State Rep Jason Bartlett's long fight in addressing high school drop out rates jumped a major hurdle last week with the passage of his bill which will raise the age students can dump high school.
Well, the hard work has paid off as the bill was introduced on the House floor and passed with bi-partisan support. Upon approval of the bill, Rep Bartlett issued the following statement:
Dropping out at 16 is simply not adequate, and having a law on the books that allows kids to do that sends a wrong message. There’s an extremely competitive market for jobs right now, and having an education is critical for earning a living wage.
It was a hard-fought battle to get this change, but I am glad that my colleagues joined with me and understand the reasons why this is so important,” Bartlett remarked. “If we are going to remain competitive, if we are going to advance the needs of generations coming after us, then this is one important change we can make that will have an impact. I am hopeful that my colleagues in the Senate will realize how important this legislation is and pass the bill in concurrence with the House.
From Thursday, here are highlights from debate on Rep. Bartlett's drop out bill.
Rep. Bartlett has agreed to do a follow-up guest post for My Left Nutmeg where he'll address the passage of the bill...
Mayor Mark Boughton said he plans to appeal the state Siting Council's decision to allow a cell tower on Stadley Rough Road.
The tower was the subject of a well-attended and contentious hearing last fall before the council, which approved the application two weeks ago by a 6-3 vote.
[...]
The city had spent about $100,000 to hire engineers and consultants to fight the proposal.
After spending 100,000 of YOUR taxpayers dollars on something which was a losing battle from the beginning, the last honest man in Danbury is ready to spend more money for a losing cause.
"Getting a Siting Council decision overturned is a difficult process and rarely done. There isn't much we can do."
First off, this article (which is on the FRONT PAGE of today's News-Times) highlights one of the most notable deficiencies with the paper...the lack of quality reporting. I hardly think former News-Times reporters from the late 70 to 90s (Valerie Roth) or even more recently (Elizabeth Putnam, Eugene Driscoll) would base their ENTIRE article on what's clearly a single a phone conversation between the reporter and the mayor. Seeing that I knew about his ruling A WHILE AGO, the timing of this story is a bit ridiculous and appears to be an afterthoght given the attention being paid to a similar cell tower case occurring in Newtown.
It's unfortunate that News-Times reporter Dirk Perrefort didn't take the time to research the ruling (as opposed to just recycling what's obviously a press release from Boughton) but for those who want the real story behind the ruling (as opposed to reading a article based on a single phone conversation), luckily all the minutes from the case are at your fingertips.
Before reading the informaiton from the Siting Council's website, take a few moments and read the concerns from the neighbors. Their concerns are broken down to three areas, health, environment, and property values.
This application is deeply flawed and the City of Danbury Cell Tower Task Force is currently working on a presentation to the Siting Council on Sept. 9 to illustrate the deficiencies in the application.
Notwithstanding the fact that Mayor Boughton didn't inform the public about the "deeply flawed" problems with the Cell companies application, lets do something the News-Times reporter didn't take time in doing and take a look at the minutes from the case...which are AVAILABLE ONLINE!
From the hearing here are the Siting Council's finding facts. Take note of the sections entitled "Suggested Alternate Sites" , "Multi Site Solutions" , and "Environmental Considerations" (Note 1-111).
Are you done reading that seciton of the report...good lets continue.
Look at the section entitled "Visibility of tower proposed at 52 Stadley Rough Road" and take note at the aprox. number of residents who would be able to see the tower. as opposed to the number of residents who would see the tower at the alternate sites.
Now, here's a map which shows where the tower would be located.
Okay, lets take a look at the ruling (pdf)FILED ON APRIL 28 2009 and see if the Sitting Council were outrageous in their decision (ruling starts on page 37).
Now that you read all the information (as opposed to the embarrassingly limited info in Perrefort's article, onw should question the wisdom in Boughton appealing this sensible and logical ruling.
Again, the City of Danbury spent 100,000 taxpayer's dollars and put up a defense that had no chance in success (once one simply look at the ENTIRE case, the cell company's compliance with STATE LAW, and the REAL impact the tower would have on the area as opposed to the impact the tower would have if it was built at any of the NUMEROUS alternate sites).
