Unique memorial honoring long-time Ross Township business owner built along McKnight Road
A unique memorial has been set up in Ross Township to honor a long-time business owner who died.
Click here for photos of the memorial.
Bob Colosimo died last year. He owned a trucking company.
A tri-axle flat-bed truck made completely of stone has been assembled along McKnight Road to honor him.
The stone was provided by The Barn Landscape Supply, a business Colosimo started with his son David.
The Barn Landscape Supply said they hope the model will stand the test of time for years to come.
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9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Just 10% of bills passed in CT's 2025 legislative session. Here are the major ones
After months of clashes on multiple issues, the 2025 legislative session ended last week with new legislation passed on the state budget, early childhood education, gun safety, affordable housing and electricity prices. When the smoke cleared as time expired at midnight on June 4, fewer than 10% of the proposed bills had passed both chambers of the legislature. In all, about 3,800 bills were filed this year on a wide variety of subjects in more than 25 committees. Of those, more than 900 bills were passed by the legislative committees. Eventually, state officials said, 286 bills were passed by both chambers and will be sent to Lamont's desk for his signature. A small sampling of some of the major bills includes : The state's new two-year, $55.8 billion budget was hailed by Democrats for providing additional money for Medicaid, nonprofit organizations, special education, and the working poor. But the measure was ripped by Republicans for too many taxes on businesses and too much spending, including an increase of about $1.2 billion in the first year over this year's spending. The massive, 693-page budget passed both chambers in the final days after 66 hours of public hearings and multiple revisions. The measure passed on strict party lines in the Senate, while two conservative Democrats joined with all Republicans in voting against the budget in the state House of Representatives. Lamont said it was important to him that lawmakers passed a two-year budget, rather than one year as House Speaker Matt Ritter had mentioned, so that the state could plan further into the future. 'I think it's an honestly balanced budget,' Lamont told reporters in his office after the session. 'We did it without raising anybody's tax rates. That was not happening previously.' Among the highlights was a tax rebate of $250 for working families who already qualify for the federal earned income tax credit. Ritter had pushed for a visible method of relief and so checks for $250 per year will be sent to lower-income households with children. The money will be directed to the neediest families after budget negotiators dropped a more expensive Democratic plan that would have provided a child tax credit for families earning as much as $200,000 per year. Republicans charged that Lamont had derailed the bipartisan fiscal guardrails set in 2017 and eviscerated the spending cap. Republicans and the Connecticut Business and Industry Association were also concerned that the budget includes Lamont's change to the 'unitary' tax that they said would lead to tax increases for about 20 major corporations like Electric Boat, Wal-Mart, Raytheon, Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, AT&T, Verizon, and the parent company of Sikorsky helicopters, among others. The tax has not been mentioned much at the state Capitol in recent years, but Fairfield-based General Electric Co. cited the tax among the reasons that the company decided to move its headquarters to Boston during the tenure of then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. But Lamont and his team have frequent contact with top business leaders, and he said after the initial proposal was released that the leaders had not raised major concerns. Republicans have ripped Lamont with a consistent theme that he has 'folded like a lawn chair' on various issues where they believe he has flip-flopped. Senators even set up lawn chairs outside their third-floor caucus room at the state Capitol that mentioned various issues such as the spending cap and fiscal guardrails. 'Our observation that Gov. Lamont 'folded like a lawn chair' to his fellow Democrats apparently struck a nerve,' said Senate Republican leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield. 'Gov. Lamont performed his lawn chair-folding impression multiple times in recent weeks: On the 'sacrosanct' spending cap, on 'no new taxes', on the Trust Act, and on $60 steak-loving CSCU Chancellor Terrence Cheng's new $440,000 no-defined duties job. The truth hurts.' Lamont seems to have grown tired of Republican criticisms, saying the Senate Republicans have thrown stones from the sidelines without offering their own fiscal plan this year as state budget surpluses have continued. 'I wish they would spend less time on folding chairs and more time on coming up with a budget of their own,' Lamont said when asked by The Courant. 