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Showing posts from April, 2019

The Public Deserves to See the Trash Outsourcing Report

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Art generated by AI following author's prompt: Report locked in safe The Enfield Town Council is considering a consequential issue: outsourcing our public works trash removal service. However, the town has not released the consultant's report, which likely examines the pros and cons of such a move, even as the Council begins its budget deliberations. The town council authorized the hiring of the consultants in November, 2024. On April 7, 2025, the Town Council discussed the report in executive session. I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for a report copy this week. The Town Manager's office responded that the report is still in draft format and is not eligible for public disclosure under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act. I was also told: "The contract has not provided us a completion date at this time." That means the report could be withheld from the public indefinitely. Draft is not an automatic exemption This was my response: "My un...
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Climate change impacts in Connecticut

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I can imagine mowing my lawn by next weekend, which seems early. Already the weeds are racing ahead. This is not surprising. Temperatures in Connecticut have increased 2.8 degrees since 1970 . Our average annual temp that year was about 48, it's now nearing 51. This coincides with a  dramatic rise in CO2. In 1970, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was at 325 ppm; it's now at about 410 ppm. Pre-industrial was 280 ppm.  Connecticut is ranked 10th among fastest warming states by Climate Central. Alaska is first. I'm not entirely sure why Connecticut, along with Rhode Island and Vermont, are seeing faster temperature rises. Clearly, we're seeing an increase in extreme weather in the U.S., which includes fires. We have been fairly lucky so far in Connecticut. It's hard to know for sure what climate change will mean for Connecticut specifically. But a 3 degree increase since 1970 does not bode well. We're doing nothing globally to address the problem, and ...
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