The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Apr. 30, 2009

Wallingford: the rejection of an Ethics Board member for reappointment has thrown fat into the fire, seems to me. Is it fair to assume that the proposed change to the charter regarding contributions applies to the Ethics Board. How about the other more active town bodies? These things have traditionally been partisan in nature. Is that to end?

Wallingford: the public is not much enchanted with some of the projected cuts. Why the VNA should have been chosen either for reduction or defense is a bit strange.

Meriden: The plan to make police cruisers go green is good. The reduction in the gasoline to keep all the special equipment up to date should be fairly significant.

Southington: State House passes the Greenway Commons bill unanimously. That’s a good deal.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Apr. 29, 2009

Southington: The status of Chief Daly, or at least his popularity, is decided. As noted, there is much work to be done to repair the relationship between chief and the force. While the charter revision folks may change something, there’s nothing to be gained by waiting.

Wallingford: It is good to see that the town Council has done the right thing by the testament of Mrs. Juul regarding her gift to animal welfare. The point about future donations was not lost on councilors, regardless of the legalities.

Wallingford: the closing of the Saturn dealership is too bad but, considering GM’s intentions, entirely understandable. The dealership, Executive Auto Group, seems to be doing as well as it can by employees. Too bad, really, as I recall what a fine experiment Saturn was when the brand was created.

State: Bottle bill case. One can see why bottlers are angry about having to turn over the unclaimed deposits on bottles to the state; they may have become very fond of that little nest egg over the years. What’s harder to figure is why the state ever let them keep the small change in the first place. It’s a good example of why issues should be dealt with when they arise.

The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Apr. 28, 2009

Southington: The education budget. The stage is being set for an effort to have the Council override the Board of Finance.

Meriden: the swine flu outbreak demonstrates an excellent reason for Protein Science to go forward with its manufacturing facility, which has been discussed but is a way from being reality. It’s good to know they’re confident they can produce a vaccine.

Wallingford: The Charter Revision Commission unanimously forwards its recommendations to the Town Council, tossing the ball neatly into its lap.

Meriden: The MHA, with only three members present, seemed to be a little stalled on action.

Meriden: it’s early to say, though late in the budget game, but the various unions appear to be considering the issue presented by their contracts. Let’s not cut it too fine: the budget must be set Monday.

The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Apr. 27, 2009

Wallingford: The Connecticut Hospital Association is working with NAACP to help close the gap in treatment and access at hospitals. It’s going to be a tough job, but one which must be attempted.

Wallingford: citizens will have the opportunity Monday evening to offer their own input into the Charter Revision process as the commission moves to within sight of the finish line.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Apr. 26, 2009

State: Members of the Congressional delegation discuss earmarks. The Doubting Thomases and the rest of the “Mad as Hell” gang should look at the list and see if they’d rather forgo the local projects so that some other district can get more. This is just the way things are likely to go on working. So one can be continually angry, or just try to work to keep the system under some sort of reasonable control.

Meriden: the Carabetta folks are suggesting that they might do better with the Chamberlain Heights than the Jonathan Rose organization which is seeking a third partner. Is the Housing Authority ready to consider the option.

Southington: There will be another parking assessment downtown. It’s acknowledged as a less-than-perfect tool, but it will be a new tool. Participation is therefore encouraged.

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Apr. 25, 2009

Southington: DCF changes mission of the controversial group home from boys to girls, and plans for regular liaison with community. No one’s happy. Doubtful that the state’s use of this home will make anyone happy. That’s why the law allows the state to bypass local zoning, which, as one can see, has no trouble, in general, saying “no” to anything a neighborhood dislikes.

Meriden: the GOP flame-out regarding Chris Donovan’s campaign chair is off target, considering the circumstances.

Southington: an affordable housing decision trumps Planning and Zoning Commission decision after two years. There’s a need to work with affordable housing plans.

The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Apr. 24, 2009

Southington: One has to respect Superintendent Erardi for wanting to inform the individuals affected by budget cuts personally, before it’s published.

Cheshire: school system parents and teachers switch from PTA to PTO. It is interesting to have to distinction, of which we were vaguely award, spelled out so clearly.

The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Apr. 23, 2009

Meriden: the tenants for the old post office, once the whole process is complete, should be a welcome presence in downtown center.

Meriden: that culvert business on East Main Street. Seems there might be more to this situation than meets the eye, but in any case, it’s too bad things haven’t worked out the way they evidently expected.

Meriden: the issue of dogs in the cemetery is interesting and a good example of citizen involvement. We shall see where it goes.

