Home Care In New Milford, CT

In my opinion, Connecticut has a serious road rage problem.

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I live in the Greater-Danbury area and whenever I am in the car I see at least one high-speed beef. There appears to be a lot of anger and danger out there but I don't know how bad it is for sure, or at least I didn't.

According to News 12, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the State of Connecticut ranks #2 nationally for road rage crashes that resulted in a fatality. Reading stats doesn't do it justice, being caught in one of these situations is the worst, your heart races, your blood boils and you're just trying to keep your family safe.

Look what happened in New Milford just the other day. Dyllan sent me this video of another driver raging out on him.

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That is quite the rage face and according to a recent Facebook thread others have been on the receiving end of it.

Lora said: "This guy is the same one who cut me off on super 7 this past summer. He kept slamming on his brakes and then got beside me at a light and was doing obscene gestures."

Alaina said: "Looks like the same guy who was in the left turn lane by big y but cut me off to go straight instead, then waited for me in the parking lot yelling and swearing at me."

Michaela wrote: "Dan is this the guy that reversed into us?"

I know this is a serious topic but can we just pause and take another look?

Michael Raymond Added this: "this is what he said for sure."

Lou Milano said: "This is what he probably said.."

Austin M wrote: "He looks like a good time."

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But that is just one person, he can't be behind every road rage incident in the state. The evidence that Connecticut roadways are unsafe is all around us. Here are some unrelated incidents shared on CT social media accounts:

Jennifer wrote: "I was coming from the mall and witnessed a black 5 series BMW sedan going 90-100 MPH passing everyone until it got stuck behind a car in the fast lane going towards NM on Super 7. it then proceeded to get in front of the car and brake check and come to a full stop on the highway, with 4 cars behind him. Then got off onto Federal Road and go through Brookfield on Grey’s Bridge Rd! I wish the State Trooper was sitting right by where they did this on the highway, but nope not this time! This insane behavior has got to stop."

CT reddit post from zmayo10: "I drive all over the northeast for work. CT is definitely the most aggressive state. I think over congested roadways produce pissed off drivers. CT is had too many two lane highways for the current population and interstate travel. Just my two cents."

It is bad out there and I don't see any improvement. I talk about it all the time, Main Street Danbury is a s-- show when the school buses are out.

Further exampled are available on the Youtube Channel "Really Bad Driving." There are dozens of long-form videos from around Connecticut with drivers making ridiculous and dangerous choices.

Exclusive Film Review: Unveiling the Magic of 'Candlewood' - Red Carpet Glamour and After-Party Extravaganza

The 'Candlewood' film debuted at the Bank Street Theater in New Milford this past weekend. Here is a look around the red carpet, the after-party and beyond.

Exclusive Photos, Videos, and Interviews on the Set of New Milford Horror Movie

"Candlewood" is a horror film that just finished filming in New Milford, CT. This is how the filmmakers described the project on their Indiegogo:

"Candlewood is the first movie of three in the psychological/horror feature film franchise. A blended family moves from the city to a small town in Connecticut, where a local urban legend adds chaos and terror to an already fragile family dynamic. The staunch patriarch, who desperately wants his family to not see him as a failure but as the father that did everything, he could to keep his family together through difficult times. Candlewood follows a family leaving New York City for a simpler life in the country town of New Milford, CT. The haunting and mysterious true stories of missing hikers near a popular state park, Lover's Leap, coupled with the town of Jerusalem sitting at the bottom of Candlewood Lake gives credibility to our narrative. We bring to life the struggle of good vs evil and what happens when lifelong, outdated traditions are challenged."

A while back I got in touch with the folks behind the movie, invited them on the I-95 Morning Show with Ethan, Lou and Dave and talked about the film, and shooting in New Milford. We spoke with Director Myke Furhman and Writer/Executive Producer Victoria Flores-Argue. During that discussion, I demanded to be in the movie, telling the duo that I have some experience acting on TV shows that never actually made it onto TV. Against all odds, they did invite me to participate and I visited the set on October 20th to shoot a scene that is important. I was extremely nervous and I had zero idea of what I was in for. Below are some insider moments from my day on-set and from others.

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Thousands of people came out to Danbury's 2023 San Gennaro Festival and I-95 was lucky enough to be right in the center of it. These are 50+ photos from our three days in Downtown Danbury.

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MILFORD — Diego Goldstein has visited 20 countries in his 38 years, but never far from his heart is his homeland of Argentina.

