Stamford's NAACP Fundraising Dinner March 28

February 23, 2008
STAMFORD - The Stamford NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner has been postponed because of the winter storm. The dinner will be held at 6 p.m. March 28 at the Knights of Columbus St. Augustine Council No. 41 at 453 Shippan Ave. Tickets are $100 and include a one-year NAACP membership. Guests may sponsor a 10-seat table at $5,000, $3,000 or $2,000. Sponsorships reserved for nonprofit groups cost $1,500. For information, call the NAACP Stamford branch at 898-3223.
- - - - - - - -
NAACP leader hopes to set chapter on right course
By Stephen P. Clark Staff Writer
February 21, 2008

STAMFORD - Jack Bryant didn't want to become president of the Stamford NAACP chapter, but after inheriting the job last month from his disgraced predecessor, Jere Eaton, he's convinced it was his destiny.

"God has a way of putting people in places that he wants them," Bryant said. "Here I am."

A 51-year-old Stamford native, Bryant has been with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for eight years, including three as chairman of the Youth and College Division, which he energized by establishing a popular youth choir.

Last year, he helped engineer the revival of the Stamford branch, which was inactive for months and fell below a charter-mandated minimum of 50 members. He was elected first vice president in June in a special election that capped the revival effort.

But as president, he faces his toughest task yet - unify a divided branch that has been staggered by unstable and ineffective leadership. Since 2003, the branch has had six presidents, two of whom were ousted by state or national leaders.

Eaton, who was elected in June, resigned last month after a controversy erupted over her job negotiations with a construction company that managed a work site where nooses were found.

"The branch has had some issues in the past," said Althea Watford, who replaced Bryant as first vice president. "But under the leadership of Jack, with the cooperation of the entire community, it's going to move forward in the direction it should go."

The branch is showing signs of progress.

At 6 p.m. tomorrow, it will host a Freedom Fund dinner, its biggest fundraiser of the year, at the Knights of Columbus St. Augustine Council No. 41 at 453 Shippan Ave.

State Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, is the honorary chairman and Mary Jennings, director of literacy and social studies for the Board of Education, will be the keynote speaker.

Tickets cost $100, which includes annual membership. Organizers expect at least 200 people to attend. Although the dinner is supposed to be held annually, this will be the first since 2000.

"That's why this one is special," Bryant said. "It's the first one in a long time."

At 6 feet, 5 inches tall, Bryant is a towering presence with a laid-back personality and easy smile that puts people at ease.

A graduate of Westhill High School, Bryant earned an associate degree in business management and accounting from The Westchester Business Institute, and a certificate in Christian ministry from the New York Theological Seminary.

He is a lifelong member of Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, from which two other NAACP leaders emerged. Recently he was named national youth adviser for the Progressive National Baptist Convention, an association of Baptist churches around the world that focuses on civil rights and social justice.

Bryant said his faith will be central to his success as president.

"You have to be faith-tested to deal with a community of people with different personalities and agendas," he said. "And my faith in God helps me deal with a lot of situations."

The Rev. Tommie Jackson, pastor of Faith Tabernacle and an adviser to Eaton when she was president, said Bryant's commitment to justice and equal rights won't be enough to succeed.

"I think it's imperative that the branch itself rally around and support Jack in ways that they have not given support to the immediate past presidents in the past 10 years," Jackson said. "If the NAACP is going to be an active player and seen as a real stakeholder who really makes a difference in this community, then the persons who comprise the branch have to say, 'We're with you, Jack.' "

Bryant's two biggest challenges will be overcoming financial problems and "the historical dysfunctionality" of the branch, Jackson said. Bryant will have to collaborate with other organizations that have similar interests and goals, Jackson said.

State NAACP President Scot Esdaile said the Stamford branch has more promise than any of the other 14 branches in the state because of the number of potential corporate donors in the area.

"It has all of the key components of a powerful branch," Esdaile said. At its peak in the 1980s, the branch had more than 1,300 members and was the most powerful one in the state.

"I think Jack has the ability to bring it back to its former glory," Esdaile said.

This year, he will target education, voter registration, affordable housing, and relationships between law enforcement agencies and youths, Bryant said. He intends to expand the historical focus from tackling civil rights issues to developing programs.

