Changing hiring rules at City Hall to make it easier for Bristol residents to get entry-level jobs may be harder than supporters realized.
The top problem may be that it’s not easy to determine where somebody lives.
“It’s difficult to police,” said Personnel Director Diane Ferguson. “I don’t know how you’re going to know.”
It would be relatively easy, officials said Wednesday, for somebody to use a Bristol address on a job application for a municipal position.
Beyond that, Ferguson said, it isn’t clear just how the city could give its residents a leg up in the process.
Towns that offer their residents a boost in seeking jobs usually give them extra points on a Civil Service scale, she said. But Bristol doesn’t use that system in its hiring.
So it isn’t obvious how officials could provide a built-in advantage for residents without revising the entire hiring system.
The city uses a 100-point scale in grading applicants for police and fire jobs, officials said, and because of that it has been able to offer veterans an extra 5 points on top of their test scores, perhaps propelling some job seekers into contention for a position.
But other city positions, including the custodial and public works spots that city Councilor Mike Rimcoski is aiming to hand to Bristol residents, are not filled using a point system.
Ferguson said that her office and the relevant departmental supervisors weed through applications to determine which ones are most qualified for the positions that are open.
The best of the bunch, officials said, are interviewed in person before hiring decisions are made.
Rimcoski said hiring locally would mean more money would be kept in the city’s economy.
But Councilor Cliff Block said that he would rather the city hire based on merit so that it gets the best employees possible.
“Cliff Block doesn’t want to give local people the job,” Rimcoski said.
Block fired back that if the city builds two new schools and funds its education system properly, “the best and brightest” applicants will come from Bristol.
Ferguson said about 58 percent of city positions are filled by Bristol residents currently.
“That’s lousy,” Rimcoski said.
“Because our schools are lousy,” city Councilor Craig Minor responded.
“You must have gone to them,” Rimcoski fired back.
The Salary Committee agreed to consider the issue further next month.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
September 17, 2008
Hoppers-Birge Pond gets unanimous backing from park panel
A long-awaited project to spruce up the Hoppers-Birge Pond Nature Preserve got a final thumbs-up from park commissioners Wednesday.
“It looks great,” said Jean Letourneau, a neighbor who has been pushing for improvements at the park for two decades.
The $300,000 plan, which still needs the backing of land use panels, aims to overhaul the existing parking lot, add handicapped accessible walkways along the south end of the pond, install picnic tables and create parking along Ambler Road.
Also on tap are new flooring and rails for the old gatehouse slab that juts into the pond.
Sylvia Perdikis, manager of landscape architecture for the Meriden-based BL Companies, said there will also be a handicapped-accessible fishing platform near the spillway.
Cindy Donovan, a parks commissioner, asked if it would be possible to scale back on the stone walls and paths near the parking lots in order to have a trail that would circle the pond.
Park Director Ed Swicklas said there isn’t enough money to do the loop trail yet. That will have to wait for a second phase someday, he said.
Officials are hoping, though, to snag a state grant that would pay for a pedestrian bridge across the spillway so that people would not have to troop south to Ambler Road in order to get to the southern and western side of the pond easily.
Swicklas said that security cameras will likely be added in the future as well.
Officials aren’t sure how much lighting they want to include with the new project.
Swicklas said lighting may make the area more attractive as a late night hangout rather than deterring it.
If everything goes according to plan, the project should be underway next spring.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
“It looks great,” said Jean Letourneau, a neighbor who has been pushing for improvements at the park for two decades.
The $300,000 plan, which still needs the backing of land use panels, aims to overhaul the existing parking lot, add handicapped accessible walkways along the south end of the pond, install picnic tables and create parking along Ambler Road.
Also on tap are new flooring and rails for the old gatehouse slab that juts into the pond.
Sylvia Perdikis, manager of landscape architecture for the Meriden-based BL Companies, said there will also be a handicapped-accessible fishing platform near the spillway.
Cindy Donovan, a parks commissioner, asked if it would be possible to scale back on the stone walls and paths near the parking lots in order to have a trail that would circle the pond.
Park Director Ed Swicklas said there isn’t enough money to do the loop trail yet. That will have to wait for a second phase someday, he said.
Officials are hoping, though, to snag a state grant that would pay for a pedestrian bridge across the spillway so that people would not have to troop south to Ambler Road in order to get to the southern and western side of the pond easily.
Swicklas said that security cameras will likely be added in the future as well.
Officials aren’t sure how much lighting they want to include with the new project.
Swicklas said lighting may make the area more attractive as a late night hangout rather than deterring it.
If everything goes according to plan, the project should be underway next spring.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Rimcoski calls himself "a mushroom"
"I'm a mushroom. They keep me in the dark and feed me bullshit," city Councilor Mike Rimcoski told me today.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
"No Child..." worth a trip to TheaterWorks
Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this review:
The dramatic high school comedy "No Child…," now playing at TheaterWorks, deserves an A plus.
Simultaneously sad and funny, "No Child…" is a fast-moving, intelligently done and provocative work about the painful reality of urban high school by playwright Nilaja Sun.
The show is based on Sun's own experience as a teaching artist in public schools in the Bronx. Originally done as an award-winning, off-Broadway solo performance by Sun, "No Child…" in Hartford uses a cast of four.
Setting the tone for the show is the dismal cinderblock scene of the high school hallway, where a bullet hole has pierced a window and graffiti defaces the walls near the janitor's closet.
The set supports the underlying theme that high school is often a prison for the students trapped there. The ugly truths that the teenagers live with come out in bits and pieces.
