congratulations to john phillips who will be the new

west hartford director of public works. i DO have an ulterior motive for saying that though. i have been (as well as a few others i know of) calling the town of west hartford to get a burned out street light replaced on asylum avenue. i have personally been calling for well over two years. YES OVER TWO YEARS (more like 3 or 4 i think). why is it bothering me so much? well i'll tell you. the burned out light in question is right near one of those effing stupid and effing dangerous and effing ridiculous lovely traffic islands on asylum. they should be lit up as much as possible to avoid MORE accidents than they've already caused. soooooooooooooooooooooooo mr phillips how about fixing that burned out light on asylum?

years is way too long to wait to replace a light. and tell whoever answers the phone when we call to stop lying. they always say it's on the list and they'll get to it. must be an awfully big effing list if that light has been on it for over 2 years.

(p.s. seriously though, i'm happy mr phillips got the job. i am glad they promoted from within)

U.S. Navy Veteran Named West Hartford Director Of Public Works

By BILL LEUKHARDT
WEST HARTFORD — - John Phillips, a U.S. Navy veteran hired in 1996 as a public works laborer, will be the new director of public works.

Phillips, the public works department's municipal parking manager since 2004, will replace Dana Hallenbeck, who will retire July 18 to start a new career as an ordained Lutheran minister.

"It was a difficult decision, because we had excellent applicants," interim Town Manager Ron Van Winkle said Monday. "John is an incredible hard-working person and has done a great job as parking operations manager."

The town recruited from within and had seven applicants. The pay range for the director's job is $65,000 to $119,000 a year. Van Winkle said Monday that he has not yet met with Phillips to set a salary.

Phillips, 38, said Monday that he looks forward to the challenge of running the department that maintains roads, supervises trash collection, cuts grass and, in Van Winkle's words, "basically [are] the ones who take care of the town."..........

here is my take on things

and i've said it countless times. i do NOT care what gender you are. i do NOT care what color you are. i do NOT care who you sleep with (a willing adult of course). i only care if you can DO THE JOB. you can be a 4'11" 1/4 mongolian, 1/4 black, 1/8 white, 1/8 hispanic, 1/4 native american lesbian who is a practicing jain. i don't care. if you're capable of saving me from a fire, you got the job baby! i don't think one group of people should be shunned at the expense of another group of people. if there is a way to make things equal, they should be equal.

i have not seen the firefighters test that is in question here. i have no idea if it is geared toward one race or not. i do know it seems like one group of people WERE in fact discriminated against here. those are the ones that scored well on the exam.

oh and in case you can't tell. i am IN NO WAY CONSERVATIVE and i sort of agree with the outcome here.

Court Rules For White New Haven Firefighters Over Promotions

Supreme Court Firefighter Opinion reverses a decision that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed

By EDMUND H. MAHONY The Hartford Courant
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled in favor of 20 New Haven firefighters who claim in a reverse discrimination case that they were denied promotion for racial reasons.

The 5-4 opinion reverses a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.

It could alter employment practices across the country, limiting the circumstances in which employers can be held liable for personnel decisions that touch upon race when there is no evidence of intentional discrimination.

Representatives of both the firefighters and the city are expected to address the decision this afternoon.

The suit, Ricci v DeStefano, turned on an apparent contradiction in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which concerns employment discrimination. The law flatly prohibits race-based discrimination. But it also requires employers to scrap tests that produce "disparate" results among test-takers of different races – unless the employer can prove the test is necessary.

It was apparent from questions by the justices during oral argument on April 22 that philosophical disagreement about racial preference in hiring magnified the divide between the court's conservative and liberal blocs........

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: this dude was recently arrested in connecticut

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: this dude was recently arrested in connecticut

he MUST serve time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

please don't let his age or his looks fool you. please don't. he is NOT a nice man



Wilcox Gets 6 Years In Avon Mountain Crash
By DAVID OWENS |The Hartford Courant
HARTFORD - David R. Wilcox, the former owner of American Crushing and Recycling, was sentenced to 6 years in prison today for his role in the fiery Avon Mountain crash that claimed four lives nearly four years ago.

Six years in prison was the maximum that Wilcox, 73, faced under the terms of a plea bargain he reached with prosecutors in March. As part of that agreement, Wilcox pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree manslaughter and five counts of first-degree assault. He also pleaded no contest to insurance fraud for trying to reinstate liability insurance on his truck in the moments after the crash.

If Wilcox completes his sentence -- he's had two heart attacks and suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, his lawyer said -- he'll be on probation for three years after he gets out. Judge David P. Gold acknowledged while sentencing Wilcox that it may prove to be a life sentence.
...................

and of course the link to my friend mark's book. mark was in the accident. life starred out. he was lucky. he made it. anyway, all proceeds from mark's book will be going to a fund for the victims and their families

smoke fire and angels

my previous postings about mark robinson and/or the avon mountain crash
here
and
here
and

i had many more, but those links will do for now

my pops lives around this hood

glad the robbers (2 of which/whom were FOURTEEN YEARS OLD. my goddess that's more than a shame)



Courant Editor Foils West Hartford Burglary
By DAVID OWENS |The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD - A 23-year-old woman and two 14-year-olds were arrested Monday night after a Foxcroft Road resident arrived home about 10 p.m. and found them in his house.

