By the time yew git this missive, honey bunch, the Fourth of July holiday will be over, but yew can bet yore bottom dollar the fireworks displays, and the rockets’ red glare are gonna continue at least through the rest of the week. In the past in Cobina’s neighborhood, the rockets start going off about a week before the event – they did. They also continue for a few days after, maybe up to a week – we shall see.
Tennyrate, Cobina’s gassamobuggy came up with a flat and that was Monday morning. Needless to say most auto repair shops decided to take an extra-long weekend and not open up Monday. Soooo, the gassamobuggy is by the side o’ our street, waiting to git a new tire. Let’s jest hope that the flat was not the beginning of a week that would best be served by staying in bed.
Of course, with the Monday fireworks display, yores truly planned on spending time in her domicile as quickly as possible As yew know traffic in this berg on the thoid of July is down to a crawl as people try to git to the shore from all points East, West and North. That makes getting around here a job for the not-so-faint of heart.
The weather is fine as I write this, so that means there will be upwards of the 100,000 or so they expeck to traverse to these parts. The fack that there is a new way to git into the city via the highway from New Haven is gonna make it all the more interesting. The serpentine route from Exit 43 is to say the least not gonna make getting to the shore an easy task.
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Sammy Bluejay was here t’other afternoon, and insists that the word about town is the negotiations have been completed to purchase all the property at The Haven site. There ain’t any official word from the company or the city, but the fack that this story is coming from some o’ the people Sammy sez it is means that it’s probably gonna come down the pike any day now.
Sammy and Cobina were talking and we really are hoping that more than a backhoe is placed in a visible spot on the location. Remember, that was the ruse that was used at Sawmill Road and a couple other locales during the last few years when election year rolled around and announcements were made concerning developments. The backhoe at Sawmill Road sat there rusting for a long time.
Don’t git me wrong, Iyam glad this thing is gonna be built, but my gut tells me that some changes are gonna be made during the process witch ain’t gonna have this site the mercantile mecca that some would have us believe. Call it a hunch, but methinks some long-range changes are gonna be announced during construction and it’s gonna send this berg into another tizzy – as if it needs another reason.
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Nelly Nuthatch came here t’other afternoon and let it be known that Vic Hogfeldt’s letter last week to our editor was appreciated in some quarters that even Cobina didn’t expeck. Vic, as yew know, is in the throes of a lawsuit against the school system, which is trying to get rid of him. Ostensibly, it’s cuz he’s a bad teacher, but that ain’t what his evaluations supposedly show – at least prior to the troubles he’s had with the system and the union.
Suffice it to say that the word on the street is that effen Vic gits the hearing before the board that he wants, he’s gonna be able to use it to exhibit a lotta dirty laundry in public. That dirty laundry is probably something more than a few people don’t want – and they don’t want it a lot.
Getting back to the letter, I am told that when Supt. Cavallaro sent Vic the cease and desist letter, to which Vic responded in the papyrus last week, more than a few barristers about the berg and few other notables were a bit shocked. We shall see what happens, but with Hogfeldt one thing is certain – it ain’t gonna be boring.
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Before we go on, Cobina and all her birdy friends wanna send condolences to the family of Thomas “Tinker” Blake. He was one of the good guys, and a real asset to the community. The sorrow and grief that a lotta Cobina’s friends have is real and is because he was the person he was.
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With July coming ‘round, yew know that the mayoral campaign now takes that first step toward November. The Democratic and Republican Town Committees meet in a couple o’ weeks to finalize their slates, and with the Demmies we’re gonna have what we’ve had more times than not in the last 18 years – a primary.
Hizzoner is expected to get the ruling party’s nod at the Town Committee caucus when it meets and with it his virtual entire slate. That means that Nancy Rossi will start the process of petitioning to force a primary, which shouldn’t take more than a couple o’ weeks.
The big query for some is effen whatever the result of the primary whether either candidate is gonna make arrangements to be on the ballot in November. Remember, John Picard didn’t make setch arrangments and found himself asking for a write-in ballot to remain in City Hall. That, of course, went as expected.
What some are wondering is effen both hizzoner and Rossi are gonna be sure to file the paperwork with the state to make sure they are on the ballot regardless of the outcome in September.
Yeah, I know about party loyalty and all that, but there’s a lot at stake here, and people in this town don’t give up the reins very easily.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are expected to name Councilman-at-Large Dave Riccio as its standard-bearer. That should come off without a hitch.
Still, Riccio has a really tough mountain to climb in a predominately Democratic city. The person that would benefit the most from a three-way race would be Riccio. I wonder effen he’s hoping that would happen. My money is on yes.
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As yew probably hoid, the City Council voted to float the bonds for the debt reduction and high school project, to the tune of $150 million total. Madame Olga was in t’other afternoon and sez that she’s been looking in her crystal ball, but can’t figger out effen the bonds will be sold easily.
The city isn’t exactly a place with a sterling financial record in the last 25 years, and the fack that more tha $17 million is being used to eradicate a 12-year-old deficit is problematic. I see that the council kind of passed something that sez effen the current or next budget result in a shortfall the city’s next budget is supposed to take care of it, but that seems like wishful thinking.
Effen the budget is in a shortfall, and the city’s finances are such that they can’t be sure what or how they’re getting into a deficit, a law or resolution ain’t gonna fix it. What’s gonna hafta happen is structural change the likes o’ witch we ain’t seen here since the state took over.
With the state in the bad shape it’s in, and with the city not really sure what is gonna come in terms of revenue both here and elsewhere, one wonders effen we’re just paying off one credit card to start putting charges on another. It ain’t the way to run a railroad, that’s for sure.
The pernt of this, by the way, is now that we have approved the borrowing of $150 million, are we gonna be able to sell that much credit? Effen I was an investor I don’t think I’d wanna sink kopecks down the rabbit hole of this berg, but we’ll never know cuz I don’t have that kind of capital.
I guess we’ll see how successful it is, once the bonds are put up for sale.
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Meanwhile, we wait for something to happen at the high school. The date of them starting to demolish the infamous G-wing is up in the air, and maybe started already. It was that unclear. Some were told it wouldn’t be till the winter. I guess we’ll find out when it happens.
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With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,