The audience learns that the students have had five different teachers in seven months, that teachers generally expect them to fail and that their parents are uninvolved – if they even exist at all.
Four actors together represent a dozen or more characters, and they do a stunning job of it.
Three of them – Lizan Mitchell, Portia and Anthony Mark Stockard – carry all the characters except the visiting teacher, Ms. Sun. They play people of varying ages, races and sexes, all of them morphing flawlessly from one to another.
Mitchell, who is remarkable as an old black man, a timid Asian woman and a slouching student with attitude, opens the show. In her role as the longstanding custodian who's seen it all, he doesn't mind sharing his observations – on the students, teachers, the school and the neighborhood – with the audience.
Half the kids, he says, are "raising themselves."
Equally impressive is Stockard, who plays a wide range of students who are as hilarious as they are heartbreaking.
The three actors work their character-changing magic without benefit of elaborate costume changes, using powerful body language and talented voice work to pull it off.
Donnetta Lavinia Grays plays Ms. Sun, the struggling teaching artist who is desperately trying to keep up with her bills even as she fights to connect with the students.
At one point, Ms. Sun hits bottom, and like so many dedicated teachers, announces she is quitting. She's exhausted, smoking and losing weight and worst of all, doesn't think she's reaching the students.
"They need something much greater than I can give them," Ms. Sun says. "They need a miracle."
She laments that the students aren't taught to become leaders, but to go to jail. They're abandoned by families and by their teachers, she realizes, and sent to a school with metal detectors and security guards.
Possibly the most poignant moment comes when Ms. Sun realizes that the students are all too familiar.
"All of those kids in there are me," she says.
Directed by Rob Ruggiero, the TheaterWorks run of "No Child…" has been extended more than once.
Shows continue through Sunday, Oct. 12, according to Jacques Lamarre, spokesman for the theater.
For more information, call the theater at (860) 527-7838 or go online to www.theaterworkshartford.org.
General admission seating for No Child... is $37 to $47, but there are discounts available for teachers and school groups. TheaterWorks is located at 233 Pearl Street in downtown Hartford.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
The dramatic high school comedy "No Child…," now playing at TheaterWorks, deserves an A plus.
Simultaneously sad and funny, "No Child…" is a fast-moving, intelligently done and provocative work about the painful reality of urban high school by playwright Nilaja Sun.
The show is based on Sun's own experience as a teaching artist in public schools in the Bronx. Originally done as an award-winning, off-Broadway solo performance by Sun, "No Child…" in Hartford uses a cast of four.
Setting the tone for the show is the dismal cinderblock scene of the high school hallway, where a bullet hole has pierced a window and graffiti defaces the walls near the janitor's closet.
The set supports the underlying theme that high school is often a prison for the students trapped there. The ugly truths that the teenagers live with come out in bits and pieces.
The audience learns that the students have had five different teachers in seven months, that teachers generally expect them to fail and that their parents are uninvolved – if they even exist at all.
Four actors together represent a dozen or more characters, and they do a stunning job of it.
Three of them – Lizan Mitchell, Portia and Anthony Mark Stockard – carry all the characters except the visiting teacher, Ms. Sun. They play people of varying ages, races and sexes, all of them morphing flawlessly from one to another.
Mitchell, who is remarkable as an old black man, a timid Asian woman and a slouching student with attitude, opens the show. In her role as the longstanding custodian who's seen it all, he doesn't mind sharing his observations – on the students, teachers, the school and the neighborhood – with the audience.
Half the kids, he says, are "raising themselves."
Equally impressive is Stockard, who plays a wide range of students who are as hilarious as they are heartbreaking.
The three actors work their character-changing magic without benefit of elaborate costume changes, using powerful body language and talented voice work to pull it off.
Donnetta Lavinia Grays plays Ms. Sun, the struggling teaching artist who is desperately trying to keep up with her bills even as she fights to connect with the students.
At one point, Ms. Sun hits bottom, and like so many dedicated teachers, announces she is quitting. She's exhausted, smoking and losing weight and worst of all, doesn't think she's reaching the students.
"They need something much greater than I can give them," Ms. Sun says. "They need a miracle."
She laments that the students aren't taught to become leaders, but to go to jail. They're abandoned by families and by their teachers, she realizes, and sent to a school with metal detectors and security guards.
Possibly the most poignant moment comes when Ms. Sun realizes that the students are all too familiar.
"All of those kids in there are me," she says.
Directed by Rob Ruggiero, the TheaterWorks run of "No Child…" has been extended more than once.
Shows continue through Sunday, Oct. 12, according to Jacques Lamarre, spokesman for the theater.
For more information, call the theater at (860) 527-7838 or go online to www.theaterworkshartford.org.
General admission seating for No Child... is $37 to $47, but there are discounts available for teachers and school groups. TheaterWorks is located at 233 Pearl Street in downtown Hartford.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Is this mural still around?
In an old New England Magazine article, Frederick W. Coburn wrote about this mural by Vesper George of Boston. Coburn said it was destined for a bank trust building in Bristol.
In praising the mural in 1908, Coburn wrote, "The spirit of New England husbandry has rarely been more truthfully depicted" and that the work had "a right to critical esteem."
Is it still around somewhere?
