The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Aug. 31, 2009

Meriden: the details of the Democrats’ nominating process described. It does seem to have been a personality contest. If there are philosophical differences between Zerio and Rohde, now is the time to make them clear. The nominating result does say something about the ability of modern party chairpersons to impose any sort of decision on fellow members.

Celebration of the 200th anniversary/birthday . . . whatever it is . . . of Rogers Orchards in Southington. Eight generations of one family on the land is unusual in this day and age, and something to be celebrated.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Aug. 30, 2009

Area/Meriden: it would seem that the flu's second manifestation, in its autumn flowering, will me met with better defenses and with a set of public officials who have a rational, careful, but matter-of-fact approach to the disease.

Southington: the betting is that Southington is likely to have a difficult time trying to halt the VIP business. There is nothing illegal that has been done under the rules, and his approach is businesslike and apparently above board. People just don't like the business.

Area: Interviews with people regarding insurance reform. Clearly -- if anything is clear -- a person's own pocketbook issues color that person's thought. This is a moment for a concern with higher interests, but it's dubious politicians will allow themselves to do that or that the most vigorous proponents and opponents will let them.

Wallingford: North Farms Reservoir Dredging will have to wait, while MacKenzie has gotten started.

Southington: there's a whole field of study worth doing sometime about tax incentives and their effects.

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Aug. 29, 2009

Area: the fighter flyover on Thursday afternoon. It seems to have affected folks in very different ways. Governor Rell wrote a letter. Wonder if there will be any response?

Meriden: Rohde gets the endorsement of the WTP party. Wonder if A) it will make a major difference in his vote tally and B) if it will begin to cause people to wonder why, if he'll be on the ballot anyway, why primary?

State: Federal court has tossed out state campaign financing law on the premise that it becomes too difficult for small parties to raise funds. When we have equalized "minor" party appeal, what will become of the two party system, and will things be better?

The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Aug. 28, 2009

Southington: the case of the 131 break-ins at the self-storage units — Public Storage — on Spring Street has been broken, apparently. The story of the police detective work as the case unraveled is worthy of any good mystery story.

Wallingford: sad but true: the HQ built for defunct Mortgage Lenders has made financial trouble for its builders. Apparently, its particular construction characteristics make it even less marketable than it might otherwise be. This is one of the big drawbacks, it would seem, of everyone contracting out everyone else’s work and projects. No one really knows that a key element in a plan is having difficulties until it’s too late.

State: the fact that the state is now down 125 state troopers (who retired with incentives as part of a cost-saving process) means that 125 or so – give or take—will need to be hired and trained. And of course, they will lack experience. It’s hard to see such a severance deal as helpful in the long run.

The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Aug. 27, 2009

State: The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe’s Foxwoods resort is facing “dire financial times,” says a newspaper report. Besides “welcome to the club,” we certainly hope that during its 17 years of incredible success the tribe has salted away plenty of cash for its members and that their nest eggs are not compromised by whatever fiscal woes the casinos are facing.

Southington: The account maintained somewhat erratically, perhaps, by and for the school football program, and which is now not being used, is mainly a victim of tighter and more highly accountable accounting practices. There seems to be no allegation that money has been misused, or that whatever use was made of it would have created any problem for a non-school administered account. Not all the facts are in, so judgment can be reserved, but so far there seems to be no smoking gun or even a slightly warm gun in the story.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Aug. 26, 2009

National: Ted Kennedy dies of brain cancer. The end of an era of devoted public service.

Wallingford: Parking plans behind Simpson Court now ended because, apparently, the ZBA turned down one owner’s variance request to add a floor (part of a consolidation plan and dependant upon more parking) because — there was insufficient parking. And the ZBA vote failed because, although the variance passed 3 to 2, state law requires 4 votes. Onward and upward!

Meriden: School system will tweak bullying rules to reflect state policy changes. Doesn’t sound like too much, though one issue continues to be of concern: while understanding that there must be some protection for a youngster reporting an incident of bullying, if punishments or corrective measures are to be meted out by adult authorities, as is the aim, there is a need for the defendant, as the student must be called, to be confronted with accusers. And, ultimately, should we transform the schools even more into adversarial punishment systems?

