Let's hope Bush gets the invite

I'm a bit late on this. I promised I'd post it today. Keith Olbermann has all the courage his colleagues have relinquished. Pass this to anyone who might give a damn.

Concerts of the Week

Tastes, Sights and Sounds of Middletown
Friday June 6 and Saturday June 7
Downtown Middletown, CT
All Concerts are Free




Friday, 7:30 - 9:30, Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem







Saturday, 4 - 5:30 pm, The Mark Mulcahy Band

Saturday, 9 - 11 pm, C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band
Fireworks Saturday Night, 9:30 pm

A little shift in the hometown Independence Day celebration to include a food and arts and crafts festival with music and fireworks. Can't beat free concerts by these great musicians.

Dr. Ralph Stanley
East Hartford Community Cultural Center
Friday June 6, 7:30 pm

This great bluegrass pioneer and giant is still going strong, and the East Hartford venue is a wonderful chance to witness a legend.

Carrie Rodriguez
Sunday June 8, 7 pm
Iron Horse
Northampton MA

A wonderful fiddler, singer and songwriter from Texas, now living in NYC by way of Berklee School of Music. She's just stepping out from beneath the long shadow of her mentor and musical partner Chip Taylor, and her solo album was a revelation.



Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
Monday July 9th, 8:30 pm
Pearl St.
Northampton, MA

The talented Chan Power has left her struggles with alcohol behind, and her once-maddeningly incosistent stage performances have turned into a thing of beauty and, well, power.

Take two pillars and call me in the morning

A few weeks ago, during graduation and reunion weekend at Wesleyan University, a delivery truck rammed one of the two pillars at the exit drive to the Russell House and knocked it down.

When I saw the missing pillar, I called Wesleyan facilities and they promised that the pillar would be rebuilt. Last week, they began to repair the pillar. Yesterday, while I was at work they finished.

Problem is, they only built the pillar to half it's original size, and then demolished the second pillar to match.

Now it looks like this.









When it should look like this.

I couldn't get anyone to answer their phone at the University today with tomorrow's imminent holiday, so I can't guess as to the motivation. Given the U's propensity to err in favor of cars and their drivers, I'm guessing the shorter pillar gives better sight lines to exiting autos. Though in the six years I've been in my house, I haven't witnessed a single accident.

It's almost always more convenient to spill someone else's blood

And so, the grand and mighty warrior, chickenhawk, and saber rattler, Creepy Joe Lieberman has declared that Iran has declared war on us. And so, we must declare war on them, because we have good intelligence that they are aiding Iraqui insurgents.

It's probably intelligence as good as the kind we used to get into the Iraq war in the first place.

It's probably the kind of intelligence that isn't.

It dropeth as the gentle rain from heaven...on my friends

Shakespeare's Portia claimed: "The quality of mercy is not strained..."

Perhaps George W once read The Merchant of Venice, or maybe, once, he at least adjusted some venetian blinds.

Whatever the case, he seems to take Portia's words to heart. Issuing mercy to his good friend, Scooter Libby, despite the fact that he has said, "I respect the jury's decision," it's unlikely that our plucky president is suddenly going to respect the rule of law now. And so, he has shown mercy, because, as Portia says: "It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

Unfortunately, this mercy did not seem to be available to the 131 prisoners Bush signed execution orders for when he was Governor of Texas.

He's likely making up for lost time. That makes 130 pardons for friends, political associates, donors, cronies...now, where did I put Jack Abramoff's number?

Final Score: Blacktop 9, History 2; or A Tale of Two Cities

Pardon my bitterness, but yesterday was a disappointing day. On the way to a meeting of Middletown's Common Council (which is the subject of this post), I heard that Bush had commuted Libby's sentence. It saddens me to hear more evidence that American democracy is broken and that the rule of law is a pathetic joke to the rich and powerful.

As for the Common Council meeting, more than two hours was spent debating how to investigate the alleged threat made by an unidentified police officer against council members before a vote on a new police contract. It was not a scintillating debate, and the final resolution was a carefully nuanced dance to avoid potential legal action against the city.

As for the comments, debate and vote on Liberty Square, the proposed development on Liberty and Main Streets, the bad news is that the "insider" deal seems to be alive and well in Middletown.

I will begin by saying, again, that commercial and retail development on that parcel is a good thing. I also think the plan is, in essence, a good plan. But it's not a perfect plan, and several of the speakers last night, both opposing and supporting the development, echoed that sentiment. Members of the North End Action Team spoke in favor of the development, as did Larry McHugh, representing the Middlesex Chamber, who called it a home run for the city. The developer, Peter Harding, an experienced and respected Main Street developer, also spoke about the positive effect it would have on the North End. There's no doubt that it will have a positive effect. But as designed, it will have some negative effects, as well.