The Greenfield Historical Society in Ohio has this little bio of George:
GEORGE, VESPER LINCOLN (1865-1934)
An American artist and teacher, born in Boston, Massachusetts, June 4, 1865. He received his public school education in Boston, and his art education in New York and Paris, studying under the famous French painters, Benjamin Constant, Jules Lefebvre, and Lucien Doucet. He was the owner and director of the Vesper Lincoln George School of Art, Inc., Boston, founded in 1924. Some of his best known mural decorations can be seen in the Public Library, Lowell, Massachusetts, in the Music Room of Mr. Session’s home, Bristol Trust Company, where he has four large panels, representing Commerce, Industry, Finance, and Agriculture. Each panel is about ten feet in length. In the Edward Lee McClain High School, Greenfield, Ohio, are three panels, executed especially for the school. Mr. George resigned from a position as head of the department of design, Massachusetts School of Art, which he held for over twenty years, to organize the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Mural Painters’ Society and of the Architectural Society of New York, the Boston Art Club, and the Boston Chamber of Commerce.
So I guess there ought to be at least four of these panels in Bristol. Are they still around?
They seemed sort of familiar to me and now, with a little more sleuthing, I know why. They were in the lobby of the former Bristol Savings Bank building on the corner of Main Street and Riverside Avenue, which I haven't been in for quite a few years.
You can read about the building and the murals in Eddy Smith's classic city history Bristol, Connecticut: "in the Olden Time New Cambridge", which Includes Forestville starting on page 652 right here.
I'm sure someone who's in there regularly can tell me if the murals remain.
*******Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
September 16, 2008
Minor takes issue with zoning chief
Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this story:
City Councilor Craig Minor is taking issue with zoning board Chairman Frank Johnson's description of the board's role in determining a new K-8 school site.
Minor, who is the city planner for the town of Cromwell, said Johnson was wrong when he said zoning commissioners would have to determine whether a school would be the "highest and best use" of the former Scalia sand pit that school officials are eyeing for the new building.
"The commission does not take into consideration whether this is the best use of the property, or even a good use of the property," said Minor. "That's not for them to say."
Referring to the "highest and best use," said Minor, is also not for Johnson to say, either. He said it's a specific term used by real estate appraisers to "refer to the activity that makes the most profit for the land owner."
The phrase is not in Bristol's zoning regulations, Minor said.
"The zoning commission's job is to make sure that an application complies with all of the zoning regulations," said Minor. "Finding the most profitable way to develop a piece of property is the job of the free market, not local government."
Johnson said he wasn't speaking as a real estate appraiser.
"I'm not considering the land value," said Johnson. "I'm strictly looking at the use of the land."
He said one of the things his board has to consider is whether or not a school is an "appropriate use" for the land and thus, deserving of a special permit.
In doing so, Johnson said, they'll take the impact on the surrounding neighborhood into account, as well as traffic, the infrastructure and public safety issues.
"We will take a very careful look at this," said Johnson.
When zoning board members wrote the regulations, Johnson said, they intended for applications for special permits to be taken on a case by case basis, since what the applicant wants is not allowed automatically by right.
"If I misspoke, I misspoke. I'm not so sure that I did," said Johnson. "I'm certainly not apologizing for anything I said."
City Planner Alan Weiner said Minor is right that "highest and best use" is a real estate appraisal term. But he said he's heard members of many land use boards in Bristol and other towns use it.
In the real estate appraisal world, it has to do with what use of the land would be most profitable, Weiner said.
"The term has a very specific meaning in that context," said Weiner. "I'm presuming they didn't mean it in the real estate appraisal sense."
Minor said he didn't believe that Johnson had any conflict of interest, and Weiner said he has faith that the zoning board will do its job.
"When the zoning commission looks at applications, they know what they need to do," said Weiner. "They know what their role is and they know what their responsibility is."
The plan to build a new school on the old sand pit is expected to come before the Bristol Planning Commission on Wednesday, Sept. 24. At that meeting, planning commissioners will be asked to make a recommendation on the proposal.
If they recommend against it, city councilors will have to have a two-thirds majority in order to move forward with the school on that property.
Minor said he doesn't know how the planning board will rule.
"There are problems with this site from the planning commission's point of view," said Minor, who said its inaccessibility to pedestrians, or children walking to school may be an issue, as well as its remote location. "The planning commission might not think it's the best place for it."
Minor said he supports the Scalia site for the school, but "grudgingly," calling it a "distant second best" after the property on Park and Divinity streets.
Though he preferred Park and Divinity, Minor said, he thinks it's better for the city to move the school project ahead than wait any longer.
"I don't think Park Street has the votes on the city council," said Minor.
If the planning board recommends against the sand pit site, it will set the project back a year, said Minor, "and it might even kill it."
Only if the project moves forward after the stop at the planning board – either by an affirmative recommendation or by a two-thirds majority on the council – would it at some point come before the zoning commission.
If that happens, the zoning board would be asked to consider whether the residentially-zoned Scalia property deserves a special permit for a school. The project couldn't go ahead without it.
If the project does make it to the zoning board, Minor said, it must be approved or denied on its merits, not on whether or not another piece of property is better suited for a school.
"The planning commission can say those things, but not the zoning commission," said Minor. "Certainly the planning commission should be involved in this decision."
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
City Councilor Craig Minor is taking issue with zoning board Chairman Frank Johnson's description of the board's role in determining a new K-8 school site.
Minor, who is the city planner for the town of Cromwell, said Johnson was wrong when he said zoning commissioners would have to determine whether a school would be the "highest and best use" of the former Scalia sand pit that school officials are eyeing for the new building.
"The commission does not take into consideration whether this is the best use of the property, or even a good use of the property," said Minor. "That's not for them to say."
Referring to the "highest and best use," said Minor, is also not for Johnson to say, either. He said it's a specific term used by real estate appraisers to "refer to the activity that makes the most profit for the land owner."
