Scully Communications

Note to loyal Shadders (and occasional readers as well): The posts will be a little less frequent in the coming weeks as I enter a rather time-consuming physical therapy program to get the body back into shape after the holiday-time, near tragic fall. BTW, thanks for all the well-wishes and “get wells.” It means a lot to me.

You know the situation is bad when there is question as to whether you’re even qualified to hold the elected office you seek. Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz is trying to close the door on the issue as it pertains to her and her bid for attorney general. After balking at first, she has now decided to seek a declaratory ruling from a judge as to whether she has been an attorney “in active practice” or alternatively, have the 10-year requirement struck down as unconstitutional.

She may not get the answer she wants (Dick Blumenthal didn’t exactly come through with a “foxhole response” for her). However, that has to be better than having the issue hanging over her for the entire campaign. Her rivals, particularly former state Senate Majority George Jepsen and state Rep. Cameron Staples, have found way to work the issue without outright slamming Bysiewicz. She is leading in the latest polls (as she was in the governor’s race),

On the other side of the aisle, there is no doubt Republicans will relentlessly question Bysiewicz’ qualifications regardless of how the judge rules.
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The clip-clop, clip-clop, you hear are the Horsemen of The Shad’s personal Apocalypse. One of the signs has been reveal. I agree with nearly ALL of Kevin Rennie’s column on Ned Lamont in Sunday’s Hartford Courant. Lamont clearly plans to parachute into the race for the Democratic nomination for governor and overwhelm everyone else with his personal wealth. He already leads in the polls which this far out, are purely name recognition. Hopefully, the others in the race who are going town to town building support (Dan Malloy, Mary Glassman, et. al) won’t lie down or be intimidated.

Lamont’s appearance on Channel 3’s Face the State hosted by Dennis House was one part scary and two parts pathetic. For every question House asked, Lamont answered a different one. The robotic Lamont said what he was programmed to say. Disappointing at best.
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More Olympic notes:
Unquestionably an incredible athlete, Apolo Ohno’s marketing choices (he’ll pitch just about anything) makes him seem more pitchman and less champion athlete. Meanwhile, Lindsay Vonn gave herself a built-in excuse if she didn’t win with the whole shin injury thing. Please.

Love the snowboard athletes. They get it. Shaun White is the best. Making history as he goes alone. I wish I could get my hands on those Canadian gloves and those plaid shirts. Hate the pajama-looking outfits the US ski-jumpers wore.

Ok, I‘ll skip asking for the phone number of the Harvard and women’s hockey player. I’ll settle for Kristie Yamaguchi’s.

More on the best sport—hockey—to come.

There is an issue garnering attention at the Capitol in Hartford and statewide. It’s the issue of domestic violence and the other crimes related to it. And it’s about time. The issue was brought front and center Valentine’s Day when nearly 100 people gathered at the state Capitol to note the one-year anniversary of the murder of Tiana Notice of Plainville who was working on her master’s degree at the University of Hartford. She was stabbed to death. Her ex-boyfriend, James Carter was arrested and faces murder charges. He is currently locked up, awaiting trial.

This demonstration comes on the heels of the release of a report by a special legislative commission on domestic violence. The task force was formed by House Speaker Chris Donovan and chaired by the hard-working and talented state Representative Mae Flexer of Danielson.

Shelters should be staffed around the clock, GPS devices should be used to track the worst offenders, and problems with teen dating should be taught in schools. Flexer says she knows some of the proposals will be problematic given the budget deficit but those are being floated for the future or in hopes of getting alternative funding.

Some random thoughts on the Olympics:
• I’d rather watch an opening ceremony that shows the diversity and openness of a beautiful country (even if there are glitches in the presentation) than a high-tech show from a country that attempts to make us forget about its human rights abuses for an hour or two (Beijing).
• Gretzky is still the greatest.
• Watching the early events about which the author of the Shad knows nothing, is fun. All the ski jumps look the same (at least on take-offs). One wonders about the origin of the biathlon—shooting and skiing. Don’t let Rip Torn hear about this. And at these events, especially the ski jumping, the only place you’ll see an American flag is on some people who got lost on the way to Whistler to see the Flying Tomato.
• Apolo Ohno got all excited winning silver (and setting a record) because the two South Koreans ahead of him took each other out and crashed. I’d hate tto win in that manner and certainly wouldn’t be celebrating like that. I’d also hate to be in the next meeting of the South Korean short-track team.
• Some anchors/commentators grow old nicely with each Olympics, some don’t. Jim McKay for instance could have gone on forever. Bob Costas was good. Tom Brokaw was great. Not so much for Al Michaels. He, of the “Do you believe in Miracles?” call of the 1980 US men’s hockey team beating the USSR, needs to lose weight and go to Blades in Wethersfield for his dye job.
• I long for the life of a moguls skier. You can’t find happier people and while competitive, they don’t seem to care much where they place in the event.
• Love the Connecticut connections to the women’s and men’s hockey teams. The comments of Choate alumnus Angela Ruggerio were perfect. “I guess I could use my Harvard [business] degree to get a job but I’d rather play hockey.” Finally, I found a girl after my own heart. Anyone have her number?
• As young hockey player (about ages 5 to 12 or so), my team would go to Canada once a year to play teams in and around Quebec. Watching some of the scenes of the west coast of Canada and Vancouver specifically, reminds me how beautiful the country really is.

