The Cheshire Town Post

~ by Craig Houghton - July 31, 2007 ~

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MegaVote for Cheshire (5th Congressional District)

Recent Senate Votes

Higher Education Amendments of 2007 - Vote Passed (95-0, 5 Not Voting)

The Senate passed this bill that would increase the amount of the Pell Grant a low-income student can receive, make the federal financial aid application easier to complete and eliminate some conflicts of interest for student loan businesses.

Sen. Christopher Dodd voted YES……send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Joseph Lieberman voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

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Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008 - Vote Passed (89-4, 7 Not Voting)

The Senate passed this $40.6 billion appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

Sen. Christopher Dodd voted Not Voting……send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Joseph Lieberman voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

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Improving America’s Security Act of 2007 - Vote Agreed to (85-8, 7 Not Voting)

The Senate passed this bill which would implement recommendations from the 9/11 Commission.

Sen. Christopher Dodd voted Not Voting……send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Joseph Lieberman voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations, FY 2008 - Vote Passed (268-153, 10 Not Voting)

The House passed this $104.4 billion bill that would fund the Department of Transportation and Department of Housing and Urban Development for the 2008 fiscal year.

Rep. Christopher Murphy voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

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Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations for FY 2008 - Vote Passed (281-142, 9 Not Voting)

The House passed this $53.6 billion bill that would fund the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, NASA and other science agencies.

Rep. Christopher Murphy voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

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Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act - Vote Passed (231-191, 10 Not Voting)

The House passed this large farm bill, which provides aid for farmers and funds for low-income nutrition programs.

Rep. Christopher Murphy voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

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Improving America’s Security Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (371-40, 22 Not Voting)

The House passed this bill which would implement recommendations from the 9/11 Commission.

Rep. Christopher Murphy voted YES……send e-mail or see bio

Upcoming Votes

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act - H.R.2316

The Senate is scheduled to work on this ethics bill.

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2008 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act - H.R.3161

This $90.7 billion bill would fund the Department of Agriculture, FDA, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Farm Credit Administration for the upcoming fiscal year.

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2008 Defense Appropriations Act - H.R.____

This $459.6 billion bill would fund the Department of Defense for the upcoming fiscal year.

~ by Craig Houghton - July 27, 2007 ~

On July 19th it was demonstrated that the Cheshire Herald web poll allows participants to vote repeatedly without detection. Two days later a staff member acknowledged the problem.

Unfortunately, the broken poll continues to run without modification, and the disclaimer printed in the recent issue remains untouched.

I know that the Herald means well, and I am thankful to have an independent paper in town. However, I think the current poll question adds insult to injury. How we respond as a community to the recent tragedy should not be influenced by a broken poll. I think the question is a good one, but it does a disservice to the town to ask it using bad polling software.

When the results of this current poll are printed, I hope the Herald includes a more accurate disclaimer. We have seen poll results misused by commission members in the past.

from A Conversation With The Cheshire Herald

The poll results are published in our local paper, and the staff member I spoke to noted how popular the poll has been. Is it any surprise that a Sean Strollo, a Planning and Zoning commission member, referred to the poll during one of the hearings as proof that the majority of Cheshire residents supported the mall?

Please call the Cheshire Herald to advocate for new polling software and a revised disclaimer. There are many free choices (their existing poll software is free) available on the web that guard against ballot stuffing.

Tell them that we deserve better. The main number for the Cheshire Herald is (203) 272-5316.

~ by Craig Houghton - July 27, 2007 ~

Chris Murphy has arranged for free one-on-one counseling with local professionals through the Connecticut Psychological Association and the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Please pass this information along to anyone that may need assistance during this difficult time.

National Association of Social Workers – Connecticut Chapter

Desiree Floyd – 860-257-8066

Contact her Monday-Friday, 9-5pm

The Connecticut Psychological Association

Kathy Hucks – 860-586-7522

Contact her Monday-Friday, 9-5pm

Dr. Candice Weigle-Spier

Page her between 5pm and 9am on weekdays and throughout the weekend

860-347-0718 (pager)

On his house.gov website Chris offers this message of support:

As a Cheshire resident, it has been very hard to be in Washington while the events of the last week have unfolded. My heart and soul go out to the Petit family in this dark hour, and my office stands at the ready to assist the Cheshire and Plainville communities as they cope with the aftermath of this horrible tragedy.

As we learn more about the histories of those who committed these unthinkable acts, I trust that our state officials will review our corrections and parole policies to make sure that all proper protocols were followed in this case and recommend any necessary changes. But there will be time for policy deliberations – now is the time for our community of Cheshire to come together to support its neighbors in this time of grief. I look forward to being part of this difficult process of healing and rebuilding.

Many thanks to Chris Murphy for the support (in word and action) and to Tim White for passing this information along.

~ by Craig Houghton - July 25, 2007 ~

I’m putting together a site with relevant information on Cheshire’s nominees and office holders along with their positions on the issues that matter to residents. This will be done in the tradition of OnTheIssues.org.

