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President Hunziker opened the business meeting at 10:00 with 157 members present. Current membership remains 498 with 2 invitees. There are 21 on the waiting list.

People: There were no new members or guests present. Don Freud reported that Ed Codel is out of Norwalk Hospital and back at Waveny. He would welcome visitors.

Activities: Bowling, bridge and racquetball all proceeding apace. The Trailblazers are apparently still snowbound. However, paddle shovels out and plows on, as reported by Jim Cole. Phil Toll confirmed Nino's for the 26^th and made another plea for help on the 4-F committee. He has upped the ante from assistant to co-chair, but there is no word of a signing bonus - yet.

Couth: Ron Seger said that payment was still owing from some of the prospective travelers to Foxwoods on the 25^th. The trip to St. John the Divine on February 14^th will include lunch and a visit to Mme. Tussaud's: Other upcoming trips are Cabaret Theater March 16^th; the U.N. April 19^th; and the NY BotanIcal Garden May 22^nd. The latter two are reversals of the early schedule.

Other News: Dr. David Brown sought volunteers to help teach the ESL program at Norwalk CC. It is the largest such program in the state, and a good one. The commitment is 1 hour/week for 8 weeks starting mid-Feb., and past students and teachers have found it highly rewarding. Sven Englund explained the schedule for Wally Rudd's memorial service tomorrow. Bob Lear's seminars are booked and ready to start at 2:30 on Friday the 26^th. Don Hunziker read a few bon mots from the writings of Wil1 Rogers. And Dick Bonds seeks volunteers for a committee to investigate the post office situation.

Jester: John Berg explained how little kids practice swearing, to their disadvantage.

Speaker: VP Bob Witt introduced Judith Freedman, one of New Canaan's State Senators for the past 14 years. In her talk and in response to questions, Senator Freedman gave us a broad and lucid overview of legislative doings in Hartford, and her opinion of them, such as:

• Budget negotiations are dicey, as always, but the projected surplus of $400 million may help.
• The plethora of different taxes is being reduced. Gambling has a lot of bad impacts.
• The legislature is almost 2/3 Democratic But there has been good cooperation for the past 6 years. There are hundreds of bills filed each year, and too many committees (25) to handle them. John Rowland is a unifier and thus can be reelected.
• Re-districting is going to be painful; New Canaan may be unified, but we are probably better off now by having access to four governmental servants in Hartford, instead of only two.
• Private providers of group homes get much less state aid than state-run facilities and so have trouble competing for experienced employees.
• The state provides most of the big cities' education budgets, and almost nothing to NC. Maybe new money should go to specific grants, to give NC a shot at competing. City schools revive, slowly. Magnet schools are a help, one of several preferable alternatives to forced busing. A teacher shortage looms, and so schools will look to retirees, whether prior teachers or not.
• CT needs a cohesive program to promote tourism through its historical and arts resources.
• The hot issues this year in Hartford, besides the budget, are prescription drug coverage, transportation, education (always), election reform, open space, and electric deregulation.

Peter Schurman -Assistant Secretary

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