Stinky Trees

According to the Republican American, the trees lining Grand Street are being replaced with ginkgo trees. The old trees were faulted for getting "too big". Maybe they've selected a variant of ginkgo I'm not familiar with. I've lived in two places that had a ginkgo tree. Both trees were enormous. Both trees had the smelliest fruit I've ever encountered. Once a year, for about a month, they smell AWFUL. Like something dead and rotting. The paper says the new trees have already been delivered, so I guess it's too late to do anything. And, like I said, maybe it's a type of ginkgo that doesn't stink and doesn't grow large.

Focusing on the Sex

Today's headline news, complete with a photo of a lithe young woman in a bikini and handcuffs, was the raid of 10 massage parlors and the arrest of 29 women who work in them. The vice squad has been working on this bust for a month (according to the Republican-American), and there has not yet been a decision on whether or not to prosecute any of the men caught having sex with their masseuses. The women are all Asian and speak little English, suggesting that they are recent immigrants. The paper reported that the women slept in the same rooms in which they worked. To me, this certainly suggests that they have extremely little control over their lives. I would have liked the reporter, Ben Conery, to have focused more on this issue. The article contains far more information about the details of paying to have a masseuse double as a prostitute. The large photo of the woman in a bikini borders on the titillating, and is extremely offensive and inconsiderate if it should turn out that the woman in question is an immigrant forced to work as a prostitute.

The men who were found in the massage parlors are "cooperating" with the police and might not be charged with any illegal activity. The Waterbury police department has a track record of not charging men who solicit prostitutes. This is a horrible double standard. If exchanging money for sex is so terrible an act that it must be illegal, surely the men are just as guilty as the women. Indeed, aren't the men more guilty? If they did not go looking for the prostitutes, then the prostitution would never occur.

Worse still, if any of these women were forced into prostitution and were, in my opinion, being held in a form of slavery, then the men who frequented the massage parlors are among the lowest of the low and deserve jail time.

Given the possibilities of this case, the newspaper should have been much more balanced in its coverage.

Property Sales

On Monday there was an article in the Republican-American about properties being sold at auction by Waterbury's Office of Revenue Collection. The focus of the article was the difficulty the city has selling these properties. Some of the reasons for the difficulty include the high price of the back taxes and interest due on the properties. This is certainly a valid problem for many properties. There's not much incentive to buy a property worth $25,000 when you have to pay $75,000 in back taxes on it.

Personally, I think the main problem might be lack of information. The article in the paper mentions the difficulty that the city has in "getting the word out" about the properties for sale. Nowhere in the article is there a listing of the properties for sale this week. D'oh! A great big article about how there is a property auction this Thursday, and a complaint about how no one knows which properties are for sale, but no list of the properties. I decided to follow up by visiting the city's website to see if the properties were listed there. For a brief moment, I became optimistic -- there is a link on the Tax Collector's page to a listing for a Tax Lien Sale. The link takes you to the listing for a property sale held June 23, 2005. Good grief! Is the city so short on funds that they can't pay someone to spend five minutes uploading a document? We already have a corruption hotline; maybe it's time for an incompetence hotline....

Steakhouse Shelter

Here's a thought that's been bouncing around in the back of my head for a while now: back in January, a restaurant chain called Texas Roadhouse announced plans to build a new restaurant on Benedict Street, behind the Home Depot. St. Vincent DePaul operates a homeless shelter on Benedict Street, behind the Home Depot. The new restaurant will presumable have its back to Benedict Street, since facing towards Bank Street is more likely to pull in shoppers from the Home Depot plaza. I wonder what it will be like for the people staying in the homeless shelter to smell, every day, broiled steaks they can't afford. It seems kind of cruel. Then again, maybe Texas Roadhouse has a good sense of community and will help support the shelter. Either way, it is a strange contrast to have a restaurant serving steak next door to a shelter.

