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Showing posts from October, 2018

Editorial: A legal victory with complications

The Connecticut Superior Court ruling Tuesday validated State Rep. John Santanella's complaint. This is a clear win, and allows him to avoid an August 11 Democratic primary against his challenger, former town attorney Tom Tyler. Tyler can appeal, but absent that, Santanella can shift his focus to November. But a winning legal outcome is not the same as a winning narrative outcome. This was an honest mistake by the Tyler campaign, a consequence of some flawed official guidance and a decision to rely on that guidance. The court found that the Democratic registrar provided petition sheets four days before state law allowed, and that the state-supplied forms lacked a legally required statement from circulators on the number of signatures gathered — a defect that invalidated all of Tyler's petitions. The ruling also notes that there was no evidence the Tyler campaign exercised due diligence to confirm the official guidance. Connecticut election law doesn't allow for honest mista...
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JFK middle school renovation is a battle over Enfield’s future

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JFK Middle School, Enfield CT Enfield voters are being asked to approve $84 million to renovate the John F. Kennedy Middle School . The town’s share of the cost is $27 million. The state is paying for 70 percent of the work. Whether town voters will approve it is a major problem. The referendum failed in 2017 , about 3,640 votes to 3,200. The town trimmed back the project from $95 million. The town share was reduced from $35 million. It’s hard to know whether the reduction in cost has made a difference in support. The opposition is in evidence on Facebook Enfield CT Open Forum . It’s frustrating. The opponents are mostly just complaining about taxes, and accusing the town of mismanagement. The big risk is state funding. The state kept its 70% reimbursement in place, despite the 2017 referendum rejection. That’s a hefty commitment by the state. If the referendum fails a second time, it’s possible -- probably very likely -- that the state will withdraw its commitment. Th...
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Location: Enfield, CT 06082, USA
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Stefanowski's climate change position makes him unacceptable as governor

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Middle Road, Enfield CT In Connecticut’s gubernatorial race, the Republican nominee, Bob Stefanowski has no real position on climate change. In this respect, he is running as a clone of President Donald Trump. His goal is to appeal to the state’s Trump voters, and this involves dismissing or marginalizing climate change as an issue. Climate change isn’t mentioned in Stefanowski’s platform, and when asked about his climate position at a public forum, Stefanowski said: “I don’t understand the science of it, but there’s enough data points to know that there is a problem,” the CT News Junkie recently reported. That should sound familiar. The Republicans, nationally, adopted the “I’m not a scientist” as a dodge to a serious discussion about climate change. This is what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the issue. “What I have said repeatedly is I’m not a scientist,” according to a  report in The Hill . The basics of climate change science is something that ever...
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