Woodstock CT Café

See Outage Map

It says that Woodstock has 66% affected at 10 AM Aug 3`1st. Today, Sep 1, 70% are affected. The map shows clearly that Eastern CT was more dramatically affected than North Western CT probably because of the more heavily wooded streets and residences. The eye of the huricane was just west of Danbury near the NY border.

From Rich Dempsey
All fire departments were staffed and standing by during the storm. Thankfully, no injuries but lots of trees down as shown above.

We are still pumping out basements and monitoring several HAZMAT situations such as gas or fuel oil in flooded basements, downed and leaking transformer cases.

DO NOT move wires yourself. (find a Republican to do that ).

Seriously, folks that are running generators can backfeed the power lines that you may think are dead and you could be the dead one.

Stay safe, be patient, make sure your neighbors are ok.

Also flooding in Rowayton (nestled between Darien and Norwalk) shown in three videos.

August 30, 2011 – 1PM – 83% of CL&P customers are without power (down from 93% yesterday)
August 31, 2011 – 7AM – 65% of CL&P customers are without power… but the Fair is fully charged

Still out of power/internet. Making it through and getting plenty of sleep.

Although the WES has power, the WMS does not (as of 11:30 AM). The Superintendent will be making the call for tomorrow’s school day later this afternoon. Both cafeterias lost most of their frozen/refrigerated food stuffs (though some frozen goods from the WMS were able to be saved, being put in the freezer at Hyde School). There are still a good deal of closed roads in town, some of which are used by the buses on several routes. This will affect the Superintendent’s decision as well.

Just an update, coming to you from the Thompson Library. Stay safe all. Be well.

Scenes in Woodstock on Sunday afternoon (click to enlarge):

1. Route 197 near Brickyard.
2. Bradford Corner Rd.
3. Center Rd. entering on to route 197
4. Dirt section of Barber Rd. west of Barlow Cemetary Rd.
5. Perrin Rd.
6. Route 171 near entrance to New Sweden Rd.
7. Old Hall Rd.
8. Further up Old Hall.
9. Lawn flooded by English Neighborhood Creek on Route 197 near Route 169.

“A hurricane came up the coast into the Chesapeake. I was worried about the house and told Jean that if the house was blown away, I wanted to be there, inside the house. So I drove out to Marriottsville in heavy winds and rain in the late afternoon and stayed in the house well into the night.”

from John

In the early summer of 1974 my earlier wife,  Jean,  and I purchased the pre-cut wood from Cap Homes to build a home. The deal was that Cap would supply the carpenters and I would arrange the sub-contractors for the foundation, chimney mason, electricity and plumbing. I also sub-contracted the sheet rockers, and roofers. I was lucky to meet Olin Ketterman (I forget how) who agreed to dig the hole for our foundation, complete our circular driveway through the woods, and bury some derelict cars with his front-loader.

Jean took the picture (below) of me sitting on top of ‘Mount Ketterman’, a pile of dirt from the foundation hole. That’s Ketterman in the background finishing the hole. Ketterman also lined up the crew who built our basement of cement brick and poured the cement floor. I learned to appreciate the advice of the tempermental Ketterman. The foundation was level and flawless. Then Cap homes delivered the wood in early August with a semi truck that had to drive up the hill in front of us from the Lindbergs lot in front. Becky and Frank never followed through with their plans to build their house, and I was selfishly pleased because we were able to buy their 5 acre lot for $5500 and have our forest ‘park’ to ourselves. This put us right on the well-paved Henryton Road which led north across the Little Patapsco River about a half mile away to a secluded sanitarium just over the Howard County line in Carroll County.

After waiting for two months for the carpenters to show up, I was complaining to Ketterman about the situation. His response was “Why don’t you build the house?” This solved my dilemma, so I struck a deal with Cap that they would pay me to build the home. On October 1st I started a three week vacation from the lab and drove to Marriottsville every morning … for almost five weeks with almost no breaks … and the weather was splendid as the pictures that jean took indicate. Here’s where my favorite quote applies: “But to Winston Churchill everything under the sun was new–seen and appraised as on the first day of creation.” I had no idea what I was doing but I did it anyway. I followed the directions provided to carpenters by Cap. One example of my naivete was that I hadn’t conceived of renting an electric generator; I knew nothing of power tools; all was done by hand, but with dogged precision in spite of my pesky tendency to mis-read the tape measure by one inch to either side – ah dyslexia!!!