'Their numbers don't add up. They couldn't come up with a budget of their own. If you want to have a place at the table, come up with a constructive idea.' Lawmakers approved landmark legislation to fund an endowment account to create more affordable child care in Connecticut in the coming years. Legislators agreed with Lamont to set aside as much as $300 million per year from the state's future budget surpluses in order to create a large endowment fund that would be invested by the state treasurer and could grow in future years. This year's allocation is expected to be $200 million, based on the size of the current surplus. 'The most important initiative, from my point of view, in this budget is what we're doing in early childhood,' Lamont told reporters after the session. 'I think it's absolutely important to economic growth. It gives mom and dad a chance to get back to work. It's all about affordability because you know how big a chunk early childhood and day care can be to a family just getting started out. We're going to have universal pre-K and universal early childhood for early single family, at no cost, earn up to about $100,000 and discounts from there.' Under the plan, families earning $100,000 or less would pay nothing for child care starting in 2028, as it would be paid by the endowment, lawmakers said. The goal is for the endowment to help pay the costs to create 16,000 spaces for preschool, infants, and toddlers by 2030. While those under $100,000 would be free, those earning more than $100,000 would not pay more than 7% of their household income, lawmakers said. But Republicans said that the projected 12% annual draw down in the first two years is too much, saying it would sharply decrease the size of the endowment. They questioned the use of large amounts of money to create an off-budget endowment instead of allocating more money for the state's unfunded liabilities like pensions for state employees and public school teachers. 'It really is the beginning of the end of good fiscal practices,' said House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford. 'They are turning the faucet off on Connecticut paying down its unfunded liabilities. The glory days are over of paying down unfunded liabilities. … This legislation right now is doing away with surpluses as we know it.' Among the most contentious and heavily debated issues was electricity prices and exactly how to solve the long-running dilemma of sky-high energy costs in Connecticut. After numerous revisions, the Senate passed the final version in a 134-page bill by 34-1 with state Sen. John Fonfara of Hartford as the lone dissenting vote. One of the most knowledgeable lawmakers in the building, Fonfara had crafted his own version of electricity reform in the tax-writing finance committee, but the final version did not include all of his ideas, something he called a missed opportunity. While estimates varied, lawmakers said the average residential customer might save about $100 or more per year. Businesses could save $100 per month, or $1,200 per year, depending on their size and usage. Republicans and Democrats have been squabbling publicly about electricity prices for more than a year, both before and after the election. Ritter described the matter as 'the wedge political issue of 2024.' In addition, the twists and turns between the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the state's electric utilities have sparked a long-running soap opera with lawsuits and ongoing drama that has continued on a heavily-lobbied issue. Even after the session, the situation remained in flux as Lamont said he had a handshake deal that is also backed by the law to fill the spots on the PURA board to five members, up from the current three. Fonfara and former Republican state legislator Holly Cheeseman of Niantic have been the two most-mentioned candidates for the jobs since Christmas, but Lamont still has not officially announced his picks. 'We've got a deal for five people, and I'll do it sooner than later,' Lamont told reporters after the session. 'Holly is very well regarded. I think she would be at the top of our list.' Lamont declined to comment on Fonfara, who has been in the middle of various battles related to PURA. Lamont, though, added that he is looking for a highly qualified candidate with deep knowledge of electricity and the regulatory world. 'I haven't found that person yet,' Lamont said. After long debates in both chambers, lawmakers passed a gun safety bill that would make it easier to file civil lawsuits against gun manufacturers and make it harder for some residents to obtain a pistol permit. House Bill 7042 allows the state attorney general, as well as private citizens and cities and towns, to file civil lawsuits against those 'who fail to implement so-called reasonable controls in preventing the sale of firearms to straw purchasers, firearm traffickers, and individuals who are prevented from purchasing firearms under our laws.' Democrats said the bill is necessary because the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, known as PLCAA, was passed by Congress in 2005 that provided special immunity protections for gun manufacturers. So