News coverage of West Hartford sucks

If I read today’s West Hartford News correctly, and sometimes it’s not easy, the town council this week adopted the property tax freeze for 500 or so allegedly low income seniors. The lost tax revenue is supposed to be made up from a grant, the source of which is entirely unspecified. There’s no indication whether [...]

8.5 percent is too much

The Courant’s town budget story today demonstrates again that a budget fight is shaping up. They’re looking to hike spending by 8.5 percent and to set the mill rate at 31.43 — at a time when 24 mills is about the right number to hold taxes steady for most homeowners.
Now I accept that taxes must rise [...]

Skatepark moves onto town agenda

It’s funny how things go these days. A skater dude creates a Facebook group advocating that West Hartford build a skatepark. I see it there and mention it on this little blog. A Courant reporter sees it here, calls the kid and the mayor, and shazzam! It’s suddenly on the the town’s agenda.
I guess that’s new [...]

Welcome to town, Bishop Ahrens

I see in the Courant this morning that Laura Ahrens, a newly elected Episcopal bishop, the first woman bishop in Connecticut, is planning to get hitched to a lawyer and move to West Hartford soon.
According to the paper, “Ahrens is currently the rector of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Danbury, where she started in 2000 after [...]

Stabbing at Beachland Park

The news that a 17-year-old boy was stabbed at Beachland Park late Sunday afternoon is disturbing. The Courant reports there were about 15 teens at the park but  Lt. Daniel Coppinger is quoted saying “no one is being cooperative” in telling the police what happened. The stabbing, awful as it is, is nowhere near as disturbing [...]

My other favorite show is “24″

If you think the answer to every national security crisis is to violate international law, torture people and kill without pity, then “24″ is clearly your show. But what if, like me, you think patient diplomacy, adherence to civilized norms and non-violence resistance is the way to go?
Well, you can still like the show.
Jack Bauer, [...]

Hooked on “Jericho”

I can’t really explain why I like this show. Its premise is even more ridiculous than the plots on “24″ and the acting is occasionally over the top.
But it’s somehow interesting.
For those who haven’t seen it, the story takes place mostly in the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, a little prairie town of old-fashioned Americanism.
One [...]

Congressman Larson gains key House position

Our congressman, John Larson, just got tapped as one of 10 Democrats who will serve on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. He’ll no doubt do a lot of cheerleading for fuel cells, since they’re made hereabouts, but the position is much bigger than a bully pulpit for local interests.
“The work of [...]

Let’s put utility lines underground in West Hartford

At a time when the price of everything is rising fast, it probably seems nuts to say we should make utility costs even higher by burying all those wires everywhere in town. But we should.
I’m told that burying utilities in Connecticut would cost more than $1 million per mile so I’m aware that doing this [...]

Will your property taxes go up?

Yeah, no doubt.
But read what Judy Aron has on the West Hartford Taxpayers Association site for a fairly concise and correct explanation of the impact of revaluation. It’s not pretty.
From what I can tell, I’m a lot more inclined to spend mone that Ms. Aron, especially on schools, but what she’s got there makes it pretty [...]