The first picture (left to right, top to bottom) was how the house looked after all improvements had been completed by 1984 or 1985. Mariah and I repainted the house dark blue in 1994. The sequence of pictures leading up to the last show the progress from early October 1974 to the end of October. Read the rest of this entry »

from John

What is there to say about earthquakes that hasn’t been said already.

click to enlarge (green arrow locates Palo Alto west of Fremont across the Bay. Palo Alto is only a few miles from the fault. In fact the Stanford Univ Linear Accelerator is on the fault.)

The Virginia 5.8/5.9 earthquake was a new experience for easterners. If you live near the San Andreas fault shown in the map of California, quakes of this size (more or less) may occur several times in a decade (the green arrow points to our former home, Palo Alto CA). The Richter scale is exponential so the 6.9 “Big One” near San Jose (Loma Prieta) in 1989 was 10 times, or more, the energy of the Virginia quake at its epicenter. I can remember taking a taxi from Philadelphia Airport into Philly passing by many old brick buildings on the south side of Philly and thinking that all of those buildings would crumble to the ground if a quake of 6.9 came close to Philly having already experienced the Big One 15 miles away from the epicenter.

The Big One occurred in the hills between Santa Cruz and San Jose on October 17 at a little after 5PM. It rocked my building like a large boat sideways in 200-foot waves. I was head of this research institute so being the responsible person I was  … I was the first out of the building. In retrospect, the quake lasted only about 15 seconds so this was the amount of time it took me to get from my 2nd floor office to my car next to the building. I was exhilarated, but I would not have been so if I was one of the 57 victims who were killed, or the thousands who were injured or incurred significant property damage. The mass transit system in the SF Bay Area received about $2 billion in damage in those 15 seconds.

I was sitting at my desk when the shaking started and rapidly crescendo’ed so that in a few seconds I realized what was happening. I darted out of my office to the main hall of the second floor and ran past my voluptuous HR person who was holding on to her doorway and hanging at about a 30 degree angle into the hall as I ran by – no need to save her. I remember bouncing off both walls of the hallway. I got down the stairs and out the front door to my car. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time for a little history of Woodstock for all of you newcomers. Here’s an article published in May 2007 by a former Woodstocker who moved back to Australia.

from the Aussie

Having grown up is the Outback near Alice Springs and the Abo lands, I am somewhat familiar with kangaroo courts. Some nit-picking dingbats will try to tell you that kangaroo courts first arose during the Calyfornia gold rush and claim jumpers but kangaroo courts were well practiced in 1800 and early 1900′s in the lawless Outback …and after all, ‘roos’ are our state bird just like your bald eagle.

Being from the down-under, which we call “the up top”, I was at first tickled as a bush pig when the Villager started to publish because I thought that it would teach me how you blokes run my adopted home of Woodstock. But after digesting many articles in this rag I began to feel like I was back reading the bush telegraph in alligator country.

There seems to be two sides in Woodstock. One side, which appears to be in the minority judging from its presence in the Villager, seems to be well meaning in acting and speaking intelligently for the best interests in town as a whole. The other group with a greater presence in the Villager appears to be conspiratorial and negative – cunning like shithouse rats…or maybe they just have a lot of time on their hands.

By reading the Villager and articles at this Cafe, I have become aware of several very positive organizations in town that donate their time, money and energy to helping the schools and various town functions such as the Education Foundation, the Academy Footbrawl Boosters, the Parent Teachers Association, the Board of Education, the other volunteer Boards, the MFATFs (which I call meatheads), and the volunteers of the fire departments in town. And then there must be a lot of parents who want good schoolin for their anklebiters so that they can grow up and make a good livin. If you add up all of these blokes participating in these organizations and groups, there must be quite a large number of town residents who are working to improve our town, or at least wish to have a well-run town to live in and the best schools that we can afford for their kids. Perhaps only a low percentage of these hardworking blokes have “political agendas.” Read the rest of this entry »

