Stamford Talk Resources

A Little Bit of "Meet the Bloggers" Article

2008-08-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

Meet the bloggers: Online community reaches beyond the Web
By Elizabeth Kim, Stamford Advocate, 08/04/2008

STAMFORD - ...The blogosphere has become a full-fledged social networking scene where acquaintances can be struck through the chatter of posted comments. In Stamford, bloggers are forging a real-life community out of a virtual one - they are closing their laptops, stepping out of their pajamas and taking their online friendships offline.

The monthly gatherings, which began last June, were arranged by two Stamford residents - Kristine Redlien, a 33-year-old Greenwich middle school teacher who dishes news and gossip at www.stamfordtalk.com, and Lambert, a 37-year-old marketing executive who writes a wry and unflinching perspective on motherhood at www.managermom.blogspot.com.

Redlien said it was "surprisingly easy" to form a community of bloggers. She said she moved to Stamford seven years ago and knows how lonely the city can be. "In a way, I'm re-creating the life I had in college, where there was a lot of free time to meet people," she said.

The group keeps growing, bringing together a mix of people that otherwise might never have met.

On Thursday night, for example, the attendees included Adam Bernard, a music journalist who blogs about the state of hip hop; Kevin McKeever, a freelance writer who offers his humorous take on being a stay-at-home father; Nate Dean, a computer programmer who mulls over topics in philosophy and math; and Chris Schoenfeld, an entrepreneur who rants about inefficiencies of Metro-North Railroad.

To differing degrees, the bloggers are celebrities among themselves.

As newcomers dribbled in and introduced themselves, McKeever, 40, sipping a beer, needed only to utter his online alias, Always Home & Uncool, to elicit recognition.

"Oh, you're Home & Uncool? I love your blog!'" shrieked a blogger and mother.

Many had never met, but the awkwardness seemed minimal.

Members discovered that blogging transcends geographic boundaries. For instance, Taft, who works in Hartford and lives in Ellington, drove two hours in rush-hour traffic to make it to last week's get-together.

- Staff Writer Elizabeth Kim can be reached at elizabeth.kim@scni.com or at 964-2265.

Hot Topic: More Airplanes Over Our Towns?

2008-07-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me to care about things that have not yet happened, but I am glad other people in the area are more proactive.

People air FAA frustrations
By Neil Vigdor Greenwich Time 07/02/2008

NORWALK - Fairfield County residents vented their frustrations over aircraft noise last night to Christopher Dodd, Christopher Shays, Richard Blumenthal and other elected officials during a public hearing on the Federal Aviation Administration's controversial rerouting plan for the region.

Wilton resident Joe Farhi shook his head in disbelief when told the plan could increase the number of flights over the area by 300 to 500 per day, complaining that he can't enjoy the peace and quiet of his yard 90 percent of the time.

"I can't imagine it getting any worse than it is. It's ridiculous,"

Farhi told federal, state and local officials during the two-hour hearing at Norwalk City Hall.

The new routes are supposed to save 200,000 hours of delays per year at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York, Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey and Philadelphia airports by 2011, according to the FAA. One controversial aspect of the plan would shift arrivals for LaGuardia Airport east over Fairfield County from the current track over Westchester County.

Allan Weinstein, a Pound Ridge, N.Y., resident, told officials that he is worried about the plan's impact on quality of life.

"People move to these communities for quiet, peacefulness and to raise their children," Weinstein said.

Dodd, the state's senior U.S. senator, threatened during the hearing to cut the FAA's budget if the agency doesn't delay its controversial plan to reroute air traffic over the region.

Dodd accused the FAA of ignoring two letters he sent them more than a year ago expressing grave concerns over the plan and requesting information on the number of flights rerouted over Connecticut, their frequency, altitude and noise levels.

"That is arrogance," Dodd said. "We demand some answers to these questions."

A message seeking comment from the FAA was left with an agency spokeswoman.

A 13-town alliance that includes Norwalk, Stamford and Greenwich sued the FAA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District of New York in early November, arguing that the agency failed to take residents' noise and other environmental concerns into account when developing new flight paths.

Connecticut filed a similar lawsuit against the FAA the same day over the plan, which was adopted by the federal agency in September and could start being implemented in January 2009. The lawsuits are being consolidated into a single case.

"Let no one doubt, when the state of Connecticut files a lawsuit, we don't walk away from it," said Blumenthal, the state's attorney general and a Greenwich resident. "As your lawyer, I want to be blunt and honest with you, the FAA is no pushover."

The FAA would be forced to wait until the lawsuits are resolved before rerouting planes under an appropriations amendment that Dodd could propose later this year

If the controversial plan is allowed to go forward, "what is today an outcry, will be a revolution on your hands," Dodd said at a news conference earlier in the day.

Shays, the longtime congressman for Fairfield County, said he regularly gets complaints from constituents about aircraft noise.

"They are literally having to go inside on a Sunday and (can't)) enjoy their homes because the noise is ridiculous," Shays said.

The FAA has said that it held more than 100 public hearings before adopting the plan, including one in Stamford. That was of little consolation to Fairfield County officials, however.

"We all want to reduce delays, but this is really not the way to solve (this)," Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff said at a news conference earlier in the day. "Arrogance has no place in government."

Dodd questioned the fruitfulness of the hearings, saying that he was told that they were more informational.

"Welcome to the hearing that the FAA never had," Dodd said. "All they did was make us listen to them."

The 13-town Alliance for Sensible Airspace Planning claims that noise levels will increase dramatically throughout much of southwestern Connecticut, quadrupling in places such as New Canaan, Wilton and Ridgefield, if the new routes are allowed to go into effect.

Darien Selectman Callie Sullivan said residents in her town are also concerned about the environmental effects of routing planes at lower altitudes over the busy Interstate 95 corridor.

"We have a tremendous amount of pollution," Sullivan said at a news conference earlier in the day.

One factor that could have a major influence on how the alliance proceeds is the upcoming release of a report on the new routing plan by the federal Government Accountability Office. The report, which is due July 31, will look at whether the FAA followed the proper process for developing the plan, as well as the environmental and economic impact of the new routes.

Negative-Toned Article about Stamford Police

2008-07-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Police efforts to cut gas costs fail; department goes $200K over budget
By Stephen P. Clark Stamford Advocate 07/07/2008

STAMFORD - Despite efforts to save on gas costs, the police department spent nearly $200,000 more than budgeted in the last fiscal year, which ended last week.

Police officials attempted to cut costs by requiring officers to walk their beats and team up in squad cars more often, and by banning them from idling. But it wasn't enough to keep the gas budget from jumping to nearly $500,000 - up from $227,000 in 2005-06 and $381,000 in 2006-07.

Skyrocketing gas prices and the nature of police work are to blame, department officials said.

"If you want to cover the city and keep it one of the safest in the nation, we need to have police cars out there 24-7," said Lt. Sean Cooney, a department spokesman. "An aggressive patrol is one of the ways we keep Stamford safe. That requires a large amount of gasoline."

The department has a gas budget of $434,000 this fiscal year, but Cooney said it is likely that will not be enough. The city buys gas at a discount as part of a program that includes other municipalities in lower Fairfield County. Stamford locked in gas prices at $3.28 per gallon and diesel at $3.94 per gallon for three months until August.

Besides gasoline costs, the police department is struggling to control overtime spending, which reached a record high of $4.8 million the last three fiscal years. The city is trying to fill a new civilian position to oversee police spending. But the only candidate offered the job, which pays $79,000 to $102,000 per year plus benefits, turned it down.

Last fiscal year, the police department started with a gas budget of $292,000. But the department needed a $100,000 appropriation, which city board approved in March, to cover a shortfall. The department finished the fiscal year with another $100,000 deficit, which will be offset by savings from other accounts, including one for recruiting and hiring, Cooney said.

The department used about 165,000 gallons last fiscal year for 150 police vehicles, including boats, motorcycles and vans. City and police officials last week could not provide the number of gallons used in previous fiscal years.

Chief Brent Larrabee earlier this year told the Board of Representatives Fiscal Committee that shift commanders instructed officers to park their patrol cars for one hour on each shift and walk to reduce fuel consumption. The initiative is called "park and walk," which helps officers get to know their beats and gather information about drug dealing and other crimes.

Larrabee also said that the number of two-officer cars jumped by about 25 percent in recent months.

The initiatives are "good police work" but have a "marginal impact" on conserving gas, Cooney said.

Officers have been employing "park and walk" techniques for years, Cooney said.

"We've encouraged officers to do that when their workload permits," he said. "You get out the car, talk to people and develop relationships. You'll see things just by standing on a driveway that you won't see driving by in a police car."

But "park and walk" isn't practical if officers are constantly responding to 911 calls, he said.

"The problem is we're understaffed. The workload doesn't permit it," he said. "We can't require people to park and walk if they're too busy."

Requiring officers to team up in cars also poses problems, Cooney said.

"This is something we've encouraged for a long time. Pick a partner and do so," he said. "But we're not going to make people ride together who don't want to."

Sgt. Joseph Kennedy, head of the police union, said officers are encouraged to team up for safety reasons.

"If there are ways for the city to save on fuel costs, I'm all for it," Kennedy said. "But if we're talking about why I would want a two-man car, the energy side would be low on the totem pole."

The most impractical initiative is banning officers from idling cars, Cooney said.

"You need to have the air conditioner in the summer and heating in the winter," he said. "It's very problematic to tell a police officer while he's sitting in his car to turn his car off."

Linda Cannady, vice chairwoman of the Fiscal Committee, said the department's reversal on the effectiveness of the initiatives is puzzling.

"I'm lost at how they decided they're good initiatives if they're not working," she said. "They need to come up with some initiatives that could work, and enforce them."

Cannady said she wants to know whether officers use patrol cars for personal reasons.

"If they do, that's something that could be cut out," she said.

Kennedy said a township in New Jersey places a surcharge on speeding tickets and uses that revenue to pay for gas.

"That's one way to do it," he said. "You're only assessing the fines to people who break the law."

Cannady said she is skeptical that police will find ways to save on gas costs.

"I don't think the initiatives will be enforced, No. 1," she said. "And every initiative that gets presented, they already have reasons for not implementing them, so what's the point?"

Cooney said police are always thinking of ways to save on gas costs but there is a bigger picture.

"Let's remember that our practices have led to one of the safest cities in the nation for almost 10 years," he said. "So let's not mess with that."

July 9 Police Blotter

2008-07-10T04:45:00.000-07:00

Police blotter Stamford Advocate 07/10/2008
Stamford
Arrests:

* Megan Guiffra, 23, of 16 Depinedo Ave., Stamford, was charged yesterday with violation of a protective order, third-degree criminal mischief and second-degree breach of peace.

* Cynthia Olmstead, 41, of 79 Manhattan St., Stamford, was charged yesterday with possession of drug paraphernalia within 1,500 feet of a school, housing or day care, and interfering with an officer or resisting arrest.

* Natasha Pennywell, 25, of 13 Lipton Place, Stamford, was charged yesterday with first-degree failure to appear in court.

* Radine Winston, 52, of 198 Custer St., Stamford, was charged yesterday with first-degree failure to appear in court.

* Juan Cardona, 36, of 55 Lockwood Ave., was charged Tuesday with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct.

* Anikenko Guthrie, 35, of 85 Main St., East Haddam, was charged Tuesday with second-degree failure to appear in court.

* Edris Jolicoeur, 27, of 62 Reynolds Ave., Stamford, was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit credit card theft, credit card fraud, conspiracy to commit illegal use of a credit card, sixth-degree larceny and credit card theft by transfer.

* Amos Kendrick, 37, of 40 Stillwater Ave., Stamford, was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit credit card theft, credit card fraud, conspiracy to commit illegal use of a credit card, sixth-degree larceny and credit card theft by transfer.

* Melvin Murphy, 49, who gave his address as the homeless shelter on Pacific Street, was charged Tuesday with second-degree breach of peace.

* Misael Rivera, 21, of 12 Frederick St., Stamford, was charged Tuesday with sixth-degree larceny.

* Robert Ross, 62, of 19 Orchard St., Stamford, was charged Tuesday with second-degree breach of peace.

* Christopher Simonelli, 18, of 28 Pine Hill Ave., Stamford, was charged Tuesday with second-degree failure to appear in court.

* Tasheem Stephens, 25, of 86 Courtland Ave., the Bronx, N.Y., was charged Tuesday with risk of injury to a child and disorderly conduct.

* Sydney Thompson, 47, of 48 Fair St., Norwalk, was charged Tuesday with possession of narcotics and possession within 1,500 feet of a school, housing or day care.

The Bartlett Arboretum is Awesome!!!

2008-07-09T04:07:00.000-07:00

Bartlett's legacy lives on at preserve
By Rebecca Haynes Weekend Editor Stamford Advocate

You can hike the Black Birch Trail or wander through the Sundial Garden. Or if you prefer, stroll down Azalea Road or take a walk to the Meadow.

With names so inviting and scenery to match, it's hard not to relax on the grounds of Stamford's Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens, a 91-acre preserve on Brookdale Road that is a refuge and educational resource.

"It's so nice and peaceful here," Stamford resident Delia Fine said on a recent sunny morning, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper while sitting in an Adirondack chair under the shade of a Korean Evodia Rutaceae tree. "It's a great spot, whether you want to walk your dog or just read the paper. What they do here with trees and plants is extraordinary. More people need to know about it and support it."

Fine said she people-watches during her sojourns to the arboretum once a week or more.

"One day, I felt like I wandered into 'The Sound of Music' when I looked and there was a group of nuns in their habits jogging by," she said. "It's worth the drive over. Fairfield County is pretty fortunate to have a place like this."

Originally the home and research laboratory of Francis Bartlett, the property, then 64 acres, was purchased in 1965 by the state and designated as the Connecticut State Arboretum. Bartlett, founder of the F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Co. and a noted dendrologist, used the property as his home, training school and research laboratory. He assembled a large collection of woody plant specimens from all over the world and created a hybridized blight-resistant chestnut tree now named for him.

After the state bought the property, volunteers spearheaded its transition to the Bartlett Arboretum, creating a foundation that would become the Bartlett Arboretum Association. When it opened in 1966, the grounds were managed by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Operations and programming were managed by the University of Connecticut's Department of Plant Science.

In 2001, the city obtained the title to the land and turned over management responsibility to the Bartlett Arboretum Association. An adjacent 27 acres of city property was added, bringing the total acreage to 91.

Today, 15 acres are lawns and formal gardens. The remaining land includes 10 hiking trails, a 7-acre Red Maple wetland, a pond and a 3-acre wildflower meadow. The arboretum showcases collections of conifers, Champion trees, nut trees and pollarded trees - deciduous trees kept small and compact through rigorous pruning.

The method is common in Europe and Asia and was begun on the property by Bartlett to study pest management, said Jack Dillon, arboretum executivedirector.

"They also provide a really cool-looking sculptural garden," Dillon said.

The most valuable tree on the property is a weeping Japanese hemlock, he said. The tree is a graft created by Bartlett, who inserted a hemlock shoot into the base of a butternut tree. The new tree thrived under Bartlett's care and is now about 80 years old.

Aside from gardens that feature native plants, the arboretum has a tropical garden with plants from Asia and South America.

