Well sweets, Memorial Day is come and past. The summer season is now unofficially officially begun. However, with the weather we’ve been having lately, one wonders if it’s ever gonna git here. Cobina’s domicile is damp and cold cuz o’ the rain and drizzle we had all last week, and it don’t ever feel like it’s gonna dry out. Of course, it will and we’ll be complaining about how hot it is, but ain’t that the nature o’ things?
The parade was a success as usual, thousands came out fer it, and it was a fun time. The Mystick Maidens of the Marsh, under vice-High Mystick Maiden Merlie Mae, had its annual bash at the Blohm Street high grass, and a good time was had by all. The usual politicos showed up, and it was a good way to start the warm-weather season.
Here in the Asylum by the Sea, things don’t seem to be slowing down for the summer. I see that the mayoral campaign seems to be getting into nearly full swing. Now that the budget review is over and done, Nancy Rossi is beginning to put her efforts into the nominating process, witch should be completed by the middle o’ July with the Town Committee caucuses.
Now yew and I – and I expeck Nancy – believe that she ain’t gonna pull off a palace coup and upset hizzoner for the Democratic Town Committee nod. Those things happen maybe once every 20 or so years, and we got a long way to go for that to happen again. Last time it happened was in 2005 when H. Richard Borer, Jr. was upended by John Picard. That set off a third party attempt and a very close election.
Tennyrate, nobody expects that to happen this time. But we won’t be surprised effen Nancy gits some votes – and the process for getting a primary vote will begin. Petitions will be signed, they will be verified, some names will be challenged, and when it’s all said and done, we’ll have a primary vote for the nomination.
Over on the Republican side, David Riccio the minority councilman-at-large is setting himself up to campaign in the fall. Iva Lootey noticed he’s having a fundraiser. Davey’s a popular guy hereabouts, so it’ll be interesting to see how this campaign shakes out. It’s the thoid term for hizzoner, and this is about the time – historically – that the bloom comes off the rose, and people start looking elsewhere for leadership. We shall see.
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As Iva has been saying all along, the crux of this year’s election cycle is gonna be that lit’le projeck down by Water Street. To say things are stalled with the Haven might be a bit presumptuous cuz, in fack, nothing has happened over there excep’ a few boards were put up over windows.
But Iva is saying that politicos are getting a bit sweaty around the collar cuz things haven’t exactly gone according to plan. Remember, things were supposed to percolate down there in “late February or early March” according to more than one resident of the Actors Colony. Here we are in June and nothing has really changed.
Effen that projeck languishes through the fall that might be the instance where the current administration will have a battle-royal on its hands. They don’t wanna think about it, but effen things don’t start moving, things could git tight for the thoid floor.
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Sammy Bluejay was in t’other afternoon and he was follying up on what Iva was saying. There’s another big fly fluttering about the ointment, and that is the deficit reduction bond issue that hizzoner and the thoid floor has been trying to git underway.
The word was that the bonding couldn’t take place until the audit of last year’s budget got released. It was released and we saw that the city is awash in red ink. Another 2 million or so kopecks were added to the debit side o’ the ledger, and that puts the city behind the financial eight-ball to the tune of more than $16 million.
Whilst he may not wanna admit it, his Demmy opponent Nancy Rossi might have a very good pernt when she says that before anything should happen on that deficit package, somebody – anybody – should look at the figgers that make up this year’s budget and see effen one side balances with the other. Not to put too fine a pernt on it, but we’ve gone 0-for-3 in the budget department. Nobody wants to see the city bond to eliminate the deficit (some of us don’t wanna see us bond at all), and then find out we have a built-in shortfall for next year, putting us right back where we started.
Remember the bonding to pay off the pension package for the constabulary that was one a decade or so ago under Borer? Well, effen mem’ry serves, we didn’t fulfill the obligation of the law which said that we had to fully fund the pensions each year or make up within five years. I don’t think we ever got right with that and are perty much behind in that department as well.
Sooooo, we shall see what transpires, but it’s gonna make it a very interesting summer, to be sure.
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Of course, with the summer comes open windows and fresh air in the domicile. With the open windows and fresh air in the domicile comes the roar of motorcycles. Yeah, I know we have noise ordinances and the constabulary is out in force trying to enforce the ordinance, but they don’t git everyone.
Be ready for the continued roar of cyclists who seem to gravitate to the beach, and, of course, travel in packs. So, the noise is gen’rally perty intense.
Already our head mistress of the complaint department, Eleanore Turkington, is getting missives about the noise, but let’s face it, the city can only do so much.
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The wag came in with a query t’other day concerning the high school Yew and I discussed that a few weeks back. The G-wing of the high school, that pile o’ bricks that has been the cause of so much Sturm und Drang hereabouts for so long was scheduled for demolition days after school lets out. But that date has been moved and moved and moved to the pernt that the last time Cobina hoid a date is was supposed to be a Christmas present to those who can’t wait for it to be rubble.
The shop courses are supposed to be moved – and are moving Iyam told – to the “little gym,” where they will be housed in perpetuity.
Madame Olga was consulted about the time that the wrecking ball was supposed to fall on the wing, but she said her crystal ball was not picking up any definite signals as to when it might actually happen.
We sorta come full circle on the matter cuz effen the city don’t git its bonding to pay off the deficit, and can’t begin to contemplate bonding to start the reconstruction of the high school, witch means it won’t have the funding to demolish the G-wing.
I guess that is what is called a “Catch-22” or a “vicious circle,” no?
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And jest to add to the angst, Nelly Nuthatch told me that the mavens of the Actors Colony are getting mixed signals from Hartford as it tries to figger out what in blazes it’s gonna do with its own budget shortfall. First hizzoner, prudently, cut back his dependence on state funding, only using $8 million or two-thirds of what was promised. Now they are hearing conflicting reports of either getting more money or, most recently, a “don’t plan anything yet,” directive. In other words, nobody knows what’s gonna happen to state aid to cities. My guess it it’s gonna be cut and we’re gonna be in the soup all over the state.
With that cheery news, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,