The barite mines seem to be one of the biggest concerns of visitors to this blog. And here is an article (Cheshire Herald, by Kristen Malinowski) that does a great job giving an overview of both the history and the current situation.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
When the law recently passed on underage drinking parties, I heard some concerns about the ability of police to enter private households without a search warrant. I suspect scenarios like these cellphones with tracking devices may end up having an impact on the legal situation. That is, if a parent believes his/her child is drinking in someone else's house, can the police use the cellphones tracking device as reasonable cause to enter a house without a search warrant?
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
It looks like the Bethany budget passed on the second round. As well, the Amity High School renovation (NH Register, by Neal McNamara) is done.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
That was the headline of a Wall Street Journal article today (by Sue Shellenbarger). The article struck me. It was about a growing frustration level between recent college grads and their parents. The college grads want to "do good" and leave the world a better place. Their parents want them to "do well" financially. A career development professional mentioned that "Today's young adults, who came of age post-Sept. 11, tend to profess greater altruism than the previous generation, who focused more on individual achievement and attainment."
I'm not sure if this is true, but I'm happy if these young adults are becoming a bunch of do-gooders.
Tim White
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
The idea of hiring a consultant for the pool (Waterbury Rep-Am, by Lauresha Xhihani) is moving along. The estimated price tag is around $20,000. My comments mentioned in the article will likely come as no surprise to anyone who follows this stuff... I'm not going to vote to spend any more money on the pool, including for this consultant.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
I picked up a copy of the Waterbury newspaper today and saw an article (by Lauresha Xhihani) about the West Main Street streetscaping project... the project that relates to the $500,000 recently secured by State Rep. Al Adinolfi.
At first, I was a bit surprised by the article, but then remembered that this project had started in the Planning Committee (when I was Chair), perhaps two years ago. And maybe I should have spoken up more then (I'm sure I voiced some concerns), but didn't speak out that much. So now I just have to say that I'm willing to revisit the proposed project, but can't imagine spending an additional $300,000 in local tax dollars on top of the STEAP (Small Town Economic Assistance Program) grant money.
As long as we can get rid of those Jersey barriers and the big yellow barrels, I'll be pretty happy.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
If you happen to have any kids going to CHS, please check out last week's issue of the Rampage. Guy Brooks, a newly minted CHS alum, did a piece on me. (I couldn't find it online.) And I really appreciated the comment from another CHS student, Laura Bartone. Thanks to you both, Guy and Laura. I really do appreciate your support.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
As I had expected, it was a fairly quiet Council meeting. The Council unanimously approved the purchase of a new van for the Senior Center and the adoption of land management plans for the DeDominicus and Dime Savings properties.
The benefit of the land management plans is that you can now call Town Hall and ask for hiking ideas and such. And Town Hall can give you ideas. Before adopting the plans, the Town Hall couldn't really provide any direction. I think that was for liability reasons, but I'm not 100% sure about that. (For more info, contact Suzanne Simone in the Town Hall.)
The Town Council then went into executive session to discuss the Town Attorney and land issues.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
The Energy Commission met tonight. As usual, there was lots to discuss... beginning with the schools. And I'm happy to say that (for perhaps the first time ever) the EC feels it is getting real input into the capital budget process... before the capital budget is created, not after the fact... when it is usually too late to have any significant benefit. Those comments were music to my ears, particularly since this year's capital budget is near $2,000,000 for the schools' energy projects alone.
As well, there are a host of other projects being reviewed by the EC for inclusion in the capital budget... and not just the normal town buildings. The EC has gotten so active, they're now involved in improvements for the Historical Society (Hitchcock-Phillips) House. I believe that just tonight they recommended $40-50,000 in energy efficiency improvements for that house, with an ROI of 15 years total for all aspects of the project. Although some aspects have a quicker payback. (And if you're interested, my understanding is that the Town owns the Historical Society House, but the not-for-profit Historical Society leases the house and pays the heating bills.) Anyway, my point is simply that the EC is really doing some great work. I'm just glad that people are finally listening to them.
The pool was discussed. And what's to say? I added my two cents which was simple... I believe that if a referendum was held today to put a building over the pool (for energy conservation), it would fail. And that has little to do with the merits of any project. I feel it's simply that the townspeople have no trust in the Council when it comes to the pool.
Clean energy (Record-Journal, by Andrew Perlot) made headlines again recently. And with 74 households already participating, we only need 26 more households to sign up and the town will receive a free photovoltaic array (solar panel). Also discussed was the Bethany/Cheshire competition. With a prize on both sides (horseback riding in Bethany & pool use in Cheshire), I'm hoping our friendly competition comes to fruition sometime in July.
