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Sandra May 21, 2013 at 08:08 am
Obama is using "Plausible deniability is a term coined by the CIA during the Kennedy…Read More administration to describe the withholding of information from senior officials in order to protect them from repercussions in the event that illegal or unpopular activities by the CIA became public knowledge."
Mel Counts May 20, 2013 at 08:43 pm
This petulant stooge should be impeached by the House.Too bad the left wing kooks in the Senate…Read More wouldn't toss his sorry butt out the door.If the corrupt main stream media had properly vetted this clown,maybe we could have avoided this mess.
momof3 May 16, 2013 at 07:00 pm
Forgive me, I guess I don't quite see how we are 1 million over budget? What financials are you…Read More referring too? The third quarter statement of account? Was last year the year the BOE returned $ to the town?
Absolutely agree with you about the middle school, we need more STEM offerings. Right now high schoolers are required to show they are proficient in Microsoft Office. Many take a semester long course to help prepare for the test (seems like that time could be better spent). Other students just take the proficiency test. Seems like this can be something that can be addressed earlier than high school. Why not offer the course to 8th graders, and let them show they are proficient in Microsoft Office before they even get to high school.
Alrick H Man IV May 16, 2013 at 10:20 am
It seems apparent to me as I watch children getting picked up in the morning by school buses that…Read More there is some stream lining that could be done with the school bus budget. There are at least five separate buses that pick up children in front of my hose on Jennings road each morning 4 of which are all elementary. Can all these children in a two block radius go to different schools and if they do why. all the buses are almost empty when they pick up these children. Why then potentially are we paying all this money for buses when less can be used?
Dawn Llewellyn May 15, 2013 at 07:40 am
"But what does this amount to? How does a solid education translate to the all important SAT…Read More scores?"
Fairfield Warde 2012 scores: Reading 537, Math 548, Writing 555
Fairfield Ludlowe 2012 scores: Reading 545, Math 545, Writing 558.
Greenwich is in our DRG B
Andrew Graceffa May 15, 2013 at 09:32 am
For flat, easy terrain, the beach area and old post road offer the best situations. On weekends…Read More you'll find plenty of bike riders in the area so you'll have some company and there is plenty of scenery. Also, there are a couple of multi-use off-road paths located at Ash Creek (near Fairfield Metro Station) and Pine Creek.
Lisa G May 14, 2013 at 12:28 pm
Hi, there are lots of beautiful trails in CT. Google "rails to trails" and enter your zip.…Read More Here's a link to the trail I walk....it starts in Trumbull and goes to Monroe. http://www.traillink.com/trail/housatonic-rail-trail-in-trumbull-%28pequonnock-valley-greenway%29.aspx?utm_expid=5284793-5&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D2%26ved%3D0CDEQFjAB%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.traillink.com%252Ftrail%252Fhousatonic-rail-trail-in-trumbull-%28pequonnock-valley-greenway%29.aspx%26ei%3D82SSUfOYIKnq0wG_74HwAg%26usg%3DAFQjCNHFcjZlNfHcnxHhm3pQD9iSINlF4g%26bvm%3Dbv.46471029%2Cd.dmQ
Jan R. Reber May 16, 2013 at 11:03 am
Creeky, the condos were 65 luxury units, and there were no low income or affordable housing…Read More included. We do not accept the alternative of industrial versus overly dense huge condos looming over our homes. Is there any new industrial activity likely in Fairfield? Industrial is leaving and not coming here, especially to a polluted site like Thorpe Street. We expect the property owner to come back with a more reasonable residential development that we can support because it will integrate into our neighborhood.
Alrick H Man IV May 11, 2013 at 06:12 am
hey guys just calm down there you'll have to wait until the next budget year to scream and yell or…Read More your going to be horse by the time it comes around for discussion again
Matt Hutzelmann May 10, 2013 at 12:28 pm
Sorry Atticus, nothing from Southport is allowed to be cut!
Caitlin Mazzola (Editor) May 8, 2013 at 12:13 pm
You got it right! Looking forward to seeing your posts.
MAC May 10, 2013 at 01:03 pm
HRC is revered for the same reason that we have majority Dem government in D.C. and Hartford, which…Read More is that most voters are uninformed!! They vote like they are voting for American Idol, and don't have any clue that these incompetent Statist career politicians (some Repubs, too) have brought about the ruination of our nation, fiscally and economically!
