Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Editor's Notepod, Sun., Jan. 31, 2010

Meriden/Southington/Cheshire: This federal “Race to the Top” is being perceived as a takeover of local education program, which is not quite as clear as it seems to some. One needs convincing that any national standard of student measurement would lead to improvement of any student in Connecticut (see No Child Left Behind). On the other hand, not all local decisions have been the best in any community, and if that’s where the money is, there’s a point in going there to get it.

Meriden: Construction projects are always expensive, always burdensome. The technique is to stagger them and to finance them so they are done right the first time, and, of course, not to wait so long that repair becomes an emergency. Meriden has a tendency to postpone necessity until it becomes a burden.

Area: Does it make sense for young girls to wear heels? Does it make sense for adult women to wear high heels? Maybe, maybe not. There are so many things to worry about, though.

State: Governor Rell to ask for stricter laws prohibiting cell phone use while driving. No harm in trying. Certainly it is a law much breached.

Wallingford: School board members indicating inclinations on their realignment. It seems precipitate to try to accomplish this change as a “spending” measure in a single year. Perhaps if correctly presented, it might be sold as a welcome change according to some plan with a clearer rationale.

Southington: Okay, is it clear now? Spills of raw sewage, however small, must be reported.

Meriden: tenants at 32 Cook advised to continue keeping up on rent, which is generally good advice. But this process can be tricky for tenants. Courts have been known to terminate tenants’ rights of occupation after a foreclosure action’s “law day,” and it is well to get good legal advice when facing such a situation.

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