Vijay Pinch, Jennifer Saines, Catherine Johnson and I spoke against the details of the development, and against the nature of a deal that was formulated without open bidding. We suggested that the 100 ft gap to be created on Main Street by the proposed parking lot runs against all principles of urban design which favor pedestrian-friendly development. We also argued that the driveway entrance/exit which crosses the Main Street sidewalk creates a car vs. pedestrian safety hazard. We argued the value of retaining the historically significant structure at 9 Liberty Street, as opposed to the 10 blacktop surface parking spaces which will front Liberty Street in its place. We argued that there were alternative, attractive, practical design alternatives. And we argued that this deal, like others the city has made in the past, is driven by a deadline imposed by the developer, and as a result, the city feels it's not in a position to pursue alternative options. Finally, I argued that after the announced sale of the Middletown Press building for $4 million, the city was in a good position to ask for concessions on a Main Street parcel that it will be deeding or leasing to the developer at a bargain price.

Town Planner Bill Warner affirmed that the city's stake in the deal, with tax abatements, amounted to approximately $720,000 and that the developer would be spending $3 million. Under questioning he revealed that while this public/private real estate deal had not gone through an open bidding process, that a regulation was being drawn up so that all future such deals would be forced to adhere to an RFP (request for bid) process. That's good news, except that it has no bearing on this project.

Vijay Pinch details the Council member's debate in a great summary email he sent this morning to members of the Village District and Aware. Some of what I say here is redundant if you've read that.

David Bauer spoke passionately and strongly against the proposal and against the process followed by the planning office. He suggested that the development plan only seemed to appear before the first city commission after it navigated City Hall departments, and was essentially designed. In fact, as it was presented by the developer to the Economic Development Committee, the Redevelopment Commission and the Design Review Board, it was complete enough in design and layout for the parcel, that the developer insisted, it could not be altered without the potential loss of the proposed tenant, It's Only Natural.

Vinnie Loffredo refused to support the development on the principled stand that he would oppose any plan which did not go through an open bidding process.

The rest of the Council members supported the development while some, including Earle Roberts and Elizabeth Nocera, felt design alterations suggested by the public could be pursued before the Zoning Board. And Gerry Daley thanked those of us who pursued our objections by attending meetings. While some of the members conceded that the plan was not perfect, none suggested a single friendly amendment to request changes in design for safety or streetscape.

Interestingly, Bob Santangelo, in praising the development as the "best thing since sliced bread" (I, in fact, don't like sliced bread), revealed that the new parking lot would solve a problem created by the the Richman Group (Wharfside Commons) development on Ferry St. The flaw in that development is that there is not enough parking for the number of units, and that this new parking lot is needed for offstreet parking for Wharfside Commons. So, it appears, this latest development is a band aid for the last development brought to the table by the planning department.

In general, I found the meeting, and its outcome, dissatisfying for a few reasons.

It's discouraging that the Common Council approved the development of surface parking directly on Main Street, causing a safety hazard, and a streetscape flaw.

It's discouraging that the Common Council, while recognizing that the plan was not perfect, asked for no concessions or alterations from the developer. With minor alterations I think it would be a fine plan.

It's discouraging that while the Council is concerned with economic development, the grand list and jobs, it seems to have little or no concern for streetscape, urban design, pedestrian throughflow, or the negative effects of surface parking lots.

It's discouraging that the mayor, whom I respect, and who campaigned on a platform against insider deals and preferred developer contracts (particularly in the cases of the Richman Group and Landmark Development), now supports a similar deal because he seems to like the details of this particular plan, which was not put out for bid, and entails taking a property through eminent domain.

It's discouraging that city leaders continue to have little respect for Middletown's historical and architectural heritage.

And frankly it's discouraging that aside from "the usual suspects" as Dave Bauer characterized us, so few other citizens seem to care enough about these issues to participate.

Overall the meeting points to the need for a masterplan for downtown development, complete with rigorous design specifications. It points to the need for a design review committee with real authority to prevent bad design. And it points to the need for the suggested regulation to prevent development without open bidding.

Barring a devastating natural disaster, it's unlikely that Middletown's historic character and architectural heritage will disappear in one fell swoop. Instead it vanishes a building at a time - a chapel on Liberty Street, a few house on Ferry Street, an old mill on Washington Street, a stately convent at the end of Main, a couple of houses on Lawn Avenue. And when we look back, we'll wonder where Middletown has gone.