"Essentially, we want to show people as much diversity as possible," said Eric Morgan, plant collections manager.

Guided hikes and tours are offered regularly. Informal classes on horticulture and gardening also are offered. School and Scout programs engage young people. There also are classes for professional horticulturists.

A farmer's market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will be offered each Wednesday through September. Summer Music Sundays presents classical music from 10 to 11 a.m., featuring students from the Yale Graduate School of Music. Evening concerts from 5 to 7 p.m. will feature The Wilfers on Sunday; Richard "Cookie" Thomas, July 20; Orrin Star & The Sultans of String, July 27; Ellen Woloshin & Jim Dawson, Aug. 3; Citigrass, Aug. 10; Big Apple'achia, Aug. 17; and Red Molly, Aug. 24. Sunday morning concerts are free with garden admission; evening concerts are $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers and free for ages 16 and younger.

A summer camp program also is under way.

Todd DuPont, director of summer camps, led a group of Saplings - 4- and 5-year-olds - on a nature walk recently. As he helped the young hikers over the rocks embedded in the Rose A. Thielens Memorial Nature Walk and Trail, he began answering questions and reinforcing the themes he raised during their classroom time.

"I see the blue thing," one camper said as the group made its way up the trail, pointing to a small blue triangle painted on a tree.

"What is the blue thing?" DuPont asked, drawing their attention to the trail marker.

Singing birds, buzzing bees, groups of damselflies, chipmunk holes and animal tracks all held the attention of the six small campers during their walk, which included a jaunt through the Red Maple swamp, courtesy of a boardwalk that keeps hikers from getting wet.

"Look at the dragonflies," one young charge said as campers grabbed the binoculars hanging around their necks for a closer look. "No, they're damselflies," said another.

"Is there any butterflies?" one camper asked DuPont.

"If you look for trees with flowers, then you'll see bees and butterflies," DuPont said.

Kate Sutin of Stamford brings her son, Peter, 3, every Wednesday, when admission is free. Recently, they walked through the Sundial Garden, looking at the flowers in bloom.

"He likes the flowers and the trails, the pond and the tulip trail," Sutin said. "He loves the greenhouse the most. My son loves everything that grows. Every day he says, 'Mom, I want to plant something.' "

- Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens, 151 Brookdale Road, is open year-round from 8:30 a.m. to sunset. The Visitors Center, which houses a small art gallery and a horticultural resource library, is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday but closed on national holidays. Leashed dogs are welcome on the woodland trails. Admission is free for members, $6 for nonmembers and free for ages 16 and younger, and for everyone on Wednesdays. Call 322-6971 or visit www.bartlettarboretum.org.

Slightly Positive-Sounding Article About Whitnum

2008-06-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

This article actually portrays Whitnum really positively, probably because the article gives very little background on her and includes quotes from a lot of other people who are only talking about the debate aspect.

Newcomer Whitnum makes bid for debate with Himes
By Neil Vigdor, Staff Writer, Stamford Advocate, 06/24/2008
Now that she's on the ballot for a congressional primary, Greenwich Democrat Lee Whitnum is trying to turn up the heat on Jim Himes, the party-endorsed candidate, to accept a head-to-head debate.

Whitnum contacted the League of Women Voters of Norwalk yesterday about organizing a debate before the Aug. 12 contest, the first congressional primary in the 4th District since 1987. The winner will face U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays of Bridgeport, New England's lone Republican House member, in November.

"This party needs to be shaken up," said Whitnum, 48, a former software engineer who is a substitute teacher in Stamford.

Himes, who is also a Greenwich resident, was unanimously endorsed at a party convention last month. He has yet to decide whether he will accept a debate with Whitnum. A spokesman for his campaign said Himes was attending a Connecticut AFL-CIO union convention in Hartford yesterday and was unavailable for comment. The campaign released a statement that made no mention of Whitnum.

"We're considering requests from a number of organizations to debate Chris Shays in the fall, and we will give the same consideration to any request from a reputable organization for a debate this summer," said Maura Keaney, Himes' campaign manager.

Whitnum qualified Thursday for the primary, collecting signatures from 2,459, or 2 percent, of the registered Democrats in the district, which includes 17 municipalities in Fairfield County and a sliver of New Haven County.

State Democratic Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo said Whitnum would benefit from any debate.

"I am sure that Lee Whitnum would like to debate Jim Himes because I guess she would feel that it would give her some publicity," DiNardo said. "However, Jim Himes has been out there talking about the issues since he started this campaign. So I don't think his campaign would feel there is any advantage to him debating her."

A number of Himes' supporters have questioned Whitnum's viability as a candidate and said the upcoming primary is a major distraction from trying to defeat Shays in November.

"She's a ridiculous candidate. She has no support. It wastes his time. It wastes his money," said Ann Galloway, 66, of Stamford, one of the convention delegates who backed Himes.

Galloway, a retiree, added that debating Whitnum could be a double-edged sword for Himes.

"On one hand, I think that if they had a debate, it would be very embarrassing for her, and anyone who came would be very impressed by Jim Himes," Galloway said. "On the other hand, he's running a race against a money machine and a very powerful Republican establishment that knows they're going to lose seats, and this is their last hurrah in Connecticut."

Whitnum blasted those questioning the substance of her campaign, saying she has taken stands on tough issues, such as immigration, the war in Iraq, health care expansion and education.

Tom Shannon, a Shelton Democrat who signed Whitnum's petition to force the primary, said the competition is healthy for democracy.

"I don't see why there shouldn't be a debate," said Shannon, 22, who works in marketing and sales. "I do like Lee Whitnum as a candidate. I feel that she's just more in touch with the working class than Jim Himes is."

Diane Lauricella, president of the League of Women Voters of Norwalk, said the nonpartisan group is considering Whitnum's request, in consultation with its other Fairfield County chapters and league officials at the state level.

"We haven't had that kind of primary in a while," Lauricella said.

Jara Burnett, who is the president of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut and an officer in the Greenwich chapter, said lining up a moderator and getting people to attend a debate could be difficult during the summer.

"It's not that we're opposed, but it comes at a difficult time," Burnett said.

Burnett said she could see why Whitnum, a self-described underdog, wants a debate, however.

"The thing is, the challenger always wants a debate. The other person is often not so anxious," Burnett said. "Part of me thinks it would be a good thing to do."

Danger of Bikes and Motorcycles on the Roads

2008-06-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Yay, a sensible, positive editorial from the Advocate staff. I like to think my enraged response to the recent, less well thought-out editorial on school closings had something to do with this.

Pursuit of lower mpg has dangers 6/25/08
In congested Fairfield County, the concept of "sharing the road" isn't exactly a foreign one. But if gasoline prices remain where they are or climb even higher, the nature of who's doing the sharing will evolve - a process that has already begun.

There are more motorcycles and two-wheeled scooters on our roads now that [sic] ever before, which means all drivers, those sitting atop four wheels and those on two, will need to take more care out there.

Drivers of cars and, especially, SUVs, which have poorer sight lines, need to keep a particular eye out for bike and scooter riders. For obvious reasons, they are harder to see, and much more likely to get caught in blind spots. Not only could that produce a greater number of collisions, but more disastrous ones as well. A bump between two cars that would result in a bent fender can be a whole other beast if one of those vehicles is a motorcycle or scooter.

But traffic safety is a two-way street. Motorcycle and scooter riders need to be aware that they are the minority out there, and the ones in greatest danger. Strict adherence to traffic rules and hyper vigilance are called for - especially on the part of older bikers/scooter riders, who might not have much experience on the machines. A report in The Baltimore Sun several years ago found a sharp increase in fatalities among motorcycle riders ages 40 and older.

According to a story last Saturday by our reporter Chris Gosier, there currently are 87,588 motorcycles registered in Connecticut, up 40 percent from June 2003. That is a remarkable rise, if not very surprising. The lure of two-wheelers, both motorcycles and scooters, is obvious as local pumps inch toward $5 a gallon.

Greenwich psychotherapist Kevin Root told reporter Hoa Nguyen that his Toyota Highlander sits largely idle these days as he's out on his recently purchased Honda scooter, which he only has to fill up once every couple of weeks. Stamford resident Dominick Bria's Yamaha Vino gets more than 70 miles to the gallon. With gas prices being what they are, he could recoup the scooter's $3,000 price tag in less than a year.

But four-wheel and two-wheel motorists have often had an uneasy relationship. Many bike riders say car and truck drivers don't respect them as much as they do their four-wheel brethren. Car and truck drivers, on the other hand, complain about motorcyclists hot dogging it.

The truth is no one holds the deed on dangerous and, at times, downright foolish driving. Many of us need to improve on that count in general, regardless of with whom we're sharing the road. The fact that there will be more motorcycles and scooters out there just ups the urgency.

On that note, we defer to Fritz Blau, owner of Fritz's Harley-Davidson in Stamford, who recently took exception to the headline we had put on a story about this issue.

"Instead of ('Cars vs. cycles')," he wrote in a letter to the editor, "the article should have been titled 'Cars with cycles.' "

He's right. Cars with cycles is the situation now more than ever, and in all likelihood, it'll keep on growing. It's up to all of us to make sure that more road fatalities doesn't join the long list of consequences of the high gas prices.

Younger Workers: Getting the Hell Out of the FC

2008-06-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Seriously. This area can stink for young people. It costs too much to do fun things (50 bucks for concerts at the Palace? WHAT?) and there are very few free fun things that don't revolve around children. (Is there any decent music on a regular basis around here? I think the only place is Monster B's. I do not mean cover bands, people.) I'm glad the Advocate covered this topic, but I'm not glad their news stories disappear after two weeks, causing me to have to waste my time reposting them here. If they try to get me in trouble for this, I am going to stand out in front of their building with a mean sign. I'm giving proper credit, so I think it should be OK.

Area economy at risk as younger workers leave state
By Richard Lee Business Editor 06/13/2008

Fairfield County prides itself on its educated work force, but that status may be in jeopardy with an exodus of younger college-educated residents and the retirement of baby boomers.

Christopher Bruhl, president and chief executive officer of The Business Council of Fairfield County, yesterday told an audience of more than 50 area executives that southwestern Connecticut's economy could be affected by the flight of educated workers.

"We (Connecticut) are leading the nation in exporting our 25- to 34-year-olds. The work force has a growing number of under-educated people," said Bruhl. Forty percent of Fairfield County, however, have college degrees, compared with the national average of 27 percent.

Bruhl referred to 2004 figures showing that the county experienced a 21 percent decrease in the 25-to 34-year-old population from 141,437 in 1990 to 111,849 in 2004.

Connecticut had a 30 percent decrease in the same demographic during the same period, placing the state last in U.S. rankings.

Education of immigrants and inner-city children remains the key driver in developing an educated work force to replace retirees and those who are leaving the state, he said, as the state contends with a widening income gap among its residents.

"More people are leaving Connecticut than being replaced by international immigration. We're looking at an absolute labor scarcity, as well as a skills mismatch," Bruhl said.

Fairfield County, however, continues to benefit from its proximity to New York City's thriving business center, Bruhl said, as many of the region's residents commute to the city for their jobs, and companies move from the city to the county.

Despite being an integral part of Connecticut's economy, Fairfield County looks to its neighbor to the west for its economic stability, he said.

One of the newest corporate arrivals in Stamford takes a different view.

"We've had terrific cooperation from the mayor (Dannel Malloy) and the state in moving the project forward," said RBS spokesman Christopher Riley, referring to the 12-story, 500,000 square-foot-building expected to open in early 2009 and employ 1,850.

The education and transportation challenges mentioned by Bruhl should be everyone's concern, he said.

The region continues to face clogged highways and crowded commuter trains, but he credited the state for its effort to increase commuter cars on Metro-North Railroad.

"New rail cars are coming, and there's a trend to better access to the railroad," Bruhl said, noting plans to increase parking at train stations.

Health care also is a challenge, he said, contending that the cost and availability of health care are reaching breaking points.

"We're getting to the point where society will have to talk about rationing health care," Bruhl said.

I Like the Day Laborer Clinic!

2008-06-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Stamford Advocate article: Group marks a year of assisting day laborers
By Stephen P. Clark 6/17/2008

STAMFORD - A group that helps day laborers collect unpaid wages is celebrating its first anniversary this week.

The Stamford Day Laborer Wage Clinic was created to provide free legal assistance to low-income day laborers and other workers who claim employers denied them earned wages.

The clinic, a project of Connecticut Legal Services, aims to help laborers overcome their fears and enforce their employment rights.

"This project has become very important for the community of day laborers in Stamford," clinic co-founder and Legal Services attorney Megan McLeod said in a statement. "By focusing on education, we hope to empower day laborers, making them less fearful of the system and more likely to challenge their employers' employment practices."

McCarter & English LLP is sponsoring the reception for volunteers, which will be held 6 to 8 p.m tomorrow at SBC Restaurant and Brewery on Summer Street.

Ninety-four volunteers - 36 attorneys, 20 paralegals and law students, and 38 residents - work at the clinic.

It "provides some of the most vulnerable members of our community with an opportunity to achieve justice," McCarter & English attorney and Legal Services board member Amy Haberman said in a statement.

McLeod conceived the idea for the clinic in 2006 after she helped two day laborers collect $7,000 in back wages and more laborers started visiting her for help.

One month before opening the clinic, McLeod and another Legal Services attorney, Jennifer Mellon,
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won a temporary injunction in U.S. District Court against Dorian Ambrosi, owner of Fambro Home Repair, for threatening and harassing two day laborers when they tried to collect their wages for 100 hours of work.

In its first year, the clinic helped 176 day laborers and other workers collect more than $45,000 in unpaid wages, with an additional $56,000 in outstanding judgments and settlements.

The biggest judgment came in October for $44,000 against Ambrosi. But the clinic attorneys have not been able to collect the money.

The clinic is open 6 to 8 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at the Connecticut Legal Services Stamford office, 20 Summer St.

The clinic moved there in September after leaving the original office in St. Mary's Church on Elm Street.

Clinic co-founder and Legal Services attorney Nadine Nevins said it moved because the church wasn't comfortable or safe - the clinic operated on different floors that required volunteers and laborers to use the stairs often. The number of day laborers did not decrease since the move, she said.

"A few years from now, we hope most employers will realize that they cannot exploit immigrant day laborers and get away with it," Nevins said.

In the next year, the clinic wants to represent more female laborers who are not being paid for cleaning houses or providing day care, she said.

"We haven't reached that population," Nevins said.

ANOTHER Falling Object at Trump Parc Hits a Car

2008-06-07T01:54:00.000-07:00

Object falls at the site of Trump Parc
By Monica Potts, Stamford Advocate, 06/07/2008

STAMFORD - For the second time in two weeks, an object fell yesterday from the Trump Parc construction site and struck a vehicle, police said.

A 3-foot-long piece of cable about a half-inch in diameter fell from the 29th floor, said Lt. Sean Cooney, a city police spokesman.

Cooney said the object hit the back of a VW Jetta occupied by an unidentified Greenwich man at about 2:50 p.m. The driver was not injured, but the car's roof caved in, and its rear and side windows shattered on impact, he said.

Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy said he will speak with the city engineer, the building department and those in charge of construction at the Trump Parc site.