Healthcare reform certainly is not all it could have been. It should have been single payer instead of moving away into the inferior individual mandate. But there are a ton of great things in that bill. Presently for the 40-50 million Americans who don’t have health insurance most of them are one moderate medical emergency away from financial ruin which in the long term is impacting all of us when we end up taking care of them. The plan also will end preexisting condition exemptions that feed into the above. It will also allow children to stay on their parent’s plans longer through the normal college and job search years. Of course, according to the CBO it does one of its most important objectives, it saves the US government money while providing broader coverage for Americans. It may not be perfect but there is a lot to like in there when you stop to look at it. You (db) asked what Democrats had done for us when they controlled everything, that’s it. When most of the provisions kick in in 2014 it will look very attractive.

You may not care about getting rid of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” but for civil libertarians like me it was a major event. So you ask why some of us support him, those things you don’t care about may very well be important to us. Civil rights issues are very important to me.

While we are talking about the wars, I do see a lot of drawdown of troops. It may not be at a pace everyone likes (either too slow or too fast) but there has been substantial movement in that area. Of course, he did get a major result in the “War on Terror” in that he ended up getting Bin Laden, more than he predecessor did and it’s hard to argue results.
Read the rest of this entry »

DBaker brought up his dissatisfaction with the new healthcare bill. I have to admit that I was very dissatisfied with the new law that does not go far enough. I read this interview of Jonathan Weiner (‘whiner’) over the weekend and thought his interview (published at his academic website) articulated well why managed healthcare needs to be universal. I spent 6 1/2 years as a postdoctoral fellow developing my cancer research program in the building directly behind Hopkins Hospital shown in the picture below. John

“When a young doctor or medical school dean tells me that in this country the market does what the market should do, and government should keep out of it, I tell them that’s fine, as long as they’re willing to return the million and a half dollars in federal and state subsidies for each doctor trained.” Jonathan Weiner, Noted Professor in Public Health, Blumberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

Also see an article relating to Dr. Weiner’s program “Cutting the Costs of Care”.

“MANAGED CARE Reporter: You’ve done consulting work across Europe and Asia. What are some essential differences in how other developed countries approach health care compared to how we do things here?

JONATHAN WEINER: Other developed countries have come to two realizations that we have not come to. One is that it is immoral — or at best, amoral — not to provide health care to everybody if we believe that basic health care is a sign of a developed country. Taiwan has moved very rapidly to universal health care. Even mainland China acknowledges that as it gets more developed, it will need to provide health care for everybody. Recently, while a colleague from Germany was here, a tractor-trailer truck rolled up with what I think is Johns Hopkins’ 18th scanner. He asked how we can afford another MRI while people two blocks away don’t have health care. I told him I don’t know. The second realization is that other countries acknowledge that the collective — social insurance programs like the sickness funds of Germany, government agencies, or third parties that look very much like our insurance or managed care companies — cannot provide everything for everybody.

MC: So far, health care has been largely immune to global competition. Do you expect that to change?

WEINER: Yes, the health care system will become flat like the rest of the global economy. It’s true that patients can’t head overseas as readily as many jobs have. But increasingly, as things are digitized, American doctors, just like American corporations, will need to be careful. When it’s feasible — in areas like laboratory, pathology, radiology, reading EKGs — care will be delivered at the lowest-price, highest-quality point, regardless of geography. Medical tourism is also showing signs of growth. At least two insurers, Blue Cross of South Carolina and one of the southern California Blues are starting to cover people traveling abroad to get health care. For elective surgeries, some patients will gladly go to another country where a procedure is a third or a quarter of the cost here and the quality is as good or better.

MC: Is there some shared trait among countries or organizations that have embraced health information technology?

WEINER: Every advanced HIT (healthcare informatics)system I’ve studied — the British, Hong Kong, Kaiser Permanente, and Geisinger Health System in the U.S. — has a centralized rational entity that looks at the big picture and sees itself as being in this for the long haul. Hong Kong has probably the most sophisticated HIT system in the world. All of the nearly seven million Hong Kong residents have electronic medical records. We really are the laggards. Many well intentioned and ethical managed care executives from IPAs and PPOs just can’t make a business case for investing to bring physician office systems up to speed.
Read the rest of this entry »

from Misha

“Do it because you think he’s the better man. I don’t see how you can do that now.”

