Did Santa babysit the baby Jesus? Why were the Three Wide Men so lost? What did the holiday classic "Silent Night" first sound like? Answers to these questions and others will all be answered on Saturday, December 1, when St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church hosts a performance of the hit comedy "Christmas Bingo: It's A Ho-Ho-Holy Night."
St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church will have the honor of hosting this year’s interfaith Thanksgiving gathering of prayer and song. Newtown Interfaith Association will again sponsor the annual service, which will begin at 7 pm.
Grace Family Church celebrated a big step last week in the construction of its new church building, which is being built off Covered Bridge Road in Hawleyville.
Newtown Congregational Church members are conducting a Royal Caribbean Cruise Raffle. One lucky winner will be treated to a seven-day cruise for two to anywhere Royal Caribbean travels, along with a $500 spending voucher.
Congregation Adath Israel will dedicate its Shabbat service on Saturday, November 3, to the memory of the 11 people who were victims of the October 27 shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Penn.
Newtown Congregational Church is planning the second session of its newest social group. Babies + Bagels is scheduled for Thursday, November 8, at 10 am.
Newtown’s annual CROP Hunger Walk took place at the Fairfield Hills campus on Sunday, with participants starting from in front of NYA Sports & Fitness Center.
More than a dozen people bundled in coats...
Christ the King Lutheran Church is planning its annual Fall Fair, scheduled this year for Saturday, November 10, from 9 am to 3 pm. Those who want first dibs on items can take advantage of early buying at 8 am for $5.
Bobby Valentine will be the featured speaker on Sunday, October 28, when the St Rose of Lima Parish hosts a Men's Night filled with sports talk, raffles, and ballpark cuisine.
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.