"We're going to have to sit down with these folks, maybe close the job, until we get some level of satisfaction about these procedures," he said. "A second incident in a short period of time tells me people are being reckless."

Malloy said the city notified the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He said he would review what actions the city could take this weekend.

Construction of the 34-story, 170-unit tower on Washington Boulevard and Broad Street began last year. The building is to be completed next summer.

Cooney said the Police Department will work with the other agencies to ensure safety measures were taken.

"It's a very busy street, and it's a very large building," he said. "The building itself is very close to the street. There's quite a lot of vehicular traffic, and there's quite a lot of pedestrian traffic."

Paul Slaney, chief operating officer of George A. Fuller Co., the tower's builder, said the reason the object fell has not been determined.

On May 23, a 10-pound piece of metal fell 25 stories, hitting a Crystal Rock water delivery truck, injuring its 34-year-old driver.

The metal went through the truck's cab and struck the driver in his right shoulder.

Robert Kowalski, the area director of OSHA's office in Bridgeport, said the investigation into that incident remained open.

Traffic Calming Sessions Coming Up June 08

2008-06-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Comment sought on traffic woes
By Angela Carella Stamford Advocate 05/31/2008

STAMFORD - Residents concerned about traffic in their neighborhoods may talk about it with city engineers in meetings that begin Monday.

Engineers have been meeting with residents for help in creating a master plan for solving traffic problems citywide. City Traffic Engineer Mani Poola said they have been working on the plan for about 18 months.

They divided Stamford into 16 areas and scheduled opening and closing meetings in each to discuss how traffic-calming devices could alleviate problems, Poola said.

The opening meeting for North Stamford residents is Monday; the closing meeting for Newfield is Tuesday; the closing meeting for Roxbury, Cedar Heights and Castlewood is Wednesday; and the closing meeting for downtown residents is Thursday.

The following week, Bull's Head residents meet Tuesday, June 10; Hubbard Heights and West Side residents meet Wednesday, June 11; and the closing meeting for North Stamford is Thursday, June 12.

Few people are attending the meetings, even though many are concerned about speeding and other problems, Poola said.

"We have had some good responses, but we would like to see greater participation. Some meetings have only 15 or 20 people," Poola said. "If we get a large crowd, we will get a lot of input, and that will help us work it out properly."

After engineers hear from residents at the meetings, they go into the neighborhoods to observe traffic and determine what type of traffic-calming device will help, Poola said. Devices include roundabouts, bump-outs, striping, curb extensions and textured pavement. But the most common is speed humps.

"We have been trying to do traffic calming for six or seven years," Poola said. "Most of the devices we installed are speed humps. There are more than 100" citywide.

As the devices were installed in one area, however, new traffic problems developed in adjoining areas, he said.

"Instead of doing it piecemeal, we decided to go for a larger-scale program" and create a master plan, Poola said.

The June 12 meeting is the last. After that, engineers will finish the master plan, which will set project priorities in each neighborhood. Then, depending on how much money is budgeted, "we will leave it to city representatives and the neighborhoods to decide which ones to do," Poola said. "We want to make sure it's done in a democratic way."

The meetings are called charrettes, or interactive neighborhood gatherings, and begin with a slideshow to introduce the types of traffic-calming devices, followed by a discussion of problems in the neighborhood. Residents then are asked to vote for the most urgent problems.

After that, participants break into groups to come up with solutions, and the ones that are mentioned most are investigated by engineers to see if they will work. Engineers then recommend final projects and present them to residents before they are incorporated into the master plan.

At last year's meeting in Westover, for example, residents identified their most pressing problems: blind spots and speeding on Skyview Drive; young drivers and bus traffic around Westhill High School; motorists running stop signs at Skyview Drive and Westwood Road; motorists using Brodwood Drive and Bartina Lanes as short-cuts; and speeding on Westover and Roxbury roads.

Residents suggested installing roundabouts, road stripes, sidewalks and signs, and raising the pavement at intersections where motorists often run stop signs.

"A lot of citizens don't participate in the process, then when it's implemented, they protest," Poola said. "This is a time to participate."

Car talk

City engineers will meet with the following neighborhoods in the next two weeks to hear traffic problems:

* North Stamford (opening meeting): 7 p.m. Monday, June 2, in the cafeteria of Scofield Magnet Middle School, 641 Scofieldtown Road.

* Newfield (closing meeting): 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 3 in the media center at Turn of River Middle School, 117 Vine Road.

* Roxbury-Cedar Heights-Castlewood (closing): 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 4 in the faculty cafeteria at Westhill High School, 125 Roxbury Road.

* Downtown (closing): 7 p.m. Thursday, June 5 in the fourth-floor cafeteria of the Stamford Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd.

* Bulls Head (closing): 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 10 at Cloonan Middle School, 11 W. North St.

Hubbard Heights-West Side (closing): 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 11 in the media center at Westover Elementary School, 412 Stillwater Ave.

North Stamford (closing meeting): 7 p.m. Thursday, June 12 in the cafeteria of Scofield Magnet Middle School, 641 Scofieldtown Road.

For information, visit www.stamfordtrafficcalming.com.

Initial Article About Greenwich Cupcake Drama

2008-05-30T05:16:00.001-07:00

Serious allegations? Are you joking? Or... just not giving us the whole story?

Principal's suspension puzzles town parents
By Hoa Nguyen Staff Writer Stamford Advocate 05/29/2008

GREENWICH - Glenville School Principal Marc D'Amico was suspended pending an investigation into "serious allegations," school officials said yesterday.

D'Amico, who took over at Glenville School three years ago, was suspended yesterday with pay, officials said in a letter sent home to parents.
D'Amico could not be reached for comment. Officials declined to elaborate on the allegations except to say it involved the human resources department.

"It's a confidential personal matter," district spokeswoman Kim Eves said.

Some parents and a town official said they believed it involved access to the school and stemmed from a complaint by a parent who had wanted to visit his child on the student's birthday.

But with district officials providing little information on what was being investigated, several parents said they were left with more questions than answers yesterday.

"Not knowing exactly what happened is kind of scary," said Asami Nakamura, parent of a third-grader at the school.

Many parents learned of D'Amico's suspension through an e-mail that parent-teacher association leaders sent late Tuesday night, which said more information about the suspension may be forthcoming after a meeting between the PTA leaders and Superintendent of Schools Betty Sternberg yesterday morning. But by the end of school, there still was no update, the parents said.

Donald Strange, the former principal of Western Middle School, said administrators have asked him to come out of retirement and serve as Glenville's principal for at most the rest of the year, Strange said yesterday.

"My role is to support the staff, kids and staff the best I can to have a smooth school year end and prepare for the move to the modular," he said. "The rest of the situation is really not my bailiwick. It's totally out of the realm of my work."

Cupcake-Based Suspension in Greenwich

2008-05-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

Cupcake delivery started dispute that led to principal's suspension
By Hoa Nguyen Staff Writer Stamford Advocate

GREENWICH - A controversy consuming Glenville School began as a mission to deliver cupcakes to a third-grader's classroom and a dispute between a principal and a parent over school policy on celebrating birthdays.

At stake is the job of suspended Glenville School Principal Marc D'Amico, who, his lawyer said, does not deserve to lose his job.

"This man is being proposed for removal," Hamden lawyer John Gesmonde said. "I will confirm it was about cupcakes and birthday cakes."

But parent Frank Carbino, who said he was prohibited from delivering cupcakes to his daughter's classroom earlier this month, believes his reputation is on the line.

"All I've wanted to do was just clear my name of the whole thing," Carbino said. "It's more of an integrity thing."

Carbino said he went to the main office of Glenville School shortly before 2 p.m. May 6 to deliver cupcakes to his daughter who was turning 9 that day. But, he said, the school secretary said the cupcakes were to be left at the counter for his daughter to pick up and take back to her class without him. He protested, saying his wife had cleared the birthday plans with the teacher the day before.

Carbino said he was asked to wait to speak to D'Amico, who told him school policy prohibited parents from personally delivering birthday cakes or treats.

Carbino said that when he returned home, he fired off a letter to district officials telling them D'Amico had singled him on that particular occasion.

But district officials told Carbino the principal was right and the school had a policy dating back to "forever" asking parents to refrain from delivering birthday treats, Carbino said.

Carbino said that when he went to the school's Web site, he found the document with a section titled, "Birthday Celebrations," had been created at 2:18 p.m. May 6, a few minutes after he had argued with D'Amico and left the school.

But Gesmonde said that after the run-in with Carbino and learning that other parents ignored the rule, D'Amico believed that he needed to make things clear by adding the section to the student handbook.

Celia Fernandez, co-president of the parent-teacher association and a parent who supports D'Amico keeping his job, said she sees it from both sides. Parents deliver birthday cakes to their children's classrooms, but school officials also have a practice of telling parents who sign in at the main office to leave cupcakes for pickup.

D'Amico, who has been asked to refrain from speaking on the matter, expects to meet with the superintendent on Monday, Gesmonde said. Assuming that the principal did something wrong, an apology may be in order, Gesmonde said.

"Between an apology and termination, I think probably listening to the parent, maybe communicating to the parent could have been clearer and that may be the basis for an apology," Gesmonde said.

DUI Roadblock Announced for Stamford

2008-05-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

Police step up traffic watch before holiday
By Jeff Morganteen Stamford Advocate 05/21/2008

STAMFORD - A nationwide seat-belt safety campaign, Click It or Ticket, began Monday in Stamford, and it's safe to say some motorists got the message.

At a checkpoint on the Route 1 border with Greenwich, officers dished out 136 tickets - 58 for seat-belt violations, 77 for other motor vehicle safety violations and one for using a hand-held cell phone, according to police.

The Click It or Ticket campaign is organized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Stamford police also will increase drunken driving enforcement by setting up a sobriety checkpoint tomorrow night downtown.

Roving patrols will be on the lookout for drunken drivers through Memorial Day weekend, Lt. Sean Cooney said.

The sobriety checkpoints and patrols are funded by a $64,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation, Cooney said.

Police have set up at least one checkpoint a month with the grant money, which lasts until September, he said.

Connecticut drivers wear their seat belts more often than the national average, Cooney said. About 16 percent of motorists in the state do not wear their seat belts, compared with 18 percent nationwide.

"Most of the Connecticut drivers have gotten the message that they and others around them are protected," Cooney said.

During the holiday weekend, officers on patrol will look for signs of drunken driving, such as driving too slowly or swerving erratically, Cooney said.

"Memorial Day is a big one," he said. "We'll expect, especially if the weather is nice, a lot of people out downtown. We expect to make a number of arrests."

Roving patrols allow officers to cover more ground than the checkpoints, which require about eight officers, Cooney said.

The Stamford Click It or Ticket campaign will continue until June 1.

Letter Rips Apart DUI Roadblocks

2008-05-22T06:12:00.001-07:00

To the editor: The sobriety checkpoint planned for Stamford on Thursday will serve to funnel limited state and federal grant money away from measures that have proven to be most effective in combating drunken driving (news story, May 21).

Because they are highly visible by design and publicized in advance, roadblocks are all too easily avoided by the chronic alcohol abusers who are the core of today's drunken driving problem.

Conversely, the number of driving-under-the-influence arrests made by roving patrol programs is nearly 10 times the average number of DUIs made by checkpoint pro-grams, according to testimony by a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation official.

By focusing scarce law enforcement resources on roadblocks, Stamford police will strip Connecticut's roadways of their most valuable tool for catching drunk drivers. Stamford residents and taxpayers would benefit from employing the most effective tactics to catch drunk drivers: roving police patrols.

Sarah Longwell

Washington, D.C.

The writer is managing director of the American Beverage Institute.

I Detest the Advocate's Comments System!!!

2008-05-19T19:37:00.001-07:00

This is just a rough draft. The Advocate comments system, to me, is a mess. Not only is it full of rambling fools, there’s no “click here to have follow up comments sent,” so if I want to keep tabs on a discussion, I can’t. (Don’t subscribe to comments—that’s what they call it-- for an immigration article, because those all get 40 “send the illegals home” comments.)

I don’t know if it’s just that the Advocate has too wide of an audience to get a meaningful discussion started, or if... if... I just know that I have not had any meaningful interactions or learned a damn thing from the Advocate comments that they now put at the end of all articles. How can I keep up with 8 articles that I comment on if there is no follow up email system? Am I going to BOOKMARK all of those sites and check them the next day? NO!

I tried to install commentful on my computer to keep track of my comments and it didn’t work. I didn’t feel like asking my computer genius husband for help. Anyway, people shouldn’t have to download applications to keep track of comments. Publications and websites should do it for us. One reason I love blogger is that you, dear reader, after you comment, can click the “Click here to have follow up comments sent to (your email).” That way you’ll know when someone responds to you, and you can respond back, and they’ll know you commented again because they also subscribed to the comments feed by clicking that button.

See?

Watch Out at Saltwater Grille

2008-05-13T20:17:00.001-07:00

Here is the review of Saltwater Grille from 7 or 8 months ago. I'll go eat there soon to see if service has improved. Looking at this review now, it's not as mean-sounding as I thought it was. I guess 9 months of Stamford Talk has hardened me.

SCOOP: Saltwater Grille is a trendy restaurant on Harbor Drive. It attracts a crowd, but the staff seems irritable.
MY TAKE: I read a surprisingly optimistic blurb about SWG in the weekend section of the Stamford Advocate. I can’t describe SWG in such hopeful terms. Sure, it has harbor views, but it overlooks other people's boats and an office building next door. Yes, there’s a nice patio, but you can only sit on it if you’re eating. That pretty patio also lets the sun set directly in your face.
Stopping by for a drink means being relegated to the narrow, crowded bar: the farthest spot from the water. When we came with friends for happy hour, the bar seats and tables were full. We tried standing in the aisle with the rest of the revelers, but waiters bumped us as they rushed by. We asked to sit at one of the empty indoor tables, but the staff seemed offended. We returned to the bar area, huddled near the tables, and tried not to get run over by the waitresses storming by. That’s the real problem with SWG: the staff is dismissive, bordering on contemptuous.

Later that night, our impatient waiter sneered when we asked, “What do you have on tap?” and “You don’t have mojitos?” A friend who eats there regularly says that it always seems like one waiter is working fifteen tables.
It’s unfortunate that poor service and layout make SWG so unpleasant. The food is expensive, but it's good, and every dish has an interesting twist. Too bad the waiters find your presence so inconvenient.
VERDICT: Don’t go to SWG expecting a relaxed evening or excellent service. If you find the secret to being treated well, let me in on it.

National Police Week Parade

2008-05-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

Police march to honor their own
By Jeff Morganteen Stamford Advocate 05/08/2008

STAMFORD - Before mounting his police motorcycle yesterday, Officer Joseph Russo recalled how a young colleague was killed in White Plains, N.Y., in January.

Stamford police had attended the funeral, he said, and now it was time to repay the favor. Russo, an officer in the Mount Vernon, N.Y., Police Department, was one of 300 officers who traveled to Stamford yesterday to honor police killed in the line of duty.

"My department couldn't wait to send us out here," Russo said before he and his motorcycle unit joined others from Darien and Newark, N.J.

More than 40 police departments from the tri-state area and Massachusetts descended on Stamford yesterday to march in a parade held by the Stamford Police Department.

