Democracy takes many forms, and some are more direct than others. In Vermont, the tradition of Town Meeting is very direct. Consider Elmore, where on a recent day the business of running a town and participating in its administration was thrown open to everyone for the yearly meeting. The nuts and bolts of town business and decision-making get done. In the process something unfolds that doesn't happen everywhere in the republic these days — in-person politics that are civil, friendly and followed by lunch. But the tradition is under threat. Many people feel they no longer have the time or ability to attend such meetings.
HARTFORD — Whenever bestselling author Robin Cook releases a new medical thriller, the head of the public library in West Haven knows demand for digital copies will be high. So will the price.
As sharks go, LeeBeth is something like a long-haul trucker with gills and giant teeth.
NORTH STONINGTON — North Stonington Garden Club is now accepting applications for its 2024 Anna Coit Memorial Scholarship. The $2,000 scholarship is granted annually to a high school graduating senior pursuing higher education in agriculture, conservation, environmental studies, horticulture…
'Oh my God feeling.' Trooper speaks about shooting knife-wielding man, worrying about other officers
A Connecticut state trooper who shot a 19-year-old man to death in a stolen car in 2020 has testified that he believed he had to open fire because the man was armed with a knife and made threatening movements toward other officers. Trooper Brian North took the stand Friday at his trial in Milford, Connecticut. He has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree manslaughter charge. He fatally shot Mubarak Soulemane in West Haven after a high-speed chase and reports Soulemane had earlier committed a carjacking. State Inspector General Robert Devlin ruled the shooting was not justified because none of the officers were in imminent danger.
STONINGTON — First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough has been appointed to serve on a 15-member statewide coalition of municipal leaders tasked with finding solutions to help better serve Connecticut’s at-risk and disconnected youth.
STONINGTON — It will be a bittersweet weekend for Stonington High School seniors Cate Statchen and Evan Anderson when they take the stage to play two titans of American beauty in the musical "War Paint."
A Connecticut jury has convicted a woman of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the presumed death of mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos in 2019. Michelle Troconis, the girlfriend of Dulos’ estranged husband, was found guilty Friday. While jurors were polled as to whether they agreed with the verdict, Troconis sat with her head down, crying, as one of her lawyers rubbed her back. Her family is calling the verdict unfair. Dulos disappeared from her home on May 24, 2019, after dropping her children off at school. Prosecutors alleged that her husband, Fotis Dulos, killed her and Troconis helped him cover it up. Fotis Dulos killed himself in 2020 after being charged with murdering Jennifer Dulos, whose body hasn't been found.
MYSTIC — Aquarion Water Company’s water main replacement project is scheduled to begin March 25 on Route 1, New London Road. The project is expected to be completed by July. Final paving will then be coordinated with the Town of Groton and the state of Connecticut.
UNCASVILLE — Mohegan Sun Arena has donated 100 Sky Box concert tickets to Keeping North Stonington Affordable for the Celtic Women 20th Anniversary Tour performance to be held on Saturday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m.
Connecticut police say two tractor-trailers landed in a pond after crashing on Interstate 84. The state transportation department says one person died in the accident around 2 a.m. Thursday near the Ashford-Union town line. The crash happened just hours before Gov. Ned Lamont announced a new effort to improve traffic safety. There have been roughly 50 deaths on Connecticut highways in the past two months alone. That includes a wrong-way driver whose crash killed four people and seriously injured two others on Interstate 95 in West Haven early Sunday. Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto is calling it a public health crisis.
BOSTON — February’s end is bringing wild weather to much of the United States, with record heat allowing for golf in Wisconsin and outdoor food trucks in Minnesota, along with an increased fire risk across much of the Great Plains. But blinding snow in the Northwest is blowing eastward, and …
STONINGTON — Ingrid Feddersen, a photographer deeply admired by local birders for her extraordinary close-ups of America's national bird — and followed by many on Instagram — knows how to be patient.
STONINGTON — Town residents will get a chance Monday to vote on whether or not to purchase the so-called “Circus Lot” property along the Pawcatuck River off Noyes Avenue.
MYSTIC — The Rotary Club of Mystic will open its 2024 spring grant cycle to area 501(c)(3) organizations beginning Tuesday, Feb. 20.
