ANSONIA – If guardian angels exist, then Jo-Jo the Australian silky terrier came face to face with hers this week.
The 10-pound, 14-year-old dog escaped from her yard on Columbia Street Tuesday morning (Feb. 11) and came close to plunging into the icy cold waters of the Naugatuck River.
Had it not been for the bravery of 21-year-old Jessica Ames, a bystander who saw Jo-Jo near the water, the dog’s owner said the outcome could have been much different.
Jo-Jo, who is partially blind and deaf, escaped her backyard through a stuck-open gate, according to her owner, Carol Lexa.
Pulaski Highway, in between Fitzpatrick Road and Farrel Drive.
ANSONIA – An Ansonia landowner is accusing the city of twisting the rules to devalue land the city wants to purchase for a new middle school.
In a lawsuit brought before U.S. District Court in Connecticut, Ansonia Orchard LLC sued the city over a zoning regulation change that it says allowed the city to shave a property’s value from $5 million to $1.5 million. It said the city is attempting to take its land without paying them fairly.
The property in question is a 25-acre tract of land at 64 – 78 Pulaski Highway. Half a mile from Ansonia High School, city officials have been eyeing it as the possible site for a new middle school for years.
SEYMOUR – The latest addition to Larry Janesky’s Contractor Nation campus in the Silvermine Industrial Park was unveiled Tuesday (Feb. 11) during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
About 100 people attended the event as Janesky toured his new, 20,000 square-foot manufacturing facility at 88 Cogwheel Lane.
The facility will be dedicated to the production of products designed to improve air quality in homes, help homeowners avert damaging flooding in their basements and provide back-up protection from water damage.
Michael Marcinek, pictured at far-left, addresses Ansonia city officials about AEPM International's work at a "State of the City" address in 2019. He is accused of withholding wages at the firm.
SEYMOUR – The lawyer for a man accused of withholding over $200,000 in wages over five years says that it’s too late to prosecute him.
Michael Marcinek, 68, of Seymour, was charged with five counts of failure to pay wages in 2024. The charges are felonies.
In an Oct. 18 motion filed to the Superior Court in Derby, his lawyer, Trumbull attorney Patrick M. Mullins, wrote that the statute of limitations has passed.
“The defendant, Michael Marcinek, respectfully notes that the charges brought by the state are barred by the pertinent statute of limitations,” reads the motion, signed by Mullins.
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ANSONIA – If guardian angels exist, then Jo-Jo the Australian silky terrier came face to face with hers this week.
The 10-pound, 14-year-old dog escaped from her yard on Columbia Street Tuesday morning (Feb. 11) and came close to plunging into the icy cold waters of the Naugatuck River.
Had it not been for the bravery of 21-year-old Jessica Ames, a bystander who saw Jo-Jo near the water, the dog’s owner said the outcome could have been much different.
Jo-Jo, who is partially blind and deaf, escaped her backyard through a stuck-open gate, according to her owner, Carol Lexa.
Pulaski Highway, in between Fitzpatrick Road and Farrel Drive.
ANSONIA – An Ansonia landowner is accusing the city of twisting the rules to devalue land the city wants to purchase for a new middle school.
In a lawsuit brought before U.S. District Court in Connecticut, Ansonia Orchard LLC sued the city over a zoning regulation change that it says allowed the city to shave a property’s value from $5 million to $1.5 million. It said the city is attempting to take its land without paying them fairly.
The property in question is a 25-acre tract of land at 64 – 78 Pulaski Highway. Half a mile from Ansonia High School, city officials have been eyeing it as the possible site for a new middle school for years.
Larry Janesky at a new manufacturing plant in Seymour.
SEYMOUR – The latest addition to Larry Janesky’s Contractor Nation campus in the Silvermine Industrial Park was unveiled Tuesday (Feb. 11) during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
About 100 people attended the event as Janesky toured his new, 20,000 square-foot manufacturing facility at 88 Cogwheel Lane.
The facility will be dedicated to the production of products designed to improve air quality in homes, help homeowners avert damaging flooding in their basements and provide back-up protection from water damage.
Michael Marcinek, pictured at far-left, addresses Ansonia city officials about AEPM International's work at a "State of the City" address in 2019. He is accused of withholding wages at the firm.
SEYMOUR – The lawyer for a man accused of withholding over $200,000 in wages over five years says that it’s too late to prosecute him.
Michael Marcinek, 68, of Seymour, was charged with five counts of failure to pay wages in 2024. The charges are felonies.
In an Oct. 18 motion filed to the Superior Court in Derby, his lawyer, Trumbull attorney Patrick M. Mullins, wrote that the statute of limitations has passed.
