By DAVID O’BRIEN To the Editor: After my recent shopping visit to Stop & Shop Berlin I was surprised to learn the policy of Stop & Shop for masks wearing was voluntary and not mediatory. I saw three young…
Posted: 03 August 2020 [08:25 PM] Opinion
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Posted: 03 August 2020 [08:25 PM] Recent Headlines
Sunday 08/02/2020
MAYOR'S COLUMN: Bristol is committed to continuing discussion about equality, while also supporting police Posted: 02 August 2020 [08:33 PM] By ELLEN ZOPPO-SASSU It often takes a pivotal moment to be the catalyst for social change such as assassinations, invasions, elections or…
Friday 07/31/2020
Posted: 31 July 2020 [08:17 PM] By DAVE RACKLIFFE To the Editor: The State House of Representatives and the State Senate passed a bill - HB6004 - that includes a series of reforms aimed at police accountability, including the removal of qualified immunity. In the days…
Wednesday 07/29/2020
Posted: 29 July 2020 [04:55 PM] By STEFAN ZWOLINSKI To the Editor: This is, without a doubt, a troubling time for the state of Connecticut. Covid-19 has affected everyone’s lives. As a result, Gov. Ned Lamont has issued many executive orders to help the state deal…
Wednesday 07/22/2020
Posted: 22 July 2020 [08:09 PM] By THOMAS DICKAU To the Editor: I was certainly filled with profound sadness, when Dave and Mike Pasqualicchio, told me that they had decided to close Nuchie’s. The location where Nuchie’s stands has served as either a saloon or restaurant…
Friday 07/17/2020
Posted: 17 July 2020 [02:59 PM] By MARY KATHRYN LAROSE To the Editor: On Aug. 11, Republican voters in the 30th House District, representing Berlin and Southington, have the opportunity to vote for Donna Veach, the endorsed Republican candidate. Donna is the candidate who can…
Friday 07/10/2020
Posted: 10 July 2020 [04:52 PM] To The Editor: What do you do with the extra zucchini (and chard, tomatoes, beans, etc.)? It’s tougher this year with our soup kitchens not serving meals but some are accepting produce. Please do check with each beforehand to see…
Monday 07/06/2020
Posted: 06 July 2020 [07:55 PM] By ANDRA LOU MILLERD To the Editor: On Aug. 11, 2020 Connecticut Republicans are being asked to vote in a primary in order to finalize the candidates for November’s election. Voters in Berlin and Southington who live in Legislative District…
Posted: 06 July 2020 [07:53 PM] By HOWARD SCHNEIDER About a week ago, a friend sent us a post from Stanford University about how to self-diagnose the coronavirus and kill it once it enters the body. The diagnosis included holding your breath for at least 10…
Sunday 07/05/2020
MAYOR'S COLUMN: Summer isn't canceled, it's different Posted: 05 July 2020 [08:29 PM] By ELLEN ZOPPO-SASSU As we come off what is usually a celebratory and carefree summer weekend, Bristol is trying to get back…
Friday 07/03/2020
Posted: 03 July 2020 [03:05 PM] The woman’s suffrage movement was in full swing when the Great Flu of 1918 hit. They decided to have their annual convention anyway. They allowed only delegates, and spaced the chairs four feet apart, but they caught a lot…
Sunday 06/28/2020
Posted: 28 June 2020 [09:04 PM] By RACHAEL DAVIS To the Editor: Columbus did NOT discover America!!! Historical facts confirm this. We should not honor Columbus with any kind of statues and a Federal holiday anymore. The time has come that we should…
Monday 06/15/2020
Posted: 15 June 2020 [01:31 PM] By SARAH SULLIVAN To the Editor: I have been following the development of the city budget and their response to COVID-19 and now how the city is handling the racial unrest following the Floyd death. While I am a generally…
Friday 06/12/2020
Posted: 12 June 2020 [09:20 PM] By Shannon Martin To the Editor: I’m an intake investigator for Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families. Before this pandemic, it was normal to get three cases of reported child abuse a week. Now, it’s half that. After 20 years…
Posted: 12 June 2020 [09:18 PM] By Paul Zagorsky To the Editor: Our country is fractured and suffering, with an inflammatory President incapable of consoling those who are suffering, while national Republican elected leaders are silent in the face of such abhorrent behavior. The Constitution…
Sunday 06/07/2020
Posted: 07 June 2020 [08:48 PM] No words are sufficient to express the sadness and outrage we feel about George Floyd’s death, or to address the history that has led to that horrific event. As to all persons who are charged with a crime, in our…
Monday 06/01/2020