far, nine other states have passed similar legislation to expand the possibility of gun-related lawsuits, including New York, New Jersey, California, Maryland, Illinois, Colorado and others. Republicans blasted the bill as an attack on Second Amendment rights. The multi-pronged bill also makes it harder for some residents to obtain a gun permit if they committed crimes in other states. Currently, Connecticut residents who commit felonies and 11 'disqualifier misdemeanors' are not permitted to obtain a pistol or revolver permit. But residents who commit essentially the same misdemeanors in other states, and then move to Connecticut, are still able to obtain a permit. The bill would cover anyone convicted of those misdemeanors in another state during the past eight years; they would now be blocked from getting a pistol or revolver permit, lawmakers said. After struggling for years to solve an elusive problem, legislators voted for steps to increase affordable housing in one of the nation's most expensive states. Lawmakers expressed frustration as renters and homeowners of all ages have complained of the price of housing — whether a small studio for a recent college graduate, a modest home for a young family, or a larger home in a sought-after town in Fairfield County. The legislation calls for allowing residential developments in commercial zones, eliminating mandatory minimum parking requirements in some cases to spark more housing, and spurring transit-oriented development, among others. But Candelora rejected the ideas that were unveiled with constant references during the debate to a 'carrot-and-stick' approach. 'These aren't carrots that we are eating,' Candelora said. 'These are rocks that people will be swallowing. … To suggest because we oppose this bill, we are opposing homelessness is an insult to us.' In order to help the homeless, the multi-faceted bill calls for a pilot program for mobile, portable showers in trailers that can be transported from town to town to help residents. The trailers, lawmakers said, are readily available online. For years, nonprofit providers have complained constantly that they have received few increases for providing services for the state under contracts to help the needy by operating group homes, among others. But the nonprofits were pleased with the 2025 session, which came through months of persistent lobbying and testimony at the state Capital. 'The biennial budget agreement will provide more than $200 million in new general fund dollars that will be a lifeline for health and human services providers, their staff and the people who depend on their services,' said Gian Carl Casa, a former top state budget official who now heads the statewide community nonprofit alliance. 'Nonprofit leaders were heartened that rank-and-file legislators, including the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, Moderate Caucus and progressives, stood together to add important funding, and that legislative leaders and the governor agreed. Importantly, the legislature also passed a bipartisan bill that, if signed into law, would index future funding levels to inflation.' He added, 'The support of legislators from both parties can help keep us on track as the state faces federal funding challenges this year and beyond.' Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Is Celsius Holdings Stock a Buy Now?
Celsius stock is up over 50% this year. The company acquired competitor Alani Nu in April. Celsius' revenue growth is set to recover, but mostly because of its purchase of Alani Nu. 10 stocks we like better than Celsius › After massive declines in the second half of last year, Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ: CELH) stock may finally be ready for a comeback. The company's rapid growth came to a sudden halt (at least temporarily) as sluggish demand led one of its major distributors (likely PepsiCo) to dramatically scale back its orders. The beverage stock is down over 60% since its peak in early 2024. Still, it is up over 50% since the beginning of the year. The question for investors is whether that recovery signifies the beginnings of a Celsius comeback, or whether investors need to stay on the sidelines. Celsius has carved out a compelling, lucrative niche within the energy drink industry. Instead of pursuing customers like its larger competitors, Red Bull and Monster Beverage, Celsius targeted fitness enthusiasts. It also participated in clinical studies to validate the health benefits of its beverages. Celsius' beverages first became available in 2009. However, it was its distribution agreement with PepsiCo in August 2022 that helped sales take off. Since that agreement in the third quarter of 2022, quarterly revenues have increased by 75% even after the recent slowdown in sales. Additionally, that figure does not account for Celsius' takeover of Alani Nu, which occurred in the second quarter of this year. Before that purchase, Celsius also claimed approximately 11% of the market share, putting it in third place in the energy drink market. Still, investors should remember that it leads the health and fitness-oriented niche in the market, which