The town of Portland is holding 2 public hearings on Thursday, August 22 and Tuesday, August 27, both beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Portland Library, to provide information and public conversation regarding the purchase of properties at 222, 230, and 248 Brownstone Ave. A Town Meeting vote to authorize purchase of the properties will take place on Wednesday, September 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the Brownstone Intermediate School at 314 Main Street in Portland. Continue reading →

On Tuesday, August 27, at 2 p.m., the City of Middletown held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new multi-use trail that begins at the Long Hill Road soccer field, just west of the intersection of Long Hill Road and Long Lane, and ends at the corner of Long Lane and Wadsworth Street. The trail is the first part of a city-wide network of trail and bike routes envisioned by the Bike Route & Trails Plan 2017 developed by Middletown’s Complete Streets Committee.

Over the summer, volunteers contributed about 170 person-hours of labor removing invasive water chestnut from the Floating Meadows between Middletown and Cromwell.  It was a huge and heroic effort, especially by those who joined multiple work parties.  It was also a fun and gratifying activity. The weather, wind, and water level conditions were mostly favorable this year.  Unfortunately, we were still not able to remove all the plants,  especially those located back in the shallows where the wild rice grasses are very thick.  We were successful in keeping the main channel of the river open.  Water chestnut is showing up in other locations along the Connecticut River, so the threat is spreading.

We will be back on the water next June with reinforcements and renewed energy.