Monthly Archives: May 2020

LymeLine Participates in #GivingNewsDay, a Global Day of Giving

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LYME / OLD LYME — We are excited to be participating in #GivingNewsday, a campaign to bring our neighbors together to subscribe, give, and amplify as they can to support our coverage, especially during this time of COVID-19.

May 5, 2020 has been designated as #GivingTuesdayNow by GivingTuesday.org. This global day of giving will rally philanthropic support in an effort to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has already proven to be particularly costly for local news organizations.

Here at LymeLine, we’re working hard to provide you with essential coverage to keep the Lyme-Old Lyme region safe and informed. Just like you, the impact this pandemic has on us affects our well-being, finances, and routine, but we are persevering and remain committed to serving you, our loyal readers.

Your continued support is so meaningful to us during this time, and as part of #GivingNewsday, we encourage you to share our stories and resources with your loved ones and welcome them to SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER at this link and/or DONATE using this link.

We have been covering community news in Lyme and Old Lyme since 2003 — that’s more than 17 years! During that time, our income has come exclusively from advertising and we thank sincerely all our advertisers over that time, but especially those who have placed their business with us on an ongoing basis for many years. These include The Ivoryton Playhouse, Suisman Shapiro Attorneys at Law, the Valley Railroad Company (which operates Essex Steam Train & Railboat), Lyme Art Association, and the Florence Griswold Museum.

Meanwhile, in line with our mission statement “to be an integral part of the fabric of the community that we serve,” we have never instituted a paywall on our site (unlike, for example, The Day) with the result that readers can access all parts of our site at no charge and there is no limit to the number of articles that anyone can read.

Also in keeping with our mission, we donate significant amounts of advertising to numerous local non-profits every year.

Now let’s look at the national picture for a minute — more than 2,000 newspapers have closed since 2004, including the former Main Street News and Pictorial Gazette, both of which used to serve us right here in Lyme and Old Lyme with well-researched community news. But remember you used to pay for them …

Although we do not charge to read LymeLine.com and still do not intend to introduce a paywall, it costs money to produce the news. First and foremost, reporters have to be paid. Quite simply, the more we invest in reporters, the better in every way the news is that we publish. We also have charges for software development, graphic design, marketing, web-hosting and a myriad of other operational and administrative expenses, which arise when you run a small business.

So spurred primarily by an enormous loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now turning to our readers for the very first time for financial support so we can continue our work while also expanding our pool of freelance journalists.

Please consider a donation of any size to support the continued production of Local, Independent, Online News here at LymeLine (and yes, we are members of the national LION Publishers organization!) You can make your donation a monthly contribution if you wish, in the same way that you perhaps subscribe to a newspaper.

If you prefer to send a check, then please make it payable to Shoreline Web News LLC and mail it to:
3307 Oberon Street,
Kensington, MD 20895

THANK YOU!

Lamont Says School Buildings Will Remain Closed For The Rest of School Year; Distance Learning To Continue

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Lyme-Old Lyme High School along with all other Lyme-Old Lyme Schools will remain closed for the remainder of the school year.

HARTFORD — Gov. Ned Lamont made it official Tuesday and announced that school buildings will remain closed for the rest of the school year. He has not made a decision yet about summer school programming.

Lamont will require schools to continue to provide meals to children and teachers will continue to provide distance learning opportunities …

Read the full article by Christine Stuart and published on CTNewsJunkie.com this morning at this link

Talking Transportation: Airlines Hit COVID Turbulence

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Jim Cameron

I’ve always been fascinated by the airline business.  Even though I’m not a great flyer, the whole idea of moving hundreds of people from point A to point B in a metal tube has astounded me.

I even remember the good old days of “Youth Standby” flights in the 1960’s when we could get a 50 percent fare discount just by helping fill empty seats.  But until recently the planes have been chock-a-block full and the airlines had actually been making money.

Of course, after 9/11 all that changed. 

With increased TSA security and a major economic hit, people were afraid (or unable) to fly.  I remember one commentator calling the aftermath to 9/11 being like an example of product tampering, akin to putting poison in Tylenol bottles.

Now, all that has changed, thanks to COVID-19.

Airlines are curtailing service, and in some cases shutting down completely, as people “shelter in place.”  That’s meant tens of thousands of layoffs of already underpaid airline employees.

But when we get through all this … and we will … what’s the long-term prospect for the airline business?

Will business people, the bread and butter of the airlines (because they pay the highest fares), return to the skies or find that teleconferencing is enough to make deals and stay in touch with clients?

Leisure travelers may still be there.  You can’t telecommute to Aruba.  And when the pandemic has passed, there will doubtless be such pent-up demand to get a change of scenery that will all want to get back on the road … at least if we have the money.

Even before COVID-19, airlines were mothballing their bigger, older planes.  The super-jumbo, double-decker A-380 was just too big and fuel-inefficient to keep flying on most routes (which is why it was never adopted by a US airline.)

