Saturday, February 20, 2010
Here it Comes!
Once again, picking up litter in my yard led me to discover the first flowers of the year--two little snowdrops basking in the sun.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Scovill Bulletins
A dedicated and persevering former employee of Waterbury Farrel (second-generation Farrel worker) has taken the tremendous trouble to scan decades' worth of Scovill Bulletins and Scovill Standards for everyone to access on his website, www.scovillbulletin.com.
The files are large, so the downloads take a little time. Depending on how your computer and browser are configured (I'm using Firefox on Mac), you might be able to option-click on the links to download the pdf files instead of waiting for them to load first.
This is one of the best things about the internet--making rare documents freely accessible to the world.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tax Time
If you are like me and forgot, you can pay online at http://www.waterburyct.org/content/458/646/4965.aspx
Sunday, January 17, 2010
A Much Better Quote
The following appeared in today's Republican-American newspaper and was written by the Rev. Dr. Jim Bradley, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church on the Green in Waterbury and president of the board of the Greater Waterbury Interfaith Ministry. I don't normally take entire articles from the paper, but I couldn't find a way to link to it.
American journalist and social critic H.L. Mencken once observed: “For every problem there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong.”
I thought of Mencken’s humor and wisdom when I read the Jan. 10 Sunday Republican’s front-page article, “Services sapping downtown.” A “solution” for “the problem” of downtown Waterbury would be to send its social service agencies “somewhere else.”
That would be simple, neat and most certainly wrong.
Many folks like me see the problem facing downtown Waterbury as one of hunger, poor education, mental illness, joblessness and poverty, not who is on the Green.
Those multiple problems have no neat or easy answers because they are systemic, not geographical. The servic es that exist for people caught in our culture’s lack of a true safety net exist downtown because that is where the people live.
Concerning neat and easy solutions, I suggest those who need housing be housed in Southbury; those who are hungry be fed in Cheshire; those who have mental health problems be treat ed in Wolcott. Troubled youth would fit into Woodbury, and those with sub stance abuse should go to Middlebury.
Get that taken care of and — poof — the problem is solved.
I live in Cheshire and cannot vote in Waterbury. However, I spend much of my time downtown at St. John’s Episcopal Church and around the Green, and I find the inner city to be a pleasant, fascinating and safe place. I know many of the people who are considered “the problem” in the Sunday article. They are kind, gentle and generous in the same proportion as the people I live around in Cheshire.
The only difference is my neighbors where I sleep are more privileged than my daytime neighbors in downtown Waterbury.
I was at a meeting a few years ago, surrounded by people like me who were fretting about “the problem.” A serious suggestion was made to move the bus stops off the Green. I was astonished. I sometimes ride the bus from home to the Green or back and find the people on the bus with me to be hard-working, good-humored, genuine folks. I make a point every few days to go out on the Green when all the buses roll in and day-laborers, par ents with children, senior citizens, school kids, hard-working folks with two minimum-wage jobs and folks coming to find services for their needs empty out. It is a vital and remarkable time.
The Green is flooded with life and diversity and truly dear people. I couldn’t imagine relocating the bus stops to some place that would incon venience and make life harder for the people who live and move and have their being in the midst of this city I have come to love.
“Whose city is it?” I asked at that meeting and then demanded to know where everyone in the room slept. All of us lived in one of the suburbs or pristine parts of Waterbury whose property owners would reject out of hand the proposal to place social-service agencies or emergency housing or soup kitchens or mental health/incarceration half-way houses for recovering substance abusers in their neighborhood.
The city belongs to the people who sleep here. Many folks, like me, are concerned and sympathetic visitors.
The inner city belongs to those who live or come here for the services that make their lives livable, hopeful and meaningful in ways many of us cannot comprehend.
The title of the article, so prominently placed to appeal to our darker angels, should have been services serving downtown because that’s what the myriad of agencies do with integrity, commitment and for the better good of the society that somehow has failed those who need those social services.
And until people like me and the board of the Mattatuck Museum and the former members of the Waterbury Club are willing to rehab some apartments or move downtown and sleep here so we truly can integrate the privileged with those who are not, then our call is clear.
We must address the systemic needs of the residents of the inner city politically and economically, and with our work and contributions. We must eschew easy, simple solutions and involve ourselves with profound commitment to the complex, confusing and difficult problems that are, after all, our problems as well as the problems of those we would rather have disappear and make the center of our city happy and bright.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Worst Quote in a Long Time
I've heard/read some things that shock me, but this one by Cathy Smith, president of the Mattatuck Museum's board of trustees and wife of Webster Bank's Jim Smith, really made my jaw drop:
Way to slam everyone who has ever encountered hard times and needed a social service agency's help to keep their families healthy and stable until they got back on their feet!
Waterbury's unemployment rate has been hovering around 11% for a very long time. It's not that people don't want to work, it's that there simply aren't enough jobs.