Wallingford: furloughs being suggested by councilors, but the mayor is quite about the notion. That leads one to think that perhaps the union negotiations are further along than one might think.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Apr. 22, 2009

Meriden: In the debate over support for Catholic parochial schools, this issue, one thought, was settled years ago now. Providing special services turns out to be something of a wash for the city: were they not provided, chances are thought fairly high that parents of students needing them might opt to send the kids to public schools, where they would presumably qualify and be given them, thus costing more or less the same amount. Sam rationale as busing kids to school. Why not simply eliminate all school busing, and let parents take responsibility for getting their kids back and forth to school?

Southington: board of finance cuts more from school budget, making comparison to the non-school total, which makes, without further information, good sense. But are the two parts of the budget comparable?

Meriden: UConn student from city wants to make it legal for students to carry concealed weapons. How can this possibly make anyone safer in any circumstance whatever? Kids/students/adolescents/young adults need fewer weapons at access, not more.

Cheshire: school system is going to try school activity fees once again. This is a bad plan. A public school is free. Either provide any activity free or don’t do them.

Wallingford: Wooding-Caplan access to be repaved for $75,000 . . . and even that is controversial. Enough said. Or perhaps we should remember about those good intentions and the road to Hell.

Area: Those Earth Day suggestions are all things more folks should try to include in their daily considerations.

Meriden: Daffodil Festival coming up

The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Apr. 21, 2009

State: Chambers of Commerce decide to oppose Donovan's Health Care Pooling plan. Apart from saying they've seen so many businesses close, do they have any suggestion for closing the health care gap?

Meriden: There's a hearing set about raising the city's sewer rate to cover cost of the denitrification upgrades to the water treatment process. This is the issue, by the way, which has been giving Southington so much trouble, between the discovery of PCBs and the storage of the contaminated soil at the old drive-in site. Meriden's plant is in process, and is a requirement from state and federal authorities. It has to be done or we wind up buying nitrogen credits at higher and higher rates each year.

Meriden: Gravel Street water main woes. Patience is the word, here, with a little pressure, so the work is done.


Meriden, Wallingford, Southington: All three towns working on labor contracts, trying to improve the situation. Seems as if the unions are willing to listen to reasonable proposals. Everyone is in this together, and it will all work best if the pain is shared.

The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Apr. 20, 2009

Wallingford: The American Legion building is once again in the news, and going nowhere. The only really lasting damage this may do is to give the fact of listing on the National Register of Historic Places a bad name for such a listing to slow down progress. Or is that a good name?

Southington: ESPN is a company worth keeping in the state and an employer of note. It's a little early to think about the effects of some as-yet-undetermined state tax policy, as the matter is under discussion. Certainly, every solution the general assembly might reach is going to impact some group or branch of the business community or some segment of the populace.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Apr. 19, 2009

Meriden: school system makes its case for funding, and describes some of the fairly innovative measures being used. Public commentary on this wold be helpful.

Wallingford: Here's a long story on the town's new Superintendent of Schools, and see, also, Irene Parisi's piece on him in the Perspective section, today.

Meriden: Looks, from the photo of the Daffodil festival preliminaries, as if the daffodils may well be out in splendor next weekend, which would be very good.

Wallingford: The story about the doctor who is ready for electronic medical records is on the right track, and more power to him. If we could only get rid of that HIPPA law -- I don't know of a patient or medical office which has not complained about the paperwork and the apparent pointlessness of the thing -- we could make medical progress. Whose idea was HIPPA anyway?

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Apr. 18, 2009

Cheshire: The Quinnipiac clean-up is a great annual event. Scheduled for Cheshire's school vacation. Wonder when it's happening elsewhere this year? National River Clean-up Week, that is.

Meriden: the library is about to get funding from state bond commission to take down two Miller Street houses, already empty, to increase parking.If $145,000 is one-third of the cost, the total must be around $425,000. The ground seems fairly flat. That seems a bit high for 25 new parking places.

Southington: $225,000 paid to law firm for work on claim by state over former landfill's pollution of a well. Best news is that, according to the manager, the settlement with the state should be greatly below the sum originally claimed for loss of the well.

The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Apr. 17, 2009

State: Republicans present a budget proposal. Okay, there are some points here, and having a proposal from the other side is a good idea. Now, once everyone's begun to talk about it, it's time to begin negotiating. There has to be a compromise, and it will certainly include some spending cuts and some tax increases. Get over it.

Wallingford: the presentation on bullying at Moran Middle School. It's a good age group to tackle, dealing, as it does, with the tendency to stereotype.

