Opinion: Consolidate Command Of Fire Districts

The Eye welcomes signed opinion pieces. The letter below was written by Dan Penney
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To the editor:
Recently, Mayor Drew and the Board of Education ( BOE) have developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which commits the city legal department to provide legal counsel for the BOE. Such a consolidation of duplicative city services represents significant cost savings that will not only assure that much needed funding can be best dedicated to our teachers and education but also helps taxpayers during these most difficult fiscal times. The Mayor and BOE continue to aggressively pursue other such opportunities. Such esprit de corps is unprecedented and certainly demonstrates what positive outcomes can be achieved when these relationships exist.

Along these lines,similar opportunities exist for the South Fire District (SFD) Board of Fire Commissioners who are presently discussing the vacant position of SFD Fire Chief.

A conservative estimate of annual taxpayer burden for this position is some $175,000 when one considers the annual salary, fringe benefits, dedicated vehicle, travel, private office space and other associated expenses being overseen by the SFD Board of Fire Commissioners to maintain this duplicative management position.

It's time for the SFD Board of Fire Commissioners to work with the city to develop a MOU that would have these services provided by city. Certainly both the city and SFD taxpayers could realize significant tax relief. Additionally, with such a unified command structure these critical emergency response services would be enhanced, in the best interest of public safety.

Dan Penney

JEWISH GENEALOGY ASSISTED RESEARCH, Sunday, February 17

Join the Jewish Genealogical Society of Connecticut on Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 1:30 pm for an afternoon of personal research time at Godfrey Memorial Library, 134 Newfield Street, Middletown.

This informal session is free and open to anyone researching Jewish ancestors.  Board members will be available to answer questions and suggest resources.

For additional information, please visit www.jgsct-jewish-genealogy.org/programs.html.

If 'Segue' is Pronounced 'Segway,' Why Isn't 'Agway' Spelt 'Ague'? Popcorn by The Colonel #28

Did Dr. Seuss take acid?

"Social Sculpture" On View in Zilkha Gallery (through March 3)

"70 x 7 The Meal," act L, City of London, Lucy + Jorge Orta, 2006-2050

Director of the Center for the Arts Pamela Tatge reflects on the exhibition FOOD-WATER-LIFE---LUCY+JORGE ORTA, on view in the Main Gallery of the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery through Sunday, March 3, 2013, in this entry from the Center for the Arts blog.

It’s the start of the spring semester here at Wesleyan University, and our student gallery monitors are preparing to welcome a new exhibition into the Zilkha Gallery: FOOD-WATER-LIFE---LUCY+JORGE ORTA. I was introduced to the French artist couple by Ginger Duggan and Judy Hoos Fox, independent curators who have brought two exhibitions to Zilkha Gallery in the past two years:  Connectivity Lost in September 2010 and Passing Time* in January 2012. The Ortas, whose studio is in Paris, contributed 70 x 7 The Meal to Connectivity Lost, a set of plates that were a part of their public art piece that they have mounted in cities around the world whereby thousands of people share a meal together on a set of limited edition plates, forging a powerful encounter of people from all walks of life.

Ginger and Judy shared with us that although the Ortas have exhibited all over the world, and in group shows in the U.S., they had never had a solo show in this country.  Wesleyan partnered with the Tufts University Art Gallery who organized the exhibition, and we have our opening on Tuesday, January 29 from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.

I’m excited to have this stunning exhibition in our gallery for many reasons, first because the issues their works illuminate are those that many in our community are discussing:  biodiversity, environmental conditions, climate change, and exchange among peoples.  The exhibition also intersects with this year’s Feet to the Fire theme, Earth and Justice for All, with many courses in Wesleyan’s College of the Environment exploring environmental justice issues.

But most importantly, it’s been a long time since we’ve had large-scale sculptural elements in the gallery.  The minute I saw their work I could see it beautifully sited in Zilkha:  the height of the gallery frames the strikingly colorful parachute installations; the segment on food is situated in front of the gallery’s windows and is in dialogue with the trees and grass of our courtyard; the film of the Ortas' public art work in Antarctica is set against the raw majesty of the floor to ceiling limestone of the Main Gallery’s back wall.

And the full-scale canoe that is docked in the center of Zilkha has a sister canoe that the Ortas have installed at the Shanghai Biennale, where it is a fully-working water purification system. The Museum of Contemporary Art is pumping in water from the Huang Pu River, up 20 meters into the museum’s third floor.  It is purified in a bamboo “factory” and then clean drinking water is available for the visitors to taste, enjoy and take away in a specially designed OrtaWater bottle.  I’m sorry that our budget didn’t allow us to do the same with water from the Connecticut River!

