Opinion

Letters to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com. (We will publish referendum-related letters through July 22.)

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On behalf of the New Canaan Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), I would like to thank the ACME Store supervisor Nancy Layman along with the rest of New Canaan Store team for their generous donation of sandwiches, cookies and water in support of the NC CERT volunteers during the Family Fourth Celebration on Saturday, July 4th. CERT has been assisting the New Canaan Police for several years with traffic and pedestrian control within Waveny Park during the July 4th Celebration. Our mission is to provide a safe and steady flow for vehicle traffic and safe crossings for pedestrians.  ACME’s kind donation of food and much needed water helped to sustain 22 volunteers who worked this event over 5 hours in the heat of the late afternoon and early evening on July 4th.

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Letter to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com. 

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To the Editor:

Many thanks to the countless individuals who planned and implemented the Family 4th this year. Although Mother Nature got overly involved and played a bit of mischief with the event, it was wonderful to come together to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday. As New Canaan begins thinking ahead to next year’s Independence Day celebrations, let’s investigate replacing or supplementing traditional loud fireworks with low-noise fireworks and drone light shows. Every Fourth of July, our skies fill with dazzling color — but also with concussive booms that reach well over 150 decibels.

Government

Lavieri: Fiscal Year End Update for New Canaan

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[Todd Lavieri is chair of the New Canaan Board of Finance.]

The Town of New Canaan finished the fiscal year 2025-2026 with a larger budget surplus than expected. This was the result of stronger revenue primarily from interest income and conveyance fees on property sales, coupled with expenses coming in below budget. This allowed us to deliver $5.8 million back to the taxpayers, which is $800,000 more than expected. We applied the $5.8 million to lower the amount needed through taxation. 

As you may have seen, earlier this month the Board of Finance approved a mill rate of 16.967 for fiscal year 2027, an increase of 0.276 compared to the fiscal year 2026 mill rate of 16.69. The amount to be raised from taxation for fiscal year 2027 will be $168.1 million, a 2.48% increase from the fiscal year 2026 amount of $164.0 million.

Opinion

Letters to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com. 

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To the Editor:

On behalf of The Glass House, I want to thank the New Canaan community for making our 2026 Summer Party, held on June 6, such a tremendous success. It was a perfect early-summer day — sunny, warm, and made for being outdoors — and it was wonderful to see so many neighbors and friends turn out to enjoy the site. We were honored to welcome guests for an afternoon of art, conversation, and discovery across the property, including performances curated by Solange Knowles and her team at Saint Heron, featuring choreographer Kyle Abraham and dancers performed by Alysia Johnson and Catherine Kirk with music by Standing On The Corner, vocalist Malcolm Merriweather and Voices of Harlem: Marlaina Owens, Lucia Bradford, and Angelo Johnson, and pianist Artina McCain. It was a rare and moving combination of historic architecture and contemporary artistry.

Opinion

Letter to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com received the following letter. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com. ***

Dear Editor:

It’s difficult to imagine that any young teenager would be given a motorcycle or allowed to ride in a car without a seatbelt. And yet, they are being given electric bikes and sent, with developing prefrontal cortexes, into a world of distracted drivers, road rage, and 5,000 lb. projectiles. 

For example: during evening rush hour last week, six teenagers, five on e-bikes and one on an e-scooter, rode from New Canaan to Darien and did the following:

turned left on red through an active intersection at Farm Road and South Avenue in New Canaan; 
evaded police at Mansfield Avenue and Sedgwick Avenue in Darien by racing through a four-way stop with cars on all sides; 
reached speeds of approximately 40 mph by slowing down to block traffic and then quickly accelerating; 
crossed the yellow line in front of oncoming traffic; 
popped wheelies and rode on one wheel near oncoming traffic; and 
caused a traffic jam. Last year, Connecticut realized a 350% increase in the number of fatalities and injuries involving bikes and e-bikes on state roads, and that metric shows no sign of stopping.