And you know this how? The New York/New Haven line is managed by the Connecticut Department of Transportation: Office of Rails. Over the past five or six years, there have been major replacements and repairs underway. Both the New Canaan and the Danbury spur lines have experienced major work, as have a number of railroad bridges. Fairfield just opened a brand new second station not too far from where the derailment happened and it looks like Bridgeport may also be getting a second station. Those kinds of projects do not happen overnight. It takes planning and permits. As a matter of fact, let's talk a bit more about the work that has taken place on the New York/New Haven line. Here's what the webpage for ConnDOT:Office of Rails says: The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) with the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) developed a multi-faceted integrated approach to replace the current Rail Car Fleet. The ConnDOT proposal became Senate Bill 2000, which was signed into law on July 1, 2005. The $1.3 billion Transportation Improvement Program provides for the design and purchase of 342 passenger cars for the New Haven Line as well as a new rail maintenance facility and other public transportation initiatives. Specifically the first Transportation Package passed in 2005 included: $667 million for new rail cars on the New Haven Line, $300 million for new rail maintenance facilities, $187 million for “congestion mitigation” measures on Interstate 95 from Greenwich to North Stonington, $150 million for improvements to I-84 and I-91, as well as other state roads and highways, $7.5 million for new transit buses. http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=1386&q=316722 Oh yeah, and Malloy was not the Governor of the State of Connecticut in 2005, Jodi Rell was. And back in 2000 when the proposals first came forward, Rowland was the Governor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Connecticut Nice try. View Comment

Broad, - you're right. I had to laugh. I grew up with the same issues. When we had backyard picnics, the salads containing mayo were only served in the house and if you had any, you'd better eat it quick 'cause Ptomaine would get you if you didn't watch out! For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why Ptomaine like potato salad and cole slaw so much. I think I was about 10 or 11 before I figured out that Ptomaine wasn't some monster from the black lagoon, but really food poisoning. Maybe that's why I prefer the German versions with oil and vinegar rather than mayo. Of course, today, we can actually identify the exact strain of E. coli or salmonella that caused the illness. The thing that scares me the most is that a couple of the last major outbreaks of E. coli have been traced back to green, leafy vegetables like lettuce and I think even tomatoes were identified as the source for one outbreak. How the heck did we survive back in the day?? View Comment

Sad, I'm not arguing with you, but I will say that I have heard Rep. Bruce Morris speak about this issue at length and he cautioned people that it's easy to mistake some situations, such as a child who lives in Norwalk returning from a visit with a divorced parent who does not reside in Norwalk. Also, there are magnet schools in Norwalk and the Center for Global Studies at McMahon. I think the CGS is actually regional, so the students come from all over the county. Actually, Rep. Morris probably would be the best resource to check with about the situation with the out of district students. Regarding Ms. McDowell and her unfortunate choices, you are correct that I did not know she had been registered at the Open Door, but I'm still not clear on why she had her son listed as living in the housing development with someone who was not related. And finally, I totally agree that the McDowell situation and this one are very sad. View Comment

We just recently donated a large amount of brown rice that had gone rancid to a friend's flock of chickens. (Take away - store brown rice in freezer) And I'm saving egg cartons for someone else who has more eggs than cartons. Right now, there are two large cake containers from past birthday parties that are waiting to be used as mini greenhouses. Our empty ice cream containers (a true sacrifice for the cause) are used for extra cooking grease containers. It's finally clicked with my family that milk that has gone sour is the basis for sour dough bread. So I get the recycling concept. But I would be cautious about food for human consumption. It's one thing for me to collect all the untouched olives and pickles from my family's plates at a restaurant and a whole different thing to take food from plates of diners you don't know. Food from garbage cans? To me, that an invitation for ptomaine poisoning, especially as the weather gets warmer. View Comment

You need to actually read the documents. Moccia and Marks had nothing to do with the McDowell situation. The investigation was started by the Norwalk Housing Authority because they had a tenant who was claiming an unrelated minor living in her unit. That is what triggered the investigation, not anything else. That tenant was also apparently running a pharmaceutical distribution business also, making her a less than desirable tenant. HUD had some very strict rules about this. That's what started it all, not Mayor Moccia, and not Superintendent Marks or anyone in NPS. If Ms. McDowell had registered with the Open Door, her child could have attended the school with no problem. But she didn't. View Comment

Ken, while I would agree with you most of the time, we spent about four months living in the neighborhood immediately adjacent to Fillow Street and I gotta say that I learned to avoid Fillow Street simply because it was too dangerous to drive in many weather situations. It's narrow, it's twisty and by God, it's down right scary sometimes in the snow and ice. I had two serious slides, one on wet leaves and one on black ice. That was enough for me. I don't think it's safe to have ANY kind of public facility, school, church, mosque, YMCA, library, on that road. View Comment

I hope she remembers to give Tanya McDowell our best when she gets to the Big House. View Comment

The prisons issue frequently these wonderfully svelte orange jumpsuits nowadays. So flattering and eye catching! View Comment

Hope you like the color orange, Ms. Wills, because it looks like that's the direction you are headed in. View Comment

