In Synk by Jim Szynkiewicz
Brownfield Remediation
The appointment by Governor Dannel Malloy of Waterbury attorney Gary O’Connor as co-chair of his environmental group, may give our brownfield remediation a boost. Having been the co-chair of the state’s Brownfields Task Force for several years, O’Connor ought to be well aware of the challenges involved and the badly needed action.
Jim Szynkiewicz was born in Czechoslovakia and witnessed first hand the brutal reality of WWII when Nazi Germany occupied his homeland. After the war Szynkiewicz lived for a decade in Egypt before emigrating to the United States and settling in Waterbury, CT. Jim worked in manufacturing for 40 years before retiring in the 1980s. Jim is a community activist in Waterbury and has written a column in the Observer for the past 15 years. In addition to writing about local politics and manufacturing, Jim has often written highly detailed columns about the complexity of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Job Creation” has been the battle cry of countless politicians across our nation. Unfortunately, for decades, there has been a chasm between the public and private sectors on the interpretation of this term. Thus, we ought to take the “political speak” with a grain of salt, a large one too.
Pearl Harbor
Did FDR Use It AS Bait?
Column By Jim Szynkiewicz
Sixty nine years have passed since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Was this a horrendous failure of the Roosevelt administration, or a brilliant political maneuver? The passage of time has not overcome the mystery of that fateful event. I belong to the smaller category of people who believe that FDR masterfully used Pearl Harbor as bait to draw the Japanese into a military confrontation and justify America’s entry into a war against the Axis Powers. Not everybody in FDR’s administration had been asleep on the dawn of December 7th 1941.
The time seems appropriate for a “post mortem” of the recent municipal election.
Compared to the one of two years ago, this one lacked the suspense and sparks. I would ascribe this apathy to the subconscious feeling among some 70% of no-show voters that things were OK as they were, so why risk change? Ignorance is bliss.
U.S. Cannot Afford To Play The World’s Peacekeeper Forever
The voters of Waterbury must take this year’s municipal election very seriously. In deciding whom to entrust with the management of our city, they must look critically not only at the current 3-term administration, but at several preceding ones. Then, they ought to ask themselves, “HOW DID WE GET INTO THIS MESS AND HOW SHALL WE FACE
THE FUTURE?”. Every one of us is, consciously or subconsciously, facing this dilemma.
In this issue I would like to take a look at our city planning. Ever since the demise of the industries which anchored our traditional neighborhoods, Waterbury has been literally at the crossroads, unable to decide whether to seek a return to its industrial past or venture onto a road less traveled.
To many Waterbury voters the upcoming election may not seem to be important, because it does not involve issues perceived as crucial to everyday city problems. Waterburians have repeatedly shown how passionate they may become on local issues, while accepting national issues as the “necessary evil”. Next month’s election will be of critical nationwide importance. The period of 2007 - 2008 will include essential steps toward the resolution of the Iraq dilemma and the development of a major recession.