Miranda Trowbridge Quast Wins Prestigious Congress-Bundestag Scholarship

New York, NY - Miranda Trowbridge Quast, of Middletown, CT and a student at Hartford’s Classical Magnet School, has been awarded the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Scholarship, which covers a year of study and cultural immersion in Germany. 

Miranda was one of only 50 students chosen to receive this award, sponsored by the US Department of State and administered by AFS, a worldwide nonprofit high school student exchange organization. Miranda will serve as a Youth Ambassador from the United States while participating in special educational, cultural and political events, including receptions and meetings with both German and American government officials.

The Congress-Bundestag program begins September 7th with a pre-departure orientation in Washington, D.C., where Miranda will visit her representative to Congress, Rosa L. DeLauro, and participate in a diplomacy workshop with other scholarship winners organized by the U.S. Department of State, whose Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs supports CBYX.

While in Germany, Miranda will gain firsthand experience of German life and culture by living with a host family, attending high school, and participating in the community. The purpose of the scholarship program, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag, is to strengthen the U.S.-German relationship through ties of friendship and cultural understanding. Dedicated supporter Senator Richard Lugar (IN) calls CBYX “an extraordinary opportunity to learn about the world, gain a deeper understanding of people and issues, build lifelong skills, and expand horizons.”

AFS-USA has year, semester, and summer programs for high school students in 42 countries around the world, with special programs for graduates 18-24. In addition to sending students abroad, AFS-USA welcomes approximately 2,500 outstanding students from other countries into communities across the United States every year. To learn more about study abroad, scholarships, hosting an exchange student, or becoming an AFS volunteer in your community, call 800- AFS - INFO or visit www.afsusa.org/usa

AFS is a worldwide, nonprofit organization that has been leading international high school student exchange for more than 60 years. Each year, AFS-USA sends more than 1,400 US students abroad, provides approximately $3 million in scholarships and financial aid, and welcomes 2,500 international high school students who come to study in US high schools and live with host families. More than 6,000 volunteers in the US make the work of AFS possible.

Submitted to the Middletown EYE by:

ARTFARM

119 Highland Ave.

Middletown, CT. 06457

Tel: 860.346.4390

info@art-farm.org

www.art-farm.org

Theater. Simple Living. Activism.

So...how about that hurricane Earl?

Although Ct was not in direct in the path of Hurricane Earl (slamming into the Carolinas as a category 4 hurricane) , all local news stations reported that even inland cities and towns such as Middletown would most likely experience some higher than normal windows and at the very least a down pour yesterday evening. And we got nada.

Yesterday, the reporting style of the tracking of Earl seemed reminiscent of that of last years February 9-11 supposed "Blizzard of the Season" which caused the closing of schools and the State departments prior to the storm in anticipation of statewide disaster. State department closings also put a halt on the Clean Energy Plant explosion investigation. Nicknamed "Snowmagedeon", the second Nor'eastern of the season was supposed to drop a foot or more on Connecticut, but ended up with only moderate accumulation (at most 2-3 inches in Hartford and Middletown) in most parts of the state with the exception of the immediate shoreline which did get 9-12 inches. This hyped up forecast caused many to use precious time off from work to hunker down, and business owners close down shop and loose revenue. Better "safe than sorry" seems to be the attitude of the weather reporters of CT, god for bid they miscalculate the severity of a storm that causes major damage.

But really weathermen,- putting citizens in a state of frenzy rather than take a chance and or admit a wrong prediction for what?- hype & ratings? job security? Why make the effort to calculate an accurate prediction when they can get away with just making a prediction? I seriously question when such exaggerated weather reports about minor storms on TV will cause citizens to adapt the attitude that the weathermen are simply crying wolf again.

Past New England hurricanes have killed people, so accurate early warning is key. This lack of accuracy was the issue in the first major storm I ever heard stories about was the Ice Storm of 1978. The storm hit February 6th of that year in such severity that then governor Grasso shut down the streets for snow removal. My father tells me homes in southern Middletown lost power for up to 2 weeks. He was resigned to shaving in the basement bathroom of his then job at Mallove's Jewelry on Main St.

