Terry Cowgill

One For The Ages

I write from the Town Grove while listening to the estimable Hal Lefferts and his terrific afternoon show, The Wednesday Tune Fest (WTF), on WHDD-FM 91.9. It’s great to hear Hal’s voice on the air again (and his eclectic blend of electric and acoustic music). Now all we need is for Doug Harell to return and revive the outstanding Doug & Pony Show. Where is Doug these days anyway, Marshall?

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Well folks, we are witnessing the presidential campaign of your and my lifetime. We have a 71-year-old presumptive Republican nominee — a flip-flopper of Kerry-like proportions — allying himself with a dreadfully unpopular president. With an equally unpopular war, an economy in need of repair and gasoline prices at near $4 a gallon just about everywhere, it would appear to be a banner year for Democrats and, in particular, the Democratic nominee for president.

But wait! The Dems are on the verge on nominating an untested young pup with a thin resume about whom most people know little. He gives a great speech but has been exposed by his primary opponent as an empty vessel into which millions of Americans are pouring their dreams and aspirations (and money!). Worse yet, he has been a miserable failure at attracting the votes of blue-collar types who form the base of the party.

He speaks mostly in platitudes such as “Hope we can believe in” and “Yes we can!” When he does speak substance, he often reveals himself as an out-of-touch elitist with scant understanding of a huge sector of the electorate whose votes he asks for. And as the campaign progresses, he will be exposed as someone well to the left of the political center of this country.

And he will lose to the old man who thinks it would be fine to keep our troops in Iraq for 100 years. You heard it here. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory …

Paying for the Privilege

You know, now that the kerfuffle over the purchase of land for a new Salisbury-Sharon transfer station has subsided (at least for the moment), I’ve had time to consider some other thoughts about garbage. Yes, it’s time to talk trash!

One of the central questions posed by opponents of the Luke and Fitting properties was “What about Sharon? She hasn’t committed on paper to anything. She will get all of the benefits of the new transfer station while assuming none of the up-front costs and the associated risks.” [apologies to Mike LaRose for the use of the feminine pronoun!]

Still others have asked, “What about Millerton? Would we want to invite Millerton to join us since residents there have been without a transfer station for 15 years?” Well, if you listen to my simple proposal, the answer to both of those questions will be: “Who cares about them? Build it and they will come.”

Continue reading Paying for the Privilege…

Backpack Journalism

Just read a really cool piece in Editor & Publisher on the new breed of mobile journalists (known as “mojos”). Unfortunately, the article is only accessible online if you are a E&P subscriber, so you’ll have to take my word for it that it will change the way I work.

Actually, I’ve been moving in this direction for some time. While at the NYPA convention in Albany last month, I attended a seminar on backpack journalism. The concept is pretty much what it sounds like. With advances in technology, it’s now possible to work from almost anywhere. Plus, what better way to serve the interests of your readers than to get out of the office and look for news at street level?

A typical backpack journo rides around on a bicycle or in a modest car and carries with him a wireless-capable laptop, digital camera, tripod and cell phone. The LJ has provided me a with a pretty good camera and I already own the other four items. That means I’m ready. Watch out.

The advantages of this approach are many: you can stumble upon news, write a story or take some video and have it up on the web within minutes.

I’ve already practiced what I call tote-bag journalism, as when I videoed a couple of guys paddle surfing last September at the Salisbury Town Grove and filmed part of the Salisbury Memorial Day festivities a year ago. The difference is that now I can upload the clip quickly via a wireless connection on my Macbook.

Of course, I also experimented with live blogging the town meeting earlier this month on the purchase of land in Salisbury for a new transfer station. I got positive feedback from a woman who walked up to me in the Stop & Shop and said she loved the immediacy and informality of it.

As soon as the weather turns nice (Monday?), I’m going to make a practice of bicycling to work. I will pack my journo tools and see what happens. And I’ll even save some bucks on gasoline. Wish me luck.

P.S. Eat your heart out, Sam Herrick.

P.P.S. Sam is the business manager for the Region One School District. During the warmer months, he regularly bicycles from his home in Sheffield to the office in Falls Village. I’d say it’s 15 miles each way. Iron Man Sam is amazing.

