By David Fortier
Come Sunday morning, the water main break is in the past, and we are taking the next step which is to replace what remains from the sidewalk to our basement, something that is highly recommended as the current situation is tentative.
What stands in the way of this construction project is our close to 100-year-old rhododendron. The conversation went from, “It looks like that has to go” to “”But … but” to “Maybe I can do something about that” to “It looks like we can save it.”
The power of human ingenuity, some magic and the rhododendron lives. For that we are grateful.
There it is, human ingenuity and some luck.
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In mulling over the general tenor of politics, I am thinking our national penchant for jobs and STEM education might be failing us. No doubt, if America is going to work, we need to work–both in the jobs sense and also in a broader human sense.
STEM provides us with skills to address specific jobs, but work decisions — the rhododendron decision aside — are fairly limited in their focus, especially when it comes to numbers, quantitative thinking and bottom lines. However, the skills we face in our work life do not necessarily prepare us for living in a democracy. Big leap, I realize, but that is how “thinking” works.
The necessary skills for citizenship are not transactional, i.e., quid pro quo, but transformational, i.e., we get this done and we are better for it. When the focus is on the financials, solely, the soul withers. Okay, enough about all that except to say, maybe we need a better work life/democratic life balance.
That said, the special election to fill the city council seat for District 3 resulted in a win for Democrat Mark Dickau, who now becomes the sole Democrat on the council.
A quick note from assistant registrar Jennifer Brunoli informs me that the last special election for a municipal office goes back to August 1991 when Bill Stortz became mayor.
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For listening, there is the Gray Area Podcast, episode “The Timebomb the Founding Fathers Left Us,” featuring Erwin Chemerensky. Chemerensky wrote “No Democracy Lasts Forever.” Such a foreboding title can’t help but attract attention. Is it simply sensational, or is there more to this hypothesis?
Of course, there is always more, and host Sean Illing, a fan of the U.S. Constitution, has some thoughtful questions and insightful anecdotes to share, while Chemerensky takes one each one with some penetrating insights and twists of his own. Click here.
Anyone interested in “Project 2025,” might try the podcast Strict Scrutiny episode, “Project 2025: 900 Pages and 100 percent Deranged.” I am guessing the title of the podcast provides an idea of where the commenters are coming from. Click here.
“The Known World,” by Edward Jones and “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh are two very different novels. Jones’s work is the story of black slaveowners in the antebellum South. Moshfegh takes on a young woman grappling with a bunch of issues prior to 9/11. For the Goods Reads read on Jone’s work, click here. For the same on Moshfegh’s work, click here.
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City meetings this week include the following:
On Monday, Aug. 5
- Police Memorial Committee, 5 p.m., city hall. Cancelled.
- Parking Authority, 6:30 p.m., Meeting Room 1-1, city hall.
- Conservation Commission/Inlands Wetlands and Watercourses Agency, cancelled. Notice: A special meeting of this commission will be held Monday, Aug. 12, at 6:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, Aug. 6
- Police Awards Committee, 9 a.m., Chief’s Conference Room, 131 N. Main St.
- Ordinance Committee, 5 p.m., Meeting Room 1-1, city hall. For a virtual meeting link, click here.
On Wednesday, Aug. 7
- Code Enforcement Committee, 9 a.m., council chambers, city hall.
- Arts & Culture Commission, 6:30 p.m., Meeting Room 1-2, city hall.
On Thursday, Aug. 8
- Retirement Board, 3 p.m., council chambers, city hall.
- Bristol-Burlington Board of Health, cancelled.
- Fire Station 3 Building Committee Special Meeting, 6 p.m., Meeting Room 1-4, city hall.
On Friday, Aug. 9
- No meeting posted.
TBE will do our best to update meeting times and locations, but it’s a good idea to check the agendas ahead of time for cancellations. Click here for specific meetings and times.
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The new school year is just around the corner. If you know a high school student who would like to get first-hand experience covering sports, send them our way. Contact editor@bristoledition.org.
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