And yes, I have crossed the Green, many times. I have spoken with hundreds of people on the Green. Every single one of them has something interesting to say. Maybe Mrs. Smith should try listening.
“The last thing we need is an other social service agency, and their needy populations, that don’t really give anything back to the city,” Smith said. “They just take. I mean, come on, have you ever tried to cross the Green?”(from an article on the front page of today's Rep-Am concerning the possible sale of the Waterbury Club building on Holmes Avenue to the Families & Children’s Aid Inc. of Danbury).
Way to slam everyone who has ever encountered hard times and needed a social service agency's help to keep their families healthy and stable until they got back on their feet!
Waterbury's unemployment rate has been hovering around 11% for a very long time. It's not that people don't want to work, it's that there simply aren't enough jobs.
And yes, I have crossed the Green, many times. I have spoken with hundreds of people on the Green. Every single one of them has something interesting to say. Maybe Mrs. Smith should try listening.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Schools and Prosperity
Over the years, I've been involved in numerous discussions about how to improve Waterbury, how to make the town more prosperous and a desirable place to live. At the moment, I am visiting family in Manhattan Beach, California (Los Angeles). When they bought their house here 20-some years ago, it was a very small, single-story home without basement, attic or garage. Every other house in town was the same, and they were all very affordable.
Since then, the town has grown considerably. The majority of those small houses have been rebuilt as large two-story houses with attics, basements and garages. The desirability of the town has soared and the housing prices have gone up accordingly, with only three dozen homes (including condos) currently listed on Yahoo's real estate site for less than one million dollars (and 162 properties listed between $1 million and $7 million). Granted, some of that inflation is due to the overall real estate bubble of recent years, but it is indicative of how much the town has changed.
I was thinking about the transformation I've witnessed over the decades and wondered what caused it (and, of course, how we might implement something similar in Waterbury). One important contributing factor was the quality of the schools. The real estate market became increasingly competitive because there were so many parents trying to get their kids into the schools. If you visit www.greatschools.org, you'll see that the highest-ranking Manhattan Beach public schools are rated 10 out of 10 points, whereas the Waterbury public schools range between 1 and 5 (very low scores), with Rotella getting the only 6 and Kaynor Tech the only 7. (On a side note, this answers some questions I've heard from people wondering why Kaynor Tech is so popular and why so many of its students are college-bound, rather than going straight into the work force).
The newly-rebuilt Kaynor Tech high school,
Waterbury's highest-rated school
This is by no means a comprehensive or even scientific analysis, but I think this is definitely something that does make a difference in a town's prosperity, not only because having the best schools will make Waterbury more desirable, but because better schools will give Waterbury's students better educations, and we will all benefit from that.
Alan Stein, a professor at UConn-Waterbury, wrote an excellent letter to the editor that appeared in yesterday's Rep-Am newspaper. The focus of his letter was an argument in favor of electing aldermen by district (which I strongly support), but he also wrote a very good observation about the Board of Education:
I think that our Board of Education is fundamentally flawed, and I think that Prof. Stein is probably correct in assigning part of the blame to its political nature. Given the less than wonderful ratings of our schools (not just from the Great Schools website), the sole focus of the Board of Education should be searching for ways to make the schools better and implementing those improvements. Instead the Board seems to spend its time squabbling and grandstanding over Christmas parties vs. Winter Celebrations, the Duggan School construction project, and problems with the management of the school buses.
Our schools are some of the lowest-rated in the country. Let's make them the highest-rated.
Since then, the town has grown considerably. The majority of those small houses have been rebuilt as large two-story houses with attics, basements and garages. The desirability of the town has soared and the housing prices have gone up accordingly, with only three dozen homes (including condos) currently listed on Yahoo's real estate site for less than one million dollars (and 162 properties listed between $1 million and $7 million). Granted, some of that inflation is due to the overall real estate bubble of recent years, but it is indicative of how much the town has changed.
I was thinking about the transformation I've witnessed over the decades and wondered what caused it (and, of course, how we might implement something similar in Waterbury). One important contributing factor was the quality of the schools. The real estate market became increasingly competitive because there were so many parents trying to get their kids into the schools. If you visit www.greatschools.org, you'll see that the highest-ranking Manhattan Beach public schools are rated 10 out of 10 points, whereas the Waterbury public schools range between 1 and 5 (very low scores), with Rotella getting the only 6 and Kaynor Tech the only 7. (On a side note, this answers some questions I've heard from people wondering why Kaynor Tech is so popular and why so many of its students are college-bound, rather than going straight into the work force).
The newly-rebuilt Kaynor Tech high school,
Waterbury's highest-rated school
This is by no means a comprehensive or even scientific analysis, but I think this is definitely something that does make a difference in a town's prosperity, not only because having the best schools will make Waterbury more desirable, but because better schools will give Waterbury's students better educations, and we will all benefit from that.