Here’s what I need: What are the issues? What issues are relevant to the election this Fall? Brainstorm. Go crazy. Comment here with your list or send me an email at leversandpulleys at yahoo dot com. I’ll post the list of submitted issues and solicit revision once we have a good assortment. Be as specific or as general as you like.

The goal is to have a repository of all the candidates on all the issues that matter to Cheshire. What’s important to you?

~ by Craig Houghton - July 25, 2007 ~

The Republican-American reports that both Ernest DiPietro, chair of the town’s Democratic Town Committee, and Steve Carroll, chairman of the Republican Town Committee, consider the election this fall, “a litmus test for whether the town is going in the right direction.” However, DiPietro’s goal is to stay on course. The RA says Steve Carroll is looking for change. As his party is in the minority on the Town Council, I imagine that reversing the position is change number one.

Here are the Town Council nominations:
(I’ll update with P&Z & Boards later)

Democratic candidates for Town Council:

1st District, Elizabeth Esty
2nd District, Robert Behrer
3rd District, Laura DeCaprio
4th District, Kathryn Fabiani

Council-at-large
Matthew S. Hall (Current Chairman)
Matt Altieri
Michael G. Ecke
Kerrie Dunne

Republican candidates for Town Council:

1st District, Louis Murray
2nd District, Tom Ruocco
3rd District, Bruce Caldwell
4th District, Tim White

Council-at-large
Steve Carroll
James Sima
Timothy Slocum
Bruce Klein

To my surprise, I am looking forward to hearing more about the Carroll’s hoped-for changes, especially after reading DiPietro’s comment:

from the RA

“Since we won control two years ago, our people won some major inroads in terms of moving the town in new direction,” DiPietro said.

The parties achievements, he said, include encouraging development at the north side of town, instituting tax breaks for seniors and keeping tax increases minimal.”

If DiPietro really considers “encouraging development at the north side of town,” to be a feather in the Democratic cap, apparently I’m looking for some change too.

~ by Step - July 24, 2007 ~

Coach, Peter Webster and members of the Cheshire Special Olympics Golf Team participated in the 2007 Lyman Orchards Golf Skills Jamboree on Sunday July 22.

The Jamboree is held annually at Lyman Orchards as a part of the Special Olympics Golf season which begins in early July and concludes with the Fall Festival Golf tournament held at Sleeping Giant Golf Course in Hamden.

~ by Craig Houghton - July 23, 2007 ~

Cartoon by Craig Houghton

And, in case you haven’t heard about the (surprise!) hotel, here’s a front-page Record Journal article on the subject.

Many thanks to Al Sanders for sending along the article and asking this question:

Many of the people that wanted the I/C zone to remain unchanged to allow for the creation of good jobs and high quality revenue asked many questions including, why did W/S want building heights up to 65 ft? All the questions that were asked at the P&Z meetings that P&Z didn’t answer we will now get the answers after the zone change has been made.

Do you think the reason for the height change should have been asked by the P&Z?

He’s right. Unfortunately, we’re going to continue to find these things out the hard way. As Alan Bisbort wrote in his Record Journal op-ed piece from last Saturday, this is a disaster. P&Z failed to protect us. As a semi-judicial board, how did they make this decision without bringing in some impartial smart-growth experts to respond to the W/S lobbyists?

Certain members of the town council, planning and zoning, and a handful of residents have sold us out. Unfortunately, the hotel ’shocker’ won’t be the last of the surprises conveniently left out of the W/S sales-pitch.

~ by Craig Houghton - July 21, 2007 ~

Today I had the pleasure of returning to the Riverbound Farm sanctuary on Cheshire Street. It is owned and managed by the Quinnipiac Valley Audubon Society. The grounds are open from dawn to dusk, admission is free, and everyone is welcome to visit. You’re also welcome to become a member. I’ve always renewed my Audubon Society membership at the national level, but next time around I’ll sign up through the QVAS. The Audubon Magazine subscription alone is well worth a $20 membership.

If you don’t have any feeders at home, I’d consider relaxing at Riverbound Farm where you can find hummingbird feeders, thistle towers, oriole feeders, and seed stations (Click for Pic) around every corner. There’s even a hide so you can watch the birds undetected.

Click the pic for full-size. Click here for an even closer look.

On the way to the butterfly garden there’s a well-built full-sized teepee. It’s impressive (Click for Exterior, Interior). The pictures don’t do it any justice. I should have kept it a surprise.

Near to the sanctuary nature center and outdoor classroom (Click for Pic) the trails are wide and covered in wood-chips (Click for Pic). There are tree markers, bluebird houses, and information stands. Heck, the stand by the butterfly garden is more of a free-standing field guide (Click for Pic). The flowers (Click for Pic) are plentiful and the beds are expertly cared for. I didn’t hear any pishing, but the well-kept grounds here are a great place for birders to enjoy some downtime or initiate newcomers.

Click for Full-Size

There were more bees than birds today.

Click for Full-Size

Photos by Craig Houghton.

