While he tries to be a moderate Democratic governor and indeed is more moderate than his predecessor, Ned Lamont still feels obliged…
Posted: 15 September 2021 [08:33 PM] Opinion
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Posted: 15 September 2021 [08:33 PM] Recent Headlines
Monday 09/13/2021
Posted: 13 September 2021 [08:58 PM] To the Editor: Yesterday [Friday, Sept. 10], [Republican mayoral candidate] Jeff Caggiano tried to deflect being called out on his wrong broadband budget numbers by writing a rebuttal letter that Bristol had "the only tax increase in the State of…
CHRIS POWELL: Since epidemic is permanent, emergency powers should end Posted: 13 September 2021 [08:55 PM] Governor Lamont seems inclined to ask the General Assembly to extend his emergency powers again to deal with the virus epidemic when…
Sunday 09/12/2021
Posted: 12 September 2021 [12:09 PM] To the Editor: I read Republican mayoral candidate Jeff Caggiano's recent letter [Letter to the Editor, Sept. 10, 2021] defending his wrong budget numbers on broadband, after being called out for saying the city is spending $500,000 when the actual…
Friday 09/10/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Not all constitutional rights are secure in Connecticut Posted: 10 September 2021 [09:16 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Responding to the new law in Texas sharply restricting abortion, Connecticut Democratic State Chair Nancy DiNardo last week tried…
Thursday 09/09/2021
Posted: 09 September 2021 [09:23 PM] To the Editor: (Editor’s note: The writer is the Republican candidate for Bristol mayor.) Wasteful government spending has become a norm at the national, state and local levels. I’m Jeff Caggiano and I’m running for Mayor this year…
CHRIS POWELL: Managing UConn in secret; and race-baiting young kids Posted: 09 September 2021 [09:20 PM] Technically the University of Connecticut is a public institution, but as the Connecticut Mirror noted last week, you wouldn’t know it from…
Wednesday 09/08/2021
Posted: 08 September 2021 [09:26 PM] To the Editor: Republican mayoral candidate Jeff Caggiano recently made a video with a series of incorrect facts concerning the City's work in evaluating a broadband utility. He said "the City has spent over $500,000 toward this." Here are…
CHRIS POWELL: Minister's rebuke to blacks applies to all of Connecticut Posted: 08 September 2021 [09:24 PM] Who will be the first to call the Rev. Boise Kimber a racist? Kimber, head of the Greater New Haven Clergy Association,…
Sunday 09/05/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Connecticut needs no bears; and who's paying the rent? Posted: 05 September 2021 [09:51 PM] When state legislators next put a survey in their "constituent service" mailings, it should include the question: How many bears will you…
Friday 09/03/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Hiring cops is getting harder but it's partly their own fault Posted: 03 September 2021 [09:01 PM] Police departments in Connecticut and throughout the country – especially in cities, like Bridgeport, but also in some suburbs, like Enfield –…
Wednesday 09/01/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Connecticut needs to learn from murdered teen's life Posted: 01 September 2021 [08:57 PM] By CHRIS POWELL When 14-year-old Tyshaun Hargrove was shot to death last week in New Haven, Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez called…
Tuesday 08/31/2021
Posted: 31 August 2021 [08:35 PM] To the Editor: Recently, Republican Mayoral Candidate Jeff Caggiano posted a marketing video seeking support of Bristol residents. In this video, he says, “If you believe in traditional values…” which infers anti-LGBTQ and mimics public participation comments recently presented at…
Monday 08/30/2021
Posted: 30 August 2021 [08:52 PM] As was demonstrated by the crude and disgraceful disruption of last week's back-to-school forum in Cheshire, many people in Connecticut are sick and tired of the virus epidemic and government's steps against it, however necessary they may have seemed. Consumed…
Friday 08/27/2021
CHRIS POWELL: 'Trust the science'? But whose? And Afghans fail to mobilize Posted: 27 August 2021 [10:08 PM] Science is wonderful. But it is not always settled. Sometimes the prevailing view in science is wrong, especially in medicine. For 2,000…
Wednesday 08/25/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Eversource repays hysteria; and the spirit of liberty fades Posted: 25 August 2021 [11:51 PM] Congratulations to Eversource Energy for scaring the daylights out of Connecticut residents upon the approach of Tropical Storm Henri, warning that two-thirds…
