Sandy Hook families sway Washington’s discussion on Gun Legislation

Eleven family members of those killed in the December 2012 shooting at the Newtown, CT elementary school joined President Barack Obama on an Air Force One flight from Connecticut to D.C. after Obama’s speech at the University of Hartford on Monday. At the university, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy. Megan Merrigan photo, CTNewsJunkie.com

By Megan Merrigan | CTNewsJunkie.com

April 12, 2013

Eleven family members of those killed in the December 2012 shooting at the Newtown, CT Sandy Hook Elementary school joined President Barack Obama on an Air Force One flight from Connecticut to D.C. after Obama’s speech at the University of Hartford on Monday (April 8).

“The families of Newtown literally turned the tide in Washington, D.C.,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said at a press conference at the University of Hartford on Friday (April 12). “Their faces and voices are an historic story in achieving better measures against gun violence.”

In all, 16 Republicans contributed to Thursday’s (April 11) 68-31 bipartisan victory over the Republican-led filibuster that would have prevented debate on the legislation.

… Continue Reading

Public hearings April 3 on Storrs Center plans

The Mansfield Downtown Partnership will hold two public hearings on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at the Mansfield Fire Station 107 meeting hall, at 879 Stafford Road (Route 32), to hear comments on two zoning permit applications from Storrs Center Alliance LLC. Image source: MDP web site

Press Release

The Mansfield Downtown Partnership will hold two public hearings on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at the Mansfield Fire Station 107 meeting hall, at 879 Stafford Road (Route 32), to hear comments on two zoning permit applications from Storrs Center Alliance LLC.

The hearings concern Phase 4: Market Square and Phase 1C: Building Town Square-3 of the Storrs Center project.

The first hearing begins at 7 p.m. on the application to develop the proposed market area in Storrs Center (Phase 4: Market Square).

The second hearing is scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m. on the application to develop the proposed Town Square-3 (TS-3) building (Phase 1C: Building Town Square-3).

… Continue Reading

Three honored for carrying on Dr. King’s legacy

Honored at the Feb. 27, 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award Reception at Eastern Connecticut State University are (L-R) the event’s keynote speaker, author and poet Billie Jean Young, Eastern student Soely Barros, Connecticut Supreme Court Justice The Honorable Lubbie Harper Jr., Assistant Dean of the School Continuing Education Indira Petoskey; and Eastern’s President Elsa Núñez. Contributed photo.

Eastern Connecticut State University presented the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award to senior Soely Barros, Indira Petoskey, assistant dean of the School Continuing Education and the Honorable Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Lubbie Harper Jr. at a reception on Feb. 27 in the J. Eugene Smith Library.

The awards recognize members of the campus community and community-at-large whose actions demonstrate distinguished service in promoting the ideals of Dr. King, and to further the goals of diversity and social equality.

… Continue Reading

Watch for projected images on the Willimantic Brewing Co exterior

The collection of twenty rotating images is each artist’s individual interpretation of a Green Light, in support of The Last Green Valley and their 3rd Annual Green Lights Project.

In partnership with the Willimantic Screen Project, The Willimantic Brewing Co. will host a “Green Lights Night” on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 beginning at 5 pm.

Presented in conjunction with Thread City Development Inc., Eastern Connecticut State University and the Town of Windham, the Willimantic Brewing Company will project digital images onto the High Street façade of its building each night from Wednesday thorugh St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2013.

The collection of twenty rotating images is each artist’s individual interpretation of a Green Light, in support of The Last Green Valley and their 3rd Annual Green Lights Project.

… 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