The phrase is not in Bristol's zoning regulations, Minor said.
"The zoning commission's job is to make sure that an application complies with all of the zoning regulations," said Minor. "Finding the most profitable way to develop a piece of property is the job of the free market, not local government."
Johnson said he wasn't speaking as a real estate appraiser.
"I'm not considering the land value," said Johnson. "I'm strictly looking at the use of the land."
He said one of the things his board has to consider is whether or not a school is an "appropriate use" for the land and thus, deserving of a special permit.
In doing so, Johnson said, they'll take the impact on the surrounding neighborhood into account, as well as traffic, the infrastructure and public safety issues.
"We will take a very careful look at this," said Johnson.
When zoning board members wrote the regulations, Johnson said, they intended for applications for special permits to be taken on a case by case basis, since what the applicant wants is not allowed automatically by right.
"If I misspoke, I misspoke. I'm not so sure that I did," said Johnson. "I'm certainly not apologizing for anything I said."
City Planner Alan Weiner said Minor is right that "highest and best use" is a real estate appraisal term. But he said he's heard members of many land use boards in Bristol and other towns use it.
In the real estate appraisal world, it has to do with what use of the land would be most profitable, Weiner said.
"The term has a very specific meaning in that context," said Weiner. "I'm presuming they didn't mean it in the real estate appraisal sense."
Minor said he didn't believe that Johnson had any conflict of interest, and Weiner said he has faith that the zoning board will do its job.
"When the zoning commission looks at applications, they know what they need to do," said Weiner. "They know what their role is and they know what their responsibility is."
The plan to build a new school on the old sand pit is expected to come before the Bristol Planning Commission on Wednesday, Sept. 24. At that meeting, planning commissioners will be asked to make a recommendation on the proposal.
If they recommend against it, city councilors will have to have a two-thirds majority in order to move forward with the school on that property.
Minor said he doesn't know how the planning board will rule.
"There are problems with this site from the planning commission's point of view," said Minor, who said its inaccessibility to pedestrians, or children walking to school may be an issue, as well as its remote location. "The planning commission might not think it's the best place for it."
Minor said he supports the Scalia site for the school, but "grudgingly," calling it a "distant second best" after the property on Park and Divinity streets.
Though he preferred Park and Divinity, Minor said, he thinks it's better for the city to move the school project ahead than wait any longer.
"I don't think Park Street has the votes on the city council," said Minor.
If the planning board recommends against the sand pit site, it will set the project back a year, said Minor, "and it might even kill it."
Only if the project moves forward after the stop at the planning board – either by an affirmative recommendation or by a two-thirds majority on the council – would it at some point come before the zoning commission.
If that happens, the zoning board would be asked to consider whether the residentially-zoned Scalia property deserves a special permit for a school. The project couldn't go ahead without it.
If the project does make it to the zoning board, Minor said, it must be approved or denied on its merits, not on whether or not another piece of property is better suited for a school.
"The planning commission can say those things, but not the zoning commission," said Minor. "Certainly the planning commission should be involved in this decision."
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Fast food purveyors may move on mall site
Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this story:
The Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds restaurants on the former downtown mall site may both end up on the north end of the property, where Dunkin' Donuts is now, a development official said.
Frank Johnson, chairman of the Bristol Downtown Development Corp., said all the parties involved in both restaurants are interested in reconfiguring their businesses.
"Both McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts have been under pressure from their corporations to remodel their stores," said Johnson, but he said the operators have been hesitant, wanting to first find out what happens with downtown.
The BDDC has oversight of the now-vacant, 17-acre former mall site, and city councilors recently decided that the non-profit board should also do the negotiating with Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds.
Johnson said the BDDC would like to work with Dunkin' Donuts, but must work with McDonalds.
"McDonalds, right now, sits plunk in the middle of the 17 acres and owns its own land," said Johnson.
Johnson said that while the popular grocery store Discount Food Outlet is also on that end of the former mall site, he believes it would be possible to fit the McDonalds in between the Dunkin' Donuts and the DFO.
BDDC board members decided to invite representatives from both McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts to an upcoming meeting to discuss possible plans to "relocate or co-locate" in the Dunkin' Donuts end of the parcel, which is at the corner of Center Street and North Main Street.
"I think they should come in," said BDDC board member John Lodovico.
Another board member, Dick Kallenbach, suggested the BDDC skirt Freedom of Information laws by having representatives from the BDDC and the restaurants meet behind closed doors.
Kallenbach said if they did that, it wouldn't be "a legal meeting, per se, under FOI."
But David Sheridan, the BDDC's attorney, said appointing people to meet would constitute a sub-committee, which would be subject to FOI laws because they would be conducting board business.
"FOI is bad enough, in my opinion," said Kallenbach.
Johnson said they should just invite McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts to the meeting and see if they want to come, and other board members agreed.
"They know what they want to do," said Dick Harrall, executive director of the BDDC, about the restaurant operators.
It's important to work with them, Johnson said, but he said it would be helpful to get the McDonalds out of the way, clearing the large end of the parcel for future development."You certainly don't want to build your development around Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds," Johnson said.
Negotiations will likely involve many parties, according to Johnson, because the Dunkin' Donuts representatives will include the land owner, the franchise owner and the corporation and the McDonalds will involve the local operator and the corporation.
"They are both long overdue for an upgrade," said Johnson.
Board members said they understood why the restaurants want to upgrade, but also why they might be holding back.
