more on the amazing story of jonathan metz

at the courant link below, there's even a copy of the 911 call mr metz' friend luca digregorio made to the west hartford police. dang.

my ABSOLUTE best wishes to you.


West Hartford Man Who Tried To Cut Off His Own Arm Is Doing Well After Surgery, Doctors Say
His Arm Was Stuck In His Furnace For Three Days

By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY, cdempsey@courant.com

HARTFORD — —

The doctors who spent more than two hours operating Friday on Jonathan Metz used words such as "amazing," "inner strength" and "courage" in describing their patient.

Metz, who cut off most of his arm after it became wedged in his furnace, is an "amazing individual," said Dr. William Marshall of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford. "He's got an incredible personality as well as a will to live."

The 31-year-old West Hartford resident is doing well after the surgeons closed the wound at the amputation site, Marshall and Dr. Scott Ellner said in a telephone interview. From about 7:15 to 9:30 a.m., the doctors closed the wound with muscle and other tissue, they said...............

man, this is some story

of courage and i'm sure fear and goddess only knows what else. i cannot even imagine doing what mr metz HAD to do.

jonathan, i wish you all the best. i cannot believe what you had to go through. you are through it now. there will have to be some adjustments made, but i'm certain you (and portia) will get by JUST fine. (and a shout out to your friend luca too)

West Hartford Man Tried To Cut Off His Own Arm
Arm Stuck Under The Furnace For Three Days

By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY and JULIE STAGIS, cdempsey@courant.com

WEST HARTFORD — —

Jonathan Metz was on the wet floor of his basement for two days, his left arm wedged under a furnace.

He was in and out of consciousness, but Metz, 31, knew what he had to do.

He had to cut his arm off. Metz's arm was decaying from a lack of blood flow, going into a "gangrenous state," Dr. Scott Ellner, a trauma doctor at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, said Thursday. The infection couldn't be allowed to spread.

"It was the right thing to do," Ellner said. "This man saved his own life.".....

yet ANOTHER stupid connecticut criminal

helpful hint: when you're on a court recess (being in court to answer larceny charges at that!)
1) DO NOT GO OUTSIDE AND BREAK INTO CARS AND STEAL STUFF THEN CARRY IT BACK INTO THE COURTROOM
2) DO NOT GO TO YOUR LOCAL PACKY, BUY SOME VODKA AND DRINK IT THEN GO BACK INTO THE COURTROOM WREAKING OF BOOZE


During Court Break, Hebron Man Arrested Again
By DAVID OWENS, dowens@courant.com

VERNON — —

A Hebron man who was at Rockville Superior Court Wednesday to answer a larceny charge for stealing a GPS unit then trying to sell it back to its owner decided to use a court recess to buy a bottle of Vodka, drink the entire bottle in front of the courthouse, then break into cars parked in front of the courthouse, police said.

Among the items that police said Thomas Peno, 51, of Wellswood Road, took from unlocked cars were a cell phone and keys.

When Peno returned to court, judicial marshals took him into custody for being drunk and disorderly, police said. They then realized he matched the description of the man who was seen breaking into cars................

a giant giant giant WTF???????

blackwater in salem CONNECTICUT? yeah, just what we need. more guns. oh yeah and that prince gatsu piedi of a man, erik prince is selling blackwater xe (a pile o' shite by any other name..............). c'mon salem, do you really want ANYTHING to do with blackwater (and what they've done and what they will do????)

Coming soon: Blackwater Pro Shops with indoor firing ranges.

By Tanya Somanader
Since its contractors infamously shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians, Blackwater has rebranded itself, trying to insist that it’s a reformed company. It even changed its name to “Xe” last year. But at this year’s NRA convention, ThinkProgress discovered that the corporation was still marketing the Blackwater brand on merchandise like baseball hats, shot glasses, beach towels, and guns, which could be bought online. Now, the site Soldier Systems reports that Blackwater enthusiasts will be able to buy their goods in persons, at two new stores opening in Fayetteville, NC and Salem, CT:..........

Blackwater: The Retail Store
By Max Fisher
Blackwater, the private military firm that perhaps ranks among the world's most scandal-ridden companies, has decided to go into the retail business. After such scandals as bribing Iraqi officials, stealing U.S. weapons, and killing innocent civilians, the company has taken the opportunity to expand from its core business of killing people into the new field of selling people things. The Blackwater Pro Shops, which will sell the same quality good available at its online store, are planned for Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Salem, Connecticut. It goes without saying that both stores will contain a firing range........

pic: from the first (thinkprogress) link

this would be pretty cool for the town of windsor

it's right near where i work as well. the space is huge (of the former INDOOR racing track) and it's just going to waste. i sure do hope this movie comes to fruition

Director Plans To Film New Movie In Windsor

By ERIC GERSHON, egershon@courant.com

WINDSOR — —

The director of the 1988 film "Bull Durham" said Friday that he wants to shoot a boxing film in Connecticut using a former indoor motorbike racing venue on Day Hill Road as the primary sound stage.