Monday 08/23/2021
CHRIS POWELL: A small win for Republicans; and no accountability for war Posted: 23 August 2021 [08:44 PM] Connecticut's Republicans have been down so long that they're entitled to construe almost anything as up. But they're making too much of…
Friday 08/20/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Who covered for Cuomo? And is choice no good now? Posted: 20 August 2021 [09:12 PM] Good for New York that it's getting a new governor as Andrew Cuomo resigns amid a sexual harassment scandal and is succeeded…
Wednesday 08/18/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Census shows racism fades; and few Afghans ever cared Posted: 18 August 2021 [09:04 PM] How strange that Connecticut and the country are being condemned as "structurally" and "systemically" racist even as the latest U.S. census finds…
Monday 08/16/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Inflation shows new goodies for Connecticut aren't free Posted: 16 August 2021 [08:58 PM] Nearly every day a member of Connecticut's congressional delegation announces some major federal grant for a local capital project or civic organization,…
Tuesday 08/10/2021
Posted: 10 August 2021 [07:13 PM] To The Editor: One point in the most recent Mayor’s Corner article I’m proud to see is our Police Chief Gould’s proactive steps to get involved in the regions joint task force on area car thefts. These crimes have…
Saturday 08/07/2021
Posted: 07 August 2021 [11:09 AM] To the Editor: I believe the opinions the Herald has run lately from the Washington Post need some “push back”. On July 6, Sargent and Waldman of the Post opined that the absence of GOP input will add “integrity” to the select committee examining…
Friday 08/06/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Connecticut keeps ignoring fraud, failure in Bridgeport Posted: 06 August 2021 [09:03 PM] Connecticut's top elected officials quickly accommodated themselves to the disgrace of Joe Ganim's return to the mayoralty in Bridgeport in 2015 despite…
Wednesday 08/04/2021
CHRIS POWELL: State police integrity fails; state ignores voter fraud Posted: 04 August 2021 [08:15 PM] Accountability and integrity are slipping badly with the Connecticut state police. The agency has failed to complete an investigation of trooper misconduct…
Tuesday 08/03/2021
Posted: 03 August 2021 [08:58 PM] To the Editor: I am paying taxes under protest this year. I don't want Bristol to become a magnet for medical waste. Our air is bad enough- we don't need to become another New Jersey. Increased truck traffic would impact…
Monday 08/02/2021
Posted: 02 August 2021 [06:17 PM] To The Editor: The November election is now 3 months away, but it is not too soon to talk about why we need to re-elect our current leadership team. In the early and most uncertain days of Covid-19, our…
Posted: 02 August 2021 [06:16 PM] Consolidation of the banking industry is gaining speed, in part because technology increasingly allows routine retail banking functions to be conducted via the internet and cell phones, reducing the need for branch offices. But there is another reason: Government’s indifference…
Sunday 08/01/2021
MAYOR'S CORNER: New programs, initiatives to start fiscal year Posted: 01 August 2021 [07:00 PM] The City of Bristol turns the page each July 1, beginning a new budget. Department line items are replenished. Here…
Friday 07/30/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Lincoln and progress refute fans of 'critical race theory' Posted: 30 July 2021 [09:23 PM] Whatever "critical race theory" is, fears about it are easy to understand. It is seen as a mechanism for impugning the country…
Wednesday 07/28/2021
Posted: 28 July 2021 [09:01 PM] To the Editor: This letter is to encourage all voters to support the good work of the Mayor and City Council so that Bristol can continue to make the incredible progress we have seen in the last 4 years. From…
Posted: 28 July 2021 [09:00 PM] To The Editor: I recently had the opportunity to hear Bob Mielcarz speak about his interest in running for City Council in District 2. I was very impressed with his thoughts and positive direction. As a retired teacher, he understands…
CHRIS POWELL: Juvenile crime forum avoids relevance, accountability Posted: 28 July 2021 [08:59 PM] Last week's well-attended forum on juvenile crime and justice, called by Glastonbury's Town Council, was illuminating, just not so much about juvenile…
Monday 07/26/2021
Posted: 26 July 2021 [08:34 PM] To the Editor: Most Bristol residents are looking to resume normal activities and long for the freedoms and liberties that this country was founded upon. Bristol is a big “small town,” with a diverse population that should be celebrated. If…
