It will be at least one month until it is known whether Wallingford will have its new shopping complex. The vote on the approval of the proposal to create a new shopping complex in the Wooding-Caplan area was delayed by the Wallingford Town Council, with the council citing opposition and resident concerns. Council Chair Robert Parisi said of the change, “It brought me back to my remarks at the swearing-in ceremony. I said I would make every attempt to run a wide-open council receptive to the public. I had some e-mails, letters and phone calls. This all rolled up into my thinking that maybe I was going a little too quickly.” The original timeline would have called for a vote in the next two weeks, including a one-night proposal, deemed “insane” by Democrat Michael Brodinsky.
If approved the 2.9 acre Wooding-Caplan property will feature an upscale mall, consisting mainly of restaurants and stores. The property sits behind some buildings at the intersection of Center and North Main streets.
CONNECTICUT
Rowland Administration Investigation Continues
Former Governor John G. Rowland has faced the music. Now it’s Theodore Anson’s turn. Accused of receiving gifts illegally, as well as receiving “kickbacks,” Former Public Works Commissioner Anson faces multiple potential criminal charges, similar to those of former Governor Rowland. Anson recently testified in front of a Federal Grand Jury, denying accusations that he accepted money during golf trips from construction company executive William Tomasso.
The federal investigation is probing whether Anson paid for the trip on his own, or whether Tomasso paid for the airfare, among other things. Tomasso has vehemently denied accepting money, generating paperwork to prove so. But other witnesses think otherwise, stating that Tomasso passed around $1000 to Anson, to offset all airfare costs.
Other areas of concern include the contracts given to Tunxis Management. During Anson’s tenure, Tunxis went from an unknown company to a company receiving over $42 million in contracts, with some of the money potentially kicking back to Anson.
Anson will join Rowland and his aides as criminals in state eyes, a government gone wrong. Although an end to the hearings isn’t near, the end to Anson’s political career certainly seems to be.
