So much going on I don’t know where to start.
The battle of words between Mayor Bill Finch and Board of Education President Max Medina will not end any time soon; a legislative bill to regulate finances of Catholic churches is pulled as Bishop Lori rallies parishioners to the state capitol; Lisa Parziale’s meat hook; and oh yeah OIB has a party Thursday night.
The engagement (no, not holy matrimony) between Finch and Medina comes as Max winds down his 16-year career on the Board of Education. He’s not seeking reelection this year. He feels he’s served long enough. But the BOE lion isn’t exactly going out like a lamb either.
Finch and Max have never been best buds–they’re practically neighbors a stone’s throw from Beardsley Park–and often end up on opposite sides. Bill for Joe Lieberman. Max for Ned Lamont. Bill for Bill as mayor. Max for Chris Caruso.
It appears the mayor will try to turn the BOE into the marketable monster sapping resources as he prepares to submit his second full budget to the City Council in early April. Max wants to go out reminding the public it was Finch who had promised to be the education mayor.
Speaking of the mayor’s budget, city bean counters are working with a spending plan in which reval kicks in with a slight shift toward the business sector. As a result some homeowners may benefit, but others will be screaming in this economy. ‘How the hell can my home be worth this when I can’t sell it for half that amount!’ That’s the problem with revaluation. Values are based on what was then, not what is now.
The mil rate should come down. But how much? And it would not surprise if more layoffs are included in Finch’s plan. The city is still trying to close a budget gap for the current year’s budget with an eye on the next budget year beginning July 1.
Fatherly Advice
So it didn’t take long for Stamford State Senator Andrew McDonald to fold like an accordion. The bill to regulate the books of parishes had Bishop Lori whipping up the masses. The bill has been killed. I wonder if McDonald will seek confession from the bishop. ‘Forgive me father, never again will I poke my legislative beak into your pew.’
Will long-suffering legislative Republicans make political hay of the Democratic gaffe? You bet. Oh, they won’t admit that, but I can see it coming: ‘When Democrats tried to intrude into your confessional we barred the door.’ Let the genuflecting begin.
Make Mine Marbled
I had to snicker a bit (okay, maybe a lot) when I learned former City Council President Lisa Parziale whose wicked tongue has made her more enemies than friends in politics was grilled by police for walking out of Super Stop & Shop packing too much meat. Lisa says it slipped her mind to pay as she walked out the door. Now honey, come now.
Funny thing about that meat, it was probably butchered by the father of current City Council President Tom McCarthy. Yup, Big Mac’s dad is a butcher at the Madison Avenue store. Is that how Big Mac learned how to carve up his political enemies? (Lisa being one of them.)
OIB Party
Hey, maybe Lisa will bring her meat (I’ll bring the Lafite) to the OIB first anniversary party Thursday, 6 p.m. at Matty’s Corner, Fairfield Avenue and Brewster Street. In fact, how about a mud-wrestling match between Lisa and her former City Council partner Bob Troll Walsh? Yahooy can be the special guest referee. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
Join us at Matty’s for a cocktail, good eats and the best rumors in town.
Lisa must have invited Caruso over for dinner–was Max going to tag along?
I know Max Medina is full of it. He has presided over a BOE that has received more and more money and has gotten less and less results. Sure we have built 6 or 7 new schools but we have also managed to graduate fewer kids. Under Medina & and your friend Grogins the BOE has managed to hire more and more consultants. Who are these consultants? Retired school administrators, some are Ramos’ buddies and others have been getting paychecks from Bridgeport for years. Can anyone explain what a retired school athletic director knows about school construction? Well we hired one as a consultant at $600 a day. So hearing that Medina is leaving the BOE is great news for Bridgeport. Now if Finch can follow through and curb school spending we will have taken a positive step forward.
I know nothing about Max Medina. I am familiar with the statistics and surveys documenting Bridgeport’s high rate of pregnancy among unmarried teenaged girls, the 48% dropout rate, the gang-related violence in the city’s public high schools, etc. & so forth ad nauseum. Maybe, just maybe, Mayor Finch actually IS the Education Mayor. Maybe he’s more than happy to get rid of the entrenched bureaucracy at the BOE, all those overpaid administrators and career hacks standing up to their necks in a sea of shit, yelling “Don’t make a wave!!!”