In this case, as well as in Boston, Ft. Hood etc--the O admins.' seriously dangerous kowtowing to Saudis, Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR etc. has played into the hands of Islamist Extremists who want to destroy our NATION!!
Sandra May 10, 2013 at 08:35 am
Clinton's State Dept edited talking points 12X to omit the word "terror" and CIA warnings…Read More of terror threats. Can someone explain why Hillary is considered to be a great Secretary of State? Logging in travel miles? The world around us seems to be in flames. Hillary's success or failure was tied to Obama's reelection. The White House politicized Benghazi and the MEDIA ignored the story before the election. Hillary was not on the Sunday shows because she knew it was a terrorist attack and not a ridiculous video.
Creeky May 8, 2013 at 08:28 pm
kristen, look at it from my perspective. I didn't check my arithmetic but, I think my family's…Read More contribution, via property taxes, to just the library, will be well over $200 this year. To become a member of friends of the library, I'll need to spend another $35. You're asking me to increase my contribution by around 20%, annually. Those funds are dwindling resources. We're broke. I don't think it unreasonable to insist on seeing a path that means you'll be coming to this well less often, before I invest further.
Creeky May 8, 2013 at 01:06 pm
kristen, I'd rather see you embrace that Fairfield cannot sustain its cost basis--above all it…Read More cannot continue to sign onto pensions and other employee benefits. I'd like to see you with a ten and twenty year plan to achieve maximum independence from a dwindling resource, so as to achieve your mission in decades coming, and make it permanent. Perhaps you can look at the next position you would fill, given your druthers, and create a foundation around it. You could move some responsibilities around to make this position serve only the needs that foundation draws from the library--which is fantastically broad.
kristen tierney May 8, 2013 at 10:57 am
I like the way you think yet we can't use endowment funds for operating expenses. As a department…Read More of the town we need to advocate for funding from the town. Our librarians write and receive grants each year. Our Board also retained a Grant Writer this year to help find additional funding for our public library system to lessen the tax burden and meet our patron needs. Did you know that our fines are returned to the town amounting to @$90,000 a year. Please join our Friends of the Library. Your donations to them will help fund programs like One Book One Town, that is a great way to help our library.
Creeky May 8, 2013 at 09:41 am
I'm trying to imagine myself, as a child, witnessing this and telling the story to my parents. I…Read More can hear my Dad now, "what did YOU do?"
In my opinion, we can have all the "positive, supportive, common sense change" in the world, and an infinite amount of documentation and programs, but until the young decide, or are convinced, that good men and women stand up for the weak, and cowards stand by, I can't imagine much will change.
I don't miss the merit of Joeseph Biff's remarks. Title seems to have all the staff any school could need, yet the paperwork isn't done. It would be a lot easier to ignore that if he were up on capitol hill demanding the legislators stop burying the schools in unfunded mandates and preposterous documentation programs but, he isn't that guy. So. he isn't the running a tight ship guy, and he isn't the raising the red flag that too much red tape is breaking his budget and harming his ability to conduct the core mission of education guy, which guy is he? I do think we've extracted all the value we can from Title, and it is time for him to go.
The Traveling Goddess May 7, 2013 at 09:09 am
A very shocking, hideous and pathetic situation. How do parents of violent children NOT KNOW who…Read More exactly is their child? Educator's and school officials need specific, concise training in recognizing and immediately addressing any bullying incident. No excuse that the school did not act in an aggressive, legally supportive manner to stop the violence. I trust this incident will insure positive, supportive, common sense change. There is no rational argument to condone violence on any level. NO words can fairly describe how the entire school and administration did not address this in the most supportive way to the victim. Is this what Fairfield residents are paying into the public education system for? Beyond shocking and disgraceful....God Bless the victim and her healing process.
