The Day
New London looks to put best foot forward for museum
New London — Local officials for years have hailed the opening of the National Coast Guard Museum as a seismic event for the city, one they hope will have the power to transform New London into a powerhouse tourist destination that will attract...
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THE GOVERNOR AND THE TRAITOR
Gov. Ned Lamont lights an effigy of Benedict Arnold on fire at the burning of Benedict Arnold at Waterfront Park in New London on Saturday during the Connecticut Maritime Heritage Festival. Sunday's festival events were rained out.
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Meet Harvey, the opossum without a tail
It sounds like something out of a storybook, but Harvey the tailless opossum is the real deal, and he’s the newest — and cutest — employee at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic. Harvey made his public debut in August as the nature...
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Region marks 25 years since attacks
Across the region Friday, first responders, military personnel and residents came together in small groups or as part of larger gatherings to memorialize the Sept. 11 attacks that shook the nation 25 years ago. At Stonington Point, community remembers...
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MEMORIES UNDIMMED AFTER 25 YEARS
Top , Juliana and Ruth McCourt. Above left , James Greenleaf. Above right , Josh Piver.
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‘EVERYBODY LOOKS FORWARD TO IT’
East Lyme — As the Black Hawk Sport Fishing party boat took off out of Niantic Bay on Wednesday afternoon, the dozens of veterans aboard began to prepare their lines for a day of fishing on Long Island Sound. Veteran Daryl Cousin, who served in the...
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Motorcyclists escort Vietnam wall replica to Putnam
Putnam — Thousands of community members, volunteers and students gathered along Keech Street on Tuesday afternoon waving American flags to watch nearly 200 motorcycles escort the Wall That Heals, a Vietnam War Memorial replica to Murphy Park. The...
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SNAPPING A SOUVENIR
A participant takes a selfie as she waits to walk in the West Indian Day Parade on Monday in Brooklyn, N.Y.
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Celebrating the Feast of the Holy Ghost
Stonington — Dressed in flowing red and white dresses, Melissa Lestinsky, Lindsey Houle and Morgan Humphrey marched through the streets of Stonington borough carrying a silver crown that has been in their family for generations. “A lot of families...
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Voices from a Coast Guard disaster
Capt. Charles Satterlee, commander of the Coast Guard cutter Tampa, hoped to buy a small place in Florida after World War I to escape New England winters. Lt. John McGourty, one of his officers, thought about farming or the Merchant Marine, but mostly...
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Mystic River park to open at last
Mystic — Kate Ruenzel, co-captain of the Stonington High School girls’ crew team, said her teammates can now look out at the Mystic River while training upstairs in the new boathouse and think: This is what we worked for. “It’s very exciting,” she...
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New Stanton elementary school in Norwich welcomes students
Norwich — The new John B. Stanton Elementary School — the first of the four new elementary schools to complete construction under the city’s $386 million school building project — opened its doors to students for the first time Thursday. The...
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FILLING A CANVAS OF BRICK
Resident and muralist Faith Satterfield is in the process of painting a mural outside the Chestnut Street Playhouse in Norwich. The mural depicts the Rose of New England, the city's nickname, and she said its message is to give flowers of...
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WELCOME TO YOUR NEW PRESCHOOL
The Groton school system hosted an open house Tuesday for pre-K students and parents ahead of its first day of school. The new free pre-K program will serve about 176 4-year-old students in 11 classrooms at the former Mary Morrisson Elementary School....
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Phone call finally comes for man awaiting liver
New London — At 8:45 a.m. last Thursday, Jason Barnwell got the call he’d been waiting months to receive: A deceased-donor liver was ready to be transplanted into his immunocompromised body. The call came from the NYU Langone Transplant Institute...
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Bening receives Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award
Old Saybrook — Actress Annette Bening reminisced about some of her most memorable projects, from “Dutton Ranch” to “Nyad,” as well as about working with Katharine Hepburn when she received the Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award on Saturday. The...
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FAR MORE THAN JUST A GAME
Before the glitz and glamour of Foxwoods Resort Casino, there was a bingo hall in the woods. Mashantucket Pequot High Stakes Bingo opened 40 years ago this summer, launching a gaming economy that would not only power one of the nation’s largest...
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‘This, for me, is stability’
New London — As Giselle Santos walked through her new Center Street home Friday, her footfalls were quickly drowned out by the excited yelps of her two youngest children as they raced down halls and peeked around corners. As Kayley, 4, and Azaley, 6,...