The homeowner, Courant Business Editor Dan Haar, said he thought it was suspicious when he saw a bicycle that did not belong to him on his front stoop. "I [saw] two screen doors swung open, like people had been around," Haar said today.

Haar then went to his back porch. "I start to open the door and I hear people in the house," he said.
...................

adopt a classroom

there's only one in west hartford

sedgwick middle school

teacher emily genser says

.........My school is struggling to find funds to support good teaching. We have a large population of minority students, whose families fall into the lower and lower middle economic classes. Some of these students have learning disabilities, which makes writing very difficult. These students do not have access to technology at home, and it is a constant struggle to find an open day in our one computer lab. I want my students to have the same opportunities as those coming out of wealthier schools, yet they are falling more and more behind. Please support my teaching and help my students become competitive adults!...........

there are 40 in hartford to adopt
adopt a classroom


(via)

did someone hack into the

hartford courant website?

anything and everything you click on brings you to a yahoo error page?????????????????????????


hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

some rather good news for (what was formerly) the park road playhouse

and more good news for park road in general. i HATE HATE HATE what has happened to my center. i wouldn't go to west hartford center on a dare. it's (more) full of idiots (if that's possible) than ever before. are cars allowed in the area or just suvs with only one or two people in the gas guzzling giants? why do people find it so necessary to show off anyway? not just the cars that substitute for little or no genitalia but sitting out on the sidewalk of let's say farmington avenue to eat? why the f**k would ANYONE WANT to sit on a busy fume-filled street to eat? (why indeed)




Former Park Road Playhouse In West Hartford Reopening
By BILL LEUKHARDT |The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD — - The former Park Road Playhouse, closed last month after a nearly nine-year run, is reopening this month with new owners and a new name. Playhouse on Park will have its public opening with "My Show, A Choreographer's Story," by Darlene Zoller and her stop/time dance theater. Zoller of Vernon, Tracy Flater of Simsbury and Sean Harris of West Hartford are the owners of the new playhouse. Flater said the group signed a lease about a week ago. The Park Road Playhouse closed May 24 after staging its 50th play. Howie Hirsh, who founded it in 2001 with his wife, Linda, said their theater was a victim of the recession and rising costs.......

pic: Sean Harris, a theater director at Hall High School and one of three partners of Playhouse Theatre Group Inc., helps set up their new performance space, Playhouse on Park, taking over the old Park Road Playhouse. The theater opens June 25 with "My Show, A Choreographer's Story," by Darlene Zoller, another partner. The new owners hope to keep it active with "dance, theater, plays, musicals, youth activities, comedy, jazz to keep it vibrant," Zoller said. (RICHARD MESSINA / HARTFORD COURANT / June 10, 2009)

EXACTLY what we need

yet another shitty shopping plaza. apparently this one is going to be built on 'contaminated' land to boot! yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Developer looks to grayfields

By HANNAH VAHL
WEST HARTFORD - The contaminated former location of industrial and manufacturing facilities may be cleaned up and transformed into a commercial shopping plaza.
Winstanley Enterprises of Concord, Mass., is proposing to place three small retail buildings, an office building, a bank, gas station, supermarket, and free pad for a future building on the 16.1-acre parcel at 176 Newington Road owned by Crazy Bruce's Discount Liquors, Inc.
A Town Planning and Zoning public hearing and vote on the application was scheduled for May 4.
The plaza, if approved, will include a 40,000-square-foot Stop & Shop Supermarket and a Stop & Shop gas station, where shopping at the grocery store will translate into savings at the pump.
The building containing Crazy Bruce's Liquors, currently located at 178 Newington Road, will be demolished and the liquor store will become another of the shopping plaza's retail tenants...........

what up wit connecticut

judges and councilwomen getting busted for dui s and harrassing the police?





After DUI Arrest, Councilwoman Reminds Police Of Her Power Over Their Salaries
By GRACE E. MERRITT |The Hartford Courant
GLASTONBURY - A town councilwoman arrested earlier this month on a DUI charge warned police as they were booking her that she is a member of the town council and that she "approves [their] salaries."

Surveillance video obtained from the police department shows Barbara C. Wagner, 59, visibly upset and frustrated as she is being interviewed in the police station following her arrest on June 2.............

if you're in these hoods

(and i'm in one of 'em), take EXTRA care

i will say though, it is ALWAYS a good idea to NOT leave 'stuff' in your car. laptops, cell phones, even as they said in the article, brackets for your gps. just DON'T do it


Police Urge Caution After West Hartford Burglaries

The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD - Police in West Hartford are urging people not leave anything of value in plain sight in their cars, a day after three reports of daylight car burglaries.

