Hello, friend. It’s been some time.
But I was thinking. About New Haven. About the blog. About maybe writing something.
I’ve had some collection of thoughts recently. So I’m sharing them here, with you.
More to come?
Avelo Squanders Good Will
What could be more New Haven that something seemingly good — a local airline with cheap fares and attractive-ish destinations — turn into something horrible (running ICE deportation flights).
What next, Avelo? Providing the alligators for Alligator Alcatraz? Maybe you could charter flights to Epstein Island?
I was an ideal Avelo customer. I live nearby. I want to go see places. I want to avoid driving to New York or Hartford.
But like many fellow New Haven/Connecticut residents, I’m also a filthy liberal.
So fine. I’ll go back to Bradley. Who wants to fly to Jacksonville anyway.
Plans for the Green vs. The Usual Bullshit
The city wants to take $4 million in federal grants to do some truly horrifying things on the Green:
- Reduce traffic on Temple Street to 1 lane and give more pedestrian access/greenery (they’ll get to keep parking for the churches)
- Add an outdoor cafe with an expanded fountain area
- Move the Temple St buses to Church St
- Some nice bushes
The New Haven Independent article has 28 comments on it, because obviously it is tremendously controversial to… add a cafe to the Green.
But don’t worry. None of these changes will happen without more meetings. And meetings about the meetings. Maybe a few pre-meetings.
New Haven vs New York Pizza War
Connecticuties often suffer from a bit of an identity crisis, being surrounded by New York and Boston. So, we’ve decided to make Good Pizza our Whole Personality.
In order to build a healthy rivalry, the State of CT decided to put up a bunch of “Connecticut pizza is the best in the world” ads in New York City. Is it cringe? Absolutely. Do people still say cringe? How would I know, I’m middle-aged.
Do New Yorkers notice or care? I doubt it!
But hey, shoutout to Anthony Anthony, chief marketing officer for the Office of Statewide Marketing & Tourism and the genius behind this ad campaign. A lesser man would’ve gone by Tony. But not our boy Anthony².
It’s Time for DeLauro to Retire
Listen. I’m sorry. But she’s 82 years old. She’s been in Congress since 1991.
Other things which happened in 1991:
- Collapse of the Soviet Union
- Nirvana releases Smells Like Teen Spirit
- First Gulf War begins
- Michelle dumps me at the middle school dance
I admire her style, which I think would best be summarized by “really going for it.” And she has done tremendous work in Congress. But.
I’ve gotten over Michelle. It’s time for DeLauro to get over Congress. Get some fresh blood in there.
Chapel Street Debacle
In another “only in New Haven” news, the Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking decided it was a brilliant idea to turn Chapel Street from one-way to two-way.
Great, right? Two-way traffic is typically slower than one way traffic. And we aren’t losing any precious, precious parking spots.
Except the Traffic Authority (which is apparently a completely separate thing) says not so fast, you have not properly informed everyone (us) about this.
“Is there evidence showing that two-way traffic is safer than one-way for pedestrians?”, commissioner Tracey Meares asked. You might think the Commissioner of the Traffic Authority might already know or have opinions about this. But here we are.
Courtesy New Haven Independent/Tom Breen
“I’m just really not comfortable with the way this is happening,” commission Chair Evelise Ribeiro said, which might as well be New Haven’s motto.
Stay tuned for the change in 2036. Just in time for Trump’s 5th term.
We’re Really Doing Scooters?
Electric scooters have been around bigger cities and Hartford for something like ten years. Ten years of young people weaving in and out of traffic, dumping scooters wherever they feel like. I can only imagine the cheap thrills of flying down the streets of New Haven after a few espresso martinis.
And New Haven looked at all this and was like, “yeah I think it’s time to get on board the scooter train.”
(Honestly, I don’t care. Anything which infuriates drivers is fine by me.)
Edgewood Skate Park Should Have Stands
They just did an awesome new renovation at Edgewood Skate Park. During my regular walks through the park, I often see some unbelievable skaters, BMXers, and one last person rollerblading.
Why are there no stands? Wouldn’t it be great to just sit and watch?
I understand we don’t want to accidentally allow homeless people to lie down somewhere, but it seems like a huge oversight.
Apparently, It’s Fine to Sell Drugs out of a Vape Shop
A vape shop in Westville called Vapes R’ Us (slowly eroding the last tendrils of your childhood) has been raided for a second time. Police found 13 pounds of marijuana, which, by the way, vape stores are not allowed to sell.
This was after a May 7 raid which discovered 25 pounds of cannabis products.
Now, maybe I don’t understand how crime or the law works, but I thought, generally, if you do something illegal, you get arrested or something? And then they don’t let you keep Doing Crime?
Maybe I’m just old fashioned.
I’ll just wait for the next raid on Vapebuster (its like Blockbuster get it)
Thanks for reading!!!