Southington: one can't say if the budget will work or not, but the addition of $25 a year on $100,000 of assessed valuation can't cause too much of a stink among taxpayers. The question will now be how loudly those hurt by the lack of funds will complain.

Meriden: that 19-year-old who seems to have put the detective in the hospital with serious injuries inflicted by motor vehicle is lucky, one would guess, not to have been shot.

Meriden: The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission turns down the auto plan on Murdoch. We'll see what happens next.

Wallingford: town budget is plodding through the various council workshops. Glad to see some cash got back to the symphony at least for the Fourth.

Meriden: Big budget hearing. Lots of worries about more taxes, and about cut programs or services. What would happen if each speaker, instead of saying,"Don't cut mine" was obliged to give a suggestion about how the budget gap should be met.

The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Apr. 16, 2009

Meriden/Cheshire/Wallingford: the money from the trash-to-energy plant is due to arrive, assuming the CRRA board approves. If the money is available and due the towns, there’s no reason why it should not come back. There’s also no reason why a reasonable sum can’t be used to alleviate some of the worst effects of budget cuts.

Southington: The cuts to the Barnes Museum, as proposed, are enough to warrant closing the place, but the town won’t do that because it would mean returning the estate to the heirs. Again, cutting down on amenities to the point of insult generally does nothing more than, well, insult people.

Southington: Charter Revision topics of the day include the role of the board of finance (either eliminate it or make if more difficult to override it by requiring a 7-9 supermajority –are there shades of Wallingford here?) and office seeking by town employees, presumably aimed at councilors Pocock and Palmieri.

Area: drop in revenues from property conveyance tax. Hardly a surprise; but a year ago, real estate folks were claiming what a deterrent the tax is to sales.

Meriden: it’s a little tough to tell whether placing crossing guards into other city posts is a helpful and charitable gesture, a way to save unemployment comp. funds, or a bid to stick a finger in another union’s eye.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Apr. 15, 2009

Meriden: Board of Education is being consistent and clear about the budget, or so it appears to me.

Wallingford: the pollutant violation at the Covanta trash to energy plant. An 8 percent violation, reading 31.2 nanograms instead of 30 nanograms, seems fairly minor. On the one hand, the number of violations over 20 years is low; on the other, the stuff isn’t necessarily measured every day. Should it be? Can it be? What slightly amazes me is that the emissions are controllable at all, seeing that people dump all sorts of things they shouldn’t into their garbage, and that separating it is not really practicable.

State: Connecticut is considering a ban on a plastic hardening additive called BPA; some scientists and activists believe the chemical, released into food, has estrogen-like effects. Yet both the FDA and its European counterpart believe the chemical is safe. Efforts are afoot to ban BPA just as similar efforts to ban a plastic softening chemicals (phthalates) are in progress.

Meriden: The discussion of placing Friends of Falcon in charge of the field during evening events is getting down to cases. Ultimately, if the Friends do the work on a volunteer basis, someone else will not be doing the work for pay, in this case usually overtime. For those employees, that’s a substantial difference, and subject to negotiation. It is hard to save money without breaking eggs, to mix a metaphor.

Meriden: The Wuterich case cannot, per ruling, go forward against a Member of Congress. I also feel that Congressman Murtha overstepped a lot of rules in making statements which virtually identified individual servicemen. But the immunity of members while in the course of duties has a constitutional point. The question, and maybe one for the Supremes, is the location of that point.

The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Apr. 14, 2009

Meriden: I would think there should be a fairly simple way to solve whatever exactly is the problem between the Quinnipiac River Watershed folks and the Linear trail folks over the location of the trail. Either it will be simple – or impossible!

Southington: the graffiti sprayed on the bridge supports under the RR overpass. No question it’s vandalism and anyone apprehended should be stopped. Obviously can’t allow it. But perhaps one should rein in the talk about how it complicates inspections. At least I hope so: I can see that inspectors look for cracks, but aren’t there electronics that look deeper into concrete? As for danger to motorists, it’s certainly true that some yahoo darting into the motorway with a can of spray-paint is a danger to himself and to drivers. . . but the vandalism here is under the bridge, where no motorways are crossed and no traffic drives and no one can even see it.

State: Decision to oppose the floating gas terminal in Long Island Sound rejected by US Commerce Dept., adding another “No” to CT and NY governors. Curious that Rudy Giuliani’s consulting firm termed this terminal “as safe a facility in design as you could possibly have” which says a lot and doesn’t say a lot.

