The Democratic and Republican primaries will be held on August 10th. In order to cause maximum confusion on that date the Town has decided to move the polling places to new locations. Here are polling places for the August 10th primary:
District 01 and 04 will be voting at Tuttle School
District 02 will be voting at DC Moore School
District 03 and 05 will be voting at East Haven High School
District 1S and 5S will stay the same
So if you show up to vote and there no one there you are probably at the wrong place. Feel free to call the Registrar of Voters and complain. Joe and Donna would be happy to hear from you.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The BOE and the Appearance of Impropriety
On Tuesday evening the BOE spent several hours considering the appointment 4 elementary school principals and the high school principal. One of the names brought forward was the son of Ron DeNuzzo, a BOE member. Why is it when a high paying job or an administrative position opens at the BOE that, miraculously, a friend or family member of someone with political connections in East Haven steps to the head of the line? It is almost like there are 2 sets of candidates for these jobs. One set is the insiders who seem to prevail more often than not. The second set is everyone else that applies.
It is bad enough that we have a set of preferred candidates. But I write here today not to condemn that practice which I will get to in a future post. I am not even here to condemn Ron DeNuzzo sitting in on the executive session where the candidacy of his son was discussed. Marilyn will get to that in a future edition of EH News.
Today what I condemn is the BOE and their lack of ethics. Not only was DeNuzzo allowed to sit in on the executive session where his son's application was talked about but NO ONE on the, ethically ignorant, BOE raised an issue with DeNuzzo being there. Inside political dealing has gotten so bad with this BOE that not one of them thought for a minute about raising his presence as an issue. It has become so commonplace with this BOE to favor the insiders that the possibility that there is an ethics problem never entered their heads.
No wonder our schools are a laughingstock, our test scores never substantially improve and our students are not being adequately served. The political sense of entitlement of the BOE and the school administration has become so ingrained that they do not recognize an ethical dilemma when it walks up and introduces itself.
It is bad enough that we have a set of preferred candidates. But I write here today not to condemn that practice which I will get to in a future post. I am not even here to condemn Ron DeNuzzo sitting in on the executive session where the candidacy of his son was discussed. Marilyn will get to that in a future edition of EH News.
Today what I condemn is the BOE and their lack of ethics. Not only was DeNuzzo allowed to sit in on the executive session where his son's application was talked about but NO ONE on the, ethically ignorant, BOE raised an issue with DeNuzzo being there. Inside political dealing has gotten so bad with this BOE that not one of them thought for a minute about raising his presence as an issue. It has become so commonplace with this BOE to favor the insiders that the possibility that there is an ethics problem never entered their heads.
No wonder our schools are a laughingstock, our test scores never substantially improve and our students are not being adequately served. The political sense of entitlement of the BOE and the school administration has become so ingrained that they do not recognize an ethical dilemma when it walks up and introduces itself.
Friday, July 23, 2010
BOE - 7/22/2010
I attended one of the more bizarre Board of Education meetings this evening. It was a special meeting called specifically to appoint 4 elementary school principals and the new high school principal. It started at 7 PM and then the Board immediately voted to go into executive session. Somewhere around 9 PM the Democrats and Republicans broke up into their own caucuses. The Republicans spent far less time talking among themselves than the Democrats. The Democrats commandeered one of the classrooms near the BOE Boardroom and spent nearly an hour discussing the appointments. From strolling past the classroom door a few times I could see they were broken up into groups of 2 or 3 to discuss the issues. At one point I saw the Chairman on the phone, possibly calling for help from a higher power. Around 10 PM they went back into executive session. A few minutes later they came back into regular session and voted to hire 3 elementary school principals and the high school principal.
The Superintendent also brought forward the name of Ron DeNuzzo's son for the principal's job at Tuttle. On a party line vote of 6-3 it was voted down.
