Gustave Whitehead with his flying machine.

The National Geographic, in its website, is reporting on the controversy surrounding the iconic Wright Bothers Flyer that hangs in a place of honor in the National Air & Space Museum.

Back in March, the storied aviation publication Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft took the position that it was Bridgeport’s Gustave Whitehead, and not the Wright Brothers, who were first in the sky with a heavier-than-air flying machine in 1901. The Wrights flew in 1903.

In the on-line article, “Wright Brothers Flight Legacy Hits New Turbulence,” reporter Jarret Liotta discusses the work of aviation historian John Brown, whose research contributed to the Jane’s position on Whitehead. Liotta also reports on the testy back-and-forth between Brown and the Smithsonian’s Tom Crouch, the National Air and Space Museum’s Senior Curator of Aeronautics.

MILFORD — For over 300 years, people of all ages have searched for Captain Kidd’s treasure. Join Captain Kidd and his crew as they sail into Milford Harbor, kidnap Mayor Blake and “take over” downtown Milford on Sunday, June 9, from noon to 5 p.m. Come dressed as a pirate and be a part of Connecticut’s best and largest scavenger hunt.

Participants will pick a downtown treasure map and a booty bag; follow the clues listed on the map and fill up your booty bags with treasures galore. Here’s a clue … Only the places displaying Pirate Flags will have the booty you seek! While you are collecting your booty, look out for the Pirate Steam Train as she makes her way through downtown. The Pirates of Las Tortuga will pillage and plunder and cause mayhem. There is even heard tell of a duel between the Las Tortuga Pirates and the Black Flag Crue.

Be sure to stop by the Gazebo on the Green to listen to live, local bands, and take a gander for more crew members. Put on your best pirate garb and join Captain Kidd and his motley crew for fabulous pirate parade. The parade will start at the gazebo and Captain Kidd will be judging for the best in show pirate.

Here’s the event schedule:

11:30 a.m.

Map Distribution Lisman Landing

11:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Chris Barber (Classic/Modern Rock) Lisman Landing

12 p.m

Cap’n Kidd arrives Harbor/Lisman Landing

12 p.m

Kidnapping of Mayor Harbor/Lisman Landing

12:15 p.m

Pirate Steam Train crew kidnaps Mayor and Cap’n Kidd Harbor/Lisman Landing

12:30 p.m

Map Distribution by Cap’n Hook and crue By the Gazebo on the Green

12:30-2 p.m

Pirate Rock Painting with Rock On Pirate Girls By the Gazebo on the Green

1 p.m

Milford Volunteers Ancient Fife and Drum Corps Park by Café Atlantique

1-2 p.m

Jeremiah Long (Acoustic/Rock) Stonebridge Deck

1:30-2:30 p.m

The Navels (Rock and Roll) Gazebo on the Green

2-3:30 p.m

Pirate Parade around the Green. Everyone invited to participate in the parade. Cap’n Kidd will judge for best in parade. By the Gazebo on the Green

2:30-3:30 p.m

Pirate Duel By the Gazebo on the Green

3:00-4 p.m

The Elwoods (Classic Rock/Blues) Gazebo on the Green

5 p.m

Drop off completed maps By the Gazebo on the Green

The city’s Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony will also take place on Sunday, May 26, in front of City Hall, beginning promptly at 10 a.m.

“Please join us this Memorial Day to honor our fallen heroes who have served this country to ensure and preserve our freedoms,” said Christine L. Smith, vice chairwoman of the event.

Organizations wishing to participate should contact Russ Edwards at 203-876-0914 for more information.

Andrew King, Executive Director of Connecticut Air & Space Center will conduct a panel discussion on Gustav Whitehead and Chance Vought that will focus on the accomplishments of both aviation pioneers with emphasis on the recent recognition of Gustav Whitehead being the first to fly a controlled, powered aircraft.

Chance M. Vought was the founder of the company that designed and produced the Corsair fighter-bomber, one of the most successful war planes of World War II.

Also planned are discussions on the many aircraft that were developed and built in the Stratford and Bridgeport are, the current restoration of a Corsair fighter and the possible restoration of a Sikorsky flying boat by CASC.

The panel will include CASC board members Andrew King, Andrew Kosch, noted Whitehead expert; Chris Soltis, museum curator; and Ed McGuinness, the Corsair restoration project manager.

The panel discussion will be held Sunday, May 5th, at the Stratford Library, 2203 Main St., beginning at 2 p.m. All are welcomed to attend.

MILFORD — Mayor Benjamin G. Blake invites all Milford and Connecticut residents to a free concert presented by the world-renowned LWC Singers of Lindsey Wilson College of Columbia, Ky.  The concert will take place on Wednesday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 71 River St., Milford.

“We are honored and excited to host Columbia, Kentucky’s LWC Choral Ensemble in Milford,” said Blake.

The cities of Milford and Columbia, Ky., share a special connection. Following the devastation and destruction of Super-storm Sandy, Columbia Mayor Mark Harris and the good citizens of Columbia, Kentucky organized relief efforts and trucked emergency supplies to Milford to help with the recovery efforts. Since then, a cross-country friendship was formed between the two cities.

“Please come to Milford’s St. Peter’s Church to welcome these ambassadors of goodwill and enjoy an evening of inspirational music performed by the LWC Singers,” the mayor said.

MILFORD — Mayor Ben Blake and the Milford Conservation Commission are challenging the citizens of Milford to pick up 50,000 pieces of litter by May 11 when the city will celebrate Earth Day.

