The Fine Art Of Choosing One's Battles

Some of you may remember when WTNH-TV used to employ a "consumer rights" advocate by the name of Mike Boguslawski, who would always end his segment reminding his viewers that "I'm in (points to viewer) your corner!"

One night my dad and I were watching "Bogey" as he confronted a local merchant whom a customer alleged had wronged him, with the result being an amicable settlement between the two parties.

"Do you notice," Dad said, "that he never goes after the utility companies?"

And Dad was right. Bogey never took on United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas or what was then Southern New England Telephone. It was always some mom-and-pop operation like Joe's Garage or Marconi's Award Winning Bakery. Probably because Bogey knew that the utilities had the means and the resources to take him and the station down a few pegs. (And I would think he had gotten more than a few requests for help in dealing with those monopolies.) So, discretion being the better part of valor, he went after the guys with the limited financial resources, with the "bully pulpit" of broadcasting bad publicity at his disposal should they not cooperate. (What do you expect from a guy with "bogus" in his name?)

The big guys can usually weather the storm. It's been claimed that Wal*Mart gets sued on average three times a day. And do you know what? They take every single case to court. No out-of-court settlements for them. So, who do you have a better chance of beating? Wal*Mart? Or the Duck Kee Market?

Most everybody likes a good "David and Goliath" story: One where the little guy, against seemingly impossible odds, takes down the big guy, much to everyone's surprise and delight.

The only trouble is that nowadays, the story has gotten somewhat "fuzzy" as to who's who.

I don't know what it is about Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport in that regard where it's been taken on in just about every issue from handicapped access to climate change to coyotes roaming local streets. Sometimes I think some folks look at Tweed as an "easy" challenge, akin to a "gut course" you'd take in school.

As much as the local media tend to portray Tweed as "Goliath" to the neighbors' "David," in reality, it has been only recently that the airport began to shed its image as the "Rodney Dangerfield" of airports; a tiny airport with two runways (now reduced to one) and a small terminal, with never more than three airlines at one time, accommodating mostly non-jet aircraft offering limited service to "hub" airports a short distance away, and with patronage historically in only the tens of thousands.

News platforms like to stage the scenario of just plain folks, waging a spirited battle against a heartless, unfeeling big business behemoth. And while most of the people covered fall into that category of the hoi poloi, the airport's opposition has included machers from days gone by, including a local advertising executive, several Yale professors, and a now-former state representative who is not only an attorney, but is also part owner of a beach club which, by no small coincidence, is right in the approach path to Runway 2. Not exactly the "little guys."

Add to this Save The Sound, an environmental watchdog group, that is currently in court to contest the airport's Environmental Assessment, a study which was given final approval by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Save The Sound's contention is that the airport's EA is flawed (never mind that a consortium of minds with degrees in environmental and ecology studies worked on it), and that the airport's operations will adversely affect the Sound. That's the same Long Island Sound which Save The Sound recently assessed as actually getting better.

Now, there are three other airports in as close or closer proximity to Long Island Sound: Groton-New London Airport, Sikorsky Memorial Airport, and La Guardia Airport, the latter having just undergone a $4 billion makeover. I could not find a single reference to Save The Sound challenging those airports. You've got to admit, taking on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is no small feat.

How curious, then, that Save The Sound concerns itself with two small estuaries such as Morris Creek and Tuttle Brook when the Mill and Quinnipiac Rivers are such that no one dare swim in them. I would love to see a side-by-side study comparing the bodies of water mentioned above. But hey, I guess they need a victory of some kind to show their donors that their donations are hard at work, so it's "Target: Tweed."

I presume many of you are aware of the recent kerfuffle involving the announcement of Avelo Airlines' agreement to fly persons determined by the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be "illegal immigrants" out of the country, and the subsequent protests at Tweed which followed. For those who are unaware, Avelo is a small air carrier which started up in 2021 and has had considerable success in providing service between New Haven and the Florida markets. Avelo's entry into New Haven has given New Haven-area travelers the benefit of fares that are actually competitive with Hartford and New York.

Now I get it that there is indignation directed towards ICE regarding their deportation. Could they have protested in front of ICE headquarters? Sure they could have. And, as Avelo also serves Bradley International Airport, could they have protested there as well? Of course. But they didn't.

My guess is that at either or both of the above-named locations, there would have been swift retaliation on the part of law enforcement. In the case of Bradley, I believe the Connecticut Airports Authority would not allow a protest at Bradley to happen. Too, it helps that the Connecticut State Police have a barracks located there. No, the Connecticut Airports Authority prizes their airport in Windsor Locks, and any protests there would be met by the law...in body armor!

Moreover, at just three miles from Yale University, Tweed is rather convenient, for those students who actually use it, yes, but also to stage a protest. (One can only wonder how many members of the 10,000 Hawks airport opposition group seized the opportunity to be part of the protest.) By the way, similar anti-ICE protests have been stage at other cities served by Avelo.

Question: What if it were a "legacy" carrier (American, United, Delta) that contracted with ICE to fly deportees out of the country. Would there have been demonstrations at Kennedy Airport? At Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta? At O'Hare? Maybe even at Bradley? Probably. But in this case, it's sooooooo much easier to take on a small airport like Tweed and a struggling startup carrier like Avelo. (Sidebar: While the media made every attempt to reveal Avelo as the airline flying non-U. S. citizens out of the country, they were rather lax in providing information as to identifying the airlines flying them in, and when.)

Bottom line: Who are you going to take on? The guy who can beat you? Or the guy you think you can beat?

So, the next time you're reading about a "David and Goliath" story, take a closer look. It just may be more like, "David and Rodney."

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