The Superintendent also brought forward the name of Ron DeNuzzo's son for the principal's job at Tuttle. On a party line vote of 6-3 it was voted down.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Board of Finance - July 21, 2010
The Board of Finance on Wednesday night. The meeting lasted around 40 minutes and included an update from the BOE and the status of last year's budget on the Town side.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Police Commission - July 19, 2010
Here is a very short Police Commission meeting. Not a record for them but certainly better than the long-winded Town Council or BOE meetings. They decided to send the paperwork to the Civil Service Commission to get the hiring process underway for the Captain and Lieutenant slots. The hiring process should take 3-4 months.
Malice or Stupidity?
Disclaimer
1. Fran does the EH website which includes posting agendas and minutes
2. I'm a cranky old geek
I started writing this posting 2 weeks ago. After reviewing the first draft I thought it was too harsh and I should put down the laptop for a bit in order to make sure I was not posting in anger. This morning I decided it was time to finally finish the posting and to publish it. After reading what I had written I modified it slightly but the tone, sarcastic and angry, seemed about right. As someone who makes extensive use of the Freedom of Information Act I view very unfavorably any attempt to weaken the FOIA. In this case not only did the legislature weaken the FOIA they, effectively, gutted an entire section of it.
During the last session that ended in June, our illustrious legislature passed something they called "Municipal Mandate Relief". Part of this relief is the removal of any sanctions for municipalities that do not post their board and commission agendas and minutes on their websites. According to Rep. Lawlor, with whom I have been having an email exchange on this matter, this provision was passed because "some very small municipalities in the state did seem to be having a very difficult time complying with the law."
There is, apparently, a surplus of 90 year old clerks in these small towns that have no ability to use the internet and type. Someone should tell them about Google Docs which would require the clerk to surf over to the Google Docs website, sign in, type in the agenda or minutes, and click SAVE. I suspect a substantial number of our legislators would be unable to do that also.
The supposed fallout from the inability of clerks to post the minutes and agendas online is the possibility that the Freedom of Information Commission ("FOIC") would order the rollback of decisions made during the meeting. For example, the ZBA allows construction of an addition to a house even though it violates the setback requirements. However, the minutes are not posted online in a timely fashion. Someone files a complaint with the FOIC. The FOIC then rules that nothing that happened in the meeting is valid. The addition then becomes illegal. The home owner then has a problem if the ZBA does not agree to approve the addition when they rehear the case.
This is a legitimate concern. So it looks like the legislature noticed a problem and chose the most ridiculous way imaginable to solve it. Suspiciously, the method chosen to fix the problem relieves municipalities of having to reveal the workings of their boards and commissions unless you want to make a trip to town hall during business hours. Rep. Lawlor argues the municipalities still have the duty to post the agendas and minutes online. However, we all know without the ability to force them to put the agendas and minutes online the local officials will be playing games whenever something controversial comes up. I can see it now, "We seem to have forgotten to post the agenda of the PZC where they were going to approve the nuclear waste dump on Main Street. Sorry but you can't do anything about it thanks to the legislature. Now go away."
I generally agree with Hanlon's Razor, "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." In this case I will make an exception. The legislative incompetence that is required to make the choice they did is mindbogglingly huge. If they did, in fact, think this was the best way to solve the problem of the technologically incompetent clerk then there is only one thing to do. The voters must stop these people from legislating again. Go to your polls in November and vote against whoever the incumbent is. Whether it be Democrat or Republican, vote for the other candidate. I would also urge the family and friends of legislators to keep sharp instruments away from the legislator in order to keep them from hurting themselves and others.
1. Fran does the EH website which includes posting agendas and minutes
2. I'm a cranky old geek
I started writing this posting 2 weeks ago. After reviewing the first draft I thought it was too harsh and I should put down the laptop for a bit in order to make sure I was not posting in anger. This morning I decided it was time to finally finish the posting and to publish it. After reading what I had written I modified it slightly but the tone, sarcastic and angry, seemed about right. As someone who makes extensive use of the Freedom of Information Act I view very unfavorably any attempt to weaken the FOIA. In this case not only did the legislature weaken the FOIA they, effectively, gutted an entire section of it.
