As you probably have noticed when you called up Undergroundtownhall, I have a new masthead. We are still working out the bugs so please be patient. The Video Plug in, the NewsFeeds and Featured Photo will be down for a while while we try to figure out why the New Masthead can only be seen in Internet Explorer 6 when we disable all the plug-ins.

We have to go through each one of the plug-ins to see what the problem is.

Will all you people who have I.E. 6 at your job tell your employer to download I.E. 7 and get with the program??? If they ask you why, tell them-you can’t see the new Undergroundtownhall masthead!!

This I.E. 6 is a PAIN–GET RID OF IT!!

Now the Democratic National Convention begins this Monday in Denver. Undergroundtownhall has contact with a few delegates from Connecticut and Kansas that are attending the Convention. I would have had a report from a delegate from Colorado but she got arrested at an anti-war rally so she is out of commission for a while.

Before I get into the main topic, I want to ask the Democratic Town Councilors a question. Why do you people, out side of Matt Hall, who is the chairman, bother showing up to any of these Town Council meetings? You all seem to constantly be on the same page with EVERY ISSUE. I mean, the different Democrat councilors make comments about issues, but they all seem to be on the same side. I have never heard any Democrat Town Councilor say “wait a minute my Democratic colleague, I don’t agree with you.” HAVE YOU??

That is why I almost dropped DEAD when the Republicans did not vote to hire a new police officer!! But I know why. It is all political. They just want to be able to say they are trying to save money. But maybe we shouldn’t have hired all these new cops. I notice a new face in the Traffic Division and I think this person is trying to prove himself. I notice a lot of cops pulling people over AGAIN like the old days!! I don’t like it AT ALL!! So we will be watching the police logs and more than likely, asking to see the logs ourselves and not just taking the pickings of the Herald.

To change subjects a bit, I have been noticing when going around looking for work, that a lot of these employers are “sneaking” back to the 1950’s in trying to find out a persons’ age (in a round about way)

Have you noticed this? The people who have to pound the pavement have. The ones who get everything handed to them (heard of the word nepotism?) do not have any idea. You will be filling out the application and when it comes to schooling-you will see a box that asks what schools you attended. Many start, believe it or not, with grammar school. Most begin with high school. Then, this is where the trouble starts. They ask what YEAR you graduated. THAT IS ILLEGAL.

Sometimes I leave it blank. Othertimes, I do fill it in, but not with my real graduating year. I put in the current year. I really don’t care, because the question is illegal in the first place, why not have some fun with it.

One application I had filled out actually asked “marital status” which really blew my mind. Now many employers try to justify asking that question claiming it is some census or affirmative action issue. WHAT?? GET LOST!!

I had an application ask that question and also ask what year I graduated high school and college. I filled in the high school graduating year as 1912. A few days later, I got a call from this employer and went to the interview.

The employer kept looking at me, started to laugh and said, “I really have to hand it to you, you look great for someone who graduated in 1912″!!

I thanked the employer and added that I had my high school graduation party on the Titanic!! This person didn’t know what to think. I told this employer that I was reporting them to Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Justice for this illegal application.

Now for those, employers and employees who are not sure of what questions can or cannot be asked on an employment application–Click below.

Prohibited questions on employment applications

Ok for now. I just hope I don’t have to take down the new masthead for you turn of the century people still on I.E. 6. This is almost as bad as the person who accesses my site on DIALUP!! Can you believe it? I give this person a lot of credit because they must have the patience of a saint.

UPDATE: IT WAS SO NICE TO VISIT THE YALE ART GALLERY TO SEE THE VAN GOGH VISIONS OF SAN REMY FEATURING “STARRY NIGHT”

IF YOU CAN TRY TO GET DOWN THERE BEFORE SEPT 7. YOU WILL HAVE TO GO ON STANDBY AS THERE ARE NO MORE RESERVED TICKETS AVAILABLE. I WENT TWO TIMES WITH MY CHILDREN AND WE WERE ON STANDBY AND ONLY HAD TO WAIT ABOUT AN HOUR. IT IS SO WORTH IT TO SEE THIS WORK OF ART. MY FAMILY ARE BIG VAN GOGH FANS. WE HAVE REPLICAS OF EVERY PIECE OF HIS ART WORK IN OUR HOME. IT WAS VERY EMOTIONAL TO SEE.