The biggest blizzard I remember was in '96, but it was only 18 inches of snow, and 1 missed day of school. My grandmother grew up near Westerly RI, at the time when the 1938 hurricane killed over 100 people. Today, as an adult, these events explain my grandmother's odd behavior I witnessed as a child, of her filling the bathtub every time there was a thunderstorm, her latent fear of there not being running water if the storm got bigger. Even though I know about these past storms, and watched the catastrophe of Andrew and Katrina, I find my generation are the ones who do not understand pre storm hysteria caused by past post storm disaster; the last major hurricane I lived through and did not just see on TV, Gloria in 1985, I slept comfortably through, in my crib.

In college I taught my my roommate from San Diego to drive in the snow and to avoid fishtailing. Understandably, she was quite nervous about driving in a foot of snow, as I would have been say driving in phenomenon that I would consider foreign.

Is 9-12 inches of snow in a geographical area where we get 2-12 inches sometimes reason to shut down? I think we ought to be careful, but is it just me, or in the last few years have people lost their New England due or die spirit and gotten all soft when if comes to inclement weather? I realize hurricanes are another story, and no laughing matter, but I am talking about just a plain old snowy winter- but the manner in which major and minor weather systems are reported with the same vehemence is what the issue is.

I visited my grandparents yesterday after work.

"So how about that hurricane Earl.. this is some big storm huh?, I asked.

"I think they just make the weather up these days. I don't get it they have all these computer machines" answered Joe S., 85 of Middletown.

"When I was a kid I remember the hurricane of '38. Before the highway, everybody had to go through Middletown from New York to get to Boston or up North. So there was this chicken truck. With crates of chickens sticking their heads out, like now you see only in the movies. Well it tipped over by the (town) Green and there were all this chickens running everywhere ( laughing hysterically) ... you see you couldn't buy chicken in packages, you went to this guy we called the 'Chicken Man' on Court Street and you picked it out and he killed it for you in the back...but we didn't get chicken very often, too expensive, more so than meat then. Well anyway all of us kids chased all these chickens and people started grabbing them and bringing them home. There were feathers everywhere like snow and all this wind! The power was out for days... trees down... now that was a big storm, that was a real storm!!"

(image is 1938 storm map NOAA)

Middletown Planning Dept. Statistics- Sept. 2010

MIDDLETOWN STATISTICS REPORT- SEPTEMBER 2010

Highlights

↔ Local Economy- Unemployment notched up 0.1% in July, but August hiring are up 9% over July. The summer weakening might be more of a bump along the road to recovery rather than a worsening trend. Main Street storefront vacancies reached a new low at 4%. A year ago the City had 14 Main Street vacancies, today there are just 6. Trade name registrations are up 22% versus last year and the July and August numbers were much stronger than last year. The October report will have the results of our Business Confidence Survey.

↔ Housing- Sales, Prices and Days on the market all retreated in July after the end of the federal stimulus incentives. The one positive note is that weakness has not resulted in increases in inventories, which are currentlt at very manageable levels. Prices are within historical long-term trends, indicating that the market has, up-to-now, corrected itself, rather than having the bottom fall out. This winter will be a critical time to watch the trends for the housing market. Next spring might have prices at bargain prices compared to historical trends. If unemployment drops, then Middletown will be in a good position for a real estate recovery.

↓ Web Presence- Middletown’s web presence continued to decrease on search engines for a second month.

Full report can be found at http://www.middletownplanning.com/documents/MStat_Report_Sept2010.pdf

MEETINGS OF THE WEEK

Design Review and Preservation Board

Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 5:30 PM, Common Council Chambers

- 267 Main Street- Bank of America Handicapped Accessible Entrance

Planning and Zoning Commission

Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 7:00 PM, Common Council Chambers

PUBLIC HEARINGS

- Proposed Zoning Code text amendment to add Section 61.01.57 to allow Retail Sales and Self Storage in the B-2 zone. A copy of the proposed text is on file in the Office of the Town Clerk. Applicant/agent Andy Grant/Michael F. Dowley Z2010-4

- Proposed Special Exception to convert an existing single family dwelling at 7 Park Place to a residence and worship center. Applicant/agent Theodore Zervas/Michael F. Dowley SE2010-5

NEW BUSINESS

-Proposed two (2) lot resubdivision of the property of No. 8 Country Club Road located on the south side of Country Club Road and to the west of Partridge Lane. Applicant/agent Robert E. Whitney, Jr. for No. 8 Country Club Associates S2010-3