Ron Shelton, who directed Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon in "Bull Durham," said he hopes to begin shooting "Pound for Pound," a film set in Detroit, by the fall.

"I can find Detroit in Hartford, I can find Detroit in Bridgeport," Shelton said in an interview at 1001 Day Hill Road, the shopping plaza where Mototown USA operated.

The film would be made for $15 million or less, said Shelton, who did not name any cast members.

If Shelton reaches final terms with Leslie Greif, a veteran Hollywood producer, and his partners, it could prove to be a coup for Tommy DeFranzo, the builder and entrepreneur who owns the former Mototown site. DeFranzo is one of Greif's partners.............

you want my answer? no. no is my answer

without hesitation. without guilt. without a second throught. NO.

abusers will always abuse. there is no screening as this article goes on to describe. there is no cure. i don't care about being pc. there is NO cure for an abuser other than locking them up and throwing away the key. it's something within their ugly disease infested souls. it's the need for power and control (not unlike someone who 'sexually' assaults).

Should Abusers Get A Second Chance?

By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER, alevinbecker@courant.com

Selami Ozdemir got a second chance.

Instead of facing charges that he abused his wife, the West Haven man got a deal: If he completed a 9-week course on family violence, the charges would be erased from his record. No prosecution, no jail time.

But that's not what happened.

Nearly a month before his first class was to start, Ozdemir abused his wife again. When he got out of custody, he returned home and shot her four times before killing himself.

The case has led to calls for changes in the way the state deals with domestic violence offenders, including adding more slots to the family violence education program so offenders do not go months without counseling or supervision, as Ozdemir did.

But State Victim Advocate Michelle Cruz has raised a different concern: Why was Ozdemir given a second chance at all?

The family violence education program Ozdemir was to take is intended for people deemed at low or moderate risk of reoffending.

Yet Ozdemir did. So, allegedly, did Jose Lacouture, a West Hartford man who was admitted to the program after a domestic violence arrest in 2008. Last summer, he was charged with killing his wife............

there was a domestic incident in town the other day

where a man was arrested 3 times in 48 hours. i don't want to link to the articles, i don't want to print names. i think there are kids involved.

i just want to thank the west hartford police and i want to thank the powers that be, that made the bail so high the third time (i know it DID get reduced to 185,000 to make it MUCH EASIER for the alleged perp to get out - hey thanks to his pop and his sis and his attorney. but the police still did an outstanding job here. i fault the courts with the lowered bail. )

THREE TIMES he was caught bothering his wife (i'm being nice by using the word bother).

one would hope ANY father or ANY sister would not want to see someone be abused or threatened or hurt or have any sort of violence committed against them.................

i haven't been there in years

but all of my friends go all the time. they run, they hike, they bike. it's lovely and peaceful (well not so much any more, it's rather crowded and that's why i stopped going. when i was in high school, that was THE place to go. plus it was always almost deserted).

i don't know anything about the lawsuit. i don't know where the barrier was (but hell, i KNOW there are barriers and gates all over that reservoir) and i don't know what injuries were sustained. i cannot speak to that (although i CAN say when one 'mountain' bikes one expects a bit more than smooth sailing

i just don't ever want them to close the west hartford reservoir to the public. it IS a jewel

One of CT's Jewels May Soon Be Off Limits

By AMANDA RAUS

Cyclists both young and old use the 80 miles of trails along the West Hartford Reservoir to ride through nature.

"This is a wonderful place that offers a lot of variety of trails for different skill levels, different people and it's a very nice setting, it's peaceful, and it just has a lot to offer," said Ron Bonofiglio of Tolland.

The trails could soon be off limits. The Metropolitan District (MDC) was ordered to shell out $2.9 million to Maribeth Blonski, because she slammed into a barrier while riding. Now, the company is worried about other liability lawsuits.

"I feel somewhat upset that someone would have to find a reason to bring a lawsuit against it, because I think the organization has done a fine job sharing the facilities with everybody and making sure it's a safe area," said Rick Picard of West Hartford............

some VERY good news

again, i'm not going to get too excited because i know what happened between lamont and da LIEbs

but i sure am OVERJOYED to see blumenthal trouncing that steamin' pile o' (VERY RICH) shite known as linder 'lets show stripper-type women getting beaten up on tv because that's a good way to educate young people' mcmahon

Buoyed by a poll, Blumenthal still steps carefully toward Memorial Day

By Mark Pazniokas

..............Earlier, Quinnipiac University gave Blumenthal good news: Its latest poll found that a majority of residents believed he misspoke, not lied, when referring to service in Vietnam. He leads Republican Linda McMahon by 19 percentage points among military households and 25 points overall..............


(i couldn't find picture credits)

stupid connecticut crime

you just CANNOT make this shite up

and dang, what's a grrrl gotta do to get a picture?

Man In Diaper Charged With Breach Of Peace

By JOSEPH WENZEL IV

TRATFORD — A 41-year old man in a diaper was arrested Tuesday after he asked a grandmother to wipe him, police said.