Meriden: On the same front, high schools, so as not to discourage students, will no longer assign them to higher/lower performing groups but to “accelerated” and “academic.” Sounds like a new set of euphemisms.

Cheshire: tea parties. All the folks out there demonstrating against “socialized” health care reform, have, naturally, declined their social security benefits and their Medicare coverage, right?

Wallingford: Ballot lottery. Since the executive is a Republican, all Republican candidates appear on top row. The lottery will set the order. Since there’s not even any conventional wisdom concerning placement, because every election is a little different, the whole thing hardly matters, but this is one of those little processes which, once settled and habitual, make democracy function without surprises.

The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Aug. 25, 2009

Southington: Decision of the town Planning and Zoning Commission to call the bond on what was referred to as an abandoned subdivision off Meriden Road is an excellent illustration of why towns and cities have zoning and planning rules. When times get tough, this is the sort of thing that can develop — and it’s one of the reasons we don’t have so many “haunted” houses, the kind that used to be featured in the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew tales.

State: lawyers for brother and conservator of woman ripped up by the chimpanzee seeking more records. Think there’s a suit here? It’s a cinch that the chimp’s owner doesn’t have $50 million.

Southington: firefighters have offered some good advice to hikers for their own protection. In this day when equipment and cell phones are readily available, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go out into the woods and get lost and suffer hypothermia.

The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Aug. 24, 2009

Wallingford: Sounds as if North Farms Reservoir is an “Orphan Pond” the way some railroad bridges, built by extinct lines but never included in any sale to the state or anyone else, were just left to chop ff the tops of trucks. It’s going to be a while before that pond can be stripped of its vegetation and kept that way, one would guess.

Meriden: It’s kind of funny. For years, people in both parties complained that Connecticut law didn’t allow for primaries, and what an undemocratic situation that created. Now we have a primary, and the complaint seems to be that it’s too expensive. What isn’t acceptable, but basically unavoidable, is that so few people will vote.

Meriden: East Cemetery, which received so much volunteer help last year to remove overgrowth and rubbish which had accumulated for decades, is now being redrawn, and it appears there are at least a couple of technical issues with boundaries . . . which won’t, naturally, be “technical” to the immediate neighbors.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Aug. 23, 2009

Area: Increases in School lunch program. Percentages going up everywhere. But the total receiving free or reduced lunch in Meriden is 70 percent or so, compared to other towns at 9,8 and 5.5 percent respectively. That's an incredible difference which deserves some attention.

Southington: More on the rental income from various water towers. Is the water department a town entity, or is it independent? this is something which could usefully be discussed by the charter revision folks, it would seem.

Meriden: Democrats still a little short following the cash spent on the 2001 primary. Will this mean that the overall campaign will be a fairly low-cost operation, given the general smallness of the Dems' war chest? But then, can the Republicans have much more?

Meriden: Suzio's suggestion about inducing school board employees to leave the system's health care plan might save the city money. But it's hard to think that many of the partners' employers would like the idea much, or that the private plan would be as generous, which is one reason people would be loathe to abandon the city's contracted plan.

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Aug. 22, 2009

Wallingford: Court orders an end to the fill on DiNatale's property by LaRosa contractor. Observers, who are not privy to evidence in the case involving the town and the Blue Trail Range as well as DeNatale, can hope that LaRosa isn't hurt by the court case.

State: No budget = no grants. That says it all for Connecticut towns. It's way past time for the impasse to be worked out. Make a dignified split between additional taxes, additional fees and modest program cuts. It isn't so hard. Elected officials, both legislative and executive, need to do what is necessary, not what is popular. There is life after elective office.

Cheshire: With easement worked out, it's time to take the next step along the linear trail. Step, in this cont4ext, is something of an understatement.

The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Aug. 21, 2009

Southington: It’s learned that the VIP — Very Intimate Pleasures — enterprise is coming to Southington’s Queen Street. This will certainly make many people upset, perhaps rightly so. On the other hand, if such an establishment cannot open along Queen Street, perhaps home to every enterprise and chain known to modern Connecticut, where would a better place be?

