Early voting is here, and people are showing up in council chambers in big numbers

Posted By: David Fortier October 27, 2024

By David Fortier

Come Sunday morning, all of us in this house will have voted. We headed down to city council chambers, were greeted by a poll worker at the door and directed to another worker who walked us through the process–ID check, ballot instructions, clipboard and pen, instructions to drop the completed ballot in the slot, leave the clipboard and pen in the box, grab an “I voted” sticker.

Early voting in Bristol has brought in 600 people a day since it began on Monday, although it was slower on Saturday. These numbers indicate that it is on track to meet or exceed the 10,000 absentee ballots that were cast in 2020, when Covid-19 was a factor, according to Registrar Kevin McCauley.

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Last Saturday night was “Cocktails at 8,” the fundraiser in its 18th year that supports local initiatives. This Friday was the annual NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner. Former Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould was honored for his service to Bristol over a 30-year career in law enforcement.

Keynoter West Hartford Police Chief Vernon Riddick, Jr., gave a heartfelt and riveting speech, covering his experience from his days in Waterbury and his connection to the Black police officers before him that influenced his life–certainly, in ways that he never intended.

The two, Gould and Riddick, we learned have been friends for a long time, which was apparent from their interactions during the evening. The friendly repartee, referring to each other as “Big V” and “Big B,” and the respect and affection, signs of this friendship.

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As for TBE, we continue to experience growing pains, so to speak. The link to our donation page was down for the entire week, so that if a reader wanted click on it, they were greeted with a page error. That has been fixed. The migration of current accounts is in the works.

Overall, there is no more reason to log in, and if you look for a log in tab, you won’t find it. At the same time, the website is loading faster, or it should. I will keep you updated on new developments. Direct questions to dfortier@bristoledition.org.

And one more thing, TBE and our own Central Connecticut Online Journalism Project is the proud and thankful recipient of a grant from LION (Local Independent Online Newspaper) Publishers. This will allow us to increase our coverage, since some of the funds will be directed towards paying freelancers. Funds will also be used to improve the performance of our website.

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For reading, I spent latched onto one of those tremendously involved and long conversations on the Lex Fridman podcast. This one, “Graham Hancock: Lost Civilization of the Ice Age & Ancient Human History, #449.” Hancock is the journalist and author behind the Netflix documentary series, “Ancient Apocalypse,” whose Season 2 recently launched. Click here.

For reading, I started “Martyr,” a novel by Kaveh Akbar. From its first pages, the main character, Cyrus Shams, does what any good character needs to do–grabs a reader’s attention and takes him on an adventure. Here is some background about the author and novel on Goodreads. Click here.

This brief Atlantic video, “Interpretation of the Declaration of Independence: Danielle Allen of Harvard Reveals a Common Typo,” is worth a look. Maybe, it’s worth more than that. Really, it provides a glimpse into our democratic tradition and how a glitch the first time the document was reproduced in newsprint might be influencing a narrative that really works against the spirit of the Founders. Click here.

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City meetings this week include the following:

On Monday, Oct. 28

  • Wetlands On-Site Inspection, 5 p.m. Rockwell Park, Assessor’s Map 11, Lot 208.
  • Conservation Commission/Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Agency, 5:30 p.m. Meeting Room 1-3, city hall. For a virtual meeting link, click here.
  • Planning Commission. Canceled.

On Tuesday, Oct. 29

  • Energy Commission — Special Meeting, 5:30 p.m. Meeting Room 111, city hall. For a virtual meeting link, click here.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30

  • No meeting posted.

On Thursday, Oct. 31

  • No meeting posted

On Friday, Nov. 1

  • 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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Have some life experience in a particular business or field of study. You might be a journalist in the making. Contact editor@bristoledition.org.

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Enjoy!

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