Speak Out
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Russ Best May 4, 2013 at 05:09 pm
Vincent: first..let me commend you for doing an excellent job! I have a couple thoughts I would…Read More like to bounce off of you:
1. How about a proposal for property tax breaks for seniors? Pick an age..62 or 65. The majority of retirees are on fixed incomes, some of which are on the razors edge right now and are looking at having to move from the area even though they don't want to. Its a shame that people who have lived their whole lives here cannot afford to stay on for retirement.
2. The current property tax credit for veterans is $1000 and has been stuck there since the '60s if I'm not mistaken. It really doesn't amount to a hill of beans given current property values and needs a serious upgrade/higher value. As a combat veteran (Viet Nam) I would be really grateful if this could be improved.
Tom Scelfo April 29, 2013 at 09:40 pm
Vinny - you obviously understand both the problem and the solution. As a general rule, all our…Read More elected officials are intelligent people, so I just don't understand why the Majority party doesn't seem to "get it." Please keep focusing on the problem AND the solution. At some point in time, perhaps other elected officials will finally understand the problem we are in, and realize that we really need to get serious about fixing it. Thanks for your service to the Connecticut's tax payers!
Russ Best May 4, 2013 at 12:42 pm
Audrey: welcome to the world of state and town contracts, unions and piddly regs that must be…Read More quibbled over. There are power plays between city and state civil engineers,etc.All this is done in the name of "progress"..something I had hoped to see slow down when I moved to Northford. Progess nearly always means ever escalating taxes and rules that eventually push out folks of lower income, turning it into yet another elitist Connecticut town. It's sad the town managers and council can't seem to put their foot down and reign in spending.
Audrey Fitting May 2, 2013 at 11:08 am
I agree, it seems as though they are more worried about putting in fake grass, and spindly trees,…Read More and are not working fast at all. The beautiful center of our town has been ruined. I cannot see it ever looking good again. I think it is a bigger bottleneck than we had. Whoever they hired as an engineer should be ashamed to take any money. Very poor planning...or may be plans in the works. The two ugly houses we have to pass when we go from 139 towards RT 80, its sure ugly, and that dentist office should be to torn down. Give it up. We now have an ugly town center. The shopping center at Dairy Queen, is dying for stores, but who would move in? I wish I could move out of town. This is atrocious.
John Fontenault May 2, 2013 at 10:03 am
Other than some work being performed at the Notch Hill Road and Rte 80 intersection and some work…Read More under the Tilcon Overpass there has been little to no activity for months. Other than the equipment needed in these two areas there is no longer any large equipment in the area. Clearly crews have picked up and moved on. Is there a funding issue? An updated schedule should be posted to the Town's Website so we can all understand what progress will be made this spring. Please comment if you have details.
Kim Lifton April 3, 2013 at 08:58 pm
It sounds like Dr. Kussin offered some great tips for writing the college application essay. I run a…Read More company that teaches students how to write application essays using a 10-step process and a self-guided online tutorial. In our workshops and inside of the tutorial, we tell students what we have learned from decades of teaching this type of writing: colleges want to know who you are. They want students to show reflection. We teach a process that helps them master the task independently, and stand out. Kim Lifton, President, Wow Writing Workshop, www.wowwritingworkshop.com
Observor April 3, 2013 at 12:39 am
Nor any other type of loan. But the truth is that the lenders are the ones with the financial…Read More savvy, and consumers are conditioned to believe that if they qualify for credit the bank has determined that they will be able to pay it back. The problem with student loans is that they are given to people who could never otherwise qualify because the government guarantees them. Are those consumers naive or badly informed? Probably, but the statute books of the federal government and all fifty states are planted thick with laws to protect borrowers who lack sophistication.
The student loan bubble is no different than the housing bubble. Give people loans for which they are not really qualified so they can buy something they want and you flood the market with cash. In response, the prices of things people want to pay for with their loans (diplomas and houses) skyrocket, the sellers knowing that Uncle Sam will keep pumping more cash into the system. The housing bubble burst and when there are enough people unable to carry the non-dischargable debt they took on to pay $40,000/year tuition the student loan bubble will also burst.