Student art show will be moved next door after fire

News alert: This bit of news was too late for this week’s print edition and is going up here and on the home page at tcextra.com. I’ve been to this event several times and recommend it highly.

LAKEVILLE — A relatively minor fire Wednesday morning in the basement of The White Gallery will not put the brakes on a planned student art show and reception this weekend.

Entitled “Blue & Gold,” the show featuring works by students at Housatonic Valley Regional High School will be moved next door to Borden Realtors at 346 Main Street in Lakeville, said Susan Galluzzo, co-owner with her husband Tino of The White Gallery.

The show will run from Friday, May 16, through Sunday, May 18. There will be a reception for artists on Friday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., also at Borden’s. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to Saturday. All proceeds will benefit young artists in the art program at the high school.

The show is sponsored by Borden’s and the White Gallery.

– Terry Cowgill

More Wisdom From Hartford

Thanks to all those who commented on the previous post about the failure of the state legislature to enact a ban on open containers of alcohol in the car.

I have a legislative update story coming out in tomorrow’s print edition. Neither of our representatives in Hartford, Andrew Roraback nor Roberta Willis, gives the session high marks. Andrew gave it “a C+ at best,” while Roberta (a former teacher) did not want to hurt her fellow lawmakers’ self-esteem by assigning it a grade. So she characterized the 2008 session as “in need of improvement.”

Among the highlights:

• A bill passed that would uses state resources to help victims of the subprime mortgage crisis and impose tighter restrictions on lenders. Rell is expected to sign it. Lawmakers also succeed in raising the minimum hourly wage from $7.65 to $8 starting Jan. 1, 2009, and to $8.25 beginning Jan. 1, 2010.

  Willis voted for it and Roraback against it. Roraback said he had spoken with restaurant owners who were concerned that the profitability of their businesses could be placed in jeopardy by the increase.

• Both Roraback and Willis say they are proud of legislation that would impose restrictions on “greenhouse emissions” thought to cause global warming. Rell is expected to sign the bill, which will force state agencies to meet emissions goals by 2020. Connecticut is the fifth state in the nation to adopt such legislation.

• Different versions of an ethics bill that would revoke the pensions of corrupt state officials passed in both houses. The bill had attracted attention after it was disclosed that disgraced former Gov. John Rowland and other convicted state officials were collecting full pensions. An attempt to reconcile the two bills failed on the last day of the legislative session. That means that the measure died, which both Roraback and Willis described as a disappointment.

Whenever I say this about the minimum wage, many of my friends give me looks of horror. I don’t think we need one. Willis voted for the measure even though she conceded it will have little or no effect in her district, where even burger flipping jobs are paying close to $10 an hour.

This is where my libertarian streak sets in. I don’t think the government should be in the business of setting wages — minimum or otherwise. If you aren’t being paid enough, find another employer. If you can’t find another job that pays better, then you are out of luck. The vast majority of minimum wage earners are working second jobs on a part-time basis anyway.

Roberta told me that even $10/hr is not sufficient in the NWC. She indicated at least $15/hr was needed for a full-time worker to pay rent, utilities and drive a car in this area. So, why don’t we just raise the minimum wage to that level? Because there would be fewer jobs, of course.

Isn’t it better to have more people working at lower wages than fewer working at higher wages? Look, I feel the pain of those who struggle to meet the costs of living in the NWC. I myself work three jobs in order to live here. But outside of the large cities, raising the minimum wage to $8 is just window dressing — a symbolic gesture at best.

How about making Connecticut a more attractive place in which to do business by reducing the tax and regulatory burden on new and existing business? The resulting boomlet would create jobs, increase the demand for labor and drive wages up. Imagine that!

Bar Car

The recent failure of the Connecticut General Assembly to pass a law banning open containers of alcohol in vehicles raises an interesting question. Do we really need such laws? Evidently the NYT thinks it’s a no-brainer.

As I told a regular reader of this blog in an email a few moments ago, I really could care less whether passengers are sipping tea or doing boilermakers so long as the driver is sober. Driving while impaired is strictly prohibited. So, for that matter, is making such a disturbance in a car as to cause an accident, as drunken passengers might do. Sounds to me like we’re already covered.

