Peter's Place

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 1: The Mandate Denied Inside the 7-2 vote, soaring legal bills, and the political war that defined the new council's first meeting. By Peter C. Frank, The Bloomfield Dispatch (Part 1 of an investigative series; read the article that kicked off this investigative series) BLOOMFIELD, Connecticut,  November 16, 2025  — The inaugural meeting of the Bloomfield Town Council on November 10, 2025, was not a celebration of democracy but a masterclass in its subversion. In less than ten minutes, a 7-2 vote by the incumbent majority dismissed the clear will of the voters, a new councilor who ran on a platform of unity voted to suppress the electorate, and the newly re-installed mayor threatened to have dissenting residents ejected from the chamber. This was not an isolated incident. It was the public face of a government defined by a documented culture of financial secrecy, procedural obfuscation, and a fundamental contempt for the very public it claims to serve. I. The Fir...

 Why Veterans Day Lost Its Meaning to the Bottom Line By: Peter C. Frank November 11, 2025 Veterans Day , November 11th, has always been special to me. Today, my bank is closed and the post office is silent. Yet, many local businesses are open, college classes are running, and life moves on with barely a pause. What makes this day even more profound for me is that my own father is a veteran. We observe Veterans Day, but we don't seem to observe the service or sacrifice it represents. Why? Because today, a federal holiday no longer holds its original meaning— national day of rest or reflection . It means only that federal employees get the day off . This erosion of observance is a quiet tragedy for which no one weeps. It speaks volumes about what we, as a nation, prioritize: Commerce always wins, especially over solemn reflection. The History: From Armistice to Acquisition Our confusion is rooted in the history of Veterans Day. It began as Armistice Day in 1919, marking the ...

Zohran Mamdani's Mandate and the Death of the Old Playbook   As John Lennon sang,  Imagine all the people, livin' life in peace... I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one. This week, the world took a step closer toward living as one as the city serving as the world's stage, New York City, elected a person as mayor with that same vision, albeit half a century later. Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory, powered by a record-breaking turnout of over two million voters, was not just an election--it was a mandate. It was a clear, unambiguous declaration from the people that the "same-old, same-old" isn't working anymore. But before this new future can be fully realized there remain many struggles ahead a little bit of housekeeping to take care of. That housekeeping concerns the "establishment playbook"—a cynical set of tactics that says if you can't win on facts, use fear. It’s a playbook that relies on dirty, underhanded tactic...

Voters going to the polls for tomorrow's elections should be aware of a story of great importance regarding potential corruption and unethical practices in the Registrar of Voters office that city officials such as Mayor Bronin and the council would rather be kept quiet. Vanessa Garay-Jackson (fmr) Deputy Republican Registrar of Voters City of Hartford, CT Early last month, the Deputy Republican Registrar of Voters, Vanessa Garay-Jackson, was terminated from her position by the Republican Registrar of Voters, Sheila N. Hall, for no discernable reason other than what appears to be retribution for Garay-Jackson's successful bid against Hall to become the Republican Registrar of Voters. Upon reviewing documents I obtained regarding the termination, Garay-Jackson was initially dismissed from her position by Hall without notice on Friday, September 25, 2020 "effective the close of business today." No reason was provided in the termination notice, signed by Hall. A subseque...

At 9am today, 68 year-old West Hartford resident Sujitno Sajuti must check in with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at JFK Airport in New York City to be deported back to his home country of Indonesia—a land he hasn't seen in nearly 40 years. A practicing Muslim, Sajuti has no ties to any family there, no assets, no anything. Mr. Sujitno Sajuti I have been living here for almost four decades—nearly forty years, more than half my life. If I am sent back to my native country, I wouldn't even recognize it. I have nothing there, I know no one. All my assets are here, in this country. I would have no money, no house, no retirement, no income, no jobs, no pension, no family, no friends, no medical, nothing. I would be an outcast, due to my failure [in completing my PhD program]... I would not be able to help anyone, as I do here. My wife and I enjoy, so much, helping people in our community. I could not work, due to forced retirement age. I would be useless, ju...