To the Editor:
The Ketchum family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Town of Newtown, the New-town Police Department and the Newtown Fire Department for the memorials conducted on be...
To the Editor:
I write as a resident, not a member of the Newtown Community Center Commission, in urging my neighbors to vote YES in the upcoming referendum on April 5:
When I joined the group tasked ...
To the Editor:
I wish to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Newtown High School for inviting me and my senior friends for a wonderful evening of excellent food and an outstanding performance...
To the Editor:
We would like to extend our support to Sabrina Post and Sabrina's Encore Productions. Our daughter has grown both as a person and musically from her experiences at SEP. She has always l...
To the Editor:
It's time to move the Community Center project forward! After three years of discussion, research, ideas, restarts, and community vetting, I feel now is the time to vote for the communi...
To the Editor:
I write as a resident, not as a member of the Community Center Commission.
I encourage all Newtown residents to make their way to the Middle School to vote on the upcoming referendum on...
To the Editor: "NMS Students Raise Awareness About Stuttering" [Bee, 3/18/16] about twin brothers Ben and Ethan Paley raising awareness about stuttering at Newtown Middle School. I think these two bro...
To the Editor:
Recipe for a lovely evening on March 16th:
Take a group of enthusiastic high school students at Newtown High School add to this a lovely dinner provided by the Parent Teacher Student As...
To the Editor:"Tell The Police Commission Your Views On The Flagpole"Kudos to the Addessis for their thoughtful, informative letter to The Bee of March 11, 2016. [
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I believe that some years ago the ...
To the Editor:
My wife and I attended the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corp corned beef and cabbage dinner and fundraiser. We were particularly fortunate to arrive shortly before the local Irish Step D...
An incredible event... again. Thanks so much to Leslie and the entire gang who make this gathering of friends, family and classmates happen every year! And thanks to Devery Stickles for his generous support. This event is truly the Heart & Spirit of Newtown!
Michelle Embree Ku raises valid concerns about local property taxes, but ignores a basic political reality: Representative Mitch Bolinsky serves in the minority in a legislature dominated by a single-party supermajority where minority-party proposals are routinely sidelined. Suggesting that a single minority representative could rewrite the state's ECS formula is politically unrealistic and disingenuous to Newtown voters.
Despite those odds, Mitch’s CGA track record speaks for itself. He led the charge to protect special education funding, preserve Drug-Free School Zones, safeguard school safety drills, advance science-based structured literacy, and defend homeschooling choices for families.
If Ms. Ku knows how to fix the ECS formula, what has she done to convince her own party—the same party that controls the House, Senate, and Governor’s office? If the supermajority has the votes to fix ECS today, why hasn’t it happened during the 13 years she cites?
Adding another seat to a supermajority that made Connecticut one of the highest-taxed states won't help Newtown taxpayers. If the current majority hasn't delivered relief with absolute power, expanding that majority won't change the outcome.
Newtown’s interests are best served by keeping Mitch in the House and increasing Republican margins to provide real checks and balances. When one party holds every lever of power, accountability disappears. Strengthening the minority ensures our town’s voice is heard, not drowned out.
The idea that a freshman Democrat would be able to stand up to the special interests and prioritization of urban districts that are the base of that caucus to deliver results for Newtown is laughable - especially someone who could not even build the "relationships, coalitions, and the support necessary" to garner the endorsements of her fellow Democrat Council members ahead of Newtown's local caucus this spring.
More likely Newtown would see something akin to Leeper in Fairfield, performative actions after vote counting, while privately advancing their party's interests over their community's.
Dear Alyssa, Kelela, and Brandon,
We send our sincere sympathy to you and your family. We will also keep you in our prayers asking our Lord to grant you comfort and peace.
With love,
Vince and Sandy Venitelli
Bruce, your advice that voters should “read, listen, and engage” would be much more persuasive if you practiced it yourself.
You campaigned on openness and responsiveness. You declared that “evasive answers or silence are unacceptable in government” and promised to answer constituent inquiries within two days. Yet you never answered my straightforward public question about Main Street demonstrations, traffic disruption, pedestrian safety, and the effects on local businesses.
After taking office, meaningful public engagement has largely been replaced by “Brews with Bruce” at the Senior Center—requiring reservations and, for some residents, a day pass. That is not accessible, townwide engagement. Previous first selectmen held open coffee hours and walk-and-talk sessions that any resident could attend.
Then came the failed storm communications, your apology, and another promise to communicate better—followed shortly afterward by more silence while multiple police agencies conducted a significant search near Saw Mill Road.
You now tell voters to examine what candidates say and “how they say it.” I would suggest going one step further: compare what politicians promise while seeking office with what they actually do after winning.
Your record presents a stark contrast. You told voters exactly what they wanted to hear to get the job, then failed to live by those promises. Whether that is dishonesty or simply indifference, it is the same familiar, two-faced politics you once claimed you would replace.
