Wallingford: so increased class size, after being a buzz word to generate opposition for years, is now being suggested as a good plan? There’s an interesting twist on public discussion.
Meriden and elsewhere: those interested in jobs with the Census, which is coming down the road at us pretty quickly, should make sure their drivers’ licenses are in good shape.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Editor's Notepod, Sat., Feb. 6, 2010
Cheshire: No surprise that Route 10/Highland Avenue turns out to be the locus of the most motor vehicle accidents in the town. The state doesn’t get around to fixing the issues created by development with very much speed. Should it be a local task?
Southington: if savings passbooks in the town’s possession as security are meaningless, of course passbooks are obsolete. Banks, we guess, have to option of letting customers withdraw without using the secured passbook.
State: the ruling on Pratt’s ability to move jobs out of state may only be a temporary victory for the union who sued to protect its jobs. The contract and Pratt’s good faith obligation, ends in December.
In Wallingford, as no doubt elsewhere, the number of medical calls continues to dominate fire department responses. Another demonstration of the need for full medical care system overhaul.
Southington: if savings passbooks in the town’s possession as security are meaningless, of course passbooks are obsolete. Banks, we guess, have to option of letting customers withdraw without using the secured passbook.
State: the ruling on Pratt’s ability to move jobs out of state may only be a temporary victory for the union who sued to protect its jobs. The contract and Pratt’s good faith obligation, ends in December.
In Wallingford, as no doubt elsewhere, the number of medical calls continues to dominate fire department responses. Another demonstration of the need for full medical care system overhaul.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Editor's Notepod, Fri., Feb. 5, 2010
Wallingford: can’t imagine that many of those who actually own property in that I0-5 Zone would object to loosening the rules as to the type of concern allowed. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine that those who actually live in adjacent residential zones or whose homes are within the I-5 zone would appreciate having their neighborhoods transformed into Route 5 – whether fully occupied or partially unoccupied. There’s a conversation called for here, not simply some sort of fait accompli.
Cheshire: the posture of the Board of Education, which has refused to cut the superintendent’s education proposal (which increases spending by a bit more than 3%), may leave the decision to cut or tax to the town council. The drawbacks of the budget-setting system in Connecticut are manifest.
Meriden: folks are circulating a petition to consider the single high school option. The circulators are doing the public little good with this effort. The arguments against trying to build a single school where the HUB was, where the Mills Complex is and where many other structures and parcels are in private hands (including a church) are strong. If a petition is presented, the idea can only be rejected, which can only increase people’s frustrations.
Meriden: to save money (state funds) the annual count of homeless is omitted, but since everyone knows calls to shelters are up, there are more homeless. In brief: there are more homeless, but we can’t count them. Does that make sense?
Cheshire: the posture of the Board of Education, which has refused to cut the superintendent’s education proposal (which increases spending by a bit more than 3%), may leave the decision to cut or tax to the town council. The drawbacks of the budget-setting system in Connecticut are manifest.
Meriden: folks are circulating a petition to consider the single high school option. The circulators are doing the public little good with this effort. The arguments against trying to build a single school where the HUB was, where the Mills Complex is and where many other structures and parcels are in private hands (including a church) are strong. If a petition is presented, the idea can only be rejected, which can only increase people’s frustrations.
Meriden: to save money (state funds) the annual count of homeless is omitted, but since everyone knows calls to shelters are up, there are more homeless. In brief: there are more homeless, but we can’t count them. Does that make sense?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Editor's Notepod, Thur., Feb. 4, 2010
Southington: it would seem that a solution to the town’s need for more and better office space has been found in the North Center School, vacated by the youngsters. Just because a building is no longer best for a school doesn’t mean other uses cannot be found.
Wallingford: the bidding process is a little off center for the community and mental health services which it decided upon last year. It will be interesting to see if the town gets better value for its money after the dust settles.
Cheshire: is it a sign of the times, perhaps, that so many establishments failed the test on checking for IDs during the sting operation last month? It’s too bad that the rules seem to be carelessly applied.
