What a bite in the butt. I’m gearing up psychologically for the warm sun and cool breezes of spring and March roars in with a friggin’ frigid white wallop.
Let this be the last one. We have too much to do: an OIB party March 12 at Matty’s Corner in Black Rock to mark our first anniversary, St. Patrick’s Day March 17, Mayor Bill Finch’s fundraiser at Testo’s Restaurant March 19, yes on St. Joseph’s Day, my middle name, followed by the first day of spring March 20.
I’m thinking about crashing the mayor’s bash before heading to the Art Garfunkel concert at the Klein. But only if the proprietor Democratic Town Chair Mario Testa serves fava beans. Yes, St. Joseph, the Patron Saint of Sicilians, saved the island with a bumper crop of fava. So, in my household, we eat fava on St. Joseph’s Day.
But Mario is not Sicilian so we’re going to have a little talk. Mario, how about some fava?
“Grimaldi, vaffanculo!”
Oh, boy, Mario’s not cooperating. Maybe Mojo and Joel Speedy Gonzalez can provide the Spanish version of vaffanculo. I may have to call on Booty to sort this out. He’s the one OIB friend I know that speaks both Italian and Spanish fluently.
Maybe if the mayor prays hard enough on St. Joseph’s Day, St. Mario will produce a moolah windfall.
Hey, thanks to all the OIB friends that came to my book signing at Borders in Fairfield. Lots of fun.
Radio legend Paul Harvey has left us. I loved listening to him. “Paul Harvey … Good Day.”
Something to watch on the 19th … does Johnny Fabs or the non-mighty Caruso pony up 500 beans for a Finch fundraiser??? After hearing mayor Bill on the Fabulous one’s radio gig/lovefest on WICC awhile back, I would think John would be more than happy to attend.
*** It would be interesting just seeing some of the political hypocrites that will really spend the $500. for this “let them eat cake” recession fundraiser. Some will hang out in the bar area pretending to be a part of the event, like they’re really interested in Finch running again & are happy to be there to give him praise & “$”. *** Forget about it! ***
Lennie my culo is cold today.
Me too!
No, no, no!!! In honor of today’s post, the proper Napolitan’ expression is “Mme faccia ‘nu cazzo fridd'”.
(Even though Lou Monte cleaned it up for his song …)
Everything is cold to me, every day is cold. It doesn’t get better as I experience it more and more, but I get used to it.
Enjoyed meeting a famous author, Lennie. You’ll be Oprah Winfrey’s “book of the month” selection before you know it.
Mojo, see last post.
A literal translation of the Napolitan’ expression “vaffanculo” might be “vete a tomar por culo”.
But I’d just say “chingate”.
I read with interest that a nearby town is overhauling its building/land use permit process to make it much more transparent and accountable. They paid for a study and are quickly moving to implement it. They are investing a couple hundred thousand dollars to digitize all of the permits so the process gives the developers and investors confidence that the town really wants their business, and wants to grow the tax base.
I was in Bridgeport’s building and zoning departments last week doing some work for one of my clients. The space is modernized and much more professional. The Fire Marshall’s office is now on the same floor with building, zoning, engineering and the street opening permit office of Public Facilities. Developers and contractors can now walk up and down the hall and get all of their permit business done with the exception of WPCA. They still have to cross town to get that signoff but on the whole it is much more efficient for those that need permits.
That’s the good news. The bad news …
The Building Department and the Zoning department are down to one Executive Assistant each. All of the permits, the certificates of occupancy, the legal notices, the agendas and minutes of the land-use boards now fall on two fast-typing miracle workers. There used to be four of them. The contractors and developers have to be patient, beg and plead for attention in the hopes of meeting the requirements of their investors.
The inspectors are struggling to take their ten furlough days so they aren’t laid off. If you are a contractor that needs the inspection before the walls can be closed up you are up the creek without a paddle.
Then there is the matter of the technology. There are tough books on all of the desks. But I don’t think the software was turned on. So that $500k that was spent to automate the permit process, connect building, zoning, engineering, fire marshal and the blight office was never implemented. All those folks were trained to use the tough books and the software. Something really doesn’t make sense. It is the land-use permit process that grows the tax base. It can’t just be they ran out of money. There has to be something else going on. Does anyone know?
O.K. O.K. O.K.
The big issue is to pay and how not to pay a $500.00 dinner at Testo’s to re-elect Finch and that’s a very important issue to Bridgeport and its grounded political ass kissers.
OIB FRIENDS LOOK!!!
There is a world out there.
H. Clinton just granted $300,000,000.00 in humanitarian aid to help re-build Gaza after Israel destroyed it and killed all those civilians!!! and $600,000,000.00 to help the Palestinian Authority to assist in their rebuilding efforts.
THAT’S almost ONE BILLION DOLLARS; and I as an American did not plan to spend $500.00 at Testo’s in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a state in the United States of America, in North America, to encourage our local politicians to help U.S. citizens lead a better life in the U.S. for U.S. citizens.
No, why shouldn’t our Connecticut American leaders spend $2-3 million to fix a few bridges in Bridgeport? Hell NO that’s un-American, let’s give Israel, Egypt, Sudan, etc. millions a week so they can destroy each other and the world.
Have a nice pasta fix guys/gals and stay at the bar to save the $500.00 bill, just to be seen and again just to be seen.
*** Well there you go B/Rockin, complaining about our democratic American policies spending twice as much “$” abroad on foreign soil that sometimes is not even a solid proven ally rather than spending it here in “AMERICA”! How long before Israel ends up back in Gaza, etc.? Does our government really believe there will ever be peace in the mid-east in general? Being a world leader and helping those in need goes without saying to a certain point. But like in prison there’s a saying, if you can’t take care of your “own” business, then how do you expect to take care of someone else’s? Which plainly means, sometimes it pays to mind your own business! *** It’s time America starts paying much more attention & taking better care of North America, its borders & its U.S. Territories. *** Times, ways, cultures, religious beliefs & morals, etc. are changing faster than we care to see & believe in this world. We as Americans & the western world must wake up from this “Democratic American Dream” that’s turning into a “nightmare” right before our eyes! *** Learn from the past, so the future may be clearer! ***