Don’t look now, honeybunch, but methinks the weather is starting to change. Each year about this time, the sun angles git different, and the nights git a bit cooler. It’s Mommy Nature tellin’ us that summer is on the wane, and before we know it trees are gonna change color and lose their leaves, and the snow will be flyin’ shortly thereafter. Of course, the fack that school will be startin’ in less than two weeks has to be hangin’ heavy on the kiddies – and a source o’ joy for mommies.
Tennyrate, here in the Asylum by the Sea, the slight change in weather is also the precursor of the fack that we have a primary comin’ up in a few weeks. Yup. Effen yew forgit, both parties are having a primary, and it’s on Sept. 10 effen my info is correct. The fack that both parties are battling it out is something unusual in this burg, which usually has only the Demmies beatin’ each other’s political brains out every two years. This time the minority party has endorsed candidate Michelle Gregorio against Steven Mullins.
Evidently, Sammy Bluejay was out and about last week, and members of the GOP are somewhat appalled by the way the intra-party squabble has become sooooo nasty on the social media front. Of course, nobody should be surprised. Social media had become a sewer of discourse – or lack of it. It’s amazing how something that could be so beneficial can also be so toxic.
Tennyrate, the members of the GOP are seeing threats and vitriol that is usually associated with the tripartite Democrats. It’s been unsettling – and my lead to some legal action Iyam hearin’ from Sammy. The threats are not being taken lightly.
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For the Demmies, the three candidates are well known. Herronner, Nancy Rossi is the endorsed candidate, whilst she is being opposed by Deb Collins, the challenger representing at least one o’ the other factions in the party, and Ed O’Brien, former mayor, who is wanting his ole job back, and has not so much factional support, but a type of grassroots support that might surprise people.
One thing that has been noticed by people is the fack that the city only political fighting seems to be about which flavor of Democrat is running things, and not much else. Meanwhile, the city has been mismanaged for many years and throughout many administrations.
We shall see what happens come the primary, but Cobina is of a mind that this is gonna go down to the wire, and it’s gonna be razor thin. The only way that won’t happen is effen more Demmies come out than usual. There are more than 19,000 registered with the party, but primaries usually bring out about 6,000. That makes the winner of these things somewhat hampered before they even begin.
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Nelly Nuthatch tells me that the bipartisan leadership of the Charter Revision Commish and many of the members are wonderin’ effen the “fix is in” and their 18 months of work will go down in flames. The City Council’s showing of how well they read or understood the Commish’s initial report had more than a few people waggin their heads.
Charter Revision in this burg has been, throughout the decades, a routine we go through where work is done, ideas are put on paper, and then they are deep-sixed by those who think their political power will be curtailed. The last three charter revisions have done very little to make this city’s government work any better.
Soooo, there is a feeling that the council is slowing down the process not because it needs to ‘digest” what was done, but because it does not want to have the vote in November. Not having it in November will cost the city money, for sure, but what it will also do is cut down the turnout, and allow those against the plan to put it out of its misery.
There is no doubt the charter as proposed by the commish is a vast change, but given the fack the city has been under financial water for decades, dontcha think we need vast change? This papyrus has done all it can to publicize the recommendations to give the public an idea of what it is voting one.
Nelly, in fack, tells us that we are being smeared in some social media circles cuz we aren’t allowing “alternative voices” to appear in the papyrus. That ain’t the case. Those who want to speak against the proposals are doing so on social media, but they ain’t sending things here. We can’t jest pick up stuff from some platform and present it. The person doing the writing has to send it to us. No send, no print. It is as simple as that. I know a certain HH is on our case, but he hasn’t sent anything to us, just moaned on a social media site about how unfair we are.
The feeling, meanwhile, about the Charter Revisions stuff is that the move now is to push it past November, and that will certainly hamper the passage of any or all of the 18 months’ worth of work the commish has done. Maybe that was the plan all along. It has been in the past.
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Didja see that Gilbane Construction toined over the foist part of the high school over to the city in time for classes in two weeks? Well, that has put smiles on the faces of more than a few, and makes some wonder about what is coming next.
There are still two years before the entire thing is supposed to be finished, and now the new auditorium, main office, and cafeteria are completed, along with the “media center.” That was the “library” in our day, sweets.
Other parts of the main structure will now be taken down and replaced. And we will make a prediction: the taking down of another part of the building will bring about protests from some about asbestos abatement. We saw it before and we’ll see it again. People git a bit excited about the matter and for good reason, but there are some that insist everything is wrong and somebody is cutting corners. It should happen once the second section of the building is taken down. You can set your calendar to it.
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Another week, another no demolition. People have actually called the papyrus wondering when the taking down of the homes over there at the Haven site will begin. The DOT giving its approval of the traffic plan was supposed to be the last piece of a puzzle before things happened.
There was a meeting with the developers with the City Council and things were said that led people to believe something was gonna take place. Nary a thing’s been done. Meanwhile, it’s getting seedier and seedier over there.
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Jest a final thing about the primary, jest to make us come full circle. The signs are starting to appear on lawns like mushrooms after a rain storm. The body wonders effen this year will see recriminations of campaigns destroying signs or effen grown ups will make sure it don’t happen. Cobina won’t hold her breath.
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this week till next, mitt luff und kizzez,