Thomas Wellington of Vought Place got out of his Ford Bronco at the C-Town Plaza, at 360 Boston Ave., around 4:30 p.m. wearing only diaper and sucking on pacifier, Capt. Kenneth Bakalar said. He approached a woman with three grandchildren and asked her for baby wipes, Bakalar said..........

Stratford man seen wanderin in a diaper charged

• By: Erin Cox

Stratford, Conn. (WTNH) - A 41-year old Stratford man is facing charges after he was seen allegedly wandering around a parking lot wearing only a diaper and sucking a pacifier.

Click here to read the police report

An officer reports finding Thomas Wellington parked in the lot sitting in his SUV and seeing baby pacifiers all over the vehicle. "When he questioned him about what happened he really didn't answer," said Capt. Kenneth Bakalar of the Stratford Police Department. "When he asked why he was wearing a diaper he said he had problems with his intestines."................

to the family and friends of sgt edwin rivera

i am so very sorry for your loss. he sounded like one hell of a special soldier and special man.

my thoughts are with you

 

Connecticut Soldier Dies From Injuries Suffered In Afghanistan

By RINKER BUCK


Last summer, six months before he was deployed to Afghanistan for the second time, infantry Sgt. Edwin Rivera sat in his car in the driveway of his parents' house in Waterford and explained to his mother why he was returning to war.

It was the sad faces of the children that he had seen in Afghanistan during his first tour there in 2006, he told his mother, faces that still reminded him of why American soldiers were there.

"When the U.S. soldiers drive by," Rivera told his mother Gladys that night, "the children will scramble like mad in the dust just to get thrown a simple pencil from us. They don't even have pencils. I was born for this, it's my duty, to protect those families over there."

Now there is chilling immediacy to her memories, for Rivera has paid a high price for returning to those Afghan faces.................

how wonderful IS this?

i read about this the other day and wanted to post something. so of course the courant had a piece a few days later (why are we ALWAYS behind?)

Mark Twain Autobiography To Be Released In November

pic: Mark Twain, seen in 1903, lived in Hartford for two decades and wrote most of his major works here. He spent the last years of his life in Redding. (File)


here's something from boing boing:



Mark Twain's autobiography to be finally published, 100 years after his death

Cory Doctorow

.................The creator of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and some of the most frequently misquoted catchphrases in the English language left behind 5,000 unedited pages of memoirs when he died in 1910, together with handwritten notes saying that he did not want them to hit bookshops for at least a century.

That milestone has now been reached, and in November the University of California, Berkeley, where the manuscript is in a vault, will release the first volume of Mark Twain's autobiography. The eventual trilogy will run to half a million words, and shed new light on the quintessentially American novelist...

"He had doubts about God, and in the autobiography, he questions the imperial mission of the US in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. He's also critical of [Theodore] Roosevelt, and takes the view that patriotism was the last refuge of the scoundrel. Twain also disliked sending Christian missionaries to Africa. He said they had enough business to be getting on with at home: with lynching going on in the South, he thought they should try to convert the heathens down there."

In other sections of the autobiography, Twain makes cruel observations about his supposed friends, acquaintances and one of his landladies.......................

a very interesting piece on that piece o' steamin' shite

known as linda mcmahon. he has a few other postings on her as well. i didn't have time to go through his blog like i should have (to be better informed is what i mean) BUT let's just say the king and i are diametrically opposed on almost everything EXCEPT it appears, linda!


from
the king's view

Connecticut Convention Hell - Republicans should hang their heads low

The Republican Party boasts of being the party of principle and open process. Yet on Friday night at the 2010 Connecticut Republican Party Convention, I and many others witnessed behavior that brought shame on the party, its officials, and its Chairman - Chris Healy. The Linda McMahon campaign along side of State Central officials worked endlessly to threaten, intimidate, and force delegates to switch sides and support Linda McMahon over Rob Simmons. Many of these delegates switched from Peter Schiff to Linda McMahon after it was clear that Schiff was unable to barely get to a quarter of the support needed for a win.................

flowers at

the half door

may 22, 2010

i didn't read the story

there is NO need to. just get a load of the headline:

Search For Monkey Called Off

i just want to say those peeps at sonic

are genius. for (what seems to me at least) a couple of years they've been running commercials on local tv stations. i know i've asked 'is there a sonic around here?' every time i've seen the commercial.

it's a good way to get it in people's minds. no sonics (yet) BUT commercials. get the fine citizens of connecticut thinking about it and they will have NO CHOICE but to get in their cars and drive on over (once it's actually built and open that is)

(on another note, my parents used to bring me to the yankee silversmith and i have fond memories of it)



Ground-Breaking Today For Sonic Restaurant In Wallingford

by Mara Lee

Usually it's chain-restaurant-deprived folks who start a Facebook page begging for a company to open a location locally.

But Robert Mesite, who grew up working in his father's Villa Capri restaurant in Wallingford, turned that notion on its head when he asked Facebook users in November where they'd like to see a Sonic restaurant.