A call to action for the church to take to lead Posted: 01 June 2020 [08:34 PM] By MICHELE STEWART-COPES It was traumatizing to see the modern-day lynching of George Floyd on television! Historically, people have been lynched by…
Sunday 05/31/2020
MAYOR'S COLUMN: It's time to have a talk about racism Posted: 31 May 2020 [08:44 PM] Recently, we have been bombarded with disturbing images from Georgia, Central Park and most recently Minneapolis, where George Floyd died…
Friday 05/29/2020
JUDD: We need to do whatever we can to help nonprofits Posted: 29 May 2020 [09:02 PM] “To give away money is an easy matter and in any man's power. But to decide to whom to give it and…
Monday 05/25/2020
Posted: 25 May 2020 [08:38 PM] By DALE BROUKER To the Editor: I read that summer camp will be a go and wanted to inquire how much the cost will be for one kid? When I was growing up in Bristol, my parents couldn’t afford to…
Sunday 05/24/2020
Posted: 24 May 2020 [08:15 PM] By Bristol Veterans Council To the Editor: The Bristol Veterans Council would like to express it’s profound gratitude to all the volunteers who assisted with replacing old flags with new ones at each veterans grave site in St. Joseph’s, Peacedale,…
Friday 05/22/2020
Posted: 22 May 2020 [08:02 PM] By Dennis Fowler To the Editor: The heart and soul of any strong community are those individuals and businesses willing to volunteer to help a cause. Recently, many local individuals and companies donated time, money and material to help…
Monday 05/18/2020
JUDD: Months ahead will show our sustenance Posted: 18 May 2020 [04:26 PM] “For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends,…
Sunday 05/17/2020
JUDD: Will our colleges and universities ever be the same? Posted: 17 May 2020 [08:33 PM] Will our colleges and universities (C&U) ever be the same after COVID-19? Their doors - classrooms, athletic fields, auditoria and other…
Friday 05/15/2020
Posted: 15 May 2020 [07:15 PM] To the Editor, I’m a little peeved at The Herald for not printing an article and writing about “Zero,” the poor, suffering dog who was beaten and then strangled by another scumbag. I would have let it go if I…
Tuesday 05/12/2020
Posted: 12 May 2020 [08:03 PM] By RACHAEL DAVIS To the Editor: Thank you Gov. Lamont and Attorney General William Tong for suspending the state law that prohibits state police and local police officials from refusing to collect fingerprints, as part of efforts to prevent the…
Monday 05/04/2020
Grief, compassion fatigue and hope for workers Posted: 04 May 2020 [04:40 PM] For so many right now, feelings of anxiety, stress and uncertainty have become a daily reality. Whether we’re trying to find a…
MAYOR'S COLUMN: Bristol continues to show resilience and ability to adapt during pandemic Posted: 04 May 2020 [09:46 AM] Over the past eight weeks, we have been inundated with data and numbers and graphs. The information can be overwhelming.…
Wednesday 04/15/2020
Posted: 15 April 2020 [08:23 PM] Most of us have never experienced anything like the current COVID-19 pandemic in our lifetimes. The closest analogy many people think of in connection with the pandemic is that of a war. Indeed, a number of individuals have likened it…
Sunday 03/29/2020
MAYOR'S COLUMN: COVID-19 and Bristol's response Posted: 29 March 2020 [03:49 PM] By Ellen Zoppo-Sassu It’s not what you say in a crisis. It’s what you do. In the last two weeks…
Friday 03/13/2020
Posted: 13 March 2020 [07:52 PM] We could use some Irish wit and wisdom right now. Here’s a good start: “You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” That’s a lesson well-taught by the many Irish immigrants, including my great-grandfather, who boldly…
Wednesday 03/11/2020
Posted: 11 March 2020 [08:11 PM] To The Editor: In light of dishonorable and disappointing political and personal choices and actions that have created our current political and social crisis, this is written for those currently holding elected office and for those seeking one, at any…
Posted: 11 March 2020 [08:10 PM] To The Editor: Working Together for Preservation Save Pigeon Hill Team would like to thank, Mayor Ellen Zoppo Sassu, mayor of Bristol and Scott Heth executive director of the Barnes Nature Center and Environmental Learning Centers of Connecticut, The city…
Posted: 11 March 2020 [08:09 PM] To The Editor: March is Irish-American Heritage Month! It is estimated that almost 20 percent of the residents of Connecticut trace their ancestry to Ireland. The Ancient Order of Hibernians is the oldest and largest, Irish, Catholic organization in…
Monday 03/09/2020