In all three cases, the burglars smashed windows to get into the cars, said Lt. Jeff Rose. The burglaries occurred in parking lots at Rockledge golf course on South Main Street, Bally's Total Fitness on New Britain Avenue, and the University of Connecticut on Trout Brook Drive.

"Don't leave anything in sight," Rose said. "Carry your valuables. And call the police if you see suspicious people."......

i'm all for free speech

except when it includes death threats or incites violence, harm or murder. one cannot THREATEN anyone without paying consequences. i'm more than pleased this gatsu piedi was arrested. although i must say i never listened to him. i did just listen to a bunch of stuff on youtube. i'm not going to post any of it though. just type in hal turner at youtube and a ton of stuff will come up. it's NOT pretty. i must add there are a LOT of crank callers out there getting in to him. that makes me smile a bit. he can fume and name call and say evil things all he wants. if you must listen to him, go on ahead. i don't understand it, but i won't stop you. HOWEVER if the threatens someone or asks someone else to cause violence or harm to others, HE MUST BE MADE ACCOUNTABLE.

Radio Host Hal Turner Charged With Inciting Injury To Two Connecticut Lawmakers
By DANIELA ALTIMARI |Hartford Courant
Radio host Hal Turner — accused of hosting a website that incited Connecticut Catholics to "take up arms" and singling out two Connecticut lawmakers and a state ethics official — was taken into custody in New Jersey late today after state Capitol police obtained an arrest warrant for him. Turner, who has been identified as a white supremacist and anti-Semite by several anti-racism groups, hosts an Internet radio program with an associated blog. Last week, the blog included a post that promised to release the home addresses of state Rep. Michael Lawlor, state Sen. Andrew McDonald and Thomas Jones of the ethics office. "Mr. Turner's comments are above and beyond the threshold of free speech," Capitol police Chief Michael J. Fallon said in an e-mail announcing the warrant. "He is inciting others through his website to commit acts of violence and has created fear and alarm. He should be held accountable for his conduct.".........


if his wiki entry can be believed, he sounds like a real 'prince among men dickwads


pic:

Radio host Hal Turner, shown during his broadcast over the Internet from his New Jersey home, was arrested in that state Wednesday on a warrant obtained by Capitol police in Hartford. Turner, who also hosts a blog, is accused of inciting his listeners and readers to "take up arms," and of singling out two Connecticut lawmakers and a state ethics official. (HANDOUT)

you can still take your road soda with you

if you so choose.

i don't. i don't ever have an open container of alcohol in my car but i COULD if i wanted to.

i don't think a lot of people realize you CAN have an open beer in a car in connecticut. a passenger can drink all they want. a driver can even have an open container. they just can't actually be DRINKING it and driving. nor can they be over the limit.

i'm not sure how i feel about all of that. i DO think it's ok to be drinking in a car if it's a hired car or bus with a hired sober driver (a limo for example).

oh one more thing. MOST OF OUR LAWMAKERS HAVE NO BALLS

'Open Container' Bill Dies
By JON LENDER |The Hartford Courant
A bill that would have made it illegal for anyone to have an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a vehicle on Connecticut roads was killed Tuesday in the state House of Representatives.

The bill, which would have made Connecticut one of about 40 states with open container laws, won approval last week in the Senate, and proponents in the House thought that they had the votes to pass it and send it to Gov. M. Jodi Rell for her signature.

But as the House's debate entered its third hour Tuesday, some legislators began hammering on the fact that the bill would make only drivers -- not passengers who were drinking -- subject to tickets beginning at $90 for the first offense and increasing to $500 for the third.

That, the opponents said, would penalize designated drivers who stay sober while others drink in the vehicle...............

lions and tigers and

bear OH MY!

(i watched a bunny in my yard yesterday for a while. the bunny was NO bear though)

Bear Captured in West Hartford
The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD - A young black bear ambled through town for several hours today before it was captured by the Department of Environmental Protection and released at a state forest, said Police Chief James J. Strillacci.

"He was a little guy. The DEP said he was maybe 2 ½ years old," Strillacci said. "He was pretty cute."

The bear was first spotted between 8 and 9 a.m. in a yard on Sedgwick Road...........

the following nbc 30 site has cute video of the bear (i'm guessing it's the bear in question)

Tranquilizer Ends Bear's Day Out

By LEANNE GENDREAU

The daylong outing for a bear in West Hartford ended with a drowsy 10-foot slide down a tree behind a house on Boulevard Monday.

The bear’s day out got people’s attention Monday morning when someone spotted it near Sedgewick Middle School.

Since bears do not belong at a middle school, officials set off on the animal’s trail.