Now, as ANYONE who knows me (or has read this site on a regular basis) understands that I'm a brutal critic of irresponsible development. That being said, this episode has the markings of a NIMBY case as opposed to a irresponsible development fight.
WRAP-UP:
In Conclusion:
1. The planning of the cell tower is now eight years in the making, and after, in essence, wasting 100,000 TAXPAYERS dollars and willing to spend MORE TAXPAYERS DOLLARS in a appeal which he has admitted will probably not favor the city, the last honest man in Danbury needs to give this whole situation a rest.
2. (and more importantly) Dirk Perrefort and the News-Times needs to stop writing articles based off of a SINGLE phone conversation with the mayor. Since this case caught a great deal of attention last year, there is NO REASON the newspaper didn't do a series of follow-ups on the story (including following the Siting Council's proceedings and doing an article that outlines the Council's ruling and dismissal of the city's defense.
3. If the city spent 100,0oo TAXPAYER'S dollars on this small case, one should wodner how nuch TAXPAYER'S DOLLARS are being spent on the Danbury 11 civil lawsuit...
(NOTE: I'll update this post later with more information later).
I don't know what's funnier, this front page photo from last Wednesday, which clearly shows that ONCE AGAIN Jean Natale is NOT IN HER OFFCICE DOING HER JOB or our City Clerk acting like she has an appreciation for the arts.
Lets check the score...
So far we know that the current City Clerk:
Has been publically critcized for NOT BEING AVAILABLE IN HER OFFICE (opting instead to waste her time chatting it up in the Registrar of Voters office).
Has been routinely criticized (due to her incompetency) by Minority Leader Tom Saadi and the Democratic Common Council delegation
SAADI: Getting information, getting meetings scheduled, getting meetings posted on the website is taking so long. Now Jean did injury herself and that’s understandable because she was out of the office for a few weeks but her even being in there, I’m still waiting. I’ve been waiting for weeks to get information [...] this is a disservice to the council, it is a disservice to the public and to you to have to wait so long for information and to not get replies to emails or to requests for information.
DIGGS: This ad-hoc meeting was not properly posted in a manner that it should have been by the City Clerk and to include persons who they wanted in this ad-hoc meeting, and may I add, individuals from the community who have downplayed the importance of diversity in the city.
I checked with Corporation Council regarding with constitutes a legal meeting but at this point...I'm fully beyond that point, I'm fully beyond that issue and I really want to speak this evening on the process...I'm talking about the process that transpired almost two weeks ago.
My remarks are really about inclusion and about race because this is what the denial of funding for the Hispanic Center is all about. I know I was denied access or even knowing about this meeting because it was promoted in a very secretive and underhanded manner by quite a number of the Republican leaders and the City Clerk's office.
I contacted the City Clerk after learning of the meeting and she stated that she was too busy during the course of the week to post the meeting. I contacted the Council President the day after the meeting was held and he simply stated that it was posted in the Common Council chambers..."
[...]
BOUGHTON: The issue as it relates to whether it was posted or not posted is really germane to the funding of the Hispanic Center...
DIGGS: It really is focused on the funding of the Hispanic Center because I think it was all racially motivated...
Wasted 5,000 in taxpayer's dollars in the placement of a two page ad of the proposed changes to the City Charter which was a.) not needed and b.) a violation of state law that could possibly place the entire charter revision process in jeopardy
...and apparently is someone who had no problem standing next to a skinhead who advocated violence agaisnt immigrants.
A 32-year-old Brookfield man was taken to Danbury Hospital after his car knocked over a light pole at White Street and National Place early Thursday. Jose Vega-Hernandez, of North Lakeshore Drive, was headed east when his car ran up onto the sidewalk and struck the pole just before 1 a.m.
Vega-Hernandez was cited for failure to drive to the right, police said.
You're kidding right?
I was at this scene whe the accident happen...hell, I was about 3 car lengths away when the accident happen and was one of the first person's on the scene.