"I think you have to give the community something to invest in," Bryant said. "If you have a product that people believe in, people will support you. I hope the programs and assistance will bring out those supporters and let them know that this is not the same branch that was dormant."

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Click here to read more.

Ed Letter: Cameras in Firehouse

To the editor:
Regarding "Security camera plan sparks privacy fight at Stamford firehouse" (news story, Feb. 9): Once again Chief Shawn Fahan is going out of his way to harass the paid firefighters assigned to the Springdale firehouse. Chief Fahan claims the need for cameras after a series of break-ins.

I was assigned to Engine 7 when one of the alleged break-ins occurred. Chief Fahan went out of his way to accuse one firefighter, going as far as having the police interview him. The firefighter accused was not in the firehouse for the entire month as it was his month to travel (work in other firehouses). Chief Fahan then requested the transfer of the same firefighter, citing the break-in as the reason. When confronted with the facts Fahan just mumbled and left the room. Since that did not work, a new excuse to mess with the paid firefighters: Someone is tampering with my fire trucks.

Why would anyone risk their job by vandalizing the Springdale fire trucks or equipment? Fahan states a stethoscope was found damaged. When was the last time that EMS bag was checked? For that matter when was the last time the fire truck was run? Daily, monthly, does anybody know?

Not that long ago Fahan accused the city of not buying new air cylinders and air-paks, because Springdale had no money to buy this important life-saving equipment. Has this vital equipment been purchased or are $10,000 worth of cameras more important? Speaking of money, was this project put out to bid or did Fahan decide, I will pay myself for doing this? I ask one favor of Chief Fahan: Please make sure you have a camera on the watch desk and Engine 52 so the public can see how many volunteers Springdale really has - one to three, not the 20 to 25 you claim. Be careful what you ask for. The public may get to see your true colors.

Kyle Pelley
Bridgeport

The writer is a Stamford firefighter from Group 2, Station 3. Click here to read more.

Ed Letter: Mayor's Spending Disclosure

To the editor:
Our part-time mayor wishes to allocate $21 million to the Board of Education in the interest of "disclosure." This from the same part-time mayor who last year submitted a budget that hid from view the complete reorganization of the volunteer fire departments as well as the shifting of the mill rate from downtown districts to Westover, Springdale, Glenbrook and the north. At the time he said it was "a few pennies a day." Actually it was close to $400 per homeowner and for a fire service we were not actually receiving.

Nonetheless, I applaud the initiative for "full disclosure," that is if he is willing to truly provide full disclosure. What are the full costs for the city's support of the Downtown Special Services District? How much do we really spend in support of the annual parade and the summer concerts? How much does the city truly spend on Smith House, one of only two municipally owned care facilities in the state. What about the cost for the Sterling Farms facilities, Gaynor Brennan, the Early Learning Center at Hillendale? Worthwhile as these may be we deserve an understanding of the full costs. Now that the mayor is into disclosure - how about telling us how much of a liability the city has for unfunded pension and medical costs for current and future retirees on a contract by contract basis?

The new "disclosure mayor" has yet to tell us how he plans to close the forecasted operating deficit. However, I have learned that one approach is to scale back the Department of Operations' maintenance of the baseball fields. Springdale Little League for one will not get access to its field until April 15 as opposed to the normal date of April 1. The result is that this year's Little League schedule has been cut from 20 games to 15. Delayed maintenance? In a year where snow removal has been almost nil? The city is going to balance its budget on the backs of 11- and 12-years-olds?

Maybe if the mayor was in town on a full-time basis he would be better able to deal with the issues here in Stamford.

John Marsalisi

Stamford Click here to read more.

Stamford Police Evidence Room: A Tale of Weapons, Pooh Bear, and a Voodoo Statue

At Stamford police department, every piece of evidence tells a story
By Wynne Parry Staff Writer February 10, 2008

STAMFORD - In 27 years of working in the police department's property room, Sgt. Charles Rondano has watched the numbered shelves fill with objects, some mundane, some haunting, some bizarre.

A sliding gate guards the window behind where most items are neatly bagged or boxed, their whereabouts tracked in a series of black binders.
"As you get into this room, it gets more interesting than it looks on the outside," Rondano said.