“The defendant, Michael Marcinek, respectfully notes that the charges brought by the state are barred by the pertinent statute of limitations,” reads the motion, signed by Mullins.
A rendering of the renovated Derby-Shelton station.
THEVALLEY – The Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to begin construction on $106 million worth of train station improvements throughout the Valley this fall, including a major renovation of the Derby-Shelton station.
The improvements will also expand the Ansonia and Seymour waiting platforms, while bringing them into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
Two other stops along the Waterbury Branch Line – Waterbury and Beacon Falls – will also see improvements. The Naugatuck stop is being improved as part of a separate project.
Transportation officials expect construction to reach “substantial completion” by fall of 2027. While construction is ongoing, rail service will be replaced by buses – similar to what happened last year, when the August floods made the line inaccessible.
A 2021 photo from the Seymour Police Department shows a canine and his handler in training.
THEVALLEY – Two Valley lawmakers want to create a state fund to provide financial assistance for the care of retired police dogs.
State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria (R‑105) and state Rep. Mary Welander (D‑114) recently proposed a bill titled “An act establishing a fund to provide financial assistance for the care of police dogs after retirement.” Click here to read the bill.
“There are many dogs in Connecticut serving and protecting us, but when those canines retire, sometimes they don’t get the help they need,” Klarides-Ditria said. “When these dogs retire, they should be treated like heroes, and, if they have medical bills, we should pay them.”
DERBY– Mayor Joseph DiMartino announced Feb. 5 that he will seek a second-term as the city’s top elected official.
An official announcement is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, March 1 at The Quail & Ale Neighborhood Pub, 328 Derby Ave.
“We have only begun to turn this city around,” the mayor said in a prepared statement issued by his campaign on Wednesday.
DiMartino, a Democrat, was elected mayor in 2023 after beating Republican opponent Gino DiGiovanni Jr. and former Mayor Rich Dziekan in a three-way race. Dziekan, after losing a GOP primary, ran as an unaffiliated candidate.
(Left to right) Thomas Halligan and Brayden Ferreira
SEYMOUR – With Mother Nature poised to pack a wintry punch over the next few days, two Seymour Middle School students are prepared to help the town’s elderly and disabled residents weather any storm.
Thomas Halligan, 14, and Brayden Ferreira, 13, recently launched the Seymour Snow Brigade. The initiative is aimed at helping residents – namely seniors and those who are disabled – get their sidewalks and pathways to their front doors cleared of snow, free of charge.
The boys, who are also both members of the Seymour Middle School National Junior Society, came up with the idea as a community service project.
They didn’t have any start-up costs – they’re using their own shovels to do the job.
Shaw Growth Ventures withdrew an application to turn 501 E. Main St. -- the former Farrel Processing Laboratory -- into apartments. They are expected to submit a new application.
ANSONIA – A developer withdrew an application for 127 apartments on E. Main Street Jan. 27, and the Ansonia Planning & Zoning Commission talked about how to regulate smoke shops.
Bella Vista Apartments Application Withdrawn, Will Be Resubmitted
The site plan for the third phase of the Bella Vista apartments on 501 E. Main St. was withdrawn, due to outstanding concerns from the fire marshal, WPCA, and chief of police, planning & zoning chairman Jared Heon said.
The first two phases of Shaw Growth Ventures’ Bella Vista apartments were completed in July 2022 and September 2023. The first phase converted the long-vacant Palmer building at 153 Main St. into a four-story apartment building with 44 market-rate apartments. The second phase converted the formerly vacant Ansonia Technology Park, or ATP building, at 497 E. Main St. and 165 Main St. (the former Wells Fargo Bank drive-up) into 48 market-rate apartments.
ANSONIA – A fatal shooting involving Bridgeport police and an unarmed suspect who crashed in Ansonia was questionable – but there’s not enough evidence to file criminal charges against the officers.
“The investigation has determined that the police tactics in several respects were flawed, and the justifiability of the shooting is questionable, but there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.”
That is according to a report released Monday (Feb. 3) by Robert J. Devlin, Jr., the Connecticut Inspector General.
A state panel Friday gave a thumbs up to paying three New Haveners a combined $16 million for spending decades in prison on wrongful convictions --…
more »
The city's Health Department could soon have the power to crack down on smoke shops that violate the law -- by way of a proposed municipal license…
more »
Professors, faculty, and staff at the University of Connecticut are calling for expanded paid leave benefits, arguing that the current policies are… more »
HARTFORD, CT – The General Assembly's Committee on Children heard public hearing testimony Thursday on a bill to prevent book banning in Connecticut. more »
In a bid to end healthcare discrimination, Democrats in the Connecticut General Assembly have kicked off the legislative session with at least two… more »