Allow me to try then, Joe. You see, not once in the history of the American presidency has anyone been vilified and crucified by the GOP, right wingers and now, the Tea Partiers as much as President Obama has.

It began even before his inauguration, and has only increased since then. Lies and half truths are constantly pushed as facts. Even those who do not follow the minutiae of the issues, they would’ve seen it. So much so that, not only will Obama gets the support of Democrats, even the independents will vote for him once again.

I love how the GOP, Tea Partiers and right wingers love the heap accusations of incompetency, socialism, illegitimacy and now, treason, but never going all the way to actually try to impeach him. DO you know why? Because it’s all lies, and Obama will appear the better man at the end of it.

For the record though, since this is something the ignorant always seems to talk about:
(i) The federal stimulus was a measure agreed upon by the outgoing administration of Bush and the incoming one of Obama. It was seen as the only way to prevent a disastrous depression.
(ii) The 2009 deficit largely attributed to Obama is actually signed under Bush the previous year.
(iii) The debt-ceiling fiasco of last month was actually centered on the repayment of expenses made in 2010-2011, under a budget already approved by hypocrites like Bachmann. The Tea Party attempt to portray the debt-ceiling as a future expense was dishonest and a lot of ignorant people bought it.

(iv) Job figures have been steadily improving the past 18 months, and the number of jobs generated by the Obama administration in its first two years are actually more than what the Bush administration created in eight years. The only reason why unemployment remains so high is because the sub-prime banking crisis nearly toppled the American economy. 17 trillion were wiped off the citizen’s private wealth. That was how bad it it. Even during the The Great Depression of the 1930?s, only an equivalent of, vis-a-vis to GDP, $6 trillion disappeared from the economy.

Sometimes I think this all these attacks on Obama is just a combination of payback for the way Bush was criticised in the media and in some segments, racism.

It would be a good idea if the electorate actually stop listening to the rabid rhetoric of the politicians and actually investigate the truth for themselves. I always find reading COngressional records and the CBO as particularly enlightening to see the duplicity and integrity of a politician, as well as understanding the issues first hand.

So yeah Joe, I would vote for him again. And please, Reverend Wright screwed himself massively and paid for it – Obama has never even came close to him since then. If you want to play historical assumptions, then what about Perry and Bachmann? I cringe just thinking of it.

The title of this article was created by Cafe Admin. Please note that it appears that non-subcommittee members of the P&Z Commission crashed the subcommittee meeting for which the minutes are disclosed below this article. It is our opinion that a gang on the P&ZC is working out a way to get any and all types of lighting they want on behalf of the Woodstock Academy football field and program. Basically they want to light the field up to Hollywood ‘Friday Night Lights’ standards. Cafe Admin.

To the Planning and Zoning Commission:

What is the danger of weak, non-measurable or confusing regulations? Effectively there are NO regulations.

Regulations should be understandable, measurable, and simple to apply.
Referring to the proposed Wheeler/South Windsor regulations, measurements of lighting levels appears to be any thing but “understandable, measurable, and simple”. For example:

Regarding Illumination Standards (Sec. 6.3.2 C, D)

“maintain horizontal illuminance recommendations” set by the Illumination Engineering Society of North America … Note: The Illumination Engineering Society of North America did not support this technique in the released Model Lighting Ordinance.

Appendix B shows a chart in which illuminance in foot-candles (ft-cd) are compared against a subjective “levels of activity”.

There are several issues here:

1. What’s the difference between “Major Cultural or Civic Centers” (HIGH activity) and Cultural, Civic or Recreational Events” (MEDIUM activity)?
2. Measurement of light in ft-cd, (or Lumens per sq-ft) is problematic. There are meters calibrated for ft-cd measurements but the problem is not the meter, per say, but how it is used. If used to measure light falling on (reflecting from) a property line, then the meter is placed above the area at a specific distance to the surface and the measurement is recorded. This is only one measurement. For regulatory reasons, measurements must be made at “many” points on the property line.

