Monthly Archives: July 2025

TOP STORY: Lyme Republicans Endorse Tom St. Louis for First Selectman

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The Lyme RTC this week announced a slate of 11 candidates. From left to right are: (standing) Mitchell Etess, Steven Deveaux, Tom St. Louis, Corey Lomas, Isaiah Griffith and Stephen Buccheri; and (sitting) Jennifer Tiffany, Mary Powell-St. Louis and Lannie Mossberg. Not pictured are Harry “Skip” Broom and Lori Caine.

Mitchell Etess, Retired Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority CEO, Tapped for Board of Finance

LYME–The Republican Town Committee (RTC) this week endorsed the husband-and-wife team of Tom St. Louis for first selectman and Mary Powell-St. Louis for selectman. 

The Republican’s 11-member slate also includes retired Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority CEO Mitchell Etess for Board of Finance. 

St. Louis will face unaffiliated petitioning candidate Christy Zelek in a rare contested race for first selectman. Election data from the Secretary of the State going back 25 years show only two elections included challenges for the town’s top spot. 

St. Louis on Wednesday said he retired from Pfizer two years ago as the director of a manufacturing group operating across multiple facilities. He cited familiarity with federal and state labor law and experience managing people and budgets. 

The candidate said he was compelled to run after the Connecticut General Assembly passed a comprehensive bill to make housing more accessible. Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed the bill largely because of opposition from town leaders, who didn’t want to be required to plan for more housing based on targets set by the state. 

He said he could see the local implications of the proposal from his seat as an alternate member of the Planning & Zoning Commission for more than three years. 

“It was apparent that the state was now clawing back at the autonomy that they had given us decades ago to manage our own zoning,” he said.  

He is not running for reelection to the Planning & Zoning alternate seat, which is up in November. 

St. Louis and Powell-St. Louis raised three boys in the local school system and served as longtime leaders in the Boy Scout organization. 

Powell-St. Louis, who is the RTC chairman, previously served two terms on the Region 18 Board of Education. She said she was spurred to run for selectman this year after successfully engaging the public in reversing a decision by the school board to eliminate a music teaching position from the district budget that she said would have a cascading effect on arts instruction across the district.   

She said the Republican slate includes a mix of experienced and first-time candidates. Among the newcomers is Etess, who expressed an interest in serving after being approached by St. Louis and Powell-St. Louis with the idea. 

“I think the Lyme Republican Town Committee is very enthusiastic about our slate,” she said. “We are very happy to be able to have options for the community of Lyme, and all of us that are on the slate are looking forward to serving.” 

The following candidates were endorsed by the Lyme RTC to run for election in November: (*incumbent, +current alternate)

Tom St. Louis – First Selectman

Mary Powell-St. Louis – Selectman

Mitchell Etess – Board of Finance 

Corey Lomas – Board of Finance Alternate 

Harry Broom Jr.* – Board of Assessment Appeals

Lannie Mossberg – Board of Education (U)

Jennifer Tiffany+ – Planning & Zoning Commission 

Steven Deveaux – Planning & Zoning Commission Alternate

Stephen Buccheri – Zoning Board of Appeals 

Isaiah Griffith – Zoning Board of Appeals Alternate 

Lori Caine* – Library Board of Directors

Editor’s Note: This article was updated with a name omitted from the slate.

Death Announced of Richard Bugbee, 68, of Old Lyme, Memorial Service Held in OL

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OLD LYME – Richard “Rick” George Bugbee, of Old Lyme, died Saturday July 19, 2025, after a long battle with lymphoma. He was 68. Born Oct. 26, 1956 to Richard C. Bugbee Jr. and Jane E. (Patch) Bugbee, he graduated from Old Lyme High School in 1974 and proceeded to explore the country, where he developed a lifelong love and appreciation for the West. He returned to Connecticut in 1980, where he met Ann Turkington of Manchester. They married in 1984, and had three daughters before divorcing in 1996 …

Survivors include, his mother; his three daughters, their spouses and grandchildren: Jane and Nicholas Lano and their children, Claire and Henry of Hamden; Mary Bugbee and Aaron Apmann of Leadville, Colo., and Ellen Bugbee and Trevor Lundeen and their son Thomas of Somerville, Mass.; his aunt Carol Carlson of Cromwell; and his two sisters, Carol Cieszynski of Naperville, Ill., and her family and Laurie Willis of Lyme.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Charitable Partner of the National Parks (nationalparks.org).

A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, July 25, in the First Congregational Church, McCurdy Road, Old Lyme.

Editor’s Note: Visit this link to read the full obituary published on July 23, 2025 by ‘The Day.’

Death Announced of Gina Rivera Hernández de Perez, 55, ‘Beloved Member of Staff’ at Lyme-Old Lyme Schools

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NEW LONDON—It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Gina Rivera Hernández de Perez, 55, of New London. On Tuesday, July 22, 2025, Gina passed away peacefully at Backus Hospital, surrounded by the love of her family. She faced a courageous battle with cancer, a fight defined by her incredible strength, unwavering spirit, and enduring grace.

Born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, on September 26, 1969, Gina was raised in the Barrio Cerro Gordo of Añasco. In 1979, she moved with her family to New London, Connecticut, where she graduated from New London High School in 1987. Though she built her life in Connecticut, her heart remained deeply rooted in her heritage. As she proudly declared, she was “más boricua que el coquí.”

