Police Substation an Example of "Pork Barrel" Spending.

Simon Lake School was closed at great inconvenience to many parents who had children in that area. The decision to close the school was because the BOE was short on funds and they were told concessions had to be made.

You may not remember, but about two years ago the Jonathan Law auditorium was packed with nearly 1,000 very visibly upset teachers, parents, and students who held up signs pleading to have their school saved. School staff were laid off, attritioned and it was a very sad and despondent last day when the kids who were there had to say good bye to their school.

Education challenges in Milford have come mostly from the Republicans who opposed improvements to Jonathan Law, hired less than qualified Superintendents and terminated security guards. Never is there any discussion about how their choices caused our kids to rank in the bottom 1/3 for elementary schools, and the bottom 2/3 for middle schools. I remember when the CAPT scores were so terrible Polanski had to visit other schools and figure out how to effectively educate our kids.

With the way our schools have been financially treated over the last five years perhaps it’s my opponents concern that their actions and decisions will tempt our jobless kids to resort to more local crime.

The Republicans in Milford have had a very unusual and unorthodox relationship with the Milford Police Department. They stood silent as evidence in the Anderson vehicular homicide issue was front page news. They said and held no one accountable when the city destroyed the
subpoenaed videotapes "allegedly by accident" and they defend the fact, that despite all the policy and managerial issues in the P.D., that our police chief deserves nearly $200,000 a year in compensation for his effective management skills.

I could go on, and on, about how republicans dole out money to the police department in Milford I think the people of our city heard enough fear mongering about public safety issues. I will instead focus on the fact that this police substation is a BAD IDEA that will accomplish more waste at a time when the city is riddled with an est. 300M in debt.  A police training center/substation, in my opinion is a luxury not a need. I believe it will do little to nothing to alleviate the ongoing criminality in our city in any meaningful way.

What I believe the substation will accomplish is to perhaps earn the Republican Party support from the Police Unions and their friends and families here in Milford. I personally believe that those beneficiaries will help aid and assist Bob Joy in breaking his fiduciary promises by getting this "Wasteful" complex up and running.

To explain what I mean, Both Blake and Joy have borrowed phrases from Department stores like Target. They promised the voters that they were concerned about the city debt and we were going to get "More for Less." Instead it appears we are getting just "More or Less" of the same wasteful
spending. The election has merely begun just a few short months ago and these two liberal usurpers have doled out or proposed nearly 2 Million in wasteful spending under the guise of "charitable donations." I would like to remind the people of Milford that there is little to no difference
between Blake and Joy, they are both alike, in that they enjoy "Spreading the wealth" of the property owners in Milford.


Hopefully the voters are alert and awake enough to realize that they are spending our own money and not "bearing gifts" as they both would have us believe. If Milford fails to elect a real conservative they may just wake up one day and ask “how did such a great city change so dramatically.” For this reason I warn and beg of the voters to learn the facts and vote using critical thinking skills, if we keep letting the parties hijack our city they will keep forcing the rest of us to endlessly dig deeper to support their pet projects and outlandish salaries and benefits.

It is ultimately up to us to vote for those individuals who will allow Milford to prosper for the people and not the politicians.

Former Gov. Ventura Explains Voting

Former Navy Seal, Television Producer and Minnesota Gov. Jessee Ventura, failed to endorse his old Boss Linda McMahon because she is affiliated with a party. Ventura, has a populist view of voting that resonates with the new breed of Independents and gives a moving speech on how to vote before a Texas audience.

Jim Richetelli Makes Insulting Offer

The Republican sweep of virtually every board has put the Republican party in a very powerful position. Our Mayor has the most amount of dictatorial power than at any time in his career and this week he used it when he asked Genevieve Salvatore, the Democratic candidate for mayor to abdicate from her party.

Genevieve, who now chairs the Economic and Community Development commission is in danger of losing her seat. This loss may be due to the fact that some conservative Democrats are falling victim to the process itself.

Salvatore become the subject of criticism by the Republican party when she began canvassing for sewer installations in the North end of Milford. This would directly benefit her and her community as her home is one of those that would benefit from city sewers.

The sewers were all set to be installed as part of a development plan, known as Avalon Grove, that failed to come to realization. The cost of the sewer system was of concern despite the fact that the city of Milford promised it to the citizens of the North End. The cost of installing the sewers "skyrocketed" when the developer of Avalon Grove backed out due to political and market conditions detrimental to their investment.

When interviewed by the Connecticut Post, regarding the Richetelli offer, Salvatore responded by saying: "To be honest, I was a little insulted that he thought I'd change parties again. I made my decision to become a Democrat because my strong values and ideals align with the ideals of the Democratic party," she said. "My decision wasn't made for political expediency."