I know there were lots of other things discussed, but that's enough for now. Again, I'm just glad that things seem to be moving in the right direction... that our public officials are starting to recognize the importance of energy. And they are starting to take action.
Tim White
Town Council, Energy Commission liaison
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
(btw, I spoke with the Meriden reporter, Andrew Perlot, last week. The Meriden reporter who had been covering Cheshire, Caroline Porter Misarski (sp??) recently left. Andrew is new to the Record Journal and may be covering Cheshire. Best of luck to you Andrew!)
Unfortunately, eminent domain continues to make headlines (NH Register, by Michelle Tuccitto Sullo) in CT. This time it's not New London, but Derby. I'm not quite sure why many of CTs elected officials don't quite get it. If it's private property, you don't take it for private use.
UPDATE
Here's another article (WFSB.com) on the eminent domain issue in Derby.
Tim White
State Representative candidate
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
I'm not sure what's taught at CHS about alternative fuels, but Shepaug High is teaching about alternative fuels.
UPDATE
Interestingly, I just received this email from a friend... "BioPur Inc. in Bethlehem, CT is taking the lead in New England with the production of biodiesel fuel in a new “State of the Art” production plant. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 1:00 PM on July 5th, 2006. The plant which is the first of its kind in Connecticut as well as New England will make biodiesel from soybeans grown in the Maryland and Delaware area, and transported to Connecticut for processing."
So it seems as though we will have production of biofuel in CT. And GM will be putting another 400,000 of their "flexfuel" (biofuel compatible) vehicles on America's roads by the end of this year. It seems to me that the last major component of rolling out biofuel vehicles in CT is the distribution network. I wonder if our town will ever act on my idea for rezoning the northend to allow for an alternative fuel station?
Tim White
State Representative candidate
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
I know this may seem to be a bit offbeat for this blog, but... the Crazy Horse Memorial is having an anniversary of sorts. I've never been, but would love to visit. Maybe next summer I'll take a road trip....
Tim White
Apparently, our senior Senator, Christopher Dodd, is serious about running for President. This article (Hartford Courant, by David Lightman) makes that clear. I still find it a bit hard to believe though. With people such as Senators Hilary Clinton (NY) and Joe Biden (DE) and Governor Mark Warner (VA) running, I'm surprised if Senator Dodd thinks he really has a chance. But hey... I give him credit for trying.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
This issue (AP) seems to be getting discussed more and more around the state. Even the Cheshire Town Council got a letter on the topic. My concern is that this could be the local equivalent of an unfunded state mandate. Nonetheless, I'm perfectly happy to listen to anyone who comes to the Council to share their concerns.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Elim Park is having its Wellness Center kickoff party this weekend. The Wellness Center consists of a performing arts center and a swimming pool.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
The Council hired a ballfield consultant (Cheshire Herald, by Kristen Malinowski) for $9,000. As was mentioned in the article, my sense is that $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 won't pass at referendum. And I voted against it.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Not only is Lego letting people go, Pfizer is too (Norwich Bulletin, by Brian Wallheimer). They just announced 300 manufacturing jobs are going elsewhere. And I wouldn't call this bad news, but this article (Careerbuilder.com, by Kate Lorenz) isn't great news. Apparently CT has neither a hot nor cold city when in comes to job creation. Florida is gaining the jobs and the midwest is losing them.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
CTs "energy issues" are less of a problem with generation and more of one with distribution in the SW corner. This article (Waterbury Rep-Am, by Anusha Shrivastava) shows that some are trying to address this problem. Cos Cob is in Greenwich. And I believe Devon is in Stratford. Middletown seems a bit distant, but it is part of the powerline question.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Lego is planning on laying off (AP) 300 Enfield-based employees by early 2007. Manufacturing operations are to be moved to Mexico. And I'm sure that there are companies that have added jobs in the past few weeks, but the cost of living and the cost of doing business in CT are too high and need to be addressed.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
I'm glad to see people being punished for this stuff (Courant, by Dave Altimari) , but hopefully all of these corruption scandals will be put to bed in the not-so-distant future. It's really sad to think of how much of this seems to exist in our state.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Not much to discuss about this meeting. For the most part, it was held in executive session. The main topic was union contract negotiations for the various bargaining units.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
While Connecticut has some alternative fuel stations, I believe they're largely for government use only. Nor do I see much on CTs horizon either (although I have been advocating for changes that would enable and encourage the creation of alternative fuel stations).