The airline business is capital intensive (really expensive to run) and operates on very thin profit margins.  With low fares, you really had to pack a plane to make any money.  And factoring in inflation, airfares (before the virus) were the lowest since 1995.

Going forward, will people really want to sit for hours, three-abreast, with 200+ strangers, sharing their air and whatever else, when we know of recent cases of contagious passengers flying, even on smaller jets?

And you thought that fellow passenger on your last flight who insisted on sanitizing her seatback tray was a germophobe?  You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Will people who survive the virus, and most of us will, still be contagious?  Will doctors have to give us a “COVID CARD” after we are “clear” that we will need to show when we travel or attend large events?

And most importantly, will the airlines themselves survive?  The government’s stimulus package sets aside $25 billion for the ailing carriers.  And Uncle Sam may turn those loans into grants in return for an equity stake in the airlines.

The big airlines will probably get through all this, but some small carriers are already closing up shop.  The airports themselves are also hurting, their runways stuffed with grounded jets parked for the duration.

As difficult as these times may be for us, sheltering in place for the airlines and their employees is much, much worse.

Posted with permission of Hearst CT Media.

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.

Old Lyme’s Memorial Day Parade is Cancelled

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Parade-goers will have to wait until 2021 for the traditional sight of Old Lyme’s Memorial Day Parade heading down McCurdy towards the Duck River Cemetery. The 2020 parade has been cancelled.

OLD LYME — Old Lyme’s traditional Memorial Day parade has been cancelled. Parade organizer Anthony “Tony” Hendricks has sent out a letter stating this decision has been made, “After careful consideration of the current guidance on social distancing as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis.”

Hendricks continues, “Although there can be no substitute for Memorial Day, it is likely that we may have to wait until next May to pay tribute to our deceased Veterans in the form of a parade.” He adds, “The American flags along Lyme Street will still be displayed for memorial day and we can all pay our respects to our Veterans by displaying the American Flag at our homes.”

The VFW will conduct a brief semi-private ceremony at the Duck River Cemetery that will consist of lowering the American Flag, playing of TAPS and playing the Memorial Wreath at the Veteran’s monument.

A la Carte: Peek in the Pantry, You Likely Have all the Ingredients for Tasty Trail Mix Cookies!

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Okay, as I write this, I am home for the sixth week. 

Each day seems a little easier. I like my condo. I love my cat (although I miss my Elderlee, who died in December). I eat when I want to, which seems to be more likely twice a day. I wake up and feed the cat around 7:30, watch MSNBC for an hour (why is it that I seem to like Mika and Joe more than I used to?)

Then I go upstairs, shower, get dressed, make the bed and think about whether my meal will be breakfast-y and lunch-y. Often it is eggs and sweet peppers, onions and garlic and rye bread. Sometimes it is cereal with bananas. I think about dinner around 3 p.m. and decide whether it will be something that I should prepare or leftovers in the fridge. Sometimes it is two kosher hot dogs.

I have not been very interested in dessert, but three nights ago I read the new Bon Appetit in bed and saw a recipe for trail mix cookies. It looked really delicious and I had every single ingredient in my pantry. The cookies required little sugar and almost no flour. But I read the recipe again: you make the batter, then refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight before you make the cookies.

So it isn’t a case of make the cookies and eat them hot in 20 minutes, but they are amazing. So check out your pantry; I bet you have most of the ingredients in yours, too.

Trail Mix Cookies

From Bon Appetit, May 2020

Yield: makes 12 every large cookies

1½ cups assorted nuts and seeds
½ cup old-fashioned oats
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted,
1 large egg
¼ cup dark brown sugar (although light will do fine)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup assorted dried fruit (cut into ½ inch pieces if large)
¾ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate chips, discs or chopped bars
½ cup all-purpose flour
Flaky sea salt

Place racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Toast nuts and seeds on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl; let cool.

Meanwhile, mix egg, butter, brown and granulated sugars, vanilla, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Let sit until nuts and seeds are cool (this will make for a chewier cookie).

Add dried fruits and chocolate to nut mixture; toss to combine. Give egg mixture a good stir, then stir in the flour. Mix in nut mixture, smashing it against the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until combined and mix-ins evenly coated in dough. (It will look like too many mix-ins but dough will come together as it chills.) Cover and chill at least two hours and up to three days.

Reheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a 1/3 cup measure or a #16 cookie scoop, portion out dough, packing firmly, to make 12 cookies. Divide between two parchment-lined baking sheets as you go (I use my Silpat sheets.) Using a cup or your hand, press cookies into 2½” diameter disks about ¾” thick and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake cookies, rotating sheets top to bottom and from front to back, until golden brown and no longer wet looking, 11 to 13 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets.

Cookies can be made one week ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Lee White

About the author: Former Old Lyme resident Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant.  She currently writes a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and also for the Shore Publishing and Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day.