Mike Brown, a Democratic Party Boss and supporter of Ms. Salvatore, said that "what particularly disturbs him is that Democrats who have served the city well for the past two years, while the party was in power, are not being reappointed simply because they are Democrats."

Petty Thieves In Milford On The Rise

Recently I wrote an article that violent crimes in Milford are down dramatically in the wake of a 2008 population increase of nearly 3,000 people over the last five years. But in the area of petty crime, or "Property Crime" as it is listed in the Trulia graph above, Milford is a bit challenged, and fares at a level that is quite honestly very high.

On two occasions I had the opportunity to speak with a police officer about this very issue, and what he reported was mostly thievery by young adults on the prowl.

Most complaints that involve a property crime are the result of our own failure to lock our cars, close our garages, or secure our personal valubles. A great many cases of theft, for example, occur because kids see things in cars they think are valuable.

Unlocked cars are easy targets, and a thief can grab your purse, wallet, or laptop computer by simply opening up the door. By the time the police arrive, other than looking for fingerprints, there is often not much they can do to get the stolen items back.

What the Police Department recommends is for people to assist them in reducing the numbers of crimes. Our part is real simple, "lock your car," "Close your garage," and "Do not leave your valuables laying around in public places." Business owners can put up a sign in their parking lots reminding people to "please lock their cars while unattended." If we all take this approach and spread the word to our family members, we as a community can make a difference in bringing down our crime statistics.

With the economy teetering, and unemployment rising these crimes of opportunity are going to become more prevalent as the "have nots" will continue to target those who "have."

These are unfortunate times, and when people hit their lows strange things can happen. My mother-in-law who lives in Florida once told me that after the last devastating hurricane people were all very nice for about the first three days. After not being able to get the basics they needed for survival she witnessed even the nicest neighbors get downright "mean" as she put it.

Crime, and the "meanness" of theft, is now becoming a fact of life during the present economic onslaught and its induced trials and tribulations. We as a community need to do our part by simply taking greater care in securing our personal property. Again, please inform your family and friends that they can do their part in deterring crime by just following the above police advice.

Rocco Frank Board of Education Candidate Comments on Education

Today I read the New Haven Register, and once again heard the Republicans and Democrats sparring over comments that were made by various board members over education.

The word used by Mr. Wiley dubbed our schools as "adequate" or, as being in the interests of Milford. After being challenged by the Democrats he recanted "Adequate" to infer he was talking about buildings and nothing more.

While I personally do not care about debating the semantics of "he said, she said" I will put on record what I always put on record and that is Milford's kids cannot be marginalized, and that a "world class" education system should be our goal.

Harvey Polanski, has recently sent me and I assume all board of education candidates a budget, and additional information regarding Milford's schools. Contained in that package are many useful and supportive items and I commend the Office of the Superintendent for taking the time to get this kind of information out.

Milford has alot of money for our schools, more than enough to get the job done and done to a stellar level. The best and costliest assets our town has is the abundance of raw man, and woman power in our schools. With nearly a 100 Million dollar budget to run our schools, Milford from this day forward could begin to solve its educational challenges by constantly reviewing new applicants for teacher positions.

Teachers are the "front lines" in the war against ignorance and for lack of a better metaphor the "essential social engineers" of children in our community. Teachers, can impress, and impact our kids in ways that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Should we compare teachers to factory workers, it is safe to say that their industrial output is tomorrows leaders. Our kids will go on to be our Doctors, our Lawyers, our Community Leaders, our Soldiers in war, and one day the ones who will make our end of life decisions for many of us who have kids.

The stakes for education are high, and anyone who doubts the importance of education should be reminded of the high price of ignorance. Milford's kids cannot afford to be marginalized, schools and teachers must know that kids who come from challenged homes can be saved by being pushed in the right directions by teachers, coaches, and principals who realize and know that teaching is more than just a "job."

Our kids in Milford are very intelligent and emotionally aware, they know when school administrators treat them like "pains" and push them through the system not for their own benefit but for the benefit of the bureaucracy that education has become.

Milford's kids, see the world that is being left behind, they know what they are inheriting from the very adults before them. The Board of education should be spending every waking minute improving education where ever it can a little bit at a time so our state, and town can have a stronger future.

The most important aspects of achieving this objective are almost always monetary. Money is the sad reality of everything we do in education and since 85% of that money is derived from real estate taxes the burden of funding education rests with Zoning and Planning, and the values of our homes.