Cheshire: sounds like some bumps in the road about the establishment of the food pantry, but there’s no reason why such matters cannot be ironed out in short order. It’s a matter of coordinating. All over, the need for food has been observed. And felt.

Meriden: scams via email even reaching Meriden police. “Widow from Africa needs help getting $10 billion out of country. . .” Surely everyone has seen this by now, or any of the possible and unlikely variants, whether offering dollars or jobs. But apparently not, since the scammers are still at work.

The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Aug. 20, 2009

Southington: There's nothing wrong with appealing to the attorney general about the VIP situation and the permit granted for the adult store. The decision, though, seems to have been in accordance with the existing rules, and we live in a culture of laws. If folks want to change the rules, looking forward, by all means it should be done. But there are still some other businesses of the type in the area.

State: The tax free week actually occurred this year, and it is ending today. If there are things you need for the kids and for their schooling, today's your last chance to buy without sales tax.

Meriden: Another place where the state's budget stalemate pinches is with school health clinics, funded entirely by the state. It's only $150,000 for 12 schools in Meriden, but the uncertainty over the situation places them at risk.

Cheshire: So fixing the community Pool has become a partisan issue, with Democrats voting yes and Republicans no? Kind of an absurdity. How can this be partisan?

Wallingford: the business of "Laying off" but not really of long-term substitute teachers, an annual event. There are a lot of procedural issues of this type which arise in a climate where there is a serious union/management formality or relations. It's good and bad.

Meriden: Easter Seals, which was called in to take over the Head Start program several years ago when the Meriden Community Action Agency was dissolved, is merging itself and its management of the program terminated because of the bureaucracy's rules. Continuity of management is a good thing. An agency shopping for a manager is an absurdity.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Aug. 19, 2009

Meriden: Police department moving forward with prevention efforts against youthful alcohol use, thanks to a federal grant. This is a good program to pursue, as long as it doesn't quite get to an absolutist position. Unless we move to a new age of Prohibition, kids need to learn how to drink so they remain in control. Drinking safely isn't something which happens automatically when a person turns 21, or 18, or 25. But at 21, the controls are off, and an unskilled person can head right into trouble.

Southington: Shock and dismay over the VIP store, but it's a little hard to see what can be done next, since the town's zoning ordinance appears to allow what the adult store proposes and since there are a couple of other businesses of similar type already in the same area.

Cheshire continues to debate the future of the Community Pool in its various and continuing configuration difficulties. It remains a shame that so potentially valuable a town resource somehow creates such controversial and continuing controversy.

The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Aug. 18, 2009

Southington: There will be opposition forming to the VIP store with its sexually oriented materials (limited to 10 percent of stock).

Cheshire: The FOI rules on emails has been raised with some of the councilors, who appear to feel strongly against the rules, some of them. The law hasn't been changed in this regard, but the situation has been developing legally. There are some comprehensibly, and if some careful inquiries and instruction offered, the matter should be comprehensible without anyone's privacy being breached.

Southington: Ghost hunters are preparing to investigate the Grange Hall. Well, they're welcome to spend their money as they choose!

Wallingford: discussion over temporary signage continues. If the town can't authorize signs along Route 5 or Rout 150, who does authorize signs? The state Traffic Control Commission? Is it really impossible in Wallingford, if the issue happens to be trees which obscure authorized signs, to trim the trees without irritating the treehuggers? Surely there's a way of processing such situations, and of reaching some sort of working arrangement with merchants. Does the state come in and remove "temporary" signs?

The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Aug. 17, 2009

Area: Peaches in the area now doing very well, thank you, and ripening nicely. If local orchardists are learning weather lessons from the summer pattern, that's all to the good.

Meriden: New police technology will allow citizens to sign up for local warnings, in text, on the lines of Facebook or other networking systems. This system seems to have been bought by Middletown, so Meriden and other towns will have a chance to see how it works. It's thought that it might be very helpful for neighborhood groups.

State/Area: Ability Beyond Disability, working with Connecticut Autism Spectrum Resource Center, bringing youngsters in need of an agricultural setting to a place where they can be useful and learn skills. It's a model which can be moved to other locations.

