By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, the temperatures will be hovering around 11 degrees and the day looks to be cold and blustery. The night before, however, at The Rockwell Theater, some brave souls ventured out to the 5th annual community conversation for a comedic evening discussing some serious issues–depression and suicide.
Basically, the program presented four comedians, who themselves have dealt with depression and suicidal ideation, to the point of being hospitalized, and letting them riff, as would any stand-up comic, and it worked. The group that presented the program, 1 Degree of Separation, has a website with more information. Click here.
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As far as news, this coming week there are city meetings every day, beginning with a special meeting of Aquifer Protection Agency on Monday, from 5:58 to 5:59 p.m., immediately preceding a meeting of the Zoning Commission. The later begins at 6 p.m.
The agenda of the meeting (click here) involves the filing of a form (click here) by local attorney, James Ziogas, Jr., to determine the regulatory status of the Northeast Middle School project as regards to the city’s Aquifer Protection Area Program. It’s crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. But any project of this scale has many of these. Earlier in the year, the city’s Aquifer Protection Agency ran into an issue that is now in court, leaving a property at 735 Farmington Ave., in limbo, shall we say.
Other meetings this week include, on Tuesday, special meetings of the boards of Sewer Commissioners and Water Commissioners at 8:30 a.m., respectively, the Board of Finance at 5:30 p.m., Diversity Council at 6 p.m, and Transportation Committee at 6 pm.; on Wednesday, the Historic District Commission at 5 p.m.; on Thursday, the Board of Fire Commissioners at 6 p.m.; and on Friday, the Banking & Audit Committee at 9 a.m.
Earlier in the week, the city announced it was replacing its current online system of emailing notifications of meetings and agendas with a new one, under the auspices of CivicPlus and its CivicClerk Agenda and Meeting Management Select system. It requires setting up an account, click here to sign up.
Also, earlier in the week, the local chapter of the NAACP held its annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Dr. E.C. Whitehead Scholarship Breakfast on the Martin Luther King holiday at Bristol Eastern High School. Keynote speaker Sheen Graham presented a powerful message with her talk, entitled “Preparing Minds for the Future.” For a link to the story, click here.
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On a different note, readers will notice that our posts will be missing the name of sports reporter Mike Letendre. Mike has made every effort to keep up with and provide sports reporting, and he has done a tremendous job. But he cannot keep working as, basically, a volunteer, so he has decided to step away from any further reporting.
It’s the truth, you get what you pay for, and we are at a juncture for Mike, where we, all of us who enjoy his work, need to step up and open the pocketbook. And this applies to all of our reporting, not just sports. TBE might be a nonprofit, but we are a business. Good will can only get us so far. If you have decided to support us, thank you. You understand that nothing in life that is worthwhile is free–even if it appears online. For those who haven’t, please become a member with regular monthly contributions or even a one-time donor that will get you through the year.
As we are learning from the plight of Bakery on Maple, small businesses have their work cut out for them, and the difference between making and not making it is a base of people who understand, appreciate the product and support it with a financial commitment.
We are glad to be doing what we can to cover what is happening locally, and grateful for those who support our efforts. As we attract more supporters, we will be covering more of the city–and developing a corps of reporters who we can pay for their services. We want to encourage young people from our community, who have an interest in telling Bristol stories and improving their skills to do this. If you are one of these people, or know of one, please contact dfortier@bristoledition.org.
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Reading and listening this week begins with a podcast about attention and what has been happening since the appearance of “screens.” On the Hidden Brain podcast, guest psychologist Gloria Mark “explores how our ability to focus is shrinking and offers ways to protect our minds in a world filled with endless distractions.” There are some little things we can do to help with this phenomenon. You’d be surprised at the steps. Click here for “Finding Focus.”
For reading, how about an article from Mother Jones magazine. “American Oligarchy” starts with an introduction focusing on the onset of the Russian oligarch and their unique situation and tremendous accumulation of wealth. It’s not a pretty picture. Then, the focus shifts to real subject, the American oligarchs and a not very pretty picture of our own. The article is available in the January-February issue of the magazine. A preview is available by clicking here.
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TBE is the website of our nonprofit, The Central Connecticut Online Journalism Project, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. One-time donations and regular recurring monthly donations from our members are welcomed and encouraged. They are what allows us to pay the people who do work for us, and by extension, “us” meaning our readers supporting the work we do.
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Have a great week!
“Come Sunday morning” is intended to be a weekly review, a recounting of the past week and an anticipation of week to come. Among its features will be reviews of old and new books, sharing of favorite podcasts, some family news, Bristol events and happenings and issues surrounding education, work and community journalism. He can be reached at dfortier@bristoledition.org.
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The Bristol Edition will be limiting the number of stories non-members and free readers may access each week. This decision is based on our financial projections and, most certainly, to remind people that TBE is serious about providing accurate, timely and thorough reporting for Bristol. To do this we have devised a financial support structure that makes unlimited access extremely affordable, beginning with a $6 monthly donation.
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