Volume 12, Number 18
cheshirecitizen.com
Thursday, May 6, 2021
Mother’s Day specials abound locally
Project gives bird a home By Joy VanderLek The Cheshire Citizen
By Faith Williams Record-Journal staff
A project that involved installing an American kestrel nesting box took place at the Giddings property in Cheshire recently. Working on the local project were American kestrel expert and nest box designer Art Gingert, Dr. Robert Giddings, a retired veterinarian with a specialty in avians, and Melissa Baston with the Connecticut Ornithological Association.
With Mother’s Day approaching, local businesses are offering deals and specials to celebrate the holiday safely. An American kestrel perching
allaboutbirds.org
Cheshire Nursery Garden Center and Flower Shop, 1317 S. Main St., created its own floral arrangements special for Mother’s Day. “We expect this year to be strong,” said Heather Potter, flower shop manager. “People that aren't traveling or socializing as much, we’re hoping they’ll call a local florist and have something delivered, so that moms can still be celebrated on their special day.”
Baston and Gingert made several stops in the region to install the boxes, which Gingert designs and been used in installations throughout the country.
Potter said the most popular arrangement is the “Cheshire Sunset” — which includes tulips, roses and hydrangea blooms. Other options include “Magnificent Mom” and the popular “Spring Sonata.”
Nest boxes are a way to support kestrel populations. Kestrels are on the state species of special concern and are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and Connecticut General Statutes regarding threatened and endangered species. According to All about Birds (allaboutbirds.org) the slender American kestrel is roughly the size and shape of a mourning dove, al-
Art Gingert, Dr. Robert Giddings (DVM- retired) and Connecticut Ornithological Association’s Melissa Baston are shown installing an American Kestrel Nest Box on the Giddings property in Cheshire. Baston and Gingert made several stops in the region to install the See Project, A6 boxes, which Gingert designs.
Wallingford Flower Shoppe, 190 Center St., is offering arrangement options, including a variety of roses, daisies and tulips. Owner Sal Greco said he expects an increase in sales this year. See Specials, A2
State regulators mull utility fines over storm response By Dave Collins Associated Press
HARTFORD — Connecticut regulators last week criticized the state’s two largest electricity distributors and said they are considering fines over what they called the compa-
nies’ failures in their preparation and response last August to Tropical Storm Isaias, which left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the dark for days. Isaias knocked down scores of trees and utility wires, causing more than
740,000 outages at its peak and a total of more than 1.3 million outages to Eversource and United Illuminating customers. Many customers and local officials expressed anger and frustration at the companies’ power restoration efforts, which took more than a week in some places.
Eversource and United Illuminated have defended their responses to the storm. The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Wednesday, April 28 issued a unanimous ruling that orders See Utilities, A3