Wordless Wednesday
Category Archives: Local Issues
Readin’ and Writin’ and Lousy ‘Rithmetic
“Show-me-your-papers!”
Christopher Kieras of Seymour, Connecticut, may have fibbed about his residency when he enrolled his daughter in an elementary school in Westport. That’s what the school district said when they sued Mr. Kieras back in June to recover $27,911 in tuition. Actually, the district which investigates more than 30 student residency cases each school year wants to recoup triple the tuition as damages.
It seems the Kieras’ daughter is an illegal alien in Westport.
Oh. Sorry. An undocumented child.
Meanwhile, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in August that Alabama public schools can’t check the citizenship status of new students. That’s unconstitutional, the federal appeals court said.
Judges said fear of the law “significantly deters undocumented children from enrolling in and attending school ….”
Say what?
If the results in Westport and other Connecticut towns are any indicator, illegal aliens darned well should be afraid. After all, if we don’t let kids from the next town into our local schools, we certainly can’t let kids from the next country!
Oh. Wait. We really don’t let kids from the next town into our local schools but kids from the next country get a free hall pass.
Connecticut’s neighboring Weston school district now requires deeds or lease records, or statements from landlords. Here in Vermont, residents have to declare their homestead on their income tax returns — the form includes a box for school district, too. The Weston school district (and the Vermont Department of Taxes) better watch out that the American Civil Liberties Union doesn’t take us all to task over the Connecticut version of “show-me-your-papers.”
“Nobody quarrels with wanting the best for your children,” school district attorney Catherine S. Nietzel said, “but it’s not fair for people who do pay taxes and part of those taxes are used for schools.” OK, nobody but the ACLU. And the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Imagine that.
Politics as Usual
We like to think it doesn’t happen at home.
Joe Sinagra, a Republican State Senate candidate here in Vermont, bought the “dot com” named for another Republican State Senate candidate, State Rep. Norm McAllister. If you clicked on normmcallister.com, you ended up on joesinagra.com. The site has been redirected since August 2.
Oh, Mr. Sinagra hijacked Mr. McAllister for all the best reasons. He’ll tell you so himself.
But he did it.
We like to think it doesn’t happen at home.
Back in the Dark Ages when I chaired the North Puffin Republican Committee a “campaign strategist” rode in on his briefcase and advised us to buy TV ads on the local station for a race for State Rep (the seat Mr. McAllister holds now).
But there is no station, I said.
“Buy on the Burlington stations then. People here watch Burlington TV,” the strategist said.
But our spending is limited to $500, I said.
“Use soft money.”
I fired him.
Degree ………….. 1185
McAllister …….. 1175
Sinagra …………… 404
Tuesday Torn: An Inch of Debris
All is well on the island we can drive to but the beautiful beach is in need of some flotsam removal (including more than a few flip flops — no flares, though).
Tropical Storm Isaac was a light blowjob with a good washdown after. I don’t think there was a mandatory evacuation order in the Keys but I don’t know of more than one or two residents who left.
Early Saturday afternoon, the local newspaper there asked Facebook friends to tell their “storm prep and anxiety stories.” Stacie Kidwell wrote, “Filled the car with gas, but it was empty anyway.” That was the right attitude. About half the people cleaned their houses, did laundry, and hung out on Facebook. And Harpoon Harry’s in Key West did a brisk Sunday breakfast business.
Officials: “Now it’s too late to leave the Keys.” That was Sunday morning.
Alrighty then.
Tens of thousands of South Floridians (more than 32,000 in Miami-Dade County, 23,000 in Broward, and 25,000 in Palm Beach) remained without power yesterday afternoon as sporadic wind gusts and rain continue from Isaac. All Florida Power & Light customers. FPL has been working overtime to “harden” the infrastructure against hurricane damage so I don’t understand how a tropical storm does that to them.
We didn’t lose power even for a minute. We’re on the Florida Keys Electric Co-op, not FPL.
Folks will gather at the beach this morning at 9 a.m. to clean the place up. If you’re around, bring a shovel or a wheelbarrow or a rake or just a strong back and a weak mind. I’m in North Puffin so you can tell everybody that you are me.
Dead DRUNK?
Passersby thought a New York man was dead behind the wheel of a locked car in a Lake George motel parking lot. They called the law.
The poor fellow was instead really really really drunk. Like passed out drunk. Like too drunk to walk, let alone drive drunk. Like not bothering a soul drunk.
Warren County sheriff’s deputies saw the car was locked and the man couldn’t respond so they broke the window. That’s when they discovered he was alive, but very drunk.
A blood test (I guess he couldn’t blow in the tube) showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.27 percent. The legal limit in New York for driving while intoxicated is 0.08 percent.
He was parked in a motel parking lot. Parked. On private property. Sleeping it off.
Sheriff’s deputies broke his car window to get to him. The law won.
He was charged with aggravated DWI.
Say what?