It’s been a real honor to represent my neighbors in Danbury over the last decade, and I hope to continue doing so in Hartford for all the residents of the 24th,” the four term councilman said, adding, “Many of the larger issues facing the four towns, from ill advised court rulings preventing local zoning control, to management of water resources, continuing job losses, sky-high electrical rates and the ongoing uncertainties surrounding Candlewood lake, need to be addressed at the state level if they are ever to be resolved. I intend to focus on them immediately and begin bringing the residents of Northern Fairfield county relief.

A startling new image released by NASA today shows a massive column of oil extending out Southeast towards the open ocean.

This column has not been visible in any satellite photos taken so far and will no doubt change the estimated extent of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

A chocolate-brown blanket of oil about as thick as latex paint has invaded reedy freshwater wetlands at Louisiana's southeastern tip, prompting Gov. Bobby Jindal to step up calls Wednesday for building emergency sand barriers.

[...]

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig disaster had been lapping at the coast before. But this was not the light rainbow sheen or the scattered tar balls seen in previous days.

Jindal, sitting at the edge of an airboat, swept a handheld fishing net through the mess and held it up. It was coated with brown sludge, which had stained the lower shafts of the leafy green reeds sticking up to eight feet out of the water.

"This has laid down a blanket in the marsh that will destroy every living thing there," Nungesser said.

• Tonight, the Board of Education plan to vote on the school budget for the upcoming year. I'll be live streaming the meeting TONIGHT starting at 7 PM.


• Speaking of the school budget and the Board of Education, now that my schedule is freed up, I have time to finish a write-up I was working on regarding the News-Times reporter Eileen Fitzgerald's sloppy reporting skills.


• Another Democrat has thrown his hat into the 24th State Senate race...details to come


• Case against Danbury landlord Joe DaSilva continued to June


• Amanda Bloom has been on a ROLL with her reporting over at The Mercurial. If you haven't already, BOOKMARK THE SITE!


• Oh, I can't WAIT for the end of June! Brian Lockhart has the details on the albatross that Mike Fedele placed around his neck in picking the state's anti-immigration mayor as his running mate.
  

  Lt. Governor Michael Fedele of Stamford, who is pursuing the Republican Party’s nomination for Governor, today officially announced his choice of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton as a running mate. Boughton had also been looking to succeed the retiring Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell before abandoning his campaign to be part of Fedele’s ticket.
  
  Boughton has proven to be a candidate with legs both in Danbury and in the current gubernatorial contest, but he is also a potentially controversial choice for the general election.
  
  Boughton generated headlines in 2005 with a proposal to deputize state police as federal immigration agents – an idea that was shot down by the state’s Public Safety Commissioner.
  
  But, more importantly, even as he promises to be “Mike’s full partner in managing the state,” Boughton and his administration continue to be embroiled in a federal civil lawsuit filed in 2007 by Yale Law School professors and students on behalf of eight day laborers arrested in Danbury.
  
  In fact the Danbury mayor, according to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the New York law firm working with Yale on the case, is scheduled to be deposed at the end of June.
  
  [...]
  
  Which brings me back to Fedele’s decision to choose Boughton. Part of Fedele’s allure as a candidate, both when he was tapped as Rell’s running mate in 2006 and during his current bid to succeed Rell, is his story – immigrant-turned-successful businessman/politician.
  
  As the very first sentence of Fedele’s website reads, “Republican Mike Fedele has lived in Stamford since coming to Connecticut from Minturno, Italy with his parents and siblings when he was three years old.”
  
  Fedele also mentions his Italian roots at the start of this campaign ad.
  
  So when I learned Fedele had chosen Boughton, my first thought was not: “Wow, shrewd move heading into the GOP convention.” It was: “Huh. The proud immigrant who often talks about realizing the American dream is partnering with the mayor under fire for allegedly harassing illegal immigrants in his city.”
  
  Whatever your opinion of how the state and federal government should deal with illegal immigrants, by tapping Boughton, Fedele has injected the issue into the Connecticut gubernatorial race. Not only is his running mate dealing with a lawsuit related to his current job, but it’s about a politically volatile topic.
  
  Earlier today I e-mailed Fedele’s campaign a copy of the aforementioned lawsuit against Boughton. I asked if Fedele has “any concerns about the issues raised” and if his partnering with Boughton should be viewed as an endorsement of Danbury’s policies toward illegal immigrants?
  
  Fedele responded: “I am a proud immigrant to America and a proud citizen and I believe legal immigration is one of the core underpinnings of America as a place of opportunity. However, I also believe that existing laws should be followed now, just as they were to be followed when my parents and I came to this country.”
  
  Not, I’m certain, the end.

  
  If the number of inquires I've received regarding information on the city's last honest man are an indication of things to come, then Lockhart's "not I'm certain the end" remark is a gross understatement.


• ...oh, and don't worry Joel, I haven't forgotten about you and your laundry list of bullshit.

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tom Foley will not name a running mate. The former ambassador to Ireland will go into the Republican convention on his own and accept the choice of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton to run with him after the party’s summer primary. The move will deny the Fedele/Boughton campaign $375,000 in campaign cash that would have gone to Boughton in an August primary contest for the nomination.

The move may also keep Boughton supporters from rallying to Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele in his race against Foley. With either candidate, they get Boughton on the ticket, which may be enough for them.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton is expected to drop his campaign for governor on Monday to become Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele’s running mate. With balloting for the Republican nomination for governor to take place on Saturday, May 22nd, the flagging Fedele campaign needs a boost to remain competitive with former Ambassador Tom Foley, the frontrunner in the race. Boughton could provide it.

The selection of Boughton, who has attracted the enthusiastic support of at least 15% of the delegates to the convention, ought to help Fedele avoid a humiliating result at the convention–if Boughton’s delegates move with him. Danbury has 28 delegates. There are 1462 delegates to the convention, which will take place in Hartford at the Connecticut Convention Center.