The review began at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Park on Atlantic Street. Led by an armored vehicle, officers riding motorcycles, Segways and horses marched to Stamford police headquarters at 805 Bedford St. In the rear, officers played bagpipes as others marched in formation.

A police helicopter flew overhead as trained dogs barked at onlookers through open windows of Bridgeport patrol cars.

Stamford Police Chief Brent Larrabee said the parade recognized past, present and future police officers.

"It's not just about any one person," Larrabee said. "It's about those who have served and those who will serve."

The march was timed to coincide with National Police Week, which begins Sunday, said Stamford Officer Jessica Bloomberg, the event's principal organizer.

After the ceremony, Bloomberg also organized at a downtown bar the first benefit for the Killed in the Line of Duty Fund, a new fund to support fallen officers' families.

The parade grew to more than 40 departments after about 20 participated last May and Assistant Police Chief Robert Nivakoff told her to expand the idea this year, Bloomberg said.

"We need to keep better care of each other here," she said. "God forbid someone is killed in the line of duty."

The department plans to improve the annual event each year. Larrabee said. Yesterday's parade was met with limited crowds. Many onlookers were diners already seated outside along Bedford Street.

A ceremony after the parade honored the last four Stamford officers killed in the line of duty by placing a wreath on their memorial in front of police headquarters.

In 1974, Officer William McNamara was killed by another officer while responding to a robbery at a liquor store; David Troy was shot and killed in 1960 while responding to a robbery. In 1938, George Kelley and Andrew Schlechtweg were killed in separate motorcycle accidents.

Rob Roqueta, a 35-year-old Stamford resident who watched the parade while standing outside a bar on Bedford Street, said he admired the camaraderie among the different police departments.

"It shows a lot," Roqueta said. "It's like a fraternity."

Whole Foods Not Coming?!?

2008-05-11T04:45:00.000-07:00

But I was just getting excited about it!!!
Lord & Taylor withdraws its application
By Monica Potts, Stamford Advocate 05/09/2008

STAMFORD - An application for expansion of the Lord & Taylor store at its Bulls Head site, a plan that included a Whole Foods and other retail stores, was withdrawn last week.

National Realty Development Corp., the site's developer and owner of the Lord & Taylor department store chain, had requested a 60-day application extension from the Zoning Board in March.

Representatives from the company and their lawyers did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.

"We can't tell you what happens next," Land Use Bureau Chief Robin Stein said.

Any new proposal would have to go through another application process, including new public hearings, he said.

The new building, at about 300,000 square feet, would have been roughly double the size of the existing store and was to include a 190,000 square-foot Lord & Taylor, a 60,000 square-foot Whole Foods market along with 50,000 square feet of mixed retail.

The new plan also would have roughly doubled parking on the site to more than 1,200 spaces, split between a two-level deck on the lot's northern end and a five-level deck on the southern portion.

Proponents and detractors of the plan formed community groups, which passed out fliers and built Web sites. The last public hearings in January drew crowds of more than 100 to the Government Center's cafeteria.

Nearby residents and store owners objected to the plan, saying its scale was too big for the neighborhood and not pedestrian-friendly, the parking decks were unattractive, and the added traffic would be dangerous in their neighborhood and is counter to the city's traffic-calming initiatives.

Zoning Board members had echoed some of those concerns in comments at a public hearing in January.

Supporters had expressed interest in keeping the Lord & Taylor store and bringing a Whole Foods to Stamford.

The city's economic director, Michael Freimuth, spoke in favor of the plan at a November public hearing. He said Stamford had been losing retail business to other communities.

"Money is leaving the community," he said. "It's critical that we hit the refresh button."

Many residents who spoke at hearings expressed concern about what would be built at the site, which is at the intersection of High Ridge and Long Ridge Roads, if the proposal was not approved.

The proposal faced its first challenge when the Planning Board voted in November not to recommend for Zoning Board approval the two zoning code changes related to the application.

The board expressed concern that the two changes - allowing the developer to build a bigger garage than allowed without adding a "green" roof and use more commercial space than allowed, would set an undesirable precedent.

The plan was later modified, and an environmentally friendly roof was added over the main building.

The developer also launched a public relations effort in response to some criticisms, sending brochures to city residents that included postcards supporters could send in.

Stein had referred to the plans as overly dependent on cars and not pedestrian friendly during the November meeting, perhaps a sign of things to come.

"It's probably not a model of smart growth," he had said at that meeting. "I describe this more 20th- than 21st-century planning."

Really Boring Beer Column in Advocate

2008-05-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to be so negative, but beer could be so interesting, and this Advocate column just isn't. It needs to be more user-friendly rather than directed at beer brewers. The beginning is good, but the middle gets too technical.

What Brewing: Searching for soul By Jim Zebora
Greenwich Time Managing Editor Stamford Advocate

If barley is the heart of beer, hops are its soul. They contribute flavor, aroma, bitterness, body and so much more to a brew.

But these days they also contribute to beer's increased cost.

It may not be the worst of the world's crises, but the rising price of hops, delicate flowers that grow on a tall vine, certainly adds to the pain in the wallet caused by $4 gas and $5 milk.

Try finding a quality craft brew on a package store shelf for less than $8.99; it's almost impossible. Even budget beers that were selling for $12 per 30-pack a few months ago are three or four bucks higher today, though not all of that increase can be blamed on hop prices.

The reasons for hop inflation are myriad, but all pretty much within the bounds of an Economics 101 class. After several years of oversupply, when growers often had to sell their hop crop below cost, the opposite is now true.

Hops have had a couple of lousy years in the field, with crop yields well below normal. In addition, many hop farmers curtailed production rather than sell below cost and did not ramp up their growing as prices increased.

In some cases, they devoted their fields to more profitable crops and have not gone back to the Fuggles, Cascades, Saaz, Goldings and Northern Brewer varieties that make beer so fine to drink.

The result is that hop prices have at least doubled, and at the extreme hops can cost five or six times what they did a few years ago.

Big commercial brewers have been somewhat insulated from the rise in hop prices. Companies such as Anheuser-Busch Inc. get a big percentage of the hops they use from their own farms in the Pacific Northwest and so are not competing on the open market for limited hop supplies.

The big brewers also tend to use fewer hops per barrel than smaller brewers, for recipe and scientific reasons, so their cost per barrel is less affected by hop prices. Budweiser hasn't seen the same percentage price increase at retail as have microbrews, for example.

The real casualties are microbrewers specializing in very hoppy beers - those with names such as Hop Devil, Hop Trip, Big Hop Harvest Ale, Hop Heaven, etc. - who can use three or four times the amount of hops per barrel as the big kids.

This is partly because they are seeking to give their customers the hoppiest experience they can, and partly because hop utilization - a measure of the alpha acids and other components they release into the brew as it is boiled - increases with the size of the batch.

Large breweries make beer in vats roughly the size of small oil tankers, but I've seen one very tiny micro whose brewing vat was barely bigger than a turkey fryer.

As a homebrewer, I quickly learned that hops varied in price depending on the variety, the preparation and the packaging. Noble hops such as Kent Goldings (used in pale ales) and Saaz (used in pilsners) could cost twice as much as varieties with more bitterness but less aroma and flavor.

The hop flowers are sometimes used in original form, but processing them into pellets gives greater yield, and also makes them easier to ship and store.

Back in the years of plenty, I could sometimes buy a pound of bittering hops for $8, and noble hops could be as low as $1 per ounce. Today, homebrewers are seeing three- and fourfold price increases in this essential ingredient.

Of course, hops aren't the only reason that beer is costing more. Cereal grain prices are also rising due to the diversion of much corn production to ethanol, and energy prices for brewing, conditioning and delivery are also boosting the bill.

Like oil, gasoline, bread and so many other staples of modern life, beer is simply getting more expensive. And we beer lovers just have to suck it up while we're guzzling it down.

*

Jim Zebora, managing editor of Greenwich Time, is a dedicated homebrewer and a contributor to Zymurgy, the magazine of the American Homebrewers Association. His column appears once a month. His e-mail address is jim.zebora@scni.com.

Antares pushes Stamford projects to NYC companies

2008-05-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

Feb 28: The Advocate - Local News
NEW YORK - Antares executives met with real estate brokers in Manhattan on Tuesday night to pitch their projects and Stamford as a desirable, less expensive alternative to Manhattan.

Well, from the home prices around here, I'd say someone thinks it's a desirable area!

Firm will study trolleys for Stamford

2008-05-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

From Feb 18: STAMFORD - The city has selected a San Francisco company to study a trolley service that would connect downtown, the South End and Bulls Head.

I didn't get this up on this blog of resources in time, so it disappeared into the mysterious place where all old Advocate articles go.

Reverse 911: Could Be Cool

2008-05-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

Stamford to test 'reverse 911' system
By Angela Carella, Assistant City Editor, Stamford Advocate

STAMFORD - City officials tomorrow will test a new "reverse 911" emergency system that can notify residents about public safety incidents by phone, e-mail, text message and digital device.

Home and business phone numbers in Stamford that are publicly available are in the system automatically, according to a statement from Mayor Dannel Malloy's office.

Those homes and businesses will get a test call tomorrow.

Residents with private numbers may sign up to be included by visiting www.cityofstamford.org and clicking on the link that says, "Sign up now - services by Connect-CTY." Residents also may call 977-4153 to sign up. They may supply up to three phone numbers and two e-mail addresses, the statement said.

Residents whose phones have call blocking may join the system by adding 977-4140 to their list of approved numbers.

Those who are hearing impaired and have TTY/TDD receiving devices may join by clicking on to the city's Web site and entering their contact information.

Anyone who does not receive a test call tomorrow should enter their contact information on the city's Web site or call 977-4153.

Like other cities, including Norwalk, New Canaan and Greenwich, Stamford will use the reverse 911 system to notify residents about "planned and unforeseen public safety matters," the statement said.

It allows city officials to record, send and track messages to thousands of residents, businesses and agencies in minutes through a single phone call. The system also can send text messages to cell phones, e-mail accounts, personal digital devices and receiving devices used by the hearing impaired.

The service is Connect-CTY, supplied by Blackboard Connect Inc., formerly NTI Group Inc., according to the statement.

"We're always looking for ways to improve communication with residents and are excited to now have the capability to send important notifications within a matter of minutes," Malloy said in the statement. "The Connect-CTY service will enhance citywide communication and play a key role in our emergency preparedness and response efforts."

The system can be used to mobilize emergency response teams, coordinate agencies and organize volunteers. If only one neighborhood is affected by an emergency, the system can contact just those residents. So if a rainstorm is flooding Waterside, only Waterside residents would get messages.

"I urge residents to register their contact information into the system's secure data base to make sure everyone is prepared to receive time-sensitive information," Public Safety Director William Callion said in the statement. "With the Connect-CTY service, we will be able to quickly notify residents in the event of a natural or manmade disaster such as a chemical leak, fire or severe storm."

The cost for Stamford was not available yesterday, but Greenwich signed a two-year, $58,000 contract for the same system, which began running in December. New Canaan began using the same system in October after signing a one-year contract for $17,500, and Norwalk spent $91,649 for a one-year contract.

School Clusterschmuck Continues

2008-04-29T02:41:00.000-07:00

Starr's proposal to close Stark inflames debate By Donna Porstner
Stamford Advocate 04/29/2008
STAMFORD - Elected officials are unhappy with the latest school closing plan, saying flip-flopping and indecision is needlessly upsetting residents.

Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr on Thursday night proposed closing Julia A. Stark Elementary on Glenbrook Road and moving Toquam Magnet Elementary students and teachers into the building.

Whether some or all Stark students would be allowed to finish there is unclear. Starr said the Board of Education could phase out Stark's program gradually or redistribute its students and staff all at once.

The plan came as a surprise to many because Stark was not one of five schools the school board's Redistricting Committee had been considering for closure. Members only two weeks earlier had narrowed the list of schools it would consider closing to two - Toquam and Rogers magnet elementary schools.

Pauline Rauh, chairwoman of the Board of Representative's Education Committee, said Starr caught parents and school board members off-guard by making the presentation during a meeting in which Toquam and Rogers were on the agenda. Stark parents should have been told their school would be discussed, she said.

"It came without notice to the very constituents who should have been informed," said Rauh, a former school principal. "I found that distressing."

Parents across the city worry their child's school could be next, officials said.

"It's really detrimental to the well-being of the school district to have a school-closing-of-the-month theory, especially when so many of the Rogers parents had embraced the concept of closing Rogers and moving to the interdistrict magnet school," said state Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford.

McDonald, a Glenbrook resident and Stark graduate, said constituents have been asking him to intervene in the redistricting process for months and he kept quiet until learning one of Starr's reasons for shuttering Stark is the school's failure to meet state testing standards.

By saying state sanctions are increasing for Stark under No Child Left Behind legislation, the superintendent is implying the state is angling to close the school, he said. McDonald said he spoke with the state education commissioner, who confirmed that is not the case.

"It was an extraordinary announcement for the superintendent to unleash on the community without any forewarning, without any involvement of parent groups or teachers who try to improve the school," McDonald said. "And to announce it at a public meeting when you infer it is the result of state involvement, when that's apparently untrue, is bizarre behavior. It's not the right way to run an operation like this."

Starr said he came up with Stark plan because it would increase the number of magnet seats and would allow the city to have three elementary schools south of Interstate 95, where there's a large density of students. Adding a third school would mean fewer low-income students would be bused across town to attend school, he said.

"I think there are some questions to ask about who gets bused in the city of Stamford," Starr said. "I simply want to raise that issue to the Board of Education so they understand the implications. That's what a superintendent does."

At the same time, he said, the redistricting process opened the door for structural changes at Stark, which could be required to make adjustments if test scores don't improve.

"I never in any way, shape or form said the state plans to close Stark school. However, there is certainly increased state accountability legislation that we are preparing for," Starr said.

The district could be required to make staffing changes at Stark, bring in an outside management firm or convert the building to a charter school if test scores again don't meet state goals next year, Starr said.

City Rep. Jerry Pia, a former school board member who represents Glenbrook, said transferring Stark students to another building is not the answer.

"You don't move children so the overall score of the school looks good," he said. "You set up programs and you teach them how to learn."

Rauh said Starr "put the whole town in a state of unrest with this presentation" and residents are disappointed with the school board's indecision.

"Confidence in what they're doing and how they're doing it has been shaken," she said.

McDonald said the Stark plan only made matters worse.

"It's a really unique skill to infuriate every contingent of parents in one meeting," he said.

Starr said it's not fair to blame him for introducing another option late in the process when it was Mayor Dannel Malloy who made the board reconsider its plan to close Toquam earlier this year.

Malloy removed $2.8 million earmarked in next year's capital budget to furnish the new interdistrict magnet school in the Cove, forcing members to reconsider moving Toquam students into the new building.

Malloy favored closing an older school building and came back with the plan to close Rogers and move those students to the new environmental science school.

The Board of Education should start over and hire a consultant to come up with a redistricting plan, Rauh said.

"You need objectivity and expertise," she said.

Board of Education member Rosanne McManus said hiring a consultant would only delay the process by 12 months while an outsider learns about the district and neighborhoods.

"I don't think we need a consultant. I think we are ready to go," she said. "The redistricting plan will move fairly easy once we decide which school to close."

