New granite panels installed at West Haven Vietnam Veterans Memorial

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 24, 2025 — (Pictured): Mayor Dorinda Borer, second from left, joins members of West Haven Vietnam Veterans Inc. at a newly installed section of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park on Wednesday.

With Borer are, from left, mayor’s office volunteer Beth Sabo, Barry Grasso, President Dave Ricci, Mark Levine, Treasurer Steve Carney, Kevin Sullivan, Howie Thomas and Howie Chernikoff.

In June 2023, the West Haven Vietnam Memorial Inc. Committee launched a campaign to recognize additional current and former city residents who served in-country during the Vietnam War by inscribing their names on two new granite panels.

The absolute black granite panels, which bookend the memorial, were installed by project coordinator Milestone Construction Services LLC of New Haven, which also prepared the site. The panels were procured by Connecticut Stone of Milford, and the inscriptions were crafted by the memorial’s original engraver, Shelley Bros. Monuments of Guilford.

Borer said the city will dedicate the panels during a Veterans Day tribute at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial features a black granite wall inscribed with the names of those from West Haven who served or gave their lives in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975, along with three white flagpoles draped with the American, Connecticut and prisoner-of-war flags.

The memorial, dedicated Nov. 12, 2003, also includes a black granite map of the four battle districts of Vietnam bearing the inscription “All Gave Some, Some Gave All,” as well as five bronze insignia markers atop black granite posts representing each branch of the U.S. armed forces.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

New Haven Symphony performing Holiday Extravaganza concert on Dec. 19 at WHHS

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 24, 2025 — For the second straight year, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra is performing a Holiday Extravaganza benefit concert at West Haven High School on Dec. 19.

The 7 p.m. concert, held in the school auditorium at 1 McDonough Plaza, is presented by Mayor Dorinda Borer and will raise money for the music departments of Carrigan Intermediate and Bailey Middle schools.

Tickets cost $20 for orchestra seating and $15 for mezzanine seating.

Tickets are sold only in advance on the GoFan website and the NHSO website.

According to its website, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, led by principal pops conductor Chelsea Tipton II, will perform “a holly jolly program of festive favorites, sing-along carols, and seasonal surprises for the whole family!”

Highlights will include music from “The Polar Express,” “Home Alone,” “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” and “Sleigh Ride,” as well as a visit with a special guest from the North Pole, according to the website.

The New Haven Symphony is America’s fourth-oldest orchestra, founded in 1894.

For more than a century, the NHSO has continued the traditions of performance and education by supporting programs in schools and communities and presenting classical repertoire and pops concerts.

The orchestra has performed regularly in New Haven and toured throughout Connecticut and beyond, including concerts at New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. It has also given numerous radio broadcasts.

Energy assistance offered in West Haven

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 8, 2025 — The city is accepting applications for the federally funded Connecticut Energy Assistance Program.

Appointments for all heating sources can be made by calling 203-937-3572.

Applications will be processed via phone by appointment Monday through Thursday. No walk-ins will be accepted.

Applicants who have difficulty speaking English are asked to have a translator.

Eligibility for assistance is based on the income of an applicant’s household. To qualify, applicants must provide pay stubs, including monthly Social Security benefits and pension incomes, for all household members 18 and older.

Applicants must also provide SNAP benefits, Social Security numbers and birth dates for all household members, as well as current utility bills for the household.