January 2013
2 posts
I went where?
Some background: I covered the 13th state Senate District race in Connecticut, aka Republican incumbent Len Suzio vs. Democratic City Councilor in Meriden Dante Bartolomeo. It was possibly the most interesting, lengthy battle in our coverage area in quite some time. There were accusations and controversies for several months before Bartolomeo won, narrowly.
But nothing stands out in that race,...
My bad
I haven’t updated this thing since I took over on the Meriden City Hall beat. Wow.
There’s nobody to blame for this except myself, probably. I have sat here a few times attempting to bang out some quick blurbs, but it never worked out. I really tried shortly after Sandy Hook, but I couldn’t.
I really struggled to find words for that. I still do to some degree because there are...
May 2012
3 posts
The end of a beginning
When I started at the Record-Journal August 30, 2010 (not that anybody is keeping track), it was my first full-time job. I had spent the summer covering Southington and Plainville for our Citizen weeklies 32 hours a week. So 40 hours wasn’t exactly a stretch, but it was finally reaching a point I was really excited about.
When I was offered the job, it was for the Wallingford schools...
What a 24 hours for Meriden
In the span of 24 hours, meriden’s school budget deficit was closed and the renovations for both schools were approved despite some significant issues with size.
The Tuesday-Wednesday ending to the legislative session was like no other in history for Meriden. Seriously. First the education reform package was passed, which ensured Meriden at least $4 million in extra funds - money they were...
A brief flashback in Meriden
Growing up on the outskirts of the city, you build up this reputation, this stigma about downtown. Because there is not much for kids downtown, other than the Y or Boys/Girls Club, you don’t get to know it. You grow up assuming a lot. Team that up with what your parents know and remember about downtown Meriden and you want nothing to do with it. The Mills, the Diablos, crime, drugs, etc....
April 2012
2 posts
Daffodil Festival
The Daffodil Festival gets more coverage than any other festival in the Record-Journal coverage area. Then again, it does have a parade, two full days of nonstop food and music, fireworks, and tens of thousands of people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. So I suppose it makes sense.
The biggest gripes were the lack of daffodils and the weather. To that I say: “you’re...
I'm Back
I’ve been busy.
That’s a typical excuse, but I’ve been busy the last month or so, which has lead to my lack of blogging. Sorry for the lack of entertainment.
Here’s a quick recap:
Meriden lost possibly its greatest sports star of all time last month, Bob Biestek. After looking through the old clips, it was clear that Bob was just a man amongst boys, but a really...
February 2012
11 posts
Continuing to beat the odds
Over a year ago, Julian Rodriguez, a 7-year old Meriden resident, suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm. It has since been a long road to recovery for he and his family.
Julian still has not fully recovered, but the fact that he has had a chance to is nothing short of a miracle. Having a child myself, it’s every parent’s nightmare that their child would suffer from something like this....
Taking a look at the tracks
Last week was the third time in three months that somebody was killed by an Amtrak train near the Meriden-Wallingford line. All three were sadly ruled as suicides.
The circumstances surrounding all three were interesting. Two were virtually the same location and all three nearly at the same exact time. Arrival times obviously factor in, but the train passes through at least three times a week.
...
On the other end
There are a few things I like about being a reporter. Two of the big ones go hand-in-hand.
No two days are ever the same and they are typically unpredictable.
You always are talking to different people or building relationships with people or just dealing with interesting stories from people.
Oftentimes when you pick up the phone, all you see is a phone number. If you don’t recognize the...
There are problems out there in Meriden
Sitting here, Friday night, after a full work week, writing is one of the last things I want to do. I never got around to finishing my Meriden Problems series. So I will make it short and sweet. I won’t copy and paste everything - just allude to some of what has been said.
Potholes - There is a lack of money to pave every street and manpower, for that matter. That said, driving on a lot of...
Answering Meriden's Problems
I wouldn’t be a journalist if I couldn’t prove a few things wrong or answer a few questions. So here are a few tweets or RTs that appeared in Meriden Problems Twitter feed that I can address.
South Meriden vs. Meriden?
