Trapeni's complaint

DT Supply owner and two-time mayoral candidate David Trapeni has asked the city to abate $7,448.01 in property taxes (and interest and penalties) due to a water line break he says cost him $45,000.

Trapeni says the water main, located in his parking lot, broke last November, sending mud into his store and apartment buildings, and complains in his letter to the board that he has not received any compensation.

"My request for this abatement is unique, in that if the city had paid this claim for the above damages we would have been able to afford this tax bill," he wrote.

The amount covers the tax bills for the second, third and fourth quarters of FY 2011 along with $192.60 in interest and $834.69 in penalties.

Board President David Allaire appointed Aldermen Jon Kiernan, William Notte and Charles Romeo to form a three-person committee, with Romeo as chairman, to hear the request at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17.

More adventures in reading comprehension

Okay, people, time to pay careful attention.

(That, I'm told, is the polite version of my preferred intro, which would be along the lines of "Listen up you primitive screwheads.")

Yes, we're getting water from Mendon Brook again. That doesn't mean you people were supposed to open your taps like they were firehoses.

Apparently, even though water conservation orders remain in effect, use has jumped back up. Mayor Louras and I just had a conversation about what else can still go wrong with our drinking water, and clearly it's not party time just yet.

The full story appears in, where else, tomorrow's Herald.

 

Shooting Phish in a Barrel

Apparently the relentless mockery was too much for him to take, because Jim Sabataso went and started a new blog in the hope that I wouldn't find him there.

He's even got a couple of original pieces among the reprints of Rutland County Express columns, including this look at Seven Days' effort to become a real newspaper when it grows up.

He starts with an already notorious blog post in which the author spends several paragraphs insulting Phish fans before asking them to do some volunteer work while they're up here, and goes on to a recent piece in which they asked a whole bunch of the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus's would-be competitors how things were going for the Times-Argus.

Alas, I find myself largely agreeing with Jim here, making it hard for me to hurl insults at him. Stupid Seven Days. 

I especially resent being in a position to stick up for Phish fans. I love picking on Phishheads -- if you really think hippie jam music is that innovative you need to listen to some more jazz -- but there's a truly impressive level of cluelessness in saying to somebody "You're a dirty, lazy, over-priviliged pothead, now do stuff for me."

For the record, I attended a Phish concert once, at the Palace Theater in Albany in 1992 or '93. "Chalkdust Torture" was getting tons of play on EQX (WIUV, which you could pick up in Proctor back then by hooking the cable to your stereo, played a bunch of the other songs) and I did not yet know growing dreds and following Phish around the country was a thing. I am told that show, which I will freely admit to enjoying, was the last time they performed their a cappella rendition of "Sweet Adeline."

 

Let the river run...

...just not too much.

The city is once again connected to Mendon Brook, but DPW doesn't want you washing your car just yet.

Commissioner Alan Shelvey said conservation measures need to remain in effect because there is still work to be done on the connection, heavy rainfall could render the brook temporarily unusable and the reservoir needs to refill.

Full details will appear in tomorrow's Herald.

Overheard at my kitchen sink

"It's so nice to be able to touch water again."

-a friend from West Rutland, where the e. coli scare and accompanying boil water order puts Rutland's woes in perspective.

I hear we may have some good news on the water front. More later once I find out for sure.

Monday morning linkdump, special Tuesday edition

To all three of you who showed up looking for a new post yesterday, sorry, I spaced.

Here is FEMA's brochure on cleaning mold and mildew.

Here is one from the EPA.

For the record, yes, this is picking on somebody.

It took weeks of sarcasm and snide comments, but Jim Sabataso finally put up an original blog post!

The effort appears to have taken such a toll that he hasn't managed another post in the last two weeks, and only a gazpacho-peddling dilletante like Jim would claim the home of Big Lenny's lacks "an adequate hot dog cart," but, hey, let's give him a big hand anyway!

I'm proud of you Jim. Your first Big Lenny's is on me.

Speaking of Big Lenny's, I just want to talk about how cool whoever did the beach-chair set-up at his old pull-off spot is. That was a much, much-needed bit of levity at a rough time. Kudos to you, whoever you are.

Water water everywhere...

...but we can't drink the stuff.

Today's water system update is: Our supply has been recalculated and we should now be able to last 32 days. That's the good news. The bad news is we may need more than that. Full details in tomorrow's Rutland Herald.

How's that for a teaser?

Water conservation tips, part three: Beyond peeing

Since my effort to start a semi-viral Facebook campaign promptly fizzled, I'll just go back to throwing examples on here as I have them.

Our mayor is urging a strategy covered here last week, which I've been doing my best at. 'Nuff said.

On the way home tonight, I'll be picking up paper plates and cups. Don't tell me getting out of doing the dishes for a while doesn't appeal to you.

We also need to ask ourselves if we really need to do laundry this week. Maybe there's a shirt and pair of pants you can re-wear, and maybe you've been wanting an excuse to buy a few new pairs of drawers.

Rinsing out and recycling cans of beans or tomatoes or whatever is, of course, good environmental practice but can probably take a backseat for a little while. Just toss 'em.

I'm doing my part. Are you?

Listen closely now...

Apparently a number of people have interpreted the opening of this week's column as an attack on Mayor Louras. I guess they didn't see where I specifically wrote, after describing how Rutland went from planning to supply water for the entire county to issuing a conservation order, "I point this out not to pick on the mayor."

Should it be bold? Here: I point this out not to pick on the mayor. Would all-caps do it? I POINT THIS OUT NOT TO PICK ON THE MAYOR.

Read on, paying attention as you do so, and you'll see me imply Louras was being completely reasonable in his pre-storm statements and then discuss how everyone I spoke to before the storm was expecting something other than what wound up happening. The reason I led with the quote from Louras was because it illustrated the concept with a perfect directness. As far as I'm concerned, we are all in the same boat with him.

I will, from time to time, find occasion to pick on the mayor. One of the ways you will be able to recognize these instances is the lack of phrases like "I point this out not to pick on the mayor."