Governor Ned Lamont has announced $20 million in state grants to clean up 21 blighted properties across 18 Connecticut towns. The funds, distributed through the Department of Economic and Community Development, aim to redevelop 150 acres of contaminated land into housing and business spaces. The projects are expected to generate $530 million in private investment, create 1,392 new housing units, and boost local economies. In Newtown, a $610,000 grant will cover costs of a hazardous materials abatement of a site at the former Fairfield Hills Campus. When completed, the buildings, which have been vacant since 1995, will house the Newtown Parks and Recreation Department and be leased for commercial use.
Ed Histed
Ed launched his radio career in 1975 and has spent more than five decades in the broadcasting industry. During that time, he has served in a wide range of roles including Air Personality, News Director, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and General Manager at numerous radio stations in various markets across the country. Beyond on-air and management responsibilities, Ed has also worked extensively on the technical side of broadcasting. His background includes RF engineering and information technology, with particular experience configuring digital automation systems and remote voice-tracking platforms used by stations across the country. Ed was also among a select group of industry professionals invited by Google to its California headquarters following the company’s acquisition of Scott Studios. He was one of just 12 broadcasters nationwide chosen to participate in discussions and provide input during the design and rollout of Google’s digital broadcast automation platform. Although the majority of Ed’s career—spanning roughly four decades—was rooted in music radio, he transitioned into news and information programming in 2012. He says the move into spoken-word broadcasting was a natural evolution after decades of experience in multiple areas of the industry.