MYSTIC — Bill Turner, former board president of the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, Citizen of the Year as selected by the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, and descended from good Irish stock in County Leitrim and County Galway, will se…
MYSTIC — The opportunity to receive a $1,000 scholarship and serve as the Grand Colleen of the 2024 Mystic Irish Parade is now available to young women and those who identify as female from the towns of Groton and Stonington.
STONINGTON — Heather and Benjamin Sherman are the latest entrepreneurs to join the burgeoning restaurant boom in downtown Westerly-Pawcatuck.
STONINGTON — The Stonington Community Center is accepting applications for its 2024 scholarships. The scholarships are open to Stonington residents enrolled in college and high school seniors pursuing higher education.
State Sen. Heather Somers will formally seek a fifth term this fall as representative of the 18th district, which includes Stonington and North Stonington as well Griswold, Groton, Plainfield, Preston, Sterling and Voluntown.
WESTERLY — The team behind Nana’s Bakery & Pizza has taken over the former Bridge Restaurant and plans to have a new seafood-focused dining destination up and running later this spring.
STONINGTON — When Little Man's Diner last closed its doors for relocation after nearly a decade in Westerly, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, it took two years before they were able to find a new home. This time around, it took just two weeks for the business to move and reopen.
MYSTIC — The Mystic drawbridge on Main Street will close overnight Monday to allow for routine maintenance.
WESTERLY — A new program being offered at the Westerly branch of the Ocean Community YMCA — specifically designed to help the helpers — received high praise recently from a graduate of the inaugural class.
MYSTIC — On a recent frigid January morning, with the bright blue Atlantic Ocean sparkling in the distance, the Rev. Thomas F. X. Hoar sat inside the warm, stone, arts-and-crafts-style main house on Enders Island, a place that some have described as that "11-acre gem that sits just off the c…
Energize Connecticut sponsors, Eversource and Avangrid, Inc., are accepting submissions for their 19th annual eesmarts Student Contest. The contest is open to Connecticut students in grades K to 12 and topics are focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability solutions. T…
Applications for the 2024 Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut Foundation grants are now available.
STONINGTON — Applications are now being accepted for the Eugene Atwood Fund College Bound Interest Free Loan Program. Students must be New London County residents and attending a trade/tech school or acquiring certification/licensing for their career.
MYSTIC — Due to a successful poinsettia sale in November, Mystic Woman’s Club has awarded $1,000 grants for heating relief to Groton Human Services and Stonington Human Services.
Last year was a pivotal one for the arts in greater Westerly, one highlighted by new faces, a sudden loss, a full-fledged blossoming, many memorable offerings from the region's artists and cultural organizations and 10 new inductees to the Westerly High School Music Hall of Fame.
There was no shortage of big stories across the region in 2023. Here is The Sun’s list of the Top 10 news stories, in no particular order:
'A Million Things for Kids': Local children's shops are thriving with unique offerings, fun displays
Santa Claus wasn't the only one carrying toys and treats for good little girls and boys this busy holiday season.
GROTON — Access Health CT will host a free enrollment fair on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at the Groton Public Library, 52 Newtown Road, from 5 to 8 p.m. The fair will allow Connecticut residents to shop, compare, and enroll or renew health coverage with help from enrollment specialists during the curr…
PORTLAND, Maine — A storm barreled into the Northeastern U.S. on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, forcing flight cancellations and school closures, and killing at least two people.
MYSTIC — Officials are probing what caused a fire Saturday that damaged the roof of the Ship Carver building at the Mystic Seaport Museum.
GROTON — This fall, the Chelsea Groton Foundation awarded $244,000 to 37 non-profit organizations from Connecticut and Rhode Island.
STONINGTON — Starting Dec. 18, indoor pickleball, which weaves together tennis, badminton, and table tennis, will be available at the Stonington Community Center. Two indoor pickleball courts with permanent lines and portable nets will be located in the COMO gymnasium at 26 Cutler St.
More Americans are expected to fly or drive far from home over Christmas than did last year, putting a cap on a busy year for travel.
MYSTIC — For many adults, the magic of the holiday season brings to mind those childhood trips to the toy store. It conjures images of toy trains and giant stuffed animals on display in a store decorated with garland, mistletoe and holly and sporting the latest trends in games and entertainm…
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