Smart Growth

The Waterbury Neighborhood Council has submitted a proposal to the city asking for a six-month hold on developments (Rep-Am, 3/30/06). Given the realities of development, a six-month hold is extremely unlikely to happen. However, I think they make a very good point about what's happening with development in Waterbury. There are new development happening all over the city. In some cases, thriving businesses have been forced to relocate or close in order to make way for bigger fish. In other cases, small parklets and wooded areas have been demolished. There does not seem to be a master plan for development that would enhance the quality of life for city residents. Mayor Jarjura was once quoted as saying that Waterbury has enough open space with existing parks and cemeteries. Anything not currently protected as open space is in danger of being turned into concrete. The city has huge budget problems to resolve, and the new developments are a possible way to increase revenue, although they can also generate more expense for the city.

The outlying areas of Waterbury, left as almost untamed wilderness for decades, are changing rapidly. Change, when it happens so quickly, can be unsettling. Given Waterbury's recent history of corruption, residents are certainly justified in being concerned about what is happening now. I think there is an underlying sense that the quality of life and other concerns of neighborhoods is being ignored by developers, aided by city officials, who are concerned only with benefitting themselves. It's not just happening in Waterbury. Parts of Middlebury are no longer recognizable. Middlebury, once rural, is decidedly suburban now, and the developers aren't done with it yet.

When I drive around the region and see all the developments underway, I keep wondering what the driving force is behind them. Who are the people moving into the new McMansions? What is bringing them here? Why are so many office buildings being constructed? What impact will the new developments have on the city as a whole -- in ten years' time, will Waterbury still be a country city, or will it be a new metropolis?

Campaign Promises

Mayor Jarjura has kept one of his campaign promises. Shortly before the election last November, he said that the city's mill rate, currently 53.9668, would need to go up a point or two. No one seemed to care, even though everyone complains about the high taxes. Last week, Jarjura announced his proposed budget for next year, with a mill rate of 55.9496. Spending is to increase 4.3 percent from $333,599,242 to $347,936,614. Here's hoping the money gets spent wisely.

Taxing the Non-Profits

Twelve non-profit organizations in Waterbury neglected to fill out paperwork with the city. Apparently this needs to be done every four years in order to maintain their tax-exempt status with the city. It seems very strange that so many of them didn't do it. The city sent out two letters reminding them about it, but did not follow up with phone calls. Considering the importance of the paperwork and the fact that mail does sometimes get lost, I think the city really should have followed up with phone calls to the twelve organizations that didn't file.

The city is citing state law prohibiting them from waiving the taxes that will be owed. Mayor Jarjura says he hopes the state legislature agrees to return the non-profit groups to their tax exempt status. This is the same man who refused to allow the city tax collector to collect tax from his personal friend Lestorti. It's okay to make a special exemption for your friends, but not for non-profit groups who would normally not pay taxes?

Sheila O'Malley, Jarjura's Chief of Staff, was quoted in today's paper as saying that "the punishment does not fit the crime." I'm sure she was just using a cliche carelessly, but still. Crime? Neglecting to file paperwork is a crime? Talk about blowing things out of proportion! (to use another cliche)

So now the state legislature will decide the issue. It would be nice if something positive came out of this, considering the amount of time being spent on it. Non-profit groups do a lot of good things for their communities on shoe-string budgets. Having to face the nightmare of going under because they didn't file a form seems very unjust.

Wifi Hotspots Rant

I don't normally go to Starbucks, for a variety of reasons (too expensive, too weird, etc.). I wound up at a Starbucks today for an informal business meeting. I had assumed that I would be able to go online with my laptop, because Starbucks makes a big fuss about being a wifi hotspot. It turns out that you have to set up an account with T-Mobile (or another similar company) to be able to use the wifi at Starbucks.

At the places I consider to be "real" coffee shops (locally owned, not massive corporations), the wifi is free for customers. All you have to do is ask for that day's password. And you don't have to order a tall mochafrappacchino when all you really want is a small coffee.

