Week In Review: Health Department, Arctic Chill, Best Restaurants

Hopefully, you stayed warm this week and didn’t turn into an ice-cube. The bitter winter cold caused the state to activate its severe weather protocol. The weather also kept people inside, leaving businesses empty and causing a march for Westerly Hospital to turn into a candlelight vigil.

Maybe the cold kept people away from a public hearing on increases in health department fees or maybe most of the businesses owners are not worried about the new fees. Whatever, the reason only six people showed up for the public hearing.

Nothing warms me up on a cold day like delicious warm food. Connecticut Magazine released their list of Best Restaurants 2013 this week, and six local places made the cut.

The Mystic Arts Center is one step closer to an artist-in-residency program thanks to a donation from Harvey Fuller.

The Stonington Board of Education met again to discuss the 2013-2014 proposed budget. A public forum on the school budget is scheduled for February 7, 2013.

Everyday in 2013 we will share at least one photograph of a tranquil moment in Stonington, Mystic and Patch. It’s our way of making sure we take at least a moment each day to stop, look and appreciate what we have around us. We encourage you to share your tranquility photos by tweeting them to @StoningtonPatch, tagging Stonington on Facebook, and adding them to this gallery.

Catch up on some of the blog posts we had this week: Therese Foss reviewed The Oyster Club, Rodolfo Mari explained RSM Personal Training and Peter Hufstader discussed Connecticut’s Gun Laws.

Thanks to Salvatore Ritacco, Antiques LTD, Evering Electric, and Extra Virgin Oil Store for recently claiming their directory listings on Patch. If you have a business in Stonington, Mystic or Pawcatuck that you want listed on Patch for free or want to claim email Editor Bree Shirvell.

We covered lots more this week and throughout the weekend, so search the site for other stories, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates and check out our calendar to see what's happening next week in town.