The board has used consultants in the past and there were complaints then as well, Starr said.

"My recollection was folks weren't happy with that either," he said. "Redistricting is hard, hard work and I think are experiencing that now."

Redistricting Committee Chairwoman Susan Nabel did not return a phone call seeking comment.

A 50-Inch Plasma in the High School Library?

2008-04-28T03:04:00.000-07:00

TV in library draws static- Advocate 04/28/08- Donna Porstner
(This just seems like a waste of money. Why have a silent, always-on TV in a library? This isn't an airport.)
STAMFORD - The picture on the big-screen television in Westhill High School's media center is crystal clear, but it's having trouble with a different kind of reception.

The 50-inch plasma has stirred complaints from students and a school board member who question the need for a television in a library where students are supposed to study or write papers on one of the 70 computers.

Board of Education member Susan Nabel said she's appalled the city spent money on a flat-screen TV for a school library.

"I just hate the idea of there being a flat-panel, laser television right above the checkout desk," she said at a Facilities Committee meeting last week. "I don't believe a large-screen TV should be predominantly displayed in a media center."

Nabel said she learned about the television by reading an opinion piece about it in the school newspaper, The Westword.

Editor in Chief Stephen Meno said there was a buzz on campus when the TV arrived.

"At first it was like, why is it there? And what's the point of it when all it does is play CNN all day?" he said. "I think the general student body is like, the money should go someplace else."

The television was purchased with $1,810 in a capital account for computer replacement, technology management services director Michael Pensiero said.

Westhill Head librarian Jan Benedict said it was installed two months ago to be on par with Stamford High, which received a similar television when it was renovated after flooding in 2006.

"Not only were we trying to level the playing field with Stamford High, but also with AITE, which has similar technology," Pensiero said. "It's important to us that the schools are equal."

It can be used to show PowerPoint presentations and to advertise school events, he said.

"I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, and now if I forget to turn it on, and I look over, I feel closed off from the world," Benedict said.

The television is left tuned to CNN without sound, but librarians can turn up the volume if there's breaking news, she said.

During a mid-day visit to the school last week, dozens of students were typing on computers near the television, almost oblivious to it.

It is not intended to be used for instruction, Benedict said. For that, the school has portable televisions that teachers can take into classrooms to show movies on videotapes and DVDs, she said.

It's the only set in the building hooked up to live television.

"It's our window to the world," Benedict said. "I think it's wonderful."

Oh! Another Crazy School Closing Plan!

2008-04-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

Starr: Close Stark, move Toquam there By Donna Porstner, Stamford Advocate, 04/25/2008
STAMFORD - Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr last night proposed closing Julia A. Stark Elementary and moving Toquam Magnet Elementary's teachers and students into the Glenbrook Road building.

Stark should close before any other school because it is traditionally the lowest performing and the district will soon be required to make changes to comply with federal No Child Left Behind legislation, he said at last night's Board of Education Redistricting Committee meeting.

By being proactive with changes at Stark, Starr said, "We clearly get ahead with the state, showing them we are serious about accountability."

It's only a matter of time before changes must be made at Stark, because state sanctions are increasing, he said,

The Redistricting Committee erred in deciding not to consider performance in deciding which school to close, Starr said.

"It doesn't pass the smell test that we'd be closing a great school - Toquam," Starr said.

Toquam students are among the district's highest achievers on state tests.

Members recently narrowed their list of potential schools to be shuttered to two - Toquam and Rogers Magnet School - largely based on the size of the student body and number of students walking to school.

With its planned redistricting, the school board is trying to balance the student population in each building based on economic background.

At the same time, board members are planning to close a building to save about $5 million. They are trying to increase the number of students walking to school in the process to reduce transportation costs.

Moving Toquam students and teachers, and its popular Bank Street program, to the Stark building would create five magnet schools in 2009, giving parents more choice in where children attend school, Starr said.

Some or all Stark students could be allowed to stay until they graduate, the superintendent said, though he would prefer to immediately close Stark and redistribute its students and staff to other buildings.

The number of buses would not increase, but bus rides would be longer for some children under his plan.

It was the second time in recent weeks the committee was thrown a curve ball.

Members were preparing to close Toquam until last month, when Mayor Dannel Malloy, a nonvoting school board member, convinced them to consider closing Rogers and moving those students to the new interdistrict magnet school when it opens on the Clairol property in 2009.

Starr acknowledged he is coming late to the game with the Stark plan. The committee has been working on a redistricting plan for 14 months.

"I wish I thought of it two months ago," Starr said.

Redistricting Committee Chairwoman Susan Nabel said she was "totally nonplussed" by the Stark plan.

Malloy said it makes no sense to fight the Rogers plan when parents support it - especially when the Rogers' building needs the most repairs.

If Rogers were moved to the new environmental-science magnet, Starr said the district could create a preference zone that includes students now assigned to Rogers, but cannot assign students directly to the new magnet school. They would be given preference but would have to apply, he said.

They could stay until the sixth grade, when some would have to move to other middle schools, because the district needs the seats for students from other districts, he said. Since it is an interdistrict school funded by the state, at least 25 percent of students must come from other towns.

Malloy said the Rogers students should be allowed to stay through eighth grade because about 14 percent of the pupils leave in any given year and there would be enough room.

Even if Stamford residents constituted more than 75 percent of students, the state would not pull funding for the school, he said. Malloy said there are interdistrict schools that have been open for eight years that don't have the required numbers of out-of-towners and still get state funding.

School board member Monica Hoherchak said she's concerned that under the mayor's plan, the district would lose about 200 seats for Rogers' International Baccalaureate program. After all current Rogers students graduate, there would be 336 students in the IB program in kindergarten through fifth grade, down from 530 today.

Malloy warned members not to muddy the redistricting decision, which he said should be focused on integrating school buildings based on family income, with discussions about the academic programs that would be offered.

"It sounds like policy and curriculum to me, more than redistricting," Malloy said.

Starr said he would post detailed information about the possible scenarios on the Board of Education's Web site at www.stamfordpublicschools.org. Parents will be invited to comment on the proposals during a public hearing May 5 at Cloonan Middle School.

Nabel said board members are going in circles and need to reach a decision.

"We need to move. We need to make a choice here," she said. "Parents are waiting for us to finish what we started."

Two men robbed in Scalzi Park

2008-04-25T15:14:00.001-07:00

4/25/2008 STAMFORD - Two city men were robbed at gunpoint and pistol-whipped Wednesday night in Scalzi Park, police said.

Police are searching for three suspects who approached the victims, ages 25 and 28, as they walked through the park about 9 p.m., said Lt. Sean Cooney, a police spokesman.

The suspects demanded cash, and two of them pulled out handguns, Cooney said.

They pistol-whipped both victims in the face before fleeing with about $100 cash and a cell phone, police said. They broke the nose of one victim and cut the other in the face, Cooney said.

Both were treated at Stamford Hospital, where medical workers alerted police.

The incident remains under investigation.
- Zach Lowe

Happy Hour to Raise $ for Stamford Dog Park

2008-04-25T03:18:00.000-07:00

Dog Park group slates 'Yappy Hour'--04/25/2008

STAMFORD - Friends of the Stamford Dog Park, which is working to create the first off-leash dog park in Stamford, will host "Yappy Hour" for dogs and their owners from 3 to 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at Murphy's Townhouse Cafe, 97 Franklin St.

The event will include information about the park, which has been authorized by the Stamford Parks and Recreation Commission to be established at the Hunt Complex Park on Courtland Avenue.

There will be snacks, a cash bar, prizes and a canine trivia competition. Admission is $10 per person. Dogs are free.

For information, call Eileen Heaphy at 425-9782 or visit www.stamforddogpark.com.

Finally, a Lead in the Marco Paoletta Murder Case

2008-04-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

Photos released in roadside shooting
By Zach Lowe 04/23/2008
STAMFORD - Police yesterday released photographs of an unknown person who was with a city man minutes before the man was found shot to death on the road outside the Jewish Community Center in January.

The man in the photos is considered a person of interest in the Jan. 3 shooting of Marco Paoletta Jr., 51, said Capt. Richard Conklin, head of the detective bureau. Police are asking for the public's help in identifying and locating him.

Police found Paoletta's body on Vine Road near Turn of River Middle School, and have said they believe the killer targeted Paoletta and knew he was playing racquetball at the community center.

The photos show the man and Paoletta entering and leaving the Newfield Avenue community center together minutes before the shooting.

Paoletta was shot once in the head. Police have not commented on a motive.

The images are from the community center's security cameras, Conklin said.

About five hours after Paoletta's body was recovered, authorities in Norwalk found his car burning on Christy Street. Tests showed the car had been doused in gasoline or some other accelerant before it was set on fire.

Paoletta, known to his friends as "Chickie," was a lifelong Stamford resident who worked in the credit division of a bank in Bridgeport.

His siblings said they were shocked by his death and could not think of anyone who would harm him.

Police did not recover a weapon and have not commented on what kind of gun the killer used.

The images show a Hispanic man in his 20s between 5 feet, 6 inches and 5 feet, 8 inches tall with long black hair.

- Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call the police department's tip line at 977-5111.

A Woman More Established on the Gossip Scene

2008-04-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

From the Advocate's "Dish" with Susie Costaregni:
'Borat' and Fisher check out local restaurant scene 04/20/2008

Scene . . . Actors Isla Fisher ("The Wedding Crashers") and Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat") were seen dining last week at Napa & Co. in Stamford. Rumor is that the engaged couple have been staying at the Courtyard by Marriott in Stamford. Fisher is in town filming "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Also seen at the popular restaurant recently were Hillary Swank, the Smothers Brothers and Greenwich residents Alex and Steven Cohen, founder of Stamford-based SAC Capital Advisors.
*
Out there . . . "Everybody's Fine," starring Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore and Sam Rockwell, will begin filming this month in Stamford on Bedford Street and other areas in the city.
*
Scene . . . New Canaan resident Jill Goodacre, the supermodel wife of crooner Harry Connick Jr., was seen shopping Monday at J.Crew and Vineyard Vines in Greenwich.
*
Scene . . . Greenwich resident Hannah Storm, author and former co-anchor of "The Early Show" on CBS, and her husband, NBC sportscaster Dan Hicks, were seen dining recently at Valbella in Riverside with New Canaan residents Jonathan Whitcomb of Diserio Martin O'Connor & Castiglioni LLP, and his wife, Rachel.
*
Scene . . . Football great and current radio host Boomer Esiason was seen last Sunday at Darien Ice Rink.

Susie Costaregni
- Got a tip? Seen a celebrity? E-mail Susie Costaregni at the dish@scni.com

Ed Letter: Pro-Antares

2008-04-17T19:16:00.001-07:00

Citywide benefit 04/08/2008
To the editor:
The fact that Harbor Point, Antares' long-anticipated redevelopment of Stamford's South End, is moving forward is exciting and positive news. Its vision for a revitalized new waterfront neighborhood fits well with Stamford's master plan, and this transformation would make the community a jewel for all Stamford residents to enjoy.

Harbor Point stands out from so many other development projects for its commitment to improving the streets and sidewalks, reclaiming the waterfront and its addition of public parks and open spaces. I attended the mayor's press conference announcing the deal to create a special taxing district, which is now before the Board of Representatives (news story, March 27). Because of the huge public benefits of this project, I encourage the board to approve the deal.

The South End revitalization is long overdue, and Antares' Harbor Point project is world class in every conceivable way. This is a smart growth, environmentally friendly, transit-oriented development that would create thousands of jobs. The South End deserves it, and Stamford needs it.

Vicky Papson
Stamford
The writer is a member of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce's Antares Subcommittee.

Rating of police didn't seem to include the poor

2008-04-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Advocate: 04/08/2008 To the editor:
In response to "Police get high overall marks" in Stamford (news story, March 4), I want to comment and ask some questions, please.

I am the community director of the Waterside Coalition, and when we asked our residents if they received the survey, by and large the answer was "no." I myself, a resident of Waterside, did not receive one until I asked for one. Who were the random that were chosen? Judging by the end of the article, with the average income of $102,200, it is easy to see that it was not the low-income poor, who live in neighborhoods that might rate lower, who shared their opinion and insight as part of this survey. Does Stamford really think that the communities are not aware of the real issues?

My next question is: Will Stamford now sign off on this survey and believe that all is well with the "easy" majority, so we will stamp out the minority with the results? It's a valid question, and one that needs addressing.

So there is no injustice in Stamford? I guess we look good on paper and in the paper, so we should be grateful, right?

Low-income individuals and individuals of any color may be the minority in the view of the community. But in moving forward, we need to be the majority when it comes to the voice of the people.

No better time than an election year to prove that!

Johnna Paradis
Stamford

Advocate: Protecting pets from coyote attacks

2008-04-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Staff Reports- 04/17/2008

Stepping out the front door these past few mornings and taking a deep breath of the sweet, warm air has been a pleasure long forgotten. The last few months were pretty mild as winters go, but that doesn't make the rejuvenating weather any less welcome.

However, the onset of spring brings a rash (sometimes literally) of potential hazards, one of which has occurred with increasing frequency over the past several years. Pets enjoy the good weather as much as humans, and often can't wait to get outside. But there are dangers out there these days that they aren't prepared for, that can turn a backyard jaunt into a tragedy.

As we continue to chew up undeveloped land in our communities, we encroach on wildlife habitats and open ourselves to encounters we'd rather avoid.

Enter the coyote.

News earlier this month of an attack that left a small dog in North Stamford clinging to life served as a reminder that our pets can be vulnerable to predators when they are outdoors. A 13-year-old Lhasa Apso went missing early in the morning of April 6, and was found by his owners hours later in a wooded area bleeding from puncture wounds in the neck. Something, most likely a coyote, picked up the 18-pound dog and carried it away.

Incidents like this have become increasingly common over the past decade. The case that received the most attention was when the dog belonging to Greenwich residents Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford was killed by a coyote in 2003. But that was one of many.

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In the five years prior to that attack, nearly 50 similar incidents were reported around the state.
Just a cursory perusal of our records shows several dogs killed by coyotes in recent years in our area, including a 2004 incident in which a Jack Russell terrier was killed in his back yard in Greenwich.

"We sometimes field several calls a week, and this problem has been increasing over the last decade," Chris Vann, a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Environmental Protection, told our reporter Donna Porstner.

Experts say coyotes are more likely to attack cats than dogs. And while they are a particular danger when it's dark, coyotes and other wild animals are hard to predict. That means pet owners have to be ever-vigilant about their animals. Experts say to monitor your dogs when they are outside, especially smaller canines, and keep cats inside. That last one won't go over well with many cats, or their owners. Cats are very independent creatures, and like their space to roam. While some think it isn't right to make them stay inside, it is a decision that owners will have to make.

Pet owners should also know that some security measures used to protect their animals won't work on predators. For example, underground electric fences might be effective in keeping dogs in the yard, but they won't keep animals out.

Owners are asking for trouble if they leave food outside for their pets, or if food smells are emanating from garbage cans. That goes for table scraps in compost piles, food scraps on barbecue grills and fruit that has fallen from trees.

If dogs and cats must be left alone, a 6-foot fence is the best way to protect them.

