Greenwich, Connecticut real estate, politics, and more.
Greenwich, Connecticut real estate, politics, and more
Soooweee!
Remote controlled butt plugs can be hacked, experts say.
Seems to me that the worst that could happen is that it would just wriggle on the floor, or in darker spaces.
What sort of young striver wouldn't want to join the excitement in Hartford?
Article reprinted in Greenwich Time.
More than 30 percent of Connecticut’s budget goes to debt service, pension payments and [state employee] retiree health-care, all of which will linger for decades, Brennan said.
“It just makes it more difficult for businesses to have confidence in Connecticut," he said.
Yet, reviving Connecticut’s economy isn’t as simple as cutting taxes and rolling back regulations, economists said. Though it enjoys a highly educated population -- with the fourth-highest share of residents with bachelor’s degrees -- it lacks a thriving metropolitan center.
Hartford, the capital and a center of the insurance industry, is on the brink of bankruptcy. Bridgeport, the most populous city, is still only about as big as Syracuse, New York. [And offers even less, if that's possible].
Little House on the (wooded) Prairie
42 Lower Cross Road, specifically, which is now down to $4.250 million: it started off in 2015 at $6.995. The listing claims "gated Conyers Farm", but in fact it's beyond the pale, on the southern side of the street, and the "gate" is just a single one controlling, sort of, this individual driveway.
In the old days, that would have made difference, but given Conyers Farms' dismal performance on the market in recent years, it probably no longer makes a difference. North, south, who cares?
Learning are hard
Pretty exhausting day, probably because I haven't been in a classroom for quite a while. Four more days, if I make it that far. But in fact, it was a useful experience. I was struck half-way through the day that the Birch Lane McLaughlins might have been better served by asking Sam Bridge to join them in mediation. Here in deep-pocket Greenwich, residents tend to reach for their cellphone and speed dial their lawyer at the first hint of disturbance or displeasure, but mediation might have saved both parties tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and, most important, left the McLaughlins with control over their grievance. Mediation is voluntary, and the parties can either reach a satisfactory agreement or not, but they decide the outcome, not a third party, be it a P&Z appeals board, arbitrator, or judge.
I've had very successful outcomes mediating cases, but most lawyers hate it (see above, re: saving tens of thousands in legal fees). My guess is that the parties in the nursery case could have crafted a settlement that satisfied both sides' concerns, rather than risk all on the decision of a panel of people with no stake in the outcome.
In any event, back for more tomorrow.
No no no, you weren't listening!
I'm off for a five day(Wed-Fri, then Thur-Fri next week) mediation course. It's priced for people who want to become paid mediators, which sucks, because I'm doing it to volunteer for a mediation organization that provides free services to indigent clients who need help resolving everything from Landlord/tenant to commercial disputes to domestic cases, but what the heck, pay up with a smile.
But after all that money and time, I may find that I'm unsuited to be a mediator. The course material suggests that lawyers are the hardest to train, because we are by nature advocates, and many of us came into law because of a personal need to right injustices and protect others. That's not a mediator's job, and a rethinking is necessary.
So we'll see. But I'm a huge fan of mediation: my skill set/experience is mostly in negotiation, where, ultimately, it's just about money, but Pal Nancy and I engaged in a true mediation of our own lamentable divorce and lo, 20-something years later, we're best friends (or she's mine; her results may differ). If I can offer that opportunity to others, it sounds like something I'd enjoy doing.
And who knows? It might make me a better real estate salesman. In any event, I intend to deduct the program's cost as a business expense, and if the IRS doesn't like it we'll talk.
And another thing!
British man fled home and lived in the woods for a decade to escape his nagging wife
Malcolm Applegate, 62, of Birmingham, opened up about his new life — and his old one — in a blog entry posted on the Emmaus Greenwich website. Emmaus is a “homeless charity” that gives people a home “for as long as someone needs it and meaningful work in our social enterprise,” according to its website.
Applegate wrote he was a gardener for 25 years and enjoyed his job until he got married. He wrote the more hours he worked, the “angrier” his spouse became.
“She didn’t like me being out of the house for long periods of time. The controlling behavior started to get out of hand and she demanded that I cut my hours,” Applegate wrote.
After he tried to work it out with his wife, Applegate wrote he left without saying anything to anyone. For a decade.
Damn, I was hoping to hang him!
Our Third Selectman (okay, whatever they call that position now) has applied for AR for his recent arrest for shoplifting. Cases like his are exactly what AR was designed for: people who screw up and are unlikely to do so again are diverted from the criminal justice process for a year and, if they keep their nose clean, do community service, or whatever the judge orders, their arrest record is erased and they can continue with their lives. And it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: there are no second servings.
I have absolutely no sympathy for Marzullo's politics, and his stance on gun confiscation is particularly galling, but that doesn't mean I can't feel for him as a person, and wish him well. His actions that day don't seem to be part of a pattern of behavior, like those of a certain Hollywood predator, for instance, but rather some sort of weird, out of character acting-out. I don't know what's going on with his life right now, but I hope it works out. God bless, Drew.