Southington: so Hartford Health Care and Hospital of Central Connecticut are working toward a joint operation. No real surprise. Health care is increasingly managed by larger outfits. The real issue is whether they all remain charitable, non-stock corporations. Should the state ever allow them to alter to stock companies, the result will hurt the people of the state.
Wallingford: the bidding process is a little off center for the community and mental health services which it decided upon last year. It will be interesting to see if the town gets better value for its money after the dust settles.
Cheshire: is it a sign of the times, perhaps, that so many establishments failed the test on checking for IDs during the sting operation last month? It’s too bad that the rules seem to be carelessly applied.
Southington: so Hartford Health Care and Hospital of Central Connecticut are working toward a joint operation. No real surprise. Health care is increasingly managed by larger outfits. The real issue is whether they all remain charitable, non-stock corporations. Should the state ever allow them to alter to stock companies, the result will hurt the people of the state.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Editor's Notepod, Wed., Feb. 3, 2010
Meriden: given the economy and the temper of the times, it’s hard to disagree with the Board of Education’s unanimous vote for the hybrid option.
Wallingford: a third workshop on realignment. It still seems that presenting this change out of the blue and tying it to the budget was a method which would tend to irritate or scare. A couple of years of discussion might have worked a lot better.
Plans for a natural gas fueling plant for Meriden’s future natural gas vehicles seem to be a part of the larger plan. It makes sense, and it certainly increases options.
Wallingford’s board of ethics said it’s okay for a councilor to participate in an upcoming vote. It’s certainly better to get these opinions before, and not after, a vote is taken.
Wallingford: a third workshop on realignment. It still seems that presenting this change out of the blue and tying it to the budget was a method which would tend to irritate or scare. A couple of years of discussion might have worked a lot better.
Plans for a natural gas fueling plant for Meriden’s future natural gas vehicles seem to be a part of the larger plan. It makes sense, and it certainly increases options.
Wallingford’s board of ethics said it’s okay for a councilor to participate in an upcoming vote. It’s certainly better to get these opinions before, and not after, a vote is taken.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Editor's Notepod, Tues., Feb. 2, 2010
Wallingford: Interesting that, although the state is responsible for “state” roads, which means that localities cannot take any steps to cure problems themselves, the state offers as a reason for problems that motorists don’t obey the rules. One suspects that flouting the rules tends to happen more as roads become congested and un-fixed and people get frustrated. But then, if the road is improved, more people will use it. Chicken? Egg?
Meriden: strange as it may seem, Lincoln, though home to students since 2005, has not yet been “audited” by state building officials. It’s a perfectly proper, if lengthy process, and would the public really have it run so that everything was completed bing, bang, boom, and THEN the problems were discovered after all the paperwork was done? It is a public process, hence the emphasis on step-by-step action.
Wallingford: the discussion on reconfiguration continues to concern many parents. Since the savings are fairly minimal, is there a reason the change has to be made with such precipitation? The case is to be made . . . and it probably involves class size.
Meriden: strange as it may seem, Lincoln, though home to students since 2005, has not yet been “audited” by state building officials. It’s a perfectly proper, if lengthy process, and would the public really have it run so that everything was completed bing, bang, boom, and THEN the problems were discovered after all the paperwork was done? It is a public process, hence the emphasis on step-by-step action.
Wallingford: the discussion on reconfiguration continues to concern many parents. Since the savings are fairly minimal, is there a reason the change has to be made with such precipitation? The case is to be made . . . and it probably involves class size.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Editor's Notepod, Mon., Feb. 1, 2010
Meriden: there seems to be something of a contrast between Meriden’s most accident prone areas and intersections and those reported in Wallingford over the last few weeks. Wallingford’s are concentrated along Route 68 and the awkward crossover of Rt 5, Rt. 15 and that area. Meriden’s, apparently, seem much less chronically identified; perhaps this is because the leading candidate, Broad and East Main, was redone a decade ago. But we are a little surprised that West Main and Cook is not more of a problem.
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