Hard to believe, sweetie, but we’ve jest hit the halfway pernt of the month, and are head-first going into March. We’ve had enuff rain in the last week or so to cover us for some time, but it looks like we’re gonna be wet or cold fer a few more weeks. My lumbago tells me we’re gonna have at least one more snowstorm before it’s all over, but we’ll see.
Here is the Asylum by the Sea, things are shaking out for yet another primary in the Democratic Party for control of what is called the “party apparatus.” With the change of leadership in November, yew knew that there was gonna be a fight to see who gets to make the decisions. And, as I told yew last week, there are gonna be primaries for all of the districts, save the fifth. That means whoever wins the primary controls the party. This is all about the chairmanship.
As yew know James William Morrissey is the current honcho wielding the gavel. He is allied with one faction of the party – the one that up till last November was in charge of the thoid floor of the Actors Colony. With the loss of Ed O’Brien, that put the party into a tizzy, cuz now the former Picard wing of the party is somewhat back in power.
When it comes to playing well together, Demmies in this berg have a long history of not doing so. In fack, given the reality that there is a current one-party rule in town and has been for about 25 years, the factionalism in the Demmies house of cards is the only game in town. And they treat each other worse than effen they were of another party.
Tennyrate, the primary is planned for next month, and however it goes, yew know that one group is gonna be happy, one group is gonna try to make itself cozy up to the new leaders, and one group is gonna be totally unhappy. That’s the way things happen around here.
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Whilst all that is going on, herroner and the new administration have had to deal with the reality of having the State Review Bored have a look over the shoulder of everyone. Last week, we asked herroner about the way things are being done with the review board, and we thought it interesting that she’s gonna have the new city budget done two weeks early in order to get the imprimatur from the panel. Effen there is any doubt about who’s controlling the show, this should dispel all doubt.
Sammy Bluejay reported that he was perched over at the Actors Colony last week, and there were numbers being crunched and balance sheets being looked at with an eye to see where the city can make changes in spending. Whilst last week we hoid that the new administration was working with the review board, we also learned through herroner’s colyume that she was planning to hold the line on taxes.
That means the budget is gonna be status quo, or there are gonna be some cuts in there that are gonna be painful whilst keeping the tax rate steady. And, let’s hope this go-round doesn’t use bloated revenue expectations to balance one side of the ledger as has happened so many times in the last two decades. We shall see. I know that given the way the campaign in the fall shook out with herroner talking about her prowess as a CPA, there is interest to see what that means. We shall find out presently.
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Our little mention in last week’s missive has perked a bit of interest. Iva Lootey has reiterated to Cobina that Ed O’Brien is, in fact, talking about running again in 2019 according to (to use the verbiage of the news media) “highly placed sources close to O’Brien.”
His interest in running again was mentioned more than once a few weeks back, and forced Cobina to mention it to yew. Well, since we did, others have said they too have hoid the talk, and that hiz nibs has let other people know he’s interested in returning to the thoid floor. This will make interesting campaigning in the next little while. It’s jest a question of when is the campaigning gonna start? My guess is that once the leadership o’ the Democratic Town Committee is settled in the primary next month, that’s when we’re gonna see some movement or decision in his quest to get back into City Hall.
See how things come full circle around here? We started with the primary and we’re ending with the primary as far as the political landscape is concerned.
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Jest one more thing about the budget and taxes. Business around the berg got yet another missive from the tax assessor upping their assessment sight unseen. This is a legal way the city can get a hike in taxes. Under state law, the assessor can increase the assessment of a business without so much as darkening the door, and it stands unless the business wants to go through the hassle of appealing it. And, in the wonderful way the government has all the cards stacked in its favor, the business assessed has to prove that the assessment is wrong.
Most of the assessment hikes are minimal, but there are some that are quite substantial. It’s jest one o’ those tricks the city uses to get more money outta people. Like that kerfuffle that happened about 20 years ago, when the city went from the Blue Book to the Red Book to determine assessment of motor vehicles. It was a tax hike without benefit of a vote. Amazing how that happens.
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Nelly Nuthatch was here t’other day and we started talking about the high school renovations/rebuild – whatever they’re calling it this week. As yew know the G wing is now history. I think the only thing remaining is a concrete slab, and who knows effen that is gonna remain. Like I told yew a long time ago, that part of the building stands as a thorn in the side of a few administrators, and they were glad to see it a memory.
This week we are interested to know what the status of the bond issue is? The City Council approved it quite a while ago under the former administration, but to our recollection there hasn’t been much done on it. The reason I bring it up is cuz the most recent iteration has eight of 14 classrooms that were removed put back. This was a big source o’ consternation during the campaign in the fall.
I guess the new demographic reports have the school population getting larger after several years of decline. The new classrooms are gonna be needed with the increase. Still, where is the money for all these changes coming from effen the bond hasn’t been approved? It seems to Cobina a cart is before a horse.
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I see the Planning and Zoning Commish has approved the plans for the Maltby Lakes area that was once called the Sursum Corda projeck. That was supposed to be a heart rehab center with trails and all kinds of things that would make people healthy again. Well, that was in the 1980s, and the projeck never got past the big announcement that was made at the Italian-American Club.
Here we are almost 40 years later, and the changes in the way health care is given is making that area part of the Yale-New Haven system, which is putting a facility in there. Funny how things work out, but not so funny in that the area was desolate for sooooo many years after the water company gave up the property.
Let’s hope this projeck doesn’t take 40 years go come to fruition. And speaking of projecks, what is blazes is happening over on Water Street? Is the Haven happening or is it not? Inquiring minds are beginning to doubt.
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,