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Thank you.
June 21, 2012
From Susan Kniep President
The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
Stocks driven lower by global weakness
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BREAKING NEWS
State
Legislature Establishes New Quasi-Public Agency
THE CAPITAL REGION DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Which can
undertake development activities within the “Capital Region” comprised of The City of Hartford,
Bloomfield, East Hartford, Newington,
South Windsor, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor
Public Act No. 12-147 [pdf]
Was Signed
into Law on Friday, June 15, 2012, by Governor Malloy
The act, as noted within Summary for Public Act No. 12-147,
designates two overlapping areas where CRDA can
undertake development activities. It designates Hartford
and its adjacent municipalities (i. e. , Bloomfield, East
Hartford, Newington, South Windsor, West
Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor) as the “Capital Region”.
The act expands the range of projects and the
areas where CRDA can develop certain projects. Specifically, it (1) allows CRDA
to construct new buildings and redevelop occupied ones anywhere in Hartford; (2) develop or improve riverfront infrastructure
anywhere in Hartford or East Hartford, not just
in the Capital City Economic Development District, as prior law allowed; and
(3) demolish or redevelop vacant buildings in East
Hartford, not just in Hartford, as prior law allowed.
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There are 169
Towns within the State of Connecticut. On June 15, 2012, the State through Public Act No. 12-147 [pdf] integrated itself into the City of Hartford, the Towns of Bloomfield, East Hartford, Newington,
South Windsor, West Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor through a Quasi Public Agency THE CAPITAL REGION DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY which could impact Development/Redevelopment
within several communities and individual properties.
This was recently discovered by the Federation and has yet to be adequately
reported by the Press.
Property owners within
the aforementioned towns should query their municipal and State public
officials to determine what impact the THE CAPITAL REGION DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY will have on their community and
individual properties now and in the future.
Property owners within the towns not
covered by this Act would be wise to determine if the State Legislature and
Governor are planning to announce the formation of a similar Quasi Public Agency
which could impact Development/Redevelopment within their community and
individual properties now and in the future.
When reflecting upon the following Excerpt which
is contained within the Act, it is fair to question how the state, a
municipality or quasi public agency would “demolish or redevelop vacant
buildings in East Hartford” or any other town without applying the force of
Eminent Domain should the property owners refuse to relinquish their property.
EXCERPT: The act expands the
range of projects and the areas where CRDA can develop certain projects.
Specifically, it (1) allows CRDA to construct new buildings and redevelop
occupied ones anywhere in Hartford; (2) develop
or improve riverfront infrastructure anywhere in Hartford
or East Hartford, not just in the Capital City Economic Development District,
as prior law allowed; and (3) demolish or redevelop vacant buildings in East
Hartford, not just in Hartford,
as prior law allowed.
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Obama's Executive Privilege Has The Stench
Of Cover-Up
06/20/2012 07:01 PM ET - Scandal: The president illegally
asserts executive privilege to protect an attorney general who's either a
clueless political hack, malevolent or both, withholding answers of who is
responsible for a Border Patrol agent's death. President Obama's contempt for the rule of law hit a new low when, on
the eve of a vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress,
he granted his AG's 11th-hour request to hide sought-after documents on Operation
Fast and Furious under the cover of executive privilege. Continued at ….. http://news.investors.com/article/615584/201206201901/obama-asserts-fast-and-furious-executive-privilege.htm
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Fiscal cliff could
be worse
Tax increases and spending cuts could cause
recession, and it could be sooner than we think. More
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Report: Connecticut was among nation's worst at saving for
public benefits June 19, 2012 By Keith
M. Phaneuf CTMirror.org With states' savings for employee
retirement benefits at an all-time low, Connecticut
ranked among the worst of the worst in 2010, according to a new report this
week from the Pew
Center on the States. Reeling
from recession-driven investment losses, a pension raid to prop up state
finances and a history of not saving for retiree health care, Connecticut
government had more than $71 billion in liabilities and less than $24 billion
set aside to cover them two years ago. And
though Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has launched initiatives to limit
retirement benefits and to increase state contributions, the challenge could
grow should Connecticut
join other states in recognizing the likelihood of fewer investment earnings in
the future. "States continue to
lose ground in their efforts to cover the long-term costs of their employees'
pension and retiree health care," the Washington, D.C.-based center, a
nonprofit public policy think-tank, wrote in its latest report. There is a $1.38 trillion gap between the
total pension and retiree health care liability facing states and their respective
municipalities, and the funds they have set aside to meet them. Of that figure,
$757 billion was for pension obligations, and $627 billion was for retiree
health care. That's up 9 percent from
the gap states faced in 2009, and 38 percent higher than the 2008 margin. The latest report notes that "many
experts say that a healthy pension system should be at least 80 percent
funded." Continued at ……http://www.ctmirror.org/story/16676/report-connecticut-was-among-nations-worst-saving-public-benefits
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Two federal investigations loom over Connecticut's 5th District primary
By John Christofferson, The Associated Press June 20, 2012 Federal investigations are
casting shadows over two candidates’ campaigns in the closely watched 5th
Congressional District, an unusual development for a single race in a state
dubbed “Corrupticut” after an earlier outbreak of
scandals. Former Gov. John G. Rowland, who
resigned in 2004 and later served time in federal prison on a
corruption-related charge, is once again the center of a federal investigation.
A federal grand jury is looking into consulting work that Rowland performed for
a nursing home company owned by the spouse of Republican 5th Congressional
District candidate Lisa Wilson-Foley, her
husband confirmed Monday. “It’s just the last thing I think Connecticut
right now needs in terms of publicity,” said Gary Rose, a professor of politics
at Sacred Heart
University in Fairfield. “It does very little to enhance
the image of Connecticut
politics at a time when we desperately need to improve that.” Recalling the “Corrupticut” label, Rose said, “I was really hoping that we
had put that behind us … It just gives the state as a whole sort of a black
eye.” On May 31, prosecutors announced they had arrested Robert Braddock,
former finance director of House Speaker Chris Donovan, the Democrats’ endorsed candidate,
charging Braddock with conspiring with others to hide the source of $20,000 in
campaign contributions. The money was tied to legislation that would have
raised taxes on roll-your-own smoke shop owners; Continued at …..
http://ct5thdistrict.registercitizen.com/2012/06/20/two-federal-investigations-loom-over-connecticuts-5th-district-primary/
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