Alan Stein, a professor at UConn-Waterbury, wrote an excellent letter to the editor that appeared in yesterday's Rep-Am newspaper. The focus of his letter was an argument in favor of electing aldermen by district (which I strongly support), but he also wrote a very good observation about the Board of Education:
Some may question whether it's even appropriate for a Board of Education to be an elected body.
The political nature of that board is probably partly responsible for the recent attempt of some of its members to force school principals to ignore the Constitution.
I think that our Board of Education is fundamentally flawed, and I think that Prof. Stein is probably correct in assigning part of the blame to its political nature. Given the less than wonderful ratings of our schools (not just from the Great Schools website), the sole focus of the Board of Education should be searching for ways to make the schools better and implementing those improvements. Instead the Board seems to spend its time squabbling and grandstanding over Christmas parties vs. Winter Celebrations, the Duggan School construction project, and problems with the management of the school buses.
Our schools are some of the lowest-rated in the country. Let's make them the highest-rated.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Pop!
I stopped by the Mattatuck Museum last Sunday for a little holiday shopping and was amazed by the popsicle-stick castle in the Munger Room (next to the front lobby).
I had seen a photo of it in an email from the museum, and I had been mildly impressed that it was made from 396,000 popsicle sticks setting a new world record, but as with so many things, seeing it in real life was way better.
It is absolutely worth visiting, especially if you have young children--they will be amazed to see what can be done with popsicle sticks.
The castle was built by Stephen Guman and brought to the museum by a tractor trailer truck in several pieces, then assembled by Guman in the museum. It will be on view until January 22, and there will be a special event with Guman this Sunday, December 27.
I had seen a photo of it in an email from the museum, and I had been mildly impressed that it was made from 396,000 popsicle sticks setting a new world record, but as with so many things, seeing it in real life was way better.
It is absolutely worth visiting, especially if you have young children--they will be amazed to see what can be done with popsicle sticks.
The castle was built by Stephen Guman and brought to the museum by a tractor trailer truck in several pieces, then assembled by Guman in the museum. It will be on view until January 22, and there will be a special event with Guman this Sunday, December 27.
See the castle, meet Stephen Guman, and build popsicle structures yourself at Discovery Club. Art teacher Audrey Grice will be on hand to show you how! Children's admission is $4 for museum members and $7 for non-members. Adults accompanying children are addmitted for free.
Where and When
Munger Room
Sunday, December 27, 2009 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Friday, December 11, 2009
Religion 101
I'm probably going to get some flak for this one, but I think it's time for me to dive into it.
There's been a lot of controversy and anger over the "news" that Walsh Elementary School principal Erik Brown has supposedly banned Christmas (he hasn't). According to the Republican-American, he has received hate mail from people all over the country. This raises my first point: if you are upset by the idea of Christmas being banned in a public school, the correct Christian response is not one of hatred. Sending threatening or hate-filled letters or calling to swear at Principal Brown is the exact opposite of the spirit of Christmas.
Second point: Principal Brown has not banned Christmas. He has instead assessed the demographics of his school and determined that overloading the kids with Santa Claus and other trappings of Christmas would be a problem for many of them. For example, many of the children at Walsh come from Jehovah's Witnesses families who are deeply offended by the commercialization of the Holy Day. Let's also not forget that not everyone in Waterbury is a Christian--we have, for example, many Jews and Muslims who might not appreciate having their children indoctrinated in another religion. Principal Brown's course of action, to have a winter celebration that is inclusive of more than one holiday tradition and to discourage the teachers from placing too much emphasis on a single interpretation of one religion's traditions, is a very good way to show respect towards the religious sensibilities of all the children in his school.
John Theriault has been up in arms over the issue, apparently thinking that Brown is somehow being unfair to the children at Walsh school because the other schools all have Christmas parties. I can only assume that he is forgetting about the children whose parents do not allow them to attend Christmas parties, and is oblivious to the fact that Brown is simply showing respect towards those children and their families.
I guess I am blogging about this topic because I am shocked at the level of public outcry over it. In every instance, it seems that people with no children at Walsh are reacting as if they personally have been prevented from enjoying their own Christmas celebrations and have forgotten just how much religious diversity there is in the world, in the United States, in Connecticut and in Waterbury. I guess I am also struck by how some of the people who are angry at Principal Brown are behaving far more like the Grinch than he is.
Come to think of it, let's take the metaphor of the Grinch one step further. The point to The Grinch was that the trappings of Christmas, the gifts, the trees, the roast beast, are completely unnecessary. Christmas exists in our hearts and is celebrated in the way we treat one another. Everything else is superfluous.
