There are still openings for the Holcombe Hill 5K Trail Run which will benefit the Newtown Forest Association and REACH. It will take place at the Holcombe Hill Wildlife Preserve, 65 Great Hill Road, on Sunday, June 9.
Newtown High School's boys' lacrosse team, seeded tenth in the Class L state tournament, visited No. 7 Xavier of Middletown in the first round on May 29 and came away with a 15-8 victory.
Highlighted by a pair of fifth-inning homeruns, the second-seeded Newtown High School baseball team posted a 9-1 victory over visiting and No. 31 Middletown in the first round of the Class LL state tournament, at home on May 29.
Seeded 17th in the Class LL state bracket, Newtown High School's softball team took the short trip to Danbury to face the No. 16 Hatters in first-round action on May 29.
A four-goal deficit late in the first half, against a Wilton squad out of the tough FCIAC, known for producing some of the best lacrosse teams in the state, didn’t faze Newtown High School’s girls’ squad.
Newtown High School golfer David Brestovansky took home South-West Conference championship medalist honors as the tournament's top golfer for the second year in a row. Brestovansky shot a 76 to lead Newtown to a fourth-place team finish at Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury on May 28.
A few changes have been made for Newtown High School’s state tournament games this week. Times of today’s baseball and softball contests were moved up, and Newtown’s volleyball match has been switched from Friday to Thursday.
Newtown High School’s boys’ lacrosse team began Class L state tournament action with a convincing win, toppling visiting Brien McMahon of Norwalk 18-3 in a qualifying round matchup at Blue & Gold Stadium, on May 25.
Almost every serve Newtown High School’s boys’ volleyball team put into play put the visiting Joel Barlow of Redding Falcons on their heels. And on defense, the Nighthawks got to seemingly every ball to keep the momentum going.
Newtown High School’s boys’ volleyball team will host Joel Barlow of Redding in the South-West Conference championship match on Friday, May 24, starting at 6 pm. The Nighthawks are the top seed.
With the publication of installment No. 26, Trump’s Triumphs has now consumed enough broadsheet paper—approximately 3.6 miles—to stretch from the center of Newtown, past the dump, and nearly to Sand Hill Plaza. That is the amount of paper used to print these 26 installments alone. Do you think they will stop before we get to Monroe? If Trump becomes 48 in 28 then we would make the sound for sure!
Dave, you are right that only those in the Borough signed onto the law suits, as it was made clear during the Borough meetings that signers had to be residents of the Borough. However, as you know, there was a concerted effort by the Newtown Conservation Coalition to organize people (throughout town) and to orchestrate actions intended to foil the overall development.
If one searches the Bee for “Newtown Conservation Coalition” one will find many articles and editorials that cite the coalition. More that 18 of those articles and editorials, from March 2024 through February 2025, are about the Castle Hill Development and include direct quotes from the NCC head/founder including, e.g.,:
1) Newtown Conservation Coalition founder Dave Ackert has sagely urged his fellow NCC members to “stick to the relevant regulations issues and concerns in your testimony,” as “general opinions and concerns will not be considered when making their decision." [https://www.newtownbee.com/08292024/borough-zoning-to-begin-20-60-castle-hill-public-hearing." [https://www.newtownbee.com/08292024/borough-zoning-to-begin-20-60-castle-hill-public-hearing]
2) “We’re being sold a lot of things,” said Ackert. “The developer said he is going above and beyond in preserving open space, but the only part [of the plan] that doesn’t have houses are the steep slopes. He’s not avoiding buildable land, he’s using every buildable inch.” [https://www.newtownbee.com/09272024/borough-zoning-hears-perspectives-on-castle-hill-development]
In addition to the articles and editorials, you (Dave) also wrote over 8 letters related to the development, in essence speaking for the residents, e.g., saying “On behalf of hundreds of concerned residents living within 500 feet who signed protest petitions, and residents downstream who’s property and finances could also be negatively impacted, I ask the BOS to rescind the discontinuance decision now.” [https://www.newtownbee.com/07102025/discusses-rochambeau-trail-and-6-commerce-road]
The main tools for the Newtown Conservation Coalition are FOI complaints and legal action. These actions have increased the amount both the Town and the Borough have had to pay for legal counsel over the last few years. The cost is shared by all households and businesses for Town actions. Unfortunately, it is shared by very few, relatively speaking, for Borough actions. This year’s Borough costs are $58,000 to date. There were FOIA/legal actions in 2024 and 2025 too. Eventually, we will all see if that was money well spent. My sense is that the answer is no.
my concern is not limited to this single FOIA request or this one case. It is the broader pattern of obstructionism, fear-mongering, and personal nastiness reflected in your Facebook page and other public commentary.
You routinely call people to action by presenting only one side of complicated issues, assigning the worst possible motives to those who disagree with you, and giving little consideration to the legitimate concerns or perspectives on the other side. That may generate outrage and attention, but it does not make you a constructive participant in Newtown’s civic affairs.
You are entitled to question public officials and pursue whatever legal remedies are available to you. But you should not pretend that your own conduct, rhetoric, and repeated escalation of disputes have played no role in the hostility and expense surrounding these matters.
Newtown would be a nicer and more productive community with less of this kind of divisive behavior.