Ahoy, maties! Remeber to join Lennie and co. at Matty’s Corner tomorrow for food and booze.
If Lisa Parziale invited Caruso to dinner she would have been arrested while pushing four shopping carts out of Stop & Shop.
Be careful. I think Lisa Parziale posts under the pseudonym of Tom Kelley.
OIB Rumor Mill:
The Bridgeport Kid finds a dollar on the street and, on a lark, buys a lotto ticket. He wins $100 million dollars, buys a house, makes savvy investments and starts a company that employs thousands. He spends his spare time helping those who’ve fallen on hard times.
Wondering becomes a world-famous author who promises to use “words” to overcome stupidity and, in the process, makes Bridgeport a better place.
Warren All-U-Can-Eat Buffet opens a successful restaurant that makes headlines around the world.
yahooy buys Shays’ waterfront house and turns it into a surfboard factory. Surfing becomes popular with area residents and yahooy is seen with a never-ending smile on his face. Anna drives the motorboat that rescues wayward surfers and returns them to shore.
town committee whips his opponent and becomes Governor of Connecticut. Debt is eliminated, jobs are increased, prosperity soars and smiles are stuck on residents’ faces. In his honor, the state’s motto is changed to The Land of Happy Habits.
MCAT’s wind company defies critics and becomes a worldwide success. Wind power replaces electricity as our chief power source. Bonus: wind power releases chemicals that eliminate all diseases earning her an unexpected Nobel Prize.
Lennie’s blog goes national and soon replaces The New York Times and all TV stations as America’s news source. Ad revenues skyrocket as he ponders a future spent writing books and counseling America’s political elite.
donj opens a private school that turns juveniles into honor students most of whom win Harvard scholarships.
Actually, I’m going to open a restaurant under the I-95 bridge on John Street. Gonna call it The Hobo’s Wandering Local Eyes …
You left out Bpts Finest, sun cat, and Mojo.
MCAT
Does your new company intend to utilize the benefits of hot air? If so, I know a place where you can get a perpetually renewable source.
The Tale of Lisa Parziale packing too much meat really brings her pain very close to home for me. Too much meat on my person has also caused me many embarrassing (yet oddly rewarding) experiences, but I digress.
Lisa’s meat tale reminds me of the classic Hollywood “Too Much Meat” story.
Two of the largest members in Hollywood were Milton Berle and Forest Tucker. The two men had a long-time feud about who was packing the most man meat in Hollywood. Both would drop trousers to show the goods at the drop of a hat.
One night after a night of heavy beer drinking, Uncle Miltie and Mr. F Troop stopped on a bridge to relieve themselves. While in mid-stream over the side of the bridge, Tucker says to Miltie, “Geez, the water’s cold”. To which Uncle Miltie replies, “Yeah, and it’s deep, too.”
Urban legend claims that Uncle Miltie was wearing a dress at the time, but this claim has never been proven by experts. However, an entire sub-genre of internet porn has been built around this urban legend.
If Lisa’s meat-packing tale is true, I for one would like more details on the cuts and variety of actual meats involved, and most importantly–were those packages of meat placed back on the shelves of S&S for other unsuspecting consumers to purchase? Inquiring carnivores want to know!
It’s a fact that many consumers are very picky about eating meat with a checkered past.
Remember, you’re not just eating the meat you’re eating. You’re eating the meat of all the meat that has been in contact with the meat you’re eating. It’s all one long link in the food chain.
PT
bridgeportintheknow.com/wordpress/
Never being one to let a cheap scandal slip away, I’ve reached out to my City Hall source “Gag Reflex” for an exclusive first link to the Stop & Shop surveillance tape allegedly showing the theft of steaks by Lisa Parziale.
It’s a little piece I like to call “Lisa Parziale: Stop & Shoplift?”
If I weren’t shameless, I’d be ashamed.
I’ve posted the link to the video on my blog.
PT
bridgeportintheknow.com/wordpress/
*** Mr. Barnum, that’s an old Richard Pryor joke about Mudbone & Pal that he used to do in his stand-up acts & records. Had nothing to do with Milton & Forrest from Hollywood! *** But it is funny! ***
I actually met Richard Pryor after a concert of his I attended back in Chicago, although we didn’t discuss Uncle Miltie.
Richard Pryor stole the joke from Uncle Miltie. You could Google it. Another little-known fact is that “Bridge on The River Kwai” was loosely based on an old Uncle Miltie joke.
