News

Teddy’s Ride 2024: A Celebration of Participation and Safety in Sports

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[This article originally appeared on Greenwich Free Press.]

The second annual Teddy’s Ride will take place on Sunday, October
13 in Greenwich. Sign in opens at 9:00am and the ride begins at 10:00am. Teddy’s Ride is a 5-mile casual bike ride through Bruce Park in Greenwich, starting and ending in the Island Beach Parking Lot. This bike ride honors the legacy of Teddy Balkind and his love of mountain biking, and celebrates participation and safety in sports. Garden Catering will generously provide morning refreshments and Bax Cycles will be on site for tech support and is a co-sponsor of a high-end bike for silent auction in conjunction with Cannondale.

New Canaan Woman’s Animal Cruelty Charges Upgraded to Felonies

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[Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on Greenwich Free Press.]

Outside state Superior Court in Bridgeport Wednesday morning, protesters waved signs honoring “the Fairfield Five,” a reference to five dogs who died in the care of New Canaan resident Heidi Lueders while she was living in Fairfield last year. The protesters, many of them affiliated with dog advocacy groups, asked for animal cruelty charges lodged against the 31-year-old to be upgraded to felonies. Lueders had been charged by Fairfield Police with five misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty as well as one count of criminal damage to a landlord’s property by a tenant, a felony. During an arraignment in which Lueders pleaded not guilty (see more below), prosecutors upgraded the charges as many in attendance wished. Under state law, first-time offenders found guilty of animal cruelty in cases such as Lueders’s can face a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in prison for each offense.