Rise in online news prompts debate over publishing legal notices

The Hartford Courant’s publisher Richard Graziano testified before a skeptical (state legislature’s) Planning and Development Committee on Friday (Feb. 1) in opposition to two bills that would remove a requirement that towns post their legal notices in a daily newspaper. Photo by Hugh McQuaid – on CTNewsJunkie

By Hugh McQuaid | CT News Junkie

The Hartford Courant’s publisher testified before a skeptical (state legislature’s) Planning and Development Committee on Friday (Feb. 1) in opposition to two bills that would remove a requirement that towns post their legal notices in a daily newspaper.

Both bills would give towns the ability to publish advertisements of their legal notices on their website.

One also would give them the option of posting in a weekly newspaper.

The Courant’s publisher, Richard Graziano… argued against the change, saying that it was a matter of open access to government through an objective third party. He said that posting the notice only on a government site leaves it open to tampering, alteration, political bias, or publication after the legal deadline.

Several town leaders testified in support of the bills, including… Rep. Melissa Ziobron [Dist. 34 – East Haddam, East Hampton, part of Colchester].

Ziobron is a freshman Republican who doesn’t serve on the committee but proposed one of the bills. She said there are no daily newspapers in her district. She said there is a weekly newspaper [RiverEast] that covers 13 towns in the area but few people read it.

“I can tell you the majority of my residents don’t even pick it up . . . It actually becomes litter, which is very unfortunate,” she said.

… Continue Reading

Rise in online news prompts debate over publishing legal notices

The Hartford Courant’s publisher Richard Graziano testified in opposition to two bills that would remove a requirement that towns post their legal notices in a daily newspaper. Photo by Hugh McQuaid – on CTNewsJunkie

By Hugh McQuaid | CT News Junkie

The Hartford Courant’s publisher testified before a skeptical (state legislature’s) Planning and Development Committee on Friday (Feb. 1) in opposition to two bills that would remove a requirement that towns post their legal notices in a daily newspaper.

Both bills would give towns the ability to publish advertisements of their legal notices on their website.

One also would give them the option of posting in a weekly newspaper.

The Courant’s publisher, Richard Graziano… argued against the change, saying that it was a matter of open access to government through an objective third party. He said that posting the notice only on a government site leaves it open to tampering, alteration, political bias, or publication after the legal deadline.

Several town leaders testified in support of the bills, including… Rep. Melissa Ziobron [Dist. 34 – East Haddam, East Hampton, part of Colchester].

… Continue Reading

A penny for your thoughts

The Board of Directors of SI Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIFI) has declared a cash dividend on the company’s outstanding shares of common stock. The dividend of $0.03 per share will be paid on or about Feb. 25, 2013 to stockholders of record at of the close of business on Feb. 4, 2013.

The Board of Directors of SI Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIFI) has declared a cash dividend on the company’s outstanding shares of common stock.

The dividend of $0.03 per share will be paid on or about Feb. 25, 2013 to stockholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 4, 2013. … Continue Reading

Saturday music series continues at Storrs Center

On Dec. 8, the band SDL will play from 2 to 3 p.m., followed by the Conn-Men (http://www.conn-men.org), an all-male a cappella group, from 3 to 4 p.m.
The performances are free, and the public is invited to make a day of it and explore all of the new shops and restaurants now open at Storrs Center.

Local musicians perform every Saturday in December at Storrs Center, Mansfield’s new downtown complex on Route 195 (Storrs Road) adjacent to UConn’s south campus.

On Dec. 8, the band SDL will play from 2 to 3 p.m., followed by the Conn-Men (http://www.conn-men.org), an all-male a cappella group, from 3 to 4 p.m.

The performances are free, and the public is invited to make a day of it and explore all of the new shops and restaurants now open at Storrs Center.

Both groups plan to perform outdoors on Dog Lane. In the event of rain, performers may move indoors to one of the open shops or restaurants in Storrs Center.

The music series continues with the following performers:

Saturday, Dec. 15 – The Recliners

Saturday, Dec. 22 – Full Gael (http://www.fullgael.com )

Saturday, Dec. 29 – Mike Casey Jazz Quartet (http://www.mikecaseyjazz.com)

Questions? Please visit the Storrs Center Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/StorrsCenter

Storrs Center is a new mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented downtown in Storrs-Mansfield, Connecticut with shops, restaurants, services, apartments, a town square and public areas as well as a parking garage open to the public, with a second garage now under construction.

