Enfield Things

  The Felician Sisters have proposed converting their Enfield Street convent into housing. They will create about 334 units, a mix of senior and family housing, in a combination of affordable and market-rate units. This convent has been on Enfield Street for nearly 90 years. Through the Catholic schools, the nuns have educated thousands of the town’s children and have helped our town in more ways than anyone can imagine. They have been a great blessing. But their numbers have declined from 400 to 24, and this complex is too large to support. The housing plan creates a sense of “community,” a goal of the Felician Sisters. This non-profit project will have a community kitchen and other shared spaces. It represents a continuation of their ministry and mission and will be a huge benefit to this town, but it has a chance of being denied by the Enfield Planning and Zoning Commission. It needs a zone change to support the housing density. At a recent hearing, commissioners seemed to be as...

The hearing on this legislation is Monday, March 15. Here is my submitted testimony:  Dear Sen. Cassano, and Rep. McCarthy Vahey, and members of the Planning and Development Committee. I'm writing concerning bill S.B. 1024 , specifically its provision to increase density around transit and middle housing. I fully support these provisions. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. We are in the early stages of catastrophic climate change. We see rising temperatures, storms of enormous power, unusual weather generally, drying conditions that fuel fires, rising seas, and other climate-related problems. Over the coming decades, climate changes will prompt a northern migration. It may well be the most significant driver of growth in our state in the next 50 years. Climate change is our problem as well. Our average temperature has increased 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit from 1970-2018. (See Climate Central April 2019, Earth Day report). Along with Rhode Island, Connecticut is one of the faste...

Signs on Hazard Ave. near the Eastern intersection of Middle Road. The "Love will always win" sign speaks to the Enfield's socially liberal values, which may way heavily against Trump this time around.  Voting lines are long, with an hour-long wait at polling places, say social media reports. Connecticut will vote for Joe Biden in this race, as it did for Hillary Clinton in 2016. But Trump won Enfield in 2016, 9,238 to 8,548 . Will Trump repeat his 2016 Enfield victory? It's possible. There is one big local issue in play: Defense spending. Connecticut  ranks 7th in the nation  on defense spending. Trump increased defense spending, as promised, and Connecticut has benefited from the increases. Residents here are aware that many jobs are defense-related. But if Trump loses in Enfield, it might be around social and character issues. The town carries the New England traditions of live and let live tolerance, for all its conservative leanings. Enfield is generally social...

In my bicycle travels, I've come across a few of these signs. I love them.  Climate change is especially problematic, and "Science is Real" hits home. The message here is about climate change.  In the most recent debate, Joe Biden talked about how climate change is an "existential threat" to humankind. He was honest with Americans.  Now, let's talk about Connecticut.  Connecticut is in a hot zone -- one of the hottest in the lower 48 states. (All figures are in Fahrenheit) Since 1970, Connecticut's average temperature has increased by 2.84°F, the nation's 10th highest state, according to  data by Climate Central . Rhode Island is 9th, and Vermont, 8th, all with similar temperature rises.  A Washington Post  analysis of temperature changes  since 1895 reported that Hartford County's temperature increased by 3°F.  New London County temperature has increased by 3.6°F over this same period. Rhode Island's Washington County, which abuts New Londo...

Thompsonville will never be a commercial center for Enfield.  Improving Enfield is going to take creative thinking and course corrections. The town has focused its development in the wrong places, namely Thompsonville. It has pinned its hopes on the wrong things, namely the train station. And the town has neglected the most important part of this community: the Enfield Mall area. Here are suggestions for making Enfield a better place. (1) Redevelop the mall area into high-density residential, office and shopping complexes. Create smaller affordable living units in high rise buildings. Move the library and town hall to the mall area. That will bring foot traffic and help anchor the commercial businesses. Create shared office spaces. Develop a new town green there. The shopping area is our town center and it's time to recognize that. Acknowledge that the town's laissez-fair approach to the mall area has failed. (2) Stop spending money to develop Thompsonville as a commercial cent...

Indian Run, Enfield, Conn.   This summer, the town received a letter from Nick Lefakis, a retired full-time professor at Asnuntuck Community College. He asked the town “to look into changing the name of D’Annunzio Ave.,” the Patch reported . Lefakis wrote: “Further examination of Gabriele D'Annunzio identifies him as a fascist and a mentor to Benito Mussolini, who was aligned with Adolf Hitler during World War II and fought against the American forces and our allies.” In the pre-World War II era, D'Annunzio was described as “Italy’s famous poet" in the Thompsonville Press. In one Thompsonville Press report: “Gabriele d’Annunzio, Italy’s famous poet, whose flying feats are the admiration of his countrymen, has not the slightest fear of death, and has a presentiment [a feeling about the future] that he will die in action. To a friend who interviewed him he remarked: “My worldly life has ended. What can I do after the war? I shall write no more. Every time I go off on an expe...

Enfield High School, fall, 2020 On Sept. 23, a covid case was reported at Enfield High School. The school is closing for the next two days. It will shift to remote learning. Health authorities are contact tracing. Other schools in this state have reported covid cases. Some think this is just the start and schools will be all virtual soon enough. Perhaps not. The CDC has argued that it’s important to reopen schools for the health and well being of children. It warns of everything from “severe learning loss,” which includes their social development. The schools are also a steady source of nutrition. Those are real problems. Can Enfield control this? Will contact tracing be effective? Will the school covid cases lead to an increase in adult covid cases in town? All the school districts are trying their best to get through this, and we will just have to see what happens next.