Christmas in Wooster Square was a wonder of food, ritual
The Christmas season in Wooster Square used to begin with the decorations that were placed in downtown New Haven. You see, we were all just a few blocks away from the splendor that was created in the store windows, the lighted arches across Chapel Street with a small tree on either side, Santa and the reindeer sailing through the air on the corner...
Laragione Brothers Receive Chamber of Commerce Award
On Friday, December 18, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Milford presented Franco and Sal Laragione with the Citizens of the Year Award. The award was given in recognition for the actions of the two brothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are here to recognize the Laragione’s and Mama Maria’s Restaurant for the outstanding service to the commu...
Columbus Statues Saved in CT as City Leaders & Voters Push Back
Two Columbus statues were saved in Connecticut over the past two months, one in Waterbury and one in New Britain, as city leaders and voters pushed back against protestors who demanded their removal. In November, 60 percent of Waterbury’s voters (more than 17,000 people) cast ballots to keep the 12-foot, 6-ton statue — located near the town’s city...
Memo to the Ivies: Classical history matters
The Ivy League’s woke revisionists are wrong. Classical history matters. A group called Decolonization at Brown is agitating for the removal of statues honoring Caesar Augustus and Marcus Aurelius, claiming they “celebrate ongoing colonialism in the United States and idealize white, Western civilization — both of which continue to cause harm at B...
Condemning ‘cancel culture,’ New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart vetoes council vote to remove city’s Columbus statue
New Britain’s controversial Christopher Columbus statue won’t be heading to storage — at least not yet. Mayor Erin Stewart on Thursday vetoed the common council’s decision to take down the statue, meaning the issue will drag into January or possibly beyond. After learning of her decision Thursday afternoon, a top council Democrat said he’ll try to...
New Britain votes to get Columbus statue off city property as Italian-American supporters decry erasure
Over spirited protests by Italian-Americans, New Britain on Wednesday night decided to take down its controversial Christopher Columbus statue. The decision was an apparent win for the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition, Puerto Rican activists and Democrats on the council, who’ve all been campaigning to remove what they call a racist memorial....
Rocco Polletta
Rocco Polletta, 90, of Waterbury, entered into the gates of heaven on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, at the VITAS Inpatient Hospice Unit at Saint Mary’s Hospital. He was the loving husband of Angela Maria (Ciarlo) Polletta. Rocco was born in Pontelandolfo, Benevento, Italy, on Aug. 13, 1930, son of the late Giuseppe and Teresa (Longo) Polletta. Growing up...
Entertainer Jimmy Celona Sings with his Supper at the VFW Joseph L Mottola Post #4524
As we all know by now Covid-19 has taken a toll on all of us, it has forced a lot of us to take up new careers, get pets, or start new hobbies. Local entertainer Jimmy Celona was out most nights entertaining crowds with dinner shows and local entertainment venues, well we all know how the night club and large venues events has gone. This caused Cel...
Judge Ferrino
The passing last week of Judge Joseph V. Ferrino marks the end of an era in the East Boston, Revere and Winthrop area. It is fair to say that there is no person who has been more impactful and was more esteemed in the communities over the course of the past 50 years than Judge Ferrino. He truly was a giant in so many respects and in so many varied...
Decapitated in July, Waterbury’s Christopher Columbus statue is restored
Five months after the Columbus statute in front of City Hall was decapitated by a vandal with a hammer, a sculptor set the repaired head back in place Wednesday morning. “I think the sun is out, so God’s in our favor, I think,” Francine Nido, head of the Waterbury chapter of Italian-American service organization UNICO told sculptor Randall Nelson....
Committee seeks to provide more context for Westerly's Columbus statue with new film
An online program created to better understand a sensitive, complicated issue will be available to everyone with access to a computer and the Zoom application this week. "Columbus: From Quarry to the Park," a collaboration between the Babcock-Smith House Museum and Westerly Library and Wilcox Park, will be presented virtually on Wednesday at 5:30 p...
New Britain mayor suggests a public vote to resolve dilemma over Columbus statue
After months of debate, New Britain city government may ask residents to say whether the controversial Columbus statue at McCabe Park stays or goes. Mayor Erin Stewart is floating the idea of a nonbinding referendum on what to do with the 14-foot-high bronze monument that’s become a political lightning rod. Local Democratic leaders say that’s...