Some cities just get how to keep information flowing between the public and government.

www.bridgeportmasterplan.com/

Be inspired.

[Read more →]

Today Alex Knopp in The Hour:

A news story in The Hour last month after a Common Council meeting reported that I had advised Councilman Poruban about the ethics complaint he filed against Councilman Kydes. This is not accurate.

I was not consulted by Mr. Poruban about his complaint, did not know in advance that he intended to file a complaint and did not see the complaint before it was filed.

But the yourCT.com handy wayback machine says otherwise:

McQuaid’s alarm goes off too a Looney Toons clip (how appropriate)

Lawyer questions who and when Poruban prepared the complaint.

[Read more →]

Finally. Of course he could have saved the taxpayers money by doing this earlier. Those subpoenas must have been pretty scary.

Sen. Louis C. DeLuca announced his resignation shortly after 1 p.m. today, ending a 17-year career in the Senate and a five-month controversy over his dealings with James Galante, a trash hauler accused of having ties to organized crime.

DeLuca struggled to remain composed as he read aloud a two-page statement. His wife, Alice, stood by his side, her right hand on his left shoulder.

[Read more →]

The official recount of Districts A and E is underway at city hall. Anxious candidates Andy Conroy, Victor Cavallao, Gwen Briggs, Bill Krummel, Richard Bonnefant and Matt Miklave were on hand for the beginning. Once everyone realized that the count was going to take a long, long time, some left. I’ve been here about two hours, and can report that not much has advanced.

[Read more →]

In honor of Veterans Day, several computers today decided to take the day off. They approached the day uniquely, and so I am busy working on backups, recovery and diagnostics. Looks like a slow news day in the real world too. The Advocate is running an article on budget cuts for arts program funding grants. This follows up on a Governor Rell decision to change the arts grants programs from dedicated funding to a system where any arts program can compete for grant dollars.

“You can’t take an arts organization and just cut its funding dramatically in one year,” said Ken Wesler, executive director and chief executive officer of the SCA.

[Read more →]

GOP leaders are scratching their heads after Tuesday’s Democratic sweep in Darien.

Town and state Republican leaders believe Darien, one of the most Republican towns in the state, is still aligned with the GOP, even if last week’s municipal elections suggest otherwise.History was made Tuesday night in a town where registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats 3-to-1. Darien voters elected incumbent Democratic First Selectwoman Evonne Klein by a landslide to a third term and gave Democrats their first-ever majority on the Board of Selectman, choosing Callie Sullivan and David Bayne.

[Read more →]

In 2003, Norwalker Ayanna Khadijah overslept after working all night, and was late for a court appearance at 10:45 a.m.. Judge Susan Reynolds ordered her arrested on failure to appear in court, despite pleas from Khadijah’s lawyer and the fact that Khadijah showed up sortly after 11:30 a. m. Thus was set the Kafkaesque $5,000 bond and prosecutorial zeal in pursuing this case.

The state Supreme Court yesterday agreed a Norwalk woman should not have been charged with missing court for oversleeping and showing up 43 minutes late.

[Read more →]

We haven’t had one of these in awhile, so chime in with talk about what’s on your mind. Monday is Veteran’s Day, feel free to post events that people should no about here as well.

[Read more →]

Sorting through the Hour’s article this morning, it appears rather straightforward. The Norwalk Harbor is contaminated because unfiltered sotrm drains dump directly into the harbor. The state DOT once again is indifferent to Norwalk’s requests.

As the city presses forward with an innovative storm-drain filter program, which public works officials estimate has kept 1,200 gallons of oil from entering Long Island Sound — and as Conservation and Zoning commissioners work to ensure that contaminants from development projects do not seep into groundwater — nothing is being done to protect Norwalk Harbor from I-95.

[Read more →]

Yesterday the Norwalk Teachers Union went to Federal court to present its case that the BOE acted improperly regarding the vote on Corda’s contract.

“What we’re asking the court to do is require the board to put a discussion of the contract (on the agenda) at a regular meeting,” lawyer Steven Frederick said. “Do it again.”
The one difference, Frederick told U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Smith, the Norwalk Federation of Teachers and residents this time will have had plenty of time to review the three-year contract so they can share their thoughts with the school board.

[Read more →]