- Proposed three (3) lot resubdivision of the property of Middle Boardman Associates, LP, located at 218 Boardman Lane, on the north side across from the intersection with Bell Street. Applicant/agent Middle Boardman Assoc. Limited Partnership/Joel Green, Esq. S2010-4

- Proposed Site Plan Review to construct an office building with associated wholesale warehouse on the south side of Bradley Street near the intersection with Middle Street. Applicant/agent J. Sullivan Properties, LLC/Richard D. Carella, Esq. SPR2010-130

Conservation Commission

Thursday, September 9, 2010, 7:00 PM

CANCELLED

RECENT COMMISSION ACTIONS (Unofficial results)

Planning and Zoning Commission

Wednesday, September 25, 2010, 7:00 PM, Common Council Chambers

GRANTED FINAL APPROVAL - Three (3) lot resubdivision with a Special Exception for two rear lots of the property of Dan LaRosa located at 109 Bell Street, on the east side near Old Farms East, with the condition that the Police Departmental comment be addressed. Applicant/agent Dan LaRosa S2010-2

GAVE AN AFFIRMATIVE G.S. 8-24 REVIEW- Land swap at the intersection of Johnson and North Main Streets between the City and Paul Szewczyk for a proposed boat launch with the condition that: 1) the land swap will have a legal contract; and 2) there be no deed transfer until the work has been completed. Applicant/agent City of Middletown

You can find agendas, minutes and legal notices at www.middletownplanning.com

If you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please email your request to

michiel.wackers@cityofmiddletown.com

Beer Camp, Day Two

Some of my young colleagues arrived a bit bleary-eyed after a night out in Chico, but Beer Camp at Sierra Nevada got underway promptly at 8 a.m., and the group was about to get down to business as brewer Scott Jennings helped us create the beer we imagined.

After coffee and breakfast burritos, he took us to the brewhouse where we loaded bags of malted barley into the grinder which pumped into the lauter tun where the beginnings of the mash was mixed with water.  Scott had already begun a mash before we arrived so very quickly we were sampling our own sweet first wort.

Scott provided a complete explanation of mashing and creating the work, including explanations of how the sugars are broken down in the grain, and how the extracted sugars are consumed by voracious yeast.

Next we went to the hop cooler where we assembled the six hop varieties we would add to our brew, including the estate hops we had picked the day before.  The room, which had been nearly empty the day before was filled with racks of fresh hops, picked the day before in Yakima Washington, and which are an important part of the biennial brew called Harvest (one in the fall from the Northern Hemisphere, and one in the Spring from the Southern Hemisphere.

With hops added to the wort, we were retrieved by Terance for a sampling run through the chilled fermentation tanks.  We were lucky enough to the forthcoming 30th Anniversary Estate Ale, and a very rare oaked Bigfoot.  We were joined mid-tour by Tom Dalldorf, founding editor of Celebrator, a magazine about beer and brewing, who is doing a story about Sierra Nevada, and beer camp.

After serenading Tom with a rendition of Dave Mulligan's Beer Camp song, we headed to lunch, a more fine beers.

The afternoon was given over to a tour of the brewery's research facility, and some subjective testing of our own sensabilities in the sensory review department.

I left to catch my plane as the debate over the beer name came down to two possibilites, Mulligan (for Dave and his great song, and the double meaning of a "second chance," and Hopsichord, an obvious play on words.   I suggested Whiplash, for the effect I thought the beer would have.

After picking up my Beer Camp tee shirt, I hit the road for home.

The Buttonwood Gets Balkanized!

On Sunday evening (9/05) at 7 p.m., The Buttonwood Tree presents The Underscore Orchestra.  Based in Portland, Oregon, The UO plays a happy, snappy, blend of Gypsy Jazz, klezmer, Swing, Balkan music and more.  Led by violinist/vocalist/piccolo and harmonica player Jorge Kachmari, the group has been together almost 7 years and, in their own words, "have been known to play for all types of gatherings from belly dance extravaganzas and sophisticated wine parties to bar mitzvahs vaudeville shows and barnyard hoedowns."

They are currently in the midst of a 31-day long tour that takes up and down the Eastern Seaboard, playing in all sorts of venues from college auditoriums to breweries to taverns to clubs to street fairs to restaurants to intimate spots such as The Buttonwood.  As you will see in the video below, they are a playful ensemble, can get a bit raucous and have lots of fun when they perform.  To find out more, go to www.theunderscoreorkestra.com. 