For more information about this ongoing project, visit www.storrscenter.com

Posted December 8, 2012

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on our NEW  Twitter page at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )

Learn more about UConn’s plans for a $170 million Tech Park

You can learn more about the proposed Master Plan for the UConn Technology Park at an open meeting to be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building (Town Hall), located at the corner of Routes 195 and 275 (South Eagleville Road) in Storrs-Mansfield.

You can learn more about the  proposed Master Plan for the UConn Technology Park at an open meeting to be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building (Town Hall), located at the corner of Routes 195 and 275 (South Eagleville Road).  The info session will be held in the council chambers.

If you are unable to attend in person, you will be able to watch the info session live at this link:

http://townhallstreams.com/locations/mansfield-ct

… and on Charter Cable Community Access Channel 13.

You also will be able to view the recorded session through Charter On Demand for at least 31 days following the meeting.

Charter also will rebroadcast the recorded session several times – check listings at http://www.mansfieldct.gov/channel13 .

The UConn Technology Park will be located on a roughly 300-acre site on a portion of university property known as North Campus, which is bordered by Route 44 on the north, Route 195 on the east, North Eagleville Road on the south and a long stretch of forest, wetlands and other landscape features to the west.

The General Assembly has allocated $170 million in state bonds to pay for the design and construction of an initial facility at the tech park, which will be called the Innovation Partnership Building.

The building will include roughly 125,000-square feet for specialized research equipment, flexible-use laboratories and business incubator space.

The plan is to gradually build out the park with other facilities depending on the types of business partnerships that develop and the market demand for research space.

The Innovation Partnership Building is projected to open in 2015.

One aspect of the project that will affect the local community is construction of a new access road that is expected to relieve UConn-related traffic congestion on Route 195. This part of the project is in the design and permit process.

Based on a feasibility study, UConn has projected the tech park will create between 1,000 and 1,300 new jobs, both directly and indirectly related to the facility, within its first 10 years.

Questions? Please contact Planning and Community Development Assistant Jessie L. Neborsky at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building at 860-429-3330 during office hours.

Posted December 5, 2012

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on our NEW  Twitter page at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )

How to support locally-owned businesses this holiday season

Get your Christmas shopping started and meet the owners of several locally-owned businesses on Sunday, Dec. 9 at the Local First Mansfield One Stop Shop. This event, organized by the Mansfield Downtown Partnership and the Town of Mansfield is open from noon to 4 p.m. at the Mansfield Community Center on South Eagleville Road (Route 275) in Storrs-Mansfield, CT.

Get your Christmas shopping started and meet the owners of several locally-owned businesses on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 at the Local First Mansfield “One Stop Shop.”

This event, organized by the Mansfield Downtown Partnership and the Town of Mansfield,  is open from noon to 4 p.m. at the Mansfield Community Center on South Eagleville Road (Route 275).

The “One Stop Shop” will include businesses that don’t have a traditional storefront, as well as those with “brick and mortar” stores.

Scavenger Hunt participants also can bring their cards to the One Stop Shop to enter a drawing for prizes.

All “One Stop Shop” attendees will receive an entry for the drawing. Scavenger Hunt participants will receive additional entries based on the number of businesses they successfully found.

The goal of Local First Mansfield is to encourage residents to support the many and diverse locally‐owned businesses in Storrs-Mansfield.

Look for the Local First Mansfield posters in participating businesses. You also can visit the Town Web site at www.mansfieldct.gov and click on “Business” for a list of participants – and check back often, as more join.

If you are a Mansfield business owner interested in being a part of Local First Mansfield, please call the Mansfield Downtown Partnership office at 860-429-2740 or send an email to mdp@mansfieldct.org There is no fee to participate.