Once myself and the others around took ONE look at this guy, it was crystal clear that this accident was not a result of a "failure to drive to the right" but more likely "driving under the influence." The driver was completely out of it YET had no visible injuries, and the car window wasn't damaged (which indicates that he didn't hit his head on the window).
Most likely he didn't have any injuries because of the fact that the seatbelt on his car has one of those automatic shoulder belts that straps you in once you close the door (shoulder belt is visiable in the photo below). I also saw his car and from what I can remember, it didn't seem like his steering wheel was damaged (which In my opinion would indicate that he didn't hit his head on the wheel).
As I stated in my previous post, before the driver hit the pole, he ALMOST hit a group of people who were walking on the sidewalk as well as crossing the street. As I viewed from my mirror, he didn't just hit the pole out of no where but swerved to the right and left and slammed into the pole without applying his breaks.
Listen to the interview I did with the witnesses at the scene again (the timestamp on my recorder indicates that I tapes this conversation at EXACTLY 1:00 AM.
I stayed at the scene until the paramedics arrived and stood right over this guy while the police tried to talk to him. There is NO question that this guy was out of it and unless he had some type of medical condition, I would bet my house that the accident was most likely due to his physical condition at the time of the incident. Again, there were no visible marks on the driver's body. No blood, no wounds, no nothing...for the exception of a person who was looked COMPLETELY spaced out of his mind and was unable to answer any questions for a LONG period of time.
Although you can't rule out intoxicaiton, the driver oould have suffered a serizure BUT the problem I have is that the police report in the newspaper doesn't give any indicaiton of the person's physical condition at the time of the accident.
Was bloodwork done to determine if the driver was intoxicated?
While I was on the scene, I didn't see the police do any test to determine of the driver was intoxicated (most likely because the driver was all but passed out on the ground). Was there a test perfromed on the driver at the scene before he was taken away by the paramedics?
I wouldn't be so perplexed if it wasn't for the fact that I WITNESS THE ENTIRE ACCIDENT.
This person almost took out a LARGE group of people...and if it was not for the fact that he whacked the light pole, probably would had crashed into the cars that were at the stop light.
Our 91-year old neighbour came by today with a little gift for Chloe. Our neighbour is pretty inspiring... she still lives on her own, does some gardening and goes for walks, and plays in a bowling league. She's got this schlumpy, flabby, baby-toting mama beat :o\
Chloe seemed to like the new outfit. It even got her to smile (one of her new feats!)...
at least until she got bored.
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I've entered Chloe's nursery in the Benjamin Moore Share Your Style contest and would appreciate your vote - click HERE. Maybe if we win, we can finally paint and decorate the master bedroom. There's a reason I've never posted pics of it on my blog :)
As the 'family photographer', I'm often running around family functions snapping shots of the kiddos, the cousins, the food and decorations, but rarely appear in any photos myself. I haven't minded but now that I have my own little one, I want someone to take pictures of cute Chloe and her mommy, dang it, lol! Let's just hope those family photos turn out better than this one...judging by his hand gesture, this little boy obviously doesn't like his picture taken ;o) See more awkwardness at awkwardfamilyphotos.com
Driver takes down light pole on White Street early Thursday morning. White Street: 05.21.09
My father always told me to keep my camera with me at all times because you never want to be unprepared when a news events spontaneously happens.
Last night was one of those times when I happy I listened to my father's advice.
On my way back home from hearing a VERY good Indy band at Cousin Larry's, I witness a driver almost take out a LARGE group of pedestrians who were walking back home from clubs on Ives Street. Luckily no one was hurt as the driver swerved off the street at a high rate of speed and plowed into a light pole. The location of the accident is marked in red in the following map below.
For the life of me, I have no idea how the light pole didn't strike any cars as it smashed to the ground.
After the accident, I pulled over, grabbed my camera and ran to the scene as people approached the car to see if the guy driving the car (who looked intoxicated) was injured. As the police raced to the scene (in a matter of minutes), I interviewed a group of people who saw everything (warning: explicit language):
Again, thankfully no one was hurt (for the exception of the driver who, according to witnesses, pulled out the car and placed on the sidewalk). This situation could have been MUCH worse as the only thing that stopped this car from striking buildings was the light pole.