Brass City Buzz and the John Bale Bookstore have great coffee, great food, a great atmosphere and you can use the wifi without registering with yet another faceless corporation. Maybe some of the customers at Starbucks will figure out that there's a better choice.

Memories of Summer

A few photos I took last summer. Remember when it used to be warm and green outside?



Fulton Park, July 2005



Fulton Park, July 2005



The Waterbury Green, July 2005



View from Hayden Park, October 2005. Technically not summer, but still green and so much warmer than it is now.

Little Things

It seems like a lot of Waterbury's problems are caused by bureaucrats from outside the city who have no connection to Waterbury and no reason to care about the harm they cause. The buses don't run past 6 in the evening, and anytime Waterbury residents ask for better bus service, we're told by CT Transit that no one in Waterbury would ride the buses after 6pm.

Now the post office is being slowly shifted to Wallingford. I used to get my paychecks in the mail every other Saturday. Now I get them on every other Monday. My paychecks are put in the mail at a location which is only a ten-minute walk, at most, from my house. But before they can be delivered to me, they have to go to Wallingford, which is a thirty-minute drive. It makes no sense. But I guess that's how bureaucracy works.

Big, Bad Nor'easter

It's amazing how quiet the city gets in a snow storm. I know I've mentioned it before, but it still impresses me. I'm working up the courage to try shovelling, but the wind looks pretty intense. The roads are so bad that one of the city plows got stuck trying to go up Willow Street. I had a good laugh watching him spin his back tires. He had to coast backwards down the hill until he got to a spot with better traction. While he was struggling, two passenger cars cruised past him. I'm guessing the city won't be dug out until sometime on Tuesday.

La Traviata

La Traviata was performed at the Palace Theater last weekend. I love opera, and the Palace is a beautiful setting for it. But ticket sales were so poor that the Palace had to offer a two-for-one special. I have to admit that I didn't go see the show, but I was in California.... I was very disappointed that I was going to miss this year's Palace opera. I was even more disappointed to learn how uninterested in opera people are around here. Is it because it's not in English? Broadway musicals do great business, so why not opera?

Willow Street, Ray Brown & Aldermen

A political furor has been sparked by alderman Dennis Odle over one of the empty buildings on Willow Street. The building in question is essentially abandonned and was damaged by a fire last year. The building's owner, Ray Brown, apparently owes quite a lot of back taxes on the building. The Waterbury Development Corporation wants to tear down the building to create an access point to a parking lot, which would improve the chances that the other buildings on Willow Street could become home to thriving businesses.

Odle's plan, to give state money to Brown so he can pay off the taxes owed to the city, seems like a very bad plan. I can definitely understand why it wasn't approved. It reeks of corruption. Next thing you know, all the property owners will stop paying taxes in the hopes that the city will give them state money.

What about eminent domain? If this property is so essential to revitalizing this neighborhood, why doesn't the city seize the property through eminent domain? The property owner is showing no sign of repairing the fire damage -- he hasn't even bothered to put a tarp over the giant hole in the roof. He owes back taxes on the property, and it sounds like he has no plans to pay them. The building itself has no particular historic or aesthetic merit and looks like it would be very difficult to convert to a practical purpose. If the aldermen can seize and demolish other blighted buildings, why not this one? Why even consider paying off the owner?

Happy New Year!

2006 starts in Waterbury with just enough snow to make everything look pretty. New Year's Eve in downtown Waterbury was extremely quiet. A lot of bars were closed -- the only ones that were open are the ones in restaurants. I guess I never noticed this before, but for most people here New Year's eve is a night for couples to go out to dinner. It seems kind of odd. I think it's more fun when half the city gathers together outside for a celebration. Oh well. Maybe something will happen here next year.

Christmas Shopping Surprise

I'm getting ready for Christmas tomorrow, which means getting my apartment clean before my dad shows up in the morning. Partly as procrastination, and partly because the weather is perfect for a walk, and partly because my apartment doesn't smell "christmassy", I took a stroll down to Home Depot to buy a wreath.