Zoning and Planning is a crucial part of the Education equation. When a city is permitted to develop densely packed cheap homes we essentially add kids to our schools without the base revenue to properly educate those kids. For this reason Zoning and Planning needs to get on board with the schools financial needs.

Milford has the same resources as every community in our state, the same state challenges, and the potential to succeed in education. The buzz is now out on Smart Growth, and Milford should model itself as not only energy efficient, but also engage in social engineering projects to bring Negative Income Properties, in line with property taxes, and Educational funding.

Purchasing of open space is a great Smart Growth initiative, supporting commercial development and stopping the subdivision of lots for residential housing, also a good idea. Once this policy is developed, and the number of students comes into balance with the needs of the taxpayers we will begin to see real change in education.

In the current economic climate, cancellation of construction projects or cutbacks to text books and teachers is not the answer. I believe the answer is engaging Zoning and Planning to act immediately and place a temporary moratorium on McMansions, Front Lawn house Constructions, and any expansion of low cost negative income housing units. Stabilizing the student population should be Milford's Highest immediate priority if we are to take education seriously.

Milford's Jim Amann On TV

Connectiut Newsmakers Jim Amann
by ctblogger

The following clip was found on www.myleftnutmeg.com, a liberal Democratic site that has developed a reputation for Lampooning Amann. Without a doubt Milford's former speaker is making a valiant effort in getting his name out.

Recently, this comment from a patron of the Milford Oyster festival came in regarding Amann. (Comment Re-Posted Un-Edited)

"I ventured out on Saturday to take in the excitement of the Oyster Fest. My family and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and spent money, but not a fortune. Love the firefighters-always loud and obnoxious to get you to throw the ball and knock them into the water! I heard some mild disappointment coming from people who couldn't walk outside the designated area with their beers. I also heard people lamenting the lack of shaded areas to eat down on Fowler. I walked around and ran into all kinds of people I know including the illustrious mayor of Milford, Jim Richetelli. Did not see Jimmy Amann anywhere, but did see his signs everywhere. He's gonna have a tough battle with Mama Rell! Overall, it was a fun day filled with popcorn, bubbles, family and friends. Thanks for the opportunity to have a relaxing day! See you next year! BTW how's that funding going?"

Polanski Displeased With Milford Kids CAPT Test Scores

Superintendent of Schools Harvey B. Polansky says he is “displeased” with the scores city high school students achieved on the Connecticut Aptitude Performance Test.

That displeasure will manifest itself in a road show of sorts as select school officials travel to high schools across the state to see what those districts are doing to ensure good test results, Polansky said.

“I want to see what the best high schools are doing,” Polansky said. “I am displeased with the high school results (here).”

At Monday’s school board meeting, there was a somber mood as officials pored through CAPT results, which have been on a downward trend since 2007. Milford ranks near or at the bottom in several categories when compared to communities of similar size. School officials were a little more upbeat over the Connecticut Mastery Test scores. The CMTs are administered to students in third through eighth grade.

For the CAPTs, in Milford’s District Reference Group, the 450 tenth-grade students who took the test ranked second to last when compared to 25 other similar communities in math, fourth from the bottom in science, and second to last in reading and writing.

“As you can see, there has been a decline in Milford test scores this year,” said Michael Cummings, who is assistant superintendent of schools for curriculum and instruction. “We’re especially concerned about writing, which has been Milford’s strong point.”

School board member Tracy Casey, D-2, noted this year’s scores are lower in every category except science. Cummings said staff has done an “excellent job” realigning that curriculum. But, he said, since 2007 the science numbers have still dipped.

“Taking a look at this, I’m sure you are not impressed,” Majority Leader Greta Stanford, D-1, said to administrators. “What is administration’s plan to remediate this?”

Cummings said the administration is “not impressed,” and plans to study the numbers in depth. He said the administration will study who has been teaching ninth- and tenth-graders. He also said students may need more time to take the test.

School board candidate and parent Jack Fowler, R-1, said he has researched the test scores, and what is equally disturbing is that, of the communities in its reference group, Milford has the third highest per-pupil expenditure, at $12,354.

“We spent more, the kids got less, and the taxpayers have the privilege of footing the bill for this travesty,” Fowler said. “We are paying for champagne but getting dishwater.”

Cummings said the number of students scoring at below basic and basic levels is climbing, and the reading scores are of “great concern.”

Board member James Santa Barbara, D-5, questioned whether the district is losing some of its more talented younger students to private schools as Milford continues its trend of doing “reasonably well” on the CMTs, while not as well on the CAPT.

ORIGINAL BRIAN MCREADY POST