Dear Felicia

Back-to-back missives to go with back-to-back isshews. Jest like the old days, honeybunch. Cuz of the way the budget was presented, we moved the last issue back to last week, but still wanna keep our original schedule as close to what it was as possible. Over the years whenever we moved things around, it created a ripple effect that pushed things back and made for more problems later. This year, we are trying something a bit different. It makes for a lotta work here in the office, but it’s better than sitting around and doing things as they come.

Here in the Asylum by the Sea, we’re gettin’ the “colder by the shore” mantra that the weathermen and gals talk about. It has been exactly that. Whilst other parts of the state were enjoying some balmy weather for this time o’ year, our temps have hovered around 50 and the wind jest keeps comin’ off the Sound with a fury. There were a couple days that Cobina thought she was gonna have to hold onto something else she’d be carried away. Spring weather don’t come to these parts until mid-May if we’re lucky. Sooo, keep the thermals and sweaters handy. We’ll need ‘em.

Tennyrate, whilst we’re talking about the Sound a couple things came to mind via Sammy Bluejay. We see the City Council gave its approval to the “Kelsey,” the new wedding venue that is gonna use the former Phyllis’, Casino, Conference Center as its venue. The okay came last week, finally, and there are high hopes that – barring another lawsuit from a certain neighbor – things will git off the ground this time.

Lawsuits are a concern cuz it was court proceedings that deep sixed the NEBCO project. It was given approvals, and then languished for two years due to judicial foot stomping caused by…well, you know. Iyam sure effen there is a problem or supposed problem, we will find out soon enuff whether a summons will appear. I’m sure the thought has crossed the minds of more than a few since the approval was given.

Continuing on things that hafta do with the Sound or its environs, I asked Sammy effen he’d heard anything new about the former Debonair Motel property. Word was a few months back that things were starting to percolate over there with a new owner, but not much has been heard since.

Let’s jest hope that its “drawing board” stuff that is being taken care of by those in the know, and that a plan for the site will be proffered soon enough. That site has languished like none other , and having something put over there that will be enhancing to the neighborhood would be most welcome.

A little further down the road – two-plus speed humps, methinks – is the new restaurant where the Chick’s Drive-in used to be. Work seems to be progressing on that, and there was some talk about a May opening, hoping for Memorial Day. We shall see.

As Sammy sez, things are moving along down there, but one property that probably won’t be considered anytime soon is the former Captain’s Galley site. That is now seven feet or so below the roadbed, and one wonders effen that makes the entire parcel outta reach, literally and figuratively. Many of the homes that used to be in the area have been razed cuz of the flooding over there, and one wonders if the place is up for consideration for anything. Sammy ain’t heard anything about the site in quite the while, and with the new geography, probably won’t anytime soon.

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Keeping with the topic of redevelopment, development or buildings, we see a kerfuffle has arisen betwixt the city and the owners of the property that jest happens to be right across from our little office on the Post Road. It seems the owner and the city were involved in some correspondence and the owner went to the local daily papyrus. Now, I dunno what to make of it all, but Cobina seems to think based on what she has read that this is a great case of the English language being a hindrance rather than a help.

Many times, people read things with a certain inflection or with a certain ingrained attitude and what might be meant by the writer to be perfectly reasonable is seen by the reader as a cause for consternation. Heck, I’ve seen that in little things like emails. People will send an email for something and a reader will take offense cuz he or she has inflected a different word than the writer, jest reading it and processing it in the head.

What we’ve seen is perty vanilla as far was what city officials sent to the developer, and even though the property has been approved in the past for some type of sports facility, it ain’t outside the purview of the Planning and Zoning people to wanna have a general idea of what’s being planned. In fact, it seems effen they didn’t do it one could say the P&Z isn’t doing its due diligence.

Cobina called it a kerfuffle, and thinks when all this is rinsed out nary a slight will be seen by anyone. We shall see effen Iyam right about this Whilst thinking about this, though, I hafta admit, I started calling it by what it was known in the 50s and 60s: Topp’s. That was a large discount store and stayed that way until the 1970s, when discount houses went out of fashion. Now they’re back, but they are called “dollar stores.”

Like the Bard said, “A rose by any other name…”

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The Wag came in and wanted to talk about the budget hearing that is set for tonight at the Harriett Nawth Room of the Actors Colony at 6:30. He perused the budget as we published it last week, and was interested in the commint that the tax rate is going down.

He pernted out he thought the term “tax cut” on the mill rate was a bit misleading as the revaluation of the city’s properties every five years has its effects. According to the mayor, the property values went up by almost half, and keeping the mill rate the same would have seen an exodus the like of which we ain’t ever seen.

Soooo, the cutting of the mill rate is a given under the circumstances. The key, as he pernted out, is whether the new mill rate costs the average taxpayer more than last year, or less than last year. ‘Twas it ever thus.

This has been a topic Cobina has seen since she can’t remember when. Each time the revaluation process is got through and – most of the time – property values increase (though she remembers when they went down a few times) this cutting of the tax rate is done. The proof of whether it’s a real tax cut or not is whether it costs people less in the long run.

Any bets?

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Nelly Nuthatch was interested in the spring fling the city’s Republican Town Committee is planning. A simple get-together of the political clan. One wonders whether there is still a political clan to be gathered. It ain’t no secret that people have dropped off the GOP Town Committee and that there has been factionalism to beat the band over there for years; though, for the life of me I can’t figger out what the fighting is all about. The party ain’t one an election in 36 years, coming close one, and that was by a candidate that half the party hated.

Nelly noted that the ninth districk is trying to git people interested, and one can understand why. The ninth and tenth seem to be where many GOP types might be located given the elections results. Still, the party has to get some new faces involved and build itself up to something other than a coffee klatch. It also has to come together under one ledership and have a message.

In other words, it has to build itself into a real political party and not whatever it has been for the last three-plus decades. Having a one-party city is not good and has not helped this berg move forward in any meaningful way. One need only look at New Haven to see the stagnation that 70 years of one party has done to that city. We are halfway there. That’s not something to be proud of.

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Iva Lootey came by and sez that his traversing of the Brown Street neighborhood has him convinced the Washington School is gonna be open on time. After looking like a job site for more than 18 months, the site is starting to take shape with landscaping jest beginning including access and other things.

Cobina still thinks it has a look like a typical institution, but that’s the way they are building these cookie cutter things. All utility and no style. Not like the noble building it replaced. That was a beauty.

Still, it’s nice to know that things in the berg can be planned and constructed and be one time or near time. There are still a few weeks left before the deadline, but effen she were a betting gal, Cobina would say a late May opening is in the cards.

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With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next mitt luff und kizzez,