Southington: Kids "hanging out" at parking lot at Derynoski School. Here's a call for a light hand in terms of definition. While groups of kids can appear threatening to some people, the urge to socialize apart from their elders is thoroughly natural. Draw lines with care.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Aug. 16, 2009

Meriden: Mayoral primary basically underway, though neither candidate seems to know yet how much it's likely to cost.

State: Proposal to raise "sin" taxes, on alcohol and tobacco tends to strike, as does the sales tax, the least affluent hardest. It's fine to suggest that people shouldn't drink or smoke if they're poor, but raising the prices on drinks in bars, already coping with the smoking ban, is apt to be counter-productive.

Meriden: Kogut planting along Memorial Boulevard and now doing voluntary maintenance along it. This is a good idea that can't be forced but could certainly be encouraged.

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Aug. 15, 2009

Wallingford: fine, if rather hot, for the Twist event in town this weekend. Not everyone is a big soccer supporter, but there are a lot of people interested in the game and their interest is strong and sharp.

Wallingford: The furloughs at Allegheny Steel are decisions no one cares for at all., Let's hope orders pick up in the months ahead.

Southington: As suggested in a previous blog, however much one may dislike or disapprove of "adult-oriented" shops, what location would be better than Queen Street? It's a place where commerce of all kinds flourishes.
Cheshire: It is very difficult to see what steps might be taken by state government to induce P&W to keep its plants open. But there's no harm in trying.

The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Aug. 14, 2009

Southington: It’s learned that the VIP — Very Intimate Pleasures — enterprise is coming to Southington’s Queen Street. This will certainly make many people upset, perhaps rightly so. On the other hand, if such an estab-lishment cannot open along Queen Street, perhaps home to every enterprise and chain known to modern Connecticut, where would a better place be?

Cheshire: sounds like some bumps in the road about the establishment of the food pantry, but there’s no reason why such matters cannot be ironed out in short order. It’s a matter of coordinating. All over, the need for food has been observed. And felt.

Meriden: scams via email even reaching Meriden police. “Widow from Africa needs help getting $10 billion out of country. . .” Surely everyone has seen this by now, or any of the possible and unlikely variants, whether offering dollars or jobs. But apparently not, since the scammers are still at work.

The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Aug. 13, 2009

Wallingford: More on the town/gown situation. It’s unfortunate that the discussion has incorporated tones for which there is no reason.

State/Local: vocational-technical schools were rescued from serious uncertainty due to the budget situation. Here’s a downside to this system: there is no elected school board which takes care of these schools and is reliably on hand to lobby for them, to spot when changes occur and to speak out.

Wallingford: whatever the rights and wrongs of the gun seizure case, and there are mostly wrongs, there was never a real reason, no matter what the protocols were, to bust into someone’s home at dawn and grab a lot of weaponry which poses no serious threat to anyone.

Southington: the town turned down the ash dump idea, and no surprise, since nobody wants it. But where will the state ultimately dispose of the ash? It’s not as controversial as nuclear waste, but that hasn’t got a home either, last we knew.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Aug. 12, 2009

Area: Gym class injuries. The results from statistical studies should be interesting, since the rise in injuries doesn’t appear to have an obvious cause. That shouldn’t stop anyone from rushing to make judgments before the facts are in, however. Interesting comment about dangerous games like Red Rover and Dodge Ball.

Southington: Antennas for cell phones. They sprout pretty much where the companies want, since the law kind of gave companies the permission to do so. Bigger concern: when cell phones and technology are succeeded by something better, who takes down the cell phone equipment then worthless?

Wallingford: the Old Durham Road request. Tensions? Simmering? Pretty obvious.

The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Aug. 11, 2009

Southington: Councilor Pocock would like to have the practice of posting verbatim council minutes after meetings restored. This used to be standard practice in most places, particularly for minutes of public bodies. Congress publishes a verbatim record of its proceedings, which includes a whole lot of material simply submitted. But verbatim readings of council meetings, presumably prepared by keyboard from electronically-collected data and then posted, do go on. It is likely more information than most people want.