Mesite, who breaks ground on the state's first Sonic location in Wallingford today, has plans for several more Sonic outlets in Connecticut. He didn't take the Facebook users' advice — the No. 1 choice was the Berlin Turnpike, which has a moratorium on drive-throughs — but it's all part of the buzz as a fast-food chain expands into the state.......

ok, let's help mo get home

ok, adam wakefield is in the military and he's deployed. the LEAST his fellow citizens of the great state of connecticut can do is HELP HIM GET HIS PUP HOME (from afghanistan)!

wait a sec, wait a sec, i just went to donate AND THEY'VE REACHED THEIR GOAL! that is such joyous news! thanks peeps o' connecticut. even though you elected da liebs, you done me proud with this one!







Conn. Army Sniper On Mission To Send Puppy Home From Afghanistan

A Connecticut Army sniper is on a mission to send Mo, the puppy he adopted in Afghanistan, to his home in Clinton. The Army has told Adam Wakefield, 24, that the dog cannot stay with him at the Army base. A website, sendmohome.bbnow.org, is raising money to help bring Mo to Connecticut and pay for quarantine and vaccinations...........

pic:

Adam and Mo

(Photos courtesy Brian Wakefield)

Connecticut Army sniper Adam Wakefield wants to get his four-legged friend Mo on a flight back to the States.

i don't have a dog right now but

i still would love a dog park. i think they're great. well all the one's i've visited are

i hope the money can be raised. of course zoning is a dog horse of a different color. west hartford is NOT the easiest town to get something passed in. don't know if people are aware of that, but it's NOT

Site Found For West Hartford Dog Park; Hurdles Remain

By BILL LEUKHARDT The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD —

The town's first dog park — a fenced place where canines can run free under owner supervision — will be in Fernridge Park if the citizens group seeking the plot can win zoning approval and raise money to pay for site improvements.

A town council subcommittee working with the 300-member West Hartford Dog Park Coalition decided Wednesday night that a small section of Fernridge could be used for the park. It was one of five spots under review by the town and the coalition.

"It's a huge milestone we've passed," coalition President Mandy Pike said Thursday of the group's two-year search for land for the dog park. That search sped up last December, when the town council voted to help the coalition find a site.

Nothing can be done until the proposal wins town planning and zoning approval, which is required for any new use of parkland, Town Manager Ronald Van Winkle said..........

park street, king eddie and (alleged) corruption

sort of sounds good together, no? only time will tell oh and hartford needs it's OWN buddy cianci doesn't it?

Perez Trial: City Official Testifies About Developer's Shoddy Work
By JOSH KOVNER The Hartford Courant

HARTFORD

On May 8, 2006, a top city official wrote to a bonding company about major, long-standing problems with city contractor Carlos Costa on the multimillion-dollar restoration of Park Street. Assistant Public Works Director John McGrane asked the company to pull Costa's performance bond and meet with city officials about terminating Costa's contract for the project. The project was woefully behind schedule, plagued by shoddy work, and inflated by claims for extra payments by Costa that threatened to drive up the cost of the $5.3 million job, according to city records. Eight days later, on May 16, 2006, Charles Crocini, director of capital projects for the city and a man who reported directly to Mayor Eddie A. Perez, wrote a letter to the bonding company rescinding McGrane's call for action. The letter kept Costa on the job, which was eventually finished 2½ years late and with $2 million in additional claims from Costa still pending. .............
Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez listens to his lawyer, Hubert Santos, left, talk to the judge during the opening minutes of his corruption trial Wed. morning, the first day of his trial, a trial that is expected to last 6 weeks. At right is defense atty. Hope Seeley. (STEPHEN DUNN, Hartford Courant / May 12, 2010)

man i'm pissed

i live in a 3 family in west hartford. i've lived here for YEARS AND YEARS. i have been getting mail (which i've left in my box with a note that the addressee is NOT me) and NOW phone calls from creditors for someone who used to live below me. she must have given them MY phone number. i just called back one of the creditors and told them i'm not who they're looking for and to knock it off

i am so effing pissed someone would do that to someone else. anyway, i'm not going to go after her (as in contact her and tell her i think she's an asshole, NOT physical by any means). she's got some issues (and i'm being kind here) and she has two teenage sons.

i just wanted to vent. you know.

i'm done now

i'm just asking...........

i'm wondering why king eddie (and almost everyone else) is concentrating on park street so much and LEAVING ALL THE OTHER HARTFORD AREAS IN DIRE STRAIGHTS. how about concentrating on let's say the WEST end or the NORTH end. they too are vibrant but can be more so. i found out what the mill rate is in hartford and was shocked off of my chair. i thought west hartford was bad. NOPE, hartford is almost TWICE that of west hartford. it's 70 something, the HIGHEST in the state i believe. what's up with that king eddie (who by the way wants to raise it). what are the businesses going to do? what are the homeowners going to do? hartford must have change in order for it to thrive.

don't get me wrong. i'm HAPPY for park street (i just drove down on friday so i've seen the brick walks and the new street lights and the new curbs and the like). i'd just be happier if king eddie SPREAD THE WEALTH

Park Street Life: Hartford's Hispanic Thoroughfare Has Retail Vibrancy Downtown Longs For

By KENNETH R. GOSSELIN The Hartford Courant
It's been well known for years that Park Street has the retail vibrancy missing from downtown Hartford since the heyday of the department stores in the 1950s.