Look for this incident in the police blotter in tomorrow's News-Times.
These days, it seems everyone is recession proofing by doing more DIY instead of buy, buy, buy. We'll be doing a bit more of that around the HandyLuster household too, what with me being on maternity leave and HandyMan's company recently announcing a company-wide pay cut. I guess I can look on the bright side - at least HandyMan didn't lose his job, and being on maternity leave means I get to enjoy the next year with my daughter (yes, in Canada you can take up to a year for leave! We're lucky, I know).
With a baby constantly in my arms these days, I haven't been able to do many of my own DIY projects, but I've come across these by other bloggers. Have a look and maybe find some inspiration for your own home:
Loving this modern baby owl clock by decoylab... it would be great in the nursery so I can know exactly what insane time it is I'm doing those middle-of-the-night feedings :o\ Oh Chloe, are you sure you don't feel like sleeping through the night yet?? :)
Sorry for the lack of posts but I've been real busy dealing with political stuff.
I'll probably get back to full speed here later today.
UPDATE: Sorry folks, this week is a REAL busy political week in the state. While there is down time here, and if you haven't already, I recommend that you go over and take a look at the new Danbury Live website and get caught up on the latest shows.
You all know that HandyMan and I love Ikea, and we especially love to "hack" Ikea products and customize or personalize them to suit our home. Our hacks range from the big (like the Expedit bookshelves in the home office), the not so big (the Pax wardrobes in the nursery), and the small (the vanity in the master bedroom). Like I did with the vanity, one easy hack is to add a wallpaper, fabric, or stencil accent to your Ikea unit. Here's a product that makes that job just a little easier...
Grippiks Surface Accents are decorative films made to fit some of Ikea's most popular products, such as the Billy bookcase and Lack tables. I could have used just this thing when I was looking for wallpaper to accent the back of the wardrobes in the nursery - this yellow & grey pattern would have fit the room just perfectly too! And this greeny floral pattern would work well in the office.
I guess with the global popularity of Ikea, it only makes $ense that someone comes up with the brilliant idea to make compatible products. Looking for a slipcover for your Ikea sofa? Yep, someone thought of that too.
Which carrier would he decide on? Zong? Telenor? Ufone? (The devil uses Jazz so we can rule that out)
I backed up my blog before publishing this, as i was wary people in their fury at my words might take out their anger on my blogsite. For most people, considering the Prophet, or Allah, or anything remotely connected with religion in any context out of the conventional and sanctioned ones is an invitation to strap on some dynamite and ball bearings.
so back to the conversation. would the Prophet be on facebook? would he use blogger, or wordpress?
are you recoiling in horror? praying for forgiveness for my sins? why?
consider this - it is the belief of muslims that islam is the perfect and eternal religion, which provides for guidance in every conceivable manner of life's varied situations. moreover, it is perpetually put forth that the Prophet's life provides for the perfect solutions to each and any problem that our daily life might throw at us. thus islam has an ordained method of stepping inside a bathroom, a set way of having sex with one's wife, a prescribed procedure for conducting war, for shaving one's pubic hair, for saying hello in the morning, for offering prayers for drought and for funerals, for trimming the beard, for decorating the eyes, for tugging trousers above ankles and below navels... so it stands to reason that the Prophetic way would also provide for issuing guidance in areas where contemporary muslims are unsure of what to do. but in order to do that, one can not turn to any examples from the Prophet's life, as none exist. ergo, wouldn't one have to depend on interpretations, on analogies, and on consensus to reach a decision?
unfortunately, the prevailing instinct in popular, or perhaps prevalent streams of islamic thought is a strict, literal version of islamic injunctions and orders. of course, it is bleeding obvious by now that i am referring to wahabist, salafist ideologies, most eloquently embodied by the taliban.it would be unfair though to blame solely the taliban - for as long as i can remember, muslims have always looked fondly back at the time of the four caliphs, as an era of utopia, of perfect contentment, of ideal governance and living, of the ultimate realization of humanity's potential. in fact, the panacea to all of today's problems is routinely thought to be setting back the clocks to those glorious times.