There's been a lot of controversy and anger over the "news" that Walsh Elementary School principal Erik Brown has supposedly banned Christmas (he hasn't). According to the Republican-American, he has received hate mail from people all over the country. This raises my first point: if you are upset by the idea of Christmas being banned in a public school, the correct Christian response is not one of hatred. Sending threatening or hate-filled letters or calling to swear at Principal Brown is the exact opposite of the spirit of Christmas.
Second point: Principal Brown has not banned Christmas. He has instead assessed the demographics of his school and determined that overloading the kids with Santa Claus and other trappings of Christmas would be a problem for many of them. For example, many of the children at Walsh come from Jehovah's Witnesses families who are deeply offended by the commercialization of the Holy Day. Let's also not forget that not everyone in Waterbury is a Christian--we have, for example, many Jews and Muslims who might not appreciate having their children indoctrinated in another religion. Principal Brown's course of action, to have a winter celebration that is inclusive of more than one holiday tradition and to discourage the teachers from placing too much emphasis on a single interpretation of one religion's traditions, is a very good way to show respect towards the religious sensibilities of all the children in his school.
John Theriault has been up in arms over the issue, apparently thinking that Brown is somehow being unfair to the children at Walsh school because the other schools all have Christmas parties. I can only assume that he is forgetting about the children whose parents do not allow them to attend Christmas parties, and is oblivious to the fact that Brown is simply showing respect towards those children and their families.
I guess I am blogging about this topic because I am shocked at the level of public outcry over it. In every instance, it seems that people with no children at Walsh are reacting as if they personally have been prevented from enjoying their own Christmas celebrations and have forgotten just how much religious diversity there is in the world, in the United States, in Connecticut and in Waterbury. I guess I am also struck by how some of the people who are angry at Principal Brown are behaving far more like the Grinch than he is.
Come to think of it, let's take the metaphor of the Grinch one step further. The point to The Grinch was that the trappings of Christmas, the gifts, the trees, the roast beast, are completely unnecessary. Christmas exists in our hearts and is celebrated in the way we treat one another. Everything else is superfluous.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Water
Is it just my house, or has anyone else noticed a strong chemical smell in the tap water lately? It seems strongest in the hot water, and it is the sort of smell that makes me afraid to use the water.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Marty's Corner
I read in today's paper that Marty's Corner store in Naugatuck is closing, hopefully to be reopened eventually by new owners.
When I was a kid, we lived in Naugatuck for a couple years, and Marty's Corner was one of my favorite hang-outs. This would be 1984 and '85. I can't remember how I found the store, but I was drawn there by the video games. I put endless quarters into the Ms. Pac-Man machine and spent the rest of my allowance on candy and comic books.
I always felt slightly intimidated when I entered the store--I remember dark wood, a long counter with stools, old men pausing in conversation to glare sternly at me, and shelves stocked with cigars. I had to muster the courage to walk past the formidable front of the store to get to the two (or three?) video game machines in the back. It was a little strange, I suppose--the store had entertainment for kids, but they didn't really encourage kids to hang out there.
I remember Marty's Corner with fondness. When we moved to Watertown, I was never able to find as good a place to hang out. Which I guess is what kids, even pre-teens and teens, need.
When I was a kid, we lived in Naugatuck for a couple years, and Marty's Corner was one of my favorite hang-outs. This would be 1984 and '85. I can't remember how I found the store, but I was drawn there by the video games. I put endless quarters into the Ms. Pac-Man machine and spent the rest of my allowance on candy and comic books.
Photo by Paul Singley, Republican-American
I always felt slightly intimidated when I entered the store--I remember dark wood, a long counter with stools, old men pausing in conversation to glare sternly at me, and shelves stocked with cigars. I had to muster the courage to walk past the formidable front of the store to get to the two (or three?) video game machines in the back. It was a little strange, I suppose--the store had entertainment for kids, but they didn't really encourage kids to hang out there.
I remember Marty's Corner with fondness. When we moved to Watertown, I was never able to find as good a place to hang out. Which I guess is what kids, even pre-teens and teens, need.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Support the Schools
Stop & Shop, which has three stores in Waterbury and a fourth just over the line in Watertown, has a great program that makes it easy for you to help provide a little financial support to Waterbury schools. The A+ Bonus Bucks program donates money to the 3 schools of your choice (among those that are registered); the amount of the donation is connected to a point system based on how much money you spend at Stop & Shop.
In order to join the program, simply go to the website, register your Stop & Shop card (type in the numbers from the bar code), and select the schools. Simple as pi!
In order to join the program, simply go to the website, register your Stop & Shop card (type in the numbers from the bar code), and select the schools. Simple as pi!
Thursday, November 05, 2009
More Low Numbers
When you look at the voter turn-out numbers (just sent to me by Bryan Baker), and add that to the notion that we need the police to keep the campaigners under control on election day (see comment #8 by S. on the previous post), I'd say we have a very serious problem. The numbers are as follows: in 2001 50.3% of the voters went to the polls, and the following elections had turnouts of 39% ('03), 40% ('05), 32% ('07), and 24% ('09). If that trend continues, eventually no one will vote in Waterbury's local elections except for the politicians.
