LIFE

A Newington resident has engineered a side hustle that’s really something to bark about. Martha Harris, a civil engineer who works in Glastonbury, launched Petal N Paw Prints in 2023 and business has been blooming ever since.

When you read an official proclamation there is always one “whereas” after another. So, when Billy DeBlasio was named Newington’s 2025 Volunteer of the Year, the document read “whereas” after “whereas” after “whereas” because the longtime resident is recognized as a pillar of the community.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought more attention than ever to public health districts. They played a role in helping people through that dark time by promoting vaccination and basic safety protocols such as social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and more.

It’s one thing to look out the window and see a skunk, possum or raccoon in the yard. It’s something else altogether if you see a 300-pound black bear.

Unassuming in its pursuit, the Roberts Foundation for the Arts is considered one of the strongest supporters of the arts community in Greater Hartford.

Goodspeed Musicals Founding Director Michael P. Price recalls walking in a London Park with his wife Jo-Ann pushing his son Daniel in a stroller. “I was humming a tune,” he recalled, “and Jo-Ann said, ‘You know what that’s from?’ I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ And she said, ‘Why don’t you try to put it together again?’”

It started as a dream four decades ago. The evolution of cable television allowed for cities and towns to create their own community access TV channels.

School administrators and teachers consider paraprofessionals, or paraeducators as they are also called, to be the unsung heroes of the classroom.