State: There’s a bill allowing municipality to create by referendum a scholarship fund, to be bonded by said town, to send kids to college, limited to the UConn tuition level. Supposed to be a measure to help out during the economic crisis. Two problems: one, by the time everyone passes a referendum and a fund is established, today’s seniors will have graduated and two, it isn’t going to be much good for the cities which will need this sort of help the most. But it should be hailed as a first step for the state’s role in assuming the cost of higher education. Of course, taxes will have to pay for it.

The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Apr. 13, 2009

Area: requests for gun permits up. Best notion anyone has seems a kind of poor excuse for having a dangerous weapon in one’s home – or is there more general concern about home intruders?

Meriden: Public hearing set for city budget. Sparks to fly. Well, this is the time for citizens to express their views, and if they cannot make their wishes clear, chances are no one else will do so.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Apr. 12, 2009

Southington: the business of the third police captain or fourth lieutenant seems to be a never-ending consideration. And probably not of much importance, either.

Wallingford: success of Rushford Center in helping woman keep her home. that's a good practical result of a charity's work!

Southington charter draws comments on budget by referendum. Lots of interesting material on this subject, for those interested.

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Apr. 11, 2009

Meriden: Volunteers running Falcon Field? It sounds like a great offer. We’ll have to see how it is received and how it might play out.

Southington: proposed ordinance to make permits depend on paying taxes. It’s fine to make rules on this sort of thing, but perhaps the council should take care not to get too strict that there’s an economic disincentive to suggest any new project.

Meriden: trash pick-up suddenly halted to conform with rules. Talk about giving an incentive for change! IT was time to do something about this, and our view is still for the city to provide the service and to tax to pay for it.
Southington: just curious here, but is there any problem with Pocock continuing as a police Lieutenant and also being a state rep?

The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Apr. 10, 2009

Cheshire: traffic/crossing problem in front of the high school on route 10. Police can do all the enforcing they like. People -- both pedestrians and drivers won’t behave better when not watched. The problem is that both kids and drivers are hurrying to get to school or work, and are impatient with the other. The solution is to put the parking area on the same side of the street as the school. It’s not a good idea to have large numbers of people required to cross a busy street at rush hour.

State: There’s talk of eliminating any number of sales tax exemptions. There are a lot of these which make little sense, and the rules are a hodgepodge of definition and contradiction. Yet wholesale elimination of the rules, in the name of the rather slender total amount to be raised seems kind of foolish without decent discussion of why the exemptions exist. Better to raise the existing tax by a full percentage and leave the rest alone.

The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Apr. 9, 2009

Wallingford: A fuller account of the business with the funds left to the animal shelter, or rather the trust. Anyone’s view will be confirmed.

Cheshire: Boulder Knoll operation worried over DeLauro-sponsored farm bill. Answer here is to bring DeLauro to the farm and perhaps to stop worrying about peanuts in Georgia.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Apr. 8, 2009

Meriden: that block grant money. It’s easy to understand why the idea seems good to cut a lot of the agencies by 10 percent, but suggesting they shouldn’t rely on this funding is like suggesting they shouldn’t rely on being able to breathe. All of them survive on slender threads. If the Boys & Girls Club has been running a $20,000 loss for the last few years, imagine the shape of the other agencies. Sidewalks can wait, if necessary. Keeping some of these agencies alive – and they’re taking 10 percent here and 10 percent there — it adds up.

Wallingford: The decision to cut the shelter’s budget by an amount equal to what the Juul donation might produce in interest is a fiscal rape of that donation. The town has a responsibility for animals. Pulling this sort of stunt with someone’s donation for a good cause is the quickest way to discourage anyone else from making a similar gift. Shame on the councilors, no matter how miserable the economy.

Meriden: The ranked list for school system budget cuts is a reasonable way to proceed, one supposes. Almost all the cost of the school system is personnel, and there’s no way around it. One can presume that negotiations are in progress?

Meriden: Firefighters contract. The presence of concessions in the contract on health costs and possibly other issues is not to be disregarded. Shamock makes a valid point about freezes, but it comes rather late in the process, given 18 months of negotiations. He’s wrong about requiring firefighters to live in the city: that’s desirable, but unenforceable for good reason. Is Greg Polanski serious about his offer to “help out” if everyone else does? How about it folks?

Wallingford: This interesting ethics question about whether a now-out-of-date and never executed ordinance can be made the basis of an ethics complaint. C.f., Lubee, Comerford, vs Dickinson. It’s essentially a political debate, not an ethical one. Let the ethics committee deal with conflicts of interest, gifts, disclosure, transparency, and let the council deal with the executive’s failure to carry out its wishes.

The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Apr. 7, 2009

State and local stores: Tobacco taxes go way up and people cope. How far will we push the addicts of tobacco? I think it’s fair to make it expensive, as a way to discourage smoking. But the price is now highly artificially inflated, which means that black-marketing might become a big issue. Then smoking becomes a crime and then we start filling jails with tobacco addicts? Bad idea.