A few of you who contact me on a semi-regular basis, asked me to comment on this new $240,000  public safety software upgrade for the Police and Fire Departments.

Apparently, this upgrade was asked to become a part of the Capitol Budget Expenditure over the next five years. What do I think? I believe we need to do a Max Ernst and put the Town of Cheshire over our knees and spank it. That is what I THINK!!

This town spends money like a sailor!! (Ok, that is an old saying, all you sailors don’t get offended).

First of all, when this information is given out to the public, it seems like there ends up being more questions than answers.

Now I usually do all my work at night for my clients, so I really do not watch television that much. And if I do watch the Town Council meetings, I my husband and I usually end up talking right through the discussion part so we don’t hear anything.

Apparenty this upgrade will allow more officers to  complete their reports in the patrol cars instead of coming into the station.

According to a local newspaper, (not the Herald), a quote from Lt. Markella stated that the upgrade was needed because as it stands now, if there are too many officers typing in reports from their cars the system will shut down.
What does that mean? No seriously. Do all of the officers have to be typing at the same time for the system to shut down?

Or, does it mean that the system, which is 10 years old, can only handle two or three officers typing in a report within a certain time frame, i.e. a half hour or hour from each other.

How many officers typing in reports is TOO MANY?” Do you see what I mean? Did the town council people ask any of these questions? I hope so.

But do you see what I see now? ACCOUNTABILITY. Even five or ten years ago, you would not have seen the police explaining things that they request to the public. It is great. I firmly believe in open and honest government that accounts to the people. The skeptics can think what they will. There is  no ulterior motive to Undergroundtownhall, other than to force government (this town government) to account to the people. Some ground is being gained.

Back to the discussion at hand: This new system would allow officers to instantly access data about a location after they are dispatched.

What sort of data. The address or who lives there? I thought they already knew that when they are dispatched since they grill and chill you when you call in a complaint as it is.

So, I did some research and came up with an article that I believe will solve everything. It cuts down on officer paperwork, cuts down on dispatch time and involves the community as well. It is called theCitizens Online Police Reporting System: BOBCOP.

Great idea and low cost too. Click below for details.

BOBCOP/Citizens Online Police Reporting System

You can browse that website which I suggest. Click on the “Home” button to access more information about the BOBCOP system. I know I have never heard of it until now. I don’t know if the Town Government knows about it but is seems like a good idea.

When I get a comment from a person about something I posted on this blog (website), as most of you know by now it does not automatically get posted. The comment has to meet with my approval. Believe it or not, most people do not want their comments posted. I think it is because they don’t want to be seen on Undergroundtownhall!!! Whatever.

But there is quite a dialogue between myself and several people “underground” if you will. That is fine. And for those who are wondering, when I got rid of the splash page and the photo and video pages, I eliminated “For Members Only.” So now you see everything. I am still attempting to update my masthead, but as I stated several posts ago, the new design my son came up with was too graphics rich for Internet Explorer 6 which I know many of you have at work, especially the Town of Cheshire.

People have been asking me about a few videos I have run lately. The first video was by “Visage” entitled “Fade to Grey.” This video was made around 1981 believe it or not and was labeled “romantic-new wave.”

I loved a lot of the new wave music. So I will continue to feature New Wave artists, some of whom I know many of you have never heard of like the video “Fade to Grey” featuring Steve Strange.

Steve Strange also appeared in David Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes. I really liked Visage. Their videos were semi-Dadaism if you will.

I am now featuring a video piece by Surrealist/Dadaist German artist Max Ernst.

I also just featured a Dadaism video by Man Ray, entitled “Emak-Bakia” (leave me alone). This was shot around 1926 which was at the end of the Dadaism movement. This artistic movement began right after World War I as a protest to that war and Bourgeois living. The artists used non-sequitor sequences and portrayed things as they saw them. They used their subconscience as their guide and defied traditional thinking of that time.  Did you get that Mr. 500?

Undergroundtownhall is just not about issues or complaining or getting things off one’s chest which is a good thing at times. I also tried to make in an artistic expression and involve my children as much as possible with this blog.