It’s true, South Meriden is disconnected from the rest of the city. We have discussed this plenty of times in the newsroom. From an Eastsider’s...
Meriden's Problems
Last Wednesday somebody, maybe one day I’ll find out who, created a twitter feed - @MeridenProblems.
The feed is a play on other “problem” pages that have come up in the past - @whitegirlproblems @90sboyproblems etc etc.
Like the others, it complains about the problems that Meriden and people in Meriden have, but also makes fun of itself. People between the ages of, oh i dont...
Yearbooks: they aren't what they used to be
One of the best parts of working for a newspaper and specifically the Record-Journal is the history there. The newspaper dates back to the Civil War.
When I need to find newspaper clippings from the 1950s, there isn’t much of an issue. Well, maybe if they are filed incorrectly or by a very vague term. But even then, that’s when you find the good, interesting stuff.
So often you read...
This is what the future looks like
I will not put my opinion into this post. They are the opinions of others. I will merely explain what the concept is and then let others talk.
Meriden is undertaking a large project. $220 million-plus large. If you are going to spend that much money, you have to get it right. Otherwise you have a few thousand upset taxpayers and students and teachers for the next 50 years.
The Record-Journal has...
Catching Up
I didn’t post much this week. It’s been a busy one. So busy that I really don’t remember what happened Monday or Tuesday at work.
The entire week has been consumed by these HS projects.
$220 million are being spent spent on this project. Let that sink in.
I think it has been assumed that the projects would be fine. They would be passed through the state level and reimbursement...
Ummmm...I went to school for print, right?
I went to school for print journalism.
Then again, I also went to school with the idea I would be writing about sports.
How quickly everything changes.
With the ever-changing state of the industry, journalists are now asked to do a little bit of everything. Literally everything. Which is why I found myself on TV this week.
FOX CT and the Record-Journal recently announced a partnership in...
January 2012
16 posts
14 tags
The pot heard round the world
I sit next to the police scanner, so oftentimes I am the first (and only) person to hear something. Richie Rathsack has a good ear from across the room and his ears will perk up if he thinks he hears something. Last Tuesday was one of those days.
Something came over the scanner about a 4-year-old having marijuana at Hanover Elementary School. My first thought: this is going to be big.
By...
“there is no place I would rather have been.”
– Casimir Pulaski Principal Tom Brown in an email talking about his retirement. He worked in Wolcott and West Hartford, worked in three different Meriden schools, worked for Stop&Shop and worked in the military. Still, he said he would rather be in Meriden more than anywhere else.
7 tags
Tom Brown - a Meriden favorite
I’ve yet to seeTom Brown in a bad mood. Anytime I visited his school, Casimir Pulaski, he was smiling and talking with the kids. Always on a personal level. Anytime I emailed him or gave him a call he got right back to me, had something quotable to say and had plenty of energy while saying it.
Hearing the news and reporting on it yesterday was not easy because Tom is such a great guy.
I...
6 tags
Two-way traffic, but not what you're thinking
For some, social media is probably pretty scary. Just knowing anything you say or put on there could potentially reach hundreds, thousands and even millions of people is frightening. But for public people, it’s necessary.
So here’s to you City of Meriden.
I’m glad you are on Twitter. I really am. Now use it effectively.
There was a parking ban on Friday. It wasn’t...
“And on the seventh day, God…or uh, Mark… finished his work that he...”
– one of our readers regarding the Benigni story. He wrote it not in the comments section, but in an email. Thanks.
You call that snow?
Shortly after 9 pm last night, I went to take my dog outside and was greeted by snow. A lot of it, or, at least more than I expected. I went out on a limb and predicted there would be a delay for Meriden students today. Sorry, guys.
Of course plenty of people were upset this morning when there was no delay, though the roads were clear.
As great as it was to have snow again, for some...
3 tags
A day with Meriden's fastest mover
I sent an email to Meriden’s School Superintendent Mark Benigni, the city’s former mayor, with one thing in mind - a recent letter to the editor.
I have a thing where I like to prove people wrong. This time it was going to be this letter writer. He wrote about how Benigni is a “figurehead,” how he gets fat on buffet food and how he does a lot of ribbon cutting....
