Full Slates for Fall Legislative Elections

An update on the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee as John Blankley prepares to challenge 6-time incumbent Rep. Livvy Floren, a seat the represents portions of Stamford.

  Races for Greenwich's delegation in Hartford will be just that — a race. For the first time in recent memory, residents will have a choice in the November election as the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee will field four candidates to challenge the dominating Republican delegation. DTC Chair Frank Farricker said Tuesday, "The really important thing is that for the first time we are running candidates for every position and I think that redistricting has leveled the playing field and that will be a good thing for us." And Farricker ruled out any run for himself. Earlier this year, he said he was considering a run for the 150th District House seat held by Republican Lile Gibbons who is retiring. "I am in the middle of buying a new …

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Greenwich Dem John Blankley To Challenge Floren for Stamford Rep Spot

Blankley hopes to unseat the 6-term Republican in the 149th District covering Greenwich, Stamford.

  John Blankley, the Greenwich Democrat who lost the First Selectman's race last November by a nearly 3 to 1 margin, announced Tuesday that he "intends to run as the Democratic candidate for District 149 in the Connecticut State House of Representatives." Blankley will be facing 6-term incumbent Livvy Floren, the Republican who has been representing the district that includes North Greenwich and parts of Stamford. Blankley, a Greenwich businessman, has been active in local politics, having served on the board of the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee and the Representative Town Meeting “The residents of Greenwich and Stamford are very important to the State of Connecticut,” Blankley said in a prepared statement. “Our neighbors and friends…

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Stamford RTC Endorses Chris Meek For Congress

Meek, who hails from Stamford, is seeking the Party nomination as he heads to the Republican state convention on May 18 at the Hartford Convention Center.

The Stamford Republican Town Committee recently voted to endorse Chris Meek for Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District. “The voters of Stamford could make no better choice than Chris Meek who has been a part of the fabric of our city for many years," said Dennis Mahoney, Chairman of the Stamford RTC, in a press release. "No candidate will get more votes out of the City of Stamford than Chris Meek." Meek, who hails from Stamford, is seeking the Party nomination as he heads to the Republican state convention on May 18 at the Hartford Convention Center. Meanwhile Republican candidate Steve Obsitnik is also vying to become the Party's choice to run against Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat who has held the House seat for the past two terms. Both…

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Bishops: Don't Make Catholic Hospitals Perform Abortions [UPDATE]

When asked during a debate Sunday if they would support, as a concept, a federal law requiring Catholic hospitals to perform abortions, some Democratic Senate candidates indicated they would. The bishops object.

  Editor's note: This article was extensively updated at 6:51 p.m.: On Sunday, some Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate said they'd favor the concept of a federal law requiring even Catholic hospitals to perform abortions. Now, the state's Catholic bishops are objecting. Connecticut's Catholic bishops—including Bishop William Lori, who announced in March that he is leaving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport to become archbishop of the Baltimore Archdiocese—have issued a statement expressing their dismay after all five Democratic candidates said during Sunday's "Face the State" debate that they would support legislation forcing Catholic hospitals to perform abortions. "If it is their [the candidates'] position that our hospitals …

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Stamford Patch In

We Haven’t Really Come a Long Way, Baby

The current ‘war between women’ pitting Hilary Rosen against Ann Romney is deflecting attention from the true ‘war ON women’ and distracting us from the real question—Who are we voting for?

[Editor's Note: Please keep an eye out later this week for "Patch Back," a new feature from Lisa Bigelow that will serve as response piece to certain installments of Heather's "Patch In."] The question isn’t whether Ann Romney ever ‘worked’ a day in her whole life, but rather: Does her husband Mitt truly give a rat’s ass about anyone—especially women—in the 99 percent? This made-up battle between working moms and stay-at-home-moms is causing people of every gender to lose focus on more important issues—namely whether politicians are advocating stripping rights from women (like reproductive health choices) or finding ways to penalize them and hold them back (withholding equal pay) or simply having a double standard when it comes to lower- …

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'Vibes' Music Festival Returns to Fairfield County

The Gathering of the Vibes music and arts festival finishes up its five-year contract with the city of Bridgeport this summer.

For the past four years, music lovers from Fairfield County and beyond have flocked to Bridgeport to attend the Gathering of the Vibes.  This summer, they'll do the same. The Vibes—a four-day music festival organized by Weston resident Ken Hays—began as a celebration of the life of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who passed away in 1995. The first festival, held in 1996, took place at SUNY Purchase. Since then, the festival—now in its 17th year—has bounced back between Connecticut and New York.  This July 19 through July 22, the Vibes—held at Seaside Park—will finish up the last year of its five-year contract with the city of Bridgeport. Hays said it remains to be seen whether the festival will return next summer. "I'm torn—Seaside …

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Titanic: 100 Years Later

A century after the “unsinkable” ocean liner sank to the bottom of the north Atlantic, Patch takes a look at some of the Connecticut connections to one of the worst—and certainly the most famous—maritime disasters in history.

  As midnight approached on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic was steaming confidently toward New York Harbor on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, with 2,224 passengers and crew members aboard. Less than three hours later, the massive luxury liner that had been heralded as unsinkable lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland, more than 1,500 of its passengers dead or on their way to perishing from exposure.  Among the casualties that night were some of the richest and most notable people of the times, including Astor fortune heir John Jacob Astor IV, pioneering newspaperman and mystery writer Jacques Futrelle, noted American painter, sculptor and writer Francis David Millet and …

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Stamford's Colony Pizza Expands to Avon

There are also locations in Fairfield.

The secret recipe for Colony Grill pizza has not changed since pizza was added to the menu in 1941 and now the owners have brought their pies to Avon. Nestled in the former 99 Restaurant building in Nod Brook Mall, the new Avon restaurant – Colony’s third location in the state – has had many customers since it opened March 23 despite little advertising about coming to town, Ed Tessier, one of the Avon location owners. The first Colony Grill opened as a tavern in an Irish neighborhood — known as a colony — in Stamford in 1935.  It used to have a typical lunch menu and pizza was added six years later. The “grill” portion of the business name still stuck when pizza became the focus. There is another in Fairfield, which opened in 2010. “We …

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Survey: McMahon Leads GOP Primary, Dems Still Win

A Quinnipiac poll breaks down the U.S. Senate race and Republican presidential primary.

A Quinnipiac University poll shows Linda McMahon leads former U.S. Rep Christopher Shays by a 51-42 margin, but falters against Democrats compared to her opponent. In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Christopher Murphy, D-5, leads with 37 of the vote, followed by former Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz with 25 percent and State Rep. William Tong with 4 percent. Polling results for possible November match-ups: “Congressman Christopher Shays has narrowed the gap with Linda McMahon from 15 points to 9 points.  The question is whether he can catch up by primary day, August 14,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz. “In general election matchups, Shays runs neck and neck with either Congressman …

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Mitt Romney in Stamford Today For Fundraiser

Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia will reportedly be in attendance for what will be Romney’s second visit to Fairfield County since June.

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney will be in Stamford today for a $2,500-a-ticket fundraiser at the Stamford Marriott, according to a report in the Stamford Advocate. Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia will be in attendance for what will be Romney’s second visit to Fairfield County since June, according to the report. The Mayor told the Advocate that he is looking forward to meeting Romney, who he will support in the November election, if nominated. So far Romney has raised about $2.39 million, compared with Obama's $1.26 million, according to the report.

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