Orange Buys Hubbell Property; Mayor Fighting DMV Office Closure; and More

ORANGE – The largest tract of privately owned open space remaining in Orange now belongs to the town.

Voters overwhelming supported a referendum this week to pay $7.2 million for a 376-acre parcel that was owned by Hubbell, Inc. The turnout for the referendum was more than six times that for the $56 million town budget a few months ago, noted First Selectman Jim Zeoli.

Zeoli shares his thoughts on the turnout and the transaction in this Orange Patch video.
 
MILFORD – The fight is on.

Milford Mayor James Richetelli has vowed to do everything in his power to prevent the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) from shutting down its photo license center in the city. And he is joined in the effort by state Rep. Kim Rose (D-118) and thousands of area residents who enjoy the convenience of having the office located near their homes.

The DMV announced this week that it will be closing a handful of offices, to address budget shortfalls.

Initiating the fight, the mayor sent a letter to Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and DMV Commissioner Melody A. Currey. The letter is included in Milford Patch’s coverage of this story.
 
BRANFORD – A Yale University graduate is investigating the source of heightened bacteria levels that closed Branford Point to swimmers much of this week.

The graduate, who is working with the East Shore District Health Department, is conducting testing in Branford, East Haven and North Branford.

Check out a video of her collecting water samples at Branford Point while would-be swimmers have their hopes dashed by her findings.
 
HAMDEN – Southern Connecticut State University students will soon have new housing options.

The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission looked favorably this week on an application that allows a private developer to build 30 townhouse-style units specifically for SCSU students. The housing will be located at 190 Pine Rock Ave., just over the New Haven line, within close proximity to the university.

Renderings of the project and more details are included in this Hamden Patch article.

NORTH BRANFORD – Champions!

The North Branford Little League All-Star team swept Orange this week in the 9- 10-year-old division to walk away with the District 4 title.

The girls celebrated their victory in typical all-star fashion — with jumps of joy and high fives. North Branford Patch caught all the action on camera and brings it to you with a slideshow of more than 40 photos.