"We're not moving as fast as we'd like to move," said Lodovico.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
The Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds restaurants on the former downtown mall site may both end up on the north end of the property, where Dunkin' Donuts is now, a development official said.
Frank Johnson, chairman of the Bristol Downtown Development Corp., said all the parties involved in both restaurants are interested in reconfiguring their businesses.
"Both McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts have been under pressure from their corporations to remodel their stores," said Johnson, but he said the operators have been hesitant, wanting to first find out what happens with downtown.
The BDDC has oversight of the now-vacant, 17-acre former mall site, and city councilors recently decided that the non-profit board should also do the negotiating with Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds.
Johnson said the BDDC would like to work with Dunkin' Donuts, but must work with McDonalds.
"McDonalds, right now, sits plunk in the middle of the 17 acres and owns its own land," said Johnson.
Johnson said that while the popular grocery store Discount Food Outlet is also on that end of the former mall site, he believes it would be possible to fit the McDonalds in between the Dunkin' Donuts and the DFO.
BDDC board members decided to invite representatives from both McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts to an upcoming meeting to discuss possible plans to "relocate or co-locate" in the Dunkin' Donuts end of the parcel, which is at the corner of Center Street and North Main Street.
"I think they should come in," said BDDC board member John Lodovico.
Another board member, Dick Kallenbach, suggested the BDDC skirt Freedom of Information laws by having representatives from the BDDC and the restaurants meet behind closed doors.
Kallenbach said if they did that, it wouldn't be "a legal meeting, per se, under FOI."
But David Sheridan, the BDDC's attorney, said appointing people to meet would constitute a sub-committee, which would be subject to FOI laws because they would be conducting board business.
"FOI is bad enough, in my opinion," said Kallenbach.
Johnson said they should just invite McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts to the meeting and see if they want to come, and other board members agreed.
"They know what they want to do," said Dick Harrall, executive director of the BDDC, about the restaurant operators.
It's important to work with them, Johnson said, but he said it would be helpful to get the McDonalds out of the way, clearing the large end of the parcel for future development."You certainly don't want to build your development around Dunkin' Donuts and McDonalds," Johnson said.
Negotiations will likely involve many parties, according to Johnson, because the Dunkin' Donuts representatives will include the land owner, the franchise owner and the corporation and the McDonalds will involve the local operator and the corporation.
"They are both long overdue for an upgrade," said Johnson.
Board members said they understood why the restaurants want to upgrade, but also why they might be holding back.
"We're not moving as fast as we'd like to move," said Lodovico.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Larson, Visconti point fingers on Wall Street woes
The turmoil that has sent shivers through Wall Street – and spread across the world – “is the direct result of eight years of lax Republican oversight and irresponsibility,” Bristol’s congressman said.
U.S. Rep. John Larson, an East Hartford Democrat whose 1st District includes Bristol, said the woes that have shattered legendary financial institutions “will trickle down throughout our economy. They will trickle down to the middle class as they see their retirement funds shrinking and they will trickle down to the poorest Americans as they see their job opportunities dry up.”
But Joe Visconti, the Republican challenger from West Hartford, said Tuesday that Larson needs “to stop the finger-pointing and blame game regarding the current crisis on Wall Street, and work instead for a bi-partisan financial reconstruction that will protect American finances.”
“Blaming the GOP is merely a desperate diversion and more than hypocritical,” Visconti said. “It is a perfect example of the ignorance, laziness, dysfunction and blatant dishonesty that has been the hallmark of Congress.”
Visconti said that “if there is a culprit in this debacle it is Connecticut's Democratic delegation” and U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, the state’s senior senator, “who had been MII (Missing in Iowa) as this crisis was coming to a head."
Larson, who has represented the district since 1998, said that the Republicans bear the responsibility because they have “turned a blind eye to improprieties on Wall Street and in big business” since President George W. Bush took office.
“We saw the beginnings of that policy failure in the downfalls of Enron and WorldCom,” Larson said.
“ Now, Republicans have handicapped our oversight functions and left our economy in shambles. The rescues of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns underscore a policy where executives get bailed out and the people get the bill,” Larson said. “From energy speculators who were allowed to run rampant in our oil and gas markets, to Interior Department officials maintaining cozy relationships with big oil, and now major banks failing under the weight of their own over extended investments, this administration has led our country down a dangerous path,” Larson said.
Visconti said that it was President Bill Clinton’s 1999 decision to sign the Financial Services Modernization Act that demolished the structures established by 1933’s Glass-Steagall Act that removed the firewalls between banks, security firms and insurance companies.
Because of that decision, he said, "the entire financial regulatory system malfunctioned and collapse was inevitable."
Visconti, who serves on the West Hartford town council, said that”if Larson was honest about his lackluster decade of non-performance, he would be questioning, as we are, just what he was going, and what Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee,
was doing as financial experts warned that unregulated loans to people who could not afford to repay them would have dire consequences."
Visconti said that Larson, Dodd and other Democratic congressional leaders “need to stop taking lobbyist money, look at the financial wreckage which has occurred under their leadership and listen to the average American, the markets, the regulators and the Fed."
The Republican challenger also called on Larson to stop playing the “he did it game” and begin to “earn their government paychecks by joining in a bipartisan effort to reform, redesign and rebuild our financial system to protect investors while allowing financial networks to face the challenges of the expanding global economy."
Larson said that Democrats need to take control of the White House so there can be effective oversight of the markets and restoration of the economy’s integrity.
“The CEOs and executives behind the current turmoil must be held accountable for their actions,” he said, adding that “the American people can’t foot the bill for anymore golden parachutes.”