Later, the bear, which is about 150 pounds and 3-years-old, was spotted in the area of Boulevard, a tree-lined street of upscale homes where one is more likely to see a designer dog than a bear...........

he's 2. he weights 245 pounds

yes, i said 245 and his name is connor
sunday

oh connor's dad told me connor has a brother that's EVEN BIGGER (i think he said 270 or something unbelievable like that). anyway, connor was the perfect gentleman

the seamus el gordo

the

Seamus El Gordo by matt and andy (this one eaten by brian and photographed lovingly by a rose is a rose)

the half door

3 eggs scrambled, cheddar cheese, red onion, rasher bacon, and banger sausage wrapped in a flour tortilla, then deep fried. Topped with spicy hollandaise and served over corned beef hash.

looks like i'm in the wrong line of bid-nez

i wanna be a state marshal

holy shite is what i say....
One Connecticut State Marshal's Net Income Soars Above $1 Million
By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN and DAVE ALTIMARI |The Hartford Courant
John T. Fiorillo is the million-dollar marshal.

Boosted by his ties to the state's two major foreclosure firms, Fiorillo, a Hartford County marshal, reported a net income of more than $1 million for delivering court papers in 2008, according to disclosure forms filed with the Office of State Ethics.

Law firms paid Fiorillo more than $3 million to serve legal papers last year. But he reported spending nearly two-thirds of that on employee and office expenses, leaving him with a bottom line of $1,119,706. Fiorillo's take was more than double the next-highest-earning marshal.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

two MORE biting the dust in west hartford center

one of them has been in the center since the 40s. i thought black and blue square was supposed to be bringing throngs of shoppers down to the ENTIRE center? every article i read about b&b square says it's hoppin' and doing well. i can't say one way or another. i hope it is but i'm still sorry it's there. i hate the IDEA of it even.

one more time too - to the town of west hartford, BLACK AND BLUE SQUARE (which you used TOWN FUNDS to finance) was supposed to bring our taxes down and allow us townfolk MORE MORE MORE. well, WTF HAPPENED? not only haven't our taxes gone DOWN DOWN DOWN but we're losing services left and right

hey, YOU voted for it, i didn't

Allen Collins Clothing Store Closes In West Hartford
By BILL LEUKHARDT |The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD — - The last sale at Allen Collins clothing store ended Friday and included deals on fixtures and furniture along with closing-sale prices on men's and women's business and casual clothes.

The iconic store at 8 Ellsworth Road, a source of quality clothes and service since the 1940s, closed its doors, done in by the recession and the prevalence of discount outlets that emphasize price, not assistance.

"Allen Collins has been a standard business in West Hartford where business men and women would go to buy suits. It's sad to see the store close," said interim Town Manager Ron Van Winkle, a town native. He walked across South Main Street on Thursday from town hall to wish owners Brian and Tina Rosso well.................

and japanalia is moving from farmington avenue west hartford center to:

JAPANALIA EIKO is moving from
West Hartford Center (May 30 is our last day) to 11 Whitney St. Hartford*, reopening June 2.

25% off SALE May 21-June 6

Phone till May 30, 860-523-7722
from June 2, 860-232-4677

* corner of Farmington Ave, formerly
LaMotta Fine Art, next to Japanalia on one!

talk about offshore

i saw the cover but i didn't actually read it yet. i absolutely WILL today - at brunch. i thought it was quite brilliant but i had NO idea the extent to which the the advocate went


hell, there was even an article about cake (written by someone offshore)! dang


Connecticut Alt-Papers Outsource Editorial Content to India
By Mark Fitzgerald
CHICAGO The Hartford (Conn.) Advocate and two of its New Mass. Media alternative weekly siblings outsourced all their editorial content to India for their issue that hits the streets Thursday. "It's been fascinating to me to see this go from a chuckle in an edit meeting to an entire issue," Group Managing Editor John Adamian said in a telephone interview. All the local news, arts and entertainment reviews, restaurant critiques in the Advocate papers in New Haven and Hartford plus the Fairfield County Weekly were written by Indian freelancers hired for the occasion using ads on Craigslist sites in Mumbai and Bangalore -- the two favorite spots for U.S. outsourcing to India. So Nilanjana Bhowmick writes about the Shad Bake the Essex (Conn.) Rotary Club holds, as well the Shad Derby Festival. Nidhi Sharma Kirti writes about a new exhibition of Pequot Native American art opening in Ledyard. Even the sex-advice column was outsourced to the land of the Kama Sutra. In one example, Vijayalaxmi Hegde writes about an upcoming concert by the California group Cake: "Perhaps, it is this versatility -- this ability to belong to many genres and not be constrained by one -- that is the key to Cake's longevity. It's been a decade and a half since the Motorcade of Generosity rolled by and close to two decades since 'Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle' happened. If this is not durability for an indie band, what is?"..........

OUTSOURCE THIS

We hired Indian freelance journalists to write the paper this week. Here’s why we did it.