Junior League President Debra McLaughlin and her wrecking crew; look pretty harmless, don't they? Wrong.
From Sam Bridge:
Dear Friends,
Thank you all for your patience and continued support. We are hoping that all of you will join us for [tonight's] P & Z Meeting at Greenwich Town Hall in the Town Hall Meeting Room at 7:15pm. We are first on the agenda. We are looking forward to putting this unfortunate situation behind us and are hoping for a positive outcome.
Today a few of us sat in on the preliminary P & Z meeting. It is clear that the Commission is mistaken regarding our point of view. We DO NOT support any changes to Section 6-94(a). Anyone wishing to speak, we ask that you keep your comments brief, relevant and respectful.
We ask that the Commission DOES NOT vote for any of the proposed language in Section 6-94 (a), instead leaving it as is. We vehemently oppose any changes to the special exception. We specifically take issue with lines c) and d).
Sec. 6-94. PERMITTED USE BY SPECIAL EXCEPTION OR SPECIAL PERMIT.
c) self-adjusting backup alarms shall be installed on all equipment that requires backup alarms in accordance with applicable safety standards; and
d) inventory delivery and commercial machinery shall only be used on the property, weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Saturdays, between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. No Commercial machinery shall be used at any time on Sundays or holidays.
Subsection c is already covered in the Town of Greenwich Noise Ordinance chapter 6B and is therefore redundant. Furthermore, our business is excluded from these types of restrictions according to the exclusions in chapter 6B:
Sec. 6B-7 Exclusions.
(e) Sound created by safety and protective devices.
(f) Farming equipment or farming activity.
(g) Backup alarms required by the occupational Safety and health Administration or other state or federal safety regulations. (Bd. of Health, 2/8/1984.)
The proposed changes to Section 6-94 will place an undue hardship on ours and other businesses that operate under this special exception. Due to the nature of our business, in rare instances we are forced to take inventory deliveries and are required to use machinery outside of the aforementioned hours. As a nursery, the majority of our products are perishable goods. Leaving perishable goods on a truck for too long results in un-saleable inventory.
The green industry is largely seasonal. Growers have small windows of time to finish and ship their perishable goods. As a small grower ourselves, we deal with small local independently owned growers. Occasionally weather determines when plant material can be shipped, i.e. late season snow storms, freezing temperatures, etc. This sometimes requires us to receive plant material on the weekends, albeit infrequently.
Plants do not take Sundays or holidays off. Although we are closed for business on Sundays and 6 of the federal holidays, we still work on these days. Plants must be maintained. Unforeseen weather conditions, like a spring freeze may cause us to have to operate machinery on a Sunday to protect our inventory (move large trees and shrubs inside).
Irrigation is a vital element in farming. If an irrigation pump stops working on a Sunday, we have to use a tractor to pull the pump from the pond. Without water, our crops will wither and die. In an industry where margins are so thin, the loss of even a single crop can have a catastrophically negative impact on a company. Such an impact that it can affect a company for several years.
What is considered a holiday? Some 'holidays' are essential for our business. We absolutely have to operate machinery. It would simply be impossible to give 500 children free hayrides on Columbus Day without the use of our tractors. President's day falls just before the spring rush. Veteran's Day falls just before the Christmas rush. It is common for us to receive deliveries on these holidays. Our business is heavily seasonal. There are only certain times of the year when we have an opportunity to generate revenue. If we cannot be prepared for busy seasons we cannot run a successful seasonal business.
Some of our inventory arrives via FedEx and UPS. We have no control over when those deliveries arrive. It is quite common that they arrive on some of the holidays we are open.
These are just a few examples of how changes to Sec. 6-94(a) directly impacts our business and other local businesses similar to ours. While the Commission will be voting on proposed language and proposed language only, we would like to point out that if this language is voted into code it very much affects our ability to conduct a profitable business both now and in the future. This very much is a Sam Bridge issue.
We do however support the new definition for commercial nurseries, Sec. Sec. 6-5(a)(11).
Stand up for local business. Stand up for families. Stand up for history. Stand up for green space. Stand up for farming. Stand up for community. Stand up for Greenwich. Stand up for what's right. Stand with Sam tomorrow.
Warm Regards,
The Entire Bridge Family
Sam Bridge III, Ron Bridge, Mary Jo Bridge Palmer
Sam Bridge IV, Maggie Bridge, Nick Bridge, Bill Palmer, Rich Palmer
114 Cedar Cliff Road. That's quite a bit, but substantially less than the $10.750 originally asked in 2014. As our Greenwich Association of Realtors likes to do, this is being recorded as having been on the market "just" 561 days. In reality, it was allowed to expire in December, 2015 and brought back to life in January, thereby restarting the clock. By my math, that would be 571 days, 2014-2015, and 561 days, 2016-2017, or 1,132 days.
But that would hurt our cheerful statistics.
26 Spring Street, Riverside, asking $1.870 million, gone in mere days. Sheesh.
And in Havemeyer, 25 Stuart Drive, at $1.050, also has a contract. I assume it's a land sale, but maybe a complete re-do.
Be notified of new posts! Sign-up here:
Want to comment without registering?
