Ken Dixon's Blog-O-Rama

Thursday July 10, 2008

Blog-o-rama was musing yesterday after about how long it would take Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s media department to pick up on an AP story out of Boston that said New England governors were beginning a campaign to lobby the Bush administration, Congress and even presidential candidates in attempt to get additional heating assistance for what may be a long,cold winter of $5-a-gallon fuel oil.
The article moved on the wire at about 2:23 p.m. It quoted New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, Maine Gov. John Balducci, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Rhode Island Gov. Gov. Don Carcieri, who had been meeting in Boston. Rell hadn’t made the scene, though – instead staying in the Capitol to announce the new state Department on Aging, which will start in exactly a year – so Rell’s name didn’t appear in the story.
Two hours later the predictable new release arrived from her office.
“Governor Rell Presses for More Federal Home Heating Aid,” it was headlined.
“Governor M. Jodi Rell and other New England governors today are pressing U.S. Congressional leaders for increased federal aid to help low-income residents heat their homes this winter…”
Blog-o-rama is making fun of what could become a very serious issue in just a few months.
The governors want more funding through the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to buy as much fuel as last winter, but they need $430 million more because of the rising costs. That’s a 61-percent increase for the same amount as last year.
“Never before in modern history has New England faced the prospect of so many residents being unable to heat their homes,” Rell’s rapid-response statement said.

Wednesday July 9, 2008

If you’ve had trouble parking at the Connecticut Post (no relation) Shopping Park in Milford, maybe here’s the reason.
he U.S. Census Bureau reports that Bridgeport had the state’s largest drop in population last year, while Milford saw the biggest rise. The UConn-based Connecticut State Data Center, which reviewed the federal studyt, just reported this morning that 59 municipalities saw population drops last year.
Overall, Connecticut’s population grew by a not so whopping one fifth of one percent (6,556 people).
Milford’s increase of 532 people was the highest number, while Bridgeport’s 252 loss was the largest decline, the report found.

Thursday July 3, 2008

Workmen on hands and knees are finally installing the new stonework along the baseboards in the underground walkway linking the Capitol to the Legislative Office Building.
Instead of that crumbling, black Spanish marble, which they yanked out, using hammer and chisel last month, they’re reinstalling Indian granite, which is supposedly four times stronger.
Eric Connery, the chief building administrator for the Capitol complex, said today the Spanish marble was the last of the batch that was taken out of the LOB a few years back, when it was found to be breaking up and falling, creating a public-health hazard on some of the decorative columns.
The LOB is 20 years old this year, but still marble should be more durable, you’re think.
Connery said even the baseboards, with no loads on them, were showing signs of spidering and breaking up. The cost of the work is less than $200,000. That’s certainly a meager amount in the Capitol, where $5 million has been budgeted for rebuilding several rooms in the LOB.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Doug Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, just visited Capitol reporters to explain that finally, after four years in the saddle, Gov. Jodi Rell’s sky-high approval ratings, thanks in part to concerns about the economy, are proving that gravity exists.
Rell’s popularity has plunged 11 points to a still-robust 65 percent. But it’s her lowest rating yet. The poll was issued on the fourth anniversary of her ascension to the governor’s office, following the resignation of John “Why Should I Resign If I’ve Done Nothing Wrong?” Rowland. .
Nestled deep in the Q Poll – respected because of its large survey pool, this time 2,515 registered voters – is a statistic that should quiet conservative Republicans who opposed raising the minimum wage. Rell vetoed the Democratic-backed legislation, but last week’s veto session of the General Assembly overrode it.
The Q Poll found that 81 percent favor a higher minimum, including 81 percent of independent voters, the state’s largest voter block; 92 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Republicans.
The current $7.65 minimum hourly wage will rise to $8 next January 1 and $8.25 a year later.