Since we taxpayers will be picking up the pieces I am not willing to just say "nobody forced you" and leave it at that.
J. Smith April 2, 2013 at 09:17 pm
Two professional, hard working Taxpayers, perhaps if they continue to be employed, pay their taxes…Read More and stay off the dole, the Government will see they deserve a break. The Government does have high hopes for their projected revenue (taxes) in the future. “I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”
Steve April 2, 2013 at 08:55 pm
Maybe they should not have deferred and chose to overpay the outstanding debt on the student loans.…Read More Looks like they make a pretty good buck between them, maybe 150k a year. Tell them to look in a lower price range, maybe they need to work up to the dream home. I did, and so did a lot of the rest of us who paid off their student loans and didn't put it off.
shara mulholland April 10, 2013 at 05:03 pm
Really? So they can start banning sports because of injuries.
Just my opinion April 10, 2013 at 11:22 am
One big issue is even though my child plays school sports she plays travel sports so an injury from…Read More travel might not be recorded as travel and go under school making the study wrong. Many children play outside of school how would they make sure they have proper data. Maybe they should document something that they can be sure that the info they use is correct.
Mike Atkins April 8, 2013 at 07:45 am
@Sean, irrelevant, only because parents think their child is the next great athlete and are willing…Read More to pay the thousands of dollars to get them a spot on a team. Typically many of those child athletes would have a difficult time making the HS team without Daddy's money.
Rich April 2, 2013 at 11:38 pm
Sox in on top in AL east 1 and 0, Yankees dead last 0-1. Joba era north of 40 at least that sevral…Read More digits smaller than his waistline. Steroids kill just ask AROD, GRANDYMAN, TEX, JETER yes JETER. Only clean Yank is MO...... Hell I think Strawberry and Howe were cleaner than JETER.
J D C April 2, 2013 at 01:14 am
One game and the season is OVER. Lets name the Blosux WS Champs now.
Stephen Austin March 31, 2013 at 04:16 pm
thanks Flowers for the info.Check out the new photo I posted just for you
Flowers March 31, 2013 at 02:48 am
Steve I hope this gets to you in time. Don't go on that egg hunt! Apparently you have never seen an…Read More Easter egg hunt before. After the egg hunt starting cannon roars, hundreds of undisciplined kids and hooligans rush the field grabbing for everything they can find. Heaven forbid you find and pick up an egg, they will be all over you. You'll be lucky to keep your shoes. Suggest that you and Peaches clutch your valuables and head for the exits ASAP. And by the way do you realize that your magic hat is changing color. Is it due to a natural phenomenon? No one could own that many hats.
Kyle S. Reyes March 29, 2013 at 05:11 pm
Hi Kate,
I like that - thanks so much. I'll have to look into it! Shirley Chisholm once said,…Read More "service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth." Couldn't put it any better.
Kate Nicholas March 29, 2013 at 04:41 pm
Excellent piece Kyle! In Daniel Pink's new best seller "To Sell is Human" he takes Robert…Read More Greenleaf's concept of servant leadership a step further; servant seller. The idea of moving others with an agenda of common good. When we have the best interests of those we lead or sell to as a priority everyone wins.
Leslie Yager March 29, 2013 at 02:03 pm
Stephanie, you're super to take an interest in the shelter dogs and help them. Fingers crossed for…Read More "Sandy." I hope he gets a warm, loving home he deserves.
Observor April 1, 2013 at 05:50 pm
Matt, while some states have a form of ownership called "townhouse" Connecticut does not.…Read More We have three types of common ownership: condominium, co-op and planned unit development. Buildings that look like townhouses could be any one of the three. What you describe as a townhouse sounds like a PUD. In any event, buyers would be well-advised to have the lawyer they're going to use for the closing look at what they're getting and what their potential maintenance costs might turn out to be before they sign a contract.
