The passage and signing of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s 2011-13 biennial budget last week did not ease uncertainty for many state employees and entire commissions, which stand to be reduced and/or eliminated when lawmakers begin figuring out how to distribute the money — and supporters of at least one commission are hoping to survive the shuffle.Mitchell Pearlman, former executive director of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC), said in an interview Monday that he remains worried that a planned restructuring of agencies in Malloy’s budget will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the commission. But with budget numbers and implementer bills yet to be worked out, he acknowledged that anything can happen in the coming weeks.“The latest news I have is the state has budgeted for a new Office of Governmental Accountability (OGA), and de-funding certain agencies will go into that,” Pearlman said in a phone interview. “I don’t know if it’s gone so far as to even say it’s a concept. They want to join agencies together for economy and efficiency purposes, but I’m not sure they’ve worked out anything.”The Malloy administration announced weeks ago that it was planning to form the OGA, a new umbrella agency which would include the FOIC and four other agencies — the Contracting Standards board, Ethics Commission, State Elections Enforcement Commission and Judicial Review board — and would share one commissioner. That commissioner would oversee three divisions — legal affairs and enforcement, public affairs and services and business operations.“They keep talking about sharing back-office functions, but I haven’t seen any organizational chart,” Pearlman said. “The original proposal had five agencies, but another had 11 agencies. I don’t even know who’s in and who’s out.”Gov. Malloy’s budget boasts that it cuts the total number of state agencies and commissions from 81 to 57, through reorganization and consolidation, but implementer bills must be debated and passed in the Connecticut General Assembly to put any of the plans into practice.“The only problem with the implementers is they come out at the last minute and legislators often don’t know what they’re voting on,” Pearlman said. “Often times, the legislation has problems, and there is a lack of transparency in the process. It could end up being even worse for the Freedom of Information Commission.”The good news, Pearlman said, is he has had discussions with Malloy Chief of Staff Tim Bannon regarding the proposed restructuring and has raised many of the concerns that members of the press have raised since hearing about the possible cuts to FOIC. “He’s listened to the media’s concerns with the concept of the bill and took note of the real problems that we saw. His comment was that they will attempt to do nothing that will harm the mission of the Freedom of Information Commission.”Pearlman said he doesn’t believe the Malloy administration is interested in damaging freedom of information in Connecticut, and he hopes negotiations will come to a mutually acceptable conclusion. “I take the governor at his word that they’re looking at reinventing government to make it more efficient and cost-effective. The problem is they’re looking at some agencies that simply don’t belong together, and some of the restructuring would politicize agencies that are non-political organizations.”Residents who are concerned about the future of FOIC or any other commission still have time to contact the governor’s office and their local legislators and ask them to pay specific attention to the issue. “The important thing is to contact them and say, ‘We think the Freedom of Information Commission has done what it’s supposed to do,’” Pearlman said. “If anything politicizes the organization, it will really harm the process, and God knows we’ve had enough scandals in politics and government to make what’s there necessary.”
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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