Published June 04. 2021 5:00PM By
This week s Eat in the Street event in New London may not have brought out the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of a traditional Sailfest, but what it lacked in sheer numbers it more than made up for in creativity, community spirit and fun. With Bank Street, a main downtown thoroughfare, closed to vehicular traffic, the chocolate-themed event featured plenty of kids activities, music and food. It all culminated with a fireworks display, much to the delight of the more-than-respectably-sized crowd.
Eat in the Street, which will continue on the first Wednesdays of July, August and September, is one example of the creative new ways businesses, officials and city leaders are working to pump new vigor into southeastern Connecticut s two urban centers, New London and Norwich. These efforts are most welcome and should help to re-ignite community pride and entice visitors back to downtown districts after the pandemic dealt a particularly harsh punch t
Five beluga whales arrived at their new home at Mystic Aquarium on Friday and Saturday. The whales, all between 5 and 6 years old, were brought to Mystic from Marineland in Ontario, Canada, where they were living in an overcrowded tank with 47 other beluga whales.
The whales traveled on a C-130 cargo plane from Hamilton International Airport to Groton-New London Airport, where they were transferred to flatbed trucks with a police escort for the ride to Mystic Aquarium.
The whales will be a part of non-invasive research at the aquarium that is meant to help with conservation efforts to protect wild belugas.
The rear of the girls’ dormitory at the Mystic Oral School.
Published May 05. 2021 9:00AM
Ruth W. Crocker, Special to The Times
The Mystic Oral School is on the lips of many people these days because of its potential transformation from a deserted campus into a commercial and residential enterprise. But its place in history began 150 years ago with a father’s quest for a way to communicate with his son.
My ancestor, Jonathan Whipple, a stonemason by profession, was a self-educated teacher at the Quakertown School in Ledyard when his youngest son, Enoch, was born in 1825. Within the year, he noticed that Enoch was different from his other four children. Jonathan’s autobiography (now in the Jane Adams collection at the Swarthmore College Library) notes that, while the boy seemed active and curious, he didn’t respond to sounds of any kind and he appeared unable to speak.
As the paper s new politics and government reporter, I write about state and national issues with a focus on southeastern Connecticut. I particularly enjoy reporting on voting rights and how political trends play out at the local level. I ve worked as a town reporter for The Day, covering Montville and Waterford from 2019-2021 as well as writing breaking news and general assignment stories.
Sten Spinella
As the paper s new politics and government reporter, I write about state and national issues with a focus on southeastern Connecticut. I particularly enjoy reporting on voting rights and how political trends play out at the local level. I ve worked as a town reporter for The Day, covering Montville and Waterford from 2019-2021 as well as writing breaking news and general assignment stories.
Published April 12. 2021 12:01AM
Ted Hendrickson
I want to comment on and make a clarification to your editorial, “Mystic park, 5 years on” (April 2). The welcome addition to public access to and clean-up of the Mystic River waterfront afforded by this project is certainly something to celebrate, even if it does take longer than some expected.
As you note, part of the delay was the overlooked historic property on the site: “A house on the property was simply going to be razed, but then the State Historic Preservation Office judged it to be historic and ordered its preservation.”
In fact, the house in question was already part of the Rossie Mill National Register District, established in 2007. The application for this educational designation was compiled by interested neighbors and submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office for approval and then forwarded by them with recommendation to the National Register of Historic Places that officially established the dist