Called the “50K by Earth Day Litter Challenge,” this campaign offers all individuals, households, school groups, scouts and civic organizations the opportunity to work together in cleaning up the city’s streets, open spaces and beaches in an all-out spring cleaning.

If each citizen picks up one piece of litter, Milford will reach its 50K goal. Mayor Blake will help kick off the campaign on Monday, April 1, at 3:30 p.m., at the Fowler Pavilion with students and other participants cleaning up the field and adjacent Wilcox Park.

Litter should be bagged and left for regular curbside pickup or recycling according to the normal rules. The approximate number of items (doesn’t need to be exact) can be reported online at this website or by filling out and dropping a form in a box at the Milford Public Library or at the Milford Earth Day registration booth.

The public is urged to be safe – use caution when cleaning up near high traffic areas, wear gloves, and be careful when handling sharp objects. Large objects or hazardous materials not suited to curbside pickup, or evidence of dumping, should be left in place and reported through the Milford Conservation Commission Facebook page, or reported to Milford Public Works (203-783-3265).

The talk is free and open to the public. Afterward there will be a book signing by the author, and light refreshments will be served. For reservations, contact Jody Cologgi, 203-938-8809 or jcologgi@highstead.net.

The book, published by Crown, is a finalist for a 2012 L.A. Times Book Prize in the category of current interest. Sterba says that Americans have become so estranged from nature that they don’t know how to cope with the wild bounty in their midst.

“It is very likely that more people live in closer proximity to more wild animals and birds in the eastern United States today than anywhere on the planet at any time in history,” he said.

He explains that throughout the 20th century, conservationists outlawed commercial hunting, created wildlife sanctuaries, transplanted isolated species to restored habitats, and imposed regulations on hunters and trappers.

Over decades, these efforts slowly nursed many wild populations back to health, and coincided with the migration of city dwellers into areas once occupied by family farms. By 2000, a majority of Americans lived in suburbia, where wild creatures have found an abundance of food, water and places to hide from hunters.

“The result is a mix of people and wildlife that should be an animal lover’s dream, but often turns into a sprawl dweller’s nightmare,” he said. “Our well-meaning efforts to protect animals have allowed wild populations to burgeon out of control, degrading ecosystems, and touching off disputes that have polarized communities and pitted neighbor against neighbor.”

Sterba cited in the book’s epilogue the Wildlands and Woodlands Initiative as an example of helping Americans understand and accept the need for managing their natural habitats and reconnecting to the outdoors.

“It means getting up in the morning darkness now and then,” Sterba writes, “walking into a forest, sitting under a tree, listening to the sounds, and watching nature’s day begin.”

Highstead, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving natural landscapes, is partnering with the Harvard Forest to execute the Wildlands and Woodlands vision, which aims to preserve 70 percent of New England’s forests over the next 50 years.

Sterba is a longtime foreign and national affairs correspondent for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He lives in New York City with his wife, the author Frances FitzGerald.

BRIDGEPORT – Housatonic Community College will conduct a criminal justice and public safety career fair Wednesday, March 27.

The event is designed to expose students to various career options and highlight the importance of higher education for future criminal justice practitioners. Representatives from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and four-year colleges will be on hand to provide recruitment information.

A panel discussion on first responder and disaster response teams will be held at 10 a.m. The panel will include representatives of the FBI and the Connecticut State Police. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Events Center in Beacon Hall.

Steve Cavallo

The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country, was presented by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program on behalf of President Barack Obama. Steve participated in the Spirit of Community program this year as a representative of Notre Dame High School, in Fairfield, where he is a student.

Steve earned his award by volunteering for numerous Notre Dame service programs, as well as serving as a summer math tutor at St. Andrew School, volunteering at the Jewish Home for the Elderly and as a junior counselor at the St. Patrick’s Church Bible Camp,” said Notre Dame Principal Christopher Cipriano. “He is certainly a very worthy recipient of this award, and our entire school community shares its congratulations.”

Sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program recognizes young people across America for outstanding community service activities. More than 370,000 young people across America have been considered for these awards since the program began in 1995.

Rose is pushing for a bill that would require contractors to demonstrate competency before getting a license.

“The way it stands now, you or I could go in and pay our $220 to the state of Connecticut and register as a contractor and we wouldn’t have to provide any proof that we had any skill whatsoever,” she said. “We wouldn’t even have to show any knowledge of building codes.”

Rose notes that even though contractors refer to themselves as “licensed,” “in reality, they’re only registered.”

She said that real estate agents, by contrast, are required to take 60 hours of instruction before getting their licenses. A raft of other avocations, from lawyers and medical doctors to hairdressers and plumbers, must also demonstrate competency, too.

Officially, Rose’s bill is called: HB 5149: An Act Concerning Testing and Licensing of Home Improvement Contractors. It’s being considered by the General Law Committee.

“There are a number of contractors, honest contractors who know what they’re doing, who will be testifying in support of my bill,” she said.

Rose said that in her case, a “licensed” contractor botched a new roof on her Naugatuck Avenue home, and the subsequent leaks caused $40,000 in damage. Rose represents the 118th House District, although her appeal for victims of incompetent home improvement contractors need not live in the 118th, or in Milford for that matter.

She apologized for the short notice, but the hearing on her bill was just scheduled a week ago, she said. Those who are interested in testifying can contact her at 1-800-842-8267, or by email at kim.rose@cga.ct.gov.

jburgeson@ctpost.com; 203-330-6403; http://twitter.com/johnburgeson