… For many years, she was a beloved member of the staff at Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools, where her energy and warmth were cherished by her colleagues. She cherished her work and looked forward to the day her health would allow her to return.

Gina was predeceased by her father, Efraín Rivera Valentín.

Her memory will be cherished forever by her loving husband, Manuel Perez; her beloved mother, Migdalia Hernández Nieves; and her devoted children, Yajaira Y. Vega Rivera (Juan), José J. Muñiz Rivera, and Joshian Y. Muñiz Rivera.

She was also a loving stepmother …. She adored her step-grandchildren, …
Gina also leaves behind her siblings, … her twin brother, … and her stepsister, … as well as her treasured niece and nephews, … her beloved aunt,… and uncle, … along with many loving cousins and extended family members.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday, July 25, 2025 at 11a.m. at Lester Gee Funeral Home, 108 Blinman Street, New London, Connecticut. Calling hours will begin at 10a.m. until time of service. Interment will be held in Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Connecticut.

Calling hours will be held on Thursday, July 24, 2025 from 6p.m to 8p.m. Lester Gee Funeral Home,108 Blinman Street, New London, Connecticut.

Editor’s Note: Visit this link to read the full obituary published on Legacy.com on July 23, 2025.

Talking Transportation: Congress Giveth (Renewed Life to AM Radio), But Also Taketh Away (Cutting PBS, NPR)

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Jim Cameron

Remember when commuting was fun because you could listen to the radio? 

Earlier in my career I may have been the guy you heard, both on WHCN / Hartford and later on NBC. When I started in radio in 1967, AM Top 40 was king and FM was just getting started. But in 1961 the FCC decreed that all radios should have both AM and FM bands … and that FM should broadcast in stereo. And no longer could station owners just simulcast their AM programs on their FM stations: FM programming had to be different.

Thus was born “Progressive Album Rock” on FM, usually programmed by long-haired LP fans.  That was me, again. Within years, radio listening went from predominantly AM to majority FM thanks to better audio quality and changing musical tastes.

Today the AM band is filled with syndicated political talk, foreign language shows and sports.  Only a handful of stations have real news departments (think WTIC, WICC here in Connecticut.)

Then came the all-electric car.  Because of their wiring Teslas and such could not have AM radios due to interference. What to do?

Well, Congress is expected to pass a law requiring AM radios in all cars. The bill has hundreds of co-sponsors, including the entire Connecticut delegation. No wonder: pols love being interviewed on AM stations.

“But AM radio is effectively aging out, with less than a 20% market share.  And many news / talk stations have transitioned to FM where there are far more listeners,” (think WINS in NYC) says former station consultant Steve Goldstein of Westport.

Goldstein left radio years 10 years ago to become a podcasting consultant. He also teaches at NYU and says not one of his students listens to AM. Most don’t listen to FM, either, preferring streaming services like Pandora and Spotify or on-demand media like podcasts. “AM radio is going the way of the phone booth and fax machine”, he laments.

So why save AM radio in the car when folks aren’t listening? And what will be left on FM to tune into?

If your listening habits tend toward the NPR stations at the lower end of the FM band, you’re in for disappointment. Congress has just voted to claw back (“rescind”) $1.1 billion from funds previously allocated to CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds both PBS television and NPR radio stations.

In the case of Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR) we’re talking about a 10+% budget cut. That will probably mean layoffs and less local programming for shows like “Colin McEnroe.”  

At WSHU they say they’ll need to raise an additional $500,000 to make up for the loss. Elsewhere in the US it’s estimated that as many as 80 NPR stations will just go dark.

Your mail is already crowded with funding appeals, not just from public broadcasters but from other non-profits also losing federal funding.  With so many hands outstretched, how will donors prioritize their gifts? Feeding the hungry or keeping the airwaves alive?

So Congress giveth (renewed life to AM radio) and taketh away (cutting PBS and NPR). The media world (and listeners) will adapt.  

Now, if only I could find my old eight-track tape player.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Frampton Says There is ‘No Dispute’ Over Ownership of Tantummaheag Landing

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To the Editor:

I write to clarify a critical point in Elizabeth Regan’s article published today reporting the [Old Lyme] Republican Committee’s continued rejection of any amicable resolution over a “years-long dispute over the ownership of a spit of land bisecting a Tantummaheag Road property”, namely, Tantummaheag Landing (our back driveway), which we purchased in 2020.

To the contrary, there is no dispute between us and the Town about “ownership” since Tim Griswold’s Town Attorney publicly stated at a BOS meeting in August 2022 that his year-long investigation had found no evidence of ownership on the part of the Town. The Town and its counsel have since confirmed publicly and privately that they cannot and do not dispute that we own the Landing parcel in fee simple.

While the Griswold administration continued to claim there might have been a “public highway” along that spit of land based on a 1701 right of way, we discovered and published more than two years ago official Town records establishing that this right of way never went down what is now our back driveway, wasn’t even being used and indeed couldn’t be found in 1712, was replaced by another right of way in 1713 (which traces the current Tantummaheag Road and never  touched our property), and by contract with the then-landowner Richard Lord (who became First Selectman in 1720) the Town surrendered all rights to any and all Town rights-of-ways on his property in 1727.

Sincerely,

George T. Frampton, Jr.
Old Lyme.