Below, is a list of instructions on how to make “horizontal illuminance measurements” (courtesy of Pacific, Gas, & Electric). This is an example of measurements taken indoors but the principal is the same as for outdoors:

click to enlarge (now fully readable)

Regarding Light Pole and Fixture Standards (Sec. 6.3.3 A3)

“Lighting shall not shed more than .25 foot-candle over a property line.”
This is similar to the situation as described above for Sec. 6.3.2 and there is the same issue of exactly how to make this measurement. The difference is that a maximum level is sought along the property line. Is an engineer needed to make and certify this measurement?

Regarding Recreational Facility Lighting (Sec. 6.3.4 A1)

“…The applicant must meet the guidelines established by the current Electrical Institute of Engineers for recreational lighting, and all the requirements of these regulations.”

I have made an effort to find the reference above without success. Perhaps this is the Illumination Engineering Society from the previous reference. If so, the “horizontal illuminance” limits of “Major League Athletic Events” or perhaps, “Recreational Events” would apply. Again, measurement methods are the issue as only the parking lot is covered. This could mean that there is no limit to the illumination level onto the field itself – a clearly unacceptable situation.

The reference also could be the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, which was renamed in 1963 to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. However, I was still not able to confirm the reference regarding recreational lighting.

I was able to find this from the International Dark Sky Association (IDA):
The Joint IDA-IDS Model Lighting Ordinance references the Illumination Engineering Society (IES) Recommended Practice for Sports and Recreational Area Lighting RP-6. A description of RP-6 is shown below (Class III and IV would probably apply to any sports field in Woodstock):

click to enlarge (now fully readable)

Missing from Sec. 6.3.4 is the requirement that recreational lighting requires a “special permit” (with the exception of pole heights beyond the regulation’s maximum). An example of special permit wording in this regard, is from the Model Lighting Ordinance and shown below (italicization added for emphasis):

VI. LIGHTING BY SPECIAL PERMIT ONLY – Ordinance Text below

B. Complex and Non-Conforming Uses

Upon special permit issued by the Authority, lighting not complying with the technical requirements of this ordinance but consistent with its intent may be installed for complex sites or uses or special uses including, but not limited to, the following applications:

1. Sports facilities, including but not limited to unconditioned rinks, open courts, fields, and stadiums.
2. Construction lighting.
3. Lighting for industrial sites having special requirements, such as petrochemical manufacturing or storage, shipping piers, etc.
4. Parking structures.
5. Urban parks
6. Ornamental and architectural lighting of bridges, public monuments, statuary and public buildings.
7. Theme and amusement parks.
8. Correctional facilities.

To obtain such a permit, applicants shall demonstrate that the proposed lighting installation:

a. Has sustained every reasonable effort to mitigate the effects of light on the environment and surrounding properties, supported by a signed statement describing the mitigation measures. Such statement shall be accompanied by the calculations required for the Performance Method.
b. Employs lighting controls to reduce lighting at a Project Specific Curfew (“Curfew”) time to be established in the Permit.
c. Complies with the Performance Method after Curfew.
d. The Authority shall review each such application. A permit may be granted if, upon review, the Authority believes that the proposed lighting will not create unwarranted glare, sky glow, or light trespass.

Regarding Lighting-Related Definitions (Sec. 6.3.7)

RE: Full Cutoff Light “…above a 75 degree horizontal plane…” This is not the accepted definition of Full Cutoff Light.

RE: Glare “ …great enough to reduce a viewer’s ability to see…” This definition is subjective and has no measured limit.

RE: Partial Cutoff Luminaire “…does not allow any light…to shine above 90 degree horizontal…” This is not the accepted definition of Partial Cutoff Luminaire.

The requirement to have a professional conduct the design for compliant lighting should be the exception and not the rule for meeting lighting regulations. Proposed non-residential lighting regulations should be simple to understand and relatively easy to implement. The IDA-IES MLO can be the guide to meet this goal.

The danger of weak, non-measurable or confusing regulations is obvious; there are effectively no regulations.

I’ve fixed the formating and emboldened or striked sections according to these minutes.

What needed to be done to the NFA football field after 13 years. See the Norwich Bull. The initial investment will not be the final investment.