But what's surprising is how much more vibrant it is.

A recent, first-ever study of the Park Street retail corridor by the city showed a storefront vacancy rate in the single digits, compared with 43 percent for retail spaces downtown. Both have approximately the same amount of total space — about 500,000 square feet.

So why the difference?

The 2-mile-plus Park Street retail corridor — running from Main Street to Prospect Avenue — has an enviable mix of restaurants, clothing boutiques, bodegas, jewelry shops and grocery stores, partly the result of planning and support by the local merchants association.

"Mostly, it just happens," said Marisol Monserrate, small business coordinator for the Spanish American Merchants Association. "It's just the way the street is. There is a lot of energy on Park Street. People see empty properties, get interested and get right on it."

Some of the success has to do with the smaller retail spaces and far lower rents on Park Street. Most of the storefronts have apartments above them, with well-populated neighborhoods close by, providing crucial, ready-made foot traffic of the sort that downtown still lacks.

Then there are the shoppers like Edith Rivera, who live nowhere near Park Street.

Once a month, Rivera drives 45 minutes from New London to visit La Plaza del Mercado grocery store and a Spanish bakery on the section of the street that runs through Frog Hollow.................

From A Friend: 'Actress Lynn Redgrave Has Died At Age 67 - Entertainment News Story - WFSB Hartford'

me has sent you a link: "Actress Lynn Redgrave Has Died At Age 67 - Entertainment News Story - WFSB Hartford"

The link:
http://www.wfsb.com/entertainment/23433214/detail.html?taf=hart

there's a pet adoption through sunday

at the ct expo center in hartford

go check it OUT

By

Bonnie Phillips
Look at that face -- isn't it adorable?
That's Gus, and he's my rescue dog.

pic from the link above

ALPHAVILLE reminds us what

the 14th amendment says

this isn't a woman's issue

it's a HUMAN issue. if this is true, if she was fired for being ill (and/or carrying the breast cancer gene) then i'm sure men could be fired just as easily for carrying a let's say, prostate cancer gene (although i don't know if that exists yet)

because the bishops corner office

isn't crowded ENOUGH (that's sarcasm in case you didn't know). i'll just stop in the windsor or bloomfield offices instead.

LaSalle Road Post Office Branch Likely To Close
By BILL LEUKHARDT

WEST HARTFORD —

The LaSalle Road post office branch, the town center's spot for stamps, mail and conversation since 1952, likely will close this year, to be replaced by a smaller storefront facility elsewhere downtown.

The U.S. Postal Service is planning to sell its 0.79-acre parcel at 102 LaSalle Road, town officials said Monday. It is one of three branches that the USPS has in town.

Town Manager Ronald Van Winkle said the property to be sold is a rarity — developable land in the town center. Very few properties in the center ever come up for sale, he said. The parcel is assessed by the town at nearly $1 million, but likely would be sold for more.

The brick post office, built in 1952 and altered several times since, covers about a third of the property.
.............

this is a start.......

All Three Domestic Violence Bills Pass The House
By

Amanda Falcone

Members from both sides of the aisle came together Tuesday to combat domestic violence.

The House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill that would establish a pilot program for the electronic monitoring of domestic violence offenders. It also unanimously voted in favor of a bill that would make sure school personnel learn about teen dating and domestic violence as part of their in-service training, and it approved, 125-19, a bill that would ensure that money promised to domestic violence victims' shelters and rape crisis centers is distributed promptly.

The bills are a direct result of a bipartisan task force formed last fall by House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden. After several domestic violence-related deaths in Connecticut, Donovan asked lawmakers to come up with ways that the state can improve its response to domestic violence incidents.

The domestic violence bill that has received the most attention deals with the judicial system......

west hartford tax rates GOING UP AGAIN

the story makes it sound like they're (the town) doing us a favor because it COULD have gone up more. now, i distinctly remember years ago being told if we let them build black and blue square (and gave them OUR money to do so), our taxes WOULD GO DOWN. someone has some 'splainin' to do.....................

West Hartford Approves $216.7 Million Budget

By BILL LEUKHARDT The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD

Last-minute adjustments to a proposed municipal budget totaled about $2.5 million in reductions, producing a $216.7 million budget that was passed Monday night by the town council.

The new budget will take effect July 1, unless a referendum is triggered by petitions. The budget requires a tax rate of 38.38 mills, a 2.24 percent increase.

The current tax rate is 37.54, which means that a taxpayer is charged $37.54 for every $1,000 of assessed taxable property. Prior to the final changes, the proposed 2010-11 budget was $219.1 million, which would have required a tax rate of 38.91 mills, a 3.7 percent increase.