Last year, a news Web site in Pasadena, Calif., made headlines when they started outsourcing city hall coverage to reporters in India. Using simple webcams and e-mail, the site, Pasadena Now, would put journalists half a world away inside city council chambers to observe and file stories on local government. The site fired its staff, and replaced them with Indians who’d crank out 1,000-word stories for the rock-bottom rate of $7.50.

The media world was abuzz: American news outfit outsources local reporting to the subcontinent. Could we all be next?

We wondered too about the limits of outsourcing local news, particularly alternative journalism. Covering city council meetings via webcam is one thing. Producing entire issues of a local news and arts weekly is quite another. What started as a joke — "I’ve got an idea. Let’s outsource an entire issue to India just to see if it can be done" — has culminated in what you see here.
.....................

oh hell let's have MORE cake

congratulations to plan b tavern

for winning golden local best burger award
we stopped in yesterday afternoon prior to seeing cake. had NO idea they were going to be celebrating with free burgers and the like. i was there early so i sat at the bar awhile with jon (one hell of a bartender. you can find him at plan b monday, tuesday, thursday and friday afternoons and the half door for saturday brunches, then sat outside (they put a tent up) when my friends joined me. had a little bit too much to drink (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - but i wasn't driving) but all turned out well.

shawn and al, congrats!

cake was amazing

(my favorite cake song is mexico. they played it and i was thrilled).

phenomenal

their recorded music doesn't even do them justice. one MUST see them live and i'm so glad i did. great rapport with their audience. hell, THEY GAVE AWAY A TREE. yes. a REAL LIVE TREE (of course it wasn't full grown).

i don't do well in crowds but i held my own. i separated from my friends so i could stand up in back against a wall. even then i was claustrophobic BUT i didn't totally flip. i kept running into people i knew - that was cool too.

a lot of the webster theater audience were assholes BUT they sure did know ALL THE WORDS TO EVERY SONG and hell, THEY SANG ALONG AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS (me too a few times). as i said, they related to the audience and the audience sure related back to them. you could feel it in your soul and it made you feel warm and smiley inside.

come on now, cake endorses SOLID POTATO SALAD on their website:



stop by and check them out. great website, great songs, and seems like they sure are earth conscious as well. you go boyz!!! (and thanks for one wicked cool show) cake music

(shout out to julia, spiro, nate, allie, amy, eileen, brian, mike)

guess who's going to see cake tonight?

Cake Performs Webster Theater In Hartford
By DOUG WALLEN | Special to the Courant

You might not expect a band as iconoclastic as Cake to do a string of shows in the "Evening With" format, where there's no opening band and the headliner plays two long sets with an intermission. But then, consider how many songs the Sacramento band can choose from: five albums, a B-sides collection and the endless possibilities available to musicians who have no trouble covering Frank Sinatra, Black Sabbath, the Muppets and, most famously, Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive."

"We'd had a lot of people complaining that our sets were too short," says Cake leader John McCrea, "and that we didn't play this song or that song. I ignored those complaints over the years, thinking maybe less is more. But I agreed to play two sets [in one night], just as an experiment. It's worked pretty well and people are still paying attention until the very end, it seems."................

pic:

Cake performs at the Webster Theater in Hartford on May 28. (TIM JACKSON / July 18, 2004)

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: sonia sotomayer

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: sonia sotomayer

my point EXACTLY

the other day i posted this about a panel in ireland, the catholic church and the abuse of children. the following courant article was in today's paper

and oh, by the way, not for one second do i believe anything has changed in the catholic church

Connecticut Supreme Court: Unseal Priest Abuse Documents
By DAVE ALTIMARI |The Hartford Courant
For more than 15 years, some of the 23 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse claims against at least seven priests from the Bridgeport diocese have remained sealed, but on Friday for the second time the state Supreme Court ruled the public should have access to nearly all of the 12,675 pages.

As church officials criticized the court's decision and vowed to review all options to keep the files secret, victims' advocates hailed the ruling and questioned whether the documents will have a lasting negative impact on recently retired Cardinal Edward Egan, who ran the Bridgeport diocese as a bishop when many of the priest abuses were alleged to have occurred.

"Sadly, the history of this case has been about access by the secular media to internal church documents of cases more than 30 years ago to suggest, unfairly, that nothing has changed," the diocese's statement said.

"From the anti-church rhetoric of the first trial judge who proceeded to 'invent' an entirely new procedure to accommodate the press, to the lack of an impartial trial judge to reconsider the case on remand from the Connecticut Supreme Court, the history of this case raises issues that should be of concern to all. We are, therefore, currently reviewing our options in response to this decision."...............

some sad west hartford news

a little gem.

by the way, i like park road a kazillion times MORE than the center (where i refuse to go unless it's an emergency. now that sit-n-knit has moved to bloomfield, there is rarely a reason to go.

park road has TONS of restaurants (one of my favorites is india oven but there really ARE a ton (i can't forget plan b either).

lane and lenge one of THE best florists out there moved to park road a few months back. lovely new store. check it out!