Following the opening on Tuesday, the exhibition will be on view, alongside Janne Höltermann’s Remodeling Zilkha installation in the North Gallery, through Sunday, March 3.

*Many of you may not know that Wesleyan’s exhibition, Passing Time, left Middletown last March and traveled to Indiana’s DePauw University, then to the Salina Art Center in Kansas.  While we will be celebrating the opening of the Orta exhibition on Tuesday, Passing Time will open at the Bakalar Gallery at Boston’s Massachusetts College of Art and Design!  If you missed it at Wesleyan, you can see it in Boston through Sunday, March 3.

DeLauro In Middletown On Thursday To Discuss SAFER Streets Act, Gun Violence Prevention

From a press release.
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Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who represents our city in the U.S. House of Representatives, will hold a press conference Thursday, January 31 at 11 am to discuss her SAFER Streets Act and the need for stronger laws to prevent future gun violence.

Joe Bango, the Connecticut small business owner who proposed the legislation to DeLauro, will be present to hand over his AR-15 to the State Police.

First Impressions: Taino and Krust

Taino Smokehouse opened recently on South Main Street, and I'd driven by the sign dozens of times thinking that a tobacco warehouse mart had opened up there. I was searching online for information about the new Krust Pizza restaurant that I'd spotted on Main Street, when I stumbled on a local food blog called Foodasaurus that had a review of Krust and one about Taino Smokehouse too. That is how I discovered Taino Smokehouse is a restaurant serving smoked meats and barbeque, and not a cigarette discount store. I immediately ordered takeout, selecting a wide range of menu items for me and my spouse to try out.

When I went to pick up the food, I told the server how, since the restaurant can't really be seen from the street at all, just the sign can, I'd been surprised to learn this was a restaurant and not a tobacco outlet and she said, “Everybody says that. But we have word of mouth.” Well, you do have word of mouth, (and word of blogs), but you also have a sign, and while I'm no marketing expert, I have deduced that the sign was placed there to inform the public about your establishment. But based on my experience and your admission, it falls short. Three little letters added onto the sign might be just the thing to attract more diners. (Hint: B-B-Q). End of that lecture, and back to the food.

While my husband thought the pulled pork was delicious, and Foodasaurus wrote that “Taino is among the best BBQ in CT”, I liked it but I wasn't as completely thrilled. To be fair, this isn't my favorite type of food and no matter how great a piece of meat is, I'm never going to be one to rave about it. Here are my impressions for whatever they're worth, and don't just listen to me – check them out on Yelp where they have many lengthy reviews of high praise.

I thought that the pork was moist and sweet. My brisket had a really nice “crust” that tasted like it had been made pastrami-style with coriander seeds, but the meat was on the dry, chewy side. The sauce that came with it was deliciously tangy but there was barely any of it. The cole slaw was fresh but too wet for my taste and nothing special. The corn bread muffins had a delicious taste but were crisply burnt around the edges and pretty dry. I still ate them both, so that is a testament to the great taste. The collard greens were cooked very well and with quite a bit of meat fat, which was tasty, but not so healthy, which is usually my goal when eating greens. The macaroni and cheese was delicious in a way that was reminiscent of childhood more than of high quality cheese, because it tasted like a jar of Cheez Whiz mixed in with cooked elbow noodles. It was creamy and salty in a kind of good way, but two small bites were enough for me. My husband had no problem with eating the rest of it. The noodles were cooked really well and weren't mushy. Overall, Taino Smokehouse is definitely worth trying out. I've since heard they have very good burgers there too, so I'll be back to check that out. They have about eight or so tables inside so you can dine in with wait service. It's right next to Ace Hardware.

As for Krust, our conclusion was that we'd go back to have a drink at the bar and that might lead to pizza eating, but we'd continue to prefer Mondo or even Jerry's or Illiano's for our strong pizza-as-comfort-food cravings. Krust had only been open for a few days when we visited, so may have been ironing out the kinks. We'll try the pizza again, it's not that it wasn't tasty. It was just very thick and bready, surprisingly so for wood fired oven pizza. The toppings were delicious but scarce. The tomato sauce was great but I couldn't get a mouthful of it. There just wasn't enough, probably the balance that keeps the crust from getting soggy is a very tricky thing. We had a mushroom pizza, and the mushrooms were intensely earthy and delicious, and even permeated the whole pizza, but even so there could have been more. A couple of the slices had one mushroom, a couple had two, and a few had none at all. Krust is not just a pizza restaurant, it's also a bourbon bar. Another area where I'm not the best person to give a full review. I didn't partake of any alcohol there, but my husband had the New Orleans classic Sazerac and said it was excellent and just as good as the ones he's had in it's city of origin. Hence our plan to visit the bar again in the future.