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It’s her time to be golden
Groton — When Thrive55+ Active Living Center Supervisor Mary Jo Riley started working at the then-named Groton Senior Center 31 years ago, her goal was to make it a place she wanted to retire to. And she has done just that. Riley, who will retire...
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Future NL park gives goats something to chew on
New London — Seconds after trotting off a trailer ramp on Wednesday morning, dozens of goats began nosing through a thickly overgrown patch of future park land that served as their buffet for the day. The goats, a mix of LaManchas, Nubians, Kikos and...
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Nothing gets by Preston town employee
Preston — Whether it be “out-oftowners” trying to dump their trash, or residents trying to avoid paying fees to get rid of their old washing machine, not much gets past transfer station employee Ron Rivera. In fact, his reputation for enforcing the...
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L+M unions picket amid stalled contract talks
New London — Dozens of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital union healthcare workers took to the sidewalks on Monday as part of an effort to restart contract negotiations they said have stalled out for nearly a year over pay, staffing and other disagreements...
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Dickie Beers bids adieu to a long career of No. 2
East Lyme — “Every day is a busy day” for Dickie Beers, owner of Spencer Beers Inc. Whether its traveling around southeastern Connecticut pumping out septic tanks, making four to five trips a day to the New London treatment plant or installing a new...
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‘Where memories were made’
Margaret Ryone doesn’t want to talk about it. For 30 years, Buford’s Family Restaurant in Groton has been her life, and next Sunday it will all be over. Ryone, the longtime owner, is retiring. And a more than half-century tradition on Poquonnock Road,...
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EB breaks ground in Waterford
Waterford — Electric Boat officially broke ground Friday on its new campus at the former Crystal Mall, as state and local leaders celebrated the shuttered shopping center’s rebirth as a hub of economic opportunity. EB said renovations are underway to...
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Focusing on the signs
A Danielson Superior Court judge has scheduled a Sept. 3 hearing to announce his decision in the criminal case of SeanPaul Reyes, the YouTube personality arrested after a confrontation with a state police sergeant in Groton last summer. Reyes, a...
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A sticky situation for the Mystic drawbridge
Mystic — The Mystic River Bridge returned to service early Wednesday night after being stuck in the closed position for two days. The closure had prevented boats from accessing and leaving Mystic Seaport Museum and the northern section of the Mystic...
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East Lyme Republican registrar of voters utters racial slur to Democratic counterpart
East Lyme — The town’s Republican registrar of voters has admitted to using a racial slur while preparing for primary voting on Aug. 9. Wendi Sims, the Democratic registrar said Monday that while preparing for early voting, she heard Mary Smith refer...
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More time sought for repair plan for the Old Killingly Pond dam
Killingly — Inspectors contracted by owners of Old Killingly Pond Dam have asked for more time to submit their plan to remove the dam’s lowlevel outlet gate from October to early next year. In an Aug. 10 memorandum to the state Department of Energy...
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‘WE’RE STILL HERE’
Mohegan — Althnageebah Myles, a Navajo, quickly unwrapped the pink ribbon from her daughter’s hair and helped her out of her regalia after her performance. She then turned her attention to her other daughter, fixing her braids before rushing back...
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He’s not at a loss for words
Connecticut’s new poet laureate is José B. González of Waterford. He is the first Latino to be selected for that role — “and I think I can hear ancestors celebrating in their native tongues,” said González, who moved from El Salvador to New London when...
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Firm chosen to study hospital land uses
Norwich — The city and the Norwich Community Development Corp. have chosen a national engineering and design firm to conduct a planning study of 49.65 acres of the former Norwich State Hospital property to determine the best uses for the land. The...
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EAGLE HOME AFTER A BIG SUMMER
New London — The sounds of bagpipes and cheers greeted the U.S. Coast Guard barque Eagle as it arrived at its home port of Fort Trumbull on Thursday. The Eagle returned from a historic summer tour, sailing alongside U.S. and international vessels in...
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New London says goodbye to a young Whaler
New London — The Whalers’ familiar green and gold colors, so often associated with jubilation and victory, took on a more somber meaning on Wednesday afternoon as friends and family members of Zaeem Tyus donned the football team’s hues to honor a life...
