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This week began with the city’s abrupt decision to remove the Christopher Columbus statue from Seaside Park and ended with an uncertain outlook for the future of the likeness of the controversial explorer. “It needs to come back out. It doesn’t belong to the city. It belongs to all residents of Bridgeport,” City Council President Aidee Nieves ackno...

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Whether trying to preserve the Christopher Columbus statue in Seaside Park or pressure City Hall to remove it, people on both sides of the debate were blindsided Monday when Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration abruptly put the monument in storage. Shoshana Mahon, who just graduated from Fairchild Wheeler High School, helped organize a July 4 protest c...

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City officials removed the Christopher Columbus statue at Seaside Park and placed it in storage out of an abundance of caution for the preservation of the historic artifact, the need to respond to modern-day sensitivities, as well as public safety at large. Community leaders of all cultures and ethnicities are discussing ways to continue to honor...

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Councilman Jorge Cruz watched last week as New Haven and Hartford moved ahead with taking down statues of Christopher Columbus and wondered, why not here? “He don’t deserve to be honored with a statue at Seaside Park,” Cruz said of the monument to the Genoese explorer that has stood in his South End district since the mid-1960s. “I’ve had animosity...

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Italian Americans may not set off Guinness-fueled celebrations every St. Paddy's Day like Irish Americans, or serve as an excuse for margarita madness on Cinco de Mayo like Mexican Americans. But with their heaping plates of spaghetti and meatballs, mobster flicks, and the unfortunate reality TV show "Jersey Shore," Italian Americans are a critical...

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The Columbus Day Parade will return to the city’s streets for its 111th year after the City Council agreed to resume paying the police overtime costs.Columbus Parade organizers moved 2018’s celebration to Shelton over a dispute about the public safety bill. “Losing that last year was not one of our best moments,” Council President Aidee Nieves said...

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Harrison County native Rosalyn Queen has lived a life filled with love of heritage, service, family and pride in her community. Queen, a Bridgeport resident, is one of the founding members of the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival, though she credits her colleague Merle Moore for having the idea to pursue it. “I’ve been involved from the very...

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Jan McNemar, a phlebotomist at United Hospital Center, was among the 11 women of Italian heritage honored during a Women of Distinction Luncheon in Clarksburg’s Uptown Event Center on Oct. 12. Nicky Epstein was the keynote speaker for the Progressive Women’s Association event. McNemar has worked at UHC since 1985. “We are honored to have one of our...

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He took the annual Columbus Day Parade away from Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. So does Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, a Republican, want Democrat Ganim’s job as well? It sounds unlikely, but Lauretti, a seasoned politician, was happy to keep people speculating Thursday. “I have a good base in Bridgeport,” Lauretti said, responding to a sudden spurt of...

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Salvatore D. Rotondo, 78, of Bridgeport, a much-loved teacher and principal who made a difference in the lives of thousands of area schoolchildren, died Sunday, Sept. 16, of cardiac arrest at his home. A Bridgeport native, Mr. Rotondo graduated from Bridgeport High School. He graduated with honors from West Chester State College in 1962 with a bach...

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