Monthly Archives: August 2018

Chestnut Hill Chamber Music Series Finale Tonight at the Kate; Features Works by Mozart, Mendelssohn & Schumann

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Now in its 49th season,Chestnut Hill Concerts will present four programs of chamber music this August at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. The prestigious series is highly-regarded, not only for its programming, but also for the world-class musicians that artistic director Ronald Thomas invites for the performances.

The concerts will take place August 3, 10, 17, and 24, all Friday evenings at 8 p.m. Cellist and artistic director Ronald Thomas will host and perform in each concert.

The season finale tonight explores the music of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Schumann, including the rarely-heard Horn Quintet in E-flat by Mozart, K. 407, written for one violin and two violas. The concert also includes Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49 and Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47.

This performance introduces Frank Huang, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, to the Chestnut Hill audience, and brings back some of its favorite performers: William Purvis, horn; Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin and viola, Cynthia Phelps, viola; Ronald Thomas, cello; and Mihae Lee, piano.

The 2018 season of Chestnut Hill Concerts is made possible with support from the Connecticut DECD Office of the Arts.

All concerts are Friday nights at 8 p.m. at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (The Kate), 300 Main Street in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Subscriptions to the four concerts are $140 (orchestra) and $120 (balcony). Single tickets are $40 for orchestra seats and $35 for the balcony. Kids and teens come free. To purchase tickets, contact The Kate’s box office at 860-510-0453, or visit www.thekate.org.

Sound View Summer Concert Series Concludes Tonight With Mark Nomad Band

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Mark Nomad

Free outdoor concerts sponsored by the Sound View Commission and the Town of Old Lyme will be held on Hartford Avenue at the flagpole on Thursdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Bring your lawn chair and enjoy a great family evening of music.

The final concert will be given by the Mark Nomad Band on Aug. 23. **

“A big thumbs up!”– Blue Suede News “One of the hottest up and coming commodities”– House of Blues Your favorite songs from Blues to 60’s -70’s rock & more. Mark Nomad’s music has been heard on radio stations all over the world and has been used in commercials and in film.

Sharing the stage with many of the biggest names in show business he was co- founder of the original Little Village. Their debut album is considered a collector’s item and the band is legendary in the Northeast.~

**Rain location: Shoreline Community Center, 39 Hartford Ave.

Talking Transportation: Trucks as Traffic Scapegoats

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“Why don’t we just ban all trucks from our interstate highways in rush hour?”

The question was asked of me by a small town mayor in Fairfield County who’d obviously given a lot of thought to solutions to our traffic woes. He’s a smart guy and thought he’d come up with “the answer” to our transportation crisis.

He said he wasn’t in favor of tolls, but liked them as a traffic mitigation tool.  By charging trucks more to drive our highways in rush hour, they’d be incentivized to instead go off-peak.  He was just taking the idea a step further:  ban them completely at certain hours.

Well, I explained, that’s probably illegal.  This is an interstate, federal highway built to carry trucks.  Wouldn’t it be a better idea to tell the merchants where they are going to only accept deliveries at, say, 3 a.m. instead of 9 to 5, which is more convenient for the stores?

But the truck-haters are not satisfied.  Any number of candidates are calling for truck-only tolls, pointing to Rhode Island’s recent launch of such as system.  It’s been a huge success, raking in $625,000 in its first month of operation.

But it’s also attracted lawsuits, because it is illegal, just like the Mayor’s idea.  Tolling only big-rigs is a violation of the US Constitution’s “Commerce Clause”.  The truckers and big-box stores say it’s not fair to toll them and not charge drivers of cars and small trucks.  I’m no lawyer, but I think they’re right.

Trucks are not the problem.  Cars are.

But it’s so easy to blame the trucks for delays on our roads, isn’t it?  Blame them, instead of ourselves.  Toll them, not me. I’m not creating the traffic, they are.

Trucks are not allowed on the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways, so why are those roads so congested?  Look at I-95 in rush hour and count the number of trucks vs. single-occupancy-vehicles.  Again, it’s the volume of the traffic, not the kind of vehicles that are causing the delays. It’s the geometry of the highway … too many exits and entrances … and too few alternatives (aside from rail).

Truckers don’t want to be on the interstates in bumper-to-bumper traffic any more than you do.  They are not out there, driving on I-95 and I-84, just to annoy you.  Compared to you, driving solo in your automobile, they are high-occupancy vehicles carrying your Amazon orders and making deliveries to the big box stores.  You put those trucks on the road, and now you want to ban them at certain hours?  Then you’ll be moaning about late deliveries.

You don’t want to pay tolls?  Trucks already do, even in Connecticut.  They pay higher state gas taxes (44 cents for diesel vs. 25 cents for gasoline), even if they don’t buy that gas in Connecticut.  And they must pay to register their trucks in CT, even if they are from out of state, thanks to the International Fuel Tax Agreement, or IFTA.

Add a layer of tolls on top of those costs and guess who’s going to pay?  You!

There’s no free lunch, folks.  And the solution to our traffic is not to blame others … but to look in the mirror.

 

Jim Cameron

About the author: 

Jim Cameron is founder of The Commuter Action Group, and a member of the Darien RTM.  The opinions expressed in this column are only his own.  You can reach him at CommuterActionGroup@gmail.com

For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, visit www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com

Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media.

HOPE Partnership Receives $3.93 Million DOH Grant for Essex Affordable Housing

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HOPE Partnership has been selected as a recipient of the Department of Housing (DOH) High Opportunity Area Housing grant.  This award, in the amount of $3.93 million, will provide for the conversion of commercial condominium offices into 17 affordable housing apartments in the Village of Centerbrook, Town of Essex.