It seems like everyone in Waterbury is eager to complain about the problems, so why are so few people voting? I don't think it's because they're satisfied with the way things are--otherwise, wouldn't they have voted in order to ensure the status quo?
There are two basic reasons I've heard from registered voters who don't bother to vote in the local elections:
This situation needs to change. The responsibility for that change lies with all of us.
It seems like everyone in Waterbury is eager to complain about the problems, so why are so few people voting? I don't think it's because they're satisfied with the way things are--otherwise, wouldn't they have voted in order to ensure the status quo?
There are two basic reasons I've heard from registered voters who don't bother to vote in the local elections:
1. There's no point bothering, they're all the same and they don't care about me;
2. I have no idea who all those candidates are or what an alderman does, so I wouldn't have any idea who to vote for.
This situation needs to change. The responsibility for that change lies with all of us.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Election Day
I stopped by the WOW center this evening to vote in the local election. Early results should be available in less than two hours, thanks to modern technology.
I was a little surprised to see a police cruiser parked across the street from the entrance to the polls. I checked with some friends, and it sounds like there was a strong police presence at all of the polls all day long (which explains why, when I called in a noise complaint earlier in the day, I was informed that it would be a while before they could get around to dispatching anyone).
One person I spoke to said he felt very intimidated by the police presence, especially when the cruiser outside the WOW center followed his car home and then looped back around to return to the center. He was furious when he told me this story. In the interests of fairness, I tended to believe that it was an unfortunate coincidence but did a little research and learned that a strong police presence at the voting places can be a very bad idea.
Here's an excerpt from an ACLU of Virginia news release dated October 21, 2004:
An article on the website of the American University Radio by Jessica Forres dated November 5, 2008 had this to say on the topic:
It seems like it's a very delicate balance. If police have received a credible threat that would place voters in danger when they vote, then of course there should be a strong presence. But if voters feel intimidated, then that's a problem that needs to be fixed.
I was a little surprised to see a police cruiser parked across the street from the entrance to the polls. I checked with some friends, and it sounds like there was a strong police presence at all of the polls all day long (which explains why, when I called in a noise complaint earlier in the day, I was informed that it would be a while before they could get around to dispatching anyone).
One person I spoke to said he felt very intimidated by the police presence, especially when the cruiser outside the WOW center followed his car home and then looped back around to return to the center. He was furious when he told me this story. In the interests of fairness, I tended to believe that it was an unfortunate coincidence but did a little research and learned that a strong police presence at the voting places can be a very bad idea.
Here's an excerpt from an ACLU of Virginia news release dated October 21, 2004:
Civil liberties group says many voters won’t show if police are present
The ACLU of Virginia today asked the Chesterfield County registrar to withdraw a plan to post armed, uniformed police officers at the County’s 62 polling places on Election Day. The ACLU says that the police presence--a reminder of when armed government officials were used to prevent minorities from voting--will intimidate many potential voters, causing them to avoid the polls.
An article on the website of the American University Radio by Jessica Forres dated November 5, 2008 had this to say on the topic:
A Latino advocacy group says some Hispanic voters in Virginia's Prince William County may have been intimidated by the heavy police presence at one polling site.
It seems like it's a very delicate balance. If police have received a credible threat that would place voters in danger when they vote, then of course there should be a strong presence. But if voters feel intimidated, then that's a problem that needs to be fixed.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Question of the Day
If the DOT can no longer afford to widen, straighten and otherwise improve the small yet annoyingly dangerous stretch of I-84 between Austin Road and Hamilton Avenue, then why are they moving forward with a project to widen the much larger and significantly higher quality stretch from Waterbury to Danbury? While I'm making an effort to comprehend the motivations of the DOT, why are they holding a public hearing about the Waterbury to Danbury project at 2 p.m. on a weekday, guaranteeing that anyone who works won't able to attend?
Monday, October 19, 2009
City Grants Writer
The city is finally hiring a grantwriter. This is a job that a lot of people have been hoping would be created for several years now. There are so many ways in which Waterbury's quality of life could be improved if only we had someone going after the many available grants. A good grantwriter could bring in millions for the city.
In order to better spread the word so that we can land the best possible candidate, I'm posting the links to the job description and application form here. Please spread the word!
In order to better spread the word so that we can land the best possible candidate, I'm posting the links to the job description and application form here. Please spread the word!
More Grammar Problems
Jarjura's campaign ads aren't the only ones suffering from grammatical errors that drive me batty. Theriault, the Independent party candidate for mayor, has been running ads featuring a pair of slogans: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs and Taxes, Taxes, Taxes. While the fine print explains that he's in favor of more jobs and less tax, conventional grammar rules interpret the pairing of the slogans very differently, that he is demanding jobs and taxes.