Matt April 1, 2013 at 01:36 pm
If you are responsible for your part of the structure (inside and out, plus the roof), that is…Read More generally defined as a townhouse. The HOA fees are generally much lower since the HOA is not responsible for structures, only common areas. How elaborate the common areas are drives your HOA fees. Your homeowners insurance is closer to that of a normal house since they have to cover the structure.
If you are only responsible for the "interior structure", commonly called the studs inward, with the HOA responsible for the physical structure and exteriors/roof, that would be commonly defined as a condominium. HOA fees are generally much higher since the HOA has to maintain and insure all the structures. Your homeowners insurance would be a condo policy and is quite low since it doesn't have to cover the structure.
Malvi Lennon April 1, 2013 at 01:04 pm
I have first hand experience with a condo, although our rules are different from most condos. We…Read More actually own our building inside and out. The draw back? We still pay high condo fees and we are also responsible for expenses such as roof, siding, windows. However before I make ANY change to the exterior (right down to changing a light fixture) I have to get "permission" from the association. Condos are a pain. If it were not for the market I would sell mine and buy a single family home in aheart beat.
Serene Skeptic March 28, 2013 at 01:52 pm
What a great story with a happy ending!
But... imagine that George had a boyfriend of 13 years.…Read More Would the lender guidelines today agree with a same sex marriage to make that math work. Same sex marriage is legal in CT but are the guidelines set up by state guidelines or federal?
Edward Fast Lazarus April 1, 2013 at 06:34 pm
Mr. Tiger! You are right on target! Going back to what I initially wrote--- Higher Ed is Big…Read More Business and uses the terms (behind the walls) sticker price, discount, margin, net revenue etc. When I left some time ago--- there was a national industry standard for the average private institutions "discount" of tuition-- it hovered around 40%. No idea now. But, like any business this is driven by demographics and by the quality of the school. It is not uncommon for a student to e-mail their award to another school and say: "Hey, I really want to come to your college, but look what Univ. X gave me...can you match?". Learning takes place outside the classroom--this is good and bad-- I was a Dean of Students and VP for Student Services. You can trust me when I say this, I have never gotten a call at 2 am about a Chamber of Commerce Emergency!!!!!! The whole Residential Life Experience is a whole different conversation. Some recommended reading: Fiction (kind of) " I am Charlotte Simmons"-- Thomas Wolfe NON-Fiction-
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Ed Lazarus
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Steve Bristol April 1, 2013 at 05:38 pm
NewIntellectual
A couple things we found out through our sons' college searches:
1) Once you…Read More figure in the various scholarships and school-based grants, many private colleges end up at about the same price as the public university. Even some out-of-state public schools manage to come pretty close to in-state costs.
2) Unless commuting is a financial necessity, live on campus. There's a reason that many schools forbid Freshman commuting, and it's not to be able to charge more. The sooner the student learns to be on his/her own the better. They need to learn how to deal with roommates, classmates, responsibilities, and time management. I've known plenty of parents who tell their kids NOT to come home that first semester (except Thanksgiving), and the kids were better for it.
Steve Bristol April 1, 2013 at 02:03 pm
Mr. Lazarus
Piggy-backing on what you said about length of time to graduate: If you know your…Read More expected major or even have it narrowed to a few choices, make sure you find out what the course load will be for each. Many schools--especially public universities--put together course loads that all but require more than 4 years/8 semesters. Take this info into account when figuring total cost. The student may want to consider Summer Schools sessions, when possible.
Also, for any quality athlete out there, make sure that the school you choose is one that you would want to attend WITHOUT athletics. SO many athletes find that they simply can't handle the time demands (including travel, practice, etc.) that the sport(s) require. Also remember that your participation can end in a hearbeat with an injury. Athletic scholarships are also different now as they are subject to 'renewal' each year.
Steve
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