During the last session that ended in June, our illustrious legislature passed something they called "Municipal Mandate Relief". Part of this relief is the removal of any sanctions for municipalities that do not post their board and commission agendas and minutes on their websites. According to Rep. Lawlor, with whom I have been having an email exchange on this matter, this provision was passed because "some very small municipalities in the state did seem to be having a very difficult time complying with the law."
There is, apparently, a surplus of 90 year old clerks in these small towns that have no ability to use the internet and type. Someone should tell them about Google Docs which would require the clerk to surf over to the Google Docs website, sign in, type in the agenda or minutes, and click SAVE. I suspect a substantial number of our legislators would be unable to do that also.
The supposed fallout from the inability of clerks to post the minutes and agendas online is the possibility that the Freedom of Information Commission ("FOIC") would order the rollback of decisions made during the meeting. For example, the ZBA allows construction of an addition to a house even though it violates the setback requirements. However, the minutes are not posted online in a timely fashion. Someone files a complaint with the FOIC. The FOIC then rules that nothing that happened in the meeting is valid. The addition then becomes illegal. The home owner then has a problem if the ZBA does not agree to approve the addition when they rehear the case.
This is a legitimate concern. So it looks like the legislature noticed a problem and chose the most ridiculous way imaginable to solve it. Suspiciously, the method chosen to fix the problem relieves municipalities of having to reveal the workings of their boards and commissions unless you want to make a trip to town hall during business hours. Rep. Lawlor argues the municipalities still have the duty to post the agendas and minutes online. However, we all know without the ability to force them to put the agendas and minutes online the local officials will be playing games whenever something controversial comes up. I can see it now, "We seem to have forgotten to post the agenda of the PZC where they were going to approve the nuclear waste dump on Main Street. Sorry but you can't do anything about it thanks to the legislature. Now go away."
I generally agree with Hanlon's Razor, "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." In this case I will make an exception. The legislative incompetence that is required to make the choice they did is mindbogglingly huge. If they did, in fact, think this was the best way to solve the problem of the technologically incompetent clerk then there is only one thing to do. The voters must stop these people from legislating again. Go to your polls in November and vote against whoever the incumbent is. Whether it be Democrat or Republican, vote for the other candidate. I would also urge the family and friends of legislators to keep sharp instruments away from the legislator in order to keep them from hurting themselves and others.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
EH News - July 15, 2010
Marilyn and I sat down in the studio on Thursday night to do our regular EH News show. We covered the Town Council, PZC and BOE news.
Friday, July 16, 2010
EH News - Special on EHPD with Paul Hongo
I sat down for an extended interview with Paul Hongo on Wednesday. We discussed the Deputy Chief slot and the US DOJ investigation and the possible consequences of that investigation.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
BOE Full Meeting Video
Here are the 3 videos that comprise the meeting last night. In the first part there is a lively discussion of the elementary school principal hiring process. The 2nd part contains the paycheck discussion. The 3rd part is the remainder of the meeting which includes discussion of the high school security contract.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
BOE Loses Money
Ann Cofrancesco came before the BOE on Tuesday night with a problem. She received a paycheck from the BOE at the beginning of July for a little over $300. The problem she had was that she has not worked for the BOE for over 2 years. Why, she wanted to know, did they suddenly decide to send her a paycheck and how many other people that are not on the payroll are receiving paychecks?
The possible explanations range from incompetence to fraud. Was this just a horrible mistake where the taxpayer's money flowed out the door of the BOE like so much hot air? Is this part of some larger scheme that went seriously wrong? Taxes in East Haven just went up over 17% and now we find the BOE cannot even keep track of their money and where it is going. This situation needs to be investigated by the auditors and not the internal staff who let it happen in the first place.
A big hat tip to Ms. Cofrancesco for turning in the errant check. In these tough economic times I'm not sure a lot of people would have been so honest. At some point the BOE has to get some sort of controls in place so our money does not get flushed down the drain every month.
