The Problem with the Kids these days...

...is that they cost too damned much to educate, and this cost is affecting our annual salary increases.

This, it seems, is the unspoken viewpoint of those who run our education system.  But...there's a problem with this "me-first" outlook:

Just like paying into Social Security provides for those who passed us our country, paying into education provides for those whom we'll do the same.  Our democracy (or, if you prefer,  our republic) requires that we ensure that  every voting citizen have the ability to participate in her or his government, and have the tools to live and prosper in this country.

Let's cut to the chase.  Our schooling system eats up about two-thirds of every tax dollar we pay.  I don't think many would quibble with paying this amount....provided our tax dollars were spent wisely.  However, it is clear to anyone who looks into the matter that fiscal wisdom has long been sadly lacking in this area:  the West Haven Board of Education has become worse than the worst of the Federal excesses.  Its administration has become bloated with overpaid individuals whose sole qualification for taking taxpayer dollars is which political power with which they are (or were) friendly.  This is not caused by the current administration; but - by not stopping this practice - they have wrecked the system.


It is time to take the power away from the politicians who have dominated this snake pit of political patronage.  However, there is no obvious political party or group which shows any promise of fixing this situation.  The Morrissey Group? Fuggedaboudit!  The Picard Group? Fuggedaboudit!  As far as our "independent" chairman.... Fuggedaboudit!  

 No...the only political faction we can depend on is: We the People. 


We have the power to make the City government do what we want.  All that is needed is the people to make this happen.  The City Charter has a provision for this:

CHAPTER XVIII - INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM

POWERS OF INITIATIVE: The electors shall have the power to propose to the City Council any ordinance or resolution appointing or removing officials, specifying the compensation or hours of work of officials and employees, appropriating money, authorizing the levy of taxes, or fixing the tax rate. If the City Council fails to adopt such ordinance or other measure within thirty days after a petition making such a proposal shall have been filed with the City Council, the electors may adopt or reject the same at an election held within ninety days after such proposed ordinance or measure was originally filed with the Council, provided such petition shall be signed in ink or indelible pencil by qualified electors of the City, equal in number to at least ten percent of the registered voters at the last municipal election. Said petition shall be accompanied by affidavits signed and sworn to by each circulator of such petition, certifying to the authenticity of the signatures of such petition. The Town and City Clerk shall determine the sufficiency of the petition and the affidavits. A majority vote of the electors qualified to vote shall be necessary to initiate such ordinances or measures. Unless at least twenty percent of the electors entitled to vote on the question shall have voted, such proposed ordinance or measure shall not become effective and the result shall be construed as against adoption. No ordinance or other measure which shall have been adopted in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall be repealed or amended by the Council except by petition and vote of the electors.

If those in office don't listen to the voters who hold  the power, we still have the ability to make them hear us.  If we don't use our power, we can blame no one but ourselves.

It's up to us...can we do this? 

Dancin' In The Park(ing Lot?)

I'd like to apologize to (both) my regular readers for my long silence; but an unexpected personal emergency prevented me from posting.  And so much has been going on during my exile...let's start from the most recent.

Just as we're getting ready to welcome the good weather again...just as we're looking forward to outdoor activities...

The Register reported this weekend that the city is trying to shut down the volunteer-run dance sessions held on "Captain Tony's Deck" on the boardwalk.

To hear the city tell it, it's not trying to shut this popular activity down; it's only concerned about the potential liability should someone get hurt while doin' the "Electric Slide" (or maybe the "Chicken Dance").  They'd prefer these sessions be performed next to the bathrooms (doesn't that sound like FUN?) on the concrete.

Certainly, West Haven shouldn't allow any activity on City-owned property that could be injurious in any way, right?  There certainly isn't any other place designed in such a way that people could get hurt, right? Oh.....wait a minute: 

My point is:  this is a very popular part of our summer experience, and brings in people from surrounding towns - many of which also spend money in West Haven.  Whatever is done to limit the city's liability at the skatepark  could certainly be adapted for the far safer activity of dancing on the Deck. 

Or is safety and liability the city's REAL issue?  Could it be that they have (gasp!) political motives? (Cue scary music!)

You see, within hours of trouncing the Morrissey faction in the recent DTC primary, the city notified the popular live band "Flash Back" that they wouldn't be part of the summer concert series.  "Flash Back", if you don't know, has a musician with THAT LAST NAME (the name that Must Not Be Spoken).  Similarly, one of the most popular volunteer DJ's (HINT: not one of the guys) is seen by the administration as being, um, "NAFOTAD" (Not A Friend Of The Administration, Dear).

I almost hesitate to ascribe petty politics to our highly-esteemed political leaders; they are of course women and men of the highest ethical standards (I'll leave it to someone else to determine which are men and which are...you get the point).

Maybe we should print out and take the image below to the P & R meeting at City Hall on March April 5th: 

Sorry for the Silence!

West Haven Bob has had to deal with an unexpected emergency...I'll be posting again later today!

An (Alleged) Crime in West Haven

UPDATE (3/18/2010 7:30 am) - The Register is reporting that Gene Sullivan is under investigation for registering his car out-of-state - thereby avoiding CT Property taxes.  See the end of this post for more.

UPDATE (3/15/2010 2:00 pm) - I have been informed that the warrant has been served, and an arrest has been made.  More to come...

The phones are a-ringin', and the politico's are a-cluckin', about the impending arrest of a prominent Campbell Avenue merchant on various charges connected with the burglary of a Police Commissioner's home.

As I currently understand the matter - and it's quite likely that some of the following is incorrect - some idiots decided it would be a bright idea to break into the home of a Police Commissioner (has anyone ever heard of a smart criminal?).  They made away with quite a haul, including several pieces of jewelry.  The "perps" brought their swag to the businessman, ostensibly to sell the goods, and said merchant bought them. He REALLY likes gold, you see:

Now, I just sold a gold ring (at a different establishment); I had to produce photo ID, and I was told they would have to hold the ring for some days (ironically, to ensure it wasn't "hot").  Apparently our boy failed to follow these strictures, and melted the items down immediately.  If these allegations are true, I believe this is known as "receiving stolen goods" and "aiding and abetting".



The reason why this sordid little tale warrants (oops, bad word!) merits my attention?  Well, this merchant just won a seat on the Democratic Town Committee, and has been widely touted as the next Party Chairman.



It's been said that everything he touches turns to gold, and I can believe it: why, he obviously touched his cars' license plates years ago, and turned his Connecticut plates into Florida ones (hey, Florida is "the Sunshine State", and sunshine is golden, right?)

This is nothing new...in fact,  I reported on this situation almost exactly a year ago.  It still is a mystery as to why it's taken so long to come to a boil.  Surely, political pressures had nothing to do with it, right?


 

The end of a LOOOONG Primary

   The eternal (or is that infernal?) primary is finally in the bag...click on the image above to enlarge.

   The bottom line is that no major changes occurred; any candidate who was a winner on March 2nd is still the electee.

  I'll post more...as soon as I catch my breath.  In the meantime, I'll email the results (above) to any and all who ask.