"People may live in an area for years and never suspect their yard is a potential hunting ground," says Mr. Vann of the DEP.

An unsettling thought. But it's one pet owners shouldn't forget if they want to protect their dogs and cats.

Ed Letter: Save Rogers Magnet School

2008-04-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Successful school should not close 04/16/2008

To the editor:
I was absolutely outraged with what I read in The Advocate on April 11 regarding the potential closure of The International School at Rogers Magnet. Reading between the lines, it appears from out of nowhere, the Board of Education will be closing the school, shutting down the International Baccalaureate program and moving all non-magnet students to the new school they're building with a new, untested, and unproven curriculum of study.

Worst of all, those of us with children in the school as part of the magnet program would be sent back to our district schools that we opted out of attending to begin with.

Was it not a few months ago that Rogers was being honored as the most improved school in Fairfield County? Was it not a few weeks ago that we received a No Child Left Behind Act report showing that Rogers was one of two schools in the whole city that would qualify to be removed from the "in need of improvement" lists with one more year of good test results? Was it not just the other week that we were celebrating the successes of the International Baccalaureate program to such an extent that there was consideration of extending the program to the middle school years?

And now what message is the Board of Education giving? That one of the most successful schools in the city should be shut down? That the most improved school not just in the city, but in the entire county, should be crossed out as an unsustainable success?

Should Rogers go, what will Stamford offer parents with elementary school children? The academic successes of Rogers and Westover are to be celebrated and duplicated, not shut down and discarded. Most towns celebrate their successful schools. Towns with successful school systems not coincidentally have higher property values.
Parents want to live in communities with good schools, and our school board seems to be saying that good schools are not what Stamford is about.

John C. Ross
Stamford

Ed Letter: Save K.T. Murphy School

2008-04-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

K.T Murphy is vital to the identity of its community 04/04/2008

To the editor:
Neighborhoods are an important mechanism in our society, and an integral part of community life. They not only enhance our personal lives, but sustain the livability of our cities.
The mayor and school board should pay heed. As evidenced by the furor being raised on the message boards, it is obvious that K.T. Murphy Elementary School is a huge element in a living, breathing community, and has a fiercely devoted following. This isn't just a random group of parents saying "please don't close our children's school" (new story, April 1); this is an entire community telling you that this school is their heart.

While understood that everyone loves their schools, how many places exist where the devotion is intergenerational? Where else do you find such passion expressed by a legion of alumni that spans decades? Though the Cove has certainly become more transient in recent years, there are still plenty of life-long residents there for whom Murphy School is a piece of their personal history, and many more who are in the process of building the memory.

K.T. Murphy is part of a century of Cove history, and is as defining an element of the neighborhood as Cove Island. They both bring a community together.

Any attempt to dissolve that community spirit by closing Murphy School ought to be viewed as a deliberate dismantling of a neighborhood, and should be met with opposition at every turn. Cove residents must fight to preserve the quality of life here, which includes our neighborhood school!

Lois A. Hogan
Stamford

Little Doggie on the Mend

2008-04-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

Dog recovering after unknown predator's attack
By Donna Porstner 04/12/2008

STAMFORD - The Lhasa Apso attacked by a wild animal in his North Stamford back yard early Sunday is back home with his owners and regaining his strength.

Rascal was released Wednesday from a Norwalk animal hospital, where he received around-the-clock care.

"He's pretty slow, and he sleeps a lot - and he looks really awful - but he's moving along," his owner Lynne Stone said. "He just kind of moves from one soft spot to another."

Rascal, who is 13 - 91 in dog years - is taking five medications, one for pain, one anti-inflammatory drug, plus antibiotics.

"He's just like a little old man," Stone said.

The pooch had been outside for about 10 minutes when Stone noticed he had gone missing at about 5 a.m. Sunday. She and her husband, Ted, found him hours later bleeding from the neck in a wooded area behind their home on South Lake Drive. From the puncture wounds on his neck, they presume a coyote picked up the 18-pound dog and dragged him there.

"I am amazed he's made it. He must have a pretty strong little will in there," Stone said. "He thanks everyone for their well wishes."

The Stones received phone calls from strangers concerned about the dog after a story about the attack appeared in The Advocate.

Coyote attacks on pets have become more prevalent in lower Fairfield County in the past 10 years, state environmental officials said.

In 2003, Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford's 15-year-old Bichon Frise, Chardonnay, was killed by a coyote in the back
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yard of their Greenwich home.

Chris Vann, a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said coyote attacks on pets have become more common with suburban sprawl and the movement of coyotes into established residential neighborhoods.

"We sometimes field several calls a week, and this problem has been increasing over the last decade," Vann said.

Pet owners are urged not to leave food outside because it attracts coyotes, and they are warned not to leave dogs unattended in the dark.

"People may live in an area for years and never suspect their yard is a potential hunting ground," Vann said.

Wikipedia Entry: West Side of Stamford

2008-04-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

West Side of Stamford-- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The West Side of Stamford, Connecticut is one of the poorest and most violent sections of the city. It is located north of the Waterside neighborhood, west of Downtown and east of Greenwich, Connecticut. The different sections of the West Side including Vidal Court, Fairfield Court, Spruce Street, Friendship Building and the infamous Southwood Square (formally known as Southfield Village).

One version of the boundaries of the West Side has it located between Stillwater Avenue, Broad Street, West Main Street and West Avenue up to Exit 6 Interstate 95.[1]

The West Side has had a problem with violent crime for years. "Despite efforts to curb it, the area is still a breeding ground for drug dealers, and gangs, such as the Bloods, the Crips, the Merrell Avenue Posse and the Haitian Posse," according to an April 2007 article in The Advocate of Stamford. "A shootout last year [2006] between factions of the Crips that left two people injured spurred a citywide police sweep called Operation Clean Streets."[2]

Ethnic groups

The West Side has a large Italian American population, but much less than in the past. After World War II and the emergence of Italian-Americans from the working class, Blacks became a larger presence, and more recently Haitian Americans and Hispanics have moved to the neighborhood. The Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Church on Schuyler Avenue in the neighborhood was built for Italian-Americans in the early twentieth century at a time when Roman Catholic Churches were organized for groups by national origin.[citation needed]

Many Italian-Americans in the neighborhood in the Twentieth century immigrated from Minturno, Italy and communities near it. The Minturnese Social Club, founded in 1939 and only made up of members whose families hailed from Minturno, had 120 members in 2007. A Minturnese tradition, the Festa de la Regna ("Festival of Wheat") celebration of harvest day and honoring the Maddona delle Grazie, is still honored with an annual procession. On July 8, 2007 the procession was held on Stephen Street after a Mass said in Italian at the Sacred Heart Church. The procession included women in traditional black and white dresses, a float with miniature palm treas, a stuffed rooster, sheaves of wheat and an Italian flag, a marching band, a woman in red, white and green traditional dress with a sheaf of wheat and men carrying a yellow throne with a portrait of the Maddona delle Grazie.[3]

Another group of Italians in Stamford, came here from Settefrati, Italy. They also have a Social Club located on 23 Virgil Street, in Stamford, CT. The Settefratese tradition in Stamford is to have a Mass for their Patron Saint, La Madonna di Canneto, followed by Sagne e Fagioli at the Club.

Local institutions

Stamford Hospital with a campus of more than 10 acres, is the largest institution in the neighborhood[4], the Yerwood Community Center is located in West Stamford, as is Lione Park, and the Westover Elementary School. The public E. Gaynor Brennan Golf Course is to the north

The New Covenant House soup kitchen, established in 1978, is in the neighborhood and is the only soup kitchen set up to help people in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan and Darien. Run by Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, the soup kitchen provides daily hot meals and extreme nourishment to the homeless.[5]

Pellicci's Italian restaurant has been located at the same address on Stillwater Avenue since 1947. The family-owned restaurant is known for unpretentious, old-fashioned Italian cooking. Joe DiMaggio, Nancy Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Walter Cronkite have all dined there. The eatery sells more than 1,000 poinds of baked chicken a week.[6]

Letter to Stamford Talk from Chowhound

2008-04-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Stamford Talk, you've been sent the following by a Chowhound moderator:

We really do understand your frustration with our request not to post about Napa & Co. It's even more frustrating for all of us to have to ban discussion of good places. But we really do need you to stop posting about them.

The problem is, it's not possible for us to block just the insiders who violate the rules about posting on their place -- they use too many IDs (literally dozens of them in the case of Napa & Co, from names you'd recognize like Fairfield Foodie, John Leah, tdchow, TwoSuns, to many one time names) and post too many dishonest posts. (We're not counting the new nametag you registered last night to post about Napa, which we've deactivated.)

With a lot of work, we've been able to confirm that the posters mentioned above are all employed at Napa or related to an employee. We just don't have the resources to continually examine each and every reply that comes in on Napa, deciding if the poster is a legitimate poster, an innocent newbie who doesn't know any better, a disgruntled regular poster like yourself, or one of the sleazy bunch who got the place banned in the first place.

Luckily, we don't have many places on our banned list because word has gotten out and most restaurant owners, staff and family members realize the risk isn't worth the reward. We only put this measure in place when there's been a concerted campaign to post phony reviews which will bring people into a restaurant. And even then, it's not intended to punish the place -- we don't even normally send emails like this, since we don't want to damage the restaurant's business, we just want to keep our site honest. You seem really frustrated, though, so we're hoping opening up a little with the details will help you understand why we have to do what we've done.

It's no accident that Chowhound is a sleaze-free, hype-free site where like-minded chowhounds swap chow tips. We've had to moderate carefully to create that environment and we have to occasionally delete honest posts like yours to keep it that way. We hope you can accept that and maybe come to appreciate it.

We know that the Napa & Co ban has been particularly hard on the Tristate community, since it's a restaurant many of you would like to discuss. With the intense history of dishonest postings on this place, sadly, we've been left with no other choice.

We're hoping that now you're acquainted with the details on this situation you'll be better able to abide by our guidelines (including the prohibition on registering more than one posting alias.)

The Chowhound Team
Chowhound.com
For Those Who Live to Eat

Stamford Coyote Incident

2008-04-08T03:27:00.000-07:00

Owner blames coyote for attack on her dog
By Donna Porstner Staff Writer 04/08/2008
STAMFORD - Rascal, a 13-year-old Lhasa Apso, is clinging to life after his owner said it was attacked by a coyote Sunday morning in her North Stamford back yard.

Lynne Stone, who lives on South Lake Drive near the New York border, said Rascal was in the back yard, which has an electric fence, for about 10 minutes early Sunday when she heard an unusual sound. She looked outside but didn't see anything. It was about 5 a.m. and still dark, so she took a flashlight but still couldn't find the 18-pound pooch.

Hours later, Stone and her husband, Ted, found Rascal unresponsive and barely breathing with puncture wounds in his neck next a lake behind their home. They rushed him to a Norwalk 24-hour emergency animal care center.

"He's basically in the equivalent of doggy ICU," she said. "He's hooked up to a little intravenous."

From the bite marks on his neck, the Stones presume a coyote carried him away.

Though the doctor said the dog's prognosis is good, it is not known whether Rascal can survive without costly round-the-clock medical care.

Rascal's sister Squirmy, who went inside minutes before the attack, was unharmed.

Though coyotes in residential areas generally pose no threat to humans, they often prey on small dogs and cats.

The state Department of Environmental Protection recommends owners supervise their pets while outdoors or keep them fenced in to protect them - particularly this time of year, when wild animals are looking for food for their
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young.

"Most animals are wary of people, and will stay away if someone is there," DEP spokesman Dennis Schain said.

The DEP warns pet owners not to leave food or trash outside, including pet food, table scraps in compost piles, food scraps on barbecue grills, and fruit that has fallen from trees, because it can attract coyotes.

Though older, smaller dogs in yards with electric fences can be taken by coyotes, Stamford Animal Control Officer Laurie Hollywood said there is no way of knowing what kind of animal attacked Rascal.

"If it's puncture wounds obviously another animal did it, but to say what animal did it would be guessing," she said. "Hopefully, it was an isolated incident. It could be the neighbor's chocolate Lab. You just don't know."

Pets in Stamford have gone missing in recent years, but there have been no reported incidents of coyotes killing or wounding pets, Hollywood said.

"We get sighting calls at all the time, but we haven't had anyone actually report a coyote taking their animal in probably a couple of years," she said.

It's rare for coyotes to leave their prey alive, she said.

Since coyotes and other animals pose a threat, Hollywood recommends owners with dogs under 15 pounds keep them supervised and leashed while outdoors.

"Everybody likes these little teacup dogs these days - that's something you need to stay there and protect - they can't really protect themselves," she said.

Coyotes are particularly dangerous because they often stake out their prey for two weeks and learn its routine so it knows when to attack, she said.

"They know which houses have animals because of the urine scent in the yard," Hollywood said. "They know which animals are weaker and which ones to target."

If dogs and cats must be left alone a 6-foot fence is the best way to protect them, she said. Electric fences do not prevent other animals from entering the yard, she said.

Stone plans to leaflet her neighborhood to warn other pet owners.

"We knew there were coyotes in the area. I should have been more vigilant," she said. "Sometimes small dogs make good breakfast treats."

Pedestrians in Stamford: Maligned, Misunderstood

2008-04-07T02:34:00.000-07:00

Advocate: Pedestrians are in jeopardy at station- 04/07/2008
To the editor:

If Stamford police officers wants to make our city safer, they need only to place themselves at the Springdale train station at the evening rush.

Commuters trying to cross Hope Street, using the crosswalk, take their lives in their hands daily. Cars drive by at high speeds, honking their horns and shooting angry looks as we try to cross the street on our walk home. The sign by the side of the road does not get their attention, and most drivers feel inconvenienced to have to stop.

I just hope that a solution is found before someone gets seriously injured.

Phyllis Pugliesi
Stamford

Portable Classrooms are Gross

2008-04-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

My opinion: I doubt these double-wide trailers are as nice as the Board of Ed member and school facilities managers say there are.

Rep: Take students out of 'substandard' portable classrooms
By Donna Porstner Staff Writer

STAMFORD - The chairwoman of the Board of Representatives' Education Committee says 500 students ought to be removed from "substandard" portable classrooms before the Board of Education closes an elementary school.

"We talk about equity and equality, and if you start with an environment that's not good to learn, you are one step behind," said Rep. Pauline Rauh, D-6.

The Board of Education plans to close an elementary school when the new interdistrict magnet school opens in 2009. Declining enrollment and limited funding have been cited as reasons.

Many of the 28 modular classrooms in city grammar schools do not have running water, making bathroom visits a "field trip" and messes difficult to clean, said Rauh, a former school administrator who represents downtown.

"The life of elementary school children is their hands are being washed all the time," she told three school board members who attended one of her committee's meetings at the Government Center Thursday night.

It was the second time in four months Rauh implored school board members to consider the long-term needs of students in the modular units before closing a building.

"I think you are right when you say we haven't discussed that in-depth, but what's the alternative?" said James Rubino, who chairs the Board of Education's Facilities Committee.

Rauh suggested keeping all 12 elementary schools and dispersing preschool classes run by Childcare Learning Centers Inc. into neighborhood schools
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across the city. The nonprofit company has been discussed as a potential tenant of a school building that would be vacated.

