Here we are barrelin’ toward Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, honeybunch. I always tell you once we git by May the year seems to fly, and jest like that we are into Eastern Standard Time, the leaves are falling offen the trees, and the sweet smell of wood cracklin’ in the fireplace can be smelt hereabouts.
Since last we corresponded, the “election cycle” of 2025 is over and done with. Now, we turn to the Congressional election, and won’t stop hearin’ about that until it is over. The news media is jest election obsessed, especially when it has someone it doesn’t like in office as we have seen.
Hereabouts, things went perty much as expected. We have to say that the turnout was perty low as only about 7,000-plus traversed to the polls, and about another 2,600 voted via absentee. That’s out of about 25,000 voters. Herroner won, of course, she was unopposed and topped the list with more than 7,000 votes.
And all that fol-de-rol about low turnouts hurting the party in power went the way of the Do-Do Bird. The numbers were perty bad, admittedly. One candidate garnered only about 240 votes for a council seat and still outpaced his opponent. The numbers on the entire council slate were perty bad.
And our greatest fear was realized as the Demmies swept into power and will have only one minority person on the 13-member panel. Meli Garthwait (finally got that spelling right!) was able to top the list of at-large opposition, with Sean Ronan and Peter Rivera cruising onto the council. That means whilst the Demmies are caucusing, Meli will either bring a crossword puzzle or some other activity awaiting them to come outta chambers. Nary a thing will be discussed through the opposition cuz there will be no second on any opposition motion. It’s happened before and it’s not good.
As far as Steven R. Mullins’ latest attempt for elected office, he came out dead last in the slate of five looking for the seat. Being on Row C is perty much a death sentence to any candidate. Heck, people didn’t vote for their own council members judging from the numbers. The chances of them looking on Row C – let alone Row B – were slim to none.
So, come three weeks hence, the foist Sunday in December, the new members of various things will be sworn in, and we will have the Asylum-by-the-Sea’s version of an inaugural. Then, it will be business as usual.
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Sammy Bluejay came in and reported that not much in the way of election shenanigans was reported anywhere in the burg In fack, not much was in the way of hoopla, period. We sorta pine for the days when signs were being reported stolen or vandalized and people seemed to take things seriously.
It used to be said that politics in West Haven is hardball, and to a certain extent that is true, but things seem to be a bit more laid back than they used to be. Something tells me it’s jest laying below the surface. The ruling party is not squabbling amongst itself, and hasn’t in nearly a decade, but some of the intraparty resentments are probably still there.
It certainly ain’t like the days of the Johnson, Allen and Roper factions. Those were tong wars, politically speaking, and seemed to dominate things for the Demmies. That’s gone dormant, it seems. We shall see. Politics is still local, and power seems to be a very motivating influence to those involved in it.
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A few weeks ago I noted to you that Bill Ewry would be coming out with this letter regarding the community Thanksgiving Dinner that he and his committee put out every year. This is the 14th year for this iteration of the dinner, which really goes back almost 40 years. Somehow the year 1986 or 1987 comes to mind as the year it started, but as Cobina gits older, the years seem to meld together.
Tennyrate, it started as a function of the West Haven Clergy Association, which eventually spun off WHEAT, and then was run by a second committee a few years later, which then gave it over to Ewry. The only constant throughout these years is that the Congregational Church’s Fellowship Hall has been the locus for the event
Ewry and his band are looking for the usual, pies, some help otherwise, donations if possible. You can look elsewhere in this papyrus for the particulars.
It’s a bit different than the years that people actually planned to attend because they wanted to be part of a bigger event. Heck, whole families took part cuz it was a way to show community support. Still, it’s one of the nicest things we have in this town, and we’re glad to see that it is taken seriously.
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November around here means “wind.” There’s wind along the shore perty much every day, and big wind a lot of the time, but as October rolls inta November, the cold winds that seem to come from the North just dominate and get perty strong. Over the last couple of weeks that has been true.
Looking at the various weather sites, Cobina has noted at least three days where gale force winds were warned and several “small craft advisories.” The trees swaying back and forth outside our window is a good indicator as well.
Sooooo, when it was announced that two barges anchored in Milford found there way into the city waters, we were not really surprised.
It was kind of an off-the-wall item of interest for many. Even the Wag, who thinks himself perty urbane was interested in the barges and whether they were staying perched or still floating East.
It was one o’ those things that take you outta the nonsense that is everyday life, and is a bit off the beaten path. The barges were recovered and sent back to their moorings. For a few days a lotta eyes were trained toward them, and it gave everyone a bit of a respite from the troubles of the day.
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Nelly Nuthatch came by t’other afternoon and sez that despite the work that is being done on the bridge over First Avenue, traffic from Long Wharf to Milford, or Milford to Long Wharf is not more trying than it usually is. That is to say, it doesn’t seem that the miles-long backups we were fearing have come to pass – at least, not yet!
Long Wharf is still a morass that has to be traversed on a regular basis and is difficult most of the day, but it ain’t any more backed up than usual. I guess that’s a good thing. Most of the work seems to be taking place at night, but as you know around here traffic don’t really lighten up until after 8 in the peeyem.
Sooo, here’s to hoping things stay status quo for the next 27 months or so. Traffic in these parts is still a daily grind, but the grind doesn’t seem to be any more pulverizing than what we’re used to.
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Cobina was talking with Iva Lootey and mentioned to him that surveyors were spied on the former Haven Project locale a couple weeks back. In fack, some reader who had mentioned our keeping up with the debacle over there, mentioned it. Here we are weeks later, and the radio silence that has been characteristic of what goes on there continues.
We still don’t have a clue as to what, if anything, is gonna be done over there. The act of surveying would lead a body to figger something is in the offing. But with the way the Haven Group has treated the city over the last several years it’s jest a guess and nothin’ more.
We know that Herroner is frustrated with the way things have been kep’ silent and that the developers, who come from the Big Apple, think they are dealing with people from the provinces. The whole projeck has been that way almost from the start.
Maybe by the end of the year we will know something, but Cobina’s guess is that 2026 will come and go, and we’ll still have a great view of New Haven Harbor, and not much else.
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Madame Olga mentioned to Cobina that whilst she was perusing her crystal she noted that new lighting was being installed down at the Boardwalk. So, Cobina, being the inquisitive type had to see for herself. Sure ‘nuff, it seems that most if not all of the old light stanchions have been replaced and new ones put in. They are the same type, but seem a bit sturdier than the old ones.
One wonders who paid for this, but it’s probably the funny money that the feds put out during the pandemic – ARPA, it’s called. It’s bankrolled many a project in these parts, and is still bankrolling them months after a lotta municipalities have depleted their cache.
Yore tax money at work, I guess.
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Weeks after it was announced the Debonair was ready for demolition – and people were prepping for an invasion of vermin in the neighborhood, the building is still standing as of this writing, and still awaiting the back hoe or wrecker’s ball.
There was supposed to be an announcement about it several weeks ago, and that fell by the wayside, and then there was talk that things were moving along and it should be “any day now.” But here we are almost two months later, and not a thing.
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,