Special Announcement

Dear friends,

Please join Mayor Ben Blake on the steps of City Hall this Thursday as he shares his plans for the upcoming municipal election with friends, family, and supporters.

Special Announcement
Thursday, May 23 at 5:30pm
Milford City Hall
110 River Street

A reception at Stonebridge Restaurant (50 Daniel Street) will follow the announcement.

Hope to see you there.

Best,

Blake for Milford 2013

Click HERE IF YOU WISH TO MAKE A DONATION

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Paid for by Blake for Milford
Benjamin Gettinger, Treasurer. Approved by Ben Blake.

Heritage Foundation Tells GOP: Don’t Legislate, Just Scandalize Obama


Heritage letter to Republicans on Capitol Hill: don’t legislate, just scandalize Obama

by Joy-Ann Reid | May 16, 2013

In a letter to members of Congress, which was obtained by NBC News, Heritage Action for America, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation (which recently found itself in hot water over the racial IQ theories of the co-author of their widely panned immigration reform study, Jason Richwine, who resigned from the think tank last Friday), urged Republicans on Capitol Hill not to govern, and instead, to focus on the would-be “scandals” plaguing the Obama administration.

The letter is addressed to House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Heritage Action to House Leaders: Keep Focus on Scandals

May 16, 2013

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Eric Cantor
House Majority Leader
H-329, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor:

For the first time, the activities of the Obama administration are receiving a sustained public vetting. Americans’ outrage over Benghazi is amplified by the Internal Revenue Service’s intimidation of conservative grassroots organizations and a cascade of negative headlines. There is the real sense the Obama administration has been less than forthright with the American people, the press and lawmakers.

Recent events have rightly focused the nation’s attention squarely on the actions of the Obama administration. It is incumbent upon the House of Representatives to conduct oversight hearings on those actions, but it would be imprudent to do anything that shifts the focus from the Obama administration to the ideological differences within the House Republican Conference.

To that end, we urge you to avoid bringing any legislation to the House Floor that could expose or highlight major schisms within the conference. Legislation such as the Internet sales tax or the FARRM Act which contains nearly $800 billion in food stamp spending, would give the press a reason to shift their attention away from the failures of the Obama administration to write another “circular firing squad” article.

Make no mistake, principled conservatives will still oppose bad policy if it comes to the floor. Rather than scheduling such legislation for consideration, we urge you to keep the attention focused squarely on the Obama administration. As the public’s trust in their government continues to erode, it is incumbent upon those of us who support a smaller, less intrusive government to lead.

Sincerely,

Michael A. Needham
Chief Executive Officer
Heritage Action for America

Not governing as political strategy

The House in the current congress has held votes for only 281 days — at least 43 of those days devoted to repeated votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare.

And already, fully one-third of the Republican-controlled committees in the House are spending their time investigating some facet of the administration.

Where are the Jobs?

Pelosi: The GOP Earns an ‘F’ on the First 100 Days of Congress

April 12, 2013

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today to mark the 100th day of the 113th Congress and the House GOP’s failed leadership:

“On the 100th day of the 113th Congress the report card is in: House Republicans deserve an ‘F’ for their failed leadership. The Republican majority has refused to consider legislation that creates jobs, blocked debate of economic proposals, and continues to conjure up one manufactured crisis after another – and America’s families have paid the price.

“Republicans have rejected votes on House Democratic initiatives to create jobs, invest in early education, promote small business growth, and build ladders of opportunity for every hard-working American. Republicans prefer sequesters over solutions, push tax cuts for millionaires over equal pay for women, and support a budget that costs jobs, stalls our economic growth, ends the Medicare guarantee for seniors. That is not the leadership America needs or deserves – not for 100 days, not for this Congress.

“Every moment we spend in Washington should be spent working to improve the lives and opportunities for the American people. So far, Republicans have failed to live up to this most basic responsibility. It is time for all of us to work together so the next 100 days are dedicated to moving our country forward.”

100 Days and counting.

Funding of SROs for Milford Schools

On Tuesday evening, the Board of Education approved the SRO program for the Milford schools and funding for two of the four positions. The next step is to obtain funding for the other two SRO positions via the city budget.

By Neal McNamara @ nhregister.com

At a special joint meeting with the Board of Aldermen Tuesday, the school board voted to find $150,000 for the cost of the four positions. Schools Operations Director James L. Richetelli Jr. said funds would come from an account containing money earned from energy savings.

The Police Department will pull together $150,000 this year and for the future in several ways:

- Using money generated from traffic tickets for drivers who illegally pass school buses. The aldermen in March approved allowing the installation of cameras on school buses to catch violators. Mello estimated this would generate $50,000 per year.

- A new $10 charge for fingerprinting for those who need background checks.

