Rainbow Theory: 5 Colors of Wine

In celebration of June, Pride Month, Mitch Ancona has announced a special sit down Wine Tasting will take place at the Branchville Back Bar on June 8 beginning at 6pm.

The cost to attend is $10 which becomes a $10 credit on any purchases that evening.

Rainbow Theory: 5 Colors of Wine features:

Luiza Bojo do Luar Pet Nat Rosé

Montesei Soave Classico    

Doralice Branco Vinho Verde         

Domaine Pelle Menetou Salon Morogues Rosé 

Kobal Haloze Bajta             

Costa del Swart Fauxjolais Pinotage Nouveau

Tickets are available in-store or online. Space is limited, CLICK HERE to secure your spot!

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is expecting smoke from wildfires over Quebec to elevate fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels on Wednesday, June 7th. These levels are expected to exceed Unhealthy levels for the entire state.

When air quality is forecasted to be Unhealthy, there is an increased likelihood for all individuals for aggravation of heart or lung disease and premature mortality in persons with cardiopulmonary disease and the elderly. There are also increased respiratory effects in the general population.

How do Forest Fires in Quebec Impact Connecticut?

Major wildfires are still burning across Quebec, most of which are out of control. The wildfire smoke from Quebec is being funneled into Connecticut because of a stalled upper-level low-pressure system over Nova Scotia. With this weather pattern, winds at all levels of the atmosphere are from the north and northwest and these winds will persist through Wednesday. The following image shows the fire locations with the smoke plumes from the EPA Fire and Smoke Map. The satellite image from today shows a thick smoke plume over Connecticut, with an even a thicker smoke plume over New York State. Currently, the PM2.5 levels at the surface are in the Unhealthy range and are expected to persist in this range throughout the day.

Visit DEEP online for more information here.

A series of free movies for all Ridgefield seniors will be shown at the Ridgefield Playhouse this summer.

The first movie, "Bucket List", will be shown on June 15. Other dates are June 20 "Fences", July 11 "Something's Gotta Give", July 25 "Chinatown" and August 8 "Going in Style". Showtime for all is 1:00 PM. Anyone needing transportation may call the SweetHART bus at 203 244-4070 in advance to sign up and/or register for the service. Rides for Ridgefield at 203-894-7433 can also be contacted for transportation in advance.

Get out of the heat this summer and enjoy meeting friends in the newly renovated Playhouse lobby. The Ridgefield Playhouse and the Commission on Aging are sponsoring the senior series.

Redding resident Stephen Zigmond was named to the Miami University spring 2023 President's list. Zigmond is earning a B.S. in Computer Science, Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, Data Science and Statistics.

Miami University students who are ranked in the top three percent of undergraduate students within each division for the fall semester 2022-23 have been named to the President's list recognizing academic excellence.

Nationally recognized as one of the most outstanding undergraduate institutions, Miami University is a public university located in Oxf

RVNAhealth’s Hospice and Palliative care teams win the 2023 Florence Wald Award for Excellence in End-of-Life Care.

Florence Wald Connecticut History

The Florence Wald Award for Excellence in End-of-Life Care was established to honor Florence Wald. Wald was a pioneer in improving the care of dying patients across the world. Her focus on an interdisciplinary approach to end-of-life care led her to open the first hospice in the United States (here in Connecticut) in 1971. A visionary leader with unwavering commitment to social justice and reverence for life, Wald valued patient, family, and team participation. She truly listened to their input which ultimately launched the hospice reform movement in this country. Thirty-seven years later at the time of her death in 2008, over 4,700 hospices had been instituted across the country.  And today, in 2023, there are over 8,000 hospice and palliative care institutions!

RVNAhealth Acceptance of Award

The award was presented on May 11th at the annual Statewide Hospice & Palliative Care Summit, hosted by the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home. Theresa Santoro, President & CEO of RVNAhealth, and team members attended a ceremony to accept the award. “This award is a reflection not only of the incredible work of our Hospice and Palliative teams but of the work from everyone at RVNAhealth. It is performed naturally and with great compassion and has a tremendous impact on our patients,” said Santoro

Keri Linardi, RN, BSN, PHN, CHPCA, RVNAhealth Chief Clinical Officer, elaborated on how the RVNAhealth team exemplifies Wald’s commitment. “The key is meeting patients and families where they are in their illness trajectory. Our approach is quite different because we spend more time listening to what patients want.  We educate them on the best approach to meet those needs, and provide the right care at the right time which includes many ancillary services. We hold ourselves, and each other, to higher standards because every patient and their loved ones deserve the best experience during such a monumental time. This is what makes this team so special.”