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CHATTING AT THE FARMERS’ MARKET
Patt Weimer, 81, who lives in Groton and hand-stitches quilts and throws for the Washington Park Farmers Market, chats while selling to customers in Groton on Tuesday. The market, in its 11th year, is held every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m. from July...
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First it found a Sandy; now Goodspeed has an Annie
East Haddam — Goodspeed Musicals has its new Annie. Laiken Jules, 10, of Temecula, Calif., was announced Monday as the actress chosen to play the title character in “Annie” when the show celebrates its 50th anniversary with a production at Goodspeed...
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‘I’m getting chills talking about it’
Renee Coleman held up a scuffed and faded boot from her workspace at the U.S. Coast Guard Curatorial Services Center in Forestville, Md. Written in white, washed-out ink, a 20-year-old message endured on the boot’s upper shaft: “Downed F16. 1 Life...
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Niantic tenants: Boycott hurting landlord’s condo conversion
Members of the Bay Point Tenants Union at Bay Point apartments on Main Street say their boycott against their landlord, Alpha Capital CEO Tyler Smith, is succeeding. Evidence of that success, union members said at a Wednesday rally outside the...
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Renderings are unveiled for Stonington technology park plan
Stonington — READCO has unveiled preliminary renderings for a proposed technology park on Route 2 just off Exit 92 of Interstate 95. The first phase of the Stonington Technology Park calls for an 80,000square-foot office building and 125,000square-...
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EN ROUTE
Gavarnie-Gèdre, France — Tadej Pogacar produced a tremendous solo ride on the iconic Col du Tourmalet on Thursday to earn a 23rd Tour de France stage victory, reclaim control of the race and sap his rivals’ morale after just six days of...
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FUNERAL CONTINUES FOR IRANIAN LEADER IN IRAQ
Shiite clerics join other mourners during the funeral procession for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, on Wednesday. See related story on
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Out of disaster comes growth
New London — On Tuesday morning, a crowd of nearly 100 people stood along the edge of a former Union Street church property, the densest gathering of individuals at the site since a steeple collapse brought horrified on-lookers and emergency personnel...
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Montville may seek grant to replace failing septic systems
Montville — There are 36 separate septic systems at the Meadows Apartments on Leffingwell Road in Uncasville, split between 114 apartments in 18 buildings. Property owner and manager Stephen St. Germain has said the tanks are “old and tired” and has...
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BOARDWALK ILLUSIONS
A perfect beach day at Ocean Beach Park on June 24 was easing into the golden-hour light of evening. Folks were drifting onto the bleachers set up around a stage where the iconic boardwalk clock tower used to be. A little after 7 p.m., the show began,...
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REGION CELEBRATES HISTORIC DAY
Lyme — It was small-town fun on Saturday as local residents gathered for annual Fourth of July festivities that included a parade, an art exhibit, a barbecue and an old-fashioned sing-along. LymeLyte, a local band that took the stage at the barbecue...
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Longtime Stonington Borough Fire Chief to retire
Stonington — Longtime Stonington Borough Fire Chief Jeff Hoadley remembers growing up and seeing fire trucks racing to fire calls and wanting to help. As soon as he could, at age 18, he joined the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company and has been in the...
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Coast Guard helicopter pilot recalls flying museum exhibit
New London — U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Chelsea Kalil, a veteran helicopter pilot on the eve of her retirement, recently spotted a social media post showing an MH- 60T Jayhawk helicopter being hoisted into the steel skeleton of the National Coast Guard...
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Plan for warming shelter faces opposition
Norwich — Residents of the city’s “Millionaires’ Triangle” are opposing a nonprofit’s plan to open a 58-bed overnight warming shelter at a church in the midst of Gilded Age mansions. Millionaires’ Triangle, formed by a triangle of Broadway and Broad...
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Greater landlord oversight sought in New London
New London — Several local lawmakers, flanked by city renters and tenant union members, made a public push on Tuesday for stronger landlord accountability and municipal oversight of apartment code enforcement. Members of the New London-based chapters...
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STAYING COOL IN THE HEAT
The entire state will be under an extreme heat watch for several days this week as dangerously hot temperatures are expected. The watch will go into effect on Wednesday morning and remain in place until Saturday evening, according to the National...
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They’re united by passion
Mystic — Bruce Kennedy says he has wooden boat disease. Having spent decades restoring wooden boats as a hobby, he knows the effects it can have, but loves it anyway. “It’s a passion I love or a disease, depending on how you look at it. It has some...
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