Saturday, February 17, 2007

hartford sidewalks (AND streets)

hey eddie perez, you're king of hartford, why don't you make sure the sidewalks AND streets are cleared and plowed like they are supposed to be. stop worrying about how much press you can get and make sure your streets are SAFE for all

i am livid because coincidentally i had an experience yesterday.

i was minding my own bid-nez (as i am apt to do) and outside an establishment in hartford smoking. i only had a light wrap on and it was FRIGID. i saw a blind man trying to get over a snow bank to cross farmington avenue. i knew there was no open path at the cross walk because i had to cross over the very same spot myself. i had to do that because there was NO available parking on the street where i usually park due to the fact the streets were COVERED with snow. IF there are cars on hartford streets during a parking ban (such as there was on wednesday) the cars are SUPPOSED TO BE TOWED so the streets can be properly plowed. go down any of the little side streets in hartford (especially around farmington avenue). there are still cars that are parked where they were during the storm. they didn't get towed much less ticketed. the driving is treacherous. there are schools around the area and when a school bus attempts to go down these streets, well you can't even imagine. it really IS horrid. anyway, i had to park elsewhere and walk over to my destination. there NO paths to get through at cross walks so i had to maneuver very carefully to get over the snow and cross that street. once i crossed, the sidewalk i got to was almost unwalkable. the walks belonged to a business.

anyway, i saw this blind man trying to cross over farmington avenue. a woman and her young child guided him to a place he could cross. i watched him as he crossed the busy street. cars weren't slowing down. finally one car DID stop and he successfully got to the other side ONLY TO FIND NO WHERE TO GET OVER THE BANK ON THAT SIDE. (i should say i don't know this man but i have often seen him crossing the street at the very same spot. he has NO problems. he knows when the lights change and i've never seen him coming close to getting hit). i dashed down (in my light wrap with the frigid temperatures) and yelled out, 'do you need help'? i offered him my arm and helped him get over the bank. i asked where he was going and he told me the next side street over. i looked down the sidewalk and said, 'oh SHIT'. i told him i was going to have to walk him because there was NO WAY he could do it on his own. there was a tramped down path for ONE PERSON of SOLID ICE. it was NOT shoveled, it was tamped down into a solid ice mass. NOT smooth mind you but wicked bumpy. it was only a few inches wide too. i fell. i fell BEFORE i even took the first step with him. that sidewalk as i mentioned belonged to a business. KING PEREZ, WHY DIDN'T THAT BUSINESS SHOVEL THEIR WALKS ADEQUATELY AND BY THE LAW?

i got him down to the side street after what seemed like forever. i was frozen solid and i still had to turn around and make it all the way back to from whence i had come.

i was going to write to king perez to complain about the streets and the sidewalks, but now, this will do

Icy sidewalks are a hazard for pedestrians

by News Channel 8's Bob Wilson

(Hartford-WTNH) _ Connecticut got a big dose of snow and ice this week making for some slippery situations. Hospitals around the state are reporting more emergency room visits because of nasty falls on the ice.
Jane D'Manno was out walking her dog on the slippery sidewalks in Hartford Friday evening and was one of the dozens slip and fall victims around the Hartford area. She fell on the ice before because it is too thick for her to shovel................

why would the pentagon prevent va doctors

from having important medical files (digital records i believe) on patients they are treating? the patients are from iraq and afghanistan and have serious medical problems such as traumatic brain injuries. all of a sudden, BAM, the doctors (who work at va hospitals mind you - but i don't care WHERE they work - THEY ARE DOCTORS TREATING OUR WOUNDED TROOPS) are stopped from getting complete medical records on those they are treating. talk about effed up

i understand about the privacy act. this ain't it by the way. our troops deserve THE VERY BEST treatment in the entire universe! period

catch-22 (i AM the bombardier)

Pentagon Red Tape Keeps Medical Records From Doctors of the Wounded

By Al Kamen

Department of Veterans Affairs doctors are furious over a recent decision by the Pentagon to block their access to medical information needed to treat severely injured troops arriving at VA hospitals from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA physicians handle troops with serious brain injuries and other major health problems. They, rely on digital medical records that track the care given wounded troops from the moment of their arrival at a field hospital through their evacuation to the United States.......

..................The access cutoff came after Morris, in a Jan. 23 e-mail, instructed a colleague: "If the VA currently has access I need a list of persons and I need their accounts shut off ASAP. It is illegal for them to have access without data use agreements and access controls in place by federal regulations and public law."
There have been meetings between VA and Pentagon officials. The Pentagon declined to comment yesterday............