Woodstock Planning and Zoning Regulation Review Subcommittee Minutes
Thursday, August 4, 2011 Lower Level, Woodstock Town Hall 7:30 PM
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:40 PM
2. Roll Call: D. Fortin; D. Durst; S. Blodgett; F. Rich; D. Young; J. Adiletta; J. Gordon, M.D..

Please note that it appears that non-subcommittee members of the P&Z Commission crashed this subcommittee meeting. It is our opinion that a gang on the P&ZC is working out a way to get any and all types of lighting they want for the football field. Basically they do want to light the field up to Hollywood ’Friday Night Lights’ standards. Cafe Admin.

Staff: D. Fey, AICP, Planner/ZEO. Excused absences: K. Goldsmith; J. Anastazi; T. Serrine.
3. Minutes for July 7, 2011were approved (J. Gordon / D. Young). All in favor, motion carries.
4. Citizen’s comments: D. Durst reads an email from Mr. Earl Brazeal dated July 28, 2011, at his request since he could not attend meeting commenting on the referenced South Windsor outdoor lighting regulations as championed by Ms. Fey, Galen Semprebon, and Benjamin Wheeler. He will follow up with more detailed review when he is able. He adds that he feels the So. Windsor regulation is subjective and without hard measurements. He does not understand the chart included with the regulation. He recommends no action until additional comments are submitted. D. Young asks for what Mr. Brazeal’s credentials are. It is generally recalled that he is an engineer in the optic field but it was not remembered to be necessarily related to outdoor lighting.
5. Distribute / Review revised section of DRAFT Regulations on Bonding
Ms. Fey drafted these Bonding Regulations and had reviewed these with Galen Semprebon, P.E., Design Professionals and Barbara Rich, Town Treasurer. The new law that was passed recently regarding land use bonds will require some changes. It was recommended by Ms. Fey to draft the regulation in the way that would work best for us with all that we have learned from past developments and have the Town Attorney will review it and make changes according to the new law. PZC members did not have sufficient time to review it and would like more before making any comments on it. Some changes had been made by Fey in response to recommendations from Semprebon including that he did not feel we should specify the amount in the regulations for the driveway and landscaping bonds because it may need to change depending on the site specific issues. Discussion ensued on the purpose of the bond and what the town would do with it if they were to call it and the town’s liability for an approved application in terms of what is covered by the bond. Fey explained that the town does not have the responsibility or burden to complete the project / development. The bond is to make the site safe. Our engineer reviews the proposed bond amount and can make recommended changes if necessary. There are differences in terms of whether the bond is for roads/public improvements or for erosion and sediment control. The Bond Regulations will need to be titled: “Bonding”. Some concerns were that the bond amount has to be reasonable and worth it so the contractor doesn’t just walk away and not finish the job.

MOTION to table this item until the September meeting to allow additional time for PZC to review it (J. Gordon / S. Blodgett). All in favor, motion carries.

6. Review feedback on DRAFT Lighting Regulations
a. Ben Wheeler, RLA, Design Professionals, Inc.
b. Delia P. Fey, AICP, Town Planner

J. Gordon asked for a clarification of Mr. Wheeler’s credentials, Fey stated Mr. Wheeler is a Registered Landscape Architect and prepares lighting plans for Design Professionals’ clients. Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Semprebon both recommended South Windsor’s outdoor lighting regulations after having reviewed our previous DRAFT lighting regulations.

The recent Woodstock DRAFT lighting regulation was fairly extensive, both Design Professionals and Ms. Fey recommended that PZC Subcommittee instead consider South Windsor’s outdoor lighting regulations since the current draft was felt to be too costly and too complicated for the average applicant.