even if we assume that this said time was Perfect with a capital P, is there any sense in reverting back to it? to do so would require literally stripping away whatever exists of contemporary life, which includes 14 centuries of buildings, boundaries, structures and technology. even if that were possible, one would also need to destroy 1400 years of cultural development, of linguistic development and intricacies, of intellectual thought. but even if one somehow manages to do those things, it still would not be enough. for you would also need to eradicate a millennium and a half of memory, of identities, of history.yet advocates of such a monumental task of rampant destruction are adamant that this is exactly what would provide Muslims with deliverance. now, as i just explained, a return to such times would need a collective imposition of amnesia. are these advocates even aware of the consequences of what they are asking for?
clearly they are not. why? because their whole manner is insincere.
the mullah denounces the decadent west, and promises a return to simplistic times, through an FM transmission. i know that Hazrat Bilal had a lovely voice, but he was a slave, not a short wave transmitting device. no precedence exists for this digital sermon in our Glorious Past, Mr. Fazlullah.Or how about the band of illiterate bus conductors who proclaim themselves to be the taliban? last time i checked, a talib was a student. expropriating their name might be an example of brand mimicry, or even franchising, but this sly usage is certainly not befitting of a glorious movement striving for the establishment of God's will on earth.
but the extremism on one end does not justify the extremism on another end.
on friday, i was doing a report on ways people could aid the IDP situation. i visited one event which was very well publicized on the net, which had its own facebook page, and radio ads and all the works. it was completely sparse as well, populated only by a variety of MILF-ish aunties in oversized Chanel sunglasses gossiping away while being surrounded by a handful of sacks of food.perhaps ironically, or befittingly, the name of this organization was "Voice of the Civil Society."
their ideologies and ideas were soon exposed as just as insincere, as half-baked and self-serving as the people i mentioned above. for starters, they were passing out these green ribbons which were supposed to show our support for our troops.i recoiled in horror when asked to wear one, as i felt that as the army had created, fostered and nurtured the taliban, the least they could do was fight them when they were threatening to take down pakistan.
in response, the flamboyant designer who was offering the ribbon replied that the only good taliban was a dead taliban, and someone has to kill them, so it might as well be the army. he then served me some drivel about how people like him and me were the only bastions of progressive values in our country. fuck him.
let us imagine that the Prophet was around right now. perhaps he wouldn't be bothered with using Zong, or twittering. but there are some things he would probably denounce.
he would feel that the air-conditioner i have on right now is sinful in the context of the fact that most pakistanis are suffering from electricity shortages, and don't have any ACs to relieve them when the light does come back. he would not like the fact that my family of six has access to three cars. he would recoil at the amount of water i use in my shower when the country suffers from a lack of adequate water supply. he would question my need to eat the super sized meal at Mickey Dees when most of the people in my society consumer the same number of calories over a week's period. he would probably ask me not to keep my appliances on standby, because the energy they use are causing pollution and shortages.the mullahs in our society use mobile phones to plan and then detonate improvised explosive devices, yet denounce modernity and it's manifestations such as democracy. the mimis and tinkoos in our society testify the kalima of progressiveness, yet routinely support fascist and authoritative actions and ideals.
if the Prophet were alive today, he would not be on the right or the left, he would not be secular or theocratic. he would take a stand against bigots, against regressive thoughts and ideas, against the blind following of ideals just for their sake, he would be against anyone who uses the ends to justify his deplorable means.
i would venture to say that such issues would occupy him far more than the need to flog unproperly attired teenage girls, the compulsion to criticize land reforms and democracy as un-Islamic, the desire to hold charity drives while sipping perrier, the excitable calls for the creators of the demons to protect us from the demons themselves.
the Prophet may have been many things, but he was not an idiot. stop making him out to be one, and stop acting like ones yourself.
Last year in Lahore, there was a running battle between the courts and the moral police in an attempt to ban dancing on stage. It was one of the first battles in a steadily intensifying culture war, which would later rear its head during the Shanakhhat festival, as well as the banning of Naseebo lal.
