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West Haven Senior Center welcomes back members
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 26, 2021 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, left, and new Elderly Services Director Alyssa Maddern welcome members back to the West Haven Senior Center during a luncheon at 201 Noble St. on Thursday.
Rossi hosted the catered lunch for city residents 65 and older to celebrate the reopening of the center, which had been closed for more than a year due to restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Rossi was joined by Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr. and Human Resources Commissioner Beth A. Sabo, who oversees the Department of Elderly Services, which operates the center.
The two-hour event gave the 70 attendees an opportunity to socialize and meet Maddern. Members wore face masks, a senior center policy, while mingling with one another, only pulling masks down to eat or drink.
The food was provided by the Gateway Community College culinary arts and professional bakers programs.
Each member received a West Haven centennial-emblazoned tote bag containing a bottle of bug spray, a face mask and a bottle of hand sanitizer from the Health Department, along with a centennial sticker, a lanyard and a stylus pen from the center.
(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh) |
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 Rossi chats with senior center member Eugene Onofrio, 88, of West Haven. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)
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UI’s tree care program underway
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 26, 2021 — United Illuminating has begun the latest phase of its tree care program to reduce the amount of vegetation that UI says threatens power lines during storms.
Over the next three months, UI’s tree service contractor will increase the distance between vegetation and power lines by targeting trees and limbs on Center, Church, Court and Atwater streets, said city Tree Warden Leo Kelly, who reviewed and approved the project.
Kelly said the contractor, Lewis Tree Service Inc., will focus work on UI’s “Utility Protection Zone,” which extends 15 feet above, 8 feet below and 10 feet to the side of power lines.
According to UI, the Orange-based utility will designate trees for pruning or removal if they pose a threat to power lines or risk falling into or encroaching on the Utility Protection Zone, causing damage to the electrical system or outages due to their height and growth pattern.
People can direct questions to Kelly at lkelly@westhaven-ct.gov.
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Girls summer champs
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 26, 2021 — (Pictured): Carolina Blue, the undefeated champions of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Girls Summer Fun Basketball League, show their trophies at the Veterans Memorial Park courts on Bull Hill Lane on Aug. 19.
Front row, from left, are Jazmin Alejandro-Lopez, Burlesia Totimeh, Soriah Evans and coach Sarah Walker. Back row, from left, are Kailey Torres, DayAnna Calle, Maria Valentina Muriel, Elena Cortez, Danaea Crudup, Dariana Crudup and Da-Navia Pittman.
The league, supervised by Park-Rec program coordinator Brian Hayden, just capped its 21st season.
(City Photo/Brian Hayden) |
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Shaded Soul Band set for Friday in Old Grove, followed by Bob Seger and Neil Diamond tribute Saturday
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 26, 2021 — The West Haven Centennial Concert Series will continue Friday with R&B music played by Shaded Soul Band.
The two-hour show is set for 7 p.m. in Old Grove Park. The rain date is Monday.
The Franco’s Fried Dough-Licious and Sultan Kebab food trucks and the Mister Softee ice cream truck will serve concertgoers on Palace Street.
The concert series will continue in the Grove at 7 p.m. Saturday with Main Street performing a Bob Seger tribute and Cherry Cherry performing a Neil Diamond tribute.
The two-hour show is sponsored by the American Colleges of Kombido, the First Congregational Church of West Haven and the City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee.
On Sept. 5, the series will culminate in the Grove at 7 p.m. with a two-hour concert by What a Fool Believes, “a Doobie Brothers experience” celebrating the Doobies’ 50th anniversary.
The show is co-sponsored by the West Haven Veterans Council and West Haven Vietnam Veterans. The rain date is Sept. 9.
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Brown sworn in as new UNH police chief
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 24, 2021 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi swears in new University of New Haven Police Chief Adam Brown at the World War I Armistice Memorial on the Green on Tuesday.
Among those attending the ceremony were Brown’s parents, Bob and Nancy Rakauskas; his girlfriend, Jennifer Cretella; Ronald M. Quagliani, UNH’s associate vice president of public safety and administrative services; and Christopher J. Reed, UNH’s director of safety and training and fire marshal.
Brown, who was promoted to chief after serving as UNH’s deputy chief since June 2020, succeeds former Chief James T. Gilman, who retired in June after two years of service.
A resident of Branford, Brown is a former 20-year member of the Connecticut State Police.
(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh) |
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 Former Connecticut State Police Sgt. Bob Rakauskas pins a chief of police badge on his son, new UNH Chief Adam Brown. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)
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Gifts for Madi
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 24, 2021 — (Pictured, from left): Tom Conroy, a program coordinator at the Department of Parks and Recreation, receives a $1,000 check Aug. 10 from Rick Ziegler on behalf of the New Haven Raiders Hockey Club toward the department’s purchase of a tree and plaque in Painter Park in memory of Madison “Madi” Cicarella.
Looking on is Chuck Asarisi, the director of the department’s Painter Park Day Camp.
Madi, of West Haven, died of cancer July 16 at age 13.
In honor of the avid camp participant, Conroy said Park-Rec’s Camper of the Year award has been renamed the Madi Cicarella Camper of the Year award.
(City Photo/Kerri Ruocco) |
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Southern Connecticut Gas relocating some employees, operations to city
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 19, 2021 — Avangrid Inc., the parent company of Southern Connecticut Gas, is in the process of selling its 104,000-square-foot SCG headquarters at 60 Marsh Hill Road in Orange and relocating employees and operations to new and existing facilities in the area, including West Haven.
