It is truly stunning to see Walter Briggs leading the grandstanding show at the site of the former Guard-All chemical plant with calls for revising zoning regulations against oil tank farms. Let’s not forget who was more concerned about developing economic activity in industrial zones as chairman of the Industrial Zones committee and Planning Commission.

“I am inalterably opposed to Gault’s planned use for the property,” said Rowayton resident Walter O. Briggs, a member of the city’s planning commission and candidate for mayor, “and this is to tell Gault we don’t want them here.”

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Apparently all of our comments regarding the lack of recourse following the Sunday night demolition of 124 East ave have been heard. Council President Mike Coffey and chair of the ordinance committee committee has followed the links here to craft a new demolition delay ordinance that increases the delay to 180 days and adds a penalty.

I am thrilled that the blog has prompted some quick and positive action about this issue, and while its not the only issue that has prompted council activity, this one is deserves a big thank you. All of our current council members deserve much thanks for listening and responding behind the scenes on many of the issues raised here.

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So Opdahl revealed that the Band building that burned down was insured, albeit with a $100k deductible. That probably means that there’s an umbrella policy that covers all school properties, otherwise why such a high deductible. But I’ve seen Opdhal in action too many times to just take his word on this, Insurance companies are in the busy of making profits, not making sure that they pay out claims. So we’ll see what transpires.

From The Hour:

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It seems that a typical day for the Norwalk Fired Department this week has meant fires and chemical spills, and some call to the Norwalk Museum. Yesterday afternoon, once my delivery got here, I observed Fire Trucks calling in on the Norwalk Museum. Perhaps the curator was stuck up a tree. Meanwhile, it looks like a chemical spill needed to be cleaned up on aisle 7, or Water Street. The absence of police support to direct traffic seems odd, especially considering that pedestrians would not know what chemical was spilled.

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What a nifty idea, yesterday local Milford downtown merchants staged a pearl trail to introduce Oyster Festivl attendees to the stores and shops in Milford. Form the Connecticut Post:

Who knew cultured pearls for jewelry would be as wildly popular as oysters are for eating at the Milford Oyster Festival?
More than 2,000 people followed the Pearl Trail on Friday, snapping up a total of 10,000 genuine, freshwater cultured pearls, which they collected two or three at a time from 25 downtown merchants during “Friday Night at the Festival,” a new feature for the Milford Oyster Festival, which is usually only a one-day event.

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An elderly pedestrian was killed crossing at the West ave/Wall street intersection and a sound stage is set to have a permanent location on Ely ave. Plus anything else you’d like to comment on.

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The list why is long, but the latest bad decision making was a contributing factor in the likely arson incident that burned the Norwalk High School Marching Bears music instruments and uniforms. Opdahl oversees all construction projects, and yes, I am using the term oversees loosely here. The proverbial buck is supposed to stop with him, but as we know, it gets tossed around like its was free money or something. He is solely responsible for allowing the band gear to be stored at an unprotected site, with a history of vandalism , while the construction project displaced the , and then making no effort to see that extra security was deployed and that the insurance policy was adjusted to cover any loss.

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Vet Park Junkie and another reader asked for this thread.

From The Hour:

A fire of undetermined origin destroyed a storage building used by Norwalk High School’s marching band early Thursday morning, destroying more than $500,000 worth of equipment, according to NHS band director Jeff Smith. The fire was reported at 3 a.m.
But the band played on.

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Mr. Greenpeace sent along a link to an article up on a fire fighter news web site about Norwalk’s new health program. The article first appeared in the Norwalk Citizen News.

Lauren Garrison reports:

The Fire Department, which has seen its fair share of job-related injuries, is in the midst of implementing a new wellness program for its firefighters.

In a recent interview, Fire Chief Denis McCarthy said he expects the program to reduce the number of injuries and to lessen the severity of injuries and, consequently, the amount of time firefighters spend away from the job recovering.

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In other news bits, State Attorney General, Dick Blumenthal said CL&P refuses to take grievances about faulty electric meters seriously, Engineering firm Malcom Pirnie to conduct a study on the initial design of a storm-water management plan, Patrick Linsey notes that “After a tumultuous year, Common Council Democrats came together late Tuesday night to pass a contracting ordinance designed to support local workers and apprenticeship programs.” and for the very first time, the Norwalk Fire Department union, Local 830, will have a contract settled in arbitration today.

Comment away.

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