State Senator Tony Hwang — whose 28th District includes Newtown — has sent to Connecticut’s Department of Labor (DOL) demanding detailed information about how the agency is handling the sharp surge in new unemployment claims.
Two Newtown-based cutting edge manufacturing companies a couple of miles apart are working overtime to support strategic response to the novel coronavirus that by the weekend claimed almost 1,100 Connecticut lives and killed more than 150,000 globally.
The next Newtown Leaders Forum webcast, scheduled for Monday, April 20, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, will key in on helping business owners/leaders focus on resiliency.
Newtown’s Economic and Community Development team — Christal Preszler and Kim Chiappetta — along with E&CD team member Christine O’Neill have been working throughout the COVID-19 crisis to supply reso...
The opening of an ice cream stand is among the things that herald the return of spring. But what happens when a pandemic is added to the mix? In Newtown, there are two answers to that question.
Newtown’s cases of COVID-19 hovered just below 60 as nearly 5,200 others in Fairfield County logged positive test results Friday. By that time Connecticut was marking a statewide total in excess of 10,500 positive cases of the coronavirus.
Following the launch of a live streamed Facebook forum with several local experts unpacking and discussing the federal Payroll Protection Plan (PPP), organizers will be welcoming a new panel in an effort to help local businesses survive and thrive during the coronavirus emergency.
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.