I did receive many good comments about Cheshire “Then and Now” I hope to be putting in more photos. If you have any or any ideas, please let me know. It doesn’t matter what I think about a town official or department, when it comes to my art, I can put that all aside. I also got many compliments from the photo shoot “Cruizin for a Cause.” Thank you very much. It was a pleasure to put that together (thanks also to my son who assisted). I also am re-running by request the “Greek and Roman Gallery” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which was put together last April.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Dadaism movement, here is a link:

Dadaism

I am also featuring Max Ernst a German Dadaist/Surrealist who caused quite a stir back in 1926 with this painting. Caution: this may still be offensive to some people.

The Virgin Spanking the Christ Child

Now to change subjects for a bit. It seems as if many people in the collegiate community are having a change of heart about the 21 year old drinking age. There seems to be a “movement” of sorts among some College and University officials to lower the drinking age to 18 again as it was 25 years ago.

These people seem to feel the lower age will cut down on college binge drinking. Please, come with me to Montreal on a Friday night around 2 a.m. The entire town smells like vomit!!! Now, I don’t know if reducing the age to 18 will cut down on this.

I do know that when my son first went to Montreal when he was 18, he could legally drink. He told me he never got carded. In fact, the only time he did get carded was when I went to visit him and he wanted a drink. I let him have one and you could see the waitress got nervous and asked for ID. I know and he knows that was the one and only time.

It is a fact that many college age-under 21 students go to Montreal to drink. The basic rule there is do what you want, as long as you do not bother anyone. But do NOT bother anyone or you are toast in plain English. The Montreal Police will crack down hard on you, so don’t step over the line. Some people there told me they could not figure out what the big deal was with the drinking and why the U.S. legal limit was 21. In fact, when my son went on a bus trip with his college, they SERVED BEER ON THE BUS!!

I remember when I was in Rome and people there could drink at age 16. In fact, there are something like 600 bars in Rome. They are open all the time from early morning to late late night. When I told some Romans that the drinking age in the U.S. was 21 but one could drive when one was 16 they were shocked. Not about the 21 drinking age, but that people could actually drive a car at 16!!! Their driving age is 18, I believe, my memory is starting to fade on that. So you see, their credo is drink early drive late!! Maybe that is the answer. I don’t know. All I know is I think the lower drinking age now in the U.S. will be a disaster in plain English. I really believe it is different now. Kids are a lot more spoiled than we were. Plus we knew if we got out of line and our parents (who were paying for our college found out) we would get our backsides whipped, because back then, parents could still dish out corporal punishment, and we would have ended our college career. I mean we drank, but I think we all knew there was a line not to be crossed. That is not the case today.

This new cry for a lower drinking age reminds me of all the work the Town, especially the police department has been trying to do to curb underage drinking. In fact, I believe just after the Town of Cheshire unveiled its new “underage drinking grant” the news came about about the push to lower the drinking age. Talk about a kick in the proverbial crotch!!

Also, I happened to read about a man was starting some sort of charity in Connecticut but was found to have a criminal record in Kansas where he used to live. The man said Kansas was strict. He was right!!

People in Kansas don’t play-especially law enforcement. They look you in the eye and tell it like it is. I know when I go to Kansas, I keep my mouth SHUT PEOPLE!! When the speed limit says 25 MPH, Cindy GOES 25 MPH!!! They are tough people, but good and FAIR. That is why I respect the people and the law enforcement there. I spent many hours when I was editor of the Kansas State Collegian one summer with the Riley County Police Department.  Riley County, as I think I alluded to once before, is the size of Connecticut so these people have a lot of ground to cover.

Now speaking of law enforcement, I am making it no secret as I like to do. My husband will be writing the Town Managers office asking to be put on the agenda for the September Town Council meeting to discuss this ticket issue. Remember, the Ordinance Committee told me there was no need for a Police Commission in Cheshire, because the Town Council IS THE POLICE COMMISSION. OK. Let us see how they keep their word.

Bye for now.

I know some of you enjoyed the comment by “Friend of the CPD” practically calling me a baby. WELL I DID NOT ENJOY IT!! But on to serious issues here.

Today was a very frustrating day. It started around 9 a.m. when I had to put in my partial unemployment claim. Now as many of you know, I am out of work quite a bit so from time to time I have to file an unemployment claim. Believe me, I would rather run naked through Attica!!