The possible explanations range from incompetence to fraud. Was this just a horrible mistake where the taxpayer's money flowed out the door of the BOE like so much hot air? Is this part of some larger scheme that went seriously wrong? Taxes in East Haven just went up over 17% and now we find the BOE cannot even keep track of their money and where it is going. This situation needs to be investigated by the auditors and not the internal staff who let it happen in the first place.
A big hat tip to Ms. Cofrancesco for turning in the errant check. In these tough economic times I'm not sure a lot of people would have been so honest. At some point the BOE has to get some sort of controls in place so our money does not get flushed down the drain every month.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Flood & Erosion Comm. - 7/12/2010
The Flood & Erosion Commission met on Monday night. The biggest news was the no-show of the architect for 495 Short Beach Road storage facility. The Commission voted to table his application until next month. The other item on the agenda was a testing facility at 80 Commerce. That passed after some short questioning about the facility by the Commission members.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Light Reading
An envelope from the law firm of Dolan & Luzzi arrived at my humble abode this weekend. I was expecting a pile of documents in response to my FOI request regarding the mishandling of student records. What I received, therefore, was very disheartening. There were 2 pages in the envelope. One page was a letter from Vanessa Reale, former high school principal, to an employee concerning mishandling of student records. As I have mentioned on the EH News show, students have been allowed to handle other students' records. Some of those records may have contained student medical information. Ms. Reale said in her letter:
"Further consideration of the fact that you were observed allowing a student to have access to personal and confidential student records in addition to the fact that you allowed a student access to personal information which may have included medical and/or other information I will be pursuing legal counsel in order to determine the extent to which this action was a violation of the law."
This is no evidence, to date, that the Superintendent, Central Office or the Board of Education ever did anything to address this egregious violation of student privacy. There is also no evidence that the students or their parents were ever notified that the students' personal and medical information had been compromised.
The other page was a letter from Attorney Dolan which states, "Board of Education personnel is reviewing records and legal limitations on disclosure to ensure your request is met in full while respecting all the Board's legal obligations." He did, however, thank me for my patience. Considering I originally asked for the documents in mid-June it is beginning to look more like stone-walling from the Superintendent's office than a legitimate need for more time to look through the documents. Even a very, very slow reader could have read through a pretty big stack of documents in a month and decided what (1) can be disclosed; (2) cannot be disclosed; and (3) needs to be reviewed more thoroughly. I hold out hope of receiving a better response in the near future or we may be headed up to Hartford for a hearing in front of the Freedom of Information Commission.
"Further consideration of the fact that you were observed allowing a student to have access to personal and confidential student records in addition to the fact that you allowed a student access to personal information which may have included medical and/or other information I will be pursuing legal counsel in order to determine the extent to which this action was a violation of the law."
This is no evidence, to date, that the Superintendent, Central Office or the Board of Education ever did anything to address this egregious violation of student privacy. There is also no evidence that the students or their parents were ever notified that the students' personal and medical information had been compromised.
The other page was a letter from Attorney Dolan which states, "Board of Education personnel is reviewing records and legal limitations on disclosure to ensure your request is met in full while respecting all the Board's legal obligations." He did, however, thank me for my patience. Considering I originally asked for the documents in mid-June it is beginning to look more like stone-walling from the Superintendent's office than a legitimate need for more time to look through the documents. Even a very, very slow reader could have read through a pretty big stack of documents in a month and decided what (1) can be disclosed; (2) cannot be disclosed; and (3) needs to be reviewed more thoroughly. I hold out hope of receiving a better response in the near future or we may be headed up to Hartford for a hearing in front of the Freedom of Information Commission.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Busy Week Coming Up
Looks like we are going to have a big week ahead for board and commission meetings here in town.
On Monday night we have the Flood and Erosion meeting at 7:00 PM at the Senior Center. Listed on the agenda is the storage facility that is going to be built at 495 Short Beach Road.