West Hartford's Park Road Playhouse Closing Sunday
by HILDA MUÑOZ
WEST HARTFORD - The Park Road Playhouse, a nonprofit theater company, will close Sunday, more than eight years after it opened.

"I put my arms out to people who worked at the theater and all the audiences because it was a wonderful ride," said Howie Hirsch, founder and artistic director.

"Bedroom Farce" will be the 50th and final play. Hirsch, who blames the suffering economy for the closure, said he will be on the lookout for a more affordable space.

Hirsch and his wife, Linda, founded the playhouse in 2001. In more prosperous years, they specialized in solid, serious productions like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." Lately, they've been putting on a lot of comedies.......

a very nice story was in the courant yesterday

on the coffee trade in avon. as i've mentioned before, i worked in avon for a kazillion years. i've had MANY a cup o' steamin' joe at the coffee trade. i loved it there. it's not just a coffee shop you know, it's got STUFF. lots of STUFF. antiques type of stuff. it's in an old house (it appears to be an old house, but who knows????) and there are three separate sitting rooms. there are antiques in all of the rooms. it really is quite charming PLUS THEY HAVE DAMN FINE COFFEE. oh, if you're a tea drinker (and i've been known to partake now and again) they have quite a variety to choose from. they also make up gift baskets; coffees, teas, accouterments, biscotti, etc. if you're in the hood, DO stop in. it's right on route 44




Dick Portfolio Goes From Corporate Cog To Avon's Coffee King, And Never Looks Back
By SUSAN CAMPBELL

In these uncertain economic times, people holding on in the corporate world can take heart: If you're dropping by The Coffee Trade, prepare to be schooled.

The Avon coffee shop, which has been operating for about 20 years, has been owned by Dick and Joan Portfolio for the past 15. Over the years, Dick Portfolio has learned a few things.

He has learned that a person's choice for favorite coffee is as individual as a fingerprint.

He has learned more than one man should know about coffee. That's roasting, grinding brewing, and creating special coffees like his Obama blend, a mix of Hawaiian and Kenyan beans............

Dick Portfolio, the owner of The Coffee Trade in Avon, has created a blend of coffee named after President Barack Obama. He roasts the coffee in his Avon shop in which he has a roaster positioned in the retail sales room floor. (RICHARD MESSINA / HARTFORD COURANT / April 28, 2009)

the succulents wintered well

i was wondering what was going on

police car after police car came tearing down asylum. now we know (although it sounds like the culprit was NOT caught)

Police Investigate West Hartford Robbery
By DAVID OWENS |The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD - Police are on the scene of a suspected residential robbery on Whetten Road.

The call came in about 4:25 p.m., and shortly thereafter police locked down a child care center on Steele Road and urged officials at nearby St. Joseph's College to take precautions.

Police Chief James Strillacci said the initial call to police reported someone running between yards on Whetten Road bleeding and complaining about being robbed at a nearby house at gunpoint. The person, however, kept running and responding officers did not find him........

good BUT it should have been longer

just on principal

a couple of years ago i met up with a group of friends at the elbow room. my first time there. i'm NOT a fan of the see and be seen scene in west hartford center. never have been in the max there or grants either. have been in briccos (yeah i know same owners as grants). you CANNOT beat the food. it's most excellent. i rather love murasaki as well.

anyway, my friend whose birthday it was chose the elbow room so i went. i ordered the portobello sandwich (don't know if it's still there but it was when i went). the server told me, SORRY BUT THAT'S JUST FOR LUNCH (it was about 4:00 pm when we went). i asked if there was bread and portobellos in the kitchen. yes there was, but i STILL COULDN'T HAVE MY SANDWICH. i was pissed. i ordered a drink. wished my friend a happy birthday and left, NEVER to return. so hell yeah i'm glad

Liquor License Suspended For One Day At West Hartford Center's The Elbow Room

WEST HARTFORD — - The state Liquor Control Commission has suspended the liquor permit of a popular restaurant and bar in West Hartford Center for one day, saying it sold alcohol to a minor.

The Elbow Room at 986 Farmington Avenue paid a fine of $3,000 for the violation, the commission stated in a press release today. The date of the suspension is May 26.........

i love leonard cohen

and have for as long as i can remember. his songs have great meaning to me. it was a wonderful time in my life when i first heard them. i was young, i was in love (yeah, i was BOTH of those things) and i was carefree

leonard, i love you, but i'm NOT spending $252.00 to see you.


Leonard Cohen Brings His Spiritual, Deeply Felt Songs To Waterbury Thursday

May 14 at Palace Theater

By ERIC R. DANTON |The Hartford Courant
Some people write songs with visions of chart success and super-stardom. Leonard Cohen writes songs because he feels them.

The 74-year-old Canadian singer and songwriter has been the subject of renewed interest in the past few years, thanks to a loving tribute concert filmed for the 2006 DVD and soundtrack album "I'm Your Man," his induction last year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the March release of a new concert recording, "Live in London," which coincides with his first North American tour in 15 years.