“We will continue to fight for corporate responsibility. We will continue to demand change,” Larson said.
The election is Nov. 4.
Here is the entire statement that Visconti sent me today after I asked him for one yesterday:
Visconti Seeks Bi-Partisan Financial Reconstruction
Congressional Candidate Joe Visconti called on incumbent John Larson today to stop the finger-pointing and blame game regarding the current crisis on Wall Street, and work instead for a bi-partisan financial reconstruction that will protect American finances.
Visconti said that in 1999 when the Clinton Administration signed the Financial Services Modernization Act which demolished the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and removed the firewalls between banks, security firms and insurers, "the entire financial regulatory system malfunctioned and collapse was inevitable."
"Larson’s press release blaming the GOP is merely a desperate diversion and more than hypocritical; it is a perfect example of the ignorance, laziness, dysfunction and blatant dishonesty that has been the hallmark of Congress," Visconti said. "In fact, if there is a culprit in this debacle it is Connecticut's Democratic delegation including Sen. Chris Dodd who had been MII (Missing in Iowa) as this crisis was coming to a head."
"If Larson was honest about his lackluster decade of non-performance he would be questioning, as we are, just what he was doing, and what Dodd, the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, was doing as financial experts warned that unregulated loans to people who could not afford to repay them would have dire consequences."
"The financial complexities in today’s markets which are amplified by a Global economy are far beyond what many financial analysts can comprehend," Visconti noted. "We discover too late that the experts provided many conflicting opinions from credit rating agencies to Bond, Pension and Money managers. How about your local neighborhood financial planners? Where do they obtain their data and how sound is their advice in times like these," Visconti asked?
The Hedge Fund Collapse which has already begun is another major factor ready to bring down collateral industries. The Hedge Fund managers skirted most of the regulatory processes and have been allowed to be the 12th man on the field. Wall Street may soon experience more penalties and losses as reality pays them a visit. "Hopefully, the demise of some of these institutions can be isolated to limit their affect on the Commodities Markets which could send an economic tsunami down on many American consumers," Visconti said.
"Larson, Dodd, Pelosi and Reid as leaders of the Democratic Majority in both Congress and the Senate need to stop taking Lobbyist money, look at the financial wreckage which has occurred under their leadership and listen to the average American, the markets, the regulators and the Fed."
Visconti challenged the incumbent that, "Rather than play the 'he did it game,' Larson and Dodd could earn their government paychecks by joining in a bi-partisan effort to reform, redesign and rebuild our financial system to protect investors while allowing financial networks to face the challenges of the expanding global economy."
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
U.S. Rep. John Larson, an East Hartford Democrat whose 1st District includes Bristol, said the woes that have shattered legendary financial institutions “will trickle down throughout our economy. They will trickle down to the middle class as they see their retirement funds shrinking and they will trickle down to the poorest Americans as they see their job opportunities dry up.”
But Joe Visconti, the Republican challenger from West Hartford, said Tuesday that Larson needs “to stop the finger-pointing and blame game regarding the current crisis on Wall Street, and work instead for a bi-partisan financial reconstruction that will protect American finances.”
“Blaming the GOP is merely a desperate diversion and more than hypocritical,” Visconti said. “It is a perfect example of the ignorance, laziness, dysfunction and blatant dishonesty that has been the hallmark of Congress.”
Visconti said that “if there is a culprit in this debacle it is Connecticut's Democratic delegation” and U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, the state’s senior senator, “who had been MII (Missing in Iowa) as this crisis was coming to a head."
Larson, who has represented the district since 1998, said that the Republicans bear the responsibility because they have “turned a blind eye to improprieties on Wall Street and in big business” since President George W. Bush took office.
“We saw the beginnings of that policy failure in the downfalls of Enron and WorldCom,” Larson said.
“ Now, Republicans have handicapped our oversight functions and left our economy in shambles. The rescues of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns underscore a policy where executives get bailed out and the people get the bill,” Larson said. “From energy speculators who were allowed to run rampant in our oil and gas markets, to Interior Department officials maintaining cozy relationships with big oil, and now major banks failing under the weight of their own over extended investments, this administration has led our country down a dangerous path,” Larson said.
Visconti said that it was President Bill Clinton’s 1999 decision to sign the Financial Services Modernization Act that demolished the structures established by 1933’s Glass-Steagall Act that removed the firewalls between banks, security firms and insurance companies.
Because of that decision, he said, "the entire financial regulatory system malfunctioned and collapse was inevitable."
Visconti, who serves on the West Hartford town council, said that”if Larson was honest about his lackluster decade of non-performance, he would be questioning, as we are, just what he was going, and what Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee,
was doing as financial experts warned that unregulated loans to people who could not afford to repay them would have dire consequences."
Visconti said that Larson, Dodd and other Democratic congressional leaders “need to stop taking lobbyist money, look at the financial wreckage which has occurred under their leadership and listen to the average American, the markets, the regulators and the Fed."
The Republican challenger also called on Larson to stop playing the “he did it game” and begin to “earn their government paychecks by joining in a bipartisan effort to reform, redesign and rebuild our financial system to protect investors while allowing financial networks to face the challenges of the expanding global economy."
Larson said that Democrats need to take control of the White House so there can be effective oversight of the markets and restoration of the economy’s integrity.
“The CEOs and executives behind the current turmoil must be held accountable for their actions,” he said, adding that “the American people can’t foot the bill for anymore golden parachutes.”
“We will continue to fight for corporate responsibility. We will continue to demand change,” Larson said.