Nonetheless, elsewhere in the country alternative fuel stations (AP, by Tim Malloy) are becoming a reality, offering such options as:
1) biodiesel/E85/ethanol/bioWilli
2) compressed natural gas
3) electrical outlets
Perhaps America will soon begin breaking its addiction to oil? Hopefully CT will soon get on board.I've already heard from people who are upset with me about voting for the pool appropriation. (Cheshire Herald, by Kristen Malinowski) The frustration level of many people in town is high.
I set up a meeting for the Route 42 reconstruction project for last night. Unfortunately, not only did neither of our state legislators attend (in fairness, they told me a while ago that they would not be there), but the DOT cancelled on Tuesday, after letters went out to residents. Nonetheless, I think the meeting (the first in a year and a half) was worthwhile. And I think it probably helped catch the DOTs attention.
The Cheshire Board of Ed has 17 teachers retiring (Cheshire Herald, by Shannon Becker) And the usual number used during budget season estimates for cost savings related to retirements is $20,000. So if that's the case, and if the schools estimated eight retirements (that's what I recall), then the BOE just had a windfall of $180,000 (9 x $20k). And I think the activity fee and parking fee come to about $100-150k. I wonder if the Board would be interested in giving the balance to the pool fund? Or perhaps dedicating that money to energy conservation? Maybe dedicate the balance to buying energy-efficient kitchen equipment?
Simsbury school officials are trying to stop underage drinking. They went so far as to begin using breathalyzers at their senior prom. I'm not sure what Cheshire has done beyond this proclamation, which was a Council (not BOE) resolution.
I found this article (Waterbury Rep-Am, by Chris Gardner) on home heating oil costs to be interesting and useful. In fact, I was just recently contacted by F&S Oil. They simply asked me to try to increase public awareness about the option of "pre-buying" fuel. This could help people avoid major price spikes, as well as assist in budgeting. I think both could be helpful.
And in a final reference to Flag Day 2006, Sotheby's auctioned off some Revolutionary flags. A Sotheby's representative described them as "inspirational, an extraordinary window into the birth of our country... something that has a great deal of spiritual significance." I can only imagine what the flags meant to the men who carried them.
I've been reading more and more about Lieberman's possible independent run. The most interesting factor for me is not that Lamont is closing in the polls, but that Lamont's supporters seem to be passionate, while Lieberman's supporters (within the Democratic party) seem to be practical. And if the issue is Iraq, then that makes perfect sense. I think the passion could make all the difference on August 8th.
Bethany resident Robert Gagne was just appointed the new Orange Police Chief.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Last night the Town received an American flag from Major Andrew Camp. He served in Iraq and the flag that was presented flew over Iraq.
Thank you to Major Camp and all the other soldiers who are serving or who have served.
Separately, today is Flag Day. Our Flag means so much to so many people in so many ways. I think one of the most vivid memories I have is of the American Flag. It was June 2000 and I had decided to see the middle east for myself to learn some of the history, so that I could understand the present and have some ideas for the future.
I was visiting Beirut, Lebanon. And I had decided to travel to south Lebanon; from where Israel had just recently withdrawn. I wanted to see for myself. And while there's a bit of a story, my point here is about the flag.
On my trip south, I drove by an American flag painted on a wall. The flag was normal for the most part... stars n stripes... or so I thought... until I looked closer. The stars were actually images of the skull n crossbones. It was very powerful. And it was not something that I appreciated. But it was very much the reason I had come, to see if the press accounts were true. And they were true. I saw with my own two eyes the hatred that some harbor toward America.
Tim White
The barite mines (Waterbury Rep-Am, by Lauresha Xhihani) continue to be a concern. Although my understanding is that, tomorrow, there will be a significant correction to this editorial that ran in the NH Register today.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
It's 1:11am and I JUST got home. Oh boy was this meeting a doozy.
First major item on the agenda was the public hearing regarding the $233k special appropriation for the pool. And the supporters turned out. Actually, that surprised me a bit. I think I've probably been the harshest Council critic of the pool subsidy. And I had told everyone that I was supporting the appropriation. I figured that the only way I could've voted against the appropriation at this point would have been if I voted to shut down the pool months ago. But I did not do that. So I felt compelled to vote for this.