Now last week, I waited until Wednesday to file. I went on the computer, got on the CtDOL website, put in my password and guess what? The system said it “didn’t recognize” my password. So, I tried it again with the same results.

Then, I started wondering if I WERE using the wrong password. I did not think so because, ok, pay attention all you identity thieves out there, I use the SAME PASSWORD FOR EVERYTHING!! So I knew it wasn’t me. I then decided to try to CALL IN MY CLAIM. I dialed the number, waited for the woman to tell me about the 13 week extension effective Aug. 18th blah blah blah, (mind you, we have been hearing about this extension since June). You will understand why I said that in a minute.

Then, I had to listen to the ad infinitum quoting of United States Code after United States Code of WHY you HAVE to give your Social Security number when you call in a claim!! DUH!! I would think you would have to USE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER TO complete your unemployment claim, wouldn’t you?? But I can believe there are some D.A’s that were refusing to give it out. Well, it came time to put in my password and guess what? No dice. It didn’t work!! So after trying to put the password in a few more times, the “system” redirected me to “the next available customer service representative” by pressing zero.

I pressed zero and guess what I heard? “Due to heavy call volumes, we cannot take your call at this time. Please call back again. Thank you. Are you @@@@@ kidding?? WE CANNOT TAKE YOUR CALL AT THIS TIME!! Well when the @@@@ can you take it? I had been getting this message since last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for God’s sake. I could have seen if I had called Monday or Tuesday, but I wait until the mid or end of the week to file. In fact, I got the “CAN’T TAKE YOUR CALL AT THIS TIME message last FRIDAY!!

And to make matters worse, the Telebenefits Line isn’t even available 24 hours a day, seven days a week like it used to be years ago. It now goes off at 8 p.m. And, because of the unemployment being extended an additional 13 weeks, the system is so overburdened that on a few dedicated dates, namely this Wednesday, the system, (computer and phone) will be UNAVAILABLE for claim filing from 1 to 6 p.m.!!! Oh my God!! Can you believe this!!

If you think I act like a four year old baby when I can’t get my way normally, you don’t even want to see me when I can’t get my money!!! No, it is not pretty!!

So I started calling the Labor Department Commissioners Office, The Governors Office, then I called my old pal Al Adinolfi’s office. I call them quite a bit to talk about the economy, so when I called this time, the aide said, “Hi Cindy.”

Nothing makes me more sick to my stomach than people out of work and homeless people–nothing!! Connecticut is one of the richest states in the country. NO ONE should be out of work if they don’t want to be. It is a disgrace.

The labor department this week sent out 26,000 benefit extension checks. And that is just to those whose benefits have exhausted in this time period. That doesn’t even cover the 67,000 other people who are still on the 26 week claim period. And if you have exhausted your benefits completely, you are considered “not unemployed” anymore and are not counted in the statistics. This is sad it makes me sick to my stomach. I want to know what our legislators are doing about it. Getting an extension for 13 weeks. What happens after that??

How many times can a person go to school?? And why should we do things we don’t like?? I have done plenty of that. Now I do have some work now so I am not as bad off as others, but believe me, if you could have seen the dejected, discouraged, (for lack of a better word) disgusted look on these peoples faces at the unemployment office, you would have lost your lunch.

So, how many people ARE OUT OF WORK NOW?? What is the REAL FIGURE??

Before I called Al Adinolfi’s office I actually went down to the Hamden unemployment office. But of course when I called the Labor Department Commissioners office earlier in the morning from my home, I was told not to bother going down there because they don’t handle unemployment claims. WHAT!! Then WHAT DO THEY HANDLE DOWN THERE?? YOU CAN’T GO TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICE TO FILE YOUR CLAIM OR ASK ABOUT YOUR CLAIM? WHERE ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO GO? TO WAL-MART???

So it was around 10 a.m. and I decided to go down to Hamden anyway. Well when I got there, there were people sitting in the waiting area, people on the computers trying to look for jobs, people using the phone banks–people everywhere. I can’t describe the look on these peoples faces. There is just no word invented to describe it. I felt horrible. I blew a gasket and started raising my voice (just a little). They told me to try to call the Telebenefits line AGAIN from their office. I went over to the one available phone, dialed 9 and got A BUSY SIGNAL!!