- Raising by 1 percent the cost of hiring off-duty police officers, and by 5 percent the cost of hiring officers for traffic duty. This is expected to generate up to $40,000 yearly.

- The school officers will patrol downtown during the summer. That will allow the department to save $30,000 per year.

- Mello said the federal government is offering $155 million in three-year grants to fund SROs, and he expects to apply for the money.

Also at Tuesday’s school board meeting, Milford Prevention Council Director Wendy Gibbons said her organization, which educates about the dangers of drugs and alcohol use, might be able to donate a small amount.

The aldermen will meet Monday night to discuss changing its budget to accommodate hiring the SROs.

School Resource Officers (SROs) Topic of April 30th Board of Education Meeting

The next BOE Meeting, TUESDAY, APRIL 30th, has ben moved to CITY HALL. The meeting start time will now be 6:30 p.m.

From the Milford Public School’s website:

This meeting will include a presentation and discussion on the potential of School Resource Officers (SROs) in the Milford Public Schools, with a focus on the role of an SRO and the benefits to the Milford children, the school system and the community.

The BOE members will hear from Dr. Feser, Superintendent of Schools, as well as Chief Keith Mello from the Milford Police Dept. and Mr. William (Bill) Richards (Coordinator of the School Safety Working Committee).

Additionally, Dr. David Bernstein will be joining the discussion as an expert in the field of Threat Assessment. Dr. Bernstein has held appointments at Yale University School of Medicine and Harvard University Medical School, where he completed his residency in Forensic Psychology in the Department of Law and Psychiatry. Additionally he has attended training with the United States Secret Service and currently serves as a consultant for state and federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI.

As always, all members of the public are welcome to attend.

If the SRO program moves forward, this is a big change for Milford schools. Residents should attend or watch this meeting to stay informed.

Milford Students Join the 50K Challenge

By Phyllis Swebilius @ nhregister.com

MILFORD — Micheala Baldwin, 20, said she was cleaning the debris-strewn basketball courts at Fowler Field “because I want to help Mother Nature and I’m sick of people littering.”

Jessica Fucci, 20, said she wanted “to keep Milford clean.”

“I don’t like it when the people throw garbage in the beaches,” Brayan Ramirez, 21, said.

The three were among eight students Friday, armed with plastic bags and gloves, who took part in the city’s 50K Challenge to help pick up 50,000 pieces of litter by May 11.

As of Monday, Earth Day, 25,210 pieces were recorded.

Within minutes, the students had scooped up beverage containers, food wrappers and plastic bags from along the chain-link fence and retrieved bottle caps from under the benches.

Their commitment to the city drew praise from 50K By Earth Day organizer Steve Johnson, who called them “an inspiration for everybody in Milford.”

“Their messages about why this is important to them were right from the heart. Their sense of caring and taking the time to make a difference is a reminder to all of us that every good word and deed has immense power,” said Johnson, city open-space and natural resource agent.

Charles Montalbano plans run for Milford City Clerk

Milford Mirror Reports:

Charles Montalbano has announced plans to seek the Democratic nomination to run for Milford City Clerk against incumbent Linda Stock in November.

“I enter this race simply because I think I would do a good job for our city and our residents,” Montalbano said. “I will look to develop an atmosphere in which our citizens are welcomed in the city clerks’ office, where each will receive the assistance they require in a timely and efficient manner. I’d also like to see a greater leveraging of technologies which might allow people to transact more of their city business from the comfort of their own homes instead of having to drive into a city office.”

Montalbano is a commissioner on Milford Redevelopment and Housing Authority and a member of the board of directors at Bridges, where he also served as a mentor with the Bridges Across Ages program.

“Charlie is an example of the kind of individual we all want to see seek public office,” Mayor Ben Blake said. “He is a small business owner, father, grandfather with a lifelong commitment to public service. He comes to this race for all the right reasons.”

Former Mayor and City Clerk Alan Jepson endorsed Montalbano’s candidacy, commenting, “Charlie has demonstrated, through the years, his devotion to helping people. I am confident he will serve our city well as city clerk and registrar of vital records.”

Shame

A Senate in the Gun Lobby’s Grip By GABRIELLE GIFFORDS

SENATORS say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets. The fear that those children who survived the massacre must feel every time they remember their teachers stacking them into closets and bathrooms, whispering that they loved them, so that love would be the last thing the students heard if the gunman found them.

On Wednesday, a minority of senators gave into fear and blocked common-sense legislation that would have made it harder for criminals and people with dangerous mental illnesses to get hold of deadly firearms — a bill that could prevent future tragedies like those in Newtown, Conn., Aurora, Colo., Blacksburg, Va., and too many communities to count.

Read the entire Op-Ed