Anyway, for the most part, I thought it was great how many people turned out to a public meeting and speak their mind... including little kids. The only thing that concerned me was what I thought were unfair charges about the press being unfair toward the pool. The two newspapers mentioned were the Cheshire Herald and the Record-Journal. I don't read the RJ everyday, so won't speak to that. But like most people in town, I do read the Herald. And I think that they are very fair in their reporting. In fact, that's not just my opinion. I've heard that from constituents... that the Herald does a good job trying to present both sides of the argument, particularly in relation to the pool. So I thought those comments were unnecessary and unwarranted. Having said that, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I guess I just wish people took shots at me, rather than at the press. I mean, as an elected official, I'm kind of asking for it. Right? Hahaha....
In the end, the Council voted 8-0 (Ecke absent) in favor of the appropriation.
Next thing that caught my attention was our Mayor, Matt Hall, asking me to read a proclamation. This was a bit unusual, but very much appreciated. The proclamation was for Alcohol Awareness Week. The week will take place from June 18-24. Not much will happen this year in relation to the week, but town staff is hopeful for doing more next year... perhaps even doing something like a teen survey.
There were some other items that came up, such as a request by the Energy Commission for a bid waiver on a continuation of their lighting improvement project. They asked for the waiver so they could use the same company that they've used for all the other buildings in town that they've done. The difference here was that because we were using a different grant program, bidding was required. So the EC requested the bid get waived. The motion to waive the bid passed.
There was a bit of discussion on a request to spend $9,000 on a consultant for the design of new ballfields at the corner of Highland Ave and Jarvis. The motion passed 6-2 (Schrumm & White opposed). I know there's a lot of concern with ballfields in town, but I simply didn't see the point in spending this money right now. As I said during the meeting, if the linear park didn't pass last year for $900k... then I have serious doubts that $2,000,000 for new baseball fields would pass this year at referendum. So I saw no need to do this now. As well, I think we may be able to do this in-house. Although that could take a while, years even. But if the town has no appetite for big ticket recreation projects, I figure we can hold off for a while.
Other than that, as the meeting had gone on so long, we tabled a few items. As well, in executive session we discussed collective bargaining agreements and Town of Cheshire vs. Baker.
Alrighty... it's too late for me to write anymore... maybe I'll write a bit more in the morning. I'm just too tired right now. By the way, since we did not finish everything on the agenda, we may end up having another (ugh!!) special meeting next week. We'll have to wait n see...
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
I know next to nothing about the 16th Senate seat's Democratic candidate, Dave Zoni. But Southington Live has this thread on him. And since he and Sam Caliguri (his Republican opponent) are vying for a seat that represents a part of Cheshire, I thought there may be some interest here. As for me, as I've said here before, Caliguri impresses me. (I'd link to a website for Zoni, but I didn't find one on google.)
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
For some reason, I thought that Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy was supposed to be the more conservative of the two dems running for Governor. And maybe he is, but apparently he wants to spend $10,000,000 (Newsday) annually on the arts... funding it through increased hotel tax revenue (which will be driven by an increase in hotel rooms, not thru an increase in the tax rate).
This is a nice idea, but what I hear from people is that CT's cost of living and taxes are too high. As well, I hear from people who are concerned about energy and healthcare. And I'm not sure how this would address any of those concerns. On top of all that, transportation is a concern to many. And I think if we're filling (an estimated) 4,900 hotel rooms every day, then eastern CT may need that money spent on improved transportation rather than the arts.
Tim White
State Representative candidate
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
I think this is a pretty interesting comparison of Lieberman to Weicker. One thing I know, he's in a primary and most dems I speak with are not happy with him at all. As well, although this may mean nothing, I just googled our five House Reps and one Senator running for reelection. Four of the House Reps had their first and second hit come up as their House webpage and their campaign webpage. One Rep (Larson) had his House webpage come up first with his campaign webpage come up third.
Lieberman though was different. With his Senate webpage coming up first, his campaign webpage came up farther down the list. Not sure why that is. It could be a variety reasons, such as an unusually high interest in aspects of Joe other than his campaign. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if one of the main reasons is that most Dems neither want to work for him nor are interested in even learning about his campaign. Interesting.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
p.s. Cheshire residents - Just a reminder that the pool appropriation public hearing is tomorrow night.
I have no doubt that Chris Shays has upset, and even angered, a lot of his constituents with his views on the Iraq War. But this article describes a man who I respect.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Cheshire's own Abbate family (The Cheshire Herald, by Kristen Malinowski) has two people running for office this fall.