For more information on RVNAhealth’s hospice and palliative care services, please call 203.438.5555 or visit rvnahealth.org

Learn more here

Connecticut residents, Lora Karam and Beverley Canepari, founders of Unlocking Connecticut, are celebrating eight years of their blog. The two fun-loving best friends started Unlocking Litchfield in 2015 and Unlocking Fairfield in 2017, but with continued requests from businesses all over the state, decided to launch Unlocking Connecticut in 2018, “Because we love all of Connecticut!” says Lora. 

On July 31, 2022, the Danbury Westerners beat the North Shore Navigators 3-2 behind a go-ahead two-run homer, finishing the regular season at 22-22. Earlier that day, however, the Sanford Mainers downed the Keene Swamp Bats to clinch the final spot in the NECBL playoffs, prematurely ending the Westerners’ 2022 campaign, one year removed from winning the Fay Vincent Senior Cup.

311 days later, Danbury returns to the Roadhouse at Rogers Park, hoping to return to the playoffs and win their second NECBL championship in three years. The Westerners will go into battle without their championship-winning manager, Ian Ratchford, who resigned in December to take a higher role at UConn-Avery Point before being named head coach of the Albertus Magnus baseball team. With Ratchford stepping down, Conor Farrell becomes the 11^th manager in team history after serving as the pitching coach the last two seasons.

“Honestly, it’s big shoes to fill,” Farrell commented.

Bobby Rodriguez returns for a third straight summer as the hitting coach, and he will be working with a new assistant coach with Dean White not returning. Mike Hughes, who pitched at Albertus Magnus, previously coached players at the youth level and the American Legion.

Seven players return to the Hat City, led by 2022 NECBL South Division All-Star Sam Mongelli. The NEC Player of the Year produced a season for the ages at Sacred Heart, becoming the school’s first All-American in over 30 years by Collegiate Baseball after hitting .402 with 20 homers and 22 steals.

Mike Becchetti also had a significant spring, batting .329 with 13 homers and earning All-MAAC First Team honors at Fairfield. Neither of those infielders garnered any NECBL honors last summer, but Joey Skarad did. The 2022 All-NECBL Honorable Mention batted .292 with four homers for Slambury but hopes to improve those numbers while serving as one of the team’s primary catchers.

Billy Gerlott and Harrison Feinberg provide offense to the Danbury lineup in different ways. The Penn State senior uses his speed and high-octane energy to get the team going in multiple ways, while Feinberg, a 2022 NECBL Home Run Derby participant, utilizes his power and speed to do damage at the plate. Ryan Higgins (currently in the Super Regionals) and Curtis Clark will bolster the pitching staff, as they had 19 combined relief appearances and two saves last summer. Both Higgins and Clark can pitch in different situations, but they will most likely eat up innings as long relievers.

“They know what to expect,” Farrell said about the returning players. “They know how we are as a staff and what we expect on any given night.”

Although fans have not yet seen the newer Westerners in action, their collegiate baseball resumes cannot be ignored. Behind the dish, Daniel Labrador recorded career highs in both batting average and doubles at Stetson, while Roman DiGiacomo’s only hit at Duke so far is a grand slam.

Luke Boynton makes his long-awaited debut in Slambury after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020 season. The Georgia State senior joins the roster after slugging 26 homers over his last two seasons in Atlanta. Javon Hernandez, who spent two seasons with Farrell and Ratchford at UConn-Avery Point, led the Jacksonville State Gamecocks with a .397 average while stealing 11 bases.

The new outfielders feature multiple speedsters who can rake as 2022 Division-III national champion Jason Claiborn and 2023 Second-Team All-Ivy League selection Jakobi Davis combined for 34 steals, 95 hits, and six triples in the spring. Bobby Zmarzlak is a mixture of speed and power as he hit two triples, five homers, and three steals for the Maryland Terrapins.

