Connecticut Postings

Stratford’s Ordinance Committee, which is comprised of the Town Council membership, has tabled a proposed ordinance change that would set the council meeting start time at 7:15 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.

At a public hearing earlier this month, a slew of residents slammed the proposed meeting time change, saying a 7:15 p.m. start time would make it difficult for commuters and working residents to participate in their town government.

The council then kicked the issue over to the Ordinance Committee, which tabled the proposal at its meeting Monday night.

Read more about residents’ opposition to the proposed earlier meeting time here.

Stratford’s Traffic Authority will have to decide whether to allow golf carts on the town’s roads, freshman town councilman Craig Budnick said in a phone interview Wednesday.

At a public hearing before the Town Council early this month, about a half dozen residents — most from of the Lordship section of town –requested an ordinance allowing residents to drive golf carts on town roads marked with a 25 mph speed limit or lower.

Residents who spoke at the hearing said golf carts are a convenient mode of travel for short trips to the beach and around the neighborhood. Driving a golf cart is better for the environment than driving a car, one resident pointed out.

“The Town Council as a body does not have the right to regulate golf carts,” Budnick said. “The residents who may be concerned or want to have golf carts allowed in the Lordship section of town can submit a Traffic Authority request online on the town website.”

Budnick, a republican representing the seventh district, said residents who would like the town to draw up a golf cart ordinance can request that the Traffic Authority take up the issue by filling out this online request form. Residents may also contact the Traffic Authority via fax (203-381-1234) or email (mdunbar@townofstratford.com).

“At the end of the day, it’s really up to the citizens concerned about the golf cart issue to contact the town’s Traffic Authority,” he said.

Connecticut Against Violence, an anti-violence group founded by DJ Kingsley Osei and Bridgeport Police Lt. David Daniels, will bring a squad of DJs to Bassick High School tonight for a men’s basketball game against Harding High School.

The disc jockeys will host special guests DJ Buck from Hot 93.7 and former NBA player Wesley Matthews. Matthews, 52, is a Bridgeport native and former Harding High School President.

CAV uses music to inspire youth to stand in unity against gun violence. The group will dedicate its music show tonight to victims of gun violence in Connecticut.

The Bassick-Harding game starts at 7 p.m. tonight at the Bassick High School gymnasium.

Contributed by the Stratford fire union

Stratford Fire Lt. Tom McCabe, 54, died unexpectedly Tuesday, according to the fire union’s Facebook page.

McCabe was a 24-year veteran of the department. He was treasurer of the Firefighters Benevolent Association and historian of the department, according to the fire union.

The launch of the nonprofit Discovery Museum’s year-long 50th anniversary celebration, canceled because of Saturday’s snowstorm, has been rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., the museum announced today.

Donna M. Curran, director of communications, said that along with free admission, the open house will feature a reception and announcements regarding 2012 special events.

Several local and state officials also are expected to attend, she added.

The museum, which now focuses on science and technology, was opened on Jan. 21, 1962, as the Museum of Art, Science and Industry.

The Discovery Museum and Planetarium is at 4450 Park Ave., Bridgeport. For additional information, call 203-372-3521 or visit www.discoverymuseum.org

A judge granted a 90-year-old Stratford woman permission to visit four cats seized from her home last year by animal control officers, the woman’s son said Monday.

Marion Perreira and her son, William Perreira, appeared in court Monday on civil charges filed against them by the Town of Stratford. The case was continued to March 19.

The town is suing Marion Perreira for ownership of the four cats seized from her home. The cats were seized because the Perreiras violated a signed agreement with the town by failing to provide required veterinary care to five cats in their possession, according to Town Attorney Tim Bishop.

Marion Perreira owns and cared for the animals, but William Perreira lives in the home and co-signed the agreement.

The town is seeking custody of the  cats or nearly $6,000 in fees to cover expenses the town has paid for animal care.

In addition to the civil suit, Marion and William Perreira have each been charged with several counts of animal cruelty.

The Perreiras are fighting the charges.

Read more about civil and criminal charges against the Perreira family here.

Bridgeport police are investigating a report of a robbery at the Bijou Theater on Fairfield Avenue about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

No further information is available.

BRIDGEPORT –– The 33rd annual celebration by Bridgeport Black Pride of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will this year feature the Rev. James D. Peters, Jr., who both worked with King and preached in Bridgeport in the 1960s and early 1970s.

The event is set to begin Monday at 8:30 a.m. at Mount Aery Baptist Church, 73 Frank St.

Peters, the retired leader of the New Hope Baptist Church in Denver, was in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s and the 1960s. He was at the founding meeting in 1957 of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and he worked directly with King during the marches in Albany, Ga., and in Selma and Birmingham, Ala. He also participated in the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963, when King delivered his “I Have a Dream’’ speech.

Peters was pastor of East End Baptist Church in Bridgeport from 1960 to 1973.

The two-hour celebration at Mount Aery usually attracts more than 600 people, including a number of VIPs from the region.

It will be followed at 10:30 a.m. by a community breakfast in the lower level of the church. Tickets for the breakfast are s $12 for adults and $7 for youth 17 and under. Tickets may be purchased at Ms. Thelma’s Restaurant, 140 Fairfield Ave., or by calling 203-526-8086. There will also be a coat drive during the event.