The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Sept. 20, 2011

Walter Micowski’s decision to leave the We the People Party, where he has been chairman, to accept the Republican nomination for mayor of Meriden demonstrates once again that in politics, you just never know. It should at least make the remainder of the election season more interesting.

Southington’s Board of Ethics, meeting for the first time in years, heard the parties in a complaint about conflicts on the Parking Commission and its issue of overnight parking. It’s an interesting question and Southington folks will be curious to see how the ruling goes.

Wallingford’s Town Council had a chance to direct questions to the firm in charge of repairing the roofs of 11 schools in town. There seems to be a plan, and if anyone has doubts about it, now is certainly the time to ask them.

When Moran Middle School suffered a power outage, emergency plans included a sojourn across the street at Sheehan High School, and an automated call to Wallingford parents, explaining the situation. The emergency drill seemed to go well, which is a good thing.

Frankly, when one is setting priorities for clean-up after Irene, it would not have been surprising if all the downed trees interfering with recreational activities were left way down on the list, since walking is not emergency. It was very good, therefore, that Meriden went ahead and removed the trees from Quinnipiac Gorge Trail in rather good time so that the trail is once more open to the public.

The possibility of banning dogs – no, make that dog poop – from Wallingford playing fields is a little thorny. The problem is dog owners who do not clean up after their pets, and a nice heavy fine for allowing unscooped poops might straighten out behavior.

Congratulations to Alex Curtis, new head of Choate Rosemary Hall. We hope his tenure at the Wallingford prep school is successful academically and institutionally.

If 47 percent of Connecticut schools are not meeting “improvement standards” under No Child Left Behind, then there’s something wrong with those standards. This law so much needs to be revised.

Newington is apparently negotiating with Covanta, which owns the Wallingford trash to energy plant and operates the CRRA one in Hartford, to switch from Hartford to Wallingford. This will not affect other towns’ contracted prices at either facility, but will presumably adjust burning loads to a more favorable arrangement.