The Daily Five: No Funding For East Lyme Skate Park, Immigrants Honored, and Author! Author!

1. Although inland areas might see a wintry mix this morning with possibly slick roads if you're commuting, in our area we're just likely to see showers. There's a 50 percent chance of rain, according to weather.com, with a daily high temperature of 51 degrees and an overnight low of 41 degrees. 

2. East Lyme's Board of Finance finished its deliberations on the proposed town budget for the coming fiscal year after a long meeting last night. The next step is to present this working document to the public at a hearing. The Public Hearing on the budget was originally scheduled for April 22, but as the town still doesn't have a fix on what revenues will look like, it was rescheduled for April 25.

Connecticut Legislature's Appropriations Committee will make its recommendations April 23, at which point towns should have a better handle on what cuts they can expect in revenues from the state (such as payments in lieu of taxes and Pequot funds) and whether state legislators are likely to do away with the car tax as proposed by Gov. Dannel Malloy. 

3. Parks and Recreation Director David Putnam has plans, at least on paper, for a skatepark in East Lyme. During last year's budget season, the Board of Selectmen opted to take out the $15,000 he requested as seed money for the park but the Board of Finance put it back.

This year, Putnam made the same request again, which would give him a total of $30,000 of the $40,000 he estimated would be needed to get the project started. Once again the Board of Selectmen cut it from the budget but this year, the Board of Finance let the cut stand. 

Board of Finance Committee member Lisa Picarazzi proposed that the Board of Finance add back the money. "I think it's important that kids who are not involved in sports have a place to go and have fun," she said. 

This time around, however, most board members abstained from the vote or voted against it. "With everything we're cutting, I can't support it this year," said Board Chairman Raymond Hart. 

4. Critically acclaimed local author Wally Lamb, founder of the writing program at York Correctional Institute in Niantic, will give people a sneak preview of his upcoming novel We Are Water (scheduled for publication in November 2013) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 12 at the Lyme Congregational Church.

The program is the first in a series of lectures celebrating the Lyme Public Library’s centennial anniversary. You can find out more by reading Lyme Library Director Theresa Conley's excellent blog. 

5. Thousands of people pushing for immigration reform with a view to giving the estimated 11 million people living illegally in the United States a path to citizenship rallied in Washington D.C. yesterday. Today, Governor Malloy will give welcoming remarks at the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition’s annual Connecticut Immigrant Day event at the state Capitol, honoring local immigrants who have made significant contributions to their communities.