Jelly Pies a Specialty

When Lucy was working with Alderhouse, they rehabbed an artist's coop on the North end of Main Street. When interior renovations were underway, it was clear that the building at 650 Main Street was originally two buildings, later skillfully connected. One big piece of evidence was an internal wall, located under plaster and true-dimension 2x4's.

This brick, internal wall, was obviously once an external wall, with a large, hand-painted sign for E. Millers Bakery (though the "b" in bakery was missing), and it advertised "Jelly Pies A Specialty" (though the "je" of jelly was missing). I mentioned to Lucy that this wall would make a unique and wonderful patio for our downtown yard, if it could be dismantled intact.

As always, I have ideas, and Lucy puts them into action. She assembled friends and family (Mike, Betsy, Ted, Nick, Maggie, Sher, Jenny, Jane, Russ, Mike) and on a sunny Saturday, each brick was numbered carefully, transported to my back yard, stacked into a three foot pile, and covered with a blue tarp, where they sat for five years).

Until three weeks ago, when the yard was finally in shape to build the patio. After unwrapping the stack, I found that several bricks had disintegrated, others were covered with moss, and several of the coded numbers on the bricks had faded completely. I spent a day arranging the bricks to see if I could re-assemble the sign.


Convinced that the sign was intact, with a few missing bricks, I coated them with a preservative. Then I spent most of Saturday and Sunday building the patio. By six on Sunday I was exhausted, and due to exhaustion, had to stop after hitting my finger with a rubber mallet for a second time. A few rows remain to be firmly set, but the unique patio is in place.


The most exciting discovery was the sign painter's signature, E. J. Pryor, which appeared after being coated with preservative. I hope that he would have appreciated my appreciation of his handiwork.

We have reports that the boogie man will jump out of the closet....tonite!

It was a big day for twisting the truth on ABC News as George Stephanopolous hosted Creepy Joe Lieberman and Homeland Security commandant Michael Chertoff.

Chertoff claims that the United States received a secret report indicating that al Qaida was planning a "spectacular" summer of terror with attacks on airports in Prague and Glasgow.

Strangely, though totally in character, Homeland Security never shared that report with the folks in Glasgow who were just attacked. Shades of 9-11.

By the way, Chertoff also reported that his department does not have "have any specific credible evidence that there's an attack focused on the United States at this point." He just thought a nice scare would send a chill down your spine during the hot summer months.

In Iraq, we've got the enemy on the run?

The surge is working?

Just who does Creepy Joe Lieberman, Mr. "Lieberman for Connecticut," think he's representing. On Sunday's This Week with George Stephanpoulos he makes some claims that seem to fly in the face of the facts being reported from Iraq. He trots out jingoism when he makes a plea to let our courageous men and women in uniform have the chance to do the job they want to do. Most of those good men and women in uniform would rather be home.

He also thinks that the 'big brother" tactics in Britain of TV cameras on every corner should be implemented here and that they wouldn't threaten anyone's liberties.

And he makes the Nazi Germany analogy when discussing Iran.

Besides the enemy on the run, Creepy Joe also indicates that American politicians are on the run in retreat from the war on terror.

Indoor fireworks

Common Council Meeting
Monday, July 2, 7 pm
Council Chambers, City Hall


It's going to be an interesting night in Council Chambers.

The resolution to conduct an investigation into an alleged threat by members of the police force against Council members, will create plenty of pre-July 4 fireworks early in the meeting. But another important vote will follow.

The Council will vote in resolution 11-3, whether to deed land, and provide tax abatements to a developer to build a new retail and commercial building on the corner of Main and Liberty. It's a sweetheart deal in which the city will pay many of the costs, may provide the land to the developer at low, or no cost and will allow generous tax abatements.

I'm personally in favor of commercial and retail development on that corner, but this deal has some alarming negative aspects.

It calls for the relocation of the vintage 1853 Methodist Chapel at 9 Liberty street and replacing it with 10 parking spaces for a new surface lot.

In addition, the plan calls for the new lot to border Main Street causing a 100 foot gap between buildings. This gap is the kind which progressive town planners consider hugely detrimental to pedestrian foot traffic.

And, the driveway entrance/exit is planned to cross Main Street which creates a dangerous pedestrian hazard.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, the city once again is making this deal with a single developer, without ever having offered the deal, with the same conditions, to open bidding.

My thoughts on the topic are in a previous post titled Give Me Liberty of Give Me A Parking Lot.

Please come to the meeting and participate if you believe in preserving Middletown's history, safety and you want to encourage open government.

Ed