Zach Murdock, The News-Times

Zach Murdock

The News-Times

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Past:
  • The News-Times
  • New Haven Register
  • Connecticut Post
  • Register Citizen

Past articles by Zach:

No Tolls CT to host rally in Danbury

DANBURY - Opponents of tolls on Connecticut highways will stage a rally in friendly territory on White Street in Danbury. The Stamford grassroots organization No Tolls CT is organizing the protest at 1 p.m. Saturday at the corner of White and Wildman streets, Danbury leaders at the state and local levels have been adamantly opposed to tolls of any kind and Mayor Mark Boughton has been one of the… → Read More

Danbury to buy — or take — blighted property near airport

DANBURY - One of Danbury's "most blighted" properties could be in for a makeover this year. The heaps of scrap metal and debris that have piled up at 89 Wooster Heights Road have barely budged over the past three years, even though they have been the subject of numerous fines, environmental enforcement actions and even lawsuits from both the city and state. Now the city hopes it can clean up the… → Read More

Brookfield Animal Hospital presents $1,000 to Danbury dog pound

DANBURY - The Brookfield Animal Hospital presented a $1,000 check to Mayor Mark Boughton on Monday to support Danbury Animal Control and the dog pound. The money was raised during a holiday "Paw it Forward" fundraiser hosted by the veterinarians at the animal hospital to support the animals awaiting new homes at the pound. The money will be used to buy treats and supplies and all the donations… → Read More

Danbury to add extra $1.7 million to road paving this spring

DANBURY - City officials are wringing an extra $1.7 million out of the city budget to get an early start on its annual road paving program this spring. Mayor Mark Boughton announced this month he wants to spend that money - received through a state grant last year - to jumpstart paving as soon as the weather warms this spring, instead of waiting for more funding through the city's next budget… → Read More

Man leads New York troopers on pursuit into Danbury

DANBURY - A 71-year-old Danbury man nearly struck a New York State Trooper with his car during a pursuit across the state line and down Mill Plain Road on Monday night. Angel Luis Guevares ultimately crashed his car into another at about 7 p.m. near 36 Mill Plain Road before the troopers and Danbury Police officers were able to take him into custody, Detective Lt. Mark Williams said Tuesday… → Read More

Shooting near Danbury Hospital leads to school lockdowns

DANBURY - Police are investigating a shooting Thursday afternoon near Danbury Hospital that led to the lockdown of several Danbury school campuses. There is no danger to the public, all of the lockdowns have been lifted and police have cleared the scene around Hospital and Ellsworth avenues, they said just after 5 p.m. One victim is being treated at Danbury Hospital for a gunshot wound to the… → Read More

Four Danbury dogs to compete in annual Puppy Bowl

DANBURY - Four furry faces from the Danbury Animal Welfare Society will be featured in the 15th annual Animal Planet Puppy Bowl ahead of another major sporting event on Feb. 3. Scout, Walnut, Cole and Panda will "compete" in the popular Super Bowl Sunday football alternative that will pit Team Fluff against Team Ruff against one another for the Lombarky Trophy. More than 90 puppies from more… → Read More

Danbury schools eyeing $7.3 million budget increase

DANBURY - Public school leaders estimate they will need an additional $7.3 million in their next budget to cope with continued enrollment growth and to restore program cuts. The extra money would push the budget to more than $139.5 million, if approved in full, or a nearly 5.6 percent increase over the district's current budget, according to initial projections presented Wednesday night. But the… → Read More

Former Redding school board chair to be sentenced

DANBURY - Former Redding school board chairwoman Sara Sobel is expected to be sentenced Monday in Danbury Superior Court. Sobel pleaded guilty in August to allegations she repeatedly left a young child with a convicted sex offender and took pornographic photographs and videos of the child that she provided to the man. She faces a 30-year prison term suspended after 10 years and will have the… → Read More

Officials investigating fire that displaced 86 dogs in Danbury

DANBURY - More than 80 dogs are safe this morning after a massive community effort Thursday night to rescue them from a fire behind the Puppy Love pet store on Lake Avenue Extension. More than 150 Good Samaritans, employees, neighbors and firefighters rushed to break down the store's doors and pull the puppies to safety while flames from a metal barn behind the pet store soared almost 50 feet… → Read More

