WATERBURY – State officials last week released $1.7 million previously promised for the construction of a produce sanitization center in the city’s South End. The money, released by the Department of Economic and Community Development, allows the city to sign…

SALISBURY – While many may cringe when people spew hate, Nadine Strossen is quick to note the First Amendment clearly allows for free speech. In her new book, “Hate: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, Not Censorship,” Strossen…

HARTFORD – Social conservatives are mobilizing to oppose the confirmation of Justice Andrew J. McDonald as chief justice of the state Supreme Court. The Family Institute of Connecticut just launched an opposition campaign, alleging McDonald is hostile to religious liberty,…

LITCHFIELD – Tax Collector Nancy Southard will be stepping down on June 30 after nearly three decades of service to the town. Southard, who was elected in 1989 and is the town’s longest-serving elected official, tendered her pending resignation to…

BARKHAMSTED – The Republican Town Committee has thrown its support behind gubernatorial candidate Peter Lumaj. Lumaj, who ran for secretary of state in 2014 and U.S. Senate in 2012, appeared before the committee on Monday night to explain his campaign…

NAUGATUCK – About 12 hours after an automobile crash downed two utility poles on Prospect Street, a power surge initially caused by the crash sparked a house fire, the borough fire marshal said. Eversource crews were working to restore power…

NAUGATUCK – A former security guard for an elderly housing complex was charged with dozens of felonies in connection to the alleged theft of more than $18,000 from a 94-year-old resident. Nyeisha Douglas, 27, of New Haven, was arrested in…

WATERBURY – A city man is facing multiple charges after police suspect he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home, sucker punched her new boyfriend while he was asleep and then fired off a shot at them as they tried to escape….

KENT — Route 7, which has been closed between Route 341 and Bulls Bridge due to flooding and ice jams in the nearby Housatonic River, has reopened. Rep. Brian Ohler R-Canaan reported the opening at about 2:15 p.m. Ohler has…

LITCHFIELD – The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night appointed a seven-member committee charged with evaluating a proposal to convert the former Litchfield courthouse into a town hall. The Town Hall Review Committee also will be tasked with reviewing a…

TORRINGTON – A city man charged in a violent assault against his ex-girlfriend last month was allowed to enter a drug-treatment program under the conditions of his pretrial release, which were modified Wednesday in Torrington Superior Court. Michael Truskauskas, 22,…

BETHLEHEM – Residents again packed a Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday night to air concerns over activities by Newport Academy students and the school’s proposed expansion, and to hear what town officials are doing to address the problems. The academy…

THOMASTON – The town will postpone the next four phases of its five-phase road reconstruction project for at least three years because of a strapped municipal budget, First Selectman Edmond V. Mone told the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night….

NAUGATUCK – A black SUV slammed into two utility poles Wednesday afternoon, taking out power to Eversource customers in three towns. Although the impact split the utility poles in half, it did not result in serious injuries, police said. Prospect…

MORRIS – Debate over whether the first selectman’s job is full-time or part-time and the insurance benefits that currently come with the position raged during a hearing Wednesday night on the Board of Finance’s proposed budget of $9,411,071 for 2017-18….

MIDDLEBURY – Finance Director Lawrence S. Hutvagner says the fiscal year ended with a $101,089 surplus in the general fund on June 30, 2017, while an audit gave the town a clean bill of health. Sandra Welwood of Sandra E….

WOLCOTT – Taxpayers here may have to dip into their wallets once again, thanks to the state’s fiscal crisis. The Town Council has scheduled a special meeting Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall’s council chambers to discuss issuing…

WATERBURY – The city’s dismal recycling rates are quickly rising under a new $4 million recycling program. In October, the city began replacing residents’ 18-gallon recycling bins with 96-gallon rolling recycling carts – 31,500 in all. Typically, recyclables have accounted…

HARTFORD – The state Supreme Court overturned a far-reaching Superior Court ruling that found how the state funds public education violated the Connecticut Constitution. Led by Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, a four-member majority determined a coalition of municipalities, parents,…

SOUTHBURY Frances Owen feeds birds on the patio of her condo at Heritage Village in the morning, tends to her garden and stays active in the community. Though Connecticut ranks near the bottom of the best states to retire, Owen…