Tom Foley - courtesy Foley campaign
by John Dankosky - Fresh off a new Rasmussen Poll that has him leading the pack in the race for governor, former Ambassador Tom Foley joins us on Where We Live. Join us with your questions 860-275-7266 from 9-10am Friday, email wherewelive@wnpr.org, or leave a comment here.
Filed under Politics, State Government
“This is an agency that says something very straightforward: people ought to be able to read and understand their credit agreements. No more 30-page credit card agreements that are loaded with fine print. No more stacks and stacks of mortgage documents that no one reads and no one understands. No more hidden kickbacks on car loans. It needs to be out there, it needs to be in clear language, it needs to be short and readable.”
“Senator Dodd has said ‘Let’s put it in the Fed to try to get something that’s bi-partisan and okay with the Republicans, but let’s give it lots of teeth to try to make it functionally independent.’ So, you’re right when you say I’m a little bit caught between here. I like an independent agency. But ultimately, if it does have the tools to be functionally independent, then I think what Senator Dodd has done will turn out to be okay.”
Filed under Federal Government, Economics, Military, Money in Politics
Technical issues aside, we really enjoyed our conversation about suburbs yesterday.
(We had some trouble with the audio, but you can hear Josie Holtzman’s entire feature on Bolero Suburbia here. The show opens at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College on May 6th. More information at their website.)
We also talked with Joel Kotkin about his new book, The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050. His take on the suburban questions has ruffled the feathers of many a new urbanist–who wonder things like Why is Joel Kotkin Extolling the Virtues of Suburbia?
But if you listen to what Kotkin says, his goals actually don’t sound totally at odds with new urbanism (except, you know the whole density thing) He writes:
“…suburbs of tomorrow will have a diversity of housing types, thriving town centers, and growing cultural and religious institutions. They will provide more opportunities to walk, ride bikes, and work at nearby companies.”
Mixed use development? Check? Diverse housing stock? Yup. Shortened commutes and walkable communities? You got it. Sounds like common ground to us…
One listener, Shelby Mertes over at The Partnership for Strong Communities, cautioned that as we continue the conversation, we shouldn’t pit city against suburb, density against sprawl:
“I think this is a productive conversation, and good to focus on what type of development goes where. I just want to urge people to not frame this as urban vs. suburban, and debate it as though one is better than the other. We need both, and both need to change and improve: cities need holistic investment that will improve poverty conditions and make a “scene” downtown that will attract young people and others that like a vibrant city. Suburbs need much more housing affordability, and need to mix uses so that people can more easily walk to shopping or other needs, and as suburban density grows include transit. If we pay attention to both urban and suburban, and maximize the possibilities of both, then CT will have the variety of housing, jobs and other needs that will attract the people and businesses we need.”
For his part, Kotkin, warns against this idea of a “Next Big It,” and cautions that investments in an urban core like Hartford’s (where a “scene” has not naturally emerged) won’t bring the people or development that “boosters” hope.
What do you think? Are Connecticut’s largest cities doomed to play second fiddle to the suburbs as we move deeper into the 21st century?
Also–check out David Brook’s column today. It’s about Kotkin’s book.
Filed under Uncategorized
Avon Budget Protest (JOHN WOIKE/HARTFORD COURANT / April 5, 2010) Parents and students, members of the Coalition of Citizens for Avon, march from the Avon Middle School to the High School for a town budget meeting Monday night. Thousands packed Rt167 enroute to the high school carrying signs and shouting support for the increase.
by John Dankosky – If Monday’s program about life in the suburbs brought anything into focus for me, it’s this: No matter how much smart growth advocates may push for densely settled urban centers, complete with world-class public transit, and a so-called “creative economy,” there’s a lot of reasons why people still love the suburbs.
Open spaces, fresh air, spacious lawns…and really good schools. If author Joel Kotkin is right in his book, The Next Hundred Million, we’ll have to listen to the voices of suburbanites even more in the next 40 years, as suburbs outstrip the cities in growth.
That’s why last night’s events in Avon were so, well, shocking. It’s a district that prides itself on good schools – they’re a big reason many people moved to the town in the first place. Now, facing the possibility of cuts to sports, languages and arts, a fairly sizable coalition of parents, teachers and students have banded together to support a hefty tax increase.
By my rough guess, more than one thousand residents marched from the middle school to the high school in advance of a budget hearing. It’s a big twist on the kind of activist outrage we’ve been seeing around the country – staged by those who don’t want their taxes to go up.
