Sign in Subscribe
The What

The What: 6+ Inches of Rain Falls Across Lower Fairfield County; Report Finds 40% of Residents in our Region Struggle to Make Ends Meet; and more

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of Sept. 14.

The What: 6+ Inches of Rain Falls Across Lower Fairfield County; Report Finds 40% of Residents in our Region Struggle to Make Ends Meet; and more
Dreaming of sunny days after yesterday's soaker (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, September 14

Happy Monday! We hope you all made it through yesterday’s storms relatively unscathed. That was some of the worst rain we’ve seen—more than 6 inches fell in just a few hours!—and I know so many of you dealt with flood waters in your homes and businesses.  

Highlights 

This section gives a brief overview of the key items in the newsletter.

  • More than 6 inches of rain fell across the region Sunday morning, inundating properties, flooding roads, shutting down train service, and even closing schools. Take a look at what happened. 
  • We previously covered how some of the most flooded spots are one that local communities know about and are trying to address, but lack of funding can be a challenge to implement any solutions to address flooding. 
  • A new report found that about 40% of residents in our region struggle to make ends meet, with wide disparities by zip code. 

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

Impassable roadways, damaged local businesses, destroyed cars, temporarily shut down train lines, and flooded houses were some of the reports that came in across the region as more than six inches of rain fell in some parts on Sunday morning. 

“According to the state’s 12:30 p.m. update, the Norwalk-to-Westport area was among the hardest hit in Connecticut, receiving six to seven inches of rain after 7 a.m., with rainfall rates reaching three to four inches per hour,” a statement from Westport reads. 

Westport officials said that emergency responders rescued at least 13 people who were trapped in vehicles by floodwaters on Sunday. 

Fairfield police said that they “responded to more than 100 storm-related calls throughout the day as heavy rain caused flooding and other hazardous conditions across town.” 

Take a look at what happened or explore our reporting from July when we reported on how local officials are working to address some of the most troubled flooding spots, but funding challenges persist. 

Fairfield County is home to some of the wealthiest areas in the entire United States, and it also has some areas of poverty. In between some of those extremes are families who are ALICE—Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed—meaning they live above the federal poverty line, but struggle to make ends meet. 

A new report found that nearly 30% of Connecticut residents are ALICE. When those are combined with those at or below the federal poverty line, it shows that nearly 40% of residents face financial hardship. In our region about 40% of residents are considered ALICE, according to the report.

The report from United Way of Connecticut says that a “household survival budget” for a family of four living in Connecticut is $116,304—dramatically higher than the federal poverty level for a family of four, which is $31,200. But looking at average salaries for two full-time employees, in this instance a bank teller and a cook, their combined wages are $76,144, leaving a large gap between what the family needs and what they’re earning. 

“Households below the ALICE Threshold don’t have enough income to afford their basic needs,” the report stated. 

Explore what this looks like in our area and what potential solutions could be.

This Week at a Glance

This section includes a list of meetings, events, and programming happening around southwest Connecticut each week.

Bridgeport

Featured Meeting: The Ordinance Committee will meet on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. and host a public hearing on whether a new amendment to the city’s parking ordinance should be amended to take into consideration the impact on school bus drivers during the school day.

Stamford

Featured Meeting: The Board of Finance will meet on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. and review multiple items related to the rehabilitation of the Glenbrook Community Center, including approving a lease agreement for Domus Kids to “activate” the center.

Norwalk

Featured Meetings: The Board of Education has a busy meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. featuring multiple presentations including: an update on last year’s budget and any carryover for this year; results of a youth survey; and a review of Norwalk’s scores on state testing. The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. and review multiple items including voting on a text amendment to create the Wall Street Village District Overlay. We’ve previously covered the changes happening on Wall Street. 

Fairfield

Featured Meeting: There will be a perfectly timed Master Flood Resilience Plan Presentation on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. where officials will review the inland and coastal flood mitigation approaches as part of the Town Master Flood Resilience plan.

Greenwich

Featured Meeting: The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. and review multiple items including a proposal to convert an office building to a multifamily building at 18 Valley Drive and a preapplication review for Alpha School’s proposal to bring an AI-based school to the town. We explored the Alpha School network as part of our AI in Schools piece last week. 

Darien 

Featured Meeting: The Board of Selectmen will meet on Monday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. and hear updates on the Great Island Parking design; discuss Great Island events and potential issues such as parking and security. 

Westport

Featured Meetings: The Board of Education Policy Committee will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. and continue reviewing the new proposed district use of AI policy. We highlighted Westport and other schools’ use of AI in our AI in schools piece. The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. and review a plan to rezone 11 properties in the Saugatuck area to a new business district. 

Stay in touch!

As we continue to grow and evolve, please join us! You can do that by:

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

Read next