This is great, I’m sitting at the car dealership awaiting news of my weird sound, and using the open WIFI here. You will all be pleased to know that yourCT.com is blocked, because it is a society and lifestyle web site. Now I’ll leave it to you to figure out what part of the country I’m in.

Update

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There’s a scattering of newsy items today, but I am in a road trip and thus a light posting schedule due the mysteries of a weird sound and check engine light.

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With every slot filled with a name, the Republicans are eyeing a majority on the council and BOE of pickups. It’s possible, but the number of registered Republicans remaining static, and the large block of unaffiliates who say “no, thanks” to party identification, it will be a touch battle. Which is how State Rep and Minority Leader of the House Larry Cafero put it.

Cafero looked back to the 2001 election, when he said Republicans “lost everything” after having Frank Esposito entrenched as mayor for 14 years and controlling the council.

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Looks like residents against Ampitheaters at Vets Park is gaining steam. Last night’s Parks and Recs meeting turned to noise complaints although that wasn’t on the agenda. From The Hour:

For East Norwalkers with fresh memories of what some called “unreasonably loud” music generated by Sunday’s Colombian independence festival, last night’s discussion about the possible construction of an amphitheater at Veterans Memorial Park was a particularly timely issue.

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Peter Nolin summarized the only explanation that can be concluded about the law suit filed by the First Taxing District over Klondike Park by pointing out that it is election time.

From The Hour:

A dispute over who owns the small tract of land, which is about a tenth of an acre, led the district to file a lawsuit Tuesday in Stamford Superior Court against Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Harold Alvord, director of Public Works, PJF Construction Corp., and the city of Norwalk.

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The names are falling into place, which is a good thing since the Republicans will be holding their nominating convention this evening. From The Hour:

“(We) want to continue moving forward with … repairs to the Perry Avenue bridge in Silvermine, securing a large portion of the former White Barn property in Cranbury as open space, fixing roads in the district and working with those involved with the sale of the Silvermine Tavern, in hopes that it can be retained as an inn and … preserved historically,” said Straniti, also District D chairwoman. “(We) also feel that it is important to continue with the very fruitful neighborhood community meetings they have held.”

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Looks like three people had a very bad day. A routine burglary investigation on AIken street led to a drug bust. THe drug bust led to a fire. The details outlined in The Hour:

The events began in the morning when Detective Eileen Northcott arrived at 4 Aiken St. to investigate a “tip” on a house burglary that occurred elsewhere.

Northcott said she was permitted to enter the house and saw drugs “in plain sight.”

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This is part of an ongoing series of guest posts about issues in Norwalk yourCT.com is a non-partisan site dedicated to airing all sides of an issue That can’t happen without valuable contributions from our readers

School budget line items require careful study

Under Connecticut law, only Boards of Education have line-item authority over local school budgets. This prevents other city agencies from injecting partisan political concerns or personal biases into the management of school systems.
Thus, in Norwalk, we have the Common Council setting an overall limit on operational spending for the city, and the Board of Estimate and Taxation, working within that limit, allocating funds to the various departments, including the BOE.

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Who knew that bingo, poker and black jack could spawn the desire for the latest iPod or MacBook. But officials over at the Foxwoods casino have announced that an APple store will be opened at the casino. From the Courant:

Foxwoods Resort Casino will become an Apple retailer, opening a store featuring the computer giant’s products, under a deal announced today by the casino.

Foxwoods said it will start with a kiosk on a shopping concourse in the existing casino this fall and then open a store in the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods, which is set to open in May.

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Sensing the political turmoil that could potentially erupt in the 3 meetings that would occur on the Norwalk planning commission between now and the election, Walter Brigg’s plans to step aside, or down, or whatever. Good grief, step aside because of political gain? You have to have a political pulse to get there. From the Advocate:

Saying he wants to avoid a conflict of interest, Walter Briggs - the Democratic mayoral nominee hopeful - announced yesterday he will step aside as Planning Commission chairman.

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