Thanksgiving 2009
It's a good thing to have more to give thanks for than I can possibly list here, but a couple come to mind right away.I'm deeply thankful that somebody donated a liver that made it possible for my friend Neal, whose own liver was riddled with disease, to get a new one. He returned from the hospital this week, on the mend and ready for many more years with his four children and his wonderful wife, Jeanne. It's hard to top that.I urge anyone who hasn't filled in an organ donor card to do it -- and to make sure those around you know what you want if the worst should befall you. Let some good come out of even the worst moments.I also want to express my than

A little brook without a name
On one level, there isn’t much to say about the 2,000-foot-long, unnamed brook that begins somewhere in the storm drains above El Toro Drive and flows into the mushy ground at the base of Nelson’s Field. It’s just one of scores of tiny rivulets that meander through the hills of Bristol before pouring into slightly larger streams that somebody bothered to name. But the brook carries more than just water. Sometimes, it carries little things that Robert LaBelle’s boys throw in it. Other times, it carries a soothing summertime sound that pours in the windows of Bob McMahon’s house. It a

Still no progress on Pequabuck pedestrian bridge
Though seven years have passed since the city bought a former Wonder Bread outlet on Riverside Avenue in order to build a new parking lot and pedestrian bridge to Memorial Boulevard, nothing has yet happened to make the plan a reality.“We really need to follow up,” Mayor Art Ward said.The holdup is twofold, officials: a lack of city money and the lack of a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection.Meanwhile, there’s nearly $100,000 left over from a state grant for the Veterans Park that state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat, snagged five years ago. That money can still be tapped if the city get moving, officials said.The city aims to

Industrial park entrance project may be delayed
Work on the Middle Street entrance to the city’s new industrial park may not be on time, city officials said.Though development officials had hoped the $728,000 state project might be done before winter, it’s looking increasingly likely it may not be finished before the April 15 deadline set by the state when it awarded the contract last summer to Brook field-based J. Iapaluccio, Inc.“It probably won’t be done until mid-May,” Assistant City Engineer Ray Rogozinski told the Bristol Development Authority on Monday.The project aims to widen the northbound roadway to allow for the addition of a left turn lane into Business Park Drive, which cuts through the new South

UConn-Hartford Hospital deal is dead
The Hartford Courant's Chris Keating has an email that indicates the proposal for a partnership between the UConn medical school and Hartford Hospital is kaput.Bristol Hospital officials are no doubt thrilled, having warned that a new hospital in Farmington, paid for by taxpayers, could cripple Bristol's own hospital.*******Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com