The election is Nov. 4.
Here is the entire statement that Visconti sent me today after I asked him for one yesterday:
Visconti Seeks Bi-Partisan Financial Reconstruction
Congressional Candidate Joe Visconti called on incumbent John Larson today to stop the finger-pointing and blame game regarding the current crisis on Wall Street, and work instead for a bi-partisan financial reconstruction that will protect American finances.
Visconti said that in 1999 when the Clinton Administration signed the Financial Services Modernization Act which demolished the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and removed the firewalls between banks, security firms and insurers, "the entire financial regulatory system malfunctioned and collapse was inevitable."
"Larson’s press release blaming the GOP is merely a desperate diversion and more than hypocritical; it is a perfect example of the ignorance, laziness, dysfunction and blatant dishonesty that has been the hallmark of Congress," Visconti said. "In fact, if there is a culprit in this debacle it is Connecticut's Democratic delegation including Sen. Chris Dodd who had been MII (Missing in Iowa) as this crisis was coming to a head."
"If Larson was honest about his lackluster decade of non-performance he would be questioning, as we are, just what he was doing, and what Dodd, the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, was doing as financial experts warned that unregulated loans to people who could not afford to repay them would have dire consequences."
"The financial complexities in today’s markets which are amplified by a Global economy are far beyond what many financial analysts can comprehend," Visconti noted. "We discover too late that the experts provided many conflicting opinions from credit rating agencies to Bond, Pension and Money managers. How about your local neighborhood financial planners? Where do they obtain their data and how sound is their advice in times like these," Visconti asked?
The Hedge Fund Collapse which has already begun is another major factor ready to bring down collateral industries. The Hedge Fund managers skirted most of the regulatory processes and have been allowed to be the 12th man on the field. Wall Street may soon experience more penalties and losses as reality pays them a visit. "Hopefully, the demise of some of these institutions can be isolated to limit their affect on the Commodities Markets which could send an economic tsunami down on many American consumers," Visconti said.
"Larson, Dodd, Pelosi and Reid as leaders of the Democratic Majority in both Congress and the Senate need to stop taking Lobbyist money, look at the financial wreckage which has occurred under their leadership and listen to the average American, the markets, the regulators and the Fed."
Visconti challenged the incumbent that, "Rather than play the 'he did it game,' Larson and Dodd could earn their government paychecks by joining in a bi-partisan effort to reform, redesign and rebuild our financial system to protect investors while allowing financial networks to face the challenges of the expanding global economy."
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Zoning wants a say about school plans
Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this story:
When city councilors and school officials move ahead with plans to build two new K-8 schools without first getting land use approvals, they're taking a risk of derailing the project, said zoning board Chairman Frank Johnson.
The plans to buy a former Scalia sand pit to use as a site for a proposed West End school require a recommendation from the planning board and a special permit from the city zoning commission.
The planning commission meets next week and is expected to consider the question of a school on the Scalia site then. They'll be asked to make a recommendation as to whether or not the site is appropriate for a school.
If the planning board recommends against it, the city can still move forward, but the vote by city councilors must be by a two-thirds majority rather than a simple majority.
If the project moves beyond the planning commission's recommendation, at some point it will land in the lap of zoning commissioners, who will have to decide whether that parcel of land in a residential zone should get a special permit to build a school there.
"The zoning commission's purview would be to determine whether or not that's the highest and best use for that land," said Johnson.
While Johnson said he could not speak for other zoning commissioners, he said he would personally "have to be convinced" that a school is the "highest and best" use for the property.
Johnson said he wouldn't want the zoning board to be the stumbling block that keeps the project from happening, but said the city's delay in consulting with land use boards sets them up for that role.
"They're putting us in a position where our decision is very late in the process," said Johnson.
It's difficult for the zoning commissioners to get their first look at a proposal after the city's already spent a bundle of money on the project, Johnson said.
In that case, Johnson said, the city may expect commissioners to "rubber stamp" the application.
But school and town officials shouldn't count on it, Johnson said.
"While that may have happened in the past on school projects, there's no guarantee it will always happen," Johnson said.
Johnson, who has served on the zoning board for two decades, said it wouldn't be right – or wise – to assume that the special permit application will sail through his commission.
"This has still got a lot of obstacles to go," said Johnson, before the deal is done.
City Councilor Craig Minor comments:
I was surprised to read Frank Johnson say that "The zoning commission's purview would be to determine whether or not that's the highest and best use for that land." "Highest and best use" is a phrase that real estate appraisers use to refer to the activity that makes the most profit for the land owner. The phrase is not in the Bristol Zoning Regulations, and according to the Connecticut Supreme Court, "The highest and best use…is not a controlling purpose of zoning".
The Zoning Commission's job is to make sure that an application complies with all of the zoning regulations. Finding the most profitable way to develop a piece of property is the job of the free market, not local government.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
When city councilors and school officials move ahead with plans to build two new K-8 schools without first getting land use approvals, they're taking a risk of derailing the project, said zoning board Chairman Frank Johnson.
The plans to buy a former Scalia sand pit to use as a site for a proposed West End school require a recommendation from the planning board and a special permit from the city zoning commission.
The planning commission meets next week and is expected to consider the question of a school on the Scalia site then. They'll be asked to make a recommendation as to whether or not the site is appropriate for a school.
If the planning board recommends against it, the city can still move forward, but the vote by city councilors must be by a two-thirds majority rather than a simple majority.
If the project moves beyond the planning commission's recommendation, at some point it will land in the lap of zoning commissioners, who will have to decide whether that parcel of land in a residential zone should get a special permit to build a school there.