“Employees now working at SCG’s facility will be moving to facilities with generally superior amenities, including a new operations and office facility on Frontage Road in West Haven and satellite field locations in the Bridgeport and North Haven areas,” according to a company letter by Frank Reynolds, the president and CEO of UIL Holdings Corp.
UIL is the Avangrid subsidiary that oversees its natural gas and electric companies in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Mayor Nancy R. Rossi welcomed the “great news.”
“West Haven is fortunate to be the beneficiary of Avangrid’s relocation plan,” Rossi said. “Avangrid is well known for their efforts to build and maintain a diverse workforce, so they are a good fit for our city.
“West Haven professionals who are thinking about new employment possibilities would be well served by taking a look at the various job offerings now open at SCG. And I encourage our college students and recent college graduates to consider the internship opportunities that Avangrid offers.”
According to city officials, SCG has occupied a portion of the former Sears Outlet at 190 Frontage Road since January 2020, when a lease was signed by Avangrid.
The Frontage Road space, near the West Haven train station, houses meter-reading trucks and other equipment, according to a SCG spokesman.
Avangrid shares space in the building with American Freight, which merged with Sears Outlet in 2020.
The SCG relocation will consist of three phases, with the latter two benefiting West Haven and occurring by mid-2022.
Reynolds said phase two will include relocating about 130 SCG field operations personnel to the new locations on Frontage Road and in the Bridgeport and North Haven areas. The final phase will include relocating about 85 SCG office employees to the new office space on Frontage Road, he said.
Reynolds said the SCG building sale and relocation is expected to significantly reduce operating costs while passing savings on to customers.
“A new, decentralized operations model will allow us to reduce overall service travel and improve response times,” Reynolds said. “Reducing travel will also help us deliver on our commitment to the environment by lowering vehicle emissions and reducing our carbon footprint.”
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 State Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, and West Haven Mayor Nancy R. Rossi speak during a groundbreaking ceremony announcing a 24-hour 7-Eleven store at 480 Sawmill Road on Aug. 10. (City Photo/Louis P. Esposito Jr.)
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7-Eleven breaks ground on new Sawmill Road store
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 19, 2021 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and state Rep. Dorinda Borer were among a contingent of West Haven leaders who touted the announcement of a 24-hour 7-Eleven store during a groundbreaking ceremony at 480 Sawmill Road on Aug. 10.
Rossi and Borer, D-West Haven, were joined by father and son developers Jed and Jack Hayes to herald the convenience store giant’s new West Haven location at the former site of Staples, which was recently demolished after sitting vacant since 2006.
Those attending the ceremony included City Council Chairman Ronald M. Quagliani, D-at large, Majority Leader Robbin Watt Hamilton, D-5, and members Chrystal Fanelli, D-8, Gary Donovan, D-at large, and Colleen O’Connor, R-at large; Planning Director Christopher Soto; Economic Development Commission Chairwoman Christine Gallo; and mayoral Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr.
The future 5,635-square-foot store, under construction off Interstate 95’s Exit 42, will feature 20 gas pumps for passenger vehicles and two counter-service restaurants owned and operated by 7-Eleven Inc.: Laredo Taco Co., an authentic Mexican quick-service eatery, and Raise the Roost Chicken & Biscuits.
Jed and Jack Hayes, the representatives of project co-developer SullivanHayes of Farmington, chose West Haven for a 7-Eleven store because of Sawmill Road’s dense population and high visibility from I-95. |
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West Haven ‘strongly’ recommends people wear face masks indoors
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 19, 2021 — The city departments of Health and Emergency Management strongly recommend that all people wear face masks indoors in areas of high or substantial COVID-19 transmission regardless of vaccination status.
All eight counties in Connecticut are considered areas of substantial transmission.
Read the full News Release.
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Watch Centennial Savin Rock Festival on YouTube
WEST HAVEN, Aug. 5, 2021 — Watch the Centennial Savin Rock Festival on the city’s YouTube channel.
Amid a weekend of fabulous weather and crowds 5,000 strong, the festival, presented by the City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee, paid homage to the enduring legacy of “the Rock” while marking the community’s 100th anniversary.
The festival, held in historic Old Grove Park on July 30-31, was part of a six-month series of free events commemorating West Haven’s 1921 birth and its incorporation by the General Assembly as Connecticut’s youngest town.
The shoreline festival showcased West Haven’s past 100 years and the time-honored recipe — musical groups, rides, games, mouthwatering food — that made the 20th-century Savin Rock Park so storied as “the playground of New England.”
Watch the festival on West Haven YouTube. |
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Every Friday is #FunFactFriday on W. Haven centennial Facebook page
WEST HAVEN, July 29, 2021 — The City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee has launched a new series called #FunFactFriday to promote the community’s 100th anniversary this year.
Every Friday, the committee will post tidbits celebrating historical events, people and places in West Haven from the past 100 years on its official Facebook page, City of West Haven Centennial Celebration - 1921-2021.
The page is administered by the city and edited by Dan Shine, one of the foremost authorities on West Haven history. Like the page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CityofWestHavenCentennialCelebrationCommittee.
The historical facts are compiled from various West Haven Library references by staff members Taylor Cordova and Kiana Arevalo under the supervision of Executive Director Colleen Bailie.
The committee is planning a number of commemorative events, starting this month, to observe the 1921 birth of Connecticut’s youngest town.
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