Parents of 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds might be reluctant to send their children across town, so preschool classes in neighborhood schools may be ideal, she said.

Rauh said she fears the Board of Education will close a school only to come back a few years later and seek a large capital appropriation to replace the portables classrooms. The oldest units are 18 years old.

While some portable classrooms had three-to-five-year lifespans when they were purchased, School Facilities Manager Al Barbarotta said the district has extended their useful lives by installing new roofs and making other repairs.

"Most of the teachers like them," Barbarotta said. "We don't get very many complaints about them at my level."

The school board's Redistricting Committee decided in February to continue counting the space provided by modular classrooms as it considers where to send students in years ahead.

Rubino said it wouldn't make sense, financially, to disperse preschool classes throughout the city.

"I think it's economies of scale," he said in an interview after the meeting. "If CLC is looking for a place to house 400 kids, it's more economical to put them all in one place.

CLC runs subsidized preschool and daycare programs for nearly 1,100 children at 17 sites. CLC officials have said they are seeking a central location to consolidate their 15 satellite operations.

Monica Hoherchak, another school board member, said in interview after Thursday's meeting that CLC officials have told them clients don't mind driving to a central campus.

Board of Education President Richard Freedman did not attend the meeting but said in an interview Friday that there is no reason to discontinue using the portables.

"In many cases - if not most cases - they are the nicest classrooms in the building, so this whole issue of equity - it's just not the case," he said.

Demolishing portable classrooms and redistributing those students to other buildings would be more disruptive and unpopular than closing one building, Freedman said.

"It's like any other piece of real estate: If you maintain and keep it in working condition, it should last a long time," he said.

*

Parking Shortage in Stamford? Nooooo!

2008-04-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life in Stamford seems all gloom and doom.

Parking? There may not be empty spaces in Bell Street garage
Stamford Advocate article By Wynne Parry 03/23/2008

STAMFORD - Take a weekday spin through one of the three city-run parking garages, and you'll see plenty of empty spaces - even at Bell Street garage, the most popular.

But with development projects and more commuters on the way, the days of abundant parking may be numbered, said Ben Barnes, the city's director of operations.

Hoping to head off a parking shortage at the largest and most centrally located Bell Street facility, Barnes has asked a longtime tenant, Saturn of Stamford, to move the new vehicles it keeps on the roof parking level to the Bedford Street garage.

Tom Waurishuk, Saturn's general manager, is not happy about moving when other businesses rent space for their employees in the same garage.

"There is a wonderful thing, it is called first-come, first-serve, and we were there first," he said.

Saturn began storing the cars for its Stamford dealership at the garage about 13 years ago, Waurishuk said. Since then, the city dealership closed about two years ago, so the cars now are taken to White Plains, N.Y., to be sold.

In all that time, Waurishuk said he has watched much of the Bell Street garage sit empty, adding, "I don't believe it will ever fill up; it never has."

The city has sold daytime permits for 720 of Bell Street's 850 spaces, including Saturn's. In addition, the garage gets an average of 110 "transient" parkers each day, Barnes said.

Many of the latter group arrive downtown in the evening, so the garage can handle many more
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permits and transient drivers than it has spaces. "It's not unlike the airline business, where it makes some sense to oversell," he said.

A midmorning drive through the Bell Street garage on Thursday revealed about three levels of occupied spaces and another three that were mostly empty.

However, this may change as development plans bring in more drivers and existing parking is lost to construction, particularly near the train station and in downtown.

In the next few years, the city is likely to lose the lease for the St. John's parking lot it operates that is owned by the Diocese of Bridgeport. These 246 spaces are across the street from the Bell Street garage.

In the past two weeks, Barnes said he received requests for several hundred additional spaces in the Bell Street garage from four entities, including UBS.

"People are apprehensive about the availability of parking, so they want to lock up as much as they can," he said.

UBS rents 350 spaces at the Bell Street garage, but the additional request was prompted by Antares' development plans for the former Manger Electric site, part of which UBS uses for parking near the train station.

Train commuters, plagued by a shortage of spots and long waiting lists to park at the station, may face more problems when a 23-year-old station parking garage is replaced.

Also, W&M Properties, owner of the Metro Center office building at Station Place and Washington Boulevard, has approval to build an office tower and three apartment buildings on the same block as the train station.

Moving Saturn from the Bell Street garage makes sense, said City Rep. Robert "Gabe" DeLuca, R-14, chairman of the Transportation Committee. "My feeling is open more space for the public."

Despite the move, the terms of Saturn's lease would remain the same, earning the city $172,800 over three years.

Saturn is the best entity to move because it simply stores cars and won't need to ask workers to walk farther, Barnes said.

Dog Park Location Debate

2008-03-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

Dog park supporters divided on the location
By Wynne Parry Staff Writer 03/21/2008

STAMFORD - Residents were unanimous this week in supporting an effort to create Stamford's first dog park.

But, during a public hearing Wednesday night at city hall, dog owners and others had many opinions about where to put it.

The city is considering four sites - Czesick Park on Shippan Avenue, the Hunt Complex on Courtland Avenue and two sites in Kosciuszko Park on Dyke Lane.

"None of the locations are perfect. Each has advantages and drawbacks," said city Rep. Arthur Layton, R-17.

Layton and city Rep. Eileen Heaphy, D-8, hatched the idea and formed the nonprofit Friends of the Stamford Dog Park about a year ago. They hope to raise $40,000 to create it.

Resident Coleen Banks, 49, said her visits to the prospective sites left her strongly against one - the Hunt Complex - the least expensive option and a city favorite.

The site near Exit 9 of Interstate 95 is isolated, she said.

"I was uncomfortable being there," she said. "I just think that if you are going to provide something for the dog owners of the city of Stamford, it would be rather insulting to give them this rather unparklike setting."

Resident David Winston, 58, spoke in favor of the Hunt Complex.

A Cove resident and cat owner, Winston said he would like to attract dogs and their owners to the area.

"That kind of activity is going to encourage a neighborhood environment," he said.

Other speakers addressed the two remaining sites. Czesick Park drew concern because of the traffic the dog park might generate and the controversy embroiling the neighborhood over proposed artificial turf fields at West Beach across the street.

Kosciuszko Park has a high water table, making it muddy, and it is more remote, said a resident, Jan Goldfluss, 50.

The Parks and Recreation Commission plans to decide at its next meeting, scheduled for April 16, said Mickey Docimo, director of parks and recreation for the city.

Once the department approves the park and selects a site, the Friends of the Stamford Dog Park must come up with the money for a fence, benches and other items.

The group has raised about $2,300, Heaphy said.

Headless Chicken Investigation Continues

2008-03-22T06:11:00.000-07:00

Town still investigating six headless chickens--March 22, 2008

Greenwich Animal Control officers are investigating six beheaded chickens found behind a Mason Street bank Thursday afternoon, considering whether the birds were killed as part of a religious ritual, Greenwich Police Lt. Richard Cochran said Friday.

Over the years Greenwich Police officers have collected dismembered carcasses of chickens and other animals that appeared to be ritually killed, Cochran said.

The killings also could be a disturbed individual's idea of a prank, Cochran said.

"Whether it was linked to Holy Week or some other event we're not sure," Cochran said. "It could also just be a stupid prank."

The perpetrators could face animal cruelty charges, Cochran said, which under state law is a felony that can carry up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine, depending on the circumstances.

The chickens were found by passersby under a tall hedge in the parking lot behind Putnam Trust Bank at 10 Mason St. Thursday afternoon.

Cochran said police checked security cameras on the property, but the devices did not record the area where the animals were left.

"Anybody with information about this should call us," Cochran said.

Residents with information about the chickens should call the Animal Control Division at 622-8299.

--Martin B. Cassidy

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Advocate: School Closing Decision Delayed

2008-03-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Panel votes to close elementary school; decision delayed on which building
By Donna Porstner, Staff Writer --March 20, 2008

STAMFORD - The Board of Education Redistricting Committee last night voted to close an elementary school in 2009 but delayed a decision on which one for at least a month.

The move freezes a controversial plan to close Toquam Magnet Elementary School - at least for now.

The committee has been discussing whether to close Toquam when the new interdistrict magnet school opens in the Cove in 2009.

Board members agreed to the one-month delay to give Mayor Dannel Malloy time to talk to state officials about how the new school may be populated. Members were told the magnet school couldn't have a traditional attendance district, in which children are assigned to a building based on where they live.

Malloy asked members to "pause" so he could have a "broader dialogue" with the state about the new magnet school.

"He's going to be a great advocate," Board of Education Vice Chairman James Rubino said. "He's a man of great influence."

Malloy and board members were vague about what they hope to get from the state.

Members were expected to chose one of four options last night: keeping all schools open, closing Toquam and redistributing those students to their district schools, closing Toquam and moving those students to the new magnet school while retaining the curriculum, or closing Toquam and moving its students to the new school with the new environmentally themed curriculum.Ê

Instead, members voted in favor of closing an elementary school and tabled the three other options.

Because of declining enrollment and a limited budget, school officials are considering the closure of an elementary school when the new school opens. The school district is expected to lose about 700 students over the next seven years.

Closing a school would save about $5.4 million annually.

Malloy, a non-voting member of the school board, said his first choice would be to keep all schools open.

But board members said adding a 13th elementary school would necessitate cutbacks in other areas.

"I've often heard the schools ought to run in a more business-like fashion," Board of Education President Richard Freedman said. "What business people do is assess risk that could cost you dearly, and paying for a 21st school could cost us dearly."

Parents were stunned Toquam was targeted for closure because it is one of only two public elementary schools in Stamford to meet all federal No Child Left Behind standards this year without requiring remedial action. They launched a "Save Toquam" campaign and put signs with the motto on their cars and all over the city.

With redistricting, the board is trying to alter the attendance districts to ensure all schools have a similar balance of students, factoring in race and family income.

Toquam parents attending last night's meeting said they were relieved the closing has been put on hold.

"I am cautiously optimistic," parent Beth Covino said. "It still feels like limbo."

Redistricting Committee Chairwoman Susan Nabel asked Malloy to report back in four weeks so the committee could decide.

"It isn't in any of our common best interest to keep the tension going," Nabel said.

Toquam parents were thankful Malloy intervened. Had it not been for the mayor, the committee likely would have voted to close Toquam last night, said Astrid Olsen, who has two children at Toquam.

"We probably would have left here even more depressed than we are now," Olsen said.

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Stamford Times: Toquam Decision Delayed

2008-03-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

BOE halts redistricting; seeks to come up with new plan (Thursday, 4 p.m.)
By A.J. O'CONNELL March 20, 2008

STAMFORD — The board of education halted their redistricting effort and said on Wednesday night that they would reconsider the closing of Toquam Magnet School.

The decision comes after Mayor Dannel Malloy cut funds from his capital budget that would have gone towards the construction of the new intradistrict magnet school. Malloy this month cut $2.8 million from his capital budget for furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) for the new Intradistrict Environmental Magnet School, effectively derailing the board of education's plans to open the new magnet school in September of 2009. Malloy said he hoped the cut would stimulate discussion, and cause the board to spend more time developing a comprehensive redistricting plan.

On Wednesday that is exactly what happened.

Malloy, a non-voting member of the board of education, told the board at a redistricting committee meeting that more dialogue with the parents, the state and with the community is needed before the board can decide which school to close.

"Taking up any of the remaining motions would be a mistake at this time," he told the committee.
A motion to keep all the existing schools open while opening the new magnet school already failed 3-1 in committee. Board member Robert King voted in favor of operating 21 schools.

The three motions to which Malloy referred would have closed Toquam Magnet School, and either sent its students back to their districted schools or to the environmental magnet.

Malloy offered to work with the board of education and the state in order to come up with a different redistricting plan.

"While I'm not happy that 13 months after this committee started, we're coming to a halt for a while, I'm happy to have the help in coming up with (a redistricting plan,)" said board member Rosanne McManus.

The decision will push back the magnet lottery, said Superintendent Joshua Starr. The lottery was supposed to occur on Monday, but will instead take place in May.

Redistricting committee chairwoman Susan Nabel said that she will expect a report from Malloy in four weeks, on April 10.

Parents from Toquam Magnet School, who crowded the board room, applauded as the mayor left at 7:30 p.m. to attend another meeting.

"I'm so pleased that the discussion isn't over," said mother Dana Patashnik, whose two sons are in kindergarten and second grade at Toquam.

Other Toquam parents were cautiously optimistic after Wednesday's vote.

"I'm glad they didn't close our school tonight," said Toquam mom Ida Morris, "but they did decide to close one school."

Parents from other schools were equally concerned.

"It leaves the possibility that that other schools may close," said Hart mother Chris Kanaris.

"Anything is possible the way this project has been going," said Jennifer Adams, also a Hart parent.

Headless chickens found behind bank

2008-03-21T03:49:00.000-07:00

Headless chickens found behind bank
By Martin B. Cassidy Staff Writer March 21, 2008

Six blood-spattered fowl with their heads cut off were found behind a Mason Street bank yesterday afternoon, disturbing customers and prompting calls to police.

Police said they didn't know anything about the decapitated birds, which appeared to be chickens, left strewn under a tall hedge along the parking lot of the Putnam Trust Bank. Calls to the Animal Control Division were not returned yesterday.

Several bank customers stopped to lament the birds. David Tovar, a Greenwich resident, said he was sickened by the grisly sight of the dead birds when he spotted them after making a deposit at the bank.

"I just think it is really kind of strange for these chickens to be left here," Tovar said. "Somebody should come quickly to pick them up or bury them. Children come to the bank with their mommies."

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Scary Robberies at Stamford Mall

2008-03-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

2nd teen in a week robbed at knifepoint near mall
By Zach Lowe Staff Writer March 14, 2008

STAMFORD - Four suspects robbed a city teen at knifepoint Wednesday night in a glass enclosure that leads to the Stamford Town Center parking garage, authorities said.

It was the second knifepoint robbery at the mall in the past week. On Sunday, an unknown assailant stabbed a 17-year-old city boy in the shoulder during a robbery in a men's bathroom on the mall's fifth floor, police said.

No arrests have been made in that case. Police arrested one suspect in Wednesday's robbery after a brawl that left one officer with a broken ankle and another with a torn hamstring, said Lt. Sean Cooney, a department spokesman.

The other three suspects remain at large.

Police were looking into whether the two robberies are linked, said Sgt. Paul Guzda, a supervisor in the detective bureau. They are reviewing surveillance video from both crime scenes, he said.

The victim Wednesday was listening to his iPod when the four men approached him in the glass enclosure off Veterans Park on Atlantic Street, next to the mall, Guzda said.

One suspect held a knife to the victim's throat as the others swiped his iPod and took a small amount of cash from his backpack, Guzda said.

The victim, 16, ran to a Dunkin' Donuts and called police with a customer's cell phone, Guzda said.

Patrol officers spotted the four suspects near Columbus Park, Guzda said.

The suspects fled, and two officers chased a 17-year-old down Atlantic Street and caught him near Bank Street, police said.

The suspect, whom police did not identify because he is under 18, resisted arrest and punched the officers before they tackled him, Cooney said.

One officer's ankle got caught between a concrete planter and a post that holds up an awning for the Safavieh home furnishing store at 230 Atlantic St., Cooney said. The officer broke his ankle and was treated at Stamford Hospital, he said.

