May 1, 2015byCloe Poisson The 34th annual Connecticut State Latin Day was held Friday at the Holiday Hill resort in Prospect. Latin students, most clad in togas, from 52 middle and high schools from across the state took part in the day-long event that included activities that reflected ancient Greek and Roman culture. Students competed in academic competitions in […]
January 12, 2015byCloe Poisson The 48th Annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival was held last weekend at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford. The event, which celebrates the Epiphany through music, dancing, pageantry and live animals. The event included a cast, choir and orchestra of more than 250 people, 16th century period costumes and a giant angel […]
October 14, 2014byCloe Poisson On Tuesday, October 7, Hartford firefighter Kevin Bell answered his final alarm. He perished fighting a two-alarm blaze at a house on Blue Hills Avenue, just a block from Bell’s firehouse, Engine 16, Blue Hills Station. Monday morning, under cloudy skies, thousands of firefighters and friends gathered at First Cathedral in Bloomfield for funeral services for […]
October 10, 2014byCloe Poisson On a recent Friday, two murals by the late Harlem Renaissance artist Romare Bearden were moved into their new home at the Hartford Public Library in a carefully executed feat of logistics and engineering carried out by Mariano Brothers Specialty Moving. The works were commissioned by the city for the Hartford Civic Center in 1980 […]
September 8, 2014byCloe Poisson As the late summer sun sunk low in the sky, a flash mob of about 280 guests dressed all in white converged on a vacant lot on Main Street in Durham Sunday evening for An Evening In White, a fundraiser to benefit the United Churches of Durham and the local food pantry. The event was […]
August 15, 2014byCloe Poisson Gov. Dannel P. Malloy launched his campaign for a second term as Connecticut’s governor Thursday making several stops throughout the state. Late in the day, he visited several businesses in the heart of New Britain’s Polish community, sampling several Polish delicacies. “But how do you stay so slim?” asked the proprietor of one establishment, as […]
July 22, 2014byCloe Poisson Brian Kleinman, a naturalist from North Granby, brought his live animal education program, Riverside Reptiles, on the road to the Levi E. Coe Library in Middlefield Tuesday. Kleinman brought nine animals from of his collection of 140 for his hour-long program in which children were able to see and touch a variety of common and exotic reptiles […]
June 10, 2014byCloe Poisson The UConn men’s and women’s NCAA Championship basketball teams were honored by President Barack Obama at the White House Monday afternoon in the East Room packed with invited guests and media. It was the second time since 2004 that both teams were honored for dual championships. “It is just a remarkable thing what these two programs […]
May 14, 2014byCloe Poisson The UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences held commencement ceremonies at Gampel Pavilion Sunday, while the Neag School of Education graduation was held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. Sandy Hook Elementary School teacher Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, who protected her 15 first-graders when gunman Adam Lanza shot his way into the building on […]
April 4, 2014byCloe Poisson With a decisive 69-54 win over the Texas A&M Aggies in their NCAA Elite 8 game at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Lincoln Regional Monday night, the UConn women’s basketball team (38-0) is two games away from a perfect season. A win over Stanford in the national semi-final in Nashville Sunday night would send […]
March 30, 2014byCloe Poisson The UConn women defeated the BYU Cougars, 70-51, before a packed house at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, in an NCAA Sweet 16 game in the Lincoln Regional. Stefanie Dolson was given the assignment to guard BYU’s 6’7″ center, Jennifer Hamson. After a tight first half, with eight lead changes and three ties, […]
March 18, 2014byCloe Poisson Three Connecticut National Guard units were officially welcomed home in a Freedom Salute Ceremony at the Governor William A. O’Neill Armory in Hartford Tuesday night. Troops with the 143rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, the 1048th Transportation Company, and detachments with the 2-104th Aviation Regiment, were recognized for their service and sacrifice for their country. Friends […]
March 12, 2014byCloe Poisson After winning 18 Big East titles, the UConn women steamrolled their way through the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship tournament this past weekend at the Mohegan Sun Arena with three decisive wins in as many days, going 34-0 on the season. They defeated Cincinnati 72-42, Rutgers 83-57, and Louisville 72-52. To read John Altavilla’s tournament […]
March 3, 2014byCloe Poisson On Saturday, UConn All Americans and fan favorites Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley were honored at Senior Day ceremonies before a packed house at Gampel Pavilion on the Storrs campus. Each player was escorted into the arena by their parents to thunderous applause and cheering by the faithful fans and students. Hartley, grinning from ear […]
February 11, 2014byCloe Poisson On the second Monday of the month, Milano Salon & Day Spa in Bloomfield offers free services to women undergoing treatment for cancer with a program called Mondays at Milano. The project, created by a non-profit called Cut Out Cancer, was inspired by the award-winning documentary, Mondays at Racine, about a similar program at a […]
January 26, 2014byCloe Poisson Jessica and Tom Catropa, of Monroe, were among a group of several families gathered in a commuter parking lot in Danbury on Saturday as the Rescue Road Trips transport truck arrived, carrying several dozen rescue dogs from Texas. The Catropas were waiting to meet Chloe, a 5-month-old lab mix. Her adoption was arranged through L.A.B. […]
January 21, 2014byCloe Poisson As an antidote to winter’s cold, Bikram yoga offers a warm alternative. Developed by Bikram Choudhury, the technique is sometime referred to as “hot” yoga since it is practiced in a studio heated to 105 degrees. On a recent visit to the Bikram Yoga studio in Middletown, practitioners worked through Bikram’s 26 poses and two […]
January 19, 2014byCloe Poisson On a recent visit to Memphis, Tennessee, to cover a UConn women’s basketball game, I took time to visit the National Civil Rights Museum, the site of the former Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death on April 4, 1968. The Lorraine is undergoing a renovation and access to the […]
January 16, 2014byCloe Poisson Students at Charter Oak International Academy in West Hartford, are learning about hip-hop culture, dance, music and urban art. Austin Dailey, CEO of Red Supreme Productions, a DJ and dance entertainment business, has been teaching hip-hop dance moves during gym classes this week. The school is using grant funding for the program, titled Move It! […]
January 9, 2014byCloe Poisson During a recent visit to Memphis, Tennessee, to cover a UConn women’s basketball game, I had time to make a visit to Graceland, the iconic residence of the late Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n Roll. I created a photo essay during my tour through the mansion using the Instagram filter and offer it […]
January 8, 2014byCloe Poisson Melissa Greenbacker can’t take a day off because of arctic-like temperatures. She has 20 calves to take care of at Greenbacker Farm in Durham. At 7:00 a.m., as the sun is just peeking over the horizon, Greenbacker dresses in layers and heads out into frigid 5-degree weather to care for her young charges who live […]
January 2, 2014byCloe Poisson The UConn women’s basketball team added another game to the win column when they visited the University of Central Florida Knights at UCF Arena in Orlando, Florida, on New Years Day. In UConn’s second game playing in the new American Athletic Conference, they moved into the Knight’s house, with a large Husky fan section in […]
December 20, 2013byCloe Poisson A new 57-foot cross was lifted into place Friday afternoon atop Pine Hill, the site of the former Holy Land, U.S.A., in Waterbury, replacing a similar one that marked the religious attraction for many years. The new cross, which will be illuminated with 5,000 LED bulbs in a lighting ceremony Sunday evening, will be visible […]
December 15, 2013byCloe Poisson The Pistapaug Mountain trail leads hikers on a moderate climb to the top of the 700-foot mountain, a traprock ridge in Durham. Once on top, views of Pistapaug Pond unfold below with rolling hills and farmland dotted with red barns visible on the other side. The trail is maintained by the Connecticut Forest & Park […]