Theriault's background is in education, which makes me cringe even more. Isn't it possible to have political slogans with good grammar? Then again, this is the same party that sent out a campaign promotion with Independent spelled incorrectly.
Theriault's background is in education, which makes me cringe even more. Isn't it possible to have political slogans with good grammar? Then again, this is the same party that sent out a campaign promotion with Independent spelled incorrectly.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Google vs. Reality
A few weeks ago, I noticed that Google's search engine had changed and no longer seemed quite as good as it used to be. Today, while looking up the business hours for Banfield Pet Hospital, I was surprised to see some major problems with Google Maps.
How does Google control its map-making? More specifically, who the heck decided that the Home Depot/PetSmart/Sports Authority shopping complex is really the Pathmark Shopping Center?
The last time I checked, what Google claims is the West Dover Street Playground is at best described as a parking lot, while the Rolling Mill Playground (where are they getting these names?) is an empty lot next to the First Light power generator.
Moving north up the map, I learned that Google thinks Rose Hill, or perhaps the land just below it, is called Center Square, which is actually what the Green used to be called. Then again, Google Maps seems undecided about what to call the Green, since it has it labeled twice (once with a cute little pine tree).
And then there's Naugatuck Valley Community College. Granted, it has been through numerous name changes, but I'm pretty sure it's been called Naugatuck Valley since before Google existed. And what's the Westwood Shopping Center? Isn't that really the former Scovill headquarters?
Finally, here's Google Maps' opinion of the actual location of Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College (which also no longer exists, "Technical" was dropped from the name a few years ago).
How does Google control its map-making? More specifically, who the heck decided that the Home Depot/PetSmart/Sports Authority shopping complex is really the Pathmark Shopping Center?
Moving north up the map, I learned that Google thinks Rose Hill, or perhaps the land just below it, is called Center Square, which is actually what the Green used to be called. Then again, Google Maps seems undecided about what to call the Green, since it has it labeled twice (once with a cute little pine tree).
And then there's Naugatuck Valley Community College. Granted, it has been through numerous name changes, but I'm pretty sure it's been called Naugatuck Valley since before Google existed. And what's the Westwood Shopping Center? Isn't that really the former Scovill headquarters?
Finally, here's Google Maps' opinion of the actual location of Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College (which also no longer exists, "Technical" was dropped from the name a few years ago).
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Grammar Problems
Two years ago, and again this year, I have been struck by and giggled at the gross grammatical error on the Jarjura campaign signs. The phrase is: Jarjura - Still the "right" choice.
Now, I understand why right is in quotation marks. It's intended as a reference to Jarjura having once been a write-in candidate. However, it looks ridiculous to anyone who knows grammar.
When a single word is placed inside quotation marks, the quotation marks imply irony or reservation. Specifically, when placed inside quotation marks, the implication is that the opposite is true, that Jarjura is not the right choice.
I was a little dismayed to see the grammar mistake reappear this year. It's a minor error, but in a city with struggling schools, it's very embarrassing to see our incumbent mayor make such an error.
The Jarjura ad which ran in today's Rep-Am got rid of the error by switching the slogan to Now the Best Choice, but instead put quotation marks around Proven Record, implying that he doesn't have a proven record, and added the grammatically foolish statement And Mayor Jarjura and his Democrat Team DID NOT RAISE YOUR TAXES IN 2010. Of course they didn't. 2010 hasn't happened yet, therefore that statement is impossible (and confusing for future historians!). Presumably the statement was intended to refer to the city's most recent budget, but that is not specified.
As with all grammatical issues, most people probably don't care, while those of us that do are driven crazy by it.
Now, I understand why right is in quotation marks. It's intended as a reference to Jarjura having once been a write-in candidate. However, it looks ridiculous to anyone who knows grammar.
When a single word is placed inside quotation marks, the quotation marks imply irony or reservation. Specifically, when placed inside quotation marks, the implication is that the opposite is true, that Jarjura is not the right choice.
I was a little dismayed to see the grammar mistake reappear this year. It's a minor error, but in a city with struggling schools, it's very embarrassing to see our incumbent mayor make such an error.
The Jarjura ad which ran in today's Rep-Am got rid of the error by switching the slogan to Now the Best Choice, but instead put quotation marks around Proven Record, implying that he doesn't have a proven record, and added the grammatically foolish statement And Mayor Jarjura and his Democrat Team DID NOT RAISE YOUR TAXES IN 2010. Of course they didn't. 2010 hasn't happened yet, therefore that statement is impossible (and confusing for future historians!). Presumably the statement was intended to refer to the city's most recent budget, but that is not specified.
As with all grammatical issues, most people probably don't care, while those of us that do are driven crazy by it.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Taking Requests!
The holiday season is fast approaching, and I promised myself that I would do a few holiday-themed paintings this year which would also be available as greeting cards.
