News

Scrap Tire Storage & Recycling Rules Proposed

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: Nov 04, 2014 12:00 AM

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) is scheduled to hold a public hearing on an industrial firm’s request for a zoning rule change that would create a regulatory mechanism to allow scrap tire sto...

P&Z Hearing Postponed On Dodgingtown Subdivision Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

Published: Nov 03, 2014 12:00 AM

A Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing on a 23-lot residential subdivision proposed for a 167-acre site in Dodgingtown, which had been scheduled to start on November 6, has been delayed...

Visconti Voters Can Withdraw Absentee Ballots

By John Voket

Published: Nov 03, 2014 12:00 AM

The Connecticut Secretary of the State has announced that absentee voters who cast ballots that included gubernatorial candidate Joe Visconti can withdraw those ballots by 10 am tomorrow, and re-cast ...

Local Voters Will See One Ballot Question On Tuesday

Published: Oct 31, 2014 12:00 AM

Local voters casting absentee ballots, or appearing at the local polling sites to vote on Election Day, will be asked to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would have future implications...

Addition To Mt Pleasant Hospital For Animals Means Room To Grow

By Nancy K. Crevier

Published: Oct 31, 2014 12:00 AM

A recently completed addition to the Mt Pleasant Hospital for Animals means the ability to expand services and offer a smoother workflow, enhancing care to the clients of the veterinary hospital, said...

Gun Issue Flares In The Second District: Candidate Tweet Declared Offensive By NAA

By Nancy K. Crevier

Published: Oct 31, 2014 12:00 AM

In a string of tweets October 23 between Second District Representative and candidate Dan Carter and Heather Whaley of Redding, Mr Carter found himself in the bad graces of Newtown Action Alliance (NA...

Two Lawmakers Vying For Open 28th District Senate Seat

By John Voket

Published: Oct 31, 2014 12:00 AM

Democratic State Representative Kim Fawcett and Republican State Representative Tony Hwang are competing to take the seat incumbent Senator John McKinney will vacate after his term ends, and following...

Polling Places And Absentee Ballot Voting Reminders

Published: Oct 31, 2014 12:00 AM

Democratic Registrar of Voters LeReine Frampton reminds residents that the local registrars office has permanently deactivated Edmond Town Hall as a polling location. She explained that while the buil...

Forest Association Announces Nettleton Preserve Memorial Orchard Project

By Kendra Bobowick

Published: Oct 31, 2014 12:00 AM

Newtown Forest Association will begin work shortly to enhance Nettleton Preserve, one of Newtown's most well-known properties, located on Castle Hill Road and overlooking historic Main Street. The bul...

Assembly Candidates Relate Their Views On Seven Key Issues

By John Voket

Published: Oct 31, 2014 12:00 AM

Each of the three Assembly Districts that overlay Newtown have major party candidates vying for seats. The 106th District has Democratic challenger Matt Cole facing incumbent Republican first-term Rep...