“Oh just keep trying you will get through” a representative told me. Well, I tried several times, kept getting a busy signal and just gave up and left.

Well, went over to my son’s apartment and sat down there and started crying. It was just too much. What is going on I thought.  It is one thing if when you call and hear you may have to wait 10 minutes, 20 minutes 30 minutes or even an hour. Then at least you know when your problem will be resolved. Because with the way the unemployment system is set up, if you have problems filing, a PERSON HAS TO HELP YOU OVER THE PHONE. YOU HAVE NO OTHER AVENUE. Talk about stress.

Finally, around 2 p.m. I called and a mysterious thing occurred. I no longer heard “We cannot take your call at this time.” Now I heard, “the next representative will be available in 31 minutes.” It;s funny what a call to the Governors office can do.

Oh thank God, I thought. At least I will be able to get this problem resolved. So I sat in my son’s apartment with my cell phone waiting and waiting. Approximately 28 minutes had passed when all of a sudden I heard CLICK and then SILENCE. Unbelievable!!

So I waited another half hour. Now it is around 3:15 p.m. Mind you, I had been trying to get through since LAST WEDNESDAY!! I dialed again, then heard “the next customer service representative will be with you in 21 minutes.” Progress?? Maybe. I know my significant other tried calling the line when I told him earlier in the morning about the problems I was having getting through. It’s funny, he heard the same message: “the next customer service rep will be with you in 31 minutes.” Every time he called, he got the same amount of minutes. Pathetic. You know what I think. They got so overwhelmed with calls from the extension letters that were sent out that the system conveniently “crashed.” Because I am telling you, after I called Governor Rells office that “not available” message disappeared!!

I want to thank Al Adinolfi’s office for helping me.  He always comes through when you call, that is one thing about Al. He WILL HELP YOU no questions asked.

A nice man John from the Labor Department Commissioners office called me around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to ask me how I had made out with the telebenefits line. He told me Al Adinolfi’s office had called him earlier in the day. I thank him for calling me and discussing this issue which I hope will be cleared up for not just me but for everyone.

Remember, it is not a persons fault that they are out of work Ok??

Mr. John from the Commissioners office asked if I remembered  the old days when people would get laid off on Friday and go down to collect right away causing a swell of people and backlogs.

Of course they filed right away. That is human nature. We need MONEY TO LIVE. Not all of us want to sell crack on the street  and make $6,000 a day or rob banks. We NEED MONEY TO LIVE ON. People panic. I panic. We all Panic. We all want our money.

(Of course, some people in my hometown have NO IDEA what this is like and probably never well. Whatever. But that may be the difference in November. Many people are and have been out of work at least once or twice in their lifetimes. One has to be able to relate. And the way this town spends money on some of their appointed officials, free cell phones, free gas, free cars, how could they possible understand? But remember, someone has to take up the slack and pay for those that can’t. I can assure you the next mill increase in Cheshire will be WAY over 3 mills this coming year!!!)

I told Mr. John from the Labor Department Commissioners office that I finally got through after four days of trying. And I would not have even had to call if the system had not kept kicking my pincode out in the first place.

One of the customer service representatives told me the state was overwhelmed with the volume of calls and were “trying to get extra people to man the phones.”

I have a suggestion: you knew since July this federal extension of benefits was to take place. Why didn’t the state hire some of these 26,000 extended benefits people who are still out of work. And believe me, the state gets money based on how many claims they get. So what do you think of that?

Sometimes it feels like things are slipping away. It is like being trapped in a room with no exit. This is what it feels like when you have to wonder from day to day where your money  is coming from. When I work, I make six figures. But when I don’t I just barely make it. So hopefully I won’t have to get the extension.  It is very stressful, but believe it or not I would not want it any other way. I control my life and my destiny. That is the way I want it.  That is my egocentric way I guess.

I am busy with a project but I did receive a comment from “Regular Law Breaker” who wanted to express an opinion on the Carriage Drive-Academy Road situation where my significant other received a ticket for allegedly not stopping at the stop sign.
I know who “Regular Law Breaker” is but to protect this person’s identity, I will not disclose the persons name. Here is the comment.