Beer Camp, Day One

As many of you know, this correspondent won a competition to be one of ten out-of-state residents chosen to attend a two-day Beer Camp at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, California.

The day began as I met my fellow campers from Arizona, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Nevada, North Carolina and New York as we discussed the type and style of beer we would brew during our stay in Chico.

Prior to camp we had agreed to make an IPA. At the meeting we decided it should be a Double IPA with a complex mix of hops, malt, barley and yeast.  Those among us who are practiced home brewers talked in more technical terms about specific varieties, bitterness units, specific gravity and alcohol content.

The discussion lasted almost two hours, and while we agreed on how the beer should look and taste, we were warned to come up with name as soon as possible, because most groups who participate in beer camp debate long and hard about a name, and having a beer name is essential for registration of a beer with the federal government and states.

We also learned about Sierra Nevada's history as a company started by friends who learned the art of brewing as teens, and thirty years producing 700,000 barrels a year.

The remainder of the morning was spent touring the plant with Terance Sullivan, viewing everything from grain storage and mill to wort tuns, fermentation tanks and filtration.  In the process we learned that Sierra Nevada has worked hard to make its operation sustainable, using solar panels, CO2 capture and recycling, heat transfer and use of waste grain for feed for the farmers who provide beef to Sierra Nevada's brew pub.

At the end of the morning, we picked hops from Sierra Nevada's estate crop on premises.  The company also grows some barley, but most hops and barley are purchased from growers outside of California.

After a hearty lunch we climbed aboard the 12 seat bar cycle, a multiple pedal vehicle with a small bar at its heart, to view travel to the bottling and storage operation, the labs (where the precious Sierra Nevada yeasts are coddle, nurtured and stored).

On Friday, our group begins its brewing day.  The good news: our beer will be shipped to local distributors so that we can share some with friends, and our favorite local establishment will have the opportunity to stock a small supply of the beer.  Look out Eli Cannon's.

We were treated to pizza and beer for dinner at a restaurant in downtown Chico, which, like Middletown is a college town (Chico State's enrollment is around 15,000).  Chico has a lovely downtown, and it was filled with people at the last of its summertime, nightime, farmer's markets which offered amazing produce and specialty foods, three live bands and activities for kids.  Several of the main streets were closed to vehicular traffic and clubs were filled, and the streets teeming with people.

At the Market Today

The North End Farmers Market is on Fridays from 10 am - 2 pm in front of It's Only Natural Market, 575 Main St.

Weather Info: The market will go on through light to medium rain, but if it becomes dangerous, we'll close up shop.

This week's restaurant is Fiore II

This week's Guest Vendors are Crystals Hoops and Urban Oaks.

Also, as an added treat, kids from Macdonough Elementary school will be walking down to take part in the North End Kids Market, which is funded by a federal grant.

Gubernatorial Candidates To Debate on Education at Macdonough

On September 28, Connecticut gubernatorial candidates Dan Malloy (D) and Tom Marsh (I) will participate in a forum hosted by ConnCAN and focused exclusively on public education in Connecticut. Candidate Tom Foley (R) was also invited to participate, but has not responded to our request at the time of this release.

The forum – which will be moderated by Robert Frahm of the Connecticut Mirror and Tom Monahan of NBC 30 – will take place at Macdonough Elementary School, a 2009 ConnCAN Success Story school that has made exceptional progress in closing the achievement gap in Middletown.

The forum is designed to elevate the issue of education reform in the gubernatorial race and provide the candidates with a unique opportunity to speak to voters in depth about their plans to fix Connecticut’s public education system.

On why ConnCAN felt it was important to hold a debate on education, Alex Johnston, ConnCAN's CEO, said: “Every other pressing issue we face in this campaign season, from the budget to jobs to security, is ultimately an issue about getting public education right."

ConnCAN is elevating the issue of education reform in the campaign season through its Vote for Ed campaign. For updates on forum coverage and for more information, please visit www.votefored.org.

Inland Wetlands Cancelled Due to Lack of Quorum

Last night's monthly meeting of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency was cancelled due to the absence of a quorum.

Two Coginchaug River items were on the agenda under "Agency Review", the landslide which occurred below the Charton Apartments, and the boat launch project at the sewer pumping station on Johnson Street.