A few other new restaurants have opened in Middletown relatively recently, none of which I have tried yet. Any Eye readers out there who want to take a shot at writing a review, we'd be happy to post your critiques and musings. The places I'm thinking of are Stella D'Oro Italian restaurant in Metro Square, Michael's Deli on Broad Street, and Michael's Restaurant on Main Street. Or tell us about any meal you've had around town.

From 1868: Snow and a Fenian Ball

The following is an extract from an article published about 145 years ago today, it appeared in the Hartford Daily Courant on January 29th, 1868.

Perhaps as an indication of the importance of Middletown in those days, the article was simply entitled, "New England News", and included sections on Middletown, New Haven County (where Edward Nettleton slided downhill into a loaded ox sled), Middlesex County, Fairfield County, Litchfield County, New London County (where a large number of New Londoners take the steamer for California February 1st, to try and improve their fortunes), Windham County (they had a large Fenian mass meeting), Maine (earthquake in Andover), New Hampshire, Massachusetts (where "An Irish woman who stole a cod-fish from a grocery in East Arbington, returned it during the night, hanging it on the store door with a note stating that her heart was 'proke,' and she 'couldn't kape the fish.'"), and Rhode Island (where "a union of all the circles of the Fenian Brotherhood of Providence has been effected.").

"You Have Foiled My Plans for the Last Time, Flash Gordon! Prepare to Meet Fiery Death!" Popcorn by The Colonel #27

Epigraph: "Mt. Everest has never been climbed by a person wearing a wig or a toupee." --Sir Harry O. Triggerman 

(Forward this important fact at once to everyone you know. Ed broke the chain and his toupee fell into a crevasse with his head still in it, connected by his neck to the rest of his body! Karen kept the chain going and her wig stayed lustrous for years with only minimal maintenance.)

Video: Protecting the 2nd Amendment

Kurt Knapp and Tom Sebold talk about why the 2nd Amendment is important.

I made this video not to debate or challenge their views, but to show how they feel about some of the laws being proposed to ban assault weapons.

I know there are strong views on this subject.  The first video I made was, sort of, middle of the road. You can watch it here. This second video is focus on the gun owners defense of the 2nd Amendment.  I would like to make it clear that gun owners aren't afraid that politicians are trying to ban all guns but, as Kurt will explain in the video, incrementalism may damage the 2nd Amendment over the long term.  Something, by its very nature, it difficult for us to imagine and see today.
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If you have an issue or concern, and you would like to speak out about it via video, feel free to contact me at DarrellLucas@Gmail.com

Vinal Tech Receives State Funding For Handicapped Accessibility

State Representatives Joseph Serra and Matthew Lesser joined Senators Dante Bartolomeo and Paul Doyle in praising the state funding presented to Vinal Technical High School in Middletown during the Bond Commission meeting today. All four Democrats represent our city in the State Capitol.

The Buttonwood Tree Hosts Hartt School Alums, New Jersey's Jeremiah Birnbaum and Ben Rabb This Weekend

This weekend TBT will host musicians from around the tri-state area including West Hartford native, Ben Rabb and several guest musicians who will join Jeremiah Birnbaum on Saturday night. Tonight's full band will keep our toes tapping. Student suggested donation only $7. Light refreshments are available as always.

Showcasing music from their debut record “Best Friends”, this is a great opportunity to see Ladyhips in an acoustic, scaled back vibe at this intimate venue.

Middlesex County Youth to Experience Homelessness for a Night

Young people from Middlesex County are going to brave January’s cold and sleep outdoors Saturday, Jan. 26, as part of a program to educate people about the existence and conditions of homelessness in the community.

The fourth annual Homelessness Awareness Discussion and Sleep-Out will kick off in two locations at 6:45 p.m. at South Congregational Church on Main Street in Middletown and at 6 p.m. the St. Joseph’s Church in Chester. The event is sponsored by 10 faith-based organizations in collaboration with the Middlesex County Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (MCCHH), which is implementing a Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in the county. 

The teens will hear first-hand about the ordeal of homelessness from several people who are currently or formerly homeless and be able to ask questions. A simple soup and bread dinner will be served.