Hi Cindy:
I read your blog and just had to comment about the Carriage Drive stop sign incident. There is no way a driver can roll through this intersection without being hit by another vehicle. First of all, Carriage Drive coming out to Academy Road or Rt 68-70 is a blind spot in both directions. You are correct. A driver literally has to wait to see an oncoming car approaching before they can pull out. There is a severe bend in Academy Road going towards Wallingford near Wiese Road which prevents someone coming out of Carriage Drive from just pulling out. It would be a death wish. Even if a person tries to turn right, a person has to make a full stop and look left to see the vehicles coming down Academy Road hill.
A few years ago, my girlfriend got rear-ended turning right from Carriage Drive where she lives onto Rt. 68 70 Academy Road because the other driver did not see her until the last minute because of the curve and overgrown brush that is not trimmed in both directions.
I realize this is a state road but what do our town officials do all day? Instead of sitting on Country Club Road in the morning where I now reside, and pull over people trying to go to work in the morning, I suggest the Police Department spend quality time with the Connecticut Department of Transporation and get them to at least trim some of the brush at that intersection. I know there is no way any sort of ticket that is issued to a driver on that road will stick in court unless it is for DUI. That road is messed up to the max. I have some information and will be glad to present it if this issue goes to court. I know I can get a few other people to give their imput about that road. The Town has to realize that many areas are blind spots. The infrastructure needs to be better taken care of. We don’t hire or elect people to just show up at work, collect their paychecks and only do something about a problem when someone complains.

Most of the roads need to be repaved in this town. Brush is growing everywhere. That gas station near the Notch is a complete eyesore. Isn’t this noticed by town officials? If I were you, I would sue the town for negligence. I will help you. I am an attorney. You indicated to me you were going to try to get on the agenda for Septembers Town Council meeting to address this issue, I will be glad to attend and bring some people who have issues with the town and the PD.

Ok, I do have another comment which is the other side of the story if you will from “A Friend of the CPD.”

Again, I know the person’s name, (he actually had the courage to put it down) so I will run this person’s comment. On this person’s request, it will remain anonymous to the public.

Ms. Kleist:

The only good thing I can say about your blog is at least you do put your name on things and say what you feel. I commend you on that. And I like your photos and your projects. However, your opinion of the Cheshire Police Department or I would venture to say, most Police Departments is a little disjointed to say the least.

I will tell the public that I am a friend of Ms. Kleist, but I do not agree with her stance on the Cheshire Police Department. We have arguments about this all the time. I think her intentions are good but she goes overboard. Why? Because she believes her opinions are the only right opinions. If you don’t agree with her, forget it!! Do you know what this is called? Piaget, a behavioral psychologist who studied the several stages of development in the early 20th century, called this behavior egocentrism.

Piaget said the egocentric stage was supposed to end at age four. So, Ms. Kleist, who never left the egocentric stage is stuck in the four year old stage of her life. I am not saying she acts like she is four, well, nevermind, but when something happens that she doesn’t agree with, hell can literally freeze over and she will not see it any other way but her way. I know Ms. Kleist is probably upset with me now, but if you remember, I have left comments on her blog before and she has run them. Unfortunately, I used to work with Ms. Kleist, but that ended after I wrote an article while she was away on business last year.  Ms Kleist needs to look within herself and see that she is not perfect.

Well, Mr. Regular Law Breaker, and  Friend of the CPD. I have news for you and the town.

Between the “e-mail” from a town employee a few years ago  telling me I have no morals and am not fit to be on a police commission (and that was the nice part)

to that article practically libeling my husband in a major daily newspaper that quoted a town official practically calling my husband a criminal for supposedly putting a “no mall” sign on  telephone poll

to the police department spending countless hours  looking up a statute that didn’t exist trying to get me in trouble with the election commission for supposedly mixing in my campaign literature with other candidates when I ran for the town council

 (and we have a witness that saw one of the towns bigshots take one of my campaign signs off of a friends lawn that same night and nothing repeat nothing was done about it when myself and my witness complained),

I would say we have a hands down harassment case. And remember this all started when my husband helped a local resident  several years ago get out of a ticket on the same road for the same thing. The judge totally dismissed that case in court. Totally thrown out, which in motor vehicle cases is rare.