Darienite (https://darienite.com/category/uncategorized/opinion-uncategorized)
Where is the news here? A Darien teenager, 18, while at home, screamed obscenities and banged on a wall with her fists, causing some damage to it, according to Darien police. She was charged with disorderly conduct and given a written summons to appear in court after police were called to the home last week, police announced Monday in a news release to various news organizations. The answer is that it isn’t news. News organizations covering Darien have no reason to tell the public about it.
In light of the Town of Darien considering a ban on plastic carry out bags, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk celebrates such municipal efforts and encourages other communities to take up the cause. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium
A public hearing is planned for Wednesday, Feb. 6 to gain Darien residents’ input on a proposal to ban plastic bags. If such an ordinance is drafted and eventually approved, Darien would join Westport, Greenwich and Norwalk in Connecticut, and Larchmont and Rye Brook in Westchester County, New York, in prohibiting retail stores from offering plastic bags for purchases. Many other municipalities in Connecticut and New York are considering similar legislations.
To begin to recover from the damage that Gov. Dan Malloy has inflicted on Connecticut, we must first get our priorities right. We must separate the important from the unimportant — the big stuff from the small stuff. Let me elaborate.
For too long we have placed few demands on our state legislators. Usually, it’s been enough to see them smiling and shaking hands at public gatherings and social events. That’s the small stuff. ___________
Editor’s note: Marc D’Amelio is the Republican candidate for the 25th state Senate seat, currently held by Democrat Bob Duff, the majority leader in the state Senate. Darienite welcomes opinion articles from candidates and letters to the editor until shortly before an election.
Do you feel safe when you fly? Forget about exploding jet engines, cracked aircraft windows and clear-air turbulence. What about terrorists? We haven’t seen a domestic case of terrorists attacking jetliners in years, thanks to increased scrutiny of passengers by the Transportation Security Administration. From the moment you book a flight, you are being screened.
Take a look at these images. They’d be fine at a family picnic or among friends. The purpose of the school trip where the picture was taken was different. The picture should reflect that difference. If these images would be fine representing Darien High School, then we need to rethink Darien High School.
The team of psychologists, therapists, and educators at the Southfield Center applaud the public health campaign initiated by the Thriving Youth Task Force of The Community Fund of Darien. ________
— Dr. Frank Bartolomeo, Ph.D is director of behavioral health services at Southfield Center for Development in Darien and a member of the Thriving Youth Task Force. All images and links on this page were added by Darienite.com. A presentation for teenagers and parents on the consequences of teen drinking is scheduled for 7 p.m., Tuesday at Darien High School Auditorium.
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By any measure, binge drinking during adolescence is a serious public health concern with both immediate and serious consequences for teenagers and their families and with long-term costs to our society. Neuroscientific research over the last 10 years has conclusively demonstrated that alcohol not only affects the developing adolescent brain differently from an adult brain, but can interfere with normal brain functioning.
What happens when a good idea goes bad? Consider Metro-North’s quiet car initiative. Sixteen years ago, a group of regular commuters on Amtrak’s early morning train to D.C. had an idea: Why not designate one car on the train as a “quiet car,” free from cellphone chatter and loud conversations? The railroad agreed, and the experiment proved a great success. Now all Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor have a quiet car.
Your goal when you hire an attorney is to win your case. Of course, he or she counts on skills and experience. Even so, your attorney doesn’t do it all on his own. A good client-attorney relationship is a key factor in winning the case. There are many ways to help your attorney throughout the process.
With the arrival of winter, now is the time to be sure you’re ready to stay mobile, whatever Mother Nature may throw at us. Here are a few tips:
For Your Car
Get your car’s battery checked. If it is weak or the terminals are corroded, you won’t be able to start your car, especially in cold conditions. New batteries are worth the investment, if only for the peace of mind. Check your tires.
In recent months we’ve fielded a lot of questions at The Maddox Law Firm about what to do when you’re pulled over by the police. Some people are worried about police interactions. They’re worried about safety, compliance and their rights. ______________
— This is the first of two parts. See Part I:
When Police Pull You Over, PART 1: It’s Not the Time for Debate: Advice from a Lawyer
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Below are some of the most frequently asked questions and our answers about what to do when you’re pulled over by police. Question 1: “What do I say when I’m pulled over by police?”
This is pretty easy.
Stuck in traffic on I-95? Wouldn’t you rather be sitting on a deck chair on a cruise ship somewhere warm? It was the Cunard line that first marketed long distance ship travel with the phrase “getting there is half the fun.” And in those days, it was. Now, with the exception of trans-Atlantic crossings, most cruise ships end up right where they began. Over 23 million people hop aboard a cruise each year, half of them Americans.
Riders on Metro-North just got an early holiday gift from the railroad and the state Department of Transportation — a bright, shiny new train set. It’s not a toy, but real! We’ve been promised 94 more M8 rail cars! And just in time (though they won’t start arriving until 2019). We’ve been enjoying the new M8 cars since their introduction in 2011 and they have proved highly reliable.
This is not about race. It’s also not about calling anyone bigoted or anyone else cop-haters. I’m writing this blog as though the reader is already my client, which means that I’ve already taken on the role of looking out for your best interests and your protection. This is about common sense. When you’re pulled over by police, it’s not a time to debate the law, ethics or the evidence.
Is it legal to record police and if so, what if any limitations are there to what, where and how we record police conduct? The last couple of years have seen a marked increase in criticism of police conduct throughout the United States. Fatal interactions with police have been delivered to us on the evening news often through amateur video. Technology and the extraordinary prevalence of smartphones have made it very easy for citizens to record their own interactions with police and also record police conduct with other individuals. Is it legal to record police and if so, what if any limitations are there to what, where and how we record police conduct?
You’ve seen the signs in many neighborhoods, “Drive like your kids lived here” or “Slow down in town.” They’re probably as effective as bumper stickers that say “Drive now, Text later,” in other words, not very. In our own neighborhoods we want everyone to chill behind the wheel. But when we are driving in someone else’s area, it’s pedal to the metal, the kids be damned. When the major roads are jammed, quicker shortcuts through the back roads seem attractive, often at higher speeds than may be safe. First of all, why is it that kids are playing in the streets anyway when they have perfectly good lawns and nearby parks?
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wants to widen Interstate 95 to alleviate traffic congestion and commissioned a $1.2 million study to support the idea. But I found a similar study from 2004 — State Project No. 56-245, I-95 Commuter Shoulders — that looked at the idea and rejected it for a number of reasons. Trust me, it wasn’t easy to get hold of the earlier study. I knew it existed, but somehow it had disappeared from the state Department of Transportation website.