On Tuesday night the Board of Education meeting is being held at the high school at 7:00 PM. The agenda seems to be packed with appointments, contracts and layoffs.
Wednesday night the Inland Wetlands Commission is scheduled for their monthly meeting. The agenda has not been posted yet. However, if you have seen the last IWC meeting on ETV you know it was long and had a fair amount of shouting. Should be exciting meeting again this month.
On Thursday the ZBA holds their July meeting. The agenda seems pretty short.
On Monday night we have the Flood and Erosion meeting at 7:00 PM at the Senior Center. Listed on the agenda is the storage facility that is going to be built at 495 Short Beach Road.
On Tuesday night the Board of Education meeting is being held at the high school at 7:00 PM. The agenda seems to be packed with appointments, contracts and layoffs.
Wednesday night the Inland Wetlands Commission is scheduled for their monthly meeting. The agenda has not been posted yet. However, if you have seen the last IWC meeting on ETV you know it was long and had a fair amount of shouting. Should be exciting meeting again this month.
On Thursday the ZBA holds their July meeting. The agenda seems pretty short.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
EH News - June 29, 2010
A little late getting this edited and posted but here is the EH News Marilyn Vitale and I shot on June 29th.
Friday, July 9, 2010
FOI Presentation
Tom Hennick the Public Education Officer for the Freedom of Information Commission came to East Haven Thursday night. He gave a talk on the Freedom of Information Act and answered questions from the audience. The talk was sponsored by the Hagaman Memorial Library. Karen Jensen, the library director, was on hand to introduce Mr. Hennick. He covered both the rules regarding meetings and public documents. It was a very informative hour.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
PZC - July 7, 2010
On Wednesday night the Planning and Zoning Commission met in a marathon session which lasted over 2 1/2 hours. The longest review was for the 4 story storage facility that is proposed for 495 South Beach Road. Regular readers may remember this from several months ago when I railed against putting such a large structure on the edge of wetlands. Last night they approved the site plan for the structure.
The meeting was so long I am breaking up the video into 4 parts and will post each part as it gets uploaded.
Part 1 (318-320 Main Street-Dunkin Donuts, 32 Hemingway Avenue, 38 Hemingway Avenue):
The meeting was so long I am breaking up the video into 4 parts and will post each part as it gets uploaded.
Part 1 (318-320 Main Street-Dunkin Donuts, 32 Hemingway Avenue, 38 Hemingway Avenue):
Part 2 (641 Main Street, 495 Short Beach Road):
Part 3 (cont. 495 Short Beach Road):
Part 4 (Three Stone Pillars Road, late addons):
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Town Council - July 6, 2010
On Tuesday night the Town Council had their July meeting which was preceded by a couple of public hearings. The big discussion of the night was on the creation of a Deputy Police Chief's position. The motion to create the position ultimately went down to defeat but not before tempers got a little short among some of the participants.
Also of note, Senator Fasano and Representatives Lawlor and Candelora gave a presentation of the things going on in Hartford that might affect East Haven.
Public Hearings:
Also of note, Senator Fasano and Representatives Lawlor and Candelora gave a presentation of the things going on in Hartford that might affect East Haven.
Public Hearings:
Town Council Meeting Part 1:
Town Council Meeting Part 2:
Town Council Meeting Part 3:
Town Council Meeting Part 4:
Monday, July 5, 2010
Fireworks
A short video of fireworks, not the political kind, from last night's New Haven fireworks. This was taken from the parking lot at Lowe's on Route 80. Enjoy.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Student Records Case
It looks like the student records issue at the BOE is being investigated by the local police. This week I had a visit from the EHPD officer investigating the case. He asked for the information I have received pursuant to the FOI request I made to the Superintendent's office for information on the mishandling of student records. So far, however, I have not received anything from the Superintendent's office. It is beginning to look more like the Superintendent and the BOE is trying to sweep this under the carpet.
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