With that said, do you have any suggestions of your favorite Waterbury winter scenes (or memories--how did the city celebrate holidays back in the 1950s?) that you would like to see as a greeting card? I have several that I am already planning to do, but I think it would be interesting to see what you, my fellow Waterbury fans, would like to see.
If you are not familiar with my art, you can see some examples at my online gallery or at Goldsmith's on Bank Street.
[Pseudo-legal, tongue-in-cheek disclaimer: making a suggestion does not obligate you to purchase a painting or greeting cards; making a suggestion I appear to follow up on, assuming I actually have time to this, does not entitle you to any share of the proceeds, especially since there is very little chance that there will be a profit, but maybe I can give you a personally signed copy.]
Get in the holiday spirit, think of some favorite Waterbury holiday scenes or memories, and post a comment sharing your thoughts!
With that said, do you have any suggestions of your favorite Waterbury winter scenes (or memories--how did the city celebrate holidays back in the 1950s?) that you would like to see as a greeting card? I have several that I am already planning to do, but I think it would be interesting to see what you, my fellow Waterbury fans, would like to see.
If you are not familiar with my art, you can see some examples at my online gallery or at Goldsmith's on Bank Street.
[Pseudo-legal, tongue-in-cheek disclaimer: making a suggestion does not obligate you to purchase a painting or greeting cards; making a suggestion I appear to follow up on, assuming I actually have time to this, does not entitle you to any share of the proceeds, especially since there is very little chance that there will be a profit, but maybe I can give you a personally signed copy.]
Get in the holiday spirit, think of some favorite Waterbury holiday scenes or memories, and post a comment sharing your thoughts!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Walsh Forum
I was kind of glad to see that the Rep-Am didn't report on Saturday's forum at Walsh School until today, but only because I was feeling bad about not having had time to blog about it yet!
I was surprised that there was almost no one in the audience. The only notice I had seen about the event was in the paper the day before, but the write-up made it sound like an important event for anyone who cares about the WOW neighborhood (where I live). However, as the school's principal, Erik Brown, pointed out, most people were probably planning on listening to it through WATR. After all, going to a 4-hour program that starts at 9 a.m. on a Saturday can't possibly be easy for most parents.
The forum was absolutely wonderful. I thought maybe there should have been an opportunity for public speaking from neighborhood residents, but, then again, there weren't that many of us and there was an opportunity to speak to most of the panelists after the program was over. (One panelist, Joan Hartley, never showed up or sent a substitute; a second panelist, Mayor Jarjura, joined the group more than an hour and a half late, spent a few moments shaking hands, spoke twice and left after an hour.)
The first hour might have been the best part, a discussion about the impact of poverty on Waterbury's students. It was a discussion that everyone should listen to, especially if they have never struggled with poverty.
Dr. Edward Joyner and Principal Brown spoke very well about specific students they have worked with whose poor behavior in school was directly connected to troubled home lives and very well about general difficulties.
Based on what I heard Saturday, and on a piece by Michael Puffer in today's paper, it seems that there is an unfortunate debate in the Waterbury schools about how to deal with student discipline issues. I suspect there are two competing philosophies of how a school should function. With the first philosophy, all students are treated exactly the same and are all expected to behave exactly the same. In this philosophy, the function of the school is largely limited to book learning and passing mastery tests.
The second philosophy recognizes that not all students are the same, that some students, when they are outside school, face challenges and difficulties that are overwhelming, that the only positive adult contact they might have is in the school, and that their school is the only place where they have a chance to learn how to rise above the difficulties of their lives.
If a student is homeless, do you suspend him when he acts out in school? If a teenage girl is stuck living in a house with heroin users, do you suspend her when she acts out in school? If the behavior merits suspension, then use an in-school suspension. Don't force them to stay home for a week. It will only make things worse.
While nearly all of the four hours was very inspirational, the last 20 or 30 minutes was frustrating, even infuriating. The discussion topic raised pertained to the terrible condition of the neighborhood and the impact that has on the ability of students to do well in school. If I'm remembering correctly, Larry Butler spoke early in the discussion about the responsibility of city and state officials to help solve the problems of blighted, abandoned buildings, crumbling sidewalks, litter, and so on. But the conversation quickly went downhill when some panelists insisted that the responsibility lies with the residents, that the burden of responsibility lies entirely with the people who live in the neighborhood and that if only we took pride in our neighborhood, everything would be fine. I almost stood up and demanded that they walk out onto the streets and say that to the many people who have spent the past 20 years struggling to make this neighborhood better, the people who are outside picking up litter every day, the people who were promised new sidewalks but have never seen them, the people who have complained about the problems and received no assistance, the people who call the police when there is a disturbance and don't see a response for 20 minutes (long after the culprits have disappeared), the children who have been hit by cars while crossing the road, the homeowners who have seen their taxes double and triple in the past eight years without seeing any increase or improvement in city services.