Discussion ensued on South Windsor’s regulations and the consensus was that they were felt to be readable /easy to understand and workable for Town officials, also that it can be modified to suit Woodstock better by melding the current Woodstock DRAFT into the South Windsor regulations and modifying where necessary. There is more about lighting and non-residential development that needs to be discussed in the POCD Update process before a lot of regulations are created pertaining to this topic. The current zoning regulations only have the bare minimum in reference to lighting D. Fortin recalled a previous discussion regarding drafting regulations: “before we move to write any regulations, but more specifically any detailed restrictive and complicated regulations, we should do our planning and local data collecting on a particular area of concern” as recommended by D. Fey in April 2011. This is why many felt they should
utilize the POCD process to address the issues of non-residential development which includes lighting. D. Durst requested clarification on the lighting regulations. Fey stated the BUG rating is about the spread of light or light pollution not about the brightness. Thus the most important part about regulating light pollution and sky glow, etc. is the design of the light fixture. If it is a shielded or full cut-off design it can restrict the spread of the light and focus it towards the ground. Fey is still not clear on how the current
DRAFT regulations would work, for instance the different BUG rating depends on the distance from the boundary lines which means different light fixture types would be allowed which would be confusing between different setback categories. Also, it is not clear when an existing business would need a light zoning permit and also there are no records of where and what type of lights existing businesses have. Fey stated that since the current Zoning Regulations have so little on lighting it would be a big step to move to a modified version of the So. Windsor regulations but it seems to be
reasonable. In comparison, the current DRAFT regulation is a significantly larger step in terms of regulating lighting.

The consensus is that Mr. Brazeal’s input and work are appreciated Earl Brazeal’s Letter to Jeff Gordon

… however the decision via a consensus was to modify the South Windsor Regulations by using some sections from the current DRAFT. Read the rest of this entry »

A. Sarah Palin (Ms. Crosshairs)
B. Michele Bachmann (Happy Birthday Elvis)
C. Rick Perry (Mr. Secession)
D. Mitt Romney (author of RomneyCare)
E. Ron Paul (forthright)
F. Newt Gingrich ( )
G. Jon Huntsman (maybe, but a Latter Day Saint)
H. Herman Cain (very Able)
I. Jon Greenspon (Jeffersonian Republican, social conservative)
J. Gerry Johnson (former Gov of New Mexico)
K. Fred Karger (Gay Rights activist)
L. Andy Martin (Birther)
M. Thad McCarter (Rep. from Michigan)
N. Paul Ryan (Representative Wisconsin)
O. Jimmy McMillen (Rent-is-too-damn-high party, running as a Repub)
P. Roy Moore (former Chief Justice of Alabama Supreme Court)
Q. Buddy Roemer (form Gov. of LA)
R. Rick Santorum (former US Senator from PA, put out of office Tea Party)
S. Vern Wuensche (businessman)
T. Bring Back any George Bush
U. Chris Christie (sort of fat)
V. Other.

These candidates are summarized and compared at http://2012.republican-candidates.org/

Almost in order A through U left to right and down. Does it really matter?

Does anyone see a winner here?

“Social reform is not to be secured by noise and shouting, by complaints and denunciation, by the formation of parties, or the making of revolutions, but by the awakening of thought and the progress of ideas. Until there be correct thought, there cannot be right action, and when there is correct thought, right action will follow.” – Social Problems, 1886 http://www.henrygeorgeschool.org/theschool.htm .
The following essay is taken from http://www.landandfreedom.org/ushistory/us19.htm .

Deficit spending — when more is spent by the government than is collected in taxes — has frequently been a policy of the U.S. government. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury under President Washington, promoted the policy of incurring debts as a method of establishing sound credit. Many succeeding administrations followed suit. However, debts were incurred mainly as a result of wars, and periods of postwar prosperity made them easy to erase. Government debts had not been used to attempt to improve peacetime economic conditions. As a result of the Great Depression, however, a new era was ushered in — an era in which fiscal policy included government borrowing aimed specifically at lessening the effects of the depression.

In campaigning for the presidency in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the American public that a balanced budget would be maintained. In fact, during all his years in the White House, prior to our buildup for World War II, a balanced budget was uppermost in his mind. Philosophically, he was against the government’s going further into debt — but, in order to support his many relief programs, his advisors felt that it was necessary to spend more. As program after program was passed — programs that would cost taxpayers billions of dollars — the choices were increased taxes or government borrowing. So, to give the American people a “New Deal,” a budget deficit was needed.