You can also keep tabs on this community project on Facebook (Local First Mansfield) and on Twitter  @MDPLocalFirst) and by visiting the blog at http://localfirstmansfield.blogspot.com

Posted December 3, 2012

Get to know Storrs-Mansfield better and win some prizes http://mansfield.htnp.com/2012/11/24/get-to-know-storrs-mansfield-better-and-win-some-prizes/

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on our NEW  Twitter page at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )

Mansfield and Windham now eligible for funds to cover Hurricane Sandy damages

Hurricane Sandy, which was later downgraded to a Tropical Storm, pounds Connecticut on Oct. 29, 2012. Image source: FEMA

FEMA has announced that state and local governments and certain nonprofit organizations in three additional Connecticut counties are now eligible to receive federal disaster assistance under the Public Assistance program to supplement state and local response to Hurricane Sandy.

Windham and Tolland counties were added to the major disaster declaration issued Oct. 30, 2012, as well as Litchfield County.

Windham County includes Ashford,  Brooklyn,  Canterbury,  Chaplin,  Eastford,  Hampton,  Killingly,  Plainfield,  Pomfret,  Putnam,  Scotland,  Sterling,  Thompson,  Windham (Willimantic) and  Woodstock.

Tolland County includes Andover,  Bolton,  Columbia,  Coventry,  Ellington,  Hebron (Amston),  Mansfield (Storrs),  Somers,  Stafford,  Tolland,  Union,  Vernon and  Willington.

Governments in these towns, as well as some nonprofits, are eligible for funds to cover permanent work to repair and rebuild disaster-damaged infrastructure, as well as costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures.

The funds are available based on a federal cost share of at least 75 percent.

In Connecticut, cost share for emergency power restoration and emergency public transportation was 100 percent at the height of hurricane recovery through Nov. 14.

Grants also help pay for emergency protective measures such as police overtime; debris removal from public roads and rights-of-way; and permanent repairs to roads, bridges and public buildings.

Previous counties designated under the declaration are Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven and New London, and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribal Nations in New London County.

For more information about assistance, visit http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4087

Posted November 24, 2012, as edited and added to by HTNP News Editor Brenda Sullivan

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on our NEW  Twitter page at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )

Get to know Storrs-Mansfield better and win some prizes

Healthy Alternative Market & Deli, on Route 44 near Four Corners, is one of the businesses taking part in the 2012 Local First Mansfield scavenger hunt.

As part of “Local First” in Storrs-Mansfield… whose goal is to encourage us to shop locally… you can take part in a scavenger hunt and win some fun prizes.

The game runs from this weekend through Sunday, Dec. 9.

Cards with clues will be available at participating businesses and at Town Hall at 4 South Eagleville Road (Route 275) during office hours – or you can get started by downloading a form with clues (in PDF format).

For the form, click here:

http://www.mansfieldct.gov/filestorage/1904/3389/2012_localfirstmansfield_scavengerhunt.pdf

The Town of Mansfield and the Mansfield Downtown Partnership developed a new initiative this time last year, “Local First Mansfield,” to boost local business.

The program coincides with the busiest shopping time of the year.

According the National Retail Federation, shoppers spend an average of $700 during the holiday season on items ranging from gifts to food to pet supplies.

“The goal of the program is to raise awareness of the many different businesses here in town and to encourage residents to shop local for quality goods and services,” said Mansfield Town Manager Matt Hart.

Participating businesses will display posters in their stores and are listed in the Business section of the Town’s website.

To keep up to date on announcements about Local First Mansfield and participating businesses – such as the One Stop Shop on Sunday, Dec. 9, noon to 4 p.m. and the Give & Receive gift wrapping event on Sunday, Dec. 16, noon to 4 p.m.), visit http://localfirstmansfield.blogspot.com

Businesses that are interested in participating should contact the Mansfield Downtown Partnership office at 860-429-2740 or mdp@mansfieldct.org  There is no fee to participate.

Want to help the local business that provided you with this information?  Tell them you read about it in Mansfield Today, and like us at HTNP News on Facebook!

Posted November 24, 2012, based on publicity materials

Related links:

Local First Mansfield on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Local-First-Mansfield/549674045048947

The Healthy Alternative Market and Deli on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Healthy-Alternative-Market-Deli/332361630098

Have a news item, event or Letter to the Editor you’d like posted on this news site? Simply send your information to editor@htnp.com and include your town in the subject line of your email. Please also include a phone number where you can be reached if there are questions. For daily updates on local and Connecticut news, “like” us on Facebook at HTNP News. https://www.facebook.com/HTNPnews and find us on our NEW  Twitter page at HTNP News (@HTNPNews )