Whaling City Man's Top 10 Reasons To Vote

Top 10 Reasons To Vote "YES" to The Magnet School Plan
10.
9.
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2. Because we said so.
1. Because we told you too.
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Top 10 Reasons To Vote "NO" to The Magnet School Plan
10. You will pay dearly in the long run.
9. Your kids may not be able to go to the school they want, even though they are New London residents, because a kid from out of town won that lottery spot.
8. Chris Clouet just made up the $61 million figure in his 21st Century Facility "Dream".
7. The Cambridge report says the schools are well maintained.
6. The City Council and the Board of Education say the schools are not well maintained. (see #7)
5. The Cambridge report says the buildings are in good shape.
4. The City Council, the Board of Education and Mr. McSparren and his editorial say the buildings are in deplorable condition. (see # 5)
3. Too many unanswered questions about percentages of out of district students vs in district students.
2. Review what happened with the new Jennings castle. What was the beginning budget???
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON TO VOTE "NO"
1. Elaine "no brainer" Maynard Adams prophetic statement to Stephen Chupaska "Why is this all about education?".

From the New London Times...

Click on photo to enlarge

http://zip06.theday.com/blogs/new_london_times/archive/2008/03/19/report-provides-pleasant-surprise-regarding-school-performance.aspx

Meeting Dates

City Council Meeting

Monday, April 7, 2008

7:00 p.m.

City Council Chambers

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Board of Education Meeting

Thursday

April 17, 2008

7:00 p.m.

Bennie Dover Middle School Library

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City Council Meeting

Monday, April 21, 2008

7:00 p.m.

City Council Chambers

According to Jenna Cho

Jenna reports the SEEC says he is guilty of Election law violations and he was fined! He admitted he violated election law. However a call to the SEEC confirmed no such thing, in fact they say that it was continued! Where is this information coming from? Stay tuned for future updates as they happen.

Article on charges against Nolan

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=9469c78f-fccf-44bc-871e-32c77493a5c8

Is this what is called investigative journalism? It is more like a puff piece. No real investigative work here. Nolan's remarks on how he misread the statute does not really change the validity of the complaint. As the statute clearly states: "such communication bears upon its face (1) the words "paid for by" and the following: (A) In the case of such an individual, the name and address of such individual; (B) in the case of a committee other than a party committee, the name of the committee and its campaign treasurer; or (C) in the case of a party committee, the name of the committee, and (2) the words "approved by" and the following: (A) In the case of an individual making or incurring an expenditure with the cooperation of, at the request or suggestion of, or in consultation with any candidate, candidate committee or candidate's agent, the name of such individual; or (B) in the case of a candidate committee, the name of the candidate. " so simply changing the wording from "printed in house" to "printed by Anthony Nolan" would still constitute a violation of election laws. Here's something for all you blog readers to chew on as well. Why was the disclosure on the flier so small that you had to use a magnifying glass to read it? To deceive, maybe? And don't we expect more from our police officers than to "misunderstand" the statutes? Would he accept that from anyone else who breaks the law? If you were breaking the law, could you get away with it by using that excuse? I don't think so! The SEEC offers all kinds of assistance to candidates so that violations like this do not happen! There is no reasonable, acceptable reason for him to have broken the law! We should not be so willing to accept any excuse from someone running for any office to violate the election laws, if we do, then we should not be surprised if they should break any other laws if and when they take their oath of office. And what does that oath then mean, if laws themselves mean nothing to them? Laws, no matter how small or trivial them may be, are for everyone to follow and NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! As was so eloquently put in a letter to the editor in today's Day “If you have the law, pound the law, if you have the facts, pound the facts, but if you have neither, pound the table.” These are clear facts, no one is pounding the table here!

"Magnet Plan" goes to referendum

"Shall the City approve the Board of Education's 21st Century School Facilities Plan also know as Magnet Plan with an appropriation of 58 million bonded by the State and 3 million bonded by the City for the design, improvement and construction thereof ?"

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Yes or No

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You will have your chance to decide April 8th, 2008. If you cannot make this date, make sure to call the City Clerk and request your absentee ballot. Vote! This is an important issue for New London, regardless of what your position is, it is important to vote and have your voice heard!

Welcome to the District

All we need now is Craig T. Nelson and we have a show!

What do you think of this? Do you think a new logo and new name will name will make a difference Downtown? And if so, why not something that has to do with New London's rich history? With all we have going on here in New London with our crime and our schools can we really expect so much from a new logo and a new name for downtown?

Super Duper "Stupid" Tuesday

The Chrysler 300 that you see has no front license plate, it has dark tinted windows (appears darker than allowed by law), it is parked in the pick up/drop off only spot in front of the NLHS, clearly not a parking space. What kind of example does this send? With all the activity at the high school on Election Day and after school activity why do the police not patrol through this facility and ticket for the obvious violations? This could be a drug dealer with the dark tinted windows. The car stands out and was there for quite a while. Or maybe the police did patrol through and just did nothing.

