DERBY -- In addition to casting votes for candidates on the federal and state levels, voters are being asked to vote yes or no on seven proposed changes to the Derby Charter.

In this episode of Navel Gazing: The Valley Indy Podcast, Derby Alderman Rob Hyder goes through the questions with Valley Indy reporter Eugene Driscoll.

Election Day is Nov. 3. The Derby charter questions will appear on the backside of the ballots in Derby.

Election Day is Nov. 3!

Sharing their thoughts and making predictions on all the Valley races are:

Stephan Behuniak, chairman of the Seymour Town Democratic Committee.

Leslie Navarrete, former chairwoman of the Ansonia Town Democratic Committee.

Judy Szewczyk, member of the Derby Town Republican Committee since 2001.

Dr. Jonathan Wharton, former chairman of the New Haven Republicans and an associate professor of political science and urban affairs at Southern Connecticut State University.

Host: Eugene Driscoll of ValleyIndy.org

Sponsored by ValleyGivesBack.org

DERBY -- Art Gerckens, husband, father of two, former Alderman, Vikings fan, and postal expert, comes on the Valley Indy podcast to talk about "Postal Biz Buzz," his refreshingly entertaining podcast about all things mail.

Note: an earlier version of this podcast misstated a fact regarding absentee ballots . . . the ballots are treated as first-class mail.

The misstatement was cut and the episode was uploaded again.

Click play!

Sponsored by ValleyGivesBack.org.

Due to technical issues beyond my pay grade, I  had to split my interview with Andrew Baklik into two parts. This is Part II, in which Baklik talks development and charter revision.

Baklik is Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan's chief of staff.

Andrew Baklik, Mayor Rich Dziekan's chief of staff, gives an update on the COVID-19 situation within Derby City Hall.

Dziekan announced Monday (Oct. 12) that he had tested positive. Baklik said since that announcement, one additional City Hall employee has tested positive.

The mayor is recovering at home, as is the second employee.

Derby City Hall was closed Monday (for Columbus Day) and did not open to the public or employees on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Baklik also talks about a move to sell a Derby eyesore so that it can be redeveloped and put back on the tax rolls, and he gives an update on a mixed-use project approved earlier this year for the redevelopment zone.

A technical mishap caused Part I  of this interview to end abruptly. The final, 12 minutes of this podcast is available as a separate podcast (Part II).

In this week’s episode of “Navel Gazing: The Valley Indy Podcast,” Rebbeca Toms of The Valley United Way joins the broadcast to talk about two important issues:

1. This year’s ‘Harvest House,’ which is taking place virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. The 2020 “ALICE Report,” which gives a glimpse of how local families are doing locally (spoiler alert: many of us are one emergency away from financial ruin)

Links:

Info about Harvest House: https://valleyunitedway.org/harvest-house/

Read the ALICE Report: https://alice.ctunitedway.org/downloadreport/

Select ALICE lower Naugatuck Valley, CT info: https://www.scribd.com/document/478962215/ALICE-Valley-Data