On today’s show, we’ll talk about this movement in Avon, and about the “parent trigger” legislation, that would allow parents to vote to reconstitute a failing school.
Filed under Education, Livable Cities
by John Dankosky - As a boy in Pittsburgh watching pro wrestling, I couldn’t have imagined that I’d ever be written about in a magazine about guys in spandex jumping off the top rope. But, here you can check out the blog PWTorch as they break down our interview with Senate Candidate and former wrestling exec. Linda McMahon.
My love for wrestling died sometime before the current version of the WWL (now WWE) took off. I never gravitated to the out-sized personalities and soap opera antics of modern wrestling.
Bruno Signs an Autograph - Wikipedia
My ring hero was another Pittsburgher, Bruno Sammartino (left). He was a guy who you could believe was actually in a wrestling match. Nothing fancy, just brute strength, some signature moves, and a thick-as-fog accent.
He has joined some others from the industry in criticizing the current state of the WWE – for both its story lines and its steroid scandals.
Filed under Politics
Photo: City of Hartford, Hartford.gov
by John Dankosky – WNPR’s Jeff Cohen has been reporting on Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez’s legal troubles since they began. In a series of reports this week, he looks at how Perez and others at City Hall are preparing for his trial, and how his lawyer has filed a motion to postpone part of the trial.
Listen for the stories here, and watch for updates throughout April as jury selection begins.
Filed under City Governmnet
From Libby Conn
You can listen to this morning’s conversation about bullying here.
After the show, we continued our discussion with Dr. Jo Anne Freiberg. (She’s been such a great resource for us. You can contact her at the State Department of Education 860-713-7023.)
We talked more about how difficult it can be to define bullying and why school and state policies, though well intentioned, sometimes miss the mark when it comes to preventing harmful behavior. Part of the problem is the term itself. Freiberg advocates using the term “mean.”
Ask any parent/guardian if they are purposely raising a bully and no one will answer “yes.” Ask any child if he or she is a bully and the result is the same. However, if you survey the same group of adults and inquire if their children are ever “mean” to anyone else (call someone a name, make fun of someone, laugh at another person or tell someone they can’t sit with or play with someone), honest affirmative admissions are common. The very same child who says they don’t “bully” will admit that the very same behavior was “mean” and “not nice.”
Everyone is mean from time to time. For some reason, owning up to being “mean” is perceived to be more descriptive and neutral and far less threatening than describing the very same person or act as being “bullying.” Bullying carries heavy negative emotional baggage; mean does not. (from Bully’ is a Four Letter Word: Understanding the Concept to Manage the Territory by Jo Ann Freiberg, 2007.)
And, as always, we also got some great feedback from our listeners.
Joseph Montagna in New Haven wrote:
As a former middle school principal in New Haven, I have had the experience of transforming a school whose culture was all wrong. A school culture that is supportive of students and their families starts with the principal, the school leader. The principal has to make sure that everyone gets the message that the total child is their responsibility to develop the whole child and tend to their unique needs.One method I used to support students is a weekly meeting of teachers, guidance staff, health and mental health professionals in the school to identify students in need of a variety of interventions. We would follow each as a child study case and keep coming back to it until a resolution is in place. This often involved the family and community. The principal has to go “looking for trouble” if she is ever to make students know that the school is supportive and open to them in many ways.
I am currently bullied at my school. A lot of people will tell you that other kids bully you because they are jealous of you, or feel bad about themselves. That’s not always the case; I’ve found it can also be because they just don’t like you. Also, the bullying doesn’t always happen in the cafeteria or the gym, I’m bullied in the classroom, even in front of the whole class. When this happens, the teachers might tell everyone to quiet down, but there has been maybe one instance where the teacher has recognized that I am being bullied.We do have a program in our school that’s supposed to help with behavior, but guess what? It has absolutely no effect whatsoever.
It’s horrible being bullied, and it feels like I’m alone in the school with no one to talk to – there is a teacher I trust, but I hardly see her because I’m in the middle school. It comes as no surprise to me that two kids have committed suicide because of bullying.
Finally, some other good resources:
Greg Saulmon’s blog about South Hadley
US Department of Health and Human Services
An Educator’s Guide to Responding to Cyber-Bullying
The Southern Poverty Law Center
If you have questions or comments about today’s show. Leave them here. Dr. Jo Ann Freiberg has said she’s happy to respond to your questions.
Filed under Uncategorized
