it's been a while

since we've had a stupid connecticut (alleged) criminal posting. well this sure will make up for it!

Conn. man accused of
stealing gum
Fairfield (AP) - Fairfield police have arrested a man on theft charges who they say is apparently obsessed with stealing Orbit gum.

Kenneth McManus, 21, of Stratford, has been charged with stealing hundreds of packs of the chewing gum.

Police say McManus turned himself in Thursday and is facing larceny charges for similar thefts in Bridgeport and Stratford.

McManus is accused of stealing 175 packs of gum worth more than $500 from a Shaw's supermarket in Fairfield in January.............

whole foods at bishops corner

(where i shop by the way. it's far less intrusive and abusive than the west hartford center store. i'm talking CUSTOMERS here. i have no issues with the staff of either store) will be no more

Whole Foods Ordered To Sell West Hartford Store
The Hartford Courant
Whole Foods will have to sell its Bishop's Corner supermarket in West Hartford as part of a federal antitrust settlement announced today.

The store, one of two Whole Foods locations in West Hartford, had been a Wild Oats store until Whole FoodsMarket Inc. bought Wild Oats Markets Inc. in 2007. It is one of 13 stores -- 12 former Wild Oats locations and one that was a Whole Foods before the merger -- that Whole Foods must sell within six months, under the company's settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

Separately, Whole Foods has agreed to sell the Wild Oats trademarks and other non-tangible assets connected with Wild Oats, including the leases of 19 former Wild Oats stores that were closed.................

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: my state capital

ravings of a semi-sane madwoman: my state capital

please do stop by

andy thibault's blog; the cool justice report for an update on the billy smolinski case. it really IS just getting weirder and weirder. i think of billy's family and my heart goes out to them. NO closure. well, not just that but bungling and ineptness everywhere. let's hope they get answers SOON

More Bizarre Twists & Leads In Smolinski Case

Why Do-Nothing Cops
Must Be Held Accountable
And Ordered To Do Their Jobs,
Especially When They Drop The Ball
On Missing Persons Reports

Some Details Related
To The Trail
Of Dead Bodies

A TIME FOR GOOD COPS TO STAND UP

This Is The Backdrop For CT Legislative Hearing Tuesday

Legislative Hearing Tuesday On Bill Resulting From Smolinski Case.......

Support Courageous State Rep. Vickie Nardello,
Who Is Standing Up For Missing Persons
And Their Loved Ones Everywhere

By ANDY THIBAULT
The Cool Justice Report
www.cooljustice.blogspot.com
March 2, 2009

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is available for reprint courtesy of The Cool Justice Report, http://cooljustice.blogspot.com

Billy Smolinski -- the missing man forsaken by management of the Waterbury, CT Police Department and presumed murdered - could have a legacy that will help save the lives of other missing persons.

The level of police ineptitude and callousness in the Smolinski case was so startling that politicians are actually doing something about it........
justice 4 billy
(please click the more bizarre link above for the full story at andy's blog)

the headline says it ALL

"Jerry Springer" Among Three Talk Shows NBC May Move To Stamford
By ERIC GERSHON | The Hartford Courant

'i've never withheld anything'

stop on by my left nutmeg

Video: Governor Rell's Budget Gameshow

by: hardcoreD

i guess my head was in the sand once again

i had not heard one PEEP about this until i stopped by the cool justice report. andy had a great posting on it and a ton of links (and how cool is it andy was mentioned in the ny times

here's the start of andy's posting. click the link to read the WHOLE thing. i do think everyone is missing the greatest point here. NO ONE and i mean NO ONE says ANYTHING bad about uconn SACRED basketball (p.s. i don't think it's sacred. ALMOST EVERYONE else in this state sure does. it's not like they're the SOX or anything)

CALHOUN NUMBERS SHOCKER

Fuzzy Math 101
By ANDY THIBAULT
The Cool Justice Report
www.cooljustice.blogspot.com
Feb. 23, 2009

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is available for reprint courtesy of The Cool Justice Report, http://cooljustice.blogspot.com

First, thanks to Cool Justice readers for all the great tips.

Maybe UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun wasn't thinking straight when he tried to shout down reporter Ken Krayeske and talk about facts at the same time.

Practice what you scream, coach.

It certainly looks like men's basketball brought in only $7.33 million instead of the $12 million Calhoun claimed........

i guess stupid (alleged) west hartford criminals do NOT read my blog

because if they DID, they would have seen THIS AND NOT (allegedly) try to do any drug deals in the kane street area

Three Arrested In West Hartford Drug Bust

Three men were arrested on drug charges Monday after one hit a West Hartford police cruiser that was trying to box in his car.

Acting on a tip, officers on the Community Interaction Team had staked out the parking lot at the Prospect Plaza shopping center. Police said two cars they believed had cocaine in them started to leave the lot at about 4:50 p.m.

Police tried to box in the cars at a red light at the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Kane Street, but one of the cars swerved into the oncoming lane, hit a cruiser, ran a red light and headed south on Prospect Avenue.