"Viral" means when I'm waiting in a municipal office 15 miles away from Norwalk and I see it on the news crawl for Channel 8, then it turns up on Channel 12, and I hear about it on WEBE during the drive home. Then, the next morning, I see it on the Internet news and get two emails from out of state friends, asking me how close High Street is from where I live. That's viral. View Comment

For real? You think it was the Police Department's fault? Un - fricking - believable! View Comment

For someone with an allergy to eggs, a mix up like that could be life threatening. But at the same time, I understand where you are coming from. View Comment

Actually, you are the one who is the Spin Doctor because according to you, Moccia is responsible for what the State Department of Education hands down and the health care bill that Congress passed. Amazing, simply amazing. If you think this tax increase is high, just wait til the Affordable Health Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) kicks in. Trust me, you ain't seen nothing, yet. Oh, yeah, and by the way, Moccia had nothing to do with it. View Comment

Uhm, just a point of clarification....when did Obama and Malloy become Republicans? The reason the schools need so much money is because they are switching to the State mandated Common Core curriculum. That's a total reformating of all the textbooks, all the additional resources in the classrooms. And it will cost us millions of dollars. Indiana, Nebraska and Virginia have decided not to adopt this curriculum. Texas and Alaska were never part of the "Alliance". Since then, numerous other states have decided not to adopt the Common Core. Here's the map: http://teach1776.ning.com/photo/rejecting-common-core-18-states-arizona-not-one-of-them?context=user Oh yeah, and don't forget....the State of Connecticut has not finalized their budget, so if they don't give the City the expected ECS funding or the transportation grant (school buses), there will have to be a mid-year "adjustment" to the budget. That will also come out of your wallets and your paycheck. Governor Malloy has gone on record as saying he wants "more for education". Translation: fork it over, kiddies.... View Comment

2 dead bodies and another shot in the head the innocent suffer in Norwalk while we get ready for an election. Okay, Sonoknows, what's your point? Are you saying that the two dead bodies were a result of foul play? Or that people should not be so inconsiderate as to die in public places? Or are you implying that the police should have somehow prevented the two deaths? Until the coroner releases the causes of death, it appear one was from natural causes, and the second (drowning) death by misadventure or accident or whatever they call it these days. According to your reasoning, are you saying we shouldn't have elections because two people died and someone else was shot in the head? It's the beginning of May. We still have six months to go before the election. A lot can happen in six months. Apparently you object to the people who have sold their homes in Norwalk to new residents. What do you propose in place of people moving to a new community? Exactly how do you propose to stop the drug use, the alcohol consumption and the prostitution that you claim flourishes in the new bars that have opened in the City? And of course, your pet hobby horse, the Fire Boat should be dry docked, mothballed or sold? Is that what you are proposing? I see many complaints in your post, but very few solutions. You expect a new mayor or elected official to come in and wave a magic wand and presto-change-o every thing is hunky-dory maybe? View Comment

Unfortunately, I will be out of town that day, so can't participate. But I would like to add to your comments, Joanne. Anytime when visiting a grave, if there is an old American flag on the ground that has been torn, ripped and dirty, please take it with you and put it in the mailbox shaped receptacle at the Broad River fire station. The fire fighters will dispose of the retired flag in the proper manner. View Comment

Perfect example is the highly toxic landfill Norwalk has now called a park,along side of cells buried in the Norwalk river of stuff not even the feds want in offshore burying grounds. Uh, you may want to talk to someone on the Harbor Management Commission about the "toxic" cells. First of all, the Interstate 95 bridge drains end up in the Norwalk River. That's the State, thank you very much. Secondly, when they did the dredging of Norwalk Harbor, the DEEP told them they had to build the CAD cells and put the dredgings in there. The dredgings could not be taken landward and buried, nor was the City told what the problem was. Once again, that's the State, not the City. And finally, there are naturally occurring oyster beds in the river and along the beach. Those are monitored very carefully by the Bureau of Aquaculture. And guess who runs that????? There's numerous sites where the water is taken for testing along the river. Also, kindly remember that the Norwalk River Watershed stretches up from the Harbor to the Danbury area. So Norwalk is not the sole source of any contamination in the river. The head of the Shellfish Commission could probably give you more detailed information. If your level of interest is that high, I suggest you contact either the Harbor Management Commission or the Shellfish Commission. View Comment

Thats right up there with shotspotter many cities rely on tools Norwalk talks about but never follows thru on.Maybe Harry could tell us what works and what doesn't he did leave when most things were not working and reamin broken wonder why that is? http://www.linkedin.com/groups/interesting-article-about-ShotSpotter-its-4010853.S.119557436 View Comment

Does the City charge other residents for police and fire time when responding to accidents? City Carting has had the City garbage contract for almost a year. It was an accident, plain and simple, just like any other accident in the city. Messy, yes, but still just an accident. View Comment

Okay, so obviously the fire boat is a major issue for you. What steps have you taken, other than posting on this board, to address the issue? Have you researched how long it would take the Coast Guard to respond to a call from a boater in distress? What alternative security plan do you have when a prisoner in custody or someone at risk is admitted to Norwalk Hospital for treatment? Have you calculated the cost of private security guards vs. police officers? What about the chain of custody? View Comment