Localizing internationally
So often national or international news happens and as a small, local newspaper we try to localize them. Whether it’s a feature-y story, statistics/data story, or breaking news you do what you can.
Today was a perfect example. Oversees, a cruise ship essentially tipped over with 4,200 people on board. The pictures are incredible when you think of the size of the boat.
So how the hell am I...
The scream room pandemic
The use of a “scream room” has caused quite the stir in Connecticut, specifically Middletown. This news story set off a series of articles appearing all over the place like FoxNews and Yahoo!. So are scream rooms really a problem, was the issue sensationalized or are people just overreacting?
Keep in mind the scream room was done by the same reporter/team that brought you the weighted...
2 tags
WatchOf all of the city’s grand plans for downtown, those for the Hub are my favorite. They are probably the most reasonable, as well.
Uncovering Harbor Brook is real, two-way traffic might be expensive and complicated and Pratt Street would be easy to build but could take time for people to buy in to.
So turning an empty piece of land into a park with a budget of $7 million that the state...
2 tags
Can Meriden afford to close a school?
Financially? Duh.
I want to look at what it would mean for the city, though.
Between the police, a failing downtown, spending, taxes, an already negative stigma surrounding the town from a large chunk of the population - can it afford to have something else fail? Probably not.
Through emails, facebook messages/posts/comments and other forms of communication, it seems like people are already...
3 tags
One less school in Meriden?
It seems to either be a real possibility or a political stunt - I am yet to figure it out.
Last year School Superintendent Mark Benigni said schools could close, but at the time, the Meriden Board of Education was facing a budget gap of about $9 million. The state kicked in its share of $7-plus million and slowly the remaining gap was closed.
This year, the school district is getting that $7...
WatchAs I do these stories about downtown Meriden, I keep coming across history. In pretty much every case, the history is that somewhere along the lines, somebody or some group messed up.
City officials failed over a dozen times in the 1900s when it came to flood control. Now, the city is faced with a costly issue in a time when money is rare. They also decided to cover the Hub and Harbor Brook and...
What you weren't reading this year
In my last post I looked at what people had been looking at this year on the Record-Journal website. Here are the top 25 stories based on what users clicked on, in case you forgot. And here are some memorable photos.
I struggled to come up with something in that last post that probably should have been in the top 25, until now. A certain $200+ million project that seems like it is almost ignored....
December 2011
10 posts
2011 - A year to remember?
Here is what YOU, our readers, clicked on the the most in 2011.
I compiled this list, knowing mostly what it would include for a few reasons.
1. People love lists. They click on them all of the time.
2. I was curious, but I know people were too.
3. It will hopefully make people realize how much they LOVE negative news.
I bother our new media specialist, Alex Martin, all of the time to find...
Anonymous asked: why would anyone except employees want to go from Pratt to the RJ?? just sayin....
When all hell breaks loose
It’s not uncommon to come across “breaking” news. Especially these days when “breaking” is such a loosely used term. Just about any piece of news that catches people’s attention has been labeled as “breaking” lately.
Tuesday, there was actual breaking news.
Listening to the police scanner, we heard about a police chase, though it did not sound...
Keeping the Christmas spirit alive
With all of the serious news that we have to deal with, it’s always great to get a story like this. It’s the story of a nine-year-old girl whose faith in Santa Claus has grown even stronger in the last few days.
Piper has given in the past, donating her hair to Locks of Love and just always being interested in helping others. Her letter to Santa this Christmas was above and beyond....
Watch
As part of a series (of which I am not how long it will go) I am now stepping in front of a camera, having never taken a real broadcast class or course.
The series is a look into a few of the major plans Meriden has for its downtown. Many of the projects will begin in 2012, which spurred the idea that maybe we should do something big. In November, the city had a meeting where it unveiled...
Welcome
I’ve tried blogging a few times and it never worked. It will, however, work this time because I have a reason to blog.
So welcome to my first professional blog. My name is Dan Brechlin and I am a reporter at the Record-Journal newspaper in Meriden, Conn. At the age of 23, I’ve wanted to be a reporter for years. Since I entered high school, actually. But always envisioned myself as a...