What will happen to Harbor...

What will happen to Harbor School when the Board of Ed closes it. Remember Edgerton? The "ballpark" value was $2.3 million and it is under contract with the city (and we are still waiting after 2 extentions) for $350,000. Now at the last City Council meeting, where Clouet was displaying his clear displeasure for the Councils actions, he said that the Harbor school was worth far more than Edgerton was. If Harbor School is far more valuable than Edgerton was why don't we just close it and sell it and use the money to renovate Nathan Hale and Winthrop and throw the "Magnet Plan" right into the river? And just in case you have forgotten Edgerton I have a little reminder for you...

Accountablilty

Accountability, what a wonderful thing it would be in New London. It seems there are some new and bright spots on the City Council. The Board of Education still seems to be lacking. Two BoE members show up at a City Council Finance Committee meeting when they were all invited. Invited not just to watch but to participate and answer questions. The Superintendent as well was invited. But the Superintendent had far more important business to attend to than the business of the City of NewLondon. Dr. Chris Clouet was at the Hygeinic art show for Waterford students. The Day wrote “Of course, the fact that the downtown gallery was hosting Waterford High School artists drew the attention of Christopher Clouet, New London's superintendent of schools, who wanted in on the action.” Who else thinks the priorities of the Superintendent for New London should be the business of New London. Did Clouet think that the head of the Finance Committee for the City Council just had nothing better to do that evening along with the rest of the City Council?

Hey David Turnier from Uncasville

You are wrong...


Sec. 9-621. (Formerly Sec. 9-333w). Political advertising. (a) No individual shall make or incur any expenditure with the cooperation of, at the request or suggestion of, or in consultation with any candidate, candidate committee or candidate's agent, and no candidate or committee shall make or incur any expenditure for any written, typed or other printed communication, or any web-based, written communication, which promotes the success or defeat of any candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or election or solicits funds to benefit any political party or committee unless such communication bears upon its face (1) the words "paid for by" and the following: (A) In the case of such an individual, the name and address of such individual; (B) in the case of a committee other than a party committee, the name of the committee and its campaign treasurer; or (C) in the case of a party committee, the name of the committee, and (2) the words "approved by" and the following: (A) In the case of an individual making or incurring an expenditure with the cooperation of, at the request or suggestion of, or in consultation with any candidate, candidate committee or candidate's agent, the name of such individual; or (B) in the case of a candidate committee, the name of the candidate. No candidate or candidate committee or exploratory committee established by a candidate shall make or incur any expenditure for a mailing to promote the success of said candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or election or the defeat of another candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or election, unless the mailing contains a photograph of the candidate conducting the mailing and said candidate's name in a font that is not less than the size of the font used for the narrative of the mailing.


Maybe you could educate yourself about election law a little before you make such an ignorant statement. And if, like you say, you have spoken to the place that did the printing, why not name them? And why no Union bug after his fellow Union brothers showed him support? And how do you just ignore the witnesses that have come forward about him printing these at the school, on NL green paper, no less?! I know that Nolan is available at the HS during those hours and is not busy because he wasn't doing anything while the school violated the law by covering up the handicap parking space! The State Elections Enforcement Commission's toll free number is 866-733-2463, call them and speak with one of their attorneys and tell them about the flyer and they will confirm that YOU ARE WRONG!

To be continued...

