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Spring Forward: Daylight Saving Time 2012 Begins Sunday

Sunday we get to spring ahead by winding the clocks forward an hour for Daylight Saving Time.

That's right , it's nearly time to 'Spring Forward.'

At 2 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, March 11, we'll be springing our clocks forward—and losing an hour of the day, for Daylight Saving Time. The good news: sunset will be an hour later.

You may have noticed the annual tradition of Daylight Saving Time has crept forward a bit. We used to spring forward on the first Sunday in April and on last Sunday in October. But a couple years ago, Congress changed the date—adding more Daylight Saving Time to the calendar. This year, it will run from March 11 until Nov. 4.

Unless you're in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. They don't do Daylight Saving Time.

Around the world, about 75 countries and territories have at least one location that observes Daylight Saving Time, according to TimeandDate.com. On the other hand, 164 don't observe the time change at all.

Brief History:

According to the Huffington Post

Benjamin Franklin has been credited with the idea of Daylight Saving Time, but Britain and Germany began using the concept in World War I to conserve energy, the Washington Post observes. The U.S. used Daylight Saving Time for a brief time during the war, but it didn't become widely accepted in the States until after the second World War.

In 1966, the Uniform Time Act outlined that clocks should be set forward on the last Sunday in April and set back the last Sunday in October.

That law was amended in 1986 to start daylight saving time on the first Sunday in April, though the new system wasn't implemented until 1987. The end date was not changed, however, and remained the last Sunday in October until 2006.

Today, Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. The time change will precede the first day of spring and the vernal equinox, which is set to take place at 1:14 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 20.

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Russ Best May 4, 2013 at 05:09 pm
Vincent: first..let me commend you for doing an excellent job! I have a couple thoughts I wouldRead More like to bounce off of you: 1. How about a proposal for property tax breaks for seniors? Pick an age..62 or 65. The majority of retirees are on fixed incomes, some of which are on the razors edge right now and are looking at having to move from the area even though they don't want to. Its a shame that people who have lived their whole lives here cannot afford to stay on for retirement. 2. The current property tax credit for veterans is $1000 and has been stuck there since the '60s if I'm not mistaken. It really doesn't amount to a hill of beans given current property values and needs a serious upgrade/higher value. As a combat veteran (Viet Nam) I would be really grateful if this could be improved.
Tom Scelfo April 29, 2013 at 09:40 pm
Vinny - you obviously understand both the problem and the solution. As a general rule, all ourRead More elected officials are intelligent people, so I just don't understand why the Majority party doesn't seem to "get it." Please keep focusing on the problem AND the solution. At some point in time, perhaps other elected officials will finally understand the problem we are in, and realize that we really need to get serious about fixing it. Thanks for your service to the Connecticut's tax payers!
Russ Best May 4, 2013 at 12:42 pm
Audrey: welcome to the world of state and town contracts, unions and piddly regs that must beRead More quibbled over. There are power plays between city and state civil engineers,etc.All this is done in the name of "progress"..something I had hoped to see slow down when I moved to Northford. Progess nearly always means ever escalating taxes and rules that eventually push out folks of lower income, turning it into yet another elitist Connecticut town. It's sad the town managers and council can't seem to put their foot down and reign in spending.
Audrey Fitting May 2, 2013 at 11:08 am
I agree, it seems as though they are more worried about putting in fake grass, and spindly trees,Read More and are not working fast at all. The beautiful center of our town has been ruined. I cannot see it ever looking good again. I think it is a bigger bottleneck than we had. Whoever they hired as an engineer should be ashamed to take any money. Very poor planning...or may be plans in the works. The two ugly houses we have to pass when we go from 139 towards RT 80, its sure ugly, and that dentist office should be to torn down. Give it up. We now have an ugly town center. The shopping center at Dairy Queen, is dying for stores, but who would move in? I wish I could move out of town. This is atrocious.
John Fontenault May 2, 2013 at 10:03 am
Other than some work being performed at the Notch Hill Road and Rte 80 intersection and some workRead More under the Tilcon Overpass there has been little to no activity for months. Other than the equipment needed in these two areas there is no longer any large equipment in the area. Clearly crews have picked up and moved on. Is there a funding issue? An updated schedule should be posted to the Town's Website so we can all understand what progress will be made this spring. Please comment if you have details.