With the pitching staff, Pat Gleason won the NE10 Southwest Division and NCBWA Pitcher of the Year while earning a First-Team All-Conference selection at Pace University. Despite not earning any conference honors with the Adelphi Panthers in the spring, John Rizzo struck out 76 hitters across 12 starts and 69 innings.

Despite being listed as a pitcher, Anthony Steele is a two-way player who also plays at first base and in the outfield. Expect the Penn State junior to consistently be in the batting order, as he had more plate appearances than games pitched on the mound at Happy Valley.

“Expect us to compete every single night,” Farrell noted about the roster. “[The players] want to be here, they want to win, and they want to get better.”

That passion for winning is critical in the tough New England Collegiate Baseball League. Because the Winnipesaukee Muskrats suspended operations, the North Division now has four teams with the Westerners playing each opponent three times. Danbury’s west division foes, the Bristol Blues, North Adams SteepleCats, and Valley Blue Sox, remain the same, but they instead battle each rival seven times. Despite the tough competition from the other teams in the league, especially in the Coastal Division, Farrell believes that the most difficult opponent the Westerners will face is themselves.

“If we play a complete game, I don’t think anyone is going to beat us,” Farrell pointed out.

Danbury’s 2023 season starts on June 7 against the Ocean State Waves in the first of five straight home games to begin the year. For the second consecutive summer, the Westerners will battle only division opponents in the final week of the season, culminating in the July 29 regular-season finale against the SteepleCats. The rest of the schedule can be found on the NECBL website.

It is almost that time of year when Dave King’s “Danbury Westerners Theme” starts a night of excitement and family fun at Rogers Park. The players and the fans are looking forward to another season of Slambury baseball, but no one is more thrilled for the season to be back than Farrell.

“It’s like Christmas,” Farrell stated about Opening Day. “I would rather sleep at Rogers Park than at my own house.”

Photo by Ryan DeSantis

Daniel Trimble of Redding, CT, a member of the Class of 2023, has been named to the Spring 2023 Dean's List at Stonehill College.

To qualify for the Dean's List, students must have a semester grade point average of 3.50 or better and must have successfully completed all courses for which they were registered.

Stonehill College, a Catholic institution of higher learning, was founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1948. Located on the beautiful 384-acre campus and former estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames in North Easton, Massachusetts, it is a community of scholarship and faith, anchored by a belief in the inherent dignity of each person.

Lily Anderson of Redding is one of 943 students who earned a spot on the Dean's List at Shenandoah University for the Spring 2023 semester.

To qualify for the Dean's List, students enrolled in baccalaureate degree programs must complete at least 12 semester hours and earn a semester GPA of 3.50 or higher.

For more information, visit su.edu.

Pick Your Own Strawberries at Jones Family Farm!

Thursday and Friday June 1 & 2: 9 am - 1 pm
Saturday and Sunday June 3 & 4: 8 am - 12 noon

Early season hours are mornings only. MAKE A RESERVATION ESPECIALLY IF COMING ON THE WEEKEND!

We recommend picking with our Jones baskets at this point of the season; ONLY returning guests who will use their berry boxes from previous years can pick into a box because baskets are recommended. Please note, we cannot offer pre-picked berries in the early season; we will post when and if they are available this year.

Cherish your strawberries – they are precious, and so are you and all farm workers providing your food. We take care of our strawberries all year round to produce such nice berries at harvest time. They are one of our most demanding crops - a labor of love for over five decades!

COME FARM WITH US! ENTRY GUIDELINES

• Everyone must pick at least one Jones basket, or share a Jones box with up to 4 people.
• Children under 10 years old may share a Jones basket with one person, or help pick into a Jones box (up to 4 people to a box).
• Everyone going to the berry fields must have a Jones berry container and be harvesting fruit.

Make your reservations online HERE.

Jones Family Farm is located at 555 Walnut Tree Road in Shelton. Learn more https://www.jonesfamilyfarms.com/

It's Outta Here! This Saturday, June 3, Ridgefield resident Gary Cohen, the legendary, play-by-play voice on the NY Mets on SNY will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame, an exclusive club that has only inducted 30 people over the team’s 42-year history.