Restaurant Snob May 7, 2013 at 08:04 am
But John Greenwich taxes are still lower in Greenwich. You can try to slice the bologna however you…Read More want. People who were fortunate enough to buy early there and paid off their mortgage are now living on Easy Street. Gas might be more expensive but you won't hear Greenwich residents complaining. The Whole Foods has the same exact prices as the one in Fairfield (which by the way is always empty) and the one in Greenwich is PACKED!
iamspartacus May 7, 2013 at 06:57 am
john please do not add facts here, the patch is for demagoguery and delusion...Dear Fairfield we are…Read More more Stratford than Darien time to get over yourselves.
John Jameson May 5, 2013 at 08:55 am
According to info in the real estate pages of today's CT Post, the median price in Greenwich is 1.2…Read More million, compared to Fairfield's $489,000. There is also a list of 30 properties for sale in Fairfield under $350,000. I went on grmoves.com and found one condo.
There is also a story on the Citizen website--Greenwich is using its surplus to keep the tax rate low and is not fully funding the retirement benefits.
According to ct.gov., Fairfield has one of the top 100 companies (GE,and if it were being built today, probably wouldn't get past zoning!) while Greenwich has 9.
Creeky May 3, 2013 at 01:32 pm
Sudip, I don't know what I was thinking, one cannot make sigma (standard deviations) and dB the…Read More same. What I was trying to express is better seen graphically. I'm putting a link to a wikipedia image. If you imagine that curve represents home values on the horizontal, and how many examples of each of those homes on the vertical, you can see that neither the highest values or lowest values are good examples for analysis. We'd want to stay in the middle, where by sheer numbers, the valuations are best represented... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FWHM.svg
Creeky May 2, 2013 at 10:02 pm
Sudip, I'm sorry to have so frustrated you. Reading your post, I can see I made my point poorly. I…Read More wasn't talking about an 8000 sq ft house. I was thinking more about my 1600 sq ft house. From a mathematical view, looking at a houses at the large end of the scale for Fairfield would indeed be counterproductive in seeking an apples to apples comparison. All systems fail at the bounds. For fair comparison, one would need to look closer to the center of the bell curve, or within what six sigma? I don't know. I'm an EE, not a statistician, so it's 3dB to my mind but, that makes no sense to anyone else. Regardless, the point being, low taxes support home values as much as, or more than, services. Other items, like a shorter commute to the bottom of Manhattan would need to be accounted for. Obviously, to the commuter, Greenwich is better than fairfield is better than Stratford... Also, risk has value, note the cost of insurance, or that stocks trade at a different value than the actual business value. Because Greenwich carries a low risk of high tax increase, for decades, values are better supported than in a town with volatile taxes.
Sudip Mukarjay May 2, 2013 at 09:29 pm
ARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! What are you talking about? You are completely ignoring the fact that…Read More the house and property that Bud Morten would live in if he chose to move to Greenwich would be half the size for his mortgage + insurance + taxes. Please stop comparing mortgage + taxes + insurance on an 8,000 square ft. house on the Long Island Sound in Fairfield versus a 4,000 sq. ft. house in Greenwhich. If you really think that is an apples to apples comparison, there's no hope for a rational discussion.
Mel Counts May 3, 2013 at 08:34 pm
Matt,new gun laws are the least of this states problems.High taxes,regulations,high energy…Read More costs,redundant programs and offices,ect. Gun laws are a straw man. I don't own a gun,and don't like hunting.
Matt Hutzelmann May 3, 2013 at 04:20 pm
Walt,
I don't see CT moving right anytime soon. The new gun laws passed shouldn't have surprised…Read More anyone.
Mel Counts May 3, 2013 at 08:30 pm
Igor,You are a tired,old drunken shut in.I pity you,but wish you well. Please seek help for your…Read More problems.
Igor May 3, 2013 at 05:47 pm
Well Walt I see you have a real problem. You're constant referral to alcohol. First Pabst and then…Read More scotch, then back to beer again. First off I don't drink at all, don't do drugs, don't smoke (anything). I still stand by my comments, you are a racist, still stupid in your remarks. Everything is negative to you and you constantly blame Obama for everything (like a little child, everyone is at fault except you). I'm not a big Obama fan either, but grow the hell up.
Mel Counts May 2, 2013 at 06:03 pm
Hey Igor,no more scotch for you.I am not Joe Biden. I am his pharmacist.Cant you read? Take off the…Read More beer goggles. Sober up. Get outside for a change.