The accountant welcomes his wife and children learning as many languages as possible — he speaks five — but at their home in Milford, everyone speaks Spanish only. The Goldsteins want 6-year-old Emma and 3-year-old Sofia always to appreciate their family's native home and culture.

The same idea is behind their new restaurant, Chimichurri, which opened March 2. Diego and his wife, Daiana, a graphic designer and social media manager, hope the former home of Nate's Plates at 2 Schooner Lane will become a haven for Argentinean Americans who hunger for the country's food, comradery and customs. The day it opened, the restaurant had dozens of Argentinean customers from all over Connecticut, he said.

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Argentineans don't even have to eat there. Just visiting to play cards, sit and talk, dance tango or chat up the latest news from Argentina in the manner they would have in Buenos Aires, where the Goldsteins emigrated from, would be welcome, he said. In that sense, their latest venture is part of an ageless story of immigration everywhere. It's a place where visitors can warm themselves to the memories of a capitol city now 5,347 miles away as the crow — well, passenger jet — flies or experience some portion of that culture anew.

"I want people to come here for fun. If you eat something, fantastic. If not, OK, I will let you know that I am here," Goldstein said. "I want this place to be more than a restaurant. I want it to be an event place, a culture place."

Don't think the restaurant is exclusive. A couple for 12 years and married since 2015, the Goldsteins have peppered the place with traditional Argentinean clothes and products to give Americans a sense of a culture they know little about, but mostly because Diego and Daiana like to share their pride. Yerba mate teas and Argentinean art, cowboy ponchos and hats are among the products sold at the restaurant — a collection they hope to add to.

With the restaurant open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the menu features basic Argentinean breakfast, lunch and dinner food, with some American dishes mixed in. The Argentinean dishes include pionono dulce, or sweet roll cake; sweet Argentinean croissants; choripán, traditional sausage with Chimichurri sauce; Milanesa, or traditional breaded steak; and an array of American sandwiches and salads.

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A fellow Argentinean who found and befriended them, Milford architect Teresa Gonzalez Panico, likes the Argentinean food. She wants to see the Goldsteins add a large-screen television to the restaurant so they can watch Argentina play World Cup soccer, a plan the Goldsteins endorse. Having met them about a year before they opted for the restaurant, Panico helped them design the restaurant space.

The Goldsteins think of Panico and her husband, Jerry, as members of the family, and the Panicos return the favor, she said.

"People from Argentina are very social," Panico said. "We like to join, and I love the food here. It's bad that people find it hard to find this spot. They don't know what's going on here, but with all the social media (work that Daiana has done promoting the place), I think that is going to change."

Much of the fun of Chimichurri is the Goldsteins themselves. Married eight years, they have an easy warmth, an energy sprinkled with humor and frank affection. Seldom can Daiana walk by her husband behind the counter without putting a gentle hand on his arm or shoulder, and they laugh often, sometimes seeming to speak their own language.

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And their humor is contagious. Ask Diego what ideas went into the decor of the restaurant and he immediately says he has no idea — that's Daiana's department. Ask them who is the better salsa dancer and he agrees just as quickly that she is, and she laughs.

"When we went to a dancing class, I was better than you because you did not dance salsa," Diego said.

"Oh, yes, because I always danced alone," said Daiana, who speaks very fluently for someone who started learning English less than two years ago.

"At our wedding, we did a salsa show, and we practiced for many, many months with me doing the lead," Diego said. "During the wedding, she wanted to lead and she made a mistake because she thought something was coming" — Daiana squealed with laughter at the memory — "and it wasn't. I finally had to say to her, stop doing what you're doing. Follow my lead."

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The Goldsteins came to the US to escape crushing inflation and a severe economic downturn. Diego was an accountant who helped run Mercedes-Benz's bus and truck division for several years before they opted to come here. Emigrating was a risk, but it seems to be a risk the Goldsteins have enjoyed taking.

"This," Diego Goldstein said, "is an adventure. I am completely out of my comfort zone. But I look forward to it."

Can we go a day or even a week without hearing about a popular chain store or restaurant that's been around for what seems like forever shuttering for good? I guess not.

According to CBS News, Dollar Tree which also owns the Family Dollar chain of stores is closing nearly 1,000 of them. The good news is that it will happen over a handful of years so we can still grab those dollar deals and cheap buys.

When I searched to see exactly how many Dollar Tree chains and Family Dollar Chains we have around Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts I lost count because we have hundreds if not well into more than a thousand.

According to CBS News, 600 of the Family Dollar stores will shutter around the country by July 2024 with around 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree chains closing over the next few years.