Although his fans are delighted with the latter development, it's not quite a triumphant return for Cohen. He's on the road largely because he had run out of money. In 2005, he sued a former manager for mismanaging his finances to the tune of $5 million, leaving him with a scant $150,000 in savings for a lifetime's work. (Cohen won a $9 million judgment in 2006 but so far has been unable to collect.)

"I was devastated," Cohen told the Canadian magazine Maclean's in 2005. "You know, God gave me a strong inner core, so I wasn't shattered. But I was deeply concerned."..........

LEONARD COHEN performs May 14 at the Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $252.25, $152.25, $91.75 and $71.75. Information: 203-755-4700 or www.palacetheaterct.org.

my knitting fairy tattoo was done

a few weeks ago. i just didn't post the pictures. well HERE they are! i am very happy with her

artist: pat macdonald at liberty tattoo in berlin (ct that is)

garden

may 13 2009

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: i just saw star trek

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: i just saw star trek

update on the alleged murderer of Johanna Justin-Jinich

this man (allegedly. all of this is allegedly although we know, don't we?) was stalking her for years. this man had threatened her life. this man wrote evil things in his journal (it is no crime to write evil things in one's journal. it just goes to cause is why i'm saying it). a vibrant, innocent young woman's life was taken. there is NO allegedly about that

Suspect In Wesleyan Slaying Turns Himself In

By DAVE ALTIMARI, HILDA MUÑOZ And DAVID OWENS |The Hartford Courant

MIDDLETOWN - The massive hunt for the gunman accused of killing a Wesleyan University junior is over.

Stephen Morgan, wanted by Middletown police in the killing Wednesday of 21-year-old Johanna Justin-Jinich, was arrested shortly after 9 Thursday night after surrendering to police in Meriden.

Morgan, the subject of a nationwide manhunt, walked into the Cumberland Farms store on Old Colony Road in Meriden about 9 p.m. and bought a Smoothie. He told the clerk, Sonia Rodriguez, that he needed to call police and she gave him a phone.

Morgan had trouble dialing, so she dialed Meriden police for him and handed him the phone. After talking briefly on the phone, he walked outside and was grabbed within minutes by police officers........

Man charged in student's slaying
Manhunt ends with arrest in slaying of university student

By John Christoffersen
and Katie Nelson
...................

When police confiscated Morgan's car they found a journal in which he spelled out a plan to rape and kill Justin-Jinich before going on a campus shooting spree, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is under investigation.

Wesleyan officials said that police told them that Morgan targeted Wesleyan students and Jews in his journals. Justin-Jinich, of Timnath, Colo., came from a Jewish family, and her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor................

i thought it was very important to link to the following: ms justin-jinich was MORE than just a student working at a bookstore. most articles about her only mentioned that. jezebel did a tiny bit of digging and found out a bit more

Women's Rights Advocate Murdered At Wesleyan

By Margaret,

.........

Friends described Justin-Jinich as witty, smart, and popular and told the Courant that her passions included writing, her work in public health, and women's issues. She had volunteered at various Planned Parenthood offices in Colorado and Connecticut and had a summer internship lined up on Capitol Hill with a women's organization.

Justin-Jinich's friend Leah Lucid, who has known her since freshmen year and was planning to room with her next year, said she had been up past midnight talking in her dorm room the night before. "She's a really loyal friend; a really loving, passionate person about life and about her friends and family," Lucid said. "She was the most giving and loving person I have ever known. I'll remember her loyalty and her warm smile whenever I saw her and her very funny voices she would make with me."................

previous posting and another posting

the connecticut post also has an article about

the shooting death of Johanna Justin-Jinish. as i said, what a tragedy. what a horror.

even though there is a surveillance photo of stephen morgan with a gun, we have to say 'alleged' when we call him (an alleged) murderer.

the 'alleged' murderer is still on the loose as of 2:16 am. there is nothing in the local media to suggest otherwise

to the family and friends of ms justin-jinish, i am so sorry for your loss

Wesleyan student fatally shot at bookstore
Junior shot in bookstore by man dressed in disguise
By Rob Varnon
STAFF WRITER

MIDDLETOWN -- A manhunt was under way Wednesday after a Wesleyan University junior was fatally shot inside the university's off-campus bookstore, sending shock waves through this central Connecticut college community as authorities warned residents and students to stay inside.

Johanna Justin-Jinich, 21 of Timnath, Colo., was working behind the cash register at the Black and Red Cafe at 45 Broad St. near the Wesleyan campus when a man wearing a disguise came in and shot her several times.

"We're requesting people to be vigilant," Middletown police Lt. Margaret Liseo said during a news conference. "The suspect is believed to be armed and dangerous."

Police late Wednesday identified the suspect, saying they're looking for 29-year-old Stephen Morgan. It's unclear where he lives. A Wesleyan spokesman says he has no known connection to the university.