Danbury Democrat to resign from school board

DANBURY - Democrat Kathleen Molinaro will resign her seat from the Danbury school board next week, marking the third resignation from the board in just over a year. Molinaro's last day will be at the board's meeting on Jan. 9 and comes as she spends more time at home for family health reasons. She has served on the board for 13 years during surging student enrollment and handicapped budgets… → Read More

HART to expand commuter bus line on Danbury’s west side

DANBURY - Commuters on Danbury's bustling west side will have a new public transit option when the Housatonic Area Regional Transit opens a new bus route to the Reserve neighborhood after the New Year. The west side of the city has become the fastest growing part of town, so the new route is a natural extension, said HARTransit CEO Eric Bergstraesser and Mayor Mark Boughton. "That's where we're… → Read More

Danbury students playing new tune thanks to VH1 Save the Music donations

DANBURY - Elementary school students at Danbury public schools are playing a new tune to end the year after receiving $120,000 in musical instruments and supplies this fall semester. The VH1 Save the Music Foundation made the donations to support the band programs at Ellsworth, Hayestown and Stadley Rough elementary schools. Last week, the Redding-based SpreadMusicNow presented $40,000 to the… → Read More

Democrat vying for rematch against Danbury mayor in 2019

DANBURY - Attorney and former City Councilman Chris Setaro is the first Democrat to reveal he will challenge longtime Republican Mayor Mark Boughton for his seat atop City Hall. Should Setaro secure the party's nomination, it would set up a rematch of the hotly contested 2001 race that first elevated Boughton to the Mayor's Office. Boughton topped Setaro by only 138 votes that year. Setaro filed… → Read More

Officials investigating possible food poisoning outbreak at Danbury steakhouse

City health officials are investigating a possible food poisoning outbreak amid complaints from diners who ate at Barbarie's Black Angus Grill last weekend. Health inspectors worked with restaurant staff on Wednesday and Thursday to determine whether food served or some kind of contamination there may be the cause of several reported illnesses, city Health and Human Services Director Lisa… → Read More

Two Danbury High robotics teams qualify for regionals

DANBURY - Two robots from the Danbury High School robotics team advanced to the quarterfinals and semifinals at the fourth competition of the season this month and have qualified for the regionals next March. The scores put several of the Mad Hatters Team 5150's six robots in the top 10 and top 15 teams in Connecticut and Southern New England, said Erik Savoyski, the team adviser and DHS… → Read More

Danbury Sports Dome, city lawsuit cleared for trial next year

DANBURY - The years-long court battle between the Danbury Sports Dome and City Hall should be decided by a jury trial in April, a Superior Court judge has ruled. Judge Edward Krumeich denied the city's motion to dismiss the case at a hearing last week, setting up a trial almost four years after the lawsuit first began. The fight dates back to the first weeks of construction on the dome in… → Read More

Judge affirms that former Danbury Police officer must be rehired

DANBURY - A Danbury Superior Court judge has upheld a state panel's order that Danbury Police reinstate former Officer Daniel Sellner. Judge Edward Krumeich ruled that the state's arbitration board was correct when it ruled earlier this summer that Sellner should not have been fired almost four years ago after city officials accused him of using excessive force during an arrest. Police union… → Read More

10 Westside Middle students advance in Invention Convention

DANBURY - Ten students from the Westside Middle School Academy will compete in the regional level of the Connecticut Invention Convention. The winners advanced from the field of 100 students who revealed their ideas and creations to a panel of a dozen judges at the school's annual fair two weeks ago. The ten students advancing from sixth through eighth grades are Christopher Borges, Pedro Canto,… → Read More

Improvements coming to White Street, WCSU garage entrance

DANBURY - A frequent traffic jam at Western Connecticut State University on White Street is in the sights of local and state engineers in 2019. The $2.65 million plan would reconfigure the intersection of White and Eighth Avenue at the entrance to one of the campus parking garages, where traffic often backs up as cars queue to turn into the garage. The new intersection will include a dedicated… → Read More