Southington: Support for budget. Quoted speakers seem to include many teachers. One mill more on a $170,000 is $15/month, while on a $350,000 it’s nearly $30/month. The problem isn’t so much that any particular individual cannot afford an extra $15 or even $30 but that the $3500 or $5500 already being collected is too much.

Wallingford: dumping the fireworks and the symphony for the 4th of July is a mean trick, since the concert is already scheduled and possibly contracted for. But more interesting in the budget is the assumption of a wage freeze for town employees.

Meriden: Councilor Tomassetti suggests more billboards on available sites. The impulse is understandable, but the visual effect is not edifying.

Regionalization: while it’s a bit unclear what areas of town government might include induced savings, it’s interesting to note how quick town authorities are to object to changing things, although they’d like the power to levy their own taxes or to get a piece of the sales tax.

The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Apr. 6, 2009

Southington: the Charter Revision Commission has been looking at possible changes, one of which is a change to strong mayor government, which one member called an anachronism. I wonder if they’ve told Mayor Dickinson?

Meriden: Senior Center is the latest of the many city agencies to discuss possible reductions. So what’s it going to be, folks? Are we going to cut services to ribbons or are we going to take a collective hit? Has the approach been made to the unions yet?

Cheshire: a good deal of angst over how high school class rankings are listed. A more challenging job for colleges is how to adjudge how to interpret the grades from different high schools.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Apr. 5, 2009

Area: Crime statistics have shown essentially insignificant changes recently, despite the economic maelstrom, and there is no surge in sales of alarm systems; perhaps that means that would-be burglars don’t expect to find anything worth taking in homes.

Wallingford: The prospects of payments in the millions of dollars from the 20 years of electrical generation at the trash-to-energy plant in Wallingford has town administrators seeing projects in the building. None of us need count chickens until the nest eggs have been hatched.

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Apr. 4, 2009

Southington: Compounce job fair draws several hundred applicants as the amusement park prepares to hire for the upcoming season. Park management expects a good season as residents opt for a day at the park over expensive travel to more expensive options.

Cheshire: even in a (comparatively) affluent community, it is difficult to find common budget ground between those who would cut expenses as needed folks and the find money for it somewhere folks.

Meriden: the situation in which teacher and athletic director Bruce Golden evidently finds himself.

The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Apr. 3, 2009

Meriden: School board ranks the cuts. Nothing looks very promising.

Wallingford: budget dropping the Fourth of July celebration: it may be a symbolic gesture for the town, but it’s probably of great significance both to whatever firm will NOT be doing a fireworks display and to the Symphony, neither of which has much way of absorbing such a loss.

Meriden: The way to keep Engine 3, which its supporters seem close to, is to win a majority on the city council. This is a miserable way to achieve a budget: it amounts to little more than determining that the squeaky wheel gets the most oil. So why not let everyone accept a 5 or a 10 percent cut? Jobs and services continue. Pain minimized.

The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Apr. 2, 2009

Meriden: The Economic Development Task Force opted for the standard billboard, not the one with a changing face, largely, apparently, because the zoning rules don’t specifically allow for a mechanically changing face. That makes a certain amount of sense, but, as Councilor Tomassetti noted, it isn’t downtown. The rule is: anything that is not specifically allowed is illegal. While one can appreciate the effort to control the billboard situation, it’s hard to see why it would make any particular difference to anything but the tired eyes of the traveler if the billboard is able to change its spots. Unresolved still is the original plan, to help out the humane society, which was why Tomassetti proposed it.

Southington: Town Manager Weichsel speaks to the Charter Revision panel about contracts for managers, which he says young people in his profession are eager to have but which he doesn’t care that much about. He also urged that department heads all report to the manager, rather than to oversight boards. Given present management styles and interest in accountability, that’s a good idea.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Apr. 1, 2009

Meriden: Police budget. The Chief wants to pump the training budget up a bit to avoid lawsuits, and that sounds like a good plan. The other way to go, of course, is to lay off officers, or not hire replacements, and that carries exposure too.

Meriden: Library Budget. It is a shame that the trimming required, when the library has more users than ever, leaves the system with a choice of reducing hours or not buying materials.

State: One horrible incident with a chimpanzee is no excuse for adding a ridiculous list of pets people aren’t allowed to have. If something needs to be done, stop with the lists and make an intelligible policy.

Wallingford: The mayor’s budget will be awaited with interest and probably anxiety among employees and taxpayers.