anybody else read this in the hartford advocate this week?

why am i NOT surprised the school board in MY town, west hartford, had stuff to HIDE?
why am i NOT surprised our taxes are going through the roof and they ARE INDEED EATING CAKE?
is anyone else as disturbed as i am?

Let Them Eat Cake
How much tax money does West Hartford's Board of Education spend on catered meals for itself? They won't tell us.
By Jennifer Abel
The current West Hartford school budget is close to $118 million, about $11,670 per student. According to the CIA World Factbook, this is more than the per capita income of 141 of Earth's 230 nations.
According to the board of education it's still not enough to teach the kids, so they're requesting an extra $7.5 million next year.
There's already grumbling in town about how taxes, once again, are rising higher than inflation. And since the school budget is over 60 percent of the town's total, much of that grumbling's directed toward school spending. It's mostly off-the-record, though, because people who speak against school spending are branded as selfish.
The budget's not presented in a line-item form that lists individual expenses. So when we first heard complaints about the board allegedly having breakfasts and lunches catered to meetings on the taxpayers' dime, we didn't know if this was a big deal or not because we couldn't go to the budget and read "Refreshments: X dollars."
Are we talking "coffee and donuts" or "five-course banquets"? A woman at the Avon Board of Ed. said she usually makes coffee for meetings; Simsbury said they'll provide a meal if they are scheduled back-to-back during the dinner hour. This sounds reasonable; is that what West Hartford's doing?...............

from

the cool justice report
Via Hartford Business Journal http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news4373.html
i had NO idea this was happening in our fair state (so it's happening ALL over). shocking

OUTRAGEOUS & DESPICABLE: Connecticut Gulag
Connecticut's Secret Prisoners Contract With Feds Codifies Secret Political Prison System AG’s office contests FOI Cover documents about federal detainee sheld in state prisons By Laura Schreier Hartford Business Journal Staff Writer 01/28/08
Federal officials admit they keep detainees in covert prisons around the world, most notably at Guantanamo Bay, where many were held for years before their names were released to the public. But it comes as a surprise to some state officials that federal detainees are also held, secretly, right here in Connecticut. It’s all part of a contract between state and federal authorities: In exchange for a per-inmate fee, state officials agree to house federal prisoners arrested by homeland security. Connecticut has had such a contract with the federal government since 1995, but it was only after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that new regulations clamped down on information about those prisoners. According to legal arguments by state Assistant Attorney General Henri Alexandre, state authorities are prohibited from releasing any information about the federal detainees held behind bars in Connecticut prisons. That means that Connecticut could be holding detainees at any time, without a formal charge, said Lisa Siegel, counsel with the state’s Freedom of Information Commission. “This is a surprise to all of us, that there are secret prisons [in the state],” Siegel said. “The real harm of this regulation is that people are held now — we can’t get any information on them.” ...........

in my

original posting i KNEW the id cards were a mistake. i KNEW nothing good would come of them.

Mayor: E-mail shows immigration raid timing wasn't coincidence
By John Christoffersen
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—An e-mail sent by local immigration officials to their agency head the day after the city adopted an ID program for illegal immigrants suggests the timing of a raid soon thereafter was not coincidental, the city's mayor said.
more stories like this
Regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers told agency Director Julie Myers in a June 5 e-mail that New Haven's Board of Aldermen had voted 25-1 the previous night to make the city the nation's first to offer illegal immigrants ID cards.
City officials said the cards would help immigrants better integrate into mainstream culture by allowing them access to bank accounts and other services.
On June 6, ICE agents swept through the city and detained an estimated 30 illegal immigrants. Critics contend the raid was retaliation for the adoption of the ID program, a charge the agency has steadfastly denied.
In the e-mail to Myers, obtained by The Associated Press through a federal Freedom of Information Act request, agents wrote that because of the recent vote, the raid would likely draw significant news coverage..........

please stop by andy thibault's

cool justice report to see what's going on with the infamous 'douche bag case'. well his foi portion of it.

i highly recommend his blog in general by the way. not only does he report on justice mainly in our state (OR lack thereof) but he has many postings about the arts, literary in particular

Douche Bag FOI Hearing Runs Two-Plus Hours
Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission HearingJan. 4, 200818-20 Trinity St.Hartford, CT 860-566-5682 Complaint by Andy Thibault Against Paula Schwartz, Superintendent of Schools,Regional School District #10Editor's Note: Today's hearing opened shortly after 11:30 a.m. and concluded about 2 p.m. The hearing was taped by CT-N, the Connecticut Network. The network posts its schedule at http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/ and generally broadcasts such hearings a few days later.
Connecticut Network, CT-NThe hearing officer's decision generally follows several weeks later. However, both parties have until Jan. 17 to file briefs summarizing the case and making final arguments.The hearing officer's decision will be voted on during a regular meeting of the Freedom of Information Commission.In a significant development, counsel for the Region 10 Board of Education, Atty. Christine Chinni, agreed to produce unredacted billing records from her firm for an in-camera or confidential review by the FOI Commission. This followed requests during the hearing and in prior correspondence.Outstanding issues include the question of whether the Region 10 Board of Education is using an insurance company as a front or beard to hide public records. Other issues include claims that Superintendent Schwartz failed to produce records including ballots in a timely manner as required by the FOI law. A sample write-in ballot for Avery Doninger, Secretary Elect of the Lewis Mills High School Class of 2008, was entered into the record.Prior correspondence on file at the Freedom of Information Commission -- including a request for a subpoena of Chinni -- was not allowed into the hearing record.Chinni had written to the FOI Commission on Dec. 7, 2007: "While I will be representing the respondent, Paula Schwartz, Superintendent of Regional School District No. 10, in these proceedings, my partner, Craig Meuser, will present my sworn testimony on these matters."Chinni refused to testify today. No explanation was given.Most, but not all of my following remarks were allowed into the record. I also inserted a statement a couple of times as follows: The FOI law demands that the respondents produce originals of documents in a timely manner.-- Andy Thibault.................
(more at the link above)