Syndicated political columnist Molly Ivins died of breast cancer Wednesday evening at her home in Austin. She was 62 years old, and had much, much more to give this world.

She remained cheerful despite Texas politics. She emphasized the more hilarious aspects of both state and national government, and consequently never had to write fiction. She said, "Good thing we’ve still got politics—finest form of free entertainment ever invented."

The News-Times recently covered the proposed Savannah Hills subdivision on Danbury's Great Plain Road.

The site being considered is part of a large hilly open space with vernal pools, hemlock forest, mountain laurel and wetlands that provide important habitats for wildlife.

The 33-acre proposed development is part of a larger 100-acre forest including ridgelines, gorges and streams of great beauty. This is a watershed area for Candlewood Lake, providing water protection for our area's greatest resource.

At the last Environmental Impact Commission public hearing, a neighbor mentioned amphibian population in the area. Dr. Danzer, Danbury's environmental scientist, reported that this site might be the habitat for the northern slimy salamander, which is on Connecticut's threatened species list. He recommended that the state Department of Environmental Protection be consulted.

The disappearance of an amphibian species is significant; a greater issue for Danbury citizens is the potential loss of an entire ecosystem, once commonplace in our area.

Overdevelopment was the main topic of discussion at Mayor Boughton's open forum on Jan. 20. The mayor talked about offering a bond referendum that would give Danbury residents an opportunity to preserve some of the most desirable remaining open spaces.

Currently, residents on the north, south and west sides of Danbury enjoy protected open space areas. I hope it is not too late to protect the only open space area remaining on the east side of our city.

Please contact the mayor, legislators and Common Council members if you share my concern.

Any development such as Savannah Hills should only receive approval if all steps are taken to preserve the quality of our environment. Our city's Environmental Impact, Conservation, and Planning commissions need to do all within their power to ensure that any development in the Great Plain woodlands respects the beauty and character of this truly priceless natural resource.

The Darfur conflict is an ongoing armed conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan, mainly between the Janjaweed (translated: "devils on horseback"), a militia group recruited from the tribes of the Abbala (camel-herding Arabs), and the non-Baggara people (mostly land-tilling tribes) of the region. The Sudanese government, while publicly denying that it supports the Janjaweed, has provided arms and assistance and has participated in joint attacks with the group, systematically targeting the Fur, Zaghawa, and Massaleit ethnic groups in Darfur. The conflict began in July 2003. Unlike in the Second Sudanese Civil War, which was fought between the primarily Muslim north and Christian and Animist south, in Darfur most of the residents are Muslim, as are the Janjaweed.

Estimated number of deaths in the conflict have ranged from 50,000 (World Health Organization, September 2004) to 450,000 (Dr. Eric Reeves, 28 April 2006). Most NGOs use 400,000, a figure from the Coalition for International Justice that has since been cited by the United Nations. As many as 2.5 million are thought to have been displaced.