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The first park in Connecticut is almost 200 years old. How to visit this spring

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The first park in Connecticut is almost 200 years old. How to visit this spring


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As the snow begins to melt and the warmer weather of spring starts to creep in, many people will be heading back outdoors into nature, and for many, that means returning to a local public park.

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Whether you prefer to enjoy the spring weather with a run, a bike ride, a picnic or a simple walk, Connecticut has plenty of public parks that make for a perfect spring day.

If you want to immerse yourself in history as well as nature, Connecticut also has plenty of historical parks, with the state’s first park, Bushnell Park, opening almost 200 years ago.

Here’s how to visit Connecticut’s oldest park this spring.

History of Bushnell Park

Located in front of Connecticut’s state capital, Bushnell Park was first established in 1861. However, the idea for the park was first suggested by Rev. Horace Bushnell, pastor of Hartford’s North Congregational Church and graduate of Yale University, in 1853.

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According to the Bushnell Park Conservancy, Rev. Bushnell proposed the park for multiple reasons – to clean up the city, create a space where poor children could play and build a beautiful setting that would establish Hartford as the state capital over New Haven, which shared the title of capital with Hartford at the time.

While plenty of parks were popping up in the states in the 1800s, one of Rev. Bushnell’s ideas made this park proposal unique – the sourcing of the park through public funds.

A Hartford City Council meeting in October 1853 unanimously approved Rev. Bushnell’s idea, and in January 1854, Hartford citizens voted the idea through, making Hartford the first city to use public funds for the creation of a park.

After years of securing land and creating a design, Bushnell Park, then called City Park, was established in 1861 under a design by Swiss-born architect Jacob Weidenmann. The original park contained 157 varieties of trees and shrubs, graceful paths, the Park River and several bridges.

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Over the years, Bushnell Park has gained many additions, including the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Arch, the Capitol building overlooking the park, the Corning Fountain, the Carousel and the Performance Pavilion. Due to flooding, the Park River was buried in an underground tunnel in the 1940s, resulting in the destruction of its bridges.

Today, Bushnell Park remains a scenic place to connect with the Hartford community and escape the business of city life.

How to visit Bushnell Park

Bushnell Park is open daily from dusk to dawn. For those driving to the park, 99 Trinity St. in Hartford is the best address to use in a GPS. Metered parking, which is free on weekends, is available around the park’s perimeter.

Bushnell also frequently hosts community events like yoga classes and movie nights, as well as free tours of the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Arch from May through October.



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The Houston Comets are back as the Sun sets on the WNBA’s time in Connecticut, where fans face unfortunate reality

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The Houston Comets are back as the Sun sets on the WNBA’s time in Connecticut, where fans face unfortunate reality


FORT WORTH, Texas — The Houston Comets’ four WNBA championship banners and the jerseys of their icons have a rightful home again. If only it didn’t come at the expense of another.

The news of the Connecticut Sun selling to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and relocating to the Lone Star state as the Comets is a zero-sum game, transporting heartache elsewhere.

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Sure, it’s a long-awaited victory for Houston and its fans, who were many and only grew in number as vintage became trendy. This city deserved the return of a team ripped from its clutches at the start of the Great Recession, and despite decent attendance throughout its success.

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Yet, the basketball-crazed state of Connecticut will now feel that same void. It’s hard to overlook that the final report of the sale dropped while 12-time national champion UConn actively extended its winning streak to 53 with a victory in the Sweet 16 here in Fort Worth, Texas. Four hours from Houston.

Hey, the move screamed, look over there instead. The epitome of a Friday night news dump that everyone involved with hoped wouldn’t sting quite so much.



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Are You From a Connecticut Family That Eats Toad in the Hole?

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Are You From a Connecticut Family That Eats Toad in the Hole?


Are you from a Connecticut family that grew up eating Toad in the Hole? If so, you probably know it as a quirky breakfast dish — an egg cooked right in a hole cut out of a slice of bread. Just to be clear, no toads were harmed — I simply couldn’t resist using an actual toad photo. But the story behind the name and the dish is a little stranger than you might think.

The original Toad in the Hole comes from England, where it’s a savory meal of sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding batter. No eggs, no toast, just sausages popping out of golden, fluffy batter — the name supposedly comes from the way the sausages peek out like toads in a pond.

When English families settled in New England, they brought culinary traditions with them, and over time, the dish evolved. In the U.S., particularly in some Connecticut households, Toad in the Hole became the breakfast version we know today: an egg nestled in bread, sometimes cooked in a skillet or baked. It’s a far cry from the original sausages-and-batter dish, but it kept the playful name and sense of whimsy.

Read More: Connecticut Zookeeper Explains the Secret Lives of Skunks 

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What’s fun is that the U.S. version is sometimes called “egg in a basket” or “egg in a hole” in other parts of the country, but in many Connecticut homes, it proudly keeps the Toad in the Hole moniker. For families with multi-generational ties to the state, this little breakfast dish is a taste of history, a nod to old English roots, and a perfect reminder of just how weird and wonderful Connecticut’s food traditions can be.

Before researching this, I’d never heard of it, but you’d better believe I’m making one of these this weekend — both the UK and U.S. versions.

Sources: Wikipedia & Food Science Institute 

The Top 10 Shoplifted Items from Connecticut Target Stores…

Luxury Meets Privacy: Discover Old Greenwich’s Exclusive Peninsula

28 East Point Lane is a luxury address in Old Greenwich, CT that happens to rest on a peninsula. If you have a metric f— ton of money I have good news, It recently hit the market for $12.5 Million. 

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Gallery Credit: Lou Milano

10 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods, in Connecticut’s Highest Crime City

Those of us who live in Connecticut know, this place is NOT what the rest of the country thinks it is. We have folks struggling to get by, we have crime, drugs and very dangerous neighborhoods. Recently, I set out to find the most dangerous city in Connecticut and I got a lot more detail than I bargained for. After determining Hartford was the city with the most violent crime, I was able to find the specific places that are the most dangerous within the city. These are the 10 Most Dangerous Places in Hartford according to the Connecticut Bail Bonds Group.

Gallery Credit: Lou Milano





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Connecticut Gas Tax Holiday Proposal Stalls – We-Ha | West Hartford News

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Connecticut Gas Tax Holiday Proposal Stalls – We-Ha | West Hartford News


A spokesperson for the governor said the gas tax holiday remains an option ‘should gas prices continue to climb,’ but Lamont is not actively pursuing it due to lack of support from the legislature.

By Karla Ciaglo, CTNewsJunkie.com

On March 10, Gov. Ned Lamont proposed a temporary gas tax holiday to help Connecticut drivers amid rising fuel costs tied to global conflict, but the plan was met with mixed reviews and now appears to be in limbo.

While top Democrats urged immediate action using emergency authority, other legislative leaders and Republicans expressed concerns over timing, fiscal impact, and whether the savings would actually reach Connecticut residents.

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Lamont’s proposal would suspend the state’s 25-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax — and potentially the roughly 49-cent diesel tax — as prices climbed following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the resulting disruption to global oil markets. Despite the urgency, it lost traction among legislators.

Click here to read the rest of the article on CTNewsJunkie.com.

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