Drones Over Norfolk, at Work and at Play
By Wiley Wood You can’t just fly one straight out of the box, says drone hobbyist Christopher Little, you have to expect to crash a few times when you start out. But the technology to send a guided, camera-carrying drone into the airspace above your backyard is firmly within reach of the civilian consumer. Little, […]
BNE Obtains $15 Million to Build Two Wind Turbines in Colebrook
By Kurt Steele The next chapter in the long-running saga of BNE Energy’s efforts to build commercial wind turbines in Colebrook is being written. BNE recently obtained just under $15 million of financing through an affiliate to construct two turbines on Flagg Hill Road, after a long-fought battle by local residents to stop construction there […]
Local Roasters Think Globally
Giv Coffee Blends Profits and Philanthropy By Ruth Melville You may have noticed a new stand at the winter farmers markets in Town Hall. Since February, Emily and Jeff Brooks, of Giv Coffee in Torrington, have begun bringing their colorful bags of freshly roasted coffee to sell at the market. The Brookses are passionate about […]
Selectmen’s Budget Rises 3.5 Percent
By Wiley Wood With the town’s annual budget hearing scheduled for late April, the Board of Finance invited First Selectman Sue Dyer to present a preliminary town budget at its March 17 meeting. The board’s chairman, Michael Sconyers, opened the proceedings with cautionary words about budget increases. Dyer’s budget proposal came in $130,000 above last […]
Lúnasa Plays St. Patrick’s Day Concert
Irish Music Celebrated at Norfolk Library In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, on March 12 the Norfolk Library hosted a concert by Lúnasa, one of the most popular traditional Irish bands performing today. The band has sold more than a quarter of a million albums and has toured widely, from Dublin, to Moscow, to Sydney, […]
It’s Only Natural
A Harsh Winter’s Effect on Local Wildlife By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo I came home one bone-chilling February night to find a vole half-submerged in a marrowbone that I had given my dog earlier in the day. It was my first nonavian wildlife sighting since December. The average temperature had been less than 15 degrees for […]
Connecticut State Budget Has Implications for Small Towns
Norfolk Selectmen and Board of Finance Looking at Proposed Changes By Janet Gokay The Connecticut papers have been awash lately with news of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget for the next two fiscal years. When he unveiled his budget before the state legislature on February 18, he announced that it “is filled with tough […]
Through the Garden Gate
April, Time to Get Started By Leslie Watkins As the snow melts and the ground thaws, you may start thinking about the pleasures of having a kitchen garden outside your door. Thoughts of sun-ripened tomatoes and freshly picked basil may be hard to imagine after this past winter, but those days will come. Vegetable gardening […]
Changes at the Susan B. Anthony Project in Torrington
Barbara Spiegel Retiring After 20 Years as Executive Director By Jude Mead Barbara Spiegel, the executive director of the Susan B. Anthony Project (SBAP), has lived by the organization’s mission to “[promote] safety, healing, and growth for all survivors of domestic and sexual abuse and [advocate] for the autonomy of women and the end of […]
Music Shed to Get New Cupola
On a sweltering summer night, the Music Shed can feel like a steam bath. The acoustics may be perfect, the performers electrifying and the architecture deeply satisfying, but the place can be just too darn hot. The building originally had a cupola that, like a vent at the apex of a tepee, allowed hot air […]
