We liked this week The Meriden Humane Society celebrated its 130th anniversary at an event that included tours of the Murdock Avenue facility. Founded in 1893, the society is a nonprofit, no kill animal shelter and rescue facility for canines and felines. “We are also looking for people to foster our kitties,” said Lori Peck, adoption coordinator for cats. If you missed last weekend’s event, Witchdoctor Brewing in Southington is holding another Humane Society fundraiser on Nov. 16. The brewery will be donating 10 percent of sales that evening.
Many clothes shoppers were thrilled with the news that a Bob’s Stores location is coming to Queen Street in Southington. “This new store will offer a convenient shopping experience along with a wide selection of top-brand clothing and footwear...” said Kevin Campbell, executive vice president of operations for Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports. The store is located in a plaza right next to Bob’s Discount Furniture. It replaces a Bed, Bath & Beyond store that closed earlier this year.
Seven “Shining Stars” in the community were recognized last week by the MidState Chamber of Commerce. Each were recipients of “Shining Star” awards given by the chamber’s Hispanic Leaders Action subcommittee during a breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn in Wallingford. During the keynote speech, Professor Charles Venator-Santiago highlighted the factors that prevent Latinos from building wealth. “For the most part, we have very little representation in the economic sector,” he said.
Good planning is key for students. Meriden’s new Career Academy at Washington Middle School is designed to give students practical career training in numerous fields if they want to enter the workforce directly out of high school. As a bonus, the school system has partnered with local businesses for internship opportunities as part of the new program. School officials attended a small gathering last week to celebrate the academy, which will accept students in January.
There’s a new Italian restaurant in downtown Wallingford. Favio's Trattoria, 80 Center St., is the fourth restaurant run by Favio Pillacela, his brother and cousin. Although Pillacela is Ecuadorian, he decided to continue serving Italian cuisine due its popularity. Recently, he took a trip to Italy where he visited restaurants in Naples, Rome and Florence.
Southington leaders are already busy redesigning a new library, thanks to a $5 million state grant announced earlier this month. The building committee expects the grant will allow an additional 4,000 square feet. Work already began on building’s foundation, but the addition of more space won’t mean tearing out anything that’s been built.
We didn’t like this week The approval of funds for a new boiler in the Meriden Senior Center is understandably raising questions. The City Council authorized $306,700 for the brand new natural gas boiler, but some councilors thought it was an unnecessary expense because the city plans to move the senior center out of the building in several years once the new building is completed. Despite the situation, City Manager Tim Coon supported the new boiler. “...we feel that we need to have a boiler... It’s a good investment,” Coon said. While the senior center is crucial, spending $300K for a new boiler at this point is difficult to swallow.
The turf battles between Bradley International Airport and Tweed New Haven continue. One issue is that the Connecticut Airport Authority, which operates Bradley and five other state airports, claims it has jurisdiction over Tweed, the Connecticut Mirror reported. But this is not just about the ongoing wrangling over red tape. The smaller and ambitious Tweed wants to compete with Bradley for travelers in southern Connecticut. Let’s hope that turf battles do not get in the way of safety, service and competitive air fares for travelers.