"The zoning commission's purview would be to determine whether or not that's the highest and best use for that land," said Johnson.
While Johnson said he could not speak for other zoning commissioners, he said he would personally "have to be convinced" that a school is the "highest and best" use for the property.
Johnson said he wouldn't want the zoning board to be the stumbling block that keeps the project from happening, but said the city's delay in consulting with land use boards sets them up for that role.
"They're putting us in a position where our decision is very late in the process," said Johnson.
It's difficult for the zoning commissioners to get their first look at a proposal after the city's already spent a bundle of money on the project, Johnson said.
In that case, Johnson said, the city may expect commissioners to "rubber stamp" the application.
But school and town officials shouldn't count on it, Johnson said.
"While that may have happened in the past on school projects, there's no guarantee it will always happen," Johnson said.
Johnson, who has served on the zoning board for two decades, said it wouldn't be right – or wise – to assume that the special permit application will sail through his commission.
"This has still got a lot of obstacles to go," said Johnson, before the deal is done.
City Councilor Craig Minor comments:
I was surprised to read Frank Johnson say that "The zoning commission's purview would be to determine whether or not that's the highest and best use for that land." "Highest and best use" is a phrase that real estate appraisers use to refer to the activity that makes the most profit for the land owner. The phrase is not in the Bristol Zoning Regulations, and according to the Connecticut Supreme Court, "The highest and best use…is not a controlling purpose of zoning".
The Zoning Commission's job is to make sure that an application complies with all of the zoning regulations. Finding the most profitable way to develop a piece of property is the job of the free market, not local government.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Mum Parade route change this year
Because of road construction on East Road and Wolcott Street, the parade route this year will be to head south on North Main St., then proceed onto Church Street, take a left on South Street, take another left on East Street and then turn back toward downtown on Memorial Boulevard. It ends on Main Street.
The parade begins at 1:30 on Sunday, Sept. 28. Outgoing chamber honcho John Leone is the parade marshal and Olympic silver medalist Michelle Guerette is the honorary parade marshal.
For more information on the parade and whole Mum Festival, check out its website here.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
September 15, 2008
Palin gets a thrill out of killing, congressional candidate says
Green Party congressional hopeful Steve Fournier of Hartford wrote this recently:
Ever run over a squirrel or a raccoon with your car? Do you remember musing at the time that that little critter was alive and sentient and then suddenly it wasn’t and being a little sad about it. Sarah Palin doesn’t get sad about that sort of thing. Rather, she gets a thrill when she ends the life of an animal, and the thrill is bigger when the animal is bigger. Given the joy with which she kills, do you think she’d hesitate to shoot and skin you if you gave her half a reason?
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Ever run over a squirrel or a raccoon with your car? Do you remember musing at the time that that little critter was alive and sentient and then suddenly it wasn’t and being a little sad about it. Sarah Palin doesn’t get sad about that sort of thing. Rather, she gets a thrill when she ends the life of an animal, and the thrill is bigger when the animal is bigger. Given the joy with which she kills, do you think she’d hesitate to shoot and skin you if you gave her half a reason?
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
AFL-CIO backs Wright in 77th
Press release from state House contender Chris Wright, a Democrat in the 77th District:
CHRIS WRIGHT GAINS MORE ENDORSEMENTS FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
STATE AFL-CIO AND STATE SOCIAL WORKERS BACK WRIGHT
Chris Wright, the Democratic candidate for State Representative in Bristol’s 77th Assembly District, has gained more support for his election bid to the General Assembly.
Wright has been endorsed by the Connecticut AFL-CIO in an announcement made by President John Olsen and Secretary-Treasurer Lori Pelletier.
In making the announcement Olsen said, “The rights of all workers in Connecticut to organize is the number one issue for the upcoming legislative session and we look forward to working with Chris on this issue.”
Wright received another endorsement from the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Connecticut Chapter’s Chair, Mary Jane Lundgren, told Wright “All our members will be notified of our endorsement and we look forward to working with you.”
“I am pleased and encouraged by these most recent endorsements,” Wright said. “Working people are struggling today and I understand the need to fight for jobs, honest wages and affordable health care.”
“These organizations have been battling in the trenches to improve the lives of people and I look forward to working with them,” Wright said.
Wright was endorsed earlier in the campaign by Council 4, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union representing 35,000 state employees, including many Bristol workers.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
CHRIS WRIGHT GAINS MORE ENDORSEMENTS FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
STATE AFL-CIO AND STATE SOCIAL WORKERS BACK WRIGHT
Chris Wright, the Democratic candidate for State Representative in Bristol’s 77th Assembly District, has gained more support for his election bid to the General Assembly.
Wright has been endorsed by the Connecticut AFL-CIO in an announcement made by President John Olsen and Secretary-Treasurer Lori Pelletier.
In making the announcement Olsen said, “The rights of all workers in Connecticut to organize is the number one issue for the upcoming legislative session and we look forward to working with Chris on this issue.”
Wright received another endorsement from the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Connecticut Chapter’s Chair, Mary Jane Lundgren, told Wright “All our members will be notified of our endorsement and we look forward to working with you.”
“I am pleased and encouraged by these most recent endorsements,” Wright said. “Working people are struggling today and I understand the need to fight for jobs, honest wages and affordable health care.”
“These organizations have been battling in the trenches to improve the lives of people and I look forward to working with them,” Wright said.
Wright was endorsed earlier in the campaign by Council 4, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union representing 35,000 state employees, including many Bristol workers.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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