I LOVE this melamine dinnerware from West Elm! It coordinates perfectly with the materials and colours of our back deck. Now all we have to find is a table.
While I spent the day covering a number of events at the Capitol, I was able to watch the House join the Senate in approving the reval bill.
The House joined the Senate Tuesday in giving final passage to a bill that would allow municipalities to delay their property revaluations until 2011.
The bill passed the House Tuesday 125 to 18 and was immediately transmitted to Gov. M. Jodi Rell for her approval.
Rep. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, said as chairman of the legislature’s Planning and Development Committee he reluctantly came to support the legislation.
Once the Governor signs the bill Mayor Boughton will stop this year's phase-in of the reval.
...sounds great right? Well, not so fast. Remember, don't think of this as a tax break but rather a deferment...you'll still have to pay the piper NEXT year!]
ALSO, residents need to understand that the determining factor in tax rates is SPENDING...and when it coems to that subject, Danbury's current mayor's spending habits are killing us.
For example, let me point you to an exchange readers at CTNews Junkie are having on this very subject. Although the focus on this conversation is New Haven, in this case, you can easily substitute references to the Elm City (and DeStefano) for the Hat City (and Boughton).
Many local leaders would like nothing better than to portray themselves as the hapless victims of state law, rather than what they are: elected representatives refusing to make difficult budgetary decisions.
The driving force in determining tax rates is spending. This is expressed through a town's mill rate. Property valuations are a footnote. Focusing taxpayer attention on the phase-in (or a freeze of it), is irresponsible, in that it distracts from the real issues facing our towns and cities.
New Haven has approximately $1.5 billion dollars in debts and unfunded liabilities. Our mayor and aldermen seem to be ducking the issue. Unless this is addressed, it seems to me that taxes are going to go have to rise steeply sooner or later, services are going to be cut, and the city will have limited options at a time when pursuing new options is critical.
[...]
People must know that assessed values are not the basis of taxes, instead as Tim so rightly points it is spending. To illustrate, had New Haven frozen spending and continued the phase-in the mill rate would haven been lowered. They didn't want this since a lower mill rate would generate less revenue from personal property and motor vechicle. New Haven will continue to operate on the verge of bankruptcy, but the mayor hopes this recent misleading of the tax payers will keep him in office.
Food for thought when you think about the out-of-control spending habits of Boughton...but I'll dig into that later. For now, since you've read this piece, go back and watch Councilman Warren Levy's comment regarding the problems with this year's budget in the post below.
I've been on the hunt for a carpet runner for our entry stairs for a while now. We found and ordered one back in January but the company went bankrupt (another victim of this global recession) before the rug was delivered so the hunt continues.
I came across these from Dash & Albert - how fun and lovely are they! I love the idea of a fresh, light runner against the dark stair treads. Such a welcoming look when you enter the door. Plus, I think Chloe's little bum will look so cute coming down those stairs when she learns how to manoeuvre them! Is it wrong to pick furnishings based on how well they accessorize your newborn? I get the feeling that things are going to get a bit more bright and colourful around the HandyLuster household? :)
In honor of the threats launched against Warren Levy by our hot-headed mayor, this post is bumped to the top
Although noted in his News-Times write-up, Dirk Perrefort's piece come up a tad bit short in terms of painting the full picture of the events that happened last night (most notably how Republicans in essence screwed those who were critical of the budget from having an opportunity to speak.
While I'll elaborate on that troubling portion of the meeting later, at least one critic of Boughton's sham of a budget was able to speak...and his remarks were spot-on.
From last night, here's Common Councilman Warren Levy sounding the alarm bells and informing the public about Boughton's ticking time bomb...
I'll have more footage from last night's budget later...
The State Capitol Police Department arrested the Vice President of NORML CT for emailing threats to State Senator Toni Boucher.
Dominic Vita, 28, Somers, was charged with Disorderly Conduct in connection with an an email that contained threatening and alarming statements pertaining Boucher who represents the 26th District.
