Yesterday, Mayor Moccia was on a conference call about the economy and stimulus funds with Vice President Biden. Moccia said that there were about 7 other municipal leaders on the call. One of the questions that the ever curious Vice President had for Mayor Moccia was how a Republican was elected as Mayor in the Northeast.

With tax bills in the mail, some Norwalk residents will be pleasantly surprised to see a tax bill a few dollars less than last year. In the macro this makes sense, since valuations of homes reflect the a decline in value. But Norwalk still faces a revenue shortfall, that needs some examination.

The first is interest income from the cash positions that Norwalk holds, often referred to as short term invest funds. The overall economy has contributed to interest rates staying at a fraction of what they were the last few years. That investment income is something that needs to be made up elsewhere, either by operational expense cuts or increases in revenues. 

Senator Dodd continues to hammer away at issues, intent on driving home the message that he has returned to his origins and is fighting once again for middle class families and consumers who are struggling to make ends meet:

Soon it will be November, and Norwalk citizens will be at the polls voting. Then again this is the photo from yesterday’sHour today with caption:

Norwalk resident, Barbara M. Davis demanded to see Mayor Knopp on Monday morning at City Hall reguarding a police dispatch incident..photo matthew vinci

As we wind up June, and I still wind up a few things that will keep me away from writing, we’re going to try something new. This  is going to be an open pimp thread.

What’s that you say? You get to tell me, and the world, about something you think people should know about. In a way, it’s an extension of pARTy in the Park. So tell us about a  new book, music, piece of art, blog, event, idea, web site, whatever. It can be shameless self promotion. Promote, as in pimp,  your friends,yourself and even people you don’t know personally. What do you think is cool, interesting, unusual, under the radar, over exposed, whatever.  

Common Council MTG 6/23/09

Attending: Krummel, Serasis, Brown, Duleep, Lindstrom, Geake, Moccia, Maslan, Bolden, Bondi, Straniti, Conroy, Bonenfant,  Kydes, Hempstead,

They make adjustments to the minutes, typos and wording stuff that Lindstrom and Duleep request verbatim adjustments. Bondi adds a comment about a correction also.

Public Commentary:

Perry Wengle: Woods Pond association representative, and covers the 10 year history of the open space acquisition of the wetlands of the Crossland property. Says that there aren’t many open space parcels available and hopes that there is no development on the property.

Resignations & Appointments:

This little tid bit while Congress can’t figure out how to pass a $500 billion transportation bill:

Then there’s the fact the Americans are fully willing to pay more taxes to fund infrastructure investment. In a recent poll by GOP pollster Frank Luntz, a stunning 81 percent of people said that would pay higher taxes to repair and upgrade our infrastructure. But for some reason our government doesn’t want to take us up on it. Raising the gas tax is a perfectly realistic policy choice now with pump prices still relatively cheap. At higher levels, we won’t have this option. Options are blessings — let’s not waste this one.

Imagine if the Europeans, once they revolted and overthrew monarchies, decided that those big old buildings atop hills were just were better off as parking lots. We wouldn’t have all the castles representing hundreds of years of history, and delightful tourist destinations, like the world’s most visited art museum, The Louvre. Train stations, of the 1800s also became new things, restaurants and retailer destinations on the small scale and a contemporary art museum on the larger with the Musée D’Orsay.

In America, we find a different fate for our large buildings. Today a retrospective on train stations:

I’m not sure what all the fuss is about, but here’s the latest in the Duck Boat Tour proposal in Norwalk:

The chairman of the Common Council’s Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Committee says a plan to launch duck boat tours in Norwalk remains alive, even though it’s taking time to hammer out the details.

The proposal by Splashdown Tours LLC of Stamford to use the Veterans Memorial Park parking area to launch duck boat tours through Norwalk was pulled from the parks committee agenda last Wednesday night.

Saturday was of course, pARTy in the Park, but this family proved that the rainy weather made some people a little stir crazy:

At about 4 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to 6 Broad St. on a report of an unwanted guest, said Sgt. Praveen John, of the Norwalk Police Department. 

A father and son living there had asked the mother, who was not on the apartment’s lease, to leave, said John. In anger over the situation, she grabbed a jar of red salsa, and hurled it at her son; missing him, but striking the wall, he said.