Creeky April 29, 2013 at 10:45 am
The library needs to be weaned off of public support. They need to pick up their fund raisers and…Read More get their endowment up to become self-supporting. And in the big picture, no more pensions for anyone, not teachers, not cops, no one. Any pol or manager that says 'we can't, arbitration, attracting talent,.. et cetera' must go, as they are either deceitful or incompetent. It seems to me, no matter how much good they may have done, Title and McNamara must go now. They've demonstrating that they lack the will, leadership, and principals to lead in tough times.
Emily W April 30, 2013 at 10:21 am
Creeky,
No harm, no foul. I totally understand. I've done it myself! ;)
MAC April 29, 2013 at 01:53 pm
States are wise to make laws which enable law-abiding gun owners to bring them to more public…Read More places, such as college campuses. I agree with the AR state legislator that “To me this isn’t really about guns. It’s about what level of personal security you want to let legal law-abiding citizens have.”
These laws are good for the safety also of people who don't want to own guns themselves, as is apparent in the cases of the Virginia Tech and Colorado theater mass killings. Legion are the cases where a law-abiding gun owner, or even known "guns allowed" status has protected unknown thousands of people from the pusillanimous, mentally sick slayers who CHOOSE the "gun free zones" to carry out their mass killings. Thanks for posting the article. Would that more of CT's elected representatives could see common sense--instead of reacting mostly to the emotional demands of people whose votes they want!
Creeky April 24, 2013 at 10:17 am
Ajack,
I agree. I've completely lost faith in the BOE and Title. As far as what is going on with…Read More the math, my opinion is Title has already decided to migrate to a knew curriculum; the parents balked, so now he is going to design one so he can sneak his new curriculum past the parents, by making the change little by little, year by year. That may or may not be a smart approach. The problem is, he isn't telling anyone what he is doing. Leadership isn't just giving people what they want, and it isn't sneaking n agenda by them, it's facing your detractors, and convincing them that a path is best for all, over the long and/or short term. The superintendent position requires a leader with accountability. We don't have that. It's time to accept we made a mistake, like we've accepted the train station was a mistake and the redesign of the Penfield Pavilion was a mistake. Once we take an honest view, we can move forward. For me, the first step is not re-electing any incumbent on the BOE. The culture of our BOE is broken. Jim Brown thinks it goes further, and the BOE is in violation of the law:
http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Fairfield-Board-of-Education-not-doing-its-job-4109282.php
Ajack April 24, 2013 at 07:03 am
Fairfield Education , over the years , has adopted what can only be construed , as an arrogant , we…Read More 'know it all' approach to many educational issues. How dare any of the 'paying' public, the tax payer, challenge and ask for accountability , accountabilty and positive results or lack of them which is really at the core of the problem here. The $80,000.00 that Dr. Title wants to use and any other monies that he seems fit to spend here is easy to spend by him because it isn't coming out of his hide. It's view as 'stuff' by Dr. Title, a word this man uses with all too frequency at meetings when he speaks . This reference to 'stuff' should scare anyone who really cares how much we spend and how well we are spending on anything of worth in this town. Accountability. At least we can un-elect Mr. Tetreau, if we chose. Dr. Title and other top school administrative officials, on the other hand , who don't cut the mustard, who really aren't concerned about how they are doing in the public eye ( remember the public pays your salary and perks) and are at times like a weird growth that you can not get rid of and wonder how you got in the first place. Let Dr. Title use some of the $100,000.00 he is being overpaid to implement this program and see how it does on his dollar instead of ours. I see no problem with him trying , but not with our tax dollars .
Creeky April 23, 2013 at 09:53 am
Hal,
FACT: RTM meetings go on and on as each representative walks up and repeats the same thing,…Read More over and over. FACT: very little actual debate occurs in an RTM meeting, just repetition. Conclusion: we need less of you so we have the time for actual debates.
Now, what I'vevjust said is highly subjective. It's simply an opinion, and in yelling FACT before each statement, I'm not just being emphatic, I'm gambling with my credibility. There is an even more dangerous way to do that. Let's look at that...
FACT: not one person knocked on my door to ask for a donation for building a women's softball field. Not one person tried to sell me a candy bar at the grocery store, for the same purpose. No one put a card in my mailbox about a can and bottle drive, or bake sale, or any other fundraiser to build that field. FACT: when they came to you for funding, not one of you asked, what have you done on your own, before you came to us? You just spent money.