The reduced budget is possible because of nearly two dozen adjustments to trim $922,000 from the general government budget for 2010-11 and $1.5 million in long-term debt. To make some of the adjustments, the town is using a portion of the money from its $4.5 million Blue Back Square settlement to pay for some items..........

the hartford courant

really HAS been doing a wonderful job of late, reporting on violence against women. i do have to salute them

this is one right on article by the way. i strongly urge you to click the link to read the WHOLE (it's short, just DO it) thing
note: in the right hand sidebar of the courant article there are all sorts of other links to similar stories you should read

Unmasking The Common College-Age Rapist
By JACLYN FRIEDMAN

I've been told it was my fault because I was drinking. Because I shouldn't have been hanging out with a group of guys who were drinking. I shouldn't have let him in. I must've been flirting. I must've been wearing something provocative. I obviously wanted it at the time and just changed my mind later.

Say whatever you want. It doesn't hurt me anymore. It used to, but now I understand. You want to feel safe. You want to feel like rape is avoidable and rare and only happens to foolish girls who don't follow the rules. Not to you, or to your daughter, or anyone you love. You want to believe that only monsters commit "real" rape, terrifying men who look nothing like you or your friends. You want to think that when nice-seeming boys get accused of rape, they were provoked, or are victims themselves of some kind of sexual misunderstanding. You want to feel in control. Who doesn't?

There's just one problem: Every time we spend our energy telling a girl not to have a beer or look at a guy in public lest she somehow "invites" him to commit a violent felony against her, every time we imagine rapists as hulking strangers in the bushes and not the charming guy down the street, we create the exact diversion rapists count on to keep raping with impunity............

counter quo

my new ink

s
e
o

as you may or may not know, when i got my knitting fairy tattoo, her shoes just would NOT heal. i eventually went to the doctor and he ended up having to make her shoe-less (check out her feet in the top picture). the fact i had just been tattooed was coincidental. it had NOTHING to do with the skin cancer. so it's been about a year and i got the go ahead from my doc to get her touched up. i made an appointment with pat macdonald (who did the original knitting fairy) and i told him i'd also like some stars around my lower arm (eventually the arm will be a sleeve). i'm not linking to pat's shop because he's going to a new one on may 5th. i believe he said he's going to west springfield (i know he said it's by the big e fairgrounds). when i get his new info, i'll post it.

anyway.................here's my NEW arm (and yeah, the knitting fairy as you can see if you look closely, is still shoeless. pat won't do it for at least another year. he said the skin had to heal even more. the ink would just spread around too much now and it would be a hot mess. so, i will just have to wait.)

i'm so very happy. i LOVE my pentagram. i love my stars, they're all different and i love my moon. thanks pat!

well i guess we can thank the goddess

she actually wasn't driving.............. (think about it)

New Haven Police To Woman: 911 Isn't A Taxi Service

it's an ap article so i can't print any of it BUT, let's just say one fine citizen of our fair state, called 911 SIX TIMES to request a ride home to meriden from a new haven club.

hmmmmmmmmmm

west hartford peeps, get ready for

new recycling bins (and recycling every TWO weeks instead of every week). it's actually a GOOD idea i think


http://courant.com/community/west-hartford/hc-west-hartford-recycling-plas.artapr19,0,7939243.story">West Hartford Homes To Receive Bins For Single-Stream Recycling
By BILL LEUKHARDT The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD —

New 95-gallon recycling barrels, — more than five times the capacity of the 18-gallon bins now in use — will be delivered to 22,000 residences in the next few weeks as the town prepares to go to single-stream recycling.

That means people can cram glass, paper, plastics, etc. into the new blue bin, without separating. By increasing recycling town-wide, it should save the town money by reducing the weight of trash tossed out for disposal.

"We estimate we might save as much as $100,000 in tipping fees," Town Manager Ron Van Winkle said Monday. Officials expect the amount of trash disposed for $63-a-ton to decrease and the amount of revenue-generating recyclables to increase.

The new system is scheduled to start June 7. The private contractor that collects residential trash has new vehicles with robotic arms to quickly pick up and empty the larger recycling containers.
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MORE stupid connecticut crimes and/or criminals

helpful hints

when the police show up at your residence, do NOT and i repeat, DO NOT

tell them you are going to kill your son (no matter HOW drunk you are)
lead them to your car where you have a rifle (no matter HOW drunk you are)
lead them to your handbag which is chuck full o' ammunition (no matter HOW drunk you are)
lead them to your stash of pot (no matter HOW drunk you are)

geeze

Mother And Son Arrested Hours Apart

By DAVID OWENS The Hartford Courant
A mother and her son will have adjoining cells in the Vernon police lockup this weekend after their arrests Friday night.

Manchester police had taken 19-year-old Cort Hancock to stay with his mother and step-father at the Howard Johnson motel on Route 30 about 5:20 p.m. Hancock had been tossed out of the Manchester homeless shelter because he'd been drinking and was causing a disturbance, police said.