~ by Craig Houghton - July 21, 2007 ~

Two days ago I posted a piece on the Cheshire Town Post where I presented evidence that the informal Cheshire Herald web poll, which is then published in print, allows participants to vote repeatedly without detection. No one expects the poll to be accurate — you have to actively visit the site to participate. However, considering the amount of discussion the poll generates, few realize that anyone can vote again and again.

I just spoke to the advertising director at the Cheshire Herald. She was already aware of the problem and does not feel the current disclaimer should change. She’s expressed concern that to do so would be to invite abuse. I consider the current state of the poll to be an abuse of the community’s trust.

She told me that she realizes people will likely take the poll out of context, but it’s wrong to think of this in terms of a potential for abuse. After all, it’s just a web poll. She argued that people will take absolutely anything and run with it. She compared it to the ‘pass a message around the room whisper game’ — in the end a garbled message circles back around and everyone has a good laugh. I think that the message is certain to fail when the information going in is unclear or misleading.

The poll results are published in our local paper, and the staff member I spoke to noted how popular the poll has been. Is it any surprise that a Sean Strollo, a Planning and Zoning commission member, referred to the poll during one of the hearings as proof that the majority of Cheshire residents supported the mall?

The fact is, decision makers in our town government do discuss the polls. Much of that discussion happens on the blog Tim White Listens. The staff member I spoke with acknowledged that some people at the Cheshire Herald actually visit, just to have a laugh. I can only assume that she does not represent the paper in this, but she went on to laugh aloud about blogs in general, stressing that it’s all just opinion. Few bloggers are familiar with, or even attempt to uphold, journalistic standards for reporting, but I do not consider discussion among residents to be worth a good laugh. You don’t need to own a stylebook to speak the truth.

Thankfully, she said that the poll will be changing. She noted that the poll is “very rudimentary,” as it generated ballots via email submission. That is exactly what I pointed out in my post. Regarding my suggestion to change the disclaimer in anticipation of an upcoming change in polling software, she said she would, “pass that by the publisher.”

The main number for the Cheshire Herald is (203) 272-5316.

~ by Craig Houghton - July 19, 2007 ~

I appreciate the value of having an independent local paper. After all, democracy requires an informed electorate. Most of the time, they do a great job. This piece is not an attack on the Herald — it’s an attempt to spotlight a broken feature that’s been too often quoted and has serious potential for misuse. Please feel free to comment, discuss, or post your own front-page post in response. Bearing that in mind, I submit to you that the Cheshire Herald needs to fix their web poll.

I think we all realize that web polls are imperfect. We don’t expect the results to represent a fair cross-section of residents. We know that the results include only the voters that visit the Cheshire Herald web site and choose to participate.

However, few would assume that participants can vote repeatedly without danger of detection. And, they can.

Here’s the disclaimer:

“Note: This is intended as an informal public poll, reflecting only the opinions of those who choose to participate.”

We might be better served if it read:

“Note: This is intended as an informal public poll, reflecting the opinions of those who choose to participate and the poll author. The question may exhibit bias, and the participants may vote repeatedly. We will not disclose the number of votes received.”

Let me back this claim up. The Cheshire Herald web poll is driven by an email submit script, not web-polling software. Each time you vote, an email is sent to pollresults@cheshireherald.com. The content of the email is a simple ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘No Opinion.’ There’s no unique IP address or sender info to identify the participant as a repeat customer. I think it’s necessary to note that I didn’t have to do anything sneaky to figure this out. One needs only to visit the poll, click View on your browser menu, and select the Source option. The Herald uses a free script from www.mindpalette.com, called NateMail, to drive the poll.

I wanted to see if participants could actually vote repeatedly without detection. So, I installed the software myself. I downloaded the same script they use. I installed it on my web site. I created a simple web page with a poll that submits data to the NateMail script using the exact same form settings they use. Then, I voted, repeatedly.

Click for bigger.

Here’s what shows up in my inbox.

Click for bigger.

I have no way of knowing these are duplicate votes.

Click for bigger.

If the poll is worth including in the paper, they need to use actual polling software. Here are some of the comments on Tim White Listens that tipped me off:

selected comment excerpts from Tim White Listens

Anonymous said…
At least 90% of Cheshire residents don’t know that the entire 400 acres can become malls and big box stores and that can have a devastating effect on our current business owners who are also our neighbors.

Given a choice, most would prefer more shopping closer to the center or west main.

Don’t ever believe a Cheshire Herald poll and that’s what most people refer to when they say people don’t mind the stores. If everything is explained to the people and a real statistically correct poll were taken, you would find the results a lot different.

Friday, July 06, 2007 1:01:00 PM

Anonymous said…
The following Poll is similar to the type that the Cheshire Herald runs. You may vote as many times as you want.

Anonymous said…
“Herald poll, Herald editorials are that Cheshire residents are overwhelmingly against residential. ”

The Herald poll is crap. If the people of Cheshire were told the truth of what these changes will allow and a real poll were taken, then the entire project including retail would be rejected. The people of Cheshire have been manipulated.

Thursday, July 05, 2007 10:54:00 AM