Posts

Showing posts from October, 2018

Enfield's five best things? No Kings protest makes the list

Image
  Someone was telling me yesterday about a group effort to list the five best things about Enfield. The first was Costco. Everyone struggled after that. Then there was a suggestion to add Raising Cane's. ​ Enfield doesn't have a movie theater, much in the way of parks, a mall, or a downtown. Our main library hasn't been renovated in decades and has more videos than Blockbuster. Too many of our restaurants are fast food. The fastest-growing occupation in town may be takeout delivery drivers. You need your car for everything. But the town does have a civic spirit. ​ Saturday's No King’s protest was my third one. Similar to the others, it attracted a good number of people. Perhaps not as many as the first one, but a lively turnout. ​ It was a chance to strike up random conversations and meet new people, something that is hard to do in Enfield. One fellow I met turned out to be an EHS grad from my era. I graduated in 1972, and my newfound friend in 1973. He had a rally-free...

JFK middle school renovation is a battle over Enfield’s future

Image
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...

Stefanowski's climate change position makes him unacceptable as governor

Image
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...