Evidence in criminal cases is here, as is prisoners' property, and the lost and found. The oldest evidence entry dates to July 1976. It lists a plastic bag containing a lady's black shoe, a beer can, an arrow point and pages of other entries, all associated with the murder of a young woman found partially buried in a potter's field in North Stamford. She had been shot or stabbed twice with arrows more than a week before three visitors discovered her body.

A note posted over the first evidence sheet indicates that the only suspect subsequently was killed.
The primary suspect, the victim's boyfriend, shot a police officer and was killed in a liquor store robbery in September 1976. But a recent investigation by The Advocate found police failed to follow a lead involving the nephew of two officers.

All criminal evidence stays carefully packaged in labeled boxes and bags until a judge orders the property room to dispose of it. This murder case has remained open, so the artifacts of the crime could remain here indefinitely.

Unclaimed lost items and prisoner's property, meanwhile, can sit on the shelves for 30 days or longer before they are destroyed. After that, liquids go down the toilet, drugs go to a Bridgeport incinerator and other solids go in the garbage, Rondano said.

A few items Rondano has chosen to keep. A stuffed Winnie the Pooh overlooks the front of the property room. The bear has no tag connecting him with a case.

Rondano tells a story of a burglary suspect returning to a house to take this bear, only to be arrested. If he had only left the bear, he would have escaped. Rondano keeps the bear to comfort children who come through on tours.

Tours also include a glimpse at a variety of weapons: real, homemade and toys that bear a frightening resemblance to the real thing.

Everyday items also can become weapons.

A weathered piece of wood sticks out from a collection of baseball bats. A Ziploc bag attached to its top shows a snapshot of a pale, expressionless woman's face with faint bruising around her mouth.

A shovel, its head covered in brown paper, also is part of the collection. The shovel is evidence in a case in which a baby was buried in a back yard in 2002. After a teenage girl gave birth in her bathroom of her family's home on Erskine Road, her boyfriend buried the baby's body in a shallow grave he had dug behind the garage of his family's Glenbrook Road home. The medical examiner could not determine if the baby was alive at birth, so no warrant could be issued.

Items like this, which could remain in the room forever, frustrate Rondano. He doesn't want the evidence to outgrow the space while the cases remain in limbo. But the flow of items in surpasses those on their way out. Rondano estimates that within a year or two, the property room will run out space.

"The most interesting part is when everything falls into place," he said.

But that doesn't always happen. Like the black shoe and the arrow point, a wooden footstool filled with coins - mostly pennies - and a few crumpled bills from 1978 still waits on the shelf. The final order from the court telling Rondano how to dispose of it has never arrived.

Other items can be kept for different reasons. Since being found in a parking lot, a human-size voodoo statue near the entrance has remained. Rondano is hesitant to discard the statute because of its religious nature, but no one wants to take it - possibly for the same reason.

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Click here to read more.

Cameras in Springdale Firehouse

Security camera plan sparks privacy fight at Stamford firehouse
By Natasha Lee Staff Writer--February 9, 2008

STAMFORD - The union for paid firefighters has filed a grievance with the city over the installation of security cameras at the volunteer Springdale Fire Co., saying it's an illegal invasion of privacy.

The Stamford Professional Fire Fighters Association, which has 16 members working in the Springdale firehouse, says the security cameras will create a "big brother" environment and make paid firefighters uncomfortable.

Springdale Fire Chief Shawn Fahan said the security system is necessary to ensure the safety of paid and volunteer firefighters after a series of break-ins, thefts and tampering with firetrucks and equipment. The system would include 14 cameras to be placed in two kitchens, two lounge rooms, the garage and several hallways and exits, Fahan said.

The union said it was never notified of the surveillance system and learned about it only after a paid firefighter saw Fahan on a ladder in the firehouse and asked what he was doing, union President Brendan Keatley said. The union filed the grievance Jan. 29.

Fahan said the Springdale board of directors consulted with its attorney and has the legal right to install security cameras. He obtained permits and is waiting for approval from the board, said he has.

"I think they may be jumping the gun a little bit by filing a grievance when something hasn't even been installed. We still have time to notify them," Fahan said. "We're not being sneaky. All cameras are going to be in plain view of everyone."

Because of financial hardship and a decline in volunteer membership, the firehouse on Hope Street has been staffed by Stamford Fire & Rescue personnel since 1997. Like the city's four other volunteer departments, Springdale relies on paid city firefighters to respond to calls, and city funding to operate the firehouse.