These discount stores that have saved so many people money over the years lost $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 according to CBS News and with the trend of shopping around for deals growing, it's not as easy for the dollar store concept to compete.

Over recent years, rates of shopping around have increased, and we believe that they will only increase further in the years ahead as other chains like Walmart, Aldi and Dollar General continue to expand. Against this backdrop, Family Dollar does not want to invest in markets where it cannot win and is not particularly profitable.

As always, the next question is will it be your favorite Dollar Store or Family Dollar that closes down? As expected, according to USA Today, Dollar Tree hasn't shared when and which stores will close and if certain states or regions will see a bigger impact.

According to Wikipedia, Dollar Tree has 15,115 stores throughout the lower 48 states and Canada so by the numbers there will still be plenty of stores around. 8,000 of these stores are Family Dollar chains according to its Wikipedia site.

Sounds like we'll still see plenty around New England as well as New York unless we're the only region affected and that seems unlikely.

NEW MILFORD — A public hearing will be held Tuesday evening on a $10 million plan to construct 107 townhouses at 240 Pickett District Road.

The applicant, Flagstaff Investments LLC of New Milford, submitted a special permit and site plan application to construct the 12-building project to the New Milford Zoning Commission this past November.

The hearing will be held at the Zoning Commission’s Tuesday meeting at 7 p.m.

Flagstaff Investments LLC could not be reached for comment.

The 13.4-acre property where the development has been proposed is located in the multiple residence district zone, according to Town Planner Laura Regan's summary of the project to the Zoning Commission. The property exists as vacant land consisting of sandy soils with areas of sparce brush, trees and the existing remains of a building foundation, according to Regan’s summary.

The site is less than a mile from Lovers Leap State Park and on a road that intersects with Route 7 and Still River Drive.

Apart from the building foundation’s remains, there are no other structures on the project site. The 5,900-square-foot building foundation remains will be demolished and removed to make way for the proposed development, Regan said in her summary. Each of the 12 buildings would have five to 12 townhouses with that are about 1,700 square feet, including a garage, she said.

Each of the townhouses will have three floors, a 12-foot-by-22-foot garage and a 9-foot-wide driveway, according to Regan's summary.

The proposal also calls for the installation and construction of water, sewer, electrical and communication utilities; a stormwater management system; sight lighting and landscaping; and other accessories associated with residential facilities of the proposed development’s type and size, Regan said in her summary.

A total of 214 parking spaces have been proposed for the complex, according to the site plan application.

Access to the proposed residential complex will be provided through a single driveway that will be 2,500 feet long and 24 feet wide with a single travel lane in each direction, according to Regan’s summary. The driveway will be located “from a point along Pickett District Road approximately 1,500 feet north of the existing traffic circle at the Still River Drive intersection,” Regan’s summary stated.

Altogether, the proposed development’s construction would cost $10 million, according to the site plan application.

NEW MILFORD – In voting to extend a moratorium, the Town Council agreed that New Milford has “a lot to learn” before it can allow recreational cannabis sales in town.

“We just want to get a handle on this because it’s a major decision,” Mayor Pete Bass said in an interview with Hearst Media Connecticut on the sale of recreational cannabis, which became legal in Connecticut on July 1, 2021, and began in the state on Jan. 10, 2023.

In a unanimous vote, the Town Council voted to extend New Milford's temporary moratorium on recreational cannabis sales for another year at its Feb. 26 meeting. The moratorium was imposed in January 2023 to gain more time to better understand Connecticut’s legislation for recreational cannabis sales and its impact on towns.

The Town Council’s initial vote to impose the moratorium in 2023 came the day before legal recreational cannabis sales began in the state.

Town Council members decided at the council’s Feb. 26 meeting to revisit the issue in another year.

The town will look at other towns that have allowed recreational cannabis sales in their communities, Bass said. Danbury, Newington, New Haven, Stamford and Meriden are among the Connecticut towns with recreational cannabis dispensaries.

“They just wanted to take a wait to see as the industry matures how other towns are handling it,” Bass said.

New Milford will also look at data on cannabis retail establishments, traffic generated by the dispensaries, crime created by the dispensaries' presence and other issues towns might face by allowing recreational cannabis dispensaries, he said.

While recreational cannabis sales are banned in New Milford, medical cannabis sales are exempt from the moratorium as long as they comply with the town’s zoning regulations. Medical cannabis dispensaries have been permitted as an accepted use to New Milford’s general business zone since 2016.