LaChat’s Barbershop celebrates opening on Campbell Ave.

LaChat’s Barbershop marks opening on Campbell Ave.

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 23, 2022 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi cuts the ceremonial ribbon with LaChat’s Barbershop owner Joe LaChat, center, to celebrate the barber’s grand opening at 501 Campbell Ave. on Monday.

Marking the event are, from left, City Clerk Patricia C. Horvath, LaChat’s barber Andrew Roach and Simon McDonald, the director of membership and marketing for the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce, which now represents the West Haven business community.

Joining the group were chamber President Michael Moses, Edward Jones of Milford financial adviser Jay Borelli and Patriot Bank of Milford Vice President Robert Creigh.

LaChat’s is housed with other small businesses in the historic Altschuler Building near Main Street, opposite the downtown Green.

The new barbershop specializes in haircuts, hot towel shaves, and beard trims and shaves. It is open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Girls summer basketball champions

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 23, 2022 — (Pictured): The Gray Team, the 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 Monday.

Front row, from left, are Aria Cannon Perry, Emily Palma, Payton Oliverio, Gabriella Jeune and Taliah Boykin. Back row, from left, are Savahna Neieves, Luna Montanez, Maria Valentina Muriel, Jastice Butler, Amayia Ortiz and coach Jared Butler.

The team defeated the Gold Team 26-24 in overtime and finished the season 7-1.

The league, supervised by Park-Rec program coordinator Brian Hayden, just capped its 22nd season.

(City Photo/Brian Hayden)

City aims to launch solid waste pilot

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 19, 2022 — The South Central Regional Council of Governments is working with West Haven and other member municipalities to launch pilot projects under the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Sustainable Materials Management Grant program.

As the capacity for waste disposal in Connecticut has significantly decreased because of the closure of the Municipal Innovation and Recycling Authority’s waste-to-energy facility in Hartford, food waste diversion and unit-based pricing programs are options to reduce the waste stream and to ease the financial burden on municipalities, including West Haven.

“The state has warned us of a looming cost crisis in waste management, and this is the state’s solution to manage this crisis,” Mayor Nancy R. Rossi said.

Public Works Commissioner Tom J. McCarthy added: “The city of West Haven has been working on this issue for three years, and we feel confident that this is the best solution available for the residents. We are asking for cooperation for a nine-month project funded by the state.”

According to SCRCOG, projects will involve implementing unit-based pricing and food waste diversion pilots to provide data on municipal waste disposal cost reduction strategies. Eight of SCRCOG’s 15 municipalities have advanced to phase two of the SMM grant application process.

In order for the municipal pilots to be successful and for SCRCOG to lay a foundation for permanent programs in as many of its communities as possible, SCRCOG proposes to provide support and assistance for the projects.

Six of the eight SCRCOG municipalities that submitted SMM applications have been approved for the grant. In addition to West Haven, the municipalities that will pilot unit-based pricing and food waste diversion programs are Bethany, Woodbridge, Guilford, Madison and Meriden.

The pilot projects will include the curbside co-collection of municipal solid waste and food waste in different colored bags. After being sorted, the bags containing municipal solid waste are hauled to a waste-to-energy facility or out-of-state landfills, while the food waste is hauled to a bio-digester or a composting facility.

SCRCOG aims to identify areas of the pilot programs that can lend themselves to regional solutions, including a coordinated program launch, common instructions and messaging, shared sites for sorting of bags, shared hauling routes, and the development of aerated static pile composting sites at convenient locations created by the conversion of existing municipal brush and leaf composting sites in the region.

For detailed information on the West Haven pilot program, see the SCRCOG FAQ, the West Haven Food Waste Pilot FAQ (PDF) and the West Haven Co-Collection Pilot Program Website.

Howard cited for 50 years of service to West Haven tax office

Howard cited for 50 years of service to city tax office

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 18, 2022 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, right, congratulates tax analyst Patricia “Pat” Howard on 50 years of “dedicated service” to the city’s tax office Aug. 4.

Rossi presented a citation to Howard in her office at City Hall for “exceptionally meritorious performance of outstanding services for the Office of the Tax Collector.”

Reading the citation, Rossi said, “Through your professionalism and commitment to excellence in a wide array of positions and responsibilities, you have led a remarkable career in public service, and I hope you reflect with pride on the many lives you have touched.”

Howard was hired in 1972 under the administration of then-Democratic Mayor William J. Heffernan.

(City Photo/Kristen Teshoney)

School district opens registration

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 3, 2022 — West Haven Public Schools has opened registration for the 2022-23 school year.

To register a child, follow the two-step process in English or Spanish.

Public input sought for bike and pedestrian plan in West Haven

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 3, 2022 — The city needs input from residents to help craft the West Haven Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

Be part of the process and let your voice be heard.

Tour the virtual meeting room and take the survey: http://vmr.betaftp.com/WestHavenBikePedPlan/.

Public invited to take regional Hazard Mitigation Plan Survey from SCRCOG

WEST HAVEN, July 8, 2022 — The South Central Regional Council of Governments and its municipalities are working together to update the Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The plan is aimed at identifying and assessing the region’s natural hazard risks — flooding, hurricanes, winter storms — and determining how to best minimize or manage those risks.

To increase public participation, SCRCOG has launched the South Central Connecticut Hazard Mitigation Plan Survey so those in the planning area can share their opinions and participate in the mitigation planning process.

The information provided by the five-minute survey will help the planning team better understand local concerns and issues as expressed by the region’s residents and can lead to mitigation activities that should reduce the impacts of future disasters.

Read the news release and take the survey at SCRCOG.

See the Flyer.

See the Fact Sheet.

For more information, visit the plan’s webpage, or contact Rebecca Andreucci, SCRCOG’s senior transportation planner, at randreucci@scrcog.org or 203-466-8601.