Friday, January 21, 2011

an open letter to hartford mayor pedro segarra


this is a coincidence. just yesterday (after days and days and days of headaches driving the streets of hartford), i decided i was going to write to mayor pedro segarra. i have NEVER in my LONG life seen hartford streets such a mess. i'm not just talking side streets here. i'm talking farmington avenue. i personally witnessed traffic in the west end WORSE then i have ever seen it. farmington avenue backed up in BOTH directions at 3:00 pm? no. it's unheard of. sisson aveue? A GIANT mess. it's not plowed properly. hence all sorts of cars that are parked there are jutting out into the road because the sides of the road were NEVER PLOWED. HENCE only one lane of traffic (FOR BOTH DIRECTIONS) can move. when one way moves, the other has to stop. it wouldn't be bad if it was a teeny tiny street, BUT IT'S GOT A MAJOR HIGHWAY EXIT AND ENTRANCE right there. PLUS it's got a fire station. yeah, it's nice for the firefighters when they get a call.  mayor, I DEMAND YOU DO SOMETHING. #1, if cars are parked on the road and there is a parking ban TOW THE CARS IMMEDIATELY. then plow. PLOW PLOW AND PLOW. oh please, hartford has a history of the most horrid snow removal in the cosmos. sure, it pre-dated you by tons. i don't care. now YOU have something YOU can do about it. JUST DO IT. oh and while you're at it, have the police ticket (and ticket heavily) EVERYONE who doesn't clear their sidewalks (a LOT of businesses too). there are a LOT of people in the west end with wheelchairs, motorized scooters, sightless, elderly and on and on. i HAVE my eyes and my legs and i can't maneuver around those walks. what are THEY doing to get around one has to wonder.

and to the stupid arse people getting on and off 84 at sission.........................TAKE WEST BOULEVARD or another way. YOU SEE how effed up sisson and then farmington is. TAKE ANOTHER ROUTE. why would i have to tell you this? you can't figure it out yourself?

 i WAS going to go out later today but i dare not venture out to the west end. i'm having severe distress just thinking about it. i WILL be out and about tomorrow though. i can only imagine..................

pic: A car maneuvers around a snow bank on Church Street in downtown Hartford Thursday as traffic continues to be snarled around the city from the huge pile-ups of snow, which are blocking whole lanes of traffic and making it difficult to see oncoming cars. (Rick Hartford, Hartford Courant / January 20, 2011)
Snow Buildup In Hartford Causes Headaches For Commuters

Driving to work has become a headache for Jay Hyne.

His usual brisk, 15-minute commute from West Hartford to the city's downtown has more than tripled since last Wednesday's snowstorm as high snow banks narrow key arteries and obscure vision at intersections.

Some streets have only one clear lane, Hyne said, causing bottlenecks that back up traffic for miles."It's very frustrating," said Hyne, who works on Main Street as a law clerk for a federal judge. "No one can make a left turn without holding everyone else up."

More than a week after the storm — and two days after the state was hit with sleet and freezing rain — municipalities were still dealing with the aftermath.
Snow-clogged local roads have caused backups that stretch onto interstates during morning and afternoon commutes...........


and here's hartford's snow removal plan for the 21st it's in pdf by the way. but you don't have to open it. it says they're gonna do a bang up job

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

thank the goddess for some GOOD news

here da LIEbs, let me get the door for ya!
bye bye

U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman Won't Run For Re-Election, Political Insiders And An Aide Say

U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman has decided not to seek a fifth term in 2012, after seeing his popularity drop in polls in recent years, political insiders and a Lieberman aide said Tuesday — and those sources say that the Democrat-turned-independent will make it official at a press conference Wednesday in Stamford.
 
Lieberman's Senate press secretary, Erika Masonhall, would not say Tuesday what Lieberman's decision would be, issuing a statement saying only: "After many thoughtful conversations with family and friends over the last several months, Sen. Lieberman made a decision about his future over the holidays, which he plans to announce on Wednesday."

However, "you can bet the farm" that Lieberman won't run again, said a Democratic insider who is close to the 22-year Senate veteran.
...............

Lieberman will not run in 2012, adviser says
Washington Post Staff Writers  
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee who won reelection to the Senate in 2006 as an independent, plans to announce Wednesday that he will retire at the end of his term, according to an aide. Once a stalwart member of the Democratic caucus and a leader in the party's centrist wing, Lieberman (Conn.) has spent most of the past four years in partial exile - voting with Democrats on organizational matters and some domestic issues while siding with Republicans on key issues of national security. ............

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

this is my friend spiro

unfortunately i just found out he was featured in java in the courant. i didn't even see the print copy!

anyway, i met spiro through the the half door and we did indeed become good friends. i don't see him quite as often any more, BUT i still do see him.

 stop in to see him at the firebox on broad street. you won't be sorry. it's a cool place. great atmosphere and great food.

Spiro Koulouris, Firebox's New General Manager
J
Spiro Koulouris is the new general manager at Hartford's popular Firebox restaurant, an eatery that, as part of Broad Street's successful Billings Forge redevelopment complex, is well known for its farm-to-table menu.

Koulouris took over the general manager duties at the Firebox just a couple of months ago, and the transition has been seamless. Recovering from a busy holiday season, Koulouris, who grew up in East Hartford, was able to find a few minutes to "spill the beans" with Java:...................

Spiro Koulouris (MaryEllen Fillo, fillo@courant.com / January 13, 2011)