will likely make it a major force in this industry. Amid the stock's partial recovery, Celsius sells at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 127. Nonetheless, since it is recovering from last year's slump, the forward P/E ratio of 50 may better reflect the company's valuation, a level coming off historical lows. It is also well below the forward P/E ratio of 125 from the stock's peak in early 2024. That forward multiple arguably brings the stock price more in line with its current growth. Unfortunately, investors may still balk at Celsius' valuation as they brace for slower growth. In the first quarter of 2025, revenue of $329 million dropped by 7% yearly. That's a dramatic improvement over the 31% decline in Q3. Still, it is well below the 102% revenue gain in 2023. The falling revenue also led to a comprehensive income in Q1 of $37 million, well below the $63 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue growth should improve in the near term due in part to the Alani Nu takeover. In 2025, analysts forecast 60% revenue growth. But once Celsius benefits from that one-time bump, they expect the revenue increase rate to slow to 21% in 2026. Knowing that, the most significant hope for bulls may lie in the company's potential internationally, where 96% of the world's population resides. Even though international sales made up 7% of revenue in Q1 2025, that part of the market grew revenue by 41% annually. Moreover, that revenue share was only 4% one year ago. Assuming it can continue to increase the proportion of international sales significantly, Celsius stock could deliver higher returns if revenue growth abroad remains strong. Over the long term, Celsius stock likely remains a buy. Admittedly, the 50 forward P/E ratio could point to some overvaluation in the near term. Furthermore, the immediate recovery in revenue will probably happen because of the buyout of Alani Nu, rather than an organic increase in Celsius brand products. Nonetheless, the 21% forecasted revenue increase in 2026 is an indication that demand will rise over time. Additionally, even though international growth will take some time, sales outside of North America are likely to become the company's primary revenue driver over time. Such potential indicates that Celsius' growth story is far from over, meaning its stock could still be positioned for huge gains. Before you buy stock in Celsius, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Celsius wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Will Healy has positions in Celsius. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Celsius and Monster Beverage. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is Celsius Holdings Stock a Buy Now? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Stock Market Is in Ultra-Rarified Territory and Doing Something for Only the 3rd Time in 154 Years -- and History Is Crystal Clear What Happens Next
Outsized volatility in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite has investors looking to history for guidance. An encompassing valuation tool with a perfect track record of predicting the future when back-tested to 1871 offers a warning to Wall Street. The stock market is a simple numbers game that rewards long-term investors who maintain perspective. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › There are a lot of ways for investors to grow their wealth, including purchasing Treasury bonds, buying certificates of deposit from their local bank or credit union, acquiring real estate, or investing in commodities such as gold, silver, and oil. But none of these other asset classes has held a candle to the annualized return of stocks over the last century. However, there's a catch to putting your money to work in the greatest wealth creator on the planet: Stocks are inherently volatile. Although the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and innovation-inspired Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) have all decisively risen over multiple decades, their performance over shorter timelines is no more certain than a coin flip. Through the first five months of 2025, we've observed the broad-based S&P 500 launch to a fresh record closing high, which was followed by corrections in the Dow Jones and S&P 500 and the first bear market in three years for the Nasdaq Composite. In fact, a one-week period in April produced the fifth-biggest two-day percentage slide for the S&P 500 in 75 years, as well as the largest single-day nominal point gain in the index's history. When the stock market swings wildly, investors commonly look to history for guidance. Even though no specific data point or event can guarantee with concrete accuracy what's to come next, some of these metrics and events correlate very strongly with directional moves in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite throughout history. One such ultra-rare indicator, which has surfaced only three times for the S&P 500 when back-tested over the last 154 years, has foreshadowed what happens next for stocks with pristine accuracy. Historical data has uncovered a number of stock market correlations in recent