Meriden: Another attempt by the Housing Authority, with private entrepreneurial partnering, to obtain funding to redevelop Chamberlain Heights, which, heaven knows, needs it. It’s up to the CHFA to decide on a grant. So far, not much help.

The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Aug. 10, 2009

State: Joe Cirasuolo of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents says that about 1,200 public school teaching jobs have gone west this season, thanks to the economy. The main area of cuts is elementary schools. This job reduction seems stupid: either schools needed the teachers or they didn’t. Two factors: towns won’t tax to help schools in this economy and systems must drop personnel; there’s no way to make across the board salary reductions, which still seems a better choice than reducing the work force.

Meriden: The city has a very rich heritage in the older homes along Curtis Street. We hope the character, so mixed in its nature, can be maintained not only through the resurfacing and re-side-walking project but in the long years ahead.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Aug. 9, 2009

State: Towns and cities, and state government, discover or appreciate, finally, that the "shovel-ready" projects people expected when the stimulus package was being prepared, are not on the drawing board. Plenty of other money, but not for this sort of thing. A lot of hopes were raised and will be shaken, and that's not a good thing to happen.

Cheshire: a new massage parlor ordinance in the works, in reaction to the raid several months ago against a local shop, which also netted a couple of shops in Wallingford. If the illegal place was actually apprehended (it has overtones of illegal immigrants as well as prostitution) under existing laws, why is there a need for a new ordinance? Is there any hard evidence that such business are operating in Cheshire? There are state laws on the matter and licenses for masseurs.

State: Ct Jobs program, helping women on welfare achieve Independence, a victim of budget cuts in the latest executive order, failing a budget agreement. This would be one of the last programs to get the axe, but as so often happens, the weakest suffer first.

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Aug. 8, 2009

Area: one is tempted to ask whether the information about the rules for fowl equipment and nurture is a chicken joke. Clearly, though, raising chicks in your yard - for eggs or meat, is no yolk. Sorry.

Meriden: Rohde is collecting signatures, so it would appear there will be a primary. There's nothing wrong with that in a democracy.

State: man (and his audience) arrested for training some South American species of finch to fight. Didn't know such a custom/Sport existed.

State: Dodd cleared by ethics panel in Senate, along with Conrad, over the "sweetheart deal" from Countrywide Financial. His deal wasn't any better than many other peoples, although t was processed a bit faster.

The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Aug. 7, 2009

Southington/State/Region: Word that Hartford HealthCare and Hospital of Central Connecticut are “courting.” From the hospitals’ point of view it is probably a wonderful idea, eliminating the need to compete for patients (the reality of which has always contradicted the notion that a hospital is somehow a charitable organization). For the public? It creates an even larger institution, perhaps well-situated to access benefits of scale, but also situated to do pretty much what it wants as the only 500-lb gorilla in the area, leaving the other 500 pounder (Yale) to its own devices. It’ll be able to tell the state and any municipalities what it wants and how low to bow, will it not?

Cheshire: Continued discussions and persuasions about Pratt keep it above the event horizon. Is the price of keeping Pratt to be expressed by a change of vote on the F-22 Raptor? That’s kind of suggested. Why doesn’t the company make some other sort of engine?

Wallingford: The Pelkey case, after 20-something years, a new trial? I can’t imagine that. No defendant!

State: Republicans have issued another plan with no tax increases, they allege. What do they think increases in fees are? And do they really think they can solve the problem by reducing waste? Perhaps they believe all government is waste, but going after the fraud and waste isn’t going to solve a multi-billion dollar problem.

Southington: Even as Wallingford voters will be getting Charter Revision including a plank to reduce the budget-veto override majority, making it easier, Southington voters may receive a proposition to raise the Finance Board override majority, making it harder. It’s all a trick or perspective.

Wallingford: The council races increase by one as Zandri qualifies.

Meriden: Meanwhile, the mayoral race grows by one as Petrucelli petitions

The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Aug. 6, 2009

Wallingford/State: DNA leads to freeing of man convicted 20 years ago for murder, and a nasty one at that. One wonders if this is sufficient to insure a regular requirement of a DNA nexus in any prosecution between victim or crime scene and the defendant?

