A large brush fire on Sunday afternoon, brought fire fighting crews to Berkshire Road in Newtown… between Sherman Street and Zoar Road. Responding crews found that the wind was driving the flames up the hill. The fire burned about five acres before it was under control. The first responders got there around !;30 Sunday afternoon. The whole thing was over by about 4:30. As many as 70 firefighters responded, and nobody was hurt. There were no reports of any structures being damaged either, and no word on what may have sparked it.

A Danbury man has been arrested in connection with the death of a young puppy. It all began back in January, when police were called to the home of Stephen Siguenza to conduct a welfare check after getting a call from someone who told them that they believed Siguenza murdered his puppy. Siguenza told police that his three-month-old mini goldendoodle had attacked him, so he hit the puppy in the head twice with his fist. The dog died and he buried the puppy in his backyard. The investigation led to Danbury Police arresting Siguenza earlier this month, and he is now facing charges including with cruelty to animals.

On Friday, Governor Ned Lamont held a ceremony in Ridgefield, where he signed an executive order requiring the development of a strategic plan to design the next generation of child care in Connecticut. The executive order establishes the Connecticut Blue-Ribbon Panel on Child Care, which will be responsible for providing the governor with a plan that supports optimal child development, family needs, business needs, and prioritizes equitable access to early care and education. It will consist of parents, early childhood education experts, business leaders, higher education officials, public school officials, child care and education providers, and legislators. Connecticut Office of Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye will serve as the panel’s chairperson.

One resident of Danbury has hit it big in a Connecticut Lottery scratch off game. On Wednesday, Dharm Saini of Danbury bought a scratch off lottery ticket from Bethel Shell in Bethel. Turns out, his ticket was a winner… to the tune of $10,000.

This morning, Governor Ned Lamont is holding a ceremony in Ridgefield, where he will sign an executive order requiring the formation of a blue-ribbon panel that will be charged with developing a strategic plan of recommendations on how Connecticut can improve its child care system with a particular emphasis on making it more accessible, equitable, and affordable. Governor Lamont wants to encourage more businesses in Connecticut to offer child care services for their employees. He proposed legislation this session that will provide businesses with a corporate tax credit of 25% of the cost of any child care subsidies they provide to their workers.

Police in Newtown continue to investigate a case in which a car was stolen while left running at a gas station on Church Hill Road last week. Police say the white Kia Optima EX was taken while it was sitting at the gas pumps at the Citgo station there, sometime around 6:30am last Thursday, March 9th. The car was running at the time. The driver had gone inside the store. Now, Newtown Police are asking anyone who may have seen anything or anyone suspicious… or a suspicious vehicle in the around that time that morning, to call them.

A Main Street improvement project in downtown Ridgefield was originally planned to be wrapped up by the end of last year after kicking off in 2021. But the plan.. aimed at improving the traffic flow on Main Street… is still not done. The reason for the delay is being placed on supply chain issues. Now, crews say they hope to have it finished by the end of April or the beginning of May. It’s been in the works now since 2019.

A former teacher at Henry Abbott Technical High School, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a student, is now attempting to work out details of a plea deal with prosecutors that would mean some time behind bars. On Wednesday, 42 year old Salvatore Maimone pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault and second-degree stalking in state Superior Court in Danbury… charges stemming from an investigation into what police say was “a possible inappropriate sexual relationship” between Maimone and a student. He was arrested last May on additional charges, but so far has not entered pleas on those other charges. No other details of the proposed plea deal have been released, and so far, nothing is final.

Last year, a bear that was roaming on his property, was shot killed by an off-duty Ridgefield police sergeant. Since then, the killing of that bear, which led to the orphaning of her two cubs, has brought renewed national attention. Mitch Bolinsky is the state lawmaker who took much of the public anger. Since then, Bolinsky was one of about 700 people to testify against a bill that would allow a proposed bear hunting season in Connecticut. Bolinsky’s testimony against the bill however, comes after an annual “State of the Bears” report released last week by Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection… showing a dramatic increase in the number of confrontations between bears and people.

If voters in Brookfield give the thumbs up for funding, a contaminated site at 20 Station Road in Brookfield would be redeveloped into housing and retail space. Brookfield residents vote today on funding approval for the abatement, demolition and remediation of the blighted 2.3 acre property where a dry cleaning business operated in the 60’s and 70’s. It’s been vacant for decades after sampling revealed a dry cleaning solvent in the soil and groundwater. Successful remediation would pave the way for a 58,500 square foot building with 54 apartments, retail space, and parking.