But Keatley said cameras in communal areas are intrusive and could create a hostile work environment. When not responding to calls, firefighters spend most of their time in the station's day rooms, where they can watch TV, eat meals, nap and relax. Keatley said he also worries the footage could end up on YouTube.com and other Web sites.

Firefighters will feel like they're being harassed, Keatley said.

"We're not working in a correctional facility. If you want to put cameras in a room where we spend the majority of our time, that's a problem," Keatley said. Fahan is "just trying to make us uncomfortable in the workplace."

Fahan said his department is liable for employee safety and must take action. There have been reports of stolen furniture, a damaged garage door and tampering with fuel lines on a volunteer fire engine, Fahan said.

"We're not pointing the finger at anybody. We don't know who's doing it, and that's why we have to put these cameras in so we can find out," he said.

Since last spring, the door to the engineer room, which houses mechanical tools and diesel fuel, was pried open and damaged three times, Fahan said. Nothing was stolen. Police investigated the third break-in, but have no leads, Fahan said.

Volunteers will turn on an engine and find the switches that control the sirens, lights and windshield wipers have been left on, or the doors have been opened, Fahan said. Last fall, volunteers reported reaching into a medical bag for a stethoscope only to find they had been damaged, Fahan said. Last month, a career firefighter reported finding a pig's foot in his ice cream, Fahan said.

The incidents cost Springdale about $5,000 in damages and repairs, he said. His department reported the incidents to the city and Stamford Fire & Rescue but stopped after nothing was done, Fahan said.

"It's very difficult to have any type of dialogue with them regarding this because right away they would take it personally and say we're pointing the finger at them. We just have to keep our eyes and ears open and check our equipment," he said.

Stamford Fire & Rescue Chief Robert McGrath said he supports the union's stance and feels Fahan is acting irrationally. McGrath said Fahan's claims of tampering and theft have been investigated and are unfounded.

"It's another means of harassment by Chief Shawn Fahan attempting to start a confrontation with paid firefighters that are working there and get us to leave," McGrath said.

McGrath said he understands Fahan's concerns but there should be boundaries. None of his department's five firehouses has security cameras, McGrath said.

"He can put up as many cameras as he wants. But to put them where they live is totally uncalled for. It may be legal in his mind, but it's certainly not right," McGrath said.

Paid and volunteer firefighters at Springdale have had a contentious relationship that led to labor complaints and lawsuits. The incident comes on the heels of a public spat between Fahan and several paid firefighters in December. According to McGrath and union officials, Fahan reportedly locked four career firefighters out of the firehouse during a dispute over use of the radio system.

City attorney Thomas Cassone said it's not illegal to install security cameras in a workplace, but there's a fine line between public and private.

"I don't think there's a hard and fast rule, but there is a balancing between an employee's privacy interest, especially in the context of a firefighting job where you essentially live in the place of employment for part of your life," Cassone said.

Fahan said the digital security system would record footage that could be stored up to 36 days then automatically deleted, unless an administrator asked for it to be saved. The cameras would not be manned. The security system would cost about $10,000, Fahan said.

It is unclear whether taxpayers would pay for the system or volunteers will raise funds. That decision is made by the Springdale board of directors and board of finance, he said.

Walt Magalnick, a member of both boards, declined comment.

"That's our business, and I'm not at liberty to discuss it," Magalnick said.

Public Safety Director William Callion said he sent a letter to Springdale board President Bruce Vukson and awaiting a response. Vukson could not be immediately reached for comment. Callion, McGrath and Keatley hope the situation can be mediated.

"We're trying to get it resolved," Callion said.

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Click here to read more.

Local Movie Star Discounts

Take note, and eat out more often if you know a movie's being filmed in Stamford or Greenwich!

Discounts give more reasons to film in state
By Peter Healy, Staff Writer
February 8, 2008

The Connecticut Film Center wants stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro to get discounts from local restaurants and merchants when they and their support staff film movies locally.

The center this week introduced the CFC Cast & Crew Card. All visiting cast and crew members filming in Connecticut can get the card, which offers product and service discounts from area businesses.

"It will get these casts and crew members to spend money at local establishments," the center's President and Founder Kevin Segalla said. "At any given time, we could have 750 to 1,500 cast and crew people in the area. Business owners see a bump in revenue and activity and filmmakers get a discount."

