The Hour leads today with a story about the rising costs of food, and the impact it will have on the school lunch programs. The other elephant in the room is the higher energy costs that will be a bigger hit. With no new finance person, or I should say, since the Norwalk Public Schools never had a real high level finance person, no financial operations planner, the impact in the next 5 years will be really significant.

Already the  BOE budget is suffocating the average tax payer in Norwalk, so it is of utmost importance that the BOE and Corda look to staff position that will plan and forecast rising costs and mitigate their ipact on the system.

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For those familar with the American Girl franchise, two Norwalkers are bringing history to life with a full scale mutlimedia history edutainment project. From the Advocate:

Bringing history to life for children is what the film’s producers hope to do. The film is only one aspect of a larger project they designed to create new ways of teaching history and civics to middle school students.

Funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Young American Heroes project will include an interactive Web site and a graphic novel.

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The Republican plan to challenge Bob Duff is simple, run on the issues that are impacting Norwalk the most. Thus, from the Hour:

Papadakos said more can be done to improve education and bring state aid to Norwalk. If elected, he said he will focus on crime, education, taxes and “fighting for more dollars for Norwalk from the state.”

The 25th District covers Norwalk and part of Darien.

Duff, a former state representative, has represented the district in the General Assembly since 2004. He defeated Republican Jeffrey M. Konspore for the seat in 2004 and Republican Fred Wilms for the seat in the 2006 election.

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The Hour has a story on the pace of development in Norwalk. Fast, slow or indifferent, I bet you all have comments. A snip:

When speaking about major redevelopment projects in Norwalk, Mayor Richard A. Moccia often jokes that he hopes to see shovels in the ground before he’s in the ground.

Although meant tongue-in-cheek, Moccia’s assessment of the redevelopment timeline in Norwalk rings true for many mortals who have followed urban renewal projects from their inception as conceptual plans crafted by the city, through selection of private developers, to board and agency review, site-plan approval and finally, construction.

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From a press release:

The Fairfield County Chorale

With the AmorArtis Orchestra

Conducted by Johannes Somary

Present

Extraordinarily Gilbert and Sullivan

with guest soloists:
Laurelyn Watson - soprano, Wendy Falconer – mezzo-soprano, Megan Friar - contralto, Colm Fitzmaurice – tenor, Richard Holmes – bass-baritone, Tom Zimmerman – bass

Saturday May 10th at 8 pm Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Ave, Norwalk, CT.

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In an effort to improve traffic flow at the South Norwalk train station, the taxi queues are moving on Monday May 12th. The westbound side of the train station will now be staffed with a person charged with managing the line up of taxis awaiting fares. This will free up the area ont eh eastbound side, where taxi vehicles has haphazardly parked along the curb.

From the press release:

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From the press release:

South Norwalk, Conn., May 7 2008– After 55 years and 14 one-man shows at New York’s Kraushaar Galleries, the distinguished American painter Joe Lasker is pleased to present his works in his first one-man show in Connecticut. www.joelaskerexhibition.com      The exhibition and sale will take place on Saturday, May 31, from noon to 5 pm., Pre-sale by appointment from May 25-30.

The exhibition and sale of cityscapes, landscapes, portraits, fantasies, interiors, seascapes and still lifes will take place in the home of Mary Pugh at 9 Outer Rd. Norwalk CT, which boasts dramatic views of the marshlands and Long Island Sound that have long inspired Mr. Lasker. The mid-century house itself is an important work by architect Edgar Tafel, author of Apprentice to Genius: Years with Frank Lloyd Wright.

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The old adage that truth is stranger than fiction is definitely on display here, with the news that some woman from Mahopac, NY filed a claim against the city because her one year old stepped in dog poop. I am laughing as I type, so we’ll jsut cut and paste the details:

DeBrocky wants the city to reimburse her for $54 she spent at Stride Rite replacing her toddler’s ruined shoes, and the wasted $50-plus in expenses she spent for parking and aquarium admission on April 5.

She detailed the incident in her claim.

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The Advocate’s Alexandra Fenwick does a nice job covering the operating budget, the whole article is worth a read, here, but I’d like to focus on these grafs:

Principal and interest on capital budget bonds are factored into the city’s operating budget as debt service payments, one of the “largest stressors” on the operating budget, at $27 million this year, compared to $11 million five years ago, Wilms said.

“The good news is the schools are being renovated, the bad news is, we’re now paying for it,” Wilms said.

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It’s somewhat ironic, given that I’ve “taken back the blog” from the incessant crime blotter activities to be writing about — crime. But crime is in the news, or more exactly, what to do about crime. Mike Geake, councilman and regular here, has invited Guardian Angles founder Curtis Silwa to speak at the Health, Welfare and Public Safety Committee meeting later in the month. This has set off a firestorm of sorts. From the Hour:

“Let’s be blunt. In South Norwalk, it doesn’t feel safe. People there are constantly complaining that they don’t feel safe,” Geake said. Bringing in the Guardian Angels “is basically to have eyes on the street. Let’s face it, crime and drug dealing flourishes when nobody is looking.

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