When he first took over the presidency, Roosevelt had the backing of many segments of society — not only the general public but bankers and businessmen. The depression affected everyone. Business was hurt badly; government borrowing was far more acceptable to the business community than higher taxes. Such was the attitude until 1936, when bankers and businessmen began to change their views. As recovery began to take effect, the deficit was not considered necessary. Even though he did not favor greater debt, Roosevelt had his priorities. Convinced that deficits were temporary and not a permanent fact of fiscal life, he was exultant about the pump-priming consequences of spending. In his budget message of 1936 he stated:

“Our policy is succeeding. The figures prove it Secure in the knowledge that steadily decreasing deficits will turn in time into steadily increasing surpluses, and that it is the deficit of today which is making possible the surplus of tomorrow, let us pursue the course we have mapped.”

As unemployment decreased during those early years of pump-priming, there seemed to be some grounds for President Roosevelt’s optimism. Then, one year after his second inauguration, unemployment began to rise. Why, in spite of this pump priming, was there a recession within a depression? The pump was not running; prosperity generated by deficits had not survived the withdrawal of the stimulus. Were deficits to become a permanent part of government policy? Read the rest of this entry »

From Marylou Davis

With empathetic interest, I read Ms. Kimball’s essay in August 5th, Woodstock Villager titled “Wal Mart Construction is a Bad Business Decision.” As I type this letter, I hear the wrenching sounds of chain-saws and earth-moving equipment manned by workers who clear-cut a wet, contiguous tract of forest located in the heart of a beautiful historic neighborhood in Woodstock. This coming development, like Brooklyn’s Wal-Mart, is also a “done-deal.”

Woodstock isn’t getting a Super Big-Box store. We’re getting a Super-Sports Complex with parking for 800, scenic-road widening, a PA System, and as Academy Headmaster Kim Caron tells me, “ It will be wired for lights.” In another, quieter corner of NE Connecticut, a group of sports fans plot to gain the final permit for tall stadium lights. With the Academy’s present approval allowing an unlimited number of events along with their ability to rent the facility out to tenants – the 300-year-old surrounding residential neighborhood has already lost its incomparable historic landscape along with its peace.

Within Ms. Kimball’s letter, I note some gloomy parallels between the Academy administration and that of Wal-Mart. Neither will demonstrate how its development is financially prudent. Neither is forthcoming with information. Both locations are less than optimal for the use. And neither shows any care for the neighborhoods within which they build its developments.

But why should they? Both the Academy and Wal-Mart understand that long-term preservation, inappropriate land use, or good relations with their neighbors isn’t a concern. They will do whatever they want to do because the towns of Brooklyn and Woodstock have inadequate planning and zoning regulations to prevent it. Without community planning and firm regulation — anything can be built anywhere. And it will continue to be.

If you own property and want to ensure its strong future: read your town’s regulations, learn the positions of your Planning and Zoning Commissioners regarding the subject, read the minutes (on line) as to how they comment and vote in meetings – and then go to the polls and vote. Most of us are best served by electing commissioners who recognize the vast complexity of the subject but are un-biased regarding the local picture.

There are exemplary planning and zoning commissioners in Woodstock who work to a high level. They are the minority. They know who they are; we know who they are; this is not the group I refer to in this letter. I can’t comment on Brooklyn, but I know that Woodstock’s PZC is weighted with commissioners that reside in the shallow pockets of special interests. With an accompanying wink, this group likes to assure constituents that they’ll “take care of you.” Don’t believe it. They won’t. In fact they can’t. Without regulations vetted and voted for by the commission, none of us has an ounce of protection.
As example, consider this. A residential neighborhood in your town is forced to accept a large Sports Stadium with Lights. What then would prevent a six-bay, 24/7 gas station/mini-mart from being built next to your family home?

I fervently hope that the loss of peace and property value we now sustain and will forevermore does not happen to anyone else. It takes participation, fortitude, and a willingness to work together as neighbors for the adoption of vital legislation over a community’s future. Undesirable development can and will happen to you too if actions do not put in to place now — sound zoning. Brooklyn and Woodstock have each lost a battle but we do not need to lose this War.

from http://jbcupcakechallenge.com/

Reminder article

This is what happens when people who are suppose to be serving our interests serve their own. Any bets how the market will react come Monday… oh wait, it’ll start late Sunday afternoon!