weeks, many of which point to strong upside for equities over the next year. However, one of the rarest indicators, which is focused on stock valuations, suggests quite the opposite. To preface the following discussion, "value" is a subjective term. What you perceive as expensive may be viewed as a phenomenal bargain by another investor. Nevertheless, one valuation tool has a knack for cutting through this subjectivity: the S&P 500's Shiller price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which is also known as the cyclically adjusted P/E ratio, or CAPE ratio. The valuation tool investors are probably most comfortable and familiar with is the traditional P/E ratio, which divides a company's share price by its trailing-12-month earnings. While the P/E ratio is a fantastic measuring stick for mature businesses, it often gets tripped up by growth stocks and during periods of economic turbulence (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic). In contrast, the Shiller P/E ratio is based on average inflation-adjusted earnings over the previous 10 years. Accounting for a decade's worth of earnings history and adjusting it for inflation offers the most apples-to-apples valuation comparison for investors. As of the closing bell on June 5, the S&P 500's Shiller P/E clocked in at a multiple of 36.52. For some context, this is more than double its historical average reading of 17.24 and slightly below its peak reading of 38.89 in December 2024 during the current bull market cycle. When back-tested to January 1871, there have been only three instances where the Shiller P/E has ever neared or surpassed 40: In December 1999, before the bursting of the dot-com bubble, the Shiller P/E peaked at its all-time high of 44.19. During the first week of January 2022, immediately prior to the start of the 2022 bear market, the S&P 500's Shiller P/E briefly touched 40. In recent months, the Shiller P/E has prominently vacillated between 35 and almost 39. The reason these specific figures are mentioned has to do with the correlation between Shiller P/E readings above 30 and the subsequent performance of equities. Including the above three instances, there have been six total occurrences since 1871 where the Shiller P/E has surpassed 30 and maintained this level for at least two months. Eventually (the keyword!), the Dow, S&P 500, and/or Nasdaq Composite lost between 20% and 89% of their value following these peaks. Even though the Shiller P/E is in no way a timing tool, it has foreshadowed the inability of the stock market to sustain an extended valuation over a long period, 100% of the time, spanning 154 years. Based on the current multiple of 36.52, significant downside in the major stock indexes is the expectation. Considering how strongly the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have bounced back from their mini-crash in April, the prospect of a meaningful pullback in all three indexes probably isn't what investors want to hear. Thankfully, history is a two-sided and completely disproportionate coin that overwhelmingly favors optimistic, long-term investors. As much as we might dislike the unpredictability and velocity of moves lower in one or more of Wall Street's major stock indexes, corrections, bear markets, and even crashes are perfectly normal, healthy, and inevitable aspects of the investing cycle. No specific fiscal or monetary policy changes can prevent these largely emotion-driven events from occurring. What's important to recognize is that these cycles aren't linear. In June 2023, shortly after the broad-based S&P 500 officially entered a new bull market, the analysts at Bespoke Investment Group published a data set to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) where they calculated and compared the calendar day length of every S&P 500 bull and bear market since the start of the Great Depression (September 1929). On one end of the spectrum, the benchmark index's 27 bear markets have lasted an average of 286 calendar days (about 9.5 months) since September 1929. Further, the longest bear market on record for the S&P 500 endured for only 630 days in the mid-1970s. Flipping the proverbial coin shows the average S&P 500 bull market stuck around for 1,011 calendar days, or approximately 3.5 times as long as the typical bear market. Additionally, if the current bull market were extrapolated to the present day, more than half (14 out of 27) of all S&P 500 bull markets have lasted longer than the lengthiest bear market. Regardless of how dire any specific data set or correlative event might appear, downturns have consistently been short-lived and have, eventually, always given way to new all-time highs. Maintaining perspective and being optimistic is a formula that consistently grows stock investment portfolios on Wall Street. Before you buy stock in S&P 500 Index, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and S&P 500 Index wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Stock Market Is in Ultra-Rarified Territory and Doing Something for Only the 3rd Time in 154 Years -- and History Is Crystal Clear What Happens Next was originally published by The Motley Fool
