Bridgeport Beat: Random thoughts while waiting for April showers to finally stop

Scattershooting around the city of Bridgeport while waiting for spring to begin. I know they are playing baseball but …Maria Pereira has become so laughable that this writer is wondering if she is actually honing a stand-up comedy routine. Now this alleged, well, unfortunately actual, member of the Board of Education is threatening to sue the state from placing beleaguered Columbus School on the Commissioner’s Network so the school can receive much needed state funding. The measure passed the Bridgeport Board of Ed by a resounding 7-1 vote, with Pereira being the lone dissenting vote. Hey, Ms. Pereira, guess why you were the only no vote. Because you’re WRONG! Thankfully Superintendent of Schools Fran Rabinowitz is championing the cause along with the majority of the school board and almost all of the community. Keep up the good work Superintendent Rabinowitz! Don’t let this obstructionist wreck our schools. I guess Pereira is still a trifle upset when her puppet candidate for Chairman of the Democratic Town Committee lost to incumbent Mario Testa by a slight 81-6 margin…The brouhaha about stipends for City Council members is little more than a tempest in a teapot. This is a tiny portion of the budget for what should be a salaried position. Given the financial challenges facing this city is this really where our municipal leaders should be focusing? All this really amounts to is people wanting to take shots at the council members. Hey, they deserve criticism for a lot of reasons, most egregiously during the Finch years when the position for most members was little more than a photo op and rubber stamping the mayor’s policy. The stipends are a non-issue. And for all City Council members and former members who beat their chest and proudly pronounce “I never used my stipend,” what you are really saying is “I denied my constituents services they could have used.”... Rumors are flying that former mayoral candidate Charlie Coviello may be seeking to launch a primary in the 124th District against freshman state Representative Andre Baker. Coviello received a lot of positive press for his campaign for mayor and his performance in the debates but he did not receive votes, finishing fifth in a field of seven. An incensed Coviello announced his retirement from politics the day after the election and his retirement lasted approximately 12 hours. With some significant name recognition and with only his own neighborhood to campaign in, the venerable candidate may be able to make some noise…I was walking past the Fairfield University Bookstore on the Post Road a few weeks back when I spotted former Mayor Bill Finch having coffee with a couple of colleagues. When I went to say hello, he asked, “Hey, Sully. When are you going to write your next book?” I told him I needed a subject. He said, “Are you kidding me? I handed you one on a silver platter!” I am still chuckling today at that quip…Just wondering what Charlie Carroll did to tick off Mayor Ganim. While I’m at it, I am also wondering how the Parks Department will work without a commissioner. Hey, who cares? We only live in the Park City...Kudos to Moe’s Burger Joint for sponsoring the NCAA FanFest at the Arcade Mall when the NCAA women’s basketball tournament came to town. This was a major event for our city and a great chance to showcase our downtown and support local businesses. Unfortunately, the powers that be steered the crowd onto I-95 and away from downtown…Sad to see the passing of former Black Rocker James Noble at the tender age of 94. On my first weekend in Bridgeport after migrating from Worcester, Massachusetts I went to Mass at Saint Ann’s on Brewster Street. As I listened to the choir I looked at their faces and said to myself, “Hey, that guy on the end looks just like the guy who played the Governor on Benson. Lo and behold it was James Noble. Rest in Peace Mr. Noble…Speaking of James Noble, I saw him and the great Lee Merriweather in “Love Letters” by A.J. Gurney at the newly renovated and now dormant Playhouse on the Green. Speaking of which, why is the renovated Playhouse on the Green now dormant?...To all you Red Sox fans: World Series Express! Get on board now!...See ya at the ballot box.