Police said Vita, who is vice president of NORML, a group that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws, made statements in a profanity laced email to the effect of, "I'm getting ready to go postal" and also referenced a specific act of violence directed at Senator Boucher.
Vita was arrested Friday in Enfield, Connecticut. He was released on a $1000.00 bond and is scheduled to appear for arraignment in Hartford Superior Court on May 11, 2009.
Why on earth would anyone threaten Sen Boucher?
You may not like her stance on certain issues but as someone who has interviewed her several times on television, I can say without hesitation that Sen. Boucher is without question one of the nicest persons at the Capitol. Why someone would want to threaten her is beyond me...
Thursday morning I got a bill-tracker email from the capitol and was frustrated by it. I went to forward the email to David and in my haste I hit REPLY instead of FORWARD. I added a line and a half of colorful venting to David. The email was addressed to DAVID, not Sen. Boucher. I was not directly threatening anyone, I was venting my frustration to David.
I am stepping down because I can no longer be a good advocate to the cause. My presence would change the tone and I refuse to let my mistake carry over to you all. I wish you all a tremendous amount of luck as this goes on. and MAKE SURE your emails are going to the right place. I am so sorry everyone.
Today is Mother’s Day... my first Mother’s Day :) I can’t tell you how happy I am to wake up today with Chloe in my arms and realize that she is mine and I am hers - forever entwined as Mother & Daughter.
Its true what they say though. You can’t truly appreciate your parents until you become one yourself. And today, that knowledge I’ve been given is casting tears on my keyboard as I type. I have always known my mother was an amazing woman... she raised four happy children, built a career, nurtured, supported, cheered, and comforted us, always providing the perfect solution to whatever ailed us. But in the last three weeks, I’ve seen another side of her... as Grandmother, “Lola” to my child, her first granddaughter.
Lola has stayed with HandyMan and I the past three weeks, easing our transition into parenthood. Lola has shown us how to bathe Chloe, how to hold her wobbly head properly, how to soothe her midnight cries. She has babied me too, cooking us hot meals, taking Chloe and giving me time to sleep, shower, and blog. She has reveled in her new granddaughter, buying Chloe pretty clothes and putting sweet bows on her head. And when my ‘new mom’ fears arise and I think “I can’t do this. I don’t know how”, Lola is right there to tell me “Yes, you can”.
Nothing compares to the sight of your mother holding your child, and singing to them the same soft lullabies you heard as a child. Happy Mother’s Day Lola. I hope I can be as wonderful a mother as you someday.
Soft and feminine. That’s the pattern of the roman blind we finally installed in the bathroom. We had a bit of a problem deciding what type of pattern to have on the blind. The room has a spa-like palette, all whites, soft greys, and watery blue-greens. We could have gone with a bold or modern pattern to punch things up but in the end chose this floral with a slight oriental feel. The only question now is whether to keep the vinyl film we had installed temporarily on the window or remove it. What do you think? We have a big maple tree out front which is now full and leafy so we really don’t need the film for privacy.
Seeing that city of Danbury gets a BIG FAT F when it comes to informing residents about public hearing on their webite, here's another event that City Hall's IT department failed to post.
On April 29, the State Department of Transportation officials held a public hearing in which they presented their plans to make modifications to exit 1 and 2 on I-84. From DanburyTV, here's video footage of the DOT's presenation:
FYI: It's ironic that 1.) The News-Times did a write-up on this meeting where 2.) the mayor's chief of staff was quoted, 3.) DanburyTV videotaped the event, BUT 4). the city dropped the ball in informing the public about the presentation on their website.
...and this is the same City Hall that constantly complains about placing legal notices in the newspaper...
As someone who's seen this side of the mayor, lets just say that I wouldn't be surprised if this actually happened...
I attended the Common Council Meeting for the first time last evening because I was interested in the Dream Homes item. However, after the meeting I was shocked to witness the Mayor's unprofessional behavior towards Councilman Levy. He yelled at Mr. Levy that his Chocolate festival was dead and he would get no help for the Wooster Cemetery. I don't know what this meant but it sounded kind of like a threat to me. I was embarrased for the Mayor and glad that Mr. Levy just kept walking and did not respond. Mayor Boughton is a jerk.