Home Depot still had a couple dozen wreaths for sale, as well as some really nice fir centerpieces. They were all still fresh (only a few needles dropped when I shook the wreath). And they were only a penny each! That's right, one cent each! I could not believe it! It was almost surreal purchasing them at the self-checkout. I spent two pennies and walked out with a nice-size wreath and a festive centerpiece for the dining table.

No More Trees at Robinwood

Developers finally noticed that the intersection of West Main Street, Park Road and Robbins Street is conveniently located at an exit ramp from I-84. New construction started last year with medical buildings (and the new hotel next to the new cancer center further up the road). West Main Street on the hillside was rebuilt over the course of the past year. This past week, many beautiful old trees in the middle of the intersection were cut down. They also cut down some of the trees in Rowland Park (which, by the way, has no connection to the former Governor's family). The cute little storefronts next to the gas station are going to be torn down and replaced by a bank. Lots of big changes.

It makes me sad to see the trees at the intersection taken down. They really were wonderful. Without them, the Robinwood area there is going to look like a concrete wasteland, sort of like the stretch of West Main Street between Willow Street and the Green, or like Grand Street between Bank and South Main Streets. I think that trees and landscaping are an important part of a city's character and can make a city seem pleasant and inviting.

I've seen photographs of Waterbury from the 1950s (and earlier). The banks of the Naugatuck River were meticulously manicured--no overgrown weeds or bushes. For the past few decades, landscaping has been abandoned. The banks of the river are completely overgrown and look terrible. If I'm riled up enough about this in the spring, I think I might try to organize a grass-roots (pun intended) movement to improve Waterbury's landscaping.

Happy Holidays

I don't know how this got started, but apparently there are people in Waterbury and across the nation who are protesting the use of "Happy Holidays." The jist of their protest is that Christmas is being destroyed by crazy liberals who have somehow pressured retailers to replace "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays." In Waterbury, a local protester has been running radio spots urging consumers to shop only at stores with Christmas displays. According to an Associated Press article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051218/ap_on_re_us/wal_mart_holidays), a Christian protester put on a Santa Claus suit and stood outside a Wal-Mart, urging shoppers to remember the meaning of Christmas.

The last time I checked, the meaning of Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with shopping or Santa Claus. In fact, if I were a conservative Christian, I would prefer that the stores have signs saying "Happy Holidays," rather than "Merry Christmas." In its purest and most traditional form, Christmas should not be associated with retailers, trees, reindeer or snowmen. And yet conservative religious groups have been urging retailers to include Christmas in their promotional materials.

Good Grief!

Transportation Center

It would be great if the Republican-American moved to a different building (maybe the Lilly Building on the Green). Then the brick McKim, Mead & White train station could be converted back to its original function and become Waterbury's new transportation center. It might be cheaper than new construction, and it would definitely look better than new construction.

Willow St. Intersections

Anyone who has ever tried to cross lower Willow Street, whether on foot or in car, knows what a nightmare it is. From the top of Willow Street to the bottom, there are no stop signs. Cars go flying up and down the street. There's a minimum of one accident a week at the intersection with Pine & Johnson Streets. Two or three years ago, this metal stump with a button for a walk signal was installed at the corner of Grove Street. Walk signals and traffic lights have yet to be installed.

What a waste of money! All we need are stop signs at the major intersections -- Pine & Johnson and Hillside Avenue are the two that seem to need help the most. I know there are plans at WDC to make upgrades to lower Willow, but maybe we could get some relatively inexpensive stop signs while we wait.

Ugliest Building in Waterbury?

I'm sure there are plenty of other ugly buildings, but this one gets extra points for being brand new. Vinyl siding, cheap plywood construction, small windows, depressing color and design. Oh yeah.

This is a Section 811 HUD housing project with 14 apartments. Section 811 is housing for people with disabilities. Surely they deserve better than this. Ten years from now, the building will need major renovations because it was built with such cheap, impermanent materials.