Six to seven movies will be filming in the area this spring, he said. Currently, "Confessions of a Shopaholic" is filming in Stamford and Norwalk. Segalla said the card is part of the center's comprehensive production concierge service, which aims to make filming more convenient in this area.

He said every production boosts the local economy because film crews and actors use hotels, gas stations, restaurants, retail stores and other businesses.

"This discount card will help to focus and energize the huge multiplier effect from the filmmaking industry's production dollars to ensure that local merchants get maximum benefit," Segalla added. "We have been getting a lot of requests for the card. We expect to give out 2,500 to 3,000 of them."

He said nearly 100 local businesses have entered the discount card program since it was first test-marketed last summer. Merchants include retailers, restaurants, fitness centers, car washes and dry cleaners. The businesses are in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield and New Haven.

Segalla said the card will augment Connecticut's 30 percent tax credit for film, television or digital animation productions in the state that cost more than $50,000.

Business leaders and merchants endorsed the card.

"We have seen a lot of film production activity in the greater Stamford area," said Jack Condlin, president and chief executive officer of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce and a commissioner with the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

"The CFC discount card program is a terrific welcome sign for production companies with significant financial resources and helps keep those dollars with local merchants," Condlin said.

"We saw a clear increase in our business as a direct result of the CFC program," said Steve Montello, owner of the Stamford-based Property Group and a partner in the Grand and Saltwater Grille restaurants in Stamford. "It is starting to be repeat business because the same large studios are coming back with new movies in production."

The center provides services and facilities for the motion picture industry. Its clients include DreamWorks, Paramount, Walt Disney Co., Weinstein Co. and Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Click here to read more.

My Dancing Nemesis: Latin Dance Article

This is an article about a dance teacher I suspect may be the same one who made me cry.

Latin twist: Dance party will get you moving
By Beth Cooney, Staff Writer, February 7, 2008


Enrique Alarcon is a dancer who likes a new spin.

When the Peruvian native began teaching dance workout classes in Fairfield County five years ago, he used traditional Latin steps such as the salsa, cha cha and meringue to get the hips and heart rates of his students pumping.

The 29-year-old dancer, who emigrated from South America as a teenager, created a cult following in the process.

Alarcon now teaches more than 20 Latin dance fitness classes a week in clubs from Stamford to Fairfield including the New York Sports Club in Stamford and Norwalk as well as the Southport Racquet Club.

When Alarcon created a show for his private dance company he did not want the evening to be, "Just watching me dancing and then you go home. I hate when you go to watch a dance show, it ends and all you want to do is move. I think it's frustrating and as a dancer, I want you to be inspired to dance, too."

When Alarcon and his dancers take the stage in the warehouse at Fairfield Theatre Works tomorrow, he says his show will be inclusive. "I don't know how to say this nicely, but Connecticut can be a little boring. I want to heat things up a bit."

The twist to "Enrique Alarcon's Latin Dance Party," will be that when the show ends, the star and his partner, Amanda Parton, will lead an extended dance class. Cocktails will flow and, "We are going to show you some of our moves and how to do them. Then we are going to have a great DJ and everyone, we hope, is going to get up and dance with us. All the performers will be on the floor engaging with the audience. We envision it being like a big dance party where we are joined by our friends."

The evening will begin with a dance performance by Alarcon, Parton and a company of select dancers he has chosen to create specific pieces.

"All of my dancers have very different backgrounds, from ballet to Latin. I always choose very charismatic dancers, but they bring a very different perspective to what I do as a Latin dancer. I like to bring all those things to a dance and see where it goes."

"We will have group and partner dances. There will be cha cha, salsa, meringue and jive. I like to mix ballet with my jazz training and South American influences and see what happens. It is all going to be very different, explosive and great to watch and learn."

In Spanish, he says he hopes the show will be erotico (sexy) jubiloso (hilarious) and even a little loco (crazy). "You can sit and watch, but please, come ready to dance," he says.

*

what: Enrique Alarcon's Latin Dance Party

when: Tomorrow, 8 p.m. (doors open at 7:30)

where: Fairfield Theatre Works, 70 Sanford Ave.

price: $32 for members, $37 for nonmembers

contact: 259-1036 or www.fairfieldtheatre.org

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Click here to read more.