Summer Concert Series, Tuesday Tunes Concerts Details Announced

Travel Talk: Alaska, June 4

Silver Alert Issued By Newtown PD For 17-Month-Old Child

LOF Adaptive Skiers Is Gearing Up For Another Jam-Packed Summer

Snapshot: Jason LynchThis week's Snapshot features Jason Lynch.Family: My wife Robin, and our daughter Charly.How did you meet your wife? I met her on the subway in Brooklyn. I was helping someone with their stroller, and she saw me and handed me her business card.Pets: Two dogs, Jet and Utah.How long have you lived in Newtown? About five years. We used to live in Norwalk, and I used to drive the back roads home all the time. I’d see the antique houses and their plaques, and we’d talk about how unique each one looked and how great it would be to have a house like that someday. We were here for the corn maze, for my brother-in-law’s birthday, and we saw one of the houses on Main Street was for sale so we took a look and fell in love with it.Work: I work at IBM Research, where I am primarily a brand designer — so thinking about the Research brand, different applications, how it appears in digital at events, and also working with some of the emergent technologies as well. It’s incredibly hard but also interesting and fulfilling.Do you have a favorite podcast? I love podcasts. I like StarTalk, which is really interesting, about cosmic queries; The Illustration Department, about different illustrators and designers, which I like to listen to a lot; and I enjoy Freakonomics.What did you want to be when you grew up? A truck driver. I still think it would be an awesome job. We take a lot of road trips to Ohio, and I think about it quite a bit when we’re going through Pennsylvania. When I was a little kid they had that show, BJ and The Bear, and I loved it.What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I really enjoy cooking. I find recipes all the time, so I try to find new and interesting things. It’s hard to find the time to do it, but I enjoy it. During the summer we like to hang out on Lake Zoar. It’s our favorite place to be. It’s peaceful out there. We have a pontoon boat that we dock at Eichler’s Cove, and it’s nice because we can go down there, sometimes after work we’ll go out with dinner or go swimming for just an hour or so.What is the most recent book you’ve read? At home I don’t have a lot of downtime to read, but I love audio books. Right now I’m going through A World of Peers by Michael Pollan, which explores what is consciousness. It was really interesting. Before that it was Sammy Hagar’s autobiography. It varies quite a bit. My commute can be lengthy, so I enjoy audio books and podcasts when I’m going back and forth.What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? You’re not entitled to the results, you’re entitled to the work.Do you have any pet peeves? It’s silly and it’s a little thing, and I know this, but I cannot stand how paper towels or tape never tear cleanly. It drives me insane.What is something you cannot live without? Family, of course. And dogs. I have to have dogs.What is your favorite thing about Newtown? I like the sense of community we’ve experienced here. I enjoy walking, and I love being able to get groceries everyday — the walkability in the center of town, and seeing people all the time, I really enjoy that. And the homes, of course, which was primarily what drew us here. Do you have a personal credo? The work advice from earlier.

I understand your basic point, but not the numbers. Can you help us understand where your numbers come from? Thanks!

The ‘Me’ Generation

Tom, I appreciate you sharing your perspective. My advocacy isn't about a personal 'vested interest' in a single field; it is about the Standard of Newtown. While you categorize the salt shed and library parking as 'essential' and the turf as an 'upgrade,' I would argue they all fall under the same umbrella of maintaining town assets. The Turf Field ($1.4M): This was a replacement project for a facility used by thousands of youth athletes, not a new 'luxury' add-on. The Salt Shed ($1.2M) & Library Parking ($1.4M): These were passed at almost identical price points. The point isn't to say these items aren't important; it’s to ask why we find the money for infrastructure that serves one demographic while claiming we are too 'fiscally strained' to fund infrastructure for another. When we categorize things we use as 'essential' and things our neighbors' children use as 'extras,' we aren't having an honest discussion about priorities, we are picking winners and losers. The goal of my letter wasn't to be 'unproductive,' but to sound the alarm for the 82% of residents who didn't show up to the polls. We cannot be a community that only thrives in parts. If we want Newtown to remain a place where people want to move and raise families, we have to invest in the next generation with the same urgency we use to fix our parking lots.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Michelle, I am sorry to see that you are also a victim of fabrications. All those rumors that go round that seem so convincing. All so often, those rumors are little more than convenient lies. This has been happening for several years and hopefully we can come together to stop them. Until then, I ask that those of you who have heard disparaging remarks about the candidates take the time to meet with them to ask them directly what you are concerned about. Get to know them better rather than assume. We all will have better representation both locally and state-wide if you do so.

Support For Brandon Moore

He is just another politician, you could see it when he got Bruce Walcz'zzz'k elected. Say whatever it takes to get into office...

This is disappointing because it frames voters who rejected the Treadwell turf replacement as selfish or anti-youth. When I suspect that Katherine's motives were likely because she has some vested interest in those turf fields, which makes it exceptionally selfish. There is a clear difference between maintaining basic town infrastructure and approving an athletic facility upgrade. Library sidewalks, parking access, and a salt storage facility support safety and essential town operations. The turf field may be worthwhile, but it is still a different type of request. Residents can support youth sports and still question the cost, timing, or priority of a specific project. Calling that selfish, or turning it into a generational argument is unfair and unproductive. Newtown is better served by honest discussion about priorities, not by accusing voters of lacking community spirit because they disagreed on one ballot item.

The ‘Me’ Generation

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