New Canaan Local News

Mayor challenges health care advocate for comptroller

Written by Macklin Reid, Hersam Acorn Newspapers
Thursday, 29 July 2010 13:30

Primary voters on August 10 will determine the Democratic nomination for state comptroller, an office that oversees many of the state’s accounting and financial functions, including the administration of employee benefits.

Kevin Lembo, currently the state’s health care advocate and a former employee in the state comptroller’s office, faces Mike Jarjura, the mayor of Waterbury and a former state legislator.

Democrats vie for secretary of the state bid

Written by Susan Wolf, Hersam Acorn Newspapers
Thursday, 29 July 2010 13:26

The House majority leader and a financial adviser square off in a Democratic primary August 10 to continue their quest to oversee business and elections in Connecticut as secretary of the state.

House Majority Leader Denise Merrill, serving her 17th year as state representative for the 54th District (Mansfield, Chaplin), was endorsed at the Democratic convention.

Gerry Garcia, a financial adviser and strategy consultant to a number of small companies, garnered 15 percent of the vote at the party convention in May, making him eligible to have his name on the primary ballot as well.

Town Center Planning Group: Meet the members

Thursday, 29 July 2010 00:00

The following are biographies of the members of the Town Center Planning Group, charged with developing a master plan for the major town buildings downtown:

Jim Beall/co-chairman

Jim Beall has served on several town committees since retiring from IBM. He was chairman of the Lapham Community Center Building Committee, which managed the expansion and remodeling completed in 2005. He was appointed chair of the Police EMS Building Committee, which managed both the remodeling of the upper level of the police building and the design and construction of the new emergency medical services building for the New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He was a member of the town FAA Study Committee. He is co-chairman of the Town Center Planning Group. Jim has been a resident of New Canaan since 1983. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and is member of the New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Christine Wagner/co-chairman

Christine Wagner serves as co-chairman of the group. She and husband, David, have four children, three of whom are in the public schools, while their eldest is headed off to Rochester Institute of Technology this fall. She recently completed the renovation of the high school as chairman of the building committee, charged with developing the project scope and budget, and subsequently overseeing design and construction of the resulting $74-million renovation. She was a member of the high school Facilities Study Group of 2001-02, and has served as a board member on the West School PTC, Young Women's League and Case Western Reserve University Student Life Committee. She earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering from Case Institute of Technology. Prior to moving to New Canaan, she was a supervisor in the Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Mayor, City of New York Capital Program Management, Technical Services.

Neil Budnick

Neil Budnick attended Boston College and received a master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado. He spent five years in the Public Finance Department of Standard and Poor's, where his responsibility was to rate the indebtedness of municipalities and large infrastructure projects, such as redevelopment agencies, toll roads and airports. He joined MBIA, the world's largest financial guarantee firm, where he spent 25 years, continuing his work with municipalities and adding international and structured debt work. He spent five years as chief financial officer of MBIA, focusing on investment management before he became president. He currently sits as head on the audit committee of RHR International and is a member of the Board of Finance. Neil is married with four children.

Mike Hobbs

Mike Hobbs is a lifelong resident of New Canaan. He attended New Canaan public schools and the Kent School, received a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and earned a master's in business administration degree from Sacred Heart University. Hobbs served four years in the United States Air Force and then 30 years working for and running the residential construction firm, Hobbs, Inc. Hobbs retired in 1998. He is married to Hazel and they have three sons, three daughters-in-law and 10 grandchildren. Active in many community organizations and activities, Hobbs served on building committees for the Waveny Care Center, Lapham Community Center and the New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He is currently serving on the building committee for Norwalk Community College's new 55,000-square-foot health and science building.

Penny Rashin

Penny Rashin practiced commercial litigation for 17 years in law firms and at Time Warner Cable. Since retiring to raise her family, she has been active in the schools and community. She served on the High School Building Committee from 2003-09. She currently is on the Board of Education and is a governor of the Lake Club. She shortly will be resigning from the library board to take on her new role on the Town Center Planning Group. Penny will continue on the library's Technology Committee, where she is working on a Web site project. Penny is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia School of Law. She and husband, Dan, moved to New Canaan in 1995. They have two sons, Steve and Sam, both graduates of New Canaan High School.

Recycling in town: Is the program antiquated?

Written by Rachel Kirkpatrick, Assistant Editor
Thursday, 29 July 2010 00:00

What began as a public hearing on simple language changes and grammatical fixes to the ordinance on recycling led to a debate on whether the town’s entire program needs an overhaul.

From sorting and responsibility on the homeowner’s end, to the time and resources haulers often spend fixing the sorting, to the incidents where collectors are tossing recyclables in with the garbage — Town Council members were in agreement last Wednesday that a town-wide discussion should take place.

Chairman Mark DeWaele suggested the council form a subcommittee — which may include citizens, hauler representatives and members of the Conservation Commission — to explore surrounding towns’ programs and possibly pursue a public awareness campaign.