Meriden/Region/state/etc: apparent growth not only of volunteering in general but also among youth. This is a healthy sign we hope will continue.

Berlin/State: Atty. Gen. Blumenthal joins the town in the adult business case. It will be interesting to see the results, but it will be a while.

Wallingford: the Red Cross office is closing as per schedule. Meanwhile, blood bank workers are staging a rally against the charity in Farmington. There may be tough times, but that still doesn’t really excuse bad decisions.

Southington: four petitioning candidates file paperwork for election as unaffiliated. That would be 16 persons for nine seats, and it will be something to watch. Two of the candidates are on the Charter Revision Commission.

The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Aug. 5, 2009

Wallingford: Wharton Brook Park closed once again. It is good to read that ways to remedy the contamination issue are at least being studied. It seems to happen with astonishing regularity.

Meriden: There seems to be continuing issues between the "friends of Falcon Field" and the union over what jobs are done by them. This is not really a surprising problem, though we thought it had been settled. One of the comments of C.S.Lewis suggests that a person must not be deprived of his (or her) function, and that's part of what's going on, despite all the good will.

Cheshire/State: the Pratt & Whitney closing. It's hard to imagine talks succeeding, since if the company wants to close the plant there's not a lot the workers can do. Short of agreeing to huge pay cuts, which it seems very difficult for unions to do -- and assuming they should. It will take intervention either with legislative sweeteners or, more long-term, rules impeding any company's removal to obtain cheaper labor . . . but that gets everyone into legislating the status quo and is profoundly anti-entrepreneurial.

The Editor's Notepod, Tues., August 4, 2009

Wallingford: sidewalk repairs have been pushed back from year to year, although the essential system seems fairly logical. Curious that it is trees planted in the area between sidewalk and highway curb belong to town, which it will not permit homeowners to trim, yet often charges those owners for repairs of sidewalks damaged by said trees.

Cheshire: Historic District fees proposed to increase. Why would Historic District fees rise independently of other construction fees? Because of the research?

Meriden: we didn’t care for the theft of two boats from a boat trailer parked at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association’s headquarters next to Hanover Pond, in the middle of the day. But we liked the boating program for which these boats were intended. Boat safety and confidence is like swimming lessons for kids: everyone should have the training.

The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Aug. 3, 2009

Area: Pet insurance. We knew it had to come. Chambers of Commerce in a group which earns a 5% discount on medical insurance coverage for cats and dogs (does one presume that it does not include parrots, pygmy goats, rabbits, ducks?). Many times this sort of coverage has seemed a good idea. Next stage: IRS deductions for pets?

Southington: Zaya Oshana story gives the substance of a long and useful career in public service.

Meriden: guide dogs training program, through Fidelco. One can imagine how difficult it would be to say goodbye to one of these pups.

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Aug. 2, 2009

Wallingford: The Choate Rosemary Hall relationship with the town is an interesting and mutually beneficial one. It's also slightly ambiguous. More than slightly.

Meriden/state: drug-free zone law. Well, it's fine for a state rep. from Newtown to suggest that Bridgeport, Hartford Stamford or Waterbury should be striving for "zero tolerance," but she should try living there. The zone charge, with its ridiculous mandatory jail terms, is used as a club to get defendants to plead to lesser crimes in returnb for nolles. And the whole drug epidemic, with its destructive consequences, which are worse than mere drug use itself, on the communitiy.

Meriden: The piece on Bradley Park reveals that there's a ton of history in the neighborhood.

The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Aug. 1, 2009

Area: Economic news on the housing front suggests conditions are rat least headed back toward some sort of normal, whatever that is. It's always interesting to learn things . . . such as the "absorption rate," and the difference between a buyer's and a seller's market.

Meriden: Evening hours for Castle Craig, set for Monday (with a rain date. of Tuesday). Thanks to Donna Tillbrook for the suggestion.

Berlin: Town wins a big round in its battle against the Sexually Oriented Business on the Berlin Turnpike, as the appeals court stays the trial court's ruling.