Officers stunned the suspect with a Taser at least twice to subdue him, police said. He was charged with first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, two counts of assaulting a police officer and interfering with police.

He was being held on $300,000 bond and was scheduled to appear March 27 at state Superior Court in Stamford, police said.

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Robbery At Stamford Mall: Incident #1

2008-03-14T05:02:00.000-07:00

Teenager stabbed during robbery attempt at mall
By Angela Carella Assistant City Editor March 10, 2008

STAMFORD - A 17-year-old Stamford youth was stabbed in the shoulder yesterday during an attempted robbery in a restroom at the Stamford Town Center mall.

The young man was expected to be released from Stamford Hospital after a few hours, Sgt. Richard Phelan said yesterday evening.

The knife "just missed an artery," Phelan said. "He's very lucky."

The incident occurred at about 5:25 p.m. when the teen walked into the men's room on the fifth floor of the mall, outside the Saks Fifth Avenue store, police said.

"He was followed in by two males who announced it was a robbery," Phelan said. "They demanded his wallet and they had a knife."

The teen called out to his friend, who was in the men's room, and one of the robbers stabbed him once in the right shoulder, Phelan said.

No other details were available yesterday evening as police pursued two male suspects in their late teens.

Police were reviewing videotapes from mall security cameras to obtain more information, Phelan said.

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Morale Low at Ferguson Library

2008-03-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Report: Morale low at library
By Neil Vigdor, Staff Writer March 9, 2008

Greenwich Library suffers from poor employee morale, a lack of opportunities for advancement and general dissatisfaction with management, according to those surveyed in a consultant's report on the institution. The 6-page report commissioned by the town paints the library as a dysfunctional place where employees said they felt alienated and bullied at times by management.

Employees interviewed for the report told the consultant that management's support of and communication with the staff was lacking. Some confided that they felt discriminated against because of what they described as perceived favoritism on the part of management and a lack of personal and professional respect and courtesy.

In a statement, the town said the consultant's work was the result of an agreement with the unions representing Greenwich Library staff. "This special initiative was designed to effect positive change so as to hear and address union members' complaints without formal investigative fact fg and without the intent to find or assign fault or blame," the statement said.

Mario Gonzalez, who has been the library's executive director for the past 81⁄2 years, said in an interview that the institution had its problems like any organization and was trying to correct them.

"It was apparent to me that we needed to do a better job at addressing internal communication and getting our house in order," Gonzalez said. "This is a cherished institution. When you have so many people that are very passionate about their job and the work that they do, issues arise, and it's my responsibility to address them."

Town officials hired Stamford-based consultant Julie Jansen last year to evaluate the work climate at the library after a number of employees and union officials complained about conditions there. The library, which is the second-busiest in all of New England, receives about 80 percent of its funding from the town.

Jansen, who previously had been used by the library to train staff members and develop a strategic plan, interviewed 24 of the library's 180 employees for the report.

The subjects who were interviewed were recommended by the human resource officials of the town or volunteered to be interviewed. All were promised that their names would not be used. Eighteen of the 24 employees interviewed are members of the Laborers' International Union of North America Local 136, most of whom are librarians.

Lynn Mason, who is the union's business manager and works at the town-owned Nathaniel Witherell nursing home, said the employee responses summarized in the report were consistent with sentiments of the LIUNA members.

"The sad thing is it was allowed to get to this point," said Mason, who declined to discuss specific grievances of the union members.

Roberta Denning, president of the library's Board of Trustees for the past two years, said the report was being taken to heart but was meant to be confidential and not for public discussion.

"The conclusions and the recommendations were shared with the staff several months ago," Denning said. "All of the issues that were raised are being addressed."

The town gave a copy of the report to Greenwich Time in negotiations after first denying a Freedom of Information request, but maintains its position that the report is not a public document.

Neither Denning nor Gonzalez, who was portrayed quite negatively in the report, would say how much the town paid for the consultant's evaluation and referred questions on its cost to town Human Resources Director Maureen Kast. A message seeking comment was left with Kast's assistant.

In the report, the library's employees said they perceived Gonzalez as dictatorial, controlling and bullying. Gonzalez disputed the report's characterization of his management style and dealings with employees. "I believe that I'm open, that I have access to the staff and that I embrace the employees and value the work that they do," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also questioned the consultant's methods, saying that Jansen asked leading questions about issues such as employee morale that elicited critical comments.

Jansen said she worked very hard to ask open-ended questions, however, which she said were not shared with members of the library's management ahead of time.

As part of her consulting business, Jansen said her job is to try to help people become better managers. She declined to say how much she was paid for her work or how conditions at the library compared to her other clients.

In her report, Jansen recommended that regular meetings between the library's management and staff be held, coaching of management in the areas of communication and leadership, implementation of team building exercises and conflict resolution.

"I've heard there have been improvements, which is good," Jansen said. Gonzalez said the town hired another consultant to help the library implement the recommendations in the report. A number of changes have already taken effect, from holding monthly staff meetings to improving the lines of communications, he said.

"So, all in all, there's more access and more communication and people getting together face-to-face. So it's not just e-mailing and telephone calls," Gonzalez said, adding that he is attending more staff meetings than in the past.

Gonzalez said the library's entire operation has been turned "upside-down" as a result of the report, with rank-and-file staff members have more say in the decision-making process. The employees also have formed working groups with the consultant's assistance focusing on communication, staff development and staff recognition, he said.

"Like any business, you're going to have employees that may not be 100 percent satisfied," Gonzalez said. "I recognize that, and I'm trying to address that."

Despite the concerns aired in the report, Gonzalez pointed out that the library has a low rate of attrition and has many employees with long tenures.

Mason, the LIUNA representative, said the library was slowly making positive strides. "It's better, but we're a long way from the finish line," Mason said. Another area where library officials said they have made a conscious effort to improve the work climate is getting the Board of Trustees more involved with the staff and day-to-day operations.

Denning, the board's president, said she had confidence in the library's ability to overcome its problems because of a common bond.

"Whether it's the staff, the management, the board or the unions, we all love the library and want to make it better," Denning said.

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

A Story About Pumpkin Spice

2008-03-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Two falls ago, I got really into pumpkin. The frenzy started with the “Autumn Crepe” at Meli-Melo (pumpkin gelato with Nutella and whip cream) and grew with Cold Stone’s pumpkin ice cream mixed with Twix. In December, when I was still talking about pumpkin, someone said, “Starbucks has a pumpkin spice latte.”

The next morning, after a holiday shopping expedition, I swung into Starbucks in Westport. I walked up to the counter.
“Do you still have the pumpkin spice latte?”
“Yes, we sure do!”
Me: “YES!”
Him: “Oh, excited are ya?”
Me: “Yes, I’ve been waiting for this day for ages, I’ve never had one!”
Him: “We should have it for a while, at least through the end of the month. Sally, how long are we gonna have the pumpkin spice, a while right, don’t we have a bunch left.”
Sally: “Oh yeah, we usually have it ‘til like, March or April.”
Me: “OK, can I have a tall, skim pumpkin spice latte?”
Him: “With whipped cream, right?”
I hadn’t thought about the whipped cream, so focused was I on the pumpkin, but he sounded psyched about it, so that made my decision: “Yeah, definitely!!!”

He passed the order on to the busy barista, and I saw someone slime a dark, translucent orange-brown elixir in the cup. Oohhhh, ok, I thought, a latte with a mix, I can handle that.

I went to wait in line behind the four other people who were already waiting in the busy Starbucks. It was the first Saturday shopping day in December, so you can imagine how on edge these people were- more than the usual “whose drink’s gonna come out next” tension.

The barista hollered for a caramel cappucino, then my “PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE WITH WHIPPED CREAM!” I stepped forward, trying to hide my excited smile from the shoppers.
“Now, I ordered before you, how is yours ready before mine?” a woman said, smiling, but you could tell she was actually irritated.

I looked her straight in the face and said in a silly, exaggerated, isn’t-it-obvious voice, “It’s the POWER of the pumpkin!”
She laughed, and so did the people behind me. (‘Cause what other explanation is there, really?)

I floated out of the Starbucks, pumpkin spice latte proudly aloft in my hand, feeling like a movie star.

I hurried to my car, smiling hugely now, and got in as fast as I could (it was also damn cold). I took my first sip...

and cackled out loud with delight! It was so good! The pumpkin flavor was SO subtle! The spices, I could vaguely taste the spices, they weren’t overpowering either! The latte flavor came through, too.... it was another perfect pumpkin combination. I took another sip, almost, almost, too excited to appreciate it.

I felt a rush of happiness, and I threw the car in reverse to make the space available to another impatient shopper. Their stress didn’t fluster me. Taking more sips, anything could have come my way, and it wouldn’t have bothered me, ‘cause I was under the influence of pumpkin.

If you are even the slightest bit of a pumpkin fan, I can unreservedly recommend this latte. Now, I’m not sure if I’d be in the mood for a pumpkin spice latte at 7 am (you can’t abuse the pumpkin, or overdo it), every single morning (maybe, maybe, you never know!!!) but for a 3pm pick-me-up, it is fantastic!

Now, my next steps:
1) find out what the pumpkin elixir is, and if it’s for sale
2) go online and investigate other pumpkin products (I think I friend of mine once made pumpkin ravioli, with an elixir from Trader Joe’s)
3) someone mentioned pumpkin oatmeal- I’m not sure if they meant that it exists or were suggesting that I create my own pumpkin mix, or what.

These next steps will be careful steps, because pumpkin is very dear to me.

Cheeeeeeeeeese! Cheese on I-95

2008-03-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

Crash spills fuel, cheese onto I-95
By Angela Carella Assistant City Editor, March 5, 2008

STAMFORD - A tractor-trailer accident near Exit 6 of Interstate 95 about 8 p.m. Monday created such a mess that it was not cleared until rush hour yesterday morning, state police said.

The operator of the truck, which was carrying cheese, lost control "after being distracted by his coffee" and swerved into the right shoulder, where he struck the guardrail and skidded into the rock embankment, a state police report said.

The crash broke open the trailer, throwing cheese onto I-95, and split the side gasoline tank, spilling about 50 gallons of diesel fuel, according to the report.

There were no injuries.

The driver, Kurt Lentz, 55, of Pennsylvania, whose truck had Indiana plates, was charged with failure to maintain the proper lane.

The tractor-trailer was totaled.

It took all night to clean up the cheese, fuel and other wreckage caused by the crash, a state police spokesman said.

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Articles about Immigrants and Jobs

2008-03-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

--ACLU: Immigrants and the Economy (3/12/2002)

--Study: Immigrants take young Americans' jobs

--The Immigration Equation (New York Times Magazine) July 9, 2006

--NY Times Topics: Illegal Aliens

--Study Finds Immigrants Don't Hurt U.S. Jobs: Pew Detects No Link To Unemployment (Washington Post, Aug. 11, 2006)

--Article: Do Immigrants Take or Make Jobs?

Articles about Danbury Immigrants and Arrests

2008-03-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

--Danbury Council Vote on Policing Immigrant Community Draws Thousands to Protest (NY Times Feb. 7, 2008)

--Connecticut City Plans to Team Its Police With Federal Immigration Agents (NY Times Feb. 6, 2008)

--City of Danbury press release: MAYOR BOUGHTON ADDRESSES “DANBURY 11” LAWSUIT (Sept. 26, 2007)

--Stung in the Search for Work (NY Times Dec. 21, 2006)

--Volleyball and Violations: Immigrants' Pastime Is Out of Bounds in Danbury (NY Times Aug. 2, 2005)

Judge Says Day Laborer Arrests Not Racial Profiling

2008-03-03T06:11:00.000-08:00

Judge won't block deportation of illegal aliens in Danbury
Associated Press-- February 5, 2008

DANBURY, Conn. -- A federal judge has refused to block the deportations of nine men picked up during an undercover operation targeting illegal aliens in Danbury in 2006.

Immigration Judge Michael Straus ruled Monday that Danbury police did not exceed their authority during the 2006 sting at Kennedy Park.

The judge also ruled Monday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents did not rely on racial profiling to make the arrests.

Straus ruled that "solicitation of day labor in our current culture has a strong correlation to undocumented presence in the United States and lack of employment authorization" and thus it was not unreasonable for police to question the men, nor was it racial profiling.

Straus also said the illegal aliens had no right to counsel prior to being placed in deportation proceedings, nor do officers have to advise individuals of their right not to cooperate.

Lawyers from Yale University's Jerome N. Frank Legal Services plan to appeal.

The case now goes to the Bureau of Immigration Appeals, which could take more than a year to rule. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York is ultimately expected to decide the challenge to Danbury police and methods used by ICE.

"The ruling declares open season on day laborers," said Simon Moshenberg, a student at the Yale Law School's Worker and Immigrant Rights Clinic, which represented the men.

The judge's ruling is the latest round in the legal wrangling over the so-called "Danbury 11." Two of the original 11 have already been deported.

The ruling comes two days before the Danbury Common Council votes whether to deputize local police as federal immigration officers. They did not have such authority in the Sept. 16, 2006, arrest of the nine day laborers.

The men in Monday's case were among those nabbed after an undercover officer in a sport utility vehicle offered laborers work. The men entered the vehicle and were driven a few blocks to ICE agents, who questioned the men about their citizenship status.

Illegal Immigration Letter- Paul Streitz

2008-03-03T05:25:00.000-08:00

To the editor:

Who says illegal aliens are poor? So poor that they need money for heat during the winter?

It is estimated that $23 billion was sent back to Mexico in 2006. If there are 12 million illegals, that amounts to $159.72 per month remitted for every illegal man, woman and child in the United States of America. And that does not count money sent back to the other South American and Asian countries and India.

If illegal aliens are sending back 5 percent of their earnings to Mexico, the Mexicans are taking billions out of the pockets of working-class Americans.

If illegal aliens are so poor in America, why do houses harboring illegals have so many trucks with license plates from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania?

If illegals are so poor, why does New Haven Mayor John DeStefano want to set up a bank for illegals?

If illegals are so poor, why are all the restaurant jobs and construction jobs seemingly done by illegals?

If illegals are so poor, why are so many doing jobs at Yale University, such as grounds-keeping and cleaning, that Americans used to do?

If illegals are so poor, why does Bank of America give them credit cards? Why have they been able to take out home mortgages?

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro says, "We cannot deport 12 million people." Why should Americans deport anybody? Dry up the jobs. With the money that illegal aliens have made, they can all go back to their home countries drinking champagne on a first-class airline ticket.

Paul Streitz

Darien

The writer is co-director of CT Citizens for Immigration Control, an Internet organization of residents throughout the state.

Stamford's NAACP Fundraising Dinner March 28

2008-02-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

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.

Ed Letter: Cameras in Firehouse

2008-02-15T05:24:00.001-08:00

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.

Ed Letter: Mayor's Spending Disclosure

2008-02-15T05:19:00.000-08:00

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

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

2008-02-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

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.

Cameras in Springdale Firehouse

2008-02-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Local Movie Star Discounts

2008-02-08T04:31:00.000-08:00

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.

My Dancing Nemesis: Latin Dance Article

2008-02-07T05:26:00.000-08:00

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.