In 2015, a HOPE Board member first suggested the idea that vacant and underutilized office space at Spencer’s Corner might be an ideal location for much-needed affordable housing.  A three story, commercial condo complex in the village of Centerbrook, Spencer’s Corner has had many vacancies, which provided an opportunity for HOPE to explore opportunities with the unit owners.

Over the past three years, HOPE has worked closely with town leaders, zoning officials, engineers, architects and other stakeholders to ensure a well thought out plan that would provide safe, affordable and stable housing to members of the community.  This project will be known as The Lofts at Spencer’s Corner with one-, two-, and three-bedroom units on the second and third floors with affordable rents based upon the sliding scale set by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  HOPE has applied for the remaining financing needed through the Federal Home Loan Bank with Essex Savings Bank.

HOPE expresses gratitude to all those who have assisted in making this project a reality.  Working in partnership with their volunteer board of directors, Essex First Selectman Norm Needleman and Essex Town leaders, Spencer’s Corner’s Association, their development team and with the support of State Senator Art Linares and State Representative Bob Siegrist  and Connecticut State Leadership, HOPE is advancing its mission of making affordable homes a reality for families in the community.

 Founded in April 2004, HOPE Partnership is a non-profit organization committed to advocating and developing affordable housing opportunities to support families living and working in southern Middlesex County and surrounding towns.  In 2015, HOPE merged with Old Lyme Affordable Housing and is committed to serving the needs of residents in the community.  HOPE’s purpose is to advocate for and create high-quality rental housing targeted to people earning between 50 and 80 percent of the local median income.

For more information, visit this link

Last Chance to Enjoy All The Fun of the Hamburg Fair Today

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The ferris wheel at Hamburg Fair is always a popular attraction.

Milestone Midway Carnival rides, animal exhibits, food concessions, pony rides, oxen-pull, crafts, kids games and top local musicians are among the favorite attractions for visitors attending the annual Hamburg Fair, now celebrating their 117th year.

Hosted by The Lyme Grange, the fair takes place rain or shine Friday, Aug. 17, 5 to 10:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 18, 9 a.m.to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 19, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1 Sterling City Rd, Lyme, (located at the intersection of Rte. 156 and across from Reynolds’ Subaru.)

General admission to the fair is $7 per person, kids up to age 12 are free.   Senior Citizens and Active Service men and women $5/person (ID required).  Tickets are available for purchase at the entrance and $5 parking is offered on and nearby the site.

The three-day, family-friendly fair showcases many agricultural fair traditions including entries and exhibits for farm, animal, crafts, fruits, vegetables and more.  The intimate size of the fair makes for easy navigation, parking and crowd control.

Young fair-goers will enjoy kids games offered on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will include a watermelon eating contest, face painting, three-legged race and contests with prizes.  Visitors are invited to watch the traditional pony and horse pulls on Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and oxen pull on Sunday morning at 9 a.m.

Free on-stage music talent and entertainment is a growing Hamburg Fair highlight.  From country to pop, fiddlers to funk, there is something for everyone who enjoys live music.  The fair kicks off Friday evening music with performances in the amphitheater from country music favorites Katie Perkins and Branded.

See many local young artists hosted by Music Now and Nightingale’s Showcase on Saturday afternoon including; Conn3cted, Sophie Spaner, Forever Fool and Letterhead.  Saturday evening features local headliners Dizzy River Band followed by 60’s Explosion.  Sunday afternoon concludes with the tradition of bluegrass and fiddling by Longmeadow, Five in the Chamber and the Old Tyme Fiddlers.

The full music entertainment line-up is as follows:

Friday

  • 6:00-8:00pm: Katie Perkins
  • 8:30-10:30pm: Branded

Saturday

  • 1:00pm -5:45pm: Music Now/Nightingale’s Showcase – Up and coming local talent
  • 1:00-1:10pm: Caleb “Reno” Haylon
  • 1:15-1:35pm: Emily May
  • 1:40- 2:00pm: Galen Donovan
  • 2:05-2:30pm: Cici Klimaszewski
  • 2:35-3:00pm: Chris Gregor
  • 3:05-3:30pm: Sophie Spaner
  • 3:35-4:10pm: Forever Fool
  • 4:15-4:55pm: Letterhead
  • 5:00-5:45pm: Conn3cted
  • 6:00-8:00pm: Dizzy River Band
  • 8:30- 10:30pm: 60’s Explosion

Sunday

  • 12:00-1:30pm: Longmeadow
  • 1:45-3:00pm: Five in the Chamber
  • 3:00-6:00pm: The Old Tyme Fiddlers

Each year the Hamburg Fair honors a cherished community member.  The 117th Hamburg Fair is dedicated in memory of Jack Tiffany, who passed away in January after battling many health problems. He proudly lived in Lyme his whole life, and made it his mission to improve the farm and make Lyme a great place to live.

Highlighted Sponsors of the Hamburg Fair include Reynolds’ Subaru, Hamilton Point Investments, GeoMatrix, Essex Savings Bank, Connected Systems, Guilford Savings Bank, Bogaert Construction, Middlesex Hospital, Lyme Public Hall Association, Wind River Environmental, Maddy Mattson Coldwell Banker, Block Design Build, Sapia Builders, Ring’s End, New England Power Equipment and Tiffany Built.

Visit www.hamburgfair.org for fair schedule, exhibit entry, and more information.  The 117th Hamburg Fair is hosted by Lyme Grange #147 and organized by many local volunteers to build community relationships and create lasting family memories.  Money raised from the event proceeds are used to fund the Grange Association, Lyme Fire Association and Lyme Ambulance Association.