Cohen began calling Mets games on the radio in 1989  and is currently the second-longest tenured Mets play-by-play announcer in team history, according to SNY. With his current popularity, Cohen just might go down in history as the longest.

As one of the celebrities who make Ridgefield special, we wanted to get to know more about Gary Cohen’s local life. What is his favorite restaurant? How about a memorable community experience? We also talk with Cohen about the journey that has led him to this monumental moment in time - the Mets Hall of Fame.

Q: What was your “pinch me” moment

A: When I got the job with the Mets. I was job sitting next to Bob Murphy who I grew up listening to under my pillow. I would end up spending 15 years working with him. I pinch myself just about every day.

Q: Who is on your Mount Rushmore of sports broadcasters dead or alive - Keith and Ron are excluded.

A: That’s a really good question. Marv Albert is my number one guy. I’d probably put Bob Murphy on there too.

Q: Any younger sportscaster standouts? Do you have a favorite?

A: I have great admiration for a lot of younger sportscasters. Jason Benetti with the White Sox is the best young broadcaster that I've heard. He's already a superstar but he's going to be one of the best of all time. There are a lot of young guys who I really admire a lot - Adam Amin, Joe Davis, and Wayne Randazzo. Keith Raad, a new radio broadcaster with Howie Rose on Mets radio, is going to be fantastic.

Q: Was there ever a moment early in your career when you doubted you’d make it as a broadcaster in the major leagues?

A: Oh, of course. I spent three full seasons doing minor league baseball and at every point along the way, I was skeptical about my chances. But, even before that, I spent five years out of college on the radio doing sports reports, news reports, traffic reports, and fishing and boating shows, even DJing! I was basically a jack of all trades. I had no idea at that point, that my future was even in baseball. It wasn't until five years out of college, in 1986, that I got my first minor league full-time opportunity. By the middle of 1988, my last year in the minor league, I had mentally decided that that was going to be it -  I was going to make it to the major leagues after that season, or I was going to go to law school. Fortunately, the call came that winter. So yes, I questioned many times if this was ever going to be my future.

Q: Any advice to aspiring media personalities?

A: Well, I think it depends on what your goals are and what path you're on. I took a very narrow path. Doing play-by-play is not a broad-based craft. There are only a finite number of jobs in major league sports for play-by-play announcers. It wasn't as though I could take those skills and apply them to something else. I was gonna have to abandon it altogether. People with more broad-based skills might have a different attitude about it.

But I think the bottom line is that if you're passionate about something, then you need to follow your passion as far as it takes you and you have to use your best judgment as to what enough is enough.

Q: How do you prepare for games?

A: Baseball games are our three-hour games with about eight minutes of action. So it leaves enormous chunks of time to talk about things involved in the game things peripheral to the game and things completely tangential to the game. And baseball changes every day. So on any given day, I might be talking about something that happened yesterday or something I saw last week or last month or five years ago or something that I read about that happened 100 years ago. And the baseball season is relentless. It's every day basically for six months. 

So the best way I can answer your question is that every day, I spend virtually every waking hour trying to know as much as I can about what is happening in the game. And what happened in the last 24 hours to expand that base of knowledge so that anything that comes up over the course of those three hours during the game, I have something intelligent to say.

Q: Let’s talk Ridgefield. What do you love about your hometown? 

A: I love the quiet. I love my family and my dogs. I just love how you get away from it all of Ridgefield.

Q: Do you have a favorite local experience? 

I'm usually not free in the summer but last year I ran the Margarita 5k sponsored by Southwest Cafe. That was cool! I run 5k races from time to time in various places and that was the first one I had ever run in Ridgefield. It was nice to have that experience with a lot of people that I see around town.

Lightning round questions

Who is your favorite ballplayer? (again Keith and Ron excluded)

 Bud Harrelson 

One thing very few people know about you

I cook a mean pork chop

Favorite place to dine in Ridgefield

Bartolo

You can congratulate our hometown hero by purchasing a Gary Cohen Hall of Fame Tee! Click here to purchase.

Gary Cohen will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame prior to the 4:10 p.m. game vs. the Blue Jays at Citi Field this Saturday, June 3 when the Mets take on the Blue Jays. 

For tickets to the game and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, fans can go to Mets.com/tickets.