When Hancock and the two Manchester officers arrived at the motel, they were greeted by Hancock's mother, Vicky Domingue, who police said was highly intoxicated herself. When the Manchester officers explained why they were dropping her son at her motel room, she said she was going to shoot her son and announced she was going to get her .22-caliber rifle.
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congratulations!!!!!!!

to my peeps at the half door, plan b and tisane winners of the 2010 hartford advocate's best of

Best Local Burgers

Plan B

Best Place To Buy Loose Tea

Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe

Best Tea House

Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe

Best Irish Restaurant

Half Door

Best Local Coffeehouse

Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe

Best Beer Selection In Bottles

Plan B

Best Pub

The Half Door

Best Bartender

Chris Vincent, Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe

Best Beer Selection On Tap

Plan B

Best Place For Martinis

Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe

all pics from the advocate except the irish nachos: (JOHN LONG, HARTFORD COURANT)

if you're afraid to go to chilis in GLASTONBURY

without packing heat, i would suggest you stay the fuck at home. is this a small penis thing (you know, like driving a hummer)?


it's obvious i don't like guns. in all seriousness i know it's not against the law to own one (gun laws aren't tough enough of course). why do you have to walk around with one strapped to your hip (or elsewhere)? pissing on your territory? this isn't the wild west. it's 2010 in connecticut. if you're that afraid, sit in your house in an old rocking chair in front of the door, with a pistol or rifle or whatever. don't walk the streets where children are, where the elderly are. where i am

really

i am so very sickened by this




Support Is Growing For Openly Carrying Permitted Weapons

By EDMUND H. MAHONY The Hartford Courant

An eruption in a simmering dispute over gun rights occurred when James Goldberg, wearing camouflage clothing and a holstered — and licensed — pistol on his right hip, walked into a Chili's restaurant in upscale Glastonbury, where he intended to pay for a takeout order.

According to Goldberg, a college-educated, occupational safety engineer, a restaurant employee, concerned by the sight of an armed customer, called the town police department. A goggle-eyed luncheon crowd watched three officers roll up, confront Goldberg and handcuff him.

"What can we get him for?" Goldberg, 32, says one of the officers asked his colleagues.

The answer, as it turned out, was nothing.

A state Superior Court judge dismissed the breach of peace charge police ultimately filed against Goldberg, forcing law enforcement experts to concede that, absent extenuating circumstances, there is nothing in Connecticut law to prohibit licensed gun owners from conducting their lives visibly armed.
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holy (so to speak) shite!!! if i EVER went back to church

(don't worry, it's NOT likely) i know which one it would be


and it sure wouldn't be at any of the connecticut ones. (see a posting or two ago regarding the catholic church in connecticut)

Priest calls for pope's resignation

From Adam Reiss, CNN

East Longmeadow, Massachusetts (CNN) -- The phones are ringing off the hook at the parish of St. Michael's Church, where the Rev. James Scahill called in a sermon last weekend for the pope to resign over the church's sexual abuse scandal.

Pope Benedict XVI has found himself tied to the crisis after news broke last month that 30 years ago, when he was an archbishop, he approved accommodations in his diocese for a priest accused of child sex abuse so the priest could undergo therapy.

The priest, who was not identified, was let go from church service in 2008, according to church officials in Germany..............

if found guilty

he should be punished to the FULL extent of the law. he caused a woman to ALMOST be raped (allegedly, i HAVE to say that), not even mentioning what he (allegedly) did to the family whose house was listed in the ad

oh and don't comment on my blog if you're going to tell me what a nice guy he is (either the one who allegedly placed the ad or the one who allegedly assaulted the 18 year old) and how i don't know the whole story.

no, i don't know the whole story but i don't need to know the whole story. what i already know is too much.

Man Charged With Posting Fake Craigslist Soccer Mom Sex Ad

By DAVID OWENS The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD

Police have charged an unemployed chef with posting a sexually oriented ad on Craigslist this week that said " West Hartford soccer mom ... looking for group sex."

A Newington man who responded to the ad is charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman who lives near the house listed in the ad.

Philip Conran, 42, turned himself in Friday morning to face charges that include second-degree harassment, second-degree breach of peace, second-degree reckless endangerment, criminal liability for fourth-degree sexual assault, criminal liability for first-degree trespass and criminal liability for disorderly conduct. Conran, accompanied by his attorney, posted $75,000 bail and is due in Superior Court in Hartford on April 22.

Conran, a neighbor of the house listed in the ad, is also under investigation for two other sexually oriented notices placed on the Internet and targeting the house.............

wtf????????????

i've done several postings about this subject on my main blog. this one i'll do here since it deals with THE GIANT THREAT TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES OF CONNECTICUT

again, WTF??????????

the bishop says the new law "would undermine the mission of the Catholic Church in Connecticut."
hey i have some questions,


1) if one isn't guilty, one has NOTHING to worry about, right?
2) what about the VICTIMS? they're worthless but your church isn't?
3) what about the pedophiles? what would you have us do with/to them? leave them be?


if you are catholic or if you're NOT catholic i too urge you to contact your representatives TODAY and DEMAND they pass this bill. there ARE victims and there ARE perps. the perps (catholic or not) MUST pay the piper

Hartford Archbishop Urges Parishes To Fight Legislation On Child Sex Abuse Cases

By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER The Hartford Courant

A proposal to extend the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases could have a "devastating financial effect" on the state's Catholic dioceses, Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell wrote to pastors this week, urging them to include a letter opposing the bill in parish bulletins this weekend.