Thursday, February 15, 2007

update on the baker's dozen

STILL no arrests but THIS is wicked interesting. by the way, it never even occurred to me the baker's dozen got attacked for singing the star spangled banner. it NEVER occurred to me they were attacked by "leftist hippies". as a matter of fact, just the opposite.

from first draft via raw story
Semper Fi Hannity

Last month the wingnuts were outraged when the Baker's Dozen a Yale singing group was attacked in San Fransisco. Though there were reports that this may have been a case of gay bashing the wingnuts seized on another aspect. Wingnut blogger Gateway Pundit had a post title that says it all...Yale Group Gets Beaten for Performing "Star Spangled Banner."
More jumped on the band wagon giving insights such as this from
The Bullwinkle Blog...
The ever-tolerant left of Pelosiville attacked a group of college students for singing the Star-Spangled Banner...........


.............Sooo.....
Today
SFGate reports that "as many as three U.S. Marines were involved" in the alleged attack. There have been no arrests in the matter so the attorney for the victims has written the Marine Corps who do not appear to have been all that helpful thus far......
In the letter, Hammer said the Marine he identified was also involved in the attack on Aziz, who was "brutally punched in the face after he had turned to walk away'' from a group of men. One doctor observed that Aziz's jaw was broken "by a trained fighter or someone using a deadly weapon.''
The Marine, according to the letter, used a cellular phone to photograph "the wounds to the knuckles of his fellow attackers and proceeded to attempt to destroy evidence in an effort to cover up his involvement and escape prosecution.'' ...........


once again i am left wondering WHY NO ARRESTS YET???????????

if i kicked and hit and beat the crap out of someone AND they had my van on tape coming to the scene AND they had TONS of witnesses saying i beat the crap out of someone AND they had me on TAPE beating the crap out of someone.......do you think i'd NOT be arrested SIX WEEKS AFTER THE VIOLENT ATTACK? you bet my big fat butt would be in the slammer right now!

LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL? hell no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yale Families Demand Action From Marines
Choir Group Assaulted In S.F.
By Dan Noyes

Feb. 12 - KGO - He was the victim of a New Year's attack in San Francisco, and now his family's being asked to pay. Their first official contact with the city was a bill for the ambulance. That bill, quite literally, added insult to injury. The parents of the Yale singing group, beaten up over New Year's, believe the D.A.'s office has all the evidence needed to file charges. And they're upset nothing has come of the case so far.
It's now been six weeks since the beating of The Baker's Dozen and the first official word the families get from the city is a bill.
Paramedics rushed 18-year-old Sharyar Aziz to the hospital over New Year's after he was knocked to the ground, punched and kicked by several assailants. His jaw was broken in two places. ......

AND get this.....(if i were in charge HEADS WOULD ROLL ) this is JUST un effing believable
Exclusive: D.A. Discusses Choir Assault Case
By Dan Noyes
......District Attorney Kamala Harris may be frustrated at the pace of the police investigation into the Yale choir beating that resulted in black eyes, sprained ankles, a serious concussion and a jaw broken in two places, but apparently not enough to assign a deputy district attorney and investigator to the case.
ABC7's Dan Noyes: "Have you assigned an inspector to this case?"
Kamala Harris: "No, we're not investigating this case. It's being investigated by the police department." .........

............Jim Hammer: "Several times they thought there was enough evidence to arrest some of those responsible and that each time the D.A. has rebuffed them."
Dan Noyes: "They haven't come to your office for warrants?"
Kamala Harris: "Arrest warrants or search warrants?"
Dan Noyes: "Arrest warrants."
Kamala Harris: "No, not to my knowledge."
There is no denying that the D.A.'s office made an unusual request last weekend to the father of a Yale student who was knocked to the ground, punched and kicked by several assailants, causing a serious concussion. They asked the parent to send a four-page letter, outlining the evidence and the reasons why the prosecutors should file charges.
Dean Johnson, ABC7 Legal Analyst: "I personally think that's outrageous and I have never in 20 years as a prosecutor heard of such a thing." ..........


update on ken krayese

from andy thibault at cool justice

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

and this one gave me a headache....

i actually had to stop in the center monday sit-n-knit of course...AND i found a spot at a meter right out front. it was about 12:30 or 1:00 pm too. i don't believe that has EVER happened and it most likely will never happen again. of course i was the ONLY car out there. the rest were suvs. i'm surprised i am still allowed in west hartford since i don't have an suv.

at any rate, the parking RATES will be changing come april

Council Adjusts Parking Rates At Meters, Lots

By DANIEL P. JONES, Courant Staff Writer

WEST HARTFORD -- Come early April, it will cost more to use a parking meter in West Hartford Center, but it will cost less to park for a day in the town's two main surface lots in the center.The town council Tuesday night unanimously approved new parking rates for on-street metered spaces in the center and for the lots. The changes will take effect April 2.The rate for on-street metered parking will go from 25 cents for 30 minutes to 25 cents for 15 minutes, or four quarters for an hour. The maximum time allowed before vehicles must be moved from metered spaces will remain two hours.............

