With all the tempest over House Speaker Jim Amann’s role as fundraiser for his employer and role in the House, it is a surprise that the disclosure of who the employer of each legislator was has been dropped form the comliance forms issued by the state ethics office.
State legislators no longer have to disclose where they work in the private sector, removing one of Connecticut’s oldest and most basic safeguards against conflicts of interest.
The disclosure requirement disappeared without fanfare or legislative action, the victim of a legal interpretation by the new Office of State Ethics.
What else to call the news that the Republican-American obtained but dangerous? According to the Courant:
A contractor on the troubled Interstate 84 widening project in Greater Waterbury has warned that pieces of 70 light poles could be poorly secured and might fall into the roadway, according to newly released documents.
Most of the 18-inch metal arms were secured with defective brackets when they were attached atop of the poles along the project’s 3.5-mile stretch, according to a letter from O & G Industries to the state Department of Transportation.
With traffic cited as a main concern amongst city residents. a public forum on local transportation is likely a good place to vent concerns. The forum will be held on Thursday, May 24th at the Community Room at City Hall and start at 6:30 PM.
After a brief presentation on Norwalk’s census trends and the results of an online survey about transportation, the forum will open up for discussion on transportation issues like buses, trains, bikes, parking, taxis, sidewalks and traffic.
The format will follow:
6:30-7:00 PM (sign in, snacks, network)
7:00-7:15 PM Presentation on Population and business growth in Norwalk (1995-2005) and Survey results by Mary Pugh
According to The Hour, the Norwalk Federation of Teachers surveyed their members, and based on 107 responses (out of 900 mailed out), 103 were against Corda’s mission to keep administrators at all costs.
From The Hour:
“The response level was higher than in years past,” said Bruce Le Vine Mellion, president of the union. “(The teachers’) position is you try to avoid everything that will have a direct impact on children, those positions that provide direct services to students should be retained and you cannot have a strategy that says you won’t recommend any administrative reductions. The teachers feel very strongly about that.”
What more evidence does this town need that PriceWaterhouse Coopers 2002 report was spot on regarding the lack of financial reports and construction management. I wrote about it here and you will also find links to the original report there. So here we have Opdahl stating that somehow “drop ceilings and pipe covers, a communication system, culinary equipment and exterior painting at Norwalk High; auditorium seating at Roton Middle School and drop ceilings in the halls of Columbus Magnet” are newly discovered items needing funding.
Opdahl has got to be the most incompetent COO on the planet. The BOE members were more restrained in their assessment of the situation. From The Hour:
It seems that the Norwalk Police Department wants to appear like it knows how to handle sex crimes investigations. I have my doubts based on how it handled the Pagano Porn investigation (No interrogation of the alleged perp “Todd”) and the lacksadaisical failure to file its arrests with state prosecutors on the prostitution charges from the “spas”. This skepticism only grows with the sheer lack of detail provided in this James Walker article from The Hour:
NORWALK — The Norwalk Police Department is looking into an allegation of child sexual abuse but is being tight-lipped about the suspect while the investigation continues.
Dodd says he’s the only candidate to stand up against Bush’s Iraq policy. “I’m fighting for the only responsible measure in Congress that would take away the President’s blank check and set a timetable to bring our troops home, unfortunately, my colleagues running for President have not joined me.” Sounds like he’s talking about fellow senators Clinton and Obama. Here’s the ad:
Connecticut State Attorney Dick Blumenthal is hoping to score points with the perpetually frightened, by challenging MySpace.com to either get rid of known “sexual predators” or institute age verification on its web site. Essentially Dick Blumenthal Thinks Web Sites should monitor users.
Attorneys general nationwide issued an ultimatum to MySpace Monday, demanding that the Internet’s largest social networking site make public the profiles of convicted sex offenders and divulge the steps it is taking to eliminate those profiles from its heavily-trafficked site.
I suppose State Reps Perone and Morris would caution that results from the magical mystery tour with Donovan won’t be known just yet, but from the comments, it doesn’t look good. Here are the relevant grafs from the Advocate (emphasis mine):
