Happy 2026, sweetie pie! It’s hard to believe but d’yew know this begins the 55th year that yew and I have been corresponding in this or similar papyri? Cobina had a lotta time to think over the holidays and remembered that we started doing our schtick in the old West Haven City News under Bob Joyce as publisher and Colby Dreissens of fond memory as the editor.
That’s when our readers foist came in contact with Iva Lootey, Sammy Bluejay, and Madame Olga and her crystal. Since then, in five different iterations of publications in this berg we’ve marshaled on, giving our own take of the news and views of the Asylum by the Sea.
When we started the names were Fred and Bobby Johnson, Bill Heffernan, Sr., Bill Roper and Harold Allen, our own version of Boss Tweed, who held forth in the Health Department for more years than a body could remember. And, of course, there was the supporting cast of the various and sundry in those days.
Things are much quieter now – or at least more under the radar. We don’t have the skullduggery we used to have with the stooges from one faction or t’other of the Demmies fighting with the others. In those days things were a bit more overt than they are now.
Of course we had a vibrant GOP in those days, too. Al Zarnowski was a longtime mayor and had the support of people like the Perrones and others in the GOP. It was all a bit less partisan in its own way.
Still here we are more than a half-century later, and we’re still discussin’ the political class and the way it conducts itself in public and behind the scenes. The names have changed, but when you look at the overall picture, it has changed very little. Fifty-five years, who’d have thunk it!
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Of course, with the beginning of the new year, things will be getting back on track after the holidays and the three-month slog that is the budget-making process begins anew, this time with a new City Council, newly minted jest a few days before Christmas. Of course, early on the process begins with the department heads giving their wish list budget into the Finance Committee, which then takes and puts its own stamp on it.
Some discussions are done, some Q and A betwixt the departments and the committee members, and then a rough draft comes up. Then the thoid floor kind of takes over with crafting a new budget so that by the thoid Thursday of March Herronner can stand before the council and give her proposal.
Like I said it’s a slog and jest getting off the ground as we scribe these lines. Sometimes yew wonder effen they start with the bottom line and then work their way up, or start from the top down. Either way, there are two things that are certain: the tax rate is gonna change somewhat, and the bottom line is gonna be percentage pernts higher than the current budget. It’s called “base line budgeting.” Start with what you have had in the previous year, and see how much more you can add to it. Jest make sure you don’t give any money back. That is the only no-no when it comes to government budgets. Never give it back.
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Sammy Bluejay came by t’other afternoon and pernted out that effen the former Blake Building on Tetlow Street ever becomes a library, it’s gonna hafta start from scratch. After months thinking the place would be a nifty place to reestablish the Louis Piantino Library – the branch that served Allingtown for several decades – word came over the transom that the former owners Shoreline Wellness, LLC had sold the property.
Now, it’s a rather complex story, but suffice it to say, the Village Improvement Association was in talks for the property, and even put down a deposit in good faith. Well, that deposit was returned and it was found out the building was sold.
Now the VIA has two options – the same two options it has had: negotiate for purchase of the building, starting at square one, or resuscitating the idea of building a duplex construction with the WHFD-Allingtown, which is also looking for new digs.
Sammy sez that while everyone is trying to put on a tactful expression and act with a stiff upper lip, this is the most recent setback for the library’s operators since the rug was pulled out from under them when the former Forest School Building was given over to developers seven years ago. It seems every time things seem to be working in one direction, something puts the whole thing in reverse.
Sammy seems to think the duplex building with the FD might be seen as the best way to go at this pernt. At least you have to work with a partner in trying to get the new headquarters built on the Post Road, and not deal with developers. Still, the way this has gone, developer or city officials, the VIA has been pulled and pushed all over the place.
Meanwhile, the much-promised library branch is now closer to reality than it was when they moved the bookshelves outta Forest Road. Whatta convoluted mess. But then, that’s the only way we seem to do things around here.
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Nelly Nuthatch fluttered by and we got into wonderin’ about the former Jimmies property. Foist, it seems strange saying “former” Jimmies property. But jest before our last issue of the year the company announced it was shutting its doors. That was almost a month ago, now, and while there have been crews extracting furnishings and setch outta the building, not much is known as to what will happen.
Cobina posed the query to Nelly who said that nary a word has been circulating about the berg as to what might go over there. Usually, when something like this happens, the rumor mill is churning out as much grist as possible, not this time. One can wonder and when it does happen, a lotta things will be in play.
Now that one of the original developers is gone, whatever goes in there is gonna be under scrutiny. Remember, a big player now is the Land Trust and that group has lowered its oars into the water over the place next door – what is gonna be the Kelsey – over the years.
It’ll be very interesting to see how things play out as the property eventually gets sold, or morphs into something else. We shall see.
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The aforementioned Madame Olga stopped by to wish Cobina a Happy 2026 and, of course, we talked about the other big story that happened during the holiday hiatus, the downtown review that’s gonna take place. Now, yew and I discussed this when it was foist proposed months back.
Herronner has decided to nix the idea of an arts center downtown, deep-sixing a plan that would be old enuff to vote effen it were a person. She has the idea to change this an other spots into public meeting venues, saying the only place we seem to have setch space is City Hall, witch ain’t wrong.
So, now a new study is gonna be done, probably with state funding (nothing is ever done with outside bucks) and the viability of setch a plan will be vetted.
Now, getting back to our opening salvo above (it being 55 years since we started this colyume) this must be the fourth or fifth setch look-see into the viability of downtown. Prior to 1989 most of the work was in how to make the area more vehicle friendly because of the lay of the land and dog leg right in the center of town.
After 1989, when the Superior Court was evicted by the Guerra administration, the decline really began cuz the businesses that depended on the foot traffic from City Hall and the court cases taking place dried up. Within a couple of years, longtime stores, that sold lotsa goods, were closed, and we got the situation we now suffer under.
Who knows what this most recent survey is gonna bring, but dollars to doughnuts some of what was found in the previous reports are gonna find their way into this one. Once it’s out, there will be the political will to do something. That, as always is the biggest problem.
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next mitt luff und kizzez,
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