for November 15 through November 30, 2025.

BOE Welcomes New Members, Listens To More Strategic Goals

By Jenna Visca

Published: Dec 08, 2025 06:00 AM

The Board of Education welcomed new and returning members, and also listened to a presentation on pupil services’ strategic goals, at its recent meeting.

12/14 Service Of Remembrance Being Planned

Published: Dec 07, 2025 07:00 AM

Newtown Interfaith Council is planning its annual public gathering for the community to honor those who died at Sandy Hook School on December 14, 2012. During its most recent meeting in November, ...

Gouveia Sentenced For 2023 Police Standoff

Published: Dec 05, 2025 05:00 PM

A Newtown resident who was arrested following a standoff with local police in December 2023, after shooting a person inside a Boggs Hill Road residence, was sentenced this week.

Walczak Adjusts To New Role, First Board Meeting

By Jim Taylor

Published: Dec 05, 2025 07:00 AM

First Selectman Bruce Walczak had his first day on the job and first Board of Selectman meeting on December 1.

New And Returning Officials Sworn In

By Jenna Visca

Published: Dec 05, 2025 06:00 AM

Approximately 42 new and returning officials raised their right hand and swore to serve Newtown and its community in a ceremony last weekend.

Flags To Be Lowered Until Sunset

By Shannon Hicks

Published: Dec 04, 2025 02:31 PM

President Donald J. Trump has ordered flags lowered until sunset today, as a mark of respect for US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, who died after being shot while patrolling near The White House last Wednesday.

Fire Reports | November 19-November 25, 2025

Published: Dec 01, 2025 08:00 AM

Fire reports from Wednesday, November 19-Tuesday, November 25, 2025.

COA Talks About Nominations Progress, Annual Budget Process

By Jenna Visca

Published: Dec 01, 2025 07:00 AM

Commission on Aging members recently spoke about progress for nominations and the annual budget for Newtown Senior Center.

Fire Reports | December 3-9, 2025

Safety At Home: ‘Simple Steps, Big Impact’ Presentation At Newtown Senior Center

NHS Band And Guard Launches Fundraiser For New Equipment

Police Reports | November 20-December 6, 2025

Bee Publishing Company Holiday Deadlines & Closures Schedule

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.

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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Fire Reports | November 26-December 2, 2025

Police Reports | November 15-November 30, 2025

BOE Welcomes New Members, Listens To More Strategic Goals

12/14 Service Of Remembrance Being Planned

Gouveia Sentenced For 2023 Police Standoff

Walczak Adjusts To New Role, First Board Meeting

New And Returning Officials Sworn In

Flags To Be Lowered Until Sunset

Fire Reports | November 19-November 25, 2025

COA Talks About Nominations Progress, Annual Budget Process