While today’s means of communication are generally more geared toward the pixel than the pen, Letters to the Editor are still the second most widely-read section of the paper (after the front page).

The Wilton Democratic Town Committee invites your contributions to this website, and encourages citizens to contact the local press with Letters to the Editor.

• Wilton Patch
• Wilton Villager
• Wilton Bulletin
• Norwalk Hour
• Hatrford Courant

Submission Tips

Most papers ask that letters be kept to 200 words or less, and authors must provide their full name, mailing address, phone number and email address.

Ted Hoffstatter

This past year, the Town of Westport passed an ordinance banning plastic retail checkout bags. To clarify, this ordinance only applies to the bags you get when you checkout of an establishment, not those used for deli, produce – or the cleaners, a frame shop, etc. – there are common sense exceptions.

Why bother? How can one town matter? Although the plastic garbage patch twice the size of Texas, which sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, seems so far away, and colossal in size compared to the Town of Wilton, we can still make a difference.

While our garbage in Connecticut is incinerated, many retail bags seem to escape the fire, and end up in the Norwalk River, and then Long Island Sound. That hits home. But it’s also about the bigger picture. With the plastic lobby as strong as it is, it is very difficult for a state or federal branch of government to pass legislation with a real effect on reducing the amount of plastic that finds its way into our waterways, and eventually, our oceans.

For Wilton, It’s Mission Possible

An Ocean Turtle Struggles with a Deadly Plastic Bag

While this may seem to be mission impossible at the state and federal levels, this is not an impossible mission for municipalities. Meaningful change can really come from the grass roots. Furthermore, this effort crosses party lines. The ordinance in Westport passed the RTM 25-5-1, with widespread support from Republicans and Democrats. The ordinance was also supported by the Westport Chamber of Commerce as well as the Downtown Merchants’ Association.

Environmentally & Fiscally Responsible

Wait… it gets better. The ordinance does not cost the taxpayer! The ordinance has been in effect for six months, and there have been no legal challenges; no violations. Businesses also have a grace period to use the plastic bags they have already purchased. Enforcement is not a burden.

If we can help this effort to catch fire, that would be very meaningful. We have a unique opportunity here in Wilton to take a leadership role in a major environmental issue that affects all of us. We are in a very tough budget year; the good news is that this step forward does not cost us any money, just a small amount of time and effort.

Attend the Board of Selectman Meeting to Learn More

This issue will appear as an agenda item at our Board of Selectmen Meeting on Monday, February 1^st, at 7:30pm. Jonathan Cunitz, a member of the Westport RTM and mastermind of the Westport ordinance, will give a presentation. Please attend! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or phone at (203) 451-5049.

Ted Hoffstatter
Member, Board of Selectman

Several omissions and some disturbing implications could be noted in the Sept. 3 commentary by Gail Lavielle on transportation and stimulus.

Ms. Lavielle, a Republican and appointed member of the state’s Public Transportation Commission, correctly states that Connecticut “has received about $3 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” funds under the federal stimulus. “Only a small portion, however” she adds “can be used to create transportation-related jobs. Of the total, $1.3 billion went to Medicaid programs, $450 million was made available for transportation projects” – seeming to imply that funds which could have gone to transportation instead went to help the state provide health care for poor people. That implication could be called many things, but ‘true’ isn’t one of them. The various components of stimulus funds provided to the states are allocated according to separate provisions in the bill. As Ms. Lavielle certainly should know, the allocations for infrastructure projects, including transportation, were made based on requests from the states through their Governors.

Omitted as well in her letter was the fact that the ARRA is also providing Connecticut with $87 million in additional unemployment benefits for jobless victims of the recession, and another $744.6 million in stimulus funds to help local public schools offset budget cuts, protect teaching jobs and improve educational quality.

While not actually arguing for additional infrastructure funding, Ms. Lavielle complains that there isn’t enough. Conveniently, she fails to mention that none of the funding would exist were it not for President Obama, his administration and the Democratic Congress. In fact, not a single Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives voted for the stimulus, and only three did so in the Senate, including one who’s now a Democrat.

There are many transportation projects being aided by the stimulus here in Connecticut, as Ms. Lavielle correctly notes. Public officials in both parties are to be commended for their work in helping to promote economic recovery. Perhaps we can look forward to more Republican support for much-needed further efforts to rebuild our neglected infrastructure, create jobs and sustain a real recovery.

Mitchell Hirsch
Hurlbutt Street