UConn students and the parents of students who foot the bill for a quality education for their children, are rightly upset that tuition at the school may increase as much as 6.3 % or $1,2228 for tuition, room, board and fees for in-state students. The (unimpressive number of reported) protestors are correct when they point out that top administrators make excellent money; athletic coaches are the highest paid state employees, and millions more are spent on athletic programs.

It’s sad that the state doesn’t have the money to keep the increase lower say, 3%. But the reality is that the state is facing a budget deficit of more than $500 million for the current fiscal year and has to come up with a plan to plug huge holes in the budget for years to come.

However, the students and parents need only look at the people who are be homeless because the governor cut funding for their shelter. Or the kids whose parents are in prison; the governor cut the money for the program designed to help those kids NOT end up where their parents are.

Everyone who relies on state funding in one way or another, is cutting back. When you think about it, it’s easier to swallow a 6.3% increase at UConn than it is to see eliminated state commissions and agencies on which at-risk segments of our state population directly rely.
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The Associated Press is reporting that some workers at the site of the power plant explosion in Middletown routinely worked more than 80 hours a week at the plant. Fatigue of the workers at the site may have played a role in the explosion that killed 5 people and injured 12. There is a lot more to come out of this tragedy.
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The debate is underway once again at the state Capitol about “Sunday Sales”—the issue revolving around the state law (based on the antiquated “blue laws”) that package stores be closed on Sundays and supermarkets cannot sell beer.

The mayors of the state’s three largest cities are banding together to support legalized Sunday Sales. One of their big selling points is a study recently done by a legislative committee that shows allowing Sunday sales of alcohol would mean an extra $7.5 to $8 million dollars to the state each year. Officials from “border towns” in the state also support eliminating the ban because the business just goes to stores over state lines. Connecticut is the only state on the east coast until South Carolina to have a ban a strong as Connecticut’s.

Each year, the Sunday Sales effort is blocked primarily by the Connecticut Package Stores Association who have a serious lobbying effort on the issue. This shows the influence high-priced lobbyists still have. Governor Rell can’t seem to speak to a reporter without bemoaning Democrats’ “addiction to spending.” But she has no problem leaving $8 million on the table when it comes to this issue—despite the legislative committee’s report.

The Hanging Shad supports Sunday sales of alcohol strictly on fairness grounds. Is there any other industry that the state mandates be closed on a certain day? Does the state say dry cleaners have to be closed on Tuesdays? Or shoe stores be closed on Thursdays? Of course not. It makes no sense. Nor does it make sense to require packages be closed on Sundays. Let the store owners make their own choice as to whether they want to open on Sundays.

Investigators are looking into whether a welder’s torch was responsible for Sunday’s blast in Middletown that killed five and injured 12. It occurred during the dangerous process of purging, or cleaning, of the underground, high-pressure natural-gas pipeline that runs about 800 to 1,000 feet through the facility.

The Hartford Courant cited sources that said there are other concerns that included:

• The welder’s torch and other welding operations weren’t entirely halted and other ignition sources may have been present during the purging Sunday morning;

• That the area wasn’t completely cleared of workers and vehicles during the operation;

• Clutter and other safety issues at the site had delayed the purging operation for a short time and caused it to be re-scheduled to Sunday;

• That high-pressure natural gas was used to purge the pipe, as opposed to non-flammable nitrogen, which had been used for other operations at the plant;

• That the fill material covering the pipe was not compacted to a sufficient degree.

Deputy Middletown Fire Marshal Al Santostefano said the investigation is being conducted by multiple city, state, and federal agencies, including the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.
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The latest Rasmussen poll on the race for governor of Connecticut showed former ambassador to Ireland Republican Tom Foley leading the GOP field and former US Senate candidate Ned Lamont leading the Democrats. This may all be true but the poll did not include Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman. Any candidate or candidate’s campaign, who ignores Glassman, does so at their own peril. She is former counsel to Speaker of the House Moira Lyons, former counsel to Senate President Kevin Sullivan and former chief of staff to Sullivan when he became lieutenant governor.

As if Glassman did not have an impressive enough resume, The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Simsbury as one of its Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010, recognizing the Farmington Valley town for exceptional efforts to protect its recreational and historic assets.

Main Street Partnership officials said Simsbury is the first Connecticut town to win the designation in the national program’s 10-year history. And, for the first time, the trust will run a national competition to determine which of the 12 destinations named this year will be cited as the “2010 Fan Favorite.”