CHRIS POWELL: Vaccine skeptics don't need Trump and Republican nuts Posted: 26 July 2021 [08:33 PM] Hesitancy about COVID-19 vaccination is becoming resistance and even hostility in Connecticut and throughout the country, news reports say. Blame is cast…
Friday 07/23/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Our own aspiring terrorists; and burying Henryk Gudelski Posted: 23 July 2021 [09:02 PM] Connecticut has its own aspiring terrorist and subversive group, and it's not the Ku Klux Klan, the Proud Boys, or even al-Qaida.…
Wednesday 07/21/2021
Posted: 21 July 2021 [09:06 PM] To the Editor: It's hot, and my 3-year-old is sweaty and curious. He always wants to know more about the world, and on Tuesday he asked me 'why is it like the fog but in the sky?' The haziness had…
CHRIS POWELL: Little management remains; and Ned sounds Republican Posted: 21 July 2021 [09:01 PM] Good for Governor Lamont and the state legislators who approved the new state budget, which is providing 7.5% raises to about 1,700…
Monday 07/19/2021
CHRIS POWELL: State Employee unions help Lamont as they criticize him Posted: 19 July 2021 [09:04 PM] Connecticut's state employee unions may be rendering great service to Governor Lamont's probable campaign for re-election by complaining about him. This service…
Friday 07/16/2021
CHRIS POWELL: To end corporate welfare, cut taxes for all businesses Posted: 16 July 2021 [09:07 PM] At Governor Lamont's order, state government is reducing its direct subsidies to businesses coming into the state or expanding here – cash…
Thursday 07/15/2021
Posted: 15 July 2021 [09:07 PM] To the Editor: I am a former Connecticut resident, having moved to Florida in 2015. I am 87 and have just about seen it all! So when I use the word guarantee, I use it very carefully! And this is…
Wednesday 07/14/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Connecticut must examine causes of its social collapse Posted: 14 July 2021 [08:08 PM] "Life imitates art far more than art imitates life," Oscar Wilde wrote. But sometimes it's awful both ways. Many years ago an…
Monday 07/12/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Democrats strive to conceal failures of juvenile justice Posted: 12 July 2021 [07:04 PM] Fall out of bed and kill yourself in Connecticut and your state legislators well may introduce legislation memorializing you by purporting to…
Sunday 07/11/2021
Posted: 11 July 2021 [10:48 AM] Dear Editor, This used to be solely a newspaper letter to the editor...but with the decrease in newspaper circulation, it's become mostly a virtual letter to the Bristol community. Here's my annual list to help those in need. My garden…
Friday 07/09/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Colleges serve themselves; and expose juvenile courts Posted: 09 July 2021 [08:11 PM] Enrollment at Connecticut's community colleges has been collapsing, probably because the state's economy is weak and most students being admitted are unprepared…
Thursday 07/08/2021
Posted: 08 July 2021 [01:53 PM] To the Editor: Americans are frogs in the pot of water being brought to the boil and cooked. We ignore incremental chunks of our freedoms being chiseled away by Marxists determining our social mores. A co-founder of Black Lives Matter is…
CHRIS POWELL: Suffield skips the 'flag wars;' what's the pride of sex? Posted: 08 July 2021 [01:36 PM] Suffield has opted out of what First Selectwoman Melissa Mack calls the "flag wars," which are being fought over attempts to use…
Sunday 07/04/2021
MAYOR'S CORNER: Bristol's parks are critical to our health Posted: 04 July 2021 [08:35 PM] By Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu Summer is a great time to pause and think about how fortunate we are to have the over…
Friday 07/02/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Might Connecticut care more about crime than P.C. trivia? Posted: 02 July 2021 [08:38 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Lately the Lamont administration has boasted about closing prisons in Connecticut even as crime has exploded. Of course the crime…
Wednesday 06/30/2021
CHRIS POWELL: How long will Gov. Lamont hold the line on state taxes? Posted: 30 June 2021 [08:51 PM] For months the far-left faction of the Democratic caucuses in the General Assembly, which controlled the legislature this year, sought to raise…
Monday 06/28/2021
CHRIS POWELL: Discipline for police amid secrecy, union clout Posted: 28 June 2021 [08:43 PM] Connecticut's most important journalism last week was the study produced by Bill Cummings of the Hearst newspapers about the weakness and secrecy…