So, your claim of FACT of causes of property tax increases being in no way driven by the RTM has just been disproven with the first little example that popped in my head. What you presented, as FACT, is in fact a half truth. Half truths are intended to deceive; they are lies, and people whom knowing state them as fact are liars. Given your reputation (respected), I'm surprised by your willingness to throw it away. What could so motivate you to forfeit your credibility? The ends rarely justify the means you know.
The RTM has far less effect on the budget than most want to believe. But, the RTM is not without some responsibility here. So, you can man up, and take responsibility, we understand that you all made the best decision you could, given the knowledge you had at the time, but have since learned more, demonstrating that you are a person of integrity, and worthy of our continued faith, or you can pretend that you had no responsibility. You can shirk, blame the other guy, and be divisive.
Choose your own adventure.
Veritas vos liberabit April 27, 2013 at 08:04 pm
how about this one?
New Hampshire State Rep. Stella Tremblay (R-Auburn), the lawmaker who claimed…Read More the United States government is responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing, reportedly forwarded one of the hate emails she received calling her "a f-cking idiot" to other members of the New Hampshire legislature, Concord Patch reported on Friday.
Tremblay faced scrutiny on April 19, when she posted the following conspiracy theory on conservative talk show host Glenn Beck's Facebook page:
Just as you said would happen. Top Down, Bottom UP. The Boston Marathon was a Black Ops "terrorist" attack. One suspect killed, the other one will be too before they even have a chance to speak. Drones and now "terrorist" attacks by our own Government. Sad day, but a "wake up" to all of us. First there was a "suspect" then there wasnt. Infowars broke the story and they knew they had been "found out".
Reverend Barbara Sexton April 25, 2013 at 11:32 am
No surprise here. The 'Times Square Bomber' Faisal Shahzad admitted that he bore false witness when…Read More he took his citizenship oath http://dearoneshealingministry.blogspot.com/2010/10/taqiyya-connecticut-style-times-square.html (Forgive the dark text. It is the result of a blog template change.)
MAC April 22, 2013 at 06:19 pm
D. Tsarnaev swore allegiance to the U.S. on 9/11/2012 when he received U.S. citizenship, and among…Read More other things vowed:
"I hereby declare, on oath,
that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
"that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
"that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
..."and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
"In acknowledgement whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature."
He is a TRAITOR, because of the vicious, Terrorist murders, maiming and mayhem he committed last week, in contradiction of everything he swore an OATH to some seven months ago!
His callous and abominable terrorist attacks are evidence that he turned against the country and Constitution he swore allegiance to, if he did not have "any mental reservation or purpose of evasion" on the day he swore the oath--which is a distinct possibility!
Shouldn't such traitors be deemed to have relinquished some of their "rights" of citizenship?
R. Ludlowe April 22, 2013 at 02:07 pm
though, the FBI (with the exception of their latest mis-spelling blunders) had him on a watch list…Read More because the Russian government tipped them off.
Wouldn't a background check system that alerted gun dealers and authorities, universally, when someone of interest tries to purchase a gun or ammo be useful?
I certainly think it would be. I guess you don't, Don 'banned' Borsch, which seems extremely unpatriotic of you. I would think you would want the bad guys to be caught... but I guess your imaginary paranoia of losing all things 2A might cloud your vision.
Sandra April 25, 2013 at 04:19 pm
Newtown voted down municipal and education budgets."I don't think it was an agenda around 'cops…Read More in school,' I really think it was the bottom line. I think asking for a 5.2% increase was more than the community could bear," said First Sel. Pat Llodra, Newtown. Town leaders start going back to the drawing boards Wednesday night, to trim their budgets and find a way to do it without hiking taxes so much.
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/politics/newtown-rejects-more-school-security-budget#.UXmLD7WcchM
R. Ludlowe April 25, 2013 at 02:23 pm
Newtown voted down the school security idea. I hope this is the last we here of the "if Newtown…Read More wants armed guards in their schools, we all should" rant.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/newtown-sinks-extra-school-security-funding-article-1.1326870?localLinksEnabled=false
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