Boughton said the budget received "good bipartisan support" from the council"
Hey Mark, here's a newsflash...
Only TWO democrats voted for your hypocritical budget...and the MAJORITY of Democrats who disapproved your budget weren't given an opportunity to explain their opposition (as well as the hypocritical details you slipped in the budget) because they were silenced by the the members of the council that you control.
Concerned about the impact the current economic crisis may have on property owners the Senate voted 31 to 3 Wednesday in favor of a bill that allows cities and towns to delay the implementation of a recent property revaluation or the phase-in of a property revaluation until 2011.
Proponents of the bill like Sen. Majority Leader Martin Looney, said the City of New Haven is anxious to have this bill passed because a one-year delay will save residential taxpayers from a steep property tax hike during an economic crisis.
[...]
But some lawmakers were concerned that the backlog of communities delaying revaluation could mean taxpayers will be just be putting off the inevitable tax increases. In addition lawmakers said they were concerned about the demand for the handful of property revaluation companies certified to do business in the state of Connecticut.
“There’s a lack of reval companies out there,” Sen. Leonard Fasano, R-North Haven, said. Fasano ended up voting in favor of the bill, but said he’s concerned about what will happen if communities continue delaying revaluations.
As an extreme example, he mentioned Waterbury, which waited so long to do a revaluation that when it finally did one, it sent homeowners into shock and sent the city spiraling into bankruptcy.
Sen. President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, said a provision in the bill will allow local communities to team up and assess properties on a regional basis without the help of a revaluation company. The provision will take pressure off the revaluation companies and save towns money by using the personnel in the assessor’s office to do the work, Williams said.
In order to delay implementation of a revaluation the local governing body would have to vote on it, according to the language in the bill.
The bill was transmitted to the House for approval.
The level of Boughton's tax increase relies upon the passage of this bill in the House and Senate, as well as Governor Rell's signature.
As I stated in an earlier post, Dirk Perrefort's piece in today's News-Times fell a bit short in terms of the level of outrage directed towards Republicans at last nights Common Council meeting.
Democrats on the council were upset that they were not given an opportunity to comment on the budget as a whole when the topic was up for discussion. After Councilman Warren Levy offered his remarks, Republican Robert Riley abruptly stopped all debate on the budget by using a parliamentary maneuver entitled "call the question"
“calling the question” when done properly should be a rare occurrence. If debate has dragged on longer than you feel is really warranted, you can “call the question,” at which time the chair has to immediately ask those assembled to vote to determine whether or not debate should be cut off or continue. The motion to call the question is itself not debatable. If two-thirds of those voting agree that the discussion should have died some time ago, they will support the call. Then, and only then, will the vote be taken on the question itself.
The problem with this procedure is that it's been abused over the years by Republicans on the council in an effort NOT to stop long debates but to stop any debate from happening on any topic (former Majority Leader/xenophobe/hate-monger Pauline bASSo has a LONG track record of pulling this stunt).
Good bye bASSo, hello Robert Riley...
In stopping anyone from speaking out against the hidden details of the budget, Riley, after giving a long-winded rant in praise of the budget, moved to call the question, and with all the Republicans on the council voting on approval of the move, future comments on the budget were squashed.
...in other words, with Riley's shameless move, the tradition of abusing this parliamentary procedure (and silencing the opposition) is kept alive and well.
Way to go Rob!
Watch and witness one of the dirtiest tricks in the rubber-stamp majority's arsenal...
After the meeting, an outraged Tom Saadi spoke with me about the Republicans squashing people's opportunity to speak out on the budget.
State Rep Jason Bartlett's long fight in addressing high school drop out rates jumped a major hurdle last week with the passage of his bill which will raise the age students can dump high school.
While I spent the day covering a number of events at the Capitol, I was able to watch the House join the Senate in 
As someone who's seen this side of the mayor, lets just say that I wouldn't be surprised 
Reval bill passes another hurdle...