You could also Google that. You can actually Google anything to find out that it’s true.
*** Anyone caught stealing grocery items worth $250. or less, depending on their past criminal priors, is usually given a P.T.A. for a larceny #6. These things happen, especially with elder citizens suffering from dementia, etc. or not paying attention while talking up a storm! I really don’t think Lisa would do anything intentionally that would cause her that type of embarrassment @ a supermarket she frequents a lot! ***
Yahooy
I know that I am a natty dresser but are you calling me a cross-dresser? I’ve known Lisa for years and she will be exonerated.
Lisa could use a little meat on her bones but she doesn’t need to take a rump roast to fill our her jeans.
MCAT–Best wishes on your new venture; I’m certain it will be successful; just give it time. In the meantime, I hope you are gearing up for another round with Hovey. She really must go.
Thanks for all the best wishes and confidence. Local Eyes fun post; it was a bright spot on this otherwise dreary day.
Yahooy, if we could just harness that energy you speak of we could light up the State!
Also, it is quite obvious that the Catholic Church bill is dead. Why are we still spending so much time on it? I am watching a Republican Informational forum on CTN on a bill that is DEAD. Apparently, we don’t have anything else pressing to do that we continue to spend time expressing outrage at a DEAD bill!
Maybe the Republicans believe in the resurrection.
OIB Rumor Mill:
Mojo abandons a lucrative career in photo-optics and funnels his energy into creating this:
www .poodwaddle.com/clocks2.htm
Rob Russo discovers a quirk in the election law and solidly defeats incumbent Senator Dodd. He wins re-election 3 more times before leveraging his popularity to become a Supreme Court justice. He was never meant to be a state senator.
Tom Kelly aka you-know-who realizes “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and vows never again to eat steak, switching to chicken instead.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=PCkUpMnAoN0
After the TV coverage, full page ads and instructions from the pulpit; I doubt it. Even one of the Republican Senators said hey, last week I thought the economy was a problem. I don’t agree with the bill, but I have watched the Legislature spend so much time arguing and debating ridiculous items and this one is dead. I would prefer that my legislators spend time on the economy, unemployment, health care and foreclosures. They only have 6 months, the legislature needs to streamline its own process.
Regardless of what happened regarding the Lisa Parziale matter, I’d say that her political future is at steak. I know she isn’t, well, done yet. Lisa is surely getting hit hard on the CT Post blog, but I’m curious how the post picked up and wrote on a shoplifting incident that occurred last month. How many other people have been arrested for shoplifting at this Stop and Shop since February 12, 2009?
The CT Post has two versions of what happened and on both it mentions that there is video evidence. The video is perhaps the best witness to most of the facts and it can show an intent or no intent from the start. For example, Joel goes to shop and takes a shopping cart. Joel grabs a 2 lb. pack of Lennie’s chicken; a can of Mo’s Tomato sauce; and a can of Mojo Beans and puts all of this in the cart. Joel then grabs $82 worth of Pork Chops (I’m Rican) and places them at the bottom of the cart. Joel pays for everything on the top of the cart and leaves the store with the chops still on the bottom of the cart. Security detains Joel and he explains that it was an oversight in his part. Security then asks, why you didn’t put the Pork Chops inside the cart with everything else having plenty of room? Then security asks, How is it that you couldn’t see the Pork Chops through the bottom of the top portion of the cart, when you only have one bag in the cart? Did Joel intend to shoplift?
Only the video can shed some light onto what really happened. I wish Lisa well; this can happen to anyone and at 67 it is even more likely to happen. People have left children to die inside their hot cars or even worse on top of the car.
Just a reminder that this weekend our esteemed council people head to Washington DC on their annual training seminar. I wonder how many are going? My question is why are they going? If there is a wrong way to do things, Washington is the perfect example. They have gone on this trip for years. I wonder if this is the year they will actually learn anything. Times are tough I am sure if they all missed this year the city could use the money and maybe 1 fewer person gets laid off.
Anyone catch the YouTube clip of the Bassick kids??? Pure class … and if you go to it they have many clips on Bpt teens … more class.
Make it “Fine” and simple for us and give us the YouTube link.
Just go to YouTube.com and type in Bassick High School and a lot of links pop up and none are what the chamber of commerce would be proud of.