Impact fees in Hartford were enacted as the era of development expanded in the 1980s in order to have developers share the burden brought to bear on the town by their development. But what about the circumstances when pre-existing buildings have already made their impact and that impact has been paid for through decades of taxes?
In the Davidson case and others (“Developer Says Fees Threaten Plans for White River Junction Apartments,” Aug. 27) the impact is realized by taking an underused building and bringing it ever closer to its full potential. That impact is positive, especially when compared with the alternative — blight and declining tax revenues. The “impact” of Michael Davidson’s project is positive in terms of tax base and enhancing an economy that not only pleases taxpayers but supports surrounding businesses which then can pay more taxes as well.
To impose impact fees in such situations is obviously regressive. Hartford can stay with negative impact (a defunct building) or go with a positive impact that has already been shown to be a certainty.
David Briggs White River Junction
The Republican presidential nominee, along with Sen. Kelly Ayotte and others who intend to vote for him, have done something useful by making us curious about the historic roots of hierarchies of human worthlessness. Here is Benjamin Franklin spreading fear in 1751 about allowing German immigrants who he says, “will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion.” He goes on to express his racism, not only about Africans, but about others having a “swarthy Complexion,” which makes him wish for more “White People.”
Franklin wrote: “why should the Palatine Boors (German immigrants) be suffered to swarm into our Settlements, and by herding together establish their Language and Manners to the Exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion.
“Which leads me to add one Remark: That the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionably very small. All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new Comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted, who with the English, make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth. I could wish their Numbers were increased.”
Like most of the men pictured on our modern currency — clearly excepting Lincoln — Ben Franklin kept people as personal slaves.
My appreciation to all Republicans for the motivation to seek out the forerunners of their fear-based, dehumanizing, racist nominee. In 265 years they have not moved much.
Robert Spottswood Norwich
Stephen Wang’s Aug. 27 piano recital at the Norwich Congregational Church was a welcome opportunity to share in this young Hanover pianist’s virtuosity and musical sensitivity. Whether effortlessly gliding presto through long runs in Beethoven’s 32 Variations and Listz’s La Campanella, or giving emotional voice to the deeply romantic melody that Chopin inserted in the middle of his B minor Scherzo (Op. 20, No. 1), Wang combined technical precision with flowing expression of each composer’s intention.
The program was demanding. The four pieces before the intermission, starting with Kabalevsky’s Rondo in A minor, was followed by the rich texture of Debussy’s Premiere Arabesque, the classical beauty of Haydn’s Presto E minor Sonata, and then the pianist’s display of virtuousity demanded by Chopin’s Scherzo in B minor (Op. 20, No. 1).
After the intermission, RhenéBaton’s Fileuses pres de Carantec from En Bretagne was followed by Schubert’s Impromptu No. 2 (Op. 90), Beethoven’s 32 Variations,” and Liszt’s La Campanella (three better known works in the piano repertoire). Each piece after the intermission seemed to me of growing technical difficulty, but Wang performed all four with clarity and expression.
In reflecting on what I’d heard, it wasn’t hard to understand why this young pianist has already had an impressive concert career not only in the U.S. but in Western Europe as well. Without underestimating the hard work of continuous practice, it’s obvious that Stephen Wang has that innate musical genius that only reaches greatness with training and experience.
Since his demanding program was played entirely from memory, without sheet music, I felt extremely fortunate to have attended this piano recital. I can only recommend that others who organize chamber music or solo piano performances consider including Wang in their offerings. Their audiences are not likely to be disappointed if they have the good fortune to hear a program like this one.
Roger Masters Hanover