Police wearing camouflage and armed with assault rifles swarmed area streets with dogs as they searched for the gunman while Wesleyan officials urged students and staff to remain indoors.

The shooting comes as a national debate rages over the issue of guns on campus, which was underscored by a 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech University that left 32 students and faculty members dead. Against this backdrop of heightened security, Wesleyan officials responded quickly to the incident.......

freedom states alliance working to end gun violence in america

i was at work yesterday when the news first came out

i read a quick news brief or two online. i could have SWORN the briefs said the person shot was only wounded AND she said she did not know her attacker.

now, we find out she has died. how horrible. how beyond horrible. to the friends, family and student community who knew Johanna Justin-Jinich, my most heartfelt sympathy to you. my thoughts and prayers are with you
Police Identify Man Sought In Wesleyan Slaying
The Hartford Courant

MIDDLETOWN - Middletown police said Wednesday night they want to talk to 29-year-old Stephen Morgan, the man they say they believe shot and killed a 22-year-old Wesleyan University junior at a neighborhood cafe Wednesday afternoon.

Morgan, who police said has no certain address, is suspected of fatally shooting Johanna Justin-Jinich, of Timnath, Colo., at the Red and Black Café inside Broad Street Books. Police say Morgan was captured by a surveillance camera with a gun in his right hand inside the bookstore Wednesday afternoon.

Morgan fled on foot after the shooting and remains at large, police said.

They are investigating whether Justin-Jinich and Morgan knew each other.
Wesleyan officials identified Justin-Jinich as the victim in an email to the campus about 6:15 p.m...........

afternoon.

• Photo of Johanna Justin-Jinich
• Security Update: Voice Message Alert Sent To Wesleyan Students
• Fatal Shooting Near Wesleyan

picture: Police hold a surveillance camera photo of Stephen Morgan, 29, the man they say they believe shot and killed Wesleyan student Johanna Justin-Jinich on Wednesday. Police said Morgan has no certain address. (GEORGE RUHE / AP / May 6, 2009)


freedom states alliance, working to reduce gun violence in america

i scanned the article at work

UPDATE, WILCOX WAS SENTENCED JUNE 24, 2009: read it and see it here


and emailed it to myself at work, then emailed it to me at home. the article (in pdf form) didn't come through. i'll try to scan it and email it directly home today.

at any rate, i wanted to put this out there. it's an email (i edited it a bit for this blog) i sent out to my team yesterday

Subject: Smoke Fire and Angels - PLEASE READ (thanks)
Importance: High

I did NOT intentionally exclude anyone from this distribution. Please DO forward this on. The more people that know about the forthcoming book, the better

Mark Robinson who works in our Internal Communications department is writing a book. "A book about what?" you ask. Well, I'll tell you. Mark happened to be a survivor of the horrible Avon Mountain crash almost four years ago. He's writing a book about that. It goes well beyond just the accident though.

This subject is especially close to not only me (because I am lucky enough to consider Mark a friend of mine), but to Joe as well. Joe's cousin, Chip was killed in this tragedy. Chip had a loving family including a mom and siblings, a wife and FIVE very young daughters.

Here's a copy of an article in the current issue of the Valley Press (Farmington Valley paper). I would be remiss if I didn't mention Mark is not entirely happy with everything in the article. The header under the title for one thing (Mark doesn't necessarily feel he was 'spared' while others were taken. No one knows why one is here and another is not). Mark would also immediately tell you, the police officer's name is NOT Mango. It is Rob MAGAO. There are other things Mark would like to correct but I'll leave that for another time and place.

<> the missing pdf file IS HERE (again, i'll try to get it)

Mark is someone who is very special indeed. I'm not saying that lightly either. Both Joe and I were privileged to read some of the book (I believe it was the first six chapters). I can't even tell you the amount of research that was put into it. I can't tell you how many people and police and firefighters and lawyers and survivors and families Mark has spoken with. He has talked to some of Chip's family, to the father of the man who was driving the dump truck, to the daughter of the man who was driving the bus (who also later died) to the passers by who just happened to put their OWN lives at risk by helping others who couldn't help themselves. He's even spoken to David Wilcox the owner of the UNINSURED and in the state of DISREPAIR dump truck that caused this horror.

Please stop by the website (I believe it's still under construction). There are some amazing pictures (the photographer donated his services by the way) of some who were in the accident (good pic of Joe's aunt and cousins Lorie, Bobbie and Johnny) and their angels as well as the families of some who didn't survive. If you click on one of the pictures, it will bring you to another page of the site


smoke fire and angels

click on 'inquires' and it brings you to an incredible brochure about the upcoming book

Oh, did I forget to mention the PROCEEDS FROM THE BOOK ARE BEING DONATED TO A FUND FOR THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES

(according to the website, Mark would like to have the book finished and available by July 29th, the 4th anniversary of the crash)