Western Connecticut State University will host its 26th Annual Jazz Fest beginning THIS evening at the Veronica Hagman Concert Hall in the university’s Visual and Performing Arts Center, in Danbury. Three Jazz Combos and the Jazz Ensemble will perform beginning at 7 p.m. Special guests “The Kenney Garrett Quintet” perform with the WCSU Jazz Orchestra beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday. Tickets for THIS EVENING are $7 plus fees online and $10 at the door. Tickets for TOMORROW are $35 plus fees online, $40 at the door.
Sacred Heart University has received more than $5,000 from the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling to increase awareness of addictive wagering behavior on campuses across Connecticut. The school will use the money to host speakers, increase accessibility to services, train staff, and conduct surveys. With Connecticut and many other states legalizing sports gaming, wagering has become incredibly accessible. The grant will enable Sacred Heart University to spread awareness about gambling addiction to students, faculty and staff.
The Brookfield Republican Town Committee is holding the 4th Annual Republican of the year Awards Dinner this coming weekend. It will be held at Armando’s on Stony Hill Road in Bethel beginning at 5:30pm on Sunday, with cocktail hour. Dinner will be served at 6:30. Tickets are $60 per person and can be obtained by calling (516-655-3643) or emailing melbutow@yahoo.com. We’ll have that information on our website in case you missed it. Just visit https://wlad.com and look under “Local Headlines.”
Back in March 2022, a microphone was inadvertently left on during a recess in a Town of Bethel Planning and Zoning Commission hearing, and it picked up a comment by Town Planner Beth Cavagna that was later determined by the Freedom of Information Commission as negative comments about developer Tim Draper, a Bethel resident. His wife Laurel, later filed an action against town over denial of access to the unedited meeting video. Now, the town has been found to be in violation of public records laws, and the commission ordered Bethel to provide a copy of the original video to the Drapers free of charge, and to “strictly comply” with the Freedom of Information Act going forward.
Here in Connecticut, commutations of long prison sentences have been temporarily put on hold as as the Board of Pardons and Paroles reviews the policy behind it. Meanwhile, they say they will resume accepting applications and scheduling hearings within the next few months. Supporters of commutations see them as second chances for people who have changed over decades in prison and argue that they correct for overly punitive sentences. Opponents of the pardons and parole say the whole thing is unfair to victims and their families.