Ken Dixon's Blog-O-Rama

From Davos, Switzerland (where his arms are still tired, even though it’s been three days since he landed), this from Gov. Dannel Malloy:

 ”Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced a proposal to continue the process he began last year to downsize state government.  The Governor said the state agency consolidations announced today will allow state government “to continue to get smaller, leaner, and more effective.”

“Last year we began the work of changing how the state does business—making government smaller, less costly, and easier to navigate,” said Governor Malloy. “Like companies and families across the state and the country, state government must do more with less.  This session we are continuing the effort to ensure government is working as efficiently as possible.”

In his first year in office, Governor Malloy reduced state agencies by 30 percent through mergers and consolidations – going from 81 separate line-item state agencies to 59. Today’s announcement reduces that the 52.

The Governor will submit legislation in February detailing these proposed consolidations.

Fresh on the heels of Gov. Malloy ordering $78 million in budget cuts, the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis says there’s a looming $144.5 million deficit in the current $20-billion budget.

 Here’s the top of the OFA report, which came to the Blogster at about 7:20 p.m.

“We are currently projecting a $144.5 million deficit in the General Fund. This amount reflects an estimated net increase in expenditure requirements of $130.7 million, and a net reduction in revenue of $94.7 million, from original budgeted levels. The original FY 12 budget contained an $80.9 million surplus.

The budget is heavily reliant on budgeted lapses to achieve balance. Of the $777.9 million budgeted, we have been able to identify $651.4 million in lapses. About five months remain in the fiscal year and the remaining $126.5 million may still be achieved through various savings or budgeting mechanisms.

Given the reduction in available funding that occurs due to budgeted lapses (holdbacks), we identify nine agencies that would require $127.3 million in additional expenditure requirements. However, if available funding were to be released, these levels would be reduced to three agencies that would require deficiency funding totaling $4.1 million.

Note: These projections were calculated prior to the release of the Governor’s January 23, 2012 rescissions which total $78.7 million. We are currently conducting an analysis of these rescissions of programmatic impact as well as potential overlap with existing lapses.

These projections do not assume the use of available carry forward funding for purposes other than which was intended at the time the carry-forward was authorized. For example, although carry forward funding in the Reserve for Salary Adjustment account (from FY 11 into FY 12) of $86.2 million may be available after all funding requirements have been met, this funding could be moved to offset other shortfalls.”

Gov. Dannel Malloy yesterday sent a letter to the Office of Legislative Management projecting a $73.6 million deficit. “It is imperati9ve that we adjust our spending to ensure the state ends the fiscal year without a deficit,” he wrote, adding that he is cutting $800,000 out of the current budget, exercising his rescission authority, effective Feb. 1.

The University of Connecticut’s Benton Museum of Art on Sunday will throw an opening party, between 2 and 4 p.m., for it’s new costume exhibition: ”Women of New England: Dress from the Industrial Age 1850-1900.” It is located oppisite the Student Union, at 247 Glenbrook Road on the Storrs campus, where parking is free on Sundays. There will be 50 gowns and children’s outfits from the university’s vast collection of nearly pristeen costumes. It is eye-popping to see how tiny the women were. The Benton is open from 10 until 4:30 Thursday through Sunday.

The Mystery Writers of America are planning their annual awards affair, which among other will honor Joe Meyers, the omnivorous Hearst entertainment writer. Here are some details from the MWA.

“The 2012 Ellery Queen Award will be given to Joe Meyers of the Connecticut Post/Hearst Media News Group. The Ellery Queen award is given to editors or publishers who have distinguished

themselves by their generous and wide-ranging support of the genre,

Joe Meyers writes about mystery/thriller books, reviews them, and blogs about them for the Connecticut Post. He consistently reviews not only bestselling mystery authors, but lesser know authors as well. His reviews are thoughtful and perceptive, and his criticism is constructive. He is a scholar of mystery and crime fiction, attending conferences and moderating panels. Joe was one of the first reviewers on Twitter to write about mystery/thriller books and authors.

When told of the award he said, “To say I was bowled over by the news of this award is an

understatement. I feel so lucky to work for a news organization that supports me in reviewing crime fiction and doing profiles of so many of the figures in the mystery field. I know I am part of an endangered species, so I try to relish every day I spend on the job. I am deeply honored that an organization I respect so much would single me out for giving mystery writers and their work the attention they deserve.”

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Previous Ellery Queen winners include Kate Stine and Brian Skupin, co-publishers of Mystery Scene

Magazine, Carolyn Marino, Vice President/Executive Editor, Harper Collins, and Ed Gorman.

The Edgar Awards, or “Edgars,” as they are commonly known, are named after MWA’s patron saint Edgar Allan Poe and are presented to authors of distinguished work in various categories. MWA is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. The organization encompasses more than 3,000 members including authors of fiction and non-fiction books, screen and television writers, as well as publishers, editors, and literary agents. For more information on Mystery Writers of America, please visit the website: www.mysterywriters.org”

Who needs Wikipedia when there’s a book? This next entry from The World Almanac and Book of Facts, concerns the popularity of national parks.

The top five sites in the National Park System are:

Blue Ridge Parkway of North Carolina and Virginia, with 14.5 million visits.

Golden Gate Natl Recreation Area in California, 14.2 million.

Great Smoky Mts. Nat’l Park, in N.C. and Tenn., 9.4 million.

Gateway Nat’l Rec Area, in N.J. and N.Y., 8.8 million.

Lake Mead Nat’l Rec Area, in Arizona and Nevade, 7 million

 On Friday, Gov. Dannel Malloy and several Democratic governors will be meeting with the heads of labor unions, during a policy summit at the Hanover, MD training facility of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. Officials from the Democratic Governors Association said the discussion will center on ”best practices for job creation in the states, as well the contrasting approaches Democratic and Republican governors have taken towards balancing budgets and helping workers during tough economic times.” Malloy will join Govs. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Brian Schweitzer of Montana and Pat Quinn of Illinois during the noontime event.

While the battle over intellectual property rages in Washington, thousands, if not millions of people today will be shut out of free websites such as Wikipedia. Sensing a vacuum in the information continuum, the Blogster opens his fresh, new 2012 World Almanac and Book of Facts, semi randomly, the find a nugget for the word-starved. So on page 478 is the list of 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. To help you declare independence from Wiki laziness, signers from Connecticut included Samuel Huntington, Roger Sherman, William Williams and Oliver Woolcott.

The Blogster will try to file other salient facts during the rest of the day.