Author Archives: admin

Letter to the Editor: Lyme Deserves Better

Posted on by

To the Editor:

If ever there was any doubt that Republicans at the local level embrace the bullying tactics of Donald Trump, it was dispelled this past Saturday. Led by the husband-and-wife-Republican candidates running for office in Lyme, a small group of sign-wavers set up along an unusual stretch of Rt. 156, near Sterling City Road. While their behavior appeared peaceful, their intent was suspect at best. They deliberately chose a spot directly across the street from the home of Christy Zelek, the Unaffiliated candidate who the Democrats are supporting for First Selectman.

As a strong supporter of the First Amendment, I embrace peaceful political activities by all persuasions, including roadside sign waving and shouting. I am even amused by Republican efforts to disguise themselves by featuring a proliferation of blue signs for their candidates. However, I am profoundly disturbed by the Trump’s Republican Party’s embrace of threats and widespread efforts to intimidate political opponents and voters.

So, I cannot help but conclude that the true purpose of the Lyme Republican show on Saturday was to alert the opposing candidate that she and her family are targets. This pattern of Republican behavior is antithetical to the civil discourse the citizens of Lyme and the state of Connecticut expect and deserve.

Lyme has always prided itself on being neighborly. We argue about zoning and budgets, sure — but we remain civil. We hold doors for each other at the Town Hall; we wave to our neighbors, and we show up to support our schools and seniors, regardless of party. We can disagree without being disagreeable.

That’s what makes this moment disappointing. This hostile campaign led by Republican candidates Tom St. Louis and his wife, Mary, seems to resort to personal attacks, treating politics as a culture war, rather than a service to community.

This isn’t about partisanship. It’s about character. Leadership in a small town is about bringing people together, not trying to score points by provoking discomfort. The goal of the St. Louis’ display may have been to demonstrate strength, but it had the opposite effect by revealing a brand of pettiness that has no place in Lyme politics. This kind of behavior does not reflect the judgment or temperament we expect from people seeking to lead our town.

We face real challenges — environmental protection, maintaining our schools and infrastructure, and preserving the small-town values that make Lyme special. Those problems demand focus, cooperation, and emotional maturity — not theatrics or thinly-veiled threats across from an opponent’s driveway.

Christy Zelek has run a campaign rooted in respect and inclusion. She’s shown the kind of grace under pressure that our town should value. The same cannot be said for those who think politics is about intimidation or spectacle.

Lyme deserves leaders who elevate our civic life, not those who cheapen it. In November, let’s choose candidates who remember that public service begins — and ends — with respect for one another.

For respect in democracy.

Sincerely,

Allan Dodds Frank,
Lyme, CT.

A California Griswold Wedding on Griswold Point

Posted on by

Editor’s Note: I have always said that one of the joys of this job is never knowing what I will open next in my overflowing Inbox! Imagine my surprise when I clicked on an email recently and it was an invitation to cover a wedding in Old Lyme—but not just any wedding but rather one being held on Griswold Point … with the bride and groom coming all the way from Los Angeles, Calif. to tie the knot! We were not able to be there in person but father of the groom David Griswold of Old Lyme kindly sent us some photos of the event and we thought it would be a pleasant distraction from all the politics of the moment to share them with our readers.

The wedding party stand in front of Griswold House. Photos by various photographers, courtesy of David Griswold.

OLD LYME — Eric Griswold, son of Elaine and David Griswold of Old Lyme, married Maddy Farkas, daughter of Lila and Danny Farkas of Los Angeles, Calif. on Griswold Point on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.

Over 150 relatives and friends attended the event.

This adorable photo shows a wedding flower girl skipping towards the setting sun on Griswold Point.

Justin Sadle of Lexington, Ky. officiated the ceremony. Lexi Jennings from Los Angeles was the Maid of Honor and Michael Cleary, also from Los Angeles, was the Best Man.

Bridesmaids were Laura Griswold Wentz from Lexington, Ky, Laruen Boniface and Megan Gessert from Los Angeles, Calif. and Bethany Ludemann and Molly Geller from Australia.

A celebratory kiss for the new Mr. and Mrs. Griswold

Groomsmen were Jeffrey Griswold from Chelsea, Ala., Josh Wentz from Lexington, Ky. and David Beglin, Jesse Harris, and Song Pettus from Los Angeles, Calif.

Eric Griswold is a Production Supervisor with Skydance Media and Maddy Farkas is an Interior Designer with Jillian Sipkins Interiors.

The bride and groom stand on the steps of Griswold House.

The couple will live in Los Angeles, Calif.

Letter to the Editor: The Missing Word on Old Lyme Campaign Signs, and a Simple Question

Posted on by

To the Editor:           

It is hard to ignore the sheer number and strategic placement of the Old Lyme Republican campaign signs this election cycle. When the going gets tough, they even mount them on pickup trucks and dispatch them for maximum impact.

However, one element is conspicuously absent: the word REPUBLICAN. The party name is often missing entirely or relegated to small print, much like a required warning label. Further confusing the issue, many signs prominently feature the color blue, traditionally associated with the Democratic party, with only a small hint of red. This calculated misdirection raises a critical question: Why are local candidates actively hiding their party identity?

In a local election, this confusion is not just a branding choice; it is a vital matter of accountability. It is no surprise that the GOP candidates should try to distance themselves from the Trump administration’s policies: attempts to cut state funding (particularly targeting states like Connecticut), opposition to essential clean-energy projects like Revolution Wind that would support our future electricity needs, cuts to Medicaid, voting suppression and gerrymandering, culture wars terrorizing immigrant and minority communities.  But they cannot pretend that the national GOP ideologies do not infect local policies. For example, recall the memory of the Republican-led attack on our library and books two years ago, or the written diatribe from a current GOP candidate for the Board of Education admonishing our school system to prohibit any questioning of gender identity.