Unless someone can provide compelling evidence that allowing passengers to consume alcohol will result in higher drunk driving rates, then I’m inclined to chalk this failed legislation up as a “feel-good” measure that would do nothing more than make lawmakers and victims of drunk driving feel like they are doing something about the problem.

BTW I’d put hate crimes in the same category. Lynching, beating, raping and murder are already serious crimes punishable by lengthy prison sentences, life in prison or worse. But hey, it makes us feel better when we can impose a special sanction on a criminal if he tortures another man just because he’s gay or African American.

The folly of that sentiment was best illustrated by the Texas lynching death of James Byrd, a black man who was savagely beaten by three white men, tethered to a car, dragged three miles and ultimately decapitated.

Civil right advocates were upset at then-Gov. George W. Bush for his opposition to hate crimes legislation. Even without such measures, two of the three men were sentenced to death and the third was given a life sentence. All this was accomplished without hate crime laws. Imagine that …

Why The Silence?

The more I learn about Barack Obama, the more I am convinced the Dems will be making a big mistake nominating him. By themselves, Bittergate, Tony Rezko and Rev. Wright don’t amount to a hill of beans. Considered together, however, they (and others like them) spell trouble for him in November.

Take his wife, for example. Regular readers will recall I did a post on Michelle Obama in February regarding a truly bizarre speech in which she suggested government needed to “save our souls.” Last week in North Carolina she gave an equally disturbing and little noticed talk on “Moving the Bar.”

Please, don’t take my word on how brooding and intensely pessimistic she is. Click here for the full transcript or here for the full audio (unfortunately it’s more than an hour long). Tell me if you don’t feel like slitting your wrists after only 10 minutes of listening to this stuff. It’s not only depressing but offensive.

Continue reading Why The Silence?…

Come Back Or I’ll Bite Your Legs Off!

After watching Hillary’s post Indiana razor-thin victory speech last night, I was struck by how the cable pundits were casting it as very conciliatory and a sign that she’s ready to throw in the towel soon.

Baloney! She said some nice words about party unity but Hillary also claimed that “We’ve broken the tie,” vowed to proceed “full speed to the White House” and issued implicit fundraising appeals. Those don’t sound like the words of a candidate on the verge of giving up, but rather more like the Energizer Bunny (or a Timex).

Indeed, Colin McEnroe has come up with a better analogy from pop culture to describe Hillary’s doggedness. Like the black night in Monty Python & The Holy Grail, Hillary is unjustifiably confident, has had various limbs severed and cannot really fight back. Instead, like the knight, the best she can do is taunt Obama and bleed on him.

What do you say, Mark Devey, our resident Monty Python expert? Does the analogy hold water … er, blood?

Region 1 2008 Budget Referendum Results

Here are today’s Region 1 budget referendum results. It passed handily, but there were a few surprises in the town votes that I will elaborate on in Thursday’s print edition.

TOWN	             YES	NO	TOTAL
Cornwall	      51	7	58
Falls Village	      60	17	77
Kent	             101	51	152
North Canaan	      67	56	123
Salisbury	     110	19	129
Sharon	              48	30	78

---------------------------------------------
TOTALS	             437	180	617

Vote Today (but not for prez!)

No, this is not Indiana or North Carolina, where presidential primaries are taking place as I write this. But this is also the day we can all vote of the proposed budget for the Region One School District, which serves six NWC towns and features a regional high school.

Click here to download a relatively recent copy of that document (PDF- Adobe Reader required), then get over to your town hall, where the polls opened about half an hour ago and where they’ll close at 8 p.m.

Here are the thumbnails:

Polls open at noon at local town halls and remain open until 8 p.m.


Hey, if you were one of almost 600 people motivated to go to Friday’s town meeting in Salisbury to weigh in on spending $2 million for a piece of property for a new transfer station, then you owe it to yourself to vote up or down on a budget of close to $14 million.

And Marshall is right. I’m not sure I agree with Peter Halle, who said in an earlier comment that low turnout is a sign of “contentment.” A yes vote would be such a sign. Staying away from the polls shows an unwillingness to participate. Sounds more like “disengagement” to me.

I will post the referendum results in this space shortly after the polls close tonight — not that very many people will care about spending $14 million …