Date: Fri 20-Feb-1998

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Aug 13, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNON

Quick Words:

DiFranco-McLachlan

Full Text:

ON THE ROAD/SHANNON HICKS

Monday morning, tickets went on sale for ANI DiFRANCO at The Palace Theatre in

New Haven. DiFranco has a date to play there on April 11. Tickets are still

available for that show. By the way, her newest (and tenth!) album went on

sale Tuesday; Spin has already given it an 8 out of a possible 10.

If you'd like to see her in a less intimate environment, or maybe you'd like

to see her twice in a relatively short time period, there's a rumor DiFranco

will be returning to The Meadows in Hartford sometime in June.

Some Irish music is coming to the area, just in time for St. Patrick's Day. In

addition to the already-announced TIPPERARY KNIGHTS show at Toad's Place on

March 15, THE CHIEFTANS will be at The Bushnell in Hartford that same night.

Tough choice. Also coming up is a show by BLACK 47, at the Palace Theatre in

Stamford , on March 13. That's a Friday, and it's also the second consecutive

Friday the 13th we've had in as many months. Yikes!

Tickets are $15 and $25 for the Black 47 show; call 325-4466. Here's something

fun: the Irish band's show (Irish band straight out of NYC, actually) is being

sponsored by Guiness Import Company. Guiness actually has a whole series of

shows it's sponsoring at The Palace, including SUSAN McKEOWN on March 14

(tickets $15); and THE McKRELLS, March 15.

McKeown's show starts at 4 pm that afternoon. It's part of the Palace's

ongoing Acoustic Studio presentations. Call about the McKrells tickets; the

listing I have in front of me doesn't offer a price for that show.

Also on March 13, SHAWN COLVIN is scheduled for a performance at the Garde

Arts Center in New Haven.

Six weeks before she is even coming back to Connecticut, SARAH McLACHLAN's

concert at the Oakdale on March 31 is already sold out. In fact, McLachlan is

playing to nearly a steady stream of packed houses these days, with her

concert schedule looking like a graph chart of SOLD OUT blocks piled in top of

each other. Guess it's time to start saving the pennies for this summer's

Lilith Fair, which will no doubt be returning to the Meadows in Hartford.

Until next week, I'll be seeing you... on the road, looking for a spare Sarah

McLachlan ticket or two.

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Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 20-Feb-1998

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