Posted: 09 March 2020 [08:40 PM] Now that highway tolls seem to have been dismissed for this year’s session of the General Assembly, the Yankee Institute for Public Policy has provided good suggestions for finding transportation infrastructure money elsewhere. Yankee’s suggestions show that Governor Lamont and…
Sunday 03/08/2020
Posted: 08 March 2020 [07:58 PM] By To The Editor: On February 19th, I testified in front of the Public Health Committee in favor of repealing non-medical exemptions to vaccinating our public-school children. This is an issue of great concern…
Friday 03/06/2020
Posted: 06 March 2020 [08:03 PM] For months, establishment and center-left Democrats faced a seemingly intractable problem. Moderate and establishment-friendly candidates were staying in the race, each hoping for the opportunity to try to beat Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a one-on-one primary fight. But by…
Posted: 06 March 2020 [08:00 PM] For almost a year, politicians in Washington have talked about the need to fix the problem of surprise medical billing. But, per usual, they haven’t done anything about it. It shouldn’t be this hard. To review: the bidding -…
Wednesday 03/04/2020
Posted: 04 March 2020 [07:48 PM] From California to Connecticut the political left is purporting to believe that the failure of former offenders to reintegrate fully into society is caused by the stigma of their criminal records. This is mistaken. Instead the problem is mainly the…
Sunday 03/01/2020
Posted: 01 March 2020 [08:26 PM] March marks the kick-off of the city encouraging all of its residents to answer the census to ensure we have a complete count. Obtaining a full, fair, and accurate count of everyone is essential for representation and federal funding. Invitations…
Friday 02/28/2020
Posted: 28 February 2020 [07:33 PM] So-called “red flag” laws have been suggested by some as at least a partial answer to keeping firearms away from those who might use them to harm themselves or others. But experiences in Florida, which has had such a statute…
Posted: 28 February 2020 [07:31 PM] By The Washington Times If Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred hated baseball and wanted to destroy it, he wouldn’t be acting any differently. America’s pastime needs new leadership, stat. Begin with Mr. Manfred’s pathetic reaction to the…
Posted: 28 February 2020 [07:30 PM] By The (Moline) Dispatch & The Rock Island Argus Nobody should have been surprised when Rod Blagojevich called himself a victim and a “political prisoner” last week. Blagojevich never was very good at telling the truth. He is…
Posted: 28 February 2020 [07:27 PM] This is a scary moment for centrist and pro-Israel Democrats. Sen. Bernie Sanders’s overwhelming victory in the Nevada caucuses, coupled with the disastrous debut of Michael Bloomberg in last week’s Las Vegas debate, has forced the party’s establishment to confront…
Thursday 02/27/2020
Posted: 27 February 2020 [07:42 PM] Florida punishes people who are unable to pay fines and fees by taking away their driver’s licenses, making it even harder for them to hold jobs that allow them to repay those debts. More than 2 million Floridians - or…
Posted: 27 February 2020 [07:39 PM] The New Hampshire House of Representatives this week passed legislation that would impose a waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm. Last year, a similar bill was vetoed by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. The difference with this…
Posted: 27 February 2020 [07:37 PM] To The Editor: The fur industry is cruel and unnecessary. Readers should contact their state legislators and urge them to support a ban on fur manufacturing and sales in Connecticut - similar to the one recently passed in California. For…
Posted: 27 February 2020 [07:34 PM] The U.S. equity market finally is taking notice of the coronavirus, which now is spreading from China to other countries and increasing the risk of a shock that could cause a U.S. recession. So what are the implications for the…
Wednesday 02/26/2020
Posted: 26 February 2020 [08:02 PM] This country waged a civil war over slavery in the mid-19th century. It struggled with the advancement of civil rights for all people, regardless of race and religion, in the 20th century. The fight for equality has been going on…
Posted: 26 February 2020 [08:00 PM] Columnist Connecticut’s members of Congress, all Democrats, are upset - some almost apoplectic - about President Trump’s using his emergency power to divert military appropriations away from nuclear submarine and jet-fighter procurement to help finance the wall he is having…