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Marcia Chambers | Oct 31, 2017 9:50 am
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Veterans organizations in Branford are hoping this Sunday’s Veterans Day Parade will bring large crowds to honor the country’s military men and women. Sadly, that hasn’t been the case in recent years.
If attendance doesn’t increase this year, it could be the last Veterans Day Parade in Branford —- marking an end to an annual tradition that began in the 1950s.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 31, 2017 7:17 am
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Paul Criscuolo (left), chair, Recreation Board; Alex Palluzzi; Dagmar Ridgway; Jamie Cosgrove; Helen Kelsey; Joe Higgins; Peter Banca, chair, Building Committee; Laurie Rockwell, chair, Commission on Elderly Services; Rebecca Reder, project engineer, A. Secondino & Sons; David Secondino, project manager, A. Secondino & Sons; Janice Plaziak, Branford Town Engineer; and Tom Arcari, architect, Quisenberry Arcari.
There were a lot of smiling faces at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Community Center last Friday on the grounds of the recently closed Branford Community House. The work has already begun on the much anticipated shared community and senior center facility. Over 40 attended the traditional shoveling-of-the-dirt ceremony.
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“When this new building is finished it will be the hub of the community,” First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove (pictured) told a crowd of 40 people who attended the traditional shoveling-of-the-dirt ceremony Friday morning.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 30, 2017 8:23 am
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Roberta (Bobi) Gill-Brooks is making Branford history this election year as she becomes the first African American woman to seek public office in the upcoming election Nov. 7. She is running for tax collector on the Democratic ticket. She also believes strongly in what she calls her “family tree” of public service to the town of Branford.
Her family made history when her great-great grandfather John Williams was recruited in 1910 from North Carolina by Malleable Iron Fittings (MIF) to work at its plant on the Branford River. Hers is one of the town’s most prominent African American families and one of the town’s first.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 27, 2017 2:43 pm
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Walsh Rendering
UPDATE — After months of crossing its collective fingers and moving forward step by step with its plan for the Walsh Intermediate School renovation amid the state budget deficit and stalled budget, word was received yesterday that the anticipated $30 million via a state grant is a go.
State Rep Sean Scanlon (D‑98), made the announcement, praising the budget as bipartisan. The bond is separate from the budget, but could not be awarded until the budget was determined.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 27, 2017 8:20 am
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History lovers, this weekend is for you: a Branford double header. Both the Stony Creek Quarry and Branford Green are steeped in history and there are two opportunities to learn more. Former First Selectmen Unk DaRos and Carl Balestracci and architect Tony Terry will share their insights into these local landmarks. Music and book talks are also on the docket.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 27, 2017 8:07 am
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(L_R Standing): Maggie Bruno & Lynda Mollow.
Seated (L-R): Robin Comey, Roberta Gill-Brooks, Sarah Lockery.
Branford Dems want to turn Branford back to blue, to the days before the 2013 election when they held Town Hall and the Representative Town Meeting (RTM). Republicans, they tell voters when they reach them by phone, control 91 out of the 169 Connecticut towns. Branford is now one of them.
Yet Branford, they tell would-be voters “has more Democrats than any other party in town and we’re hoping with your support this year, we can turn Branford blue.” They are pressing to get out the vote on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 26, 2017 2:00 pm
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A message left on an answering machine at Branford High School just before 9 a.m. that an explosive “may be placed” in the school led this morning to the evacuation of the school.
Branford Police called in the Connecticut State Police Bomb Squad to search the school.By early afternoon Police Chief Kevin Halloran said the school “is safe to reopen.”
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 26, 2017 8:33 am
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Volunteers and organizers at the celebration included (top row, from left) Robin Comey, Victor Amatori, Sally Gessner, Marcel Cote, Rachel Butler, Heather Armoogam, and Richard Hill. In front are Victoria Armentrout, Shahida Soomro, and Alex Palluzzi,Jr.
In 1955 the Branford Hills Elementary School on Jefferson Road opened and remained an active school until closing 29 years later, in 1991. The building was used for various activities, such as voting for District 4 and storage, but deteriorated over time.
File Photo
Branford Hills School
In 2015, the town appropriated $560,000 for the building’s demolition, which took place in July 2016. An unsuccessful effort was made to develop the property when Republican RTM Majority Leader Ray Ingraham (R‑5th) sought to use the Branford Hills school site for a renovated Parkside Village, an affordable housing project. Ingraham’s effort failed.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 25, 2017 8:16 am
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Branford’s Transit Oriented Design (TOD) study is proposing traffic calming techniques and bicycle awareness signs on street around the Shoreline East Train Station, but residents are asking that those proposals be extended to other areas, including Indian Neck Avenue.
Jonathan Martin, project manager with BFJ Planning of Stamford, outlined plans last week for improved connectivity between the Train Station, the Town Center and the Branford River. “It’s about making connections for pedestrians and bicyclists,” he said.
About 30 people attended the public hearing last week at Fire Headquarters to discuss the draft proposals of the TOD, which is slated to be finalized in November.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 24, 2017 7:49 am
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At its meeting last week, the Board of Education (pictured) discussed a new English Language Arts curriculum being implemented in the elementary schools, welcomed an additional group of new certified teachers, and revisited whether to assess an annual fee for use of technology devices.
Assistant Schools Superintendent Dr. Anthony Buono and Curriculum Coordinator Lauren Skultety presented details concerning a new English Language Arts curriculum that is being rolled out in Grades 1 through 3, titled “Fall into Literacy.”
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 23, 2017 8:08 am
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The developers of the proposed Parkside Village affordable housing project learned Thursday that public hearings won’t conclude until after the Nov. 1 funding deadline, but they don’t plan to give up.
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Attorney Timothy Hollister (pictured), a partner at the Shipman & Goodwin law firm in Hartford, who represents the developers, asked that a special session be scheduled to continue the hearings this month, in hopes of making the $17 million in private funding deadline.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 21, 2017 8:30 am
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It’s been a tough season so far for the Branford football team. With a bye week coming up the Hornets are 1 – 5 with their only victory being against Jonathan Law 45 – 21 back on Oct. 6. The Eagle was there as Jackson Seward breaks free on his way to a 32 yard gain for the Hornets.
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They have fallen to Guilford, New Fairfield, Sheehan, Notre Dame and no. 5 ranked Fitch. Here Dalton Carden leaps to bring down a Law player
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 20, 2017 7:58 am
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A typically eclectic collection of events this week – no special theme, just something for everyone – wine lovers, foodies, bibliophiles, art lovers (viewers, painters and colorists), music lovers, nature lovers, and historians. Did we leave anyone out? Got a cool event? Email sebahner@snet.net by Wednesday noon.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 19, 2017 8:51 am
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Branford Hills Park
Nestled in an area of dense condos and apartments, local neighborhood folks are throwing a party this Sunday in honor of their first park, a 13-acre area they fought hard to keep.
The site of what was once the Branford Hills Elementary School, at the intersection of Jefferson Road and Burban Drive, will serve residents with green space, a playground, a basketball court, and ball fields for kids of all ages.
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Marcia Chambers | Oct 17, 2017 7:41 am
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Lynda Mollow
Representative Town Meeting (RTM) member Lynda Mollow (pictured) wants to engage the public in town decisions before they are made, get more folks to move to Branford, make greater use of the Branford River as a town treasure, and work hard to keep our coastline resilient.
Mollow, 49, a nurse for 20 years, is seeking her first town-wide position on the Democratic ticket for the town’s top office. She is running with Jack Ahern, the current Third Selectman, who served as Branford’s fire chief for many years. Ahern, a popular town official, is seeking his third two-year-term.