Police stopped the car a short time later. A total of three people were arrested and more than an ounce of cocaine was recovered, police said.
.................

so let me get this straight,

the town (which is going broke) builds all sorts of 'traffic calming' islands (the ones on the VERY NARROW) asylum are my personal favorites. you can see my previous postings here and here and here. not only were they a GIANT waste of money, they are useless AND DANGEROUS

anyway, i did a posting not too long ago about all of the traffic cameras and new lights i saw going in around town. i tried to find it just now but can't (could it have been a figment of my fertile imagination? perhaps).

we're spending THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON TRAFFIC CAMERAS THAT ONLY SEND OUT WARNING MESSAGES? wtf?????????????? IF and i do mean IF they are going to save lives, FINE. but the corner of boulevard and whiting lane? no effing way. during SOME heavily trafficked times there is a school crossing guard there ANYWAY. i can think of 20 other places in west hartford that need that camera MORE than boulevard and whiting lane. is it because the houses in that area are bigger than the houses in OTHER areas? i sure don't know. but come on. THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS and not one legit traffic ticket to offset those cameras?
the following courant article lists some accident data from west hartford AND the particular corner in question. i personally would like to see that data and/or do a bit more investigating on my own. sure boulevard can be a speedway, but isn't that what we have the police for? well one of the reasons.

Camera To Keep An Eye On Speeders In West Hartford
By JOSH KOVNER | The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD — - Speeders beware — you are being watched.

But the speed-detection camera installed this week at Boulevard and Whiting Lane is a kind of compassionate Big Brother that just wants to slow down drivers. Those photographed traveling 45 mph or faster at this 30-mph location will get a photo with a warning letter.

The legislature prohibits using these radar cameras for enforcement purposes, so the joint effort by police, the engineering office and the public works department amounts to a public awareness campaign.

And make no mistake, the public could stand to be more aware. There were 2,626 crashes in town last year, 426 with injuries, and two fatalities.

Assistant Police Chief Robert McCue said excessive speed was a factor in most of the accidents.

The intersection of Boulevard and Whiting Lane — the first in a series of locations for the camera over the next year — has a "moderate" accident history but a high injury rate, said Lt. David Dubiel, head of the traffic division. Eight people were injured in the 11 crashes there in 2008, Dubiel said.........

i did MY part yesterday

my friends and i doing our part on valentine's day for a consortium of pub-going, loose and forward women
cashy, lk, maria, juan, ty, andy, tim
the facebook group

the pink chaddi campaign blog

of course this was at the half door

the headline of this article

makes me feel all warm and toasty inside!

i think da LIEbs knows he doesn';t have a prayer. not in any way, shape or form.

ba-bye

Poll: Lieberman would 'get crushed' by Connecticut AG
Ron Brynaert
A new poll shows that Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, who left the Democratic Party after losing the Senate primary to businessman Ned Lamont in 2006, would "get crushed" if challenged by Connecticut's State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in 2012.

"If Joe Lieberman decides to run for a fifth term in 2012, a new Quinnipiac poll suggests that it may be a lost cause," Eric Kleefeld writes at Talking Points Memo.

According to the Quinnipiac poll, "By a narrow 48 - 45 percent margin, voters disapprove of the job Sen. Joseph Lieberman is doing and give him a negative 43 - 49 percent favorability. Republicans approve 75 - 20 percent. Democrats disapprove 70 - 21 percent and independent voters split 48 - 46 percent."............

on saturday, valentine's day

i want every women in the state to go to a pub and have a beverage of some sort. the beverage can be a water or a tea or a soda. it doesn't have to be alcoholic. we have to show our support to our sisters in india.

here's my original posting from this morning


and please join the facebook group a consortium of pub-going, loose and forward women (i sure as shite did). why? well BECAUSE I DON'T THINK IT'S ACCEPTABLE FOR INSANE MEN TO BEAT THE SHITE OUT OF WOMEN SIMPLY FOR BEING IN A PUB (or for ANY reason). that's why

i'm also going to be sending in some pink chaddis to oppose the Sri Ram Sena. they won't be there in time for valentine's day, but baby, they'll BE there eventually (the gift that just keeps on giving - those pink chaddis). so please do join me for a drink on saturday. y'all know where i hang

the pink chaddi campaign

a shout out to jumoke academy school

the website for jumoke academy isn't functioning yet. check back soon and see if it's up and running
for now, here's a little blurb

as you know, it's black history month. one of the events at work to celebrate and bring awareness to our 'campus' (i hate using corporate words but hey, that's how it is) was bringing some of the jumoke kids in. they have a flag parade (i believe they said they've had it for 8 years, but i could be mistaken). they also brought one of their choirs who sang two songs. the school is for k-8 and it looked like there was quite a mix of all of those ages. they had several flags from south africa to jamaica to ethiopia to puerto rico to portugal (i think there were 27 flags. somewhere around there). they had one flag bearer per flag and one speaker per flag. the speaker told us what their particular flags (colors and/or symbols usually) stood for. i'll tell you they did a GREAT job. i sure as heck couldn't memorize what those kids did. even the tiny ones kicked some serious butt.

thank you students at jumoke academy! i LOVED it

i hope we get to fry (figuratively) her!

wouldn't that be grand? yup, it sure would be!

she IS one of the vilest most evil hate filled people in the entire universe.