I've set up a meeting among "interested stakeholders" for discussion of the Route 42 reconstruction project. It's scheduled for this Wednesday @ 7pm in Town Hall. My goal is understand where the project stands, where it is heading and how the project can be expedited.
My 89th District Republican primary opponent has agreed to a debate. The League of Women Voters is scheduling the debate. I'm not yet sure when it will happen, although it will most likely take place in Cheshire Town Hall.
And here is a letter (lower right corner) I wrote that was published in the monthly Prospect Pages. This seems to be the only paper that has its letters to the editor online.
Ned Lamont continues to gain the support of the blogosphere.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Cheshire's trash hauler is in some big trouble, as you can see by the headline 29 indicted in trash hauling scam. (NH Register, by Phil Helsel)
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
(Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect)
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Cheshire's student activity fee has been eliminated (NH Register, Luther Turmelle). I believe that Jimmy Sima, a BOE member, has been advocating for this.
Bethany's parade/carnival continues this weekend. One of the booths will include their Clean Energy Task Force. They will have participation forms available.
I don't have it in my planner, but I'm pretty sure that Cheshire's Strawberry Festival is scheduled for tomorrow on the green. (I know it's that time of year.)
The Cheshire Relay for Life starts this afternoon and continues through the evening and into tomorrow. Here (Cheshire Herald) is the schedule. Visit the high school to join in the activities. I'm a bit surprised... I haven't had one person ask me for a donation for the Relay yet.
As it has already been mentioned a few times on this blog, the Cheshire Land Trust has received an extremely generous donation (Cheshire Herald, by Kristen Malinowski) from Betty Ives. 164 acres is a lot of land.
And it appears as though the town will be receiving a $500,000 STEAP grant (Cheshire Herald, by Kristen Malinowski) for improvements to West Main Street. I'd love to see us get rid of those jersey barriers and big yellow barrels, replacing them with sidewalks.
Anything else going happening?
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
(Bethany - Cheshire - Prospect)
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
The Human Services Committee met tonight. Among the topics discussed:
1) Alcohol Awareness Week will be proclaimed at next week's Council meeting, but no significant activities will accompany the proclamation. Town staff simply didn't have the time to organize it... this late in the game, so to speak. It's anticipated that something significant will happen for "alcohol awareness" next April. One key would be organizing a survey of students, as was done with this survey(NH Register).
2) The Yellow House organized a highly successful laser tag tournament for Dodd kids. About 50 kids were expected, but 250 turned out. The Yellow House is planning lots of activities for the kids throughout the summer. Feel free to call town hall, or check out the town website for more information.
3) Cheshire had 20 domestic violence incidents in May... higher than usual. So I asked if we knew if that were "an increase in incidents" or "an increased in reporting of incidents." Wasn't able to get an answer on that one. That could be a dangerous trend.
4) There's been a surprising increase in requests for help from town social workers. (I don't recall the numbers.)
There were some other things discussed, but those were the items that really caught my attention.
Tim White
Human Services Committee liaison
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
There's been talk in Cheshire of doing a survey of our kids on "risky behavior," such as drug/alcohol use and sexual activity. As far as I know, nothing has happened with it. But the NH Register is reporting (by Maria Garriga) that the results of a statewide survey have just been released. And I've heard that, on average, CT kids start drinking alcohol at age 11. This is concerning.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
No news on Bin Laden, but Zarqawi is dead. Great news.
Tim White
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Back in March, liberal-leaning California appeared headed toward adding universal preschool for 4-yr olds (Proposition 82). See this education endorsement, the proponent's website and
this article. But yesterday, this is what 61% of Californians said. Although, as the article points out... this measure probably went down in flames because it upset both conservatives (because of the spending) and liberals (because it wasn't targeted at the neediest).
Nonetheless, our own CT legislature may be able to learn a lesson from this... don't get involved in broad new statewide programs. You may lose the right and the left. Not to mention, most people I speak with are already concerned about the cost of living and taxes.
And in other California news (that may be an indicator of what's to come this fall), the San Diego congressional seat that was vacated by a member of the U.S. Congress' bipartisan "culture of corruption" has been filled by a Republican. According to this article, the voting results don't indicate a strong discontent with their local Republican candidate. And that's what I continue to hear from people in my district... strong discontent with a Republican majority congress, but people seem to be OK with their representatives in Congress.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
“Lawmakers failed to act on a bill last session that called for additional electricity generation in Connecticut during peak periods to avoid disruptions.” (AP, by Susan Haigh) Perhaps the legislature will take action on “energy issues?” Hopefully, if they take action, they’ll have some understanding of the bill on which they vote. Energy issues are fairly complex and it takes some time to understand first the problems, then the possible answers…. Just this weekend I saw an ad start airing on TV. It ends with a little girl saying something to the effect of “will someone please explain this (energy issues) to me?” I think there are a lot of people around CT who feel the same way.
