1300 In Milford Lose Power

Severe thunderstorms that swept through the region this afternoon wreaked havoc with the evening commute, with downpours and heavy winds leaving fallen trees and downed power lines in their wake.

Particularly hard hit was the Milford-New Haven area, with thousands of customers left in dark by electric outages. That area had been under a tornado warning until about 4:30 p.m.

The Merritt Parkway was reported to be shut down in both directions in Trumbull and Orange by trees that fell across the travel lanes, triggering multiple accidents. The Trumbull stretch, which was not expected to be cleared until between 6 and 7 p.m., is between exits 52 and 53. In Orange, the affected section of highway was between exits 55 and 56, but authorities say it was reopened about 5:30 p.m. However, delays were expected to continue indefinitely.

The community with the largest blackout was Milford, where United Illuminating reports that nearly 1,300 customers lost power. In Orange, there were close to 600 outages and in Woodbridge, more than 700 were without electric service.

In the greater Bridgeport area, although tree and wires were felled by the storm, only scattered power outages were reported by early evening.

STORY FROM CT POST

As an addendum to this post it is important to note that record numbers of utility poles were being dug up all over town. The work on these utility poles may have been a factor in the power outage and should be looked into.


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Update Video Of Aftermath

Milford's Boardwalk Project Suspended Indefinitely

The long-delayed boardwalk to connect Silver Sands State Park and Walnut Beach has been indefinitely suspended, state officials said Monday.

About $1.5 million for the roughly $2 million project had been approved by the state Bond Commission, according to city officials.

But the work never made it past the planning stage before being suspended by the state departments of Environmental Protection and Public Works in the latest round of cost-saving measures.

At this point, due to budgetary constraints on the two agencies, work on the proposed boardwalk has been indefinitely suspended,” DEP spokesman Dennis Schain said in an e-mail message.

The news was a shock to city officials Monday, who were last told construction would occur in autumn.

“This really comes as a surprise,” said Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. “They gave us no clue that they were considering this. I have not heard anything more since months ago, when it was a go.”

The project has been mired in years of delays with repeated announcements that funding had been secured and work was about to begin, only to have a projected start date pushed back.

About a year ago, the project was delayed when piping plovers were found nesting where the boardwalk was proposed to be built.

Plans were altered to avoid the federally and state protected species of birds, but in the meantime the economy turned sour and the plans for the boardwalk were put on hold by the DPW and DEP.

“Money was approved for this project, but before any action was taken with regards with the funds that were allocated, a decision has been made to suspend the project,” said Kevin Kopetz, managing attorney for the DPW.

“We began, unfortunately, to experience the economic circumstance that everyone is aware of.”

The latest news was frustrating to Walnut Beach Association President Joe Garbus, who has long worked to revitalize the Walnut Beach area.

The boardwalk was expected to draw foot traffic to Walnut Beach to breathe new life into the businesses in the area.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” he said. “They made a plan, made a second plan for the piping plovers and each time we were told the money was in hand. It was OK then, but we wait a year and now we can’t continue with the project? I don’t think it’s fair.”

Kopetz said there is a chance the project will be revisited if the state’s fiscal situation improves.

By James Tinley, Register Staff

ORIGINAL STORY POSTED HERE

Milford Schools Undergo Summer Upgrades

With the school year ended and summer rolling in the Milford school system has taken no time off. As the students rolled out the contractors rolled in, fixing everything from leaky roofs, to floor replacements to computer and computer room upgrades.

Emergency lighting at Foran High School is scheduled for and upgrade, making that school compliant as an emergency shelter in the event of a crisis. The lighting is also ecofriendly and is expected to use less energy.

The task is all part of Supt. Polanski's mission to keep Milford schools growing to a first class institution a job that he recently took on and perilously sailed through some difficult tests of budgetary restraints. Polanski's budget was challenged by local Alderman in a melee of hard questioning, and local parents retaliated with over 2000 signatures on a petition to reinstate the money that the Alderman cut. Polanski emerged with as good of a victory as one could expect, no teachers layed off and the city lost one of its three trash pick up days to fund the schools.

Polanski was recently praised by the Board of Education last Monday night when members released a statement calling him a compassionate and decisive leader who brought needed changes to the district.

This fall the construction will be hopefully complete, and when it is, next years students will enjoy the many improvements that I believe are moving Milford in the right direction of building a solid foundation, and a better learning environment to secure their place in the future.