...........................The hourly parking rate in the surface lots will remain $1.50 for any portion of the first hour and 75 cents per 30 minutes thereafter. The first hour will begin after the first 30 minutes, which will remain free.The hours of operation for the new parking garages will be 24 hours, seven days a week.The main surface lots will be open 5 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next day, when the entrance gates will be closed but automated exit gates will allow motorists to pay and leave, said John Phillips, the town's municipal parking supervisor. Parking from 5 to 9 a.m. will be free. Parking overnight - from 2 to 5 a.m. - is prohibited..............

i have my fingers crossed on this one

i DO hope our state legislature passes SOMETHING like this for the elderly. my pops will be 80 shortly. he's on a fixed income. the west hartford taxes are OUTRAGEOUS (thank you blue back square - you steamin' hunk of crap), he heats his home with oil, THOSE bills are outrageous. one day i went over, he had changed every single light bulb in his home to those squiggly (they look like a dairy queen ice cream) energy saver ones.

Proposals to help low-income seniors gaining steam at Capitol

(Hartford-AP) _ Dozens of measures are being considered at the state Capitol to offer tax relief to Connecticut's low-income senior citizens.
Several seniors and advocates for elderly residents lobbied the General Assembly today.
They wanted to express their concerns about energy prices, tax increases and other strains on their incomes that are fixed by pensions and investments.
Some proposals would freeze the local tax amounts that low-income seniors pay. ...........

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

if you are in mystic

stop by abby and george's

connecticut has a rich history of helping with social reform.

there ARE some not so nice pieces in our history but then again, we had people like george and abby greenman too

Conn. abolitionists' home open to the public

by News Channel 8's Tina Detelj

Mystic-WTNH) _ There is a new connection to Connecticut's abolitionist history that is now being shared with the public.
For the first time, visitors are being invited into the home of George and Abby Greenman. They owned a well known Mystic shipyard where the Mystic Seaport now stands.
"They were strong abolitionists, big social reformers," said Michael O'Farrell from Mystic Seaport.
They may have even provided a stop on the underground railroad in the mid 1800's.
"They really believed that blacks and whites were equal," said O'Farrell.
As legend has it, slaves in southern states would stowaway on lumber schooners heading to the Mystic shipyard............


this is the sort of story we need to read more of



“THERE’S MORE LOVE on this street corner than in all the state of Connecticut," says Anthony Cymerys, also known as Joe the Barber. David Weaver, left, is a regular visitor in front of the former YMCA building in downtown Hartford, where Joe gives free haircuts and food every Wednesday. (MARK MIRKO)

this is the sort of PERSON we need MORE of. giving. this is real giving. caring. this is real caring. at 75, he's not giving up. neither should we

A Hug For A Haircut Joe The Barber, With The Help Of Friends, Fosters Fellowship On A Hartford Street Corner

By JENNIFER WARNER COOPER Special To The Courant February 11 2007

It's 5 p.m. on a wintry Wednesday, with temperatures in the low 20s. Joe the Barber is on the sidewalk outside Hartford's former YMCA building, talking softly to a man with cuts and bruises on his face. He removes his own wool hat and gently fits it over the raw stitches on the man's forehead. He reaches up to tug the hat gently over the man's ears once, twice."You need to keep your head warm," Joe urges.Joe the Barber, whose given name is Anthony Cymerys, sets up his alfresco barbershop and snack bar across from Bushnell Park every Wednesday.Balding and white-haired, the 5-foot-6 Cymerys passes out sandwiches from the back of his gray Dodge Caravan and ladles soup from a stainless-steel stockpot that sits in a cooler on the sidewalk. Steam from the soup carries the smell of hot chicken broth up and over the cold concrete steps of the vacant building.No matter what the weather, Cymerys, 75, has set up shop here once a week for the past decade. In warmer weather, as many as 50 people gather here, but in winter, it's more like 15 to 20 regulars.Beards are trimmed, and hair is clipped. Cymerys can do a buzz, a fade, a zero, "whatever styles the guys ask for."His fee never varies - a hug for a haircut............

Monday, February 12, 2007

congratulations to Eugene DeNeutte

however, i am very sorry you were injured. we, the residents of the great state of connecticut are all thinking of you and are happy you're home

from new haven public schools

SUNDAY, FEB. 11, 2007, VA HOSPITAL, 3 P.M., WEST HAVEN: Eugene A. DeNeutte, a Sound School Graduate of the class of 2000, was seriously injured by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. He has been recuperating and making great gains at the VA Hospital in West Haven. The Sound School has been supporting him and visiting him throughout his recuperation and therapy and the Parent Advisory Council has begun a campaign to provide Valentines for Veterans for Eugene and the others at VA. This Sunday, February 11th at 3pm at the VA Hospital there will be a Purple Heart Ceremony for Eugene.

CT soldier receives purple heart

(West Haven-WTNH) _ Eugene DeNeutte was seriously injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
While recovering from his injuries at the VA Hospital in West Haven, DeNeutte was presented with the purple heart. ...........