The Inland Wetlands Agency has had two vacancies among the members and one among the alternates for at least a year. Appointments are made by the mayor, and confirmed by the council.

Showmobile Resolution and Police Budget Request to be Heard at Council Meeting

The Finance and Government Operations Committee met on Wednesday to get an update on the budget, and to consider resolutions with financial impacts for the upcoming Common Council meeting.

The Showmobile

F&G approved a motion to standardize the fee charged by the city for use of the portable stage used by many groups in the city for festivals and other large gatherings. The 'showmobile' includes a lighting and sound system, and is used in church functions, road races, and motorcycle mania, among other events.

Tina Gomes, financial analyst in the Mayor's office, told the F&G that the Public Works employees who are required to set up and take down the showmobile cost the city $90 per hour. This is currently the fee charged for use of the showmobile. However, the Common Council commonly waives the fee upon request from a non-profit organization; seven complete waivers were granted in the last fiscal year. In the months of July and August this year, the city has received no money from organizations using the showmobile.

Gomes worked with Council Members Hope Kasper and Ron Klattenberg to develop a fee structure which would provide a discount to non-profit city organizations, but still generate

some income to defray city expenses and to pay for maintenance on the showmobile. Their proposed resolution would place the fee at $75 per hour, and eliminate waivers.

The F&G voted unanimously to send this resolution to the council for consideration at their meeting on TUESDAY.

Police Budget Request

Acting Chief of Police Patrick McMahon came to the F&G Committee to request the addition of $1880 to his $11M budget for this fiscal year. He said that when the Council voted to give a 10% across-the-board cut to the Police Department budget, it reduced funding for a contract that was already in place for traffic signal maintenance. McMahon told the Council members that he was not completely sure that he could make up a $1880 shortfall in a contractual line by shifting money from other budget items in the remaining 10 months of this fiscal year.

McMahon told the Council members that he did not necessarily expect them to approve the budget transfer. When Klattenberg asked him why he didn't just wait to see if he actually needed the money and make a request towards the end of the fiscal year, McMahon replied, "I want to go on record as I'll be short."

McMahon's request for the addition to his budget will be considered at TUESDAY'S meeting of the Common Council.

Happy New Year

New school year, that is. 

Today was the first day of the new school year for Middletown Public Schools.  It was a significant day because it was the first day at a new school for many school children and families who were affected by the recent elementary school redistricting.

Associate Superintendent of Schools was at Macdonough Elementary School, where she received recognition, and she said that there was an issue with classroom size at some schools, but the Board of Education was going to wait until true attendance could be assessed before making decisions about staffing.  She indicated that the preferred solution would be to add an additional adult assistant to any class which was overenrolled.

Macdonough began the day with the now-traditional, walking school bus along high street, and the day began with a reception for students and families which ended with an assembly.

Redevelopment Commission Endorses Deal With Middlesex Mutual

Tuesday the Redevelopment Commission voted unanimously to endorse a deal struck between the city and Middlesex Mutual Assurance (MMA) which, if adopted by the Economic Development Committee, and the Common Council will allow MMA to develop the open lot on the corner of Broad and College Streets in accordance with zoning regulations for downtown development.

In the agreement, the city stipulates that any development must be approved by the Redevelopment Commission and the Economic Development Committee, along with meeting all zoning regulations. The development must also be no smaller than 50,000 square feet (the equivalent of a two story building on half of the lot.)

Currently, MMA is restricted from building anything on the site but another corporate office building until 2020.

The city agreed to the deal after MMA filed papers, essentially ignoring the deed restriction. The city began a legal fight with MMA, but were warned against the legal challenge by MMA. According to a memo written by planning director Bill Warner "After meeting with MMA they indicated they would litigate forever to keep the property."

The city had already spent $15,000 challenging MMA, and the prospect of a fight which, according to Warner, would end up "bankrupting the (Economic Development) fund," convinced city negotiators to rescind the restriction and allow the insurance company to develop the lot under downtown zoning regulations and the oversite of the Economic Development Committe and the Redevelopment Commission.


MMA also agreed to pay the city $15,000 for legal expenses.

Commission member Jennifer Alexander spoke in favor of the agreement, calling Middlesex Mutual "good corporate citizens."


The City of Middletown spent thousands acquiring property and demolishing and relocation before it was deeded to Middlesex Mutual. Middlesex Mutual also enjoyed a significant tax abatement for development on the parcels.