Peter's Place

BREAKING: The "Percolation" Protocol Documents Reveal Taxpayer-Funded Surveillance and PR Strategy to "Target" Candidate By Peter C. Frank | The Bloomfield Dispatch The internal records are in. Early this afternoon, former Town Councilor Rickford Kirton provided The Bloomfield Dispatch with a cache of internal documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. These documents confirm that key communications decisions in Bloomfield’s government were deliberate, politically timed, and involved a coordinated effort between the Town Manager, Town Attorney, elected incumbents, and a taxpayer-funded PR firm. THE SURVEILLANCE: The 6-Month Gap To understand the scandal, one must understand the timeline. The controversy centers on a private text message exchange involving Rickford Kirton (who was a private citizen at the time) and Shamar Mahon , who was ...

The Offline Government (Part 2): The Digital Blackout By Peter C. Frank   |   The Bloomfield Dispatch (See also: Breaking News: The Town Manager's Legal Troubles ) The “Shadow Ledger” In Part 5.1 , we analyzed the collapse of cash reconciliation—the Town’s inability to balance its own checkbook for 15 months. But the Finance Director’s letter to the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) reveals a deeper, more systemic failure. It wasn't just that they stopped checking the math; it’s that they stopped using the calculator entirely. Reasons #6 through #10 of the "13 Reasons" paint a picture of a Digital Blackout —a period where the Town of Bloomfield effectively ceased to operate as a modern digital government and reverted to an "Offline" state, running a $100 million corporation on what effectively amounts to loose paper and unverified spreadsheets. But before we analyze the specific failures, we must addr...

BLOOMFIELD, Connecticut  — Town Manager Alvin D. Schwapp, Jr. has officially returned to his post following a period of medical leave. Mr. Schwapp confirmed his active status in an email to The Bloomfield Dispatch on Tuesday afternoon. "I have returned to my duties as Town Manager, that should be understood by all," Schwapp wrote, noting that he is no longer utilizing an automated "Out of Office" response. He emphasized that he has resumed his role as the "CEO for the Town of Bloomfield." The Town Manager had been on Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) since late autumn, during which time Deputy Town Manager Sharron Howe served as Acting Town Manager. The confirmation of his return came during a correspondence regarding The Dispatch’s ongoing investigation into data discrepancies found on the Town’s "Open Finance" portal. Mr. Schwapp intervened in the exchange to clarify that the administration would treat the inquiry as a standard media request ra...

Part 2: The True Cost of Mismanagement By Peter C. Frank , The Bloomfield Dispatch  (Read Part 1 ) BLOOMFIELD, Connecticut, November 24, 2025 - In Part 1 , I discussed the silence of our elected officials in the face of administrative turmoil. In Part 2 , I am breaking that silence to look at the raw numbers. 🚨 BREAKING UPDATE: S&P Confirms "Weaker Management" & Cannot Explain $21M Data Gap [UPDATED 11:40 AM November 25, 2025] - In a response to questions from this reporter, S&P Global Ratings—the agency that assigns Bloomfield's AA+ credit rating—has acknowledged that the town's "management profile... is weaker relative to most higher-rated peers" and confirmed their analysis relies on unaudited financial data. The $21 Million "Phantom" Reduction: Crucially, when pressed to explain a $21.4 million discrepancy between the...