Yew know, sweets, it’s amazing. It seems like jest t’other day we were saying it’s June 1 we have the whole summer ahead of us. Here we are in the latter stages o’ August, and the papyrus is publishing it’s Back to School edition. Schools open about week earlier than they used to, but they don’t git out any sooner. Too many days off in the middle, I guess.
Still, yew can see school is ready to open cuz the smiles on moms’ faces, and the sorrow on the kiddies’ faces are beginning to show. As I said to yew before, it’s amazing how no matter how long ago we graduated or left school, the warp and whoop of life really revolves around the academic year. The bus schedule heralds it, the summer is about over, and we look forward to the coming of fall.
Here in the burg, the primary season is over, and the candidates have been selected. The only real contest locally was the McGee-Miller tussle for the Demmie nomination in the 116th. McGee won, but the campaign was marred by some o’ the usual nonsense one sees nowadays: inability to argue one’s position, using epithets instead. It’s really shameful.
Sammy Bluejay was in t’other afternoon and he thinks we’re gonna see more, not less of the vitriol we saw in the recent campaign. Heck, Lamont and Stefanowski are already taking things each other has said outta context and “approving this message.” With the coming of Labor Day, which usually signals when campaigns really git going, things are only gonna git worse. It comes from a lack of education, and the fack that most o’ today’s students are told what to believe rather than given things to consider. Yew can see it.
The ubiquitous AOC from New Yawk is a prime example. She supposedly has a degree in economics. Yet, she is one of the most ignorant people when it comes to talking the subject – cuz she rejects it in favor of an ideology. That’s what they’re using education for nowadays. They can’t read, they can’t write, but they can spout.
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The Wag came in after a couple week’s absence and wanted to talk about the fack that Barry Lee Cohen is going full speed ahead on an appeal of the ruling concerning last fall’s election. To refresh yore mem’ry, the judge found several problems with the ballots and rejected a few, but said there wasn’t enough to overturn the results – this is a typical ploy by judges, who don’t wanna make such rulings.
Cohen and his attorney think the judge was selective in what evidence she used to make the ruling, and is hoping the appellate court will see the totality of the argument. I wouldn’t be the mortgage on that one. Cohen is probably right in what he alleges, and he only lost by 32 votes, but by the time the appellate court reads the briefs, and hears the oral arguments – if there are any – it’ll be more than a year since the election. So, nobody really expects a bombshell ruling.
What’ll be interesting is whether Cohen decides to run again in 2023. Y’see people are still miffed by what went on with the fed’ral money, and the almost daily negatives coming from local press and setch. There is also a general feeling people aren’t up to the tasks at hand. We shall see, but Cohen might be able to build on last time, and after more than 30 years of one-party rule, maybe things will start to change. Ya never know.
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Effen yew look in Gripe Vine, Eleanore Turkington’s colyume, yew see a litany of complaints about potholes – and big ones. Our esteemed editor still takes a jog a few times during a week and can tell yew that he passes quite a few. And, some o’ them should be classified as gorges, not holes. A gassamobuggy going over – or in and out – of some o’ them might blow a tire or need the front end realigned. It’s not a laughing matter.
He’s seen crews out putting some hot patch down, but the problem is they really don’t git a chance to set and effen there’s a rain soon after, the whole thing is lost. Last summer, due to bonding, there was a big repaving effort. Not so much this year. I guess the difference is last year was an election year.
Judgin’ from Eleanore’s letter stack the isshew has more than a few people irate, and who can blame them. There’s still time to see some real repairs, but who know what’ll happen.
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Before we go any further, we wanna send our condolences to the family of Louis Smith Votto, who passed away earlier this month. Louey, as he was called by his friends, was Corporation Counsel more than once for the city, and effen I remember, was on staff during the Save Our Shore years of the 1970s. He always had a smile on his face, even when things got sticky. He was always fair, and didn’t try to demean people. We send our best wishes to his family.
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Nelly Nuthatch came by and wanted to talk the New England Brewery Co. coming to the shore. I guess the ink is all but dry on the contracks and things will start percolating over there. We’re still not sure we like the idea o’ closing the Savin Rock Museum and exhibiting them in the new restaurant when it’s completed – those are city objects that should be in a city facility. This is no criticism of the new owners – more a criticism of the lack of foresight on the part of the city: what else is new?
We’re glad to see the rotting carcass of the Phyllis’, Casino, Savin Rock Conference Center is gonna be gone soon. It is starting to look seedier and seedier, and the thing might cave in on itself effen it’s left too long. Nelly was wondering what was happening with the plan, as there was a long stretch where nothing was heard, and the rumor mill began to spin about the deal falling through. We’ve seen that before, haven’t we. So, we’ll keep an eye on things, via Nelly and let yew know effen there’s anything else to report as we go forward.
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Whilst we’re talking about projects, one we ain’t heard much about was the supposed new bistro that was gonna be put at the old Chick’s Restaurant site. That deal was announced about a year ago, and we ain’t heard much – except there are reports of the developers having second thoughts. The problem: the fack that Beach Street, which is supposed to be raised about seven feet, hasn’t got off the boards yet, and is scheduled to begin in the fall. That has put a crimp in the developers’ plans, we hear.
Again, we got this from a perty good source, and wonder effen discussions are still going on betwixt the developers and the city. Heaven knows this is the way things happen around here: a big announcement, and a long stretch of nothing. Remember the Enterprise Zone announced almost two years ago for the West River area? It was a BBBBIIIIIGGGG announcement and had all the bells and whistles. Since then, crickets. Not even an update on where we are after the state accepted the plan.
And then there’s the Haven. Except for a few spurts of activity over there, it’s perty much the same as it’s been for about nine months. The city was supposed to be “negotiating” with the developers and looking for a timeline on the seven-year-old project. Some demolition took place, and there are rows of debris waiting to be carted away. But there are still four blocks of old homes that need to be torn down, with a neighborhood that is watching its property values decrease with each passing day.
Is the Haven going to be built? Who knows? That’s the history of every project that’s been announced for the area, and it’s a pattern that we can look back on for the last 60 years or so. The smore things change….
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,