Given the clearly adverse impacts of the Trump administration’s policies on Connecticut, voters deserve to know where our local candidates stand. Therefore, I ask each candidate, without spin or evasion: Do you, on the whole, support the policies and leadership of the Trump administration? A simple yes or no answer is required to ensure that voters can make an informed choice. Your silence will be deafening.

Sincerely,

Howard Margules,
Old Lyme.

Soccer Roundup: Mixed Results for Lyme-Old Lyme Soccer Teams in Busy Week

Posted on by

OLD LYME—Here’s the latest update on the Lyme-Old Lyme High School boys and girls soccer season. 

On Monday, the boys lost in an 8–1 game against The Morgan School in Clinton. 

Colman Curtiss-Reardon scored the lone goal for Old Lyme, with an assist from John Morosky. Goalkeeper Sam Edmed made eight saves and Liam McCormick made seven. 

Morgan’s Emiliano Miranda led the team with three goals. Johnny Gutierrez, Andrew Randi, James Guzman, Dylan Gallardo, and Avery Morello each scored, with assists from Gutierrez and Rocco Passante. Liam Totten recorded one save. 

Also playing Morgan on Monday, the girls’ team suffered a similar defeat in an 8-1 game. 

Addy Morosky scored for Lyme-Old Lyme with an assist from Ava Fuller. Goalkeeper Grace Osborne made three saves. 

Leading Morgan was Mersades Passante, with three goals, and Isabella Santello, with two. Kate Gardner and Emmerson Dunning also scored. 

The boys team on Thursday shut out Cromwell High School 1–0. 

Thomas O’Connor scored for Lyme-Old Lyme. Edmed in goal made 11 saves. Cromwell goalkeeper Matt Kowalski had three saves.

On Friday, the Lyme-Old Lyme girls lost 2–0 to Cromwell at home. 

Cromwell’s Lauren Carta and Taylor Ursin each scored once on assists from Alyssa Bathrick. 

Goalkeeper Alexis Watrick made six saves for Cromwell. Old Lyme’s Grace Osborne made one save. 

The Lyme-Old Lyme girls’ record is  4–8–2 overall. 

Saturday, the Lyme-Old Lyme boys kept Wheeler High School scoreless in a 2–0 game. Ian Maeby scored two goals, assisted by Charlie McEwan. 

Edmed had five saves, while Wheeler’s Luke Dowery made seven. 

The boys are 8–5–1 overall.

Talking Transportation: The Folly of a Bridge to New York

Posted on by
1
Jim Cameron

Why is much of Connecticut talking about a bridge from Bridgeport, across Long Island Sound, to New York State? How did we get sucked into a debate about a project that every transportation expert I spoke with said just won’t happen?

You can blame (or maybe credit?) Connecticut housing developer Stephen Shapiro for this distraction as he pipe-dreams way outside his area of expertise.

“A reporter from The CT Post called me to talk about housing,” he told WFSB’s “CT ‘25”. “I always liked the idea of a bridge. And now this thing has ballooned into a massive story.”

He even helped by generating a lovely artificial intelligence image of the structure, complete with red, white and blue towers, which was gobbled up by the media.

A 14-mile bridge, costing a guesstimated $50 billion? It’s a good thing Shapiro didn’t dangle the idea of flying cars to the reporter.

Shapiro has never built a bridge. His expertise is in affordable housing projects in cities like Bristol, Fairfield, Milford and Easton. That’s great, and certainly needed. But a bridge? Nah.

I asked CDOT about the idea of such a bridge and they said “None of the regional MPOs (regional planning agencies) have this in their long-range plans. It is not in CTDOT’s long-range plan for the state either.”

It’s not that our state’s planners lack vision … just money. They must focus on the feasible, not fanciful.

Shapiro says a cross-sound bridge would get Connecticut residents to the lovely Long Island beaches faster. But that’s hardly the justification for a $50B bridge. And anyhow, what’s wrong with Connecticut’s beaches?

As for the $50B estimated price … Shapiro says the new Tappan Zee Bridge replacement, the Mario Cuomo Bridge, cost $4B for its three-mile length. “If you prorate that out to 15 miles, it’s $20B,” he says. Factor in inflation and adding a train line on the bridge and you’re at $30B. Rounding upward, because things always cost more than planned, and he suggests a $50B price tag is reasonable.

But is that a fair calculation? Is that how Shapiro bids on housing development jobs?

And what would it cost to drive across this hypothetical bridge? Shapiro suggests a one-way toll of about $40.

Compare that to the one-way fare of about $75 for a car and driver on the Bridgeport–Port Jefferson ferry. That makes Shapiro’s bridge look like a bargain … except only those who take the ferry pay the fare. Build a bridge and all of us taxpayers pay for it, even if we never go to the Hamptons.

And if there were a bridge, wouldn’t that just worsen traffic in Connecticut with more New Yorkers going to New England?

The idea of bridging Long Island Sound has been studied by experts as recently as 2017. They concluded that there were serious environmental issues and maybe 10 or more state and federal agencies would need to be involved. Most concerning, the report said that tolls would cover only 22% of the debt service (with guess-who paying the difference) and that it would take five years to plan and eight years to build.

Meantime, our state’s housing crisis is happening right now. I wish Shapiro would focus on his real skill-set and not dangle unfeasible, bright shiny objects in front of a click-hungry media.

Editor’s Notes: i) Jim Cameron is the founder of the Commuter Action Group and advocates for Connecticut rail riders. He writes a weekly column called ‘Talking Transportation,’ which is published by a number of publications in the state.
ii) ”Talking Transportation” recently won first place in the general column/commentary category in the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism Contest.