But while there may be action on energy, it appears nothing is going to happen on eminent domain (AP, by Stephen Singer). It’s really sad to think these people may get evicted from the homes they own.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
The barite mines continue to be in the headlines. (New Haven Register, by Luther Turmelle)
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
This Courant article (by Steve Grant) shows that at a household level, Cheshire has its own leader when it comes to using alternative forms of energy.
UPDATE
And Prospect has its own leader (Waterbury Republican American, by Marc Silvestrini) when it comes to conserving energy.
Tim White
Cheshire Town Council, Energy Commission liaison
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
The political races are taking shape. This article in the Cheshire Herald (by Kristen Malinowski) gives a good overview of how things are shaping up in Cheshire's five legislative races.
And if you're interested in supporting me, I can use all the support I can get... financially or "feet on the ground." Just shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you. My official campaign name is "Tim White Listens," a suggestion from a friend.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Sam Caligiuri is running against David Zoni for the open 16th Senate District (being vacated by Chris Murphy). Caligiuri was on "Face the State" with Al Terzi. He looks impressive in this six minute clip. Although that's not a surprise to me. He came to a Cheshire Republican Town Committee meeting a few months ago and he really impressed me then. I don't recall the substance of his comments, but he is a good speaker. He has a good presentation, as you can see in this clip.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Welcome to The Wild West... you're already here... it's called the internet. Apparently, the FBI is investigating (Journal Inquirer, by Don Michak) a complaint that someone posted misleading information on CT Local Politics. The basic story is someone used a false name (for example, "Senator Harry Reid") for a post. And some people feel that statements were made that may have effected the outcome of the state convention. We all need to be responsible with our words.
Congress (NH Register, by Joseph Straw) is considering regulating the internet.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
Woodbridge (NH Register, by Neal McNamara) had a black bear sighting. And a while ago, I heard a story about black bear tracks up on Prospect Ridge in Cheshire. So this is not a big surprise to me. They've probably gone right down Prospect Ridge, thru the Naugatuck State Forest, thru Bethany and into Woodbridge.
Odd thing happened to me since I posted this AM... I was thinking about the black bear and decided to take a walk in the woods (I really enjoy taking a walk in the rain sometimes) and I came within three feet of a fawn before I saw it. I didn't see it move at all, but I saw it... spots and all... one big black eye peering up at me. It was clearly as frightened as could be. As well, since you never know how a mom will react in such a situation, I decided to leave almost immediately. Nonetheless, I've never stumbled across a fawn before. So for me it was a memorable moment.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
On June 13th, the Cheshire Town Council will be holding a public hearing. The topic of discussion will be a special appropriation for the pool operating budget. There have been headlines everywhere on this topic... from the Cheshire Herald (by Kristen Malinowsi) to the Waterbury Republican American (by Lauresha Xhihani). And I think the Herald hit the nail on the head with the editorial today. The pool's "need for an Olympic-sized subsidy from the town has generated anger of enormous depth among many taxpayers." (Cheshire Herald, The Editor) This isn't the only thing I hear about when I'm talking to people around town, but it is the most mentioned.
My main hope is that we can reduce the $416,000 taxpayer subsidy.
As for a previous post in which I suggested the possibility of not appropriating this money, but rather paying this year's bills with next year's money (I was thinking we could just not put the bubble back up and save on next year's heating bill), I've been told that would be illegal. (I had no idea... I never think in terms of my household budget like that.) So that's a non-starter, but I really don't want to appropriate anymore money for the pool.
Do any bloggers have any suggestions? I'd love to see some people turn out at the public hearing.
Tim White
Town Council, Budget Committee
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
"...nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation."
- U.S. Constitution, The Bill of Rights, Amendment V
I believe it was a May 31 deadline that was set for finding a resolution to, perhaps, the best known court case (New London Day, by Elaine Stoll) of the past few years... the New London eminent domain case.
Obviously, I don't know the details of this "settlement," but I think that if these people wanted to settle, they would've settled a long time ago. Herego, this isn't really a settlement.
I hope the remaining four homeowners carry on the struggle. It just makes absolutely no sense to me how government can step in and take away your land for private use.
Tim White
State Representative candidate (R-89)
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
