East Main Street in Waterbury during Monday afternoon's deluge of rain.

                                Story and Photographs by John Murray

   Last night the Board of Aldermen in Waterbury voted unanimously to move a proposed $40 million greeway project forward with an initial investment of $1 million. As exciting as that project is, Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary is already zeroing in on a massive downtown revitalization project that he is presenting to state officials in mid-January. It involves five separate projects, all in downtown, that O'Leary believes will begin the transformation of downtown Waterbury.

   "I can't be specific at this point because we haven't presented the ideas to state officicals yet," O'Leary said. "But I can tell you that we are excited at the potential this has to revitalize downtown Waterbury."

Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary and Richard King from King Industries, formalized their business relationship with a contract signing ceremony iniside City Hall at noon today. Photographs by John Murray

   It’s official: King Industries, Inc. of Norwalk, Conn. is expanding to Waterbury.

   Mayor Neil M. O’Leary and Richard S. King, the company’s owner and president, signed the purchase and sale agreement today at Waterbury City Hall, sealing the deal on the purchase of approximately 10.75 acres of a remediated brownfield industrial site at Waterbury Industrial Commons, 1975 Thomaston Ave.

   Democrat Majoity Leader on the Board of Aldermen,  Tony Picocchi, foreground, listened to his Republican colleague, Steve Giacomi, right, give a blistering commentary about the board's December 1st vote to control debate between aldermen, and to limit the public's ability to address subjects not on the agenda without submitting questions 11 days in advance of meetings. The public's response to the Democrats attempt to limit debate at aldermen meetings was fast and furious. Both the Rep-Am newspaper and the Waterbury Observer condemned the rule changes, and when the ACLU threatened a lawsuit, the Democrats reversed course and voted last night to return to the old rules.

                                                 By John Murray

Albanian Independence Day is celebrated on November 28th and is a national holiday in Albania, and for ethnic Albanians scattered across the globe. The local Albanian community in Waterbury celebrated the holiday, and their annual Mayor For the Day ceremony at Waterbury City Hall a day later this year since Thanksgiving fell on November 28th.

Chelsea Murray's wonderful new friend at the market in Ceret, France.

                     Story and Photographs by Chelsea Murray

   (Editors note - For the next several months Chelsea Murray is working her way across Europe on a network of organic farms. Chelsea and her boyfriend Michael Kaneb spent two weeks harvesting potatoes in Bavaria, in southern Germany, and are now harvesting olives for a month on a farm in the south of France. They hope to continue on through Spain, Portugal, Italy, Albania and Greece. Chelsea has been writing columns for the Observer (which is owned by her father) since she was 11 years old. She will continue to report her adventures as time and internet access allows.)

   After helping my farm host set up her stand at the market in Ceret, France (the city where Picasso, Dali and other artists had flocked to for inspiration), she informed me that I was a free woman and could wander around for a few hours to take in the sights, smells, and culture of a French market. My first moments alone were spent breaking from my vegan diet again (it's the lifestyle at the farm I'm working at), and sampling hoards of cheeses, meats, delicious baguettes and perusing through people’s wares.

Medical marijuana will be grown in Connecticut, and C-Three is looking to do it legally at a production and distribution center on East Aurora Street in Waterbury. Photo from CNN

   C-Three, LLC, a company led by long-time Connecticut businessman Thomas Macre, today filed applications with the State of Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection for the production and dispensing of medical marijuana at a facility on East Aurora Street in Waterbury.

                                            Story By John Murray

   Facebook messages, e-mails, phone calls and personal conversations have all been saying the same thing - the City of Waterbury is about to buy the Republican-American building on Meadow Street and convert it back into the transportation hub of Waterbury.

   The first tip to the Observer came six weeks ago, and came from a journalist who had a credible source with extensive experience in economic development in greater Waterbury. The word was it was a "done deal."

Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary steamrolled his way into a second term in office by winning a resounding 68% of the vote in a three-way contest. O'Leary was delighted with the results, and said it's a clear message from the voters of Waterbury to keep pushing his agenda forward.  Republican Jason Van Stone came in second with 19% of the vote, and Larry De Pillo of the Independent Party took third with 13%.