To every single panelist who placed the blame on the neighborhood residents, shame on you. What are we supposed to do about the crumbling sidewalks? What are we supposed to do about the abandoned, blighted buildings? What are we supposed to do about the speeding cars?
I have, in the past, notified the blight patrol about excessive litter at certain properties. The owners cleaned up the mess, passed their repeat inspection, and a week later all the litter was back. I didn't contact blight patrol again. I didn't see any point to it.
Last summer, I reprimanded a group of kids who were trying to demolish my neighbor's fence. Their response was to gesture toward all the abandoned buildings and say "who cares?" It was clear in their minds that this neighborhood is a disaster zone, that it will never get better, and that no one cares about it or them.
I've said this before and I will keep saying it until something happens: if the city could afford to borrow $2 million to buy Drubner's property, then it can afford to invest $2 million in the WOW neighborhood.
I was surprised that there was almost no one in the audience. The only notice I had seen about the event was in the paper the day before, but the write-up made it sound like an important event for anyone who cares about the WOW neighborhood (where I live). However, as the school's principal, Erik Brown, pointed out, most people were probably planning on listening to it through WATR. After all, going to a 4-hour program that starts at 9 a.m. on a Saturday can't possibly be easy for most parents.
The forum was absolutely wonderful. I thought maybe there should have been an opportunity for public speaking from neighborhood residents, but, then again, there weren't that many of us and there was an opportunity to speak to most of the panelists after the program was over. (One panelist, Joan Hartley, never showed up or sent a substitute; a second panelist, Mayor Jarjura, joined the group more than an hour and a half late, spent a few moments shaking hands, spoke twice and left after an hour.)
The first hour might have been the best part, a discussion about the impact of poverty on Waterbury's students. It was a discussion that everyone should listen to, especially if they have never struggled with poverty.
Dr. Edward Joyner and Principal Brown spoke very well about specific students they have worked with whose poor behavior in school was directly connected to troubled home lives and very well about general difficulties.
Based on what I heard Saturday, and on a piece by Michael Puffer in today's paper, it seems that there is an unfortunate debate in the Waterbury schools about how to deal with student discipline issues. I suspect there are two competing philosophies of how a school should function. With the first philosophy, all students are treated exactly the same and are all expected to behave exactly the same. In this philosophy, the function of the school is largely limited to book learning and passing mastery tests.
The second philosophy recognizes that not all students are the same, that some students, when they are outside school, face challenges and difficulties that are overwhelming, that the only positive adult contact they might have is in the school, and that their school is the only place where they have a chance to learn how to rise above the difficulties of their lives.
If a student is homeless, do you suspend him when he acts out in school? If a teenage girl is stuck living in a house with heroin users, do you suspend her when she acts out in school? If the behavior merits suspension, then use an in-school suspension. Don't force them to stay home for a week. It will only make things worse.
While nearly all of the four hours was very inspirational, the last 20 or 30 minutes was frustrating, even infuriating. The discussion topic raised pertained to the terrible condition of the neighborhood and the impact that has on the ability of students to do well in school. If I'm remembering correctly, Larry Butler spoke early in the discussion about the responsibility of city and state officials to help solve the problems of blighted, abandoned buildings, crumbling sidewalks, litter, and so on. But the conversation quickly went downhill when some panelists insisted that the responsibility lies with the residents, that the burden of responsibility lies entirely with the people who live in the neighborhood and that if only we took pride in our neighborhood, everything would be fine. I almost stood up and demanded that they walk out onto the streets and say that to the many people who have spent the past 20 years struggling to make this neighborhood better, the people who are outside picking up litter every day, the people who were promised new sidewalks but have never seen them, the people who have complained about the problems and received no assistance, the people who call the police when there is a disturbance and don't see a response for 20 minutes (long after the culprits have disappeared), the children who have been hit by cars while crossing the road, the homeowners who have seen their taxes double and triple in the past eight years without seeing any increase or improvement in city services.
To every single panelist who placed the blame on the neighborhood residents, shame on you. What are we supposed to do about the crumbling sidewalks? What are we supposed to do about the abandoned, blighted buildings? What are we supposed to do about the speeding cars?
I have, in the past, notified the blight patrol about excessive litter at certain properties. The owners cleaned up the mess, passed their repeat inspection, and a week later all the litter was back. I didn't contact blight patrol again. I didn't see any point to it.
Last summer, I reprimanded a group of kids who were trying to demolish my neighbor's fence. Their response was to gesture toward all the abandoned buildings and say "who cares?" It was clear in their minds that this neighborhood is a disaster zone, that it will never get better, and that no one cares about it or them.
I've said this before and I will keep saying it until something happens: if the city could afford to borrow $2 million to buy Drubner's property, then it can afford to invest $2 million in the WOW neighborhood.
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