Connecticut now investigating Coulter for voter fraud
Ann Coulter is now the subject of a formal probe by Connecticut’s Elections Enforcement Commission, moving her closer to being charged with fraud.

The commission is now conducting a "thorough investigation" of whether the prolific conservative pundit broke the law earlier this decade by voting in Connecticut while living in New York City, a spokeswoman for the commission told the New York Daily News.

The media-centric publishing powerhouse voted in Connecticut in 2002 and 2004, even though she was living in New York City. In fact, Coulter bought a posh $1.49 million condo on the Upper East Side during that period, according to the Daily News.
......................

funny thing happened on my way home from work today

i just have a regular old car radio/cd player. i don't subscribe to any satellite music channels. HOWEVER, when i was seeking channels i heard arte lange's voice. i stopped and yup, it was him. i then heard a few other of howard's pals (not howard). all of a sudden, i hear the "f" word left and right. "f" this and "f" that and mother "f" er and on and on. i definitely was receiving sirius radio signals. it lasted about 5 or 10 minutes. then it got all static again. it was around the college channels. around 88 or 89 point something.

well it was just ODD

i love crows and ravens

ravens are VERY intelligent. i don't say that lightly either.

i do see them in giant flocks (or murders) especially later in the afternoon, just before the sun goes down. i see them in west hartford and hartford. flying. hanging out in trees. calling out to each other.

Capitol Crows
Abandoning Flatbush For More Regal Roost, Do Black Birds Bode Ill For Budget?

By STEVE GRANT | The Hartford Courant
Those thousands of crows that roost in Hartford's West End trees on winter nights?

They've moved again — almost downtown.

After spending several years roosting near Flatbush Avenue by I-84, a colony of crows that sometimes numbers 15,000 or more birds has moved east, spending some nights in trees on the grounds of the State Capitol and of the Supreme Court and State Library complex across the street.

"They've been bopping around to different locations in Hartford," said Sylvia L. Halkin, a biology professor at Central Connecticut State University. Other nights they have been seen near Trinity College or the Mark Twain House or Putnam Street.
........................


picture: Thousands of crows gather near Riverside Park at dusk in a communal roosting habit. The crows have been gathering in various locations around Hartford during the winter for years. (BOB MACDONNELL / HARTFORD COURANT / January 29, 2009)

dick, i'd vote for you

in a hot minute. i'd vote for almost anyone EXCEPT for da liebs as it so happens.

however, i do like many of the things richard blumenthal has done for our fair state (of course i don't like ALL of the things he's done).

i hope da LIEbs is shaking in his shoes

Connecticut attorney general eyes Lieberman challenge
By Reid Wilson
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who announced Monday he will seek a sixth term, is mulling a challenge against Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) in 2012.

Multiple Connecticut Democrats, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Blumenthal has begun informing influential members of the state's political class that he will prepare for a run against Lieberman............

hey you asses

it's HEAVILY SNOWING OUT. turn your effing headlights on. it's not only a law, IT MAKES SENSE AND IS INFINITELY SAFER (for me and all of the others that can't see you assholes driving down the street)

i met paul a LONGGGGGGGGGGG time ago

and haven't seen him in forever. i used to hang in bushnell park for the 'be ins' and the fiddle contest/festival. i loved the peace train. paul was special to hartford. he will be misse
thank you paul for the good times you gave me and THOUSANDS of others

Fiddle Contest Organizer Paul LeMay Dies
By WILLIAM WEIR | The Hartford Courant
With little more than charisma and force of will, Paul LeMay managed to turn an improbable idea into a Hartford phenomenon, bringing tens of thousands to the city for an annual fiddle contest.

LeMay died Friday of heart failure from complications of other illnesses. He was 65.

He started the New England Fiddle Contest in 1974, the same year he founded the grassroots arts organization, Peace Train Foundation. The first year featured a few dozen amateur fiddlers at Bushnell Park and an audience of about 1,000. Within a few years, the event would attract tens of thousands to the city; at the height of its popularity, 70,000 came for the fiddle contest.

"He really wanted Hartford to be a viable and happy place to be," said Cheryl Daniels, his partner of 30 years. "People would be able to see each other and be with each other and he would bring people together."..........

picture 2)Paul LeMay is photographed at the Riverfront Plaza dock, site of the 2002 New England Fiddle Contest. LeMay is the founder of the Peace Train Foundation and is the integral leader in bringing the fiddle contest to Hartford. (THOMAS CORDY / HARTFORD COURANT / August 13, 2002)

picture 1) Paul LeMay
(COURANT FILE PHOTO / May 13, 1974)
Paul LeMay of South Windsor stands by his renovated bus called "Peacetrain" in 1974.

hey rosa delauro

gets to watch the stupid superbowl with president obama! cool rosa! (cool except for the part where you actually have to watch a football game. well i AM a steelers fan BUT i HATE football. they're my favorite team, then the saints then the giants. that's in case you were wondering)


Obama hosts bipartisan Super Bowl party
..........

Obama’s list of invited guests is as follows:

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA)
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH)
Rep. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC)
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA)
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI)..............