Last night's explosions and those in the preceding week made me wonder how ShotSpotter is doing. One of the claims for the system was that it could distinguish between gunshots and fireworks. Now that it is finally up, I'm curious to know how things went. Maybe there will be an update at the July 9 agenda-fixing session.
Whatever else is going on, my neighbor and I are enjoying the garden. She planted "wildflowers" in one patch this year. At first all we saw was Sweet Alyssum. Gradually blue Cornflowers, yellow Calendulas and pink Catchfly have come along. Some have started going to seed and we are harvesting the seeds and marveling at the variety of sizes and shapes they have.
The news about Adrian Mapp's possible violation of the Hatch Act finally hit the print media. I saw it online yesterday afternoon. We shall have to wait on the Office of Special Counsel to sort it out.
The second half of 2012 started with a number of empty chairs in City Hall. The mayor has named an attorney from Dan Williamson's office as purchasing agent. No name has been announced to replace Dan himself, who presumably is settling in as executive director at the PMUA as of July 2. City Solicitor David Minchello has been serving as acting corporation counsel at recent City Council meetings. The city also needs a deputy clerk to replace India Cole, a very regrettable loss.
July in New Jersey! A version of Hell, even for the innocent. I have vowed many times not to go through another July here with oppressive heat and humidity, but so far no luck. Mau is not amused either at this stifling weather. In a downtown store I found 100 percent cotton "house dresses" that pop on over the head and flow comfortably from a yoke neckline to provide an airy alternative to shirts and shorts. Just the thing for staying inside out of the broiling sun. Also a lesson not to look askance at the local stores in favor of the pricey Gap in Westfield. Each dress was only $8.99.
By now all preparations should have been made for Saturday's extravaganza. Twelve hours of events! The Returning Heroes parade steps off at 10 a.m. and later there is a car show, concert and fireworks at Cedar Brook Park. Each city household should have received a postcard detailing the lineup and the information is also on the city web site.
Speaking of which, the city finally has a .gov web site instead of .com. Take a look here.
So ... Should I wish you a safe and sane Seventh instead of a Fourth?
--Bernice
Thank you, Bernice. I hope your raccoons are on their way out. The city website looks good, except for that gastly picture of Sharon on the top left. I hope everyone has a safe summer.
ReplyDeleteI had my scanner on last night. The police were running ragged reporting to "shots fired" calls which were fireworks. After a few hours, instead of "shots fired" they were dispatching the calls as "shot spotter alert." The ONLY good thing I could think of as a layperson is that the exact addresses seemed to be coming up.
ReplyDeleteBenice is they used a 10 code so that people with scanners don't spread unfounded rumours of shts fired
ReplyDelete