Football Mess Reveals A Sorry State Of Affairs

This article was printed in The Day

ByChuck Potter, Day Staff WriterPublished on 12/8/2007

BARBARA GILBERT IS THE town manager of Rocky Hill, Conn., the 35th best place to live in America, according to CNN Money Magazine, as reported by, well, Rocky Hill.
Reid Burdick is, uhh, well, he could be the Grand Poobah of the Fraternal Order of New London Guys. “The Burdick,” as he bills himself, tells it like it is, to anyone who will listen.
It's hard to tell which of them is more ticked off about tinkle-gate.
Tinkle-gate is the riff between New London and Rocky Hill officials. On Dec. 4, the New London football team played, and defeated, Cromwell's team. They played at Rocky Hill High School.
Rocky Hill Mayor Tony LaRosa told The Hartford Courant last Sunday that custodians reported that New London players had urinated and defecated on the floor of the Whalers' team room and restroom. LaRosa said there were no witnesses. The Whalers were blamed because it happened in their area.
In a public and televised Town Council meeting last Monday, LaRosa retracted the accusation of defecation.
Gilbert said the allegation went public when the Courant learned of a memo she sent out, which included that information. Consequently, she said, she heard from New London people all week, in various tones of voice, including one who “threatened to pummel the mayor” if he didn't apologize for unfairly accusing the Whalers.
It wasn't Burdick. He's a little more dignified than that. He requested a protest permit. The Rocky Hill Town Council meets on Dec. 17 and the Burdick plans to be there, to protest outside Town Hall and take the two minutes allowed to each citizen who desires to address the mayor and council.
“If enough people want to go, I'll pay for the bus,” he said. “If he exonerates New London, then there's no need to go. If he doesn't, I'm going. Anyone who did something like that should be arrested. But without the facts to prove it was our guys, those kids deserve an apology.”
Burdick called LaRosa a really nice man who commented based on hearsay information, without doing any research.
“This whole mess could have been avoided,” he said.
Gilbert shares that sentiment, but for a very different reason. She blamed the school's athletic director, Brian Fell. She said he acted outside of proper procedure, failing to register the game with the parks department, which manages the town's fields and facilities. She said the principal didn't even know about the game until the day after it was played. She said Fell pulled a similar stunt last year.
“He (Fell) acted as if it were just another home game,” Gilbert said Wednesday, referring to last week's debacle, essentially quoting the memo she disseminated earlier.
“We run large events all the time and we never have this sort of chaos,” she told me. “All he had to do was follow the procedure and we could have added bleachers, more porta-potties, fire police on hand ... things would have gone smoothly.”
She said Fell put the entire town at risk.
“We had to pull every one of our officers from their regular patrols. We even put our detectives in uniform. There was no one left to patrol the town.”
In her memo she wrote: “It is very apparent that neither of these schools had any regard for our facilities. ... The Rocky Hill High School Athletic Director's actions leave no one else to blame for this debacle. It has to be either negligence or ignorance.”
Fell said he would not comment beyond expressing faith that the real facts would come out in the investigation.
Seems despite the mayor's retraction, there's still a mess in the athletic department.
The apology line might begin with LaRosa, but needs to include Fell, and Gilbert too. Because it is not clear that New London had no regard for their facilities.
One more thing, the New London resident who made the threat needs to be in the apology line, too. His comment was an inappropriate, classless and unnecessary. Apparently, both communities have a little mess to clean up.
This is the opinion of Chuck Potter.

Printed in house?

How interesting that this is printed on New London High School green, and where exactly is "in house"? Could it be possible that these were printed "in high school"? There should be an investigation....maybe by Clouet? Or Cochran? Or maybe Nolan himself can investigate...I think it would be interesting to find out all the specifics of these flyers.....and why Nolan is a Board of Education member in violation of their own By laws and policies as well as State statute!!!

HANDICAP PARKING REGULATIONS CT GENERAL STATUTES Sec. 14-253a

(g) The State Traffic Commission, on any state highway, or local traffic authority, on any highway or street under its control, shall establish parking spaces in parking areas for twenty or more cars in which parking shall be prohibited to all motor vehicles except vehicles displaying a special license plate or a removable windshield placard issued pursuant to this section. Parking spaces in which parking shall be prohibited to all motor vehicles except vehicles displaying such special plate or placard shall be established in private parking areas for two hundred or more cars according to the following schedule:All such spaces shall be designated as reserved for exclusive use by handicapped persons and identified by the use of signs in accordance with subsection (h) of this section. Such parking spaces shall be adjacent to curb cuts or other unobstructed methods permitting sidewalk access to a blind or handicapped person and shall be fifteen feet wide, including three feet of cross hatch, or be parallel to a sidewalk. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply (1) in the event the State Building Code imposes more stringent requirements as to the size of the private parking area in which special parking spaces are required or as to the number of special parking spaces required or (2) in the event a municipal ordinance imposes more stringent requirements as to the size of existing private parking areas in which special parking spaces are required or as to the number of special parking spaces required. (h) Parking spaces designated for the handicapped on or after October 1, 1979, and prior to October 1, 2004, shall be as near as possible to a building entrance or walkway and shall be fifteen feet wide including three feet of cross hatch, or parallel to a sidewalk on a public highway. On and after October 1, 2004, parking spaces for passenger motor vehicles designated for the handicapped shall be as near as possible to a building entrance or walkway and shall be fifteen feet wide including five feet of cross hatch. On and after October 1, 2004, parking spaces for passenger vans designated for the handicapped shall be as near as possible to a building entrance or walkway and shall be sixteen feet wide including eight feet of cross hatch. Such spaces shall be designated by above grade signs with white lettering against a blue background and shall bear the words "handicapped parking permit required" and "violators will be fined". Such sign shall also bear the international symbol of access. When such a sign is replaced, repaired or erected it shall indicate the minimum fine for a violation of subsection (f) of this section. Such indicator may be in the form of a notice affixed to such a sign.

(l) Violation of any provision of this section shall be an infraction, provided the fine for violation of the provisions of subsection (f) of this section shall be not less than eighty-five dollars.

FORT TUMBLE

What will they ever do with this Delay after Delay.

What do you think?

Not only are rules meant for other people...

...but when we break the law, we are gonna do so for days!!!

These are from this evening around 4:00 pm! NICE!!!

Rules are for other people!

New London High School November 15th, 2007