The letter says the bill, now pending in the legislature, would put "all Church institutions, including your parish, at risk," and warns that it could lead to bankruptcy, threaten the assets of parishes even without a history of abuse, and "would undermine the mission of the Catholic Church in Connecticut."

"The bottom line is that this is terrible public policy, discriminatory by its nature, and a huge threat to us all," says the letter, signed by Mansell, Bishop William E. Lori of the Bridgeport diocese, and Bishop Michael R. Cote of Norwich.

"We must stop this bill now," the letter says. The bishops ask parishioners to contact their representatives "TODAY!!!"............

i thought i was going to bust a gut

i read the original story (you know the one where the capital police gave permission TO THE TEABAGGERS TO FLY THEIR FLAG OVER THE CAPITAL) at work. i couldn't write about it as blogger (as well as pandora, facebook, youtube, radio station websites as in WWUH and the like) is blocked at work. oh i understand and can live with all of that EXCEPT the streaming music (pandora and stations like wwuh). that was blocked just recently and i'm pissed. BUT that is NOT what i'm pissed about right now. i'm pissed about this teabagger flag shite

as it turns out they gave them UNpermission to fly their flag over the capital so it WILL NOT happen. WHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

i guess someone tread on 'em (even though they claim they'll do it anyway by bringing their own flagpole. that, i don't care about. as long as that symbol of teabaggery is NOT flown officially over our capital (i believe that flag is also used by the marines. THAT is different. i would not have an issue with it being used in relation to the marines)

'Don't Tread On Me' Flag Will Not Fly Over Capitol After All

By y DANIELA ALTIMARI The Hartford Courant

Tea Party activists won't be permitted to fly the Gadsden Flag over the state Capitol after all.

State Capitol police today reversed an earlier decision to allow the bright yellow "Don't Tread On Me" banner to flutter from the highly visible flagpole after learning that activists had planned a political rally following the flag-raising ceremony.

But Tea Party activists said today they plan to go ahead with the flag-raising – they plan to bring their own flagpole.

"It went from being a flag-raising ceremony to a political event,'' Acting Capitol police Chief Walter Lee said. "They are using it as a launching pad for [candidates for] public office."

Tea Party activists view the flag as a historic symbol of American defiance, but critics say the familiar flag with the image of a coiled rattlesnake is now associated with the controversial political movement........

this is pretty cool

i didn't know it existed. i just checked it out. i'm going to use that site often i'm sure

Farmers, Consumers Take Advantage of Online Farmers Market

By KATE ROY Special to The Courant

Just in time for the start of growing season, farmers and consumers on the hunt for fresh, local fruits, vegetables, eggs and other farm products have found each other on a new online match-making service. The Shared Harvest Connecticut website, launched in March, is a fast-growing virtual farmers market that is helping to build a bridge between farmers and consumers.

Shared Harvest Connecticut, found at www.sharedharvest.net/connecticut, is an offshoot of the Edibles Advocate Alliance, which offers small business consulting and support for grassroots, agricultural and socially innovative organizations.

"Our primary goal is to create and support sustainable food systems," says Emily Brooks, founder and CEO of the alliance. "We have to work with the consumer and provide education and opportunities to buy local food and support local agriculture. We also have to work with producers and farmers to get them set up to be the best business they can be.".............

90 something degrees on april 7th is NOT right

Record High Broken Today At Bradley

Garett Argianas And Sam Sampieri FOX CT

congratulations to uconn

where men are men and

WOMEN ARE CHAMPIONS!!!

UConn Caps Perfect Season With 7th Championship

UConn overcomes 12-point first half to squeeze past Stanford for second straight title

pic: he Huskies carry Geno Auriemma off the court in San Antonio after defeating Stanford to finish their second consecutive undefeated season. (Bettina Hansen / Hartford Courant)

i sure do hope they find whoever placed this ad

it was a VERY dangerous. this isn't funny. it's NOT a joke. i know the west hartford police will do their absolute best to find out who is responsible. at that point i want them prosecuted to the FULL extent of the law.

Man Answers Fake Craigslist Ad, Goes To Wrong West Hartford House

By DAVID OWENS The Hartford Courant
WEST HARTFORD - Police say that when a man answered a craigslist ad that read, "Married West Hartford soccer mom ... looking for group sex," he not only answered a fake ad, but went to the wrong house.

The chain of events that followed led to the arrest Monday of Richard Zeh, 29, of Newington, on several charges, including second-degree burglary, fourth-degree sexual assault, first-degree criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. His bail was set at $250,000, and he remained in custody after his arrest. And police were trying to determine who placed the ad.

Police Lt. Stephen Estes said that when Zeh let himself into the house, he was confronted by an 18-year-old woman. When Zeh told the woman he was responding to the ad, Estes said, the woman said she had no idea what he was talking about and repeatedly told him to leave. Zeh wouldn't take no for an answer, Estes said.

"He's insistent — he thinks she's playing hard to get," Estes said. The woman grew increasingly nervous and feared she was going to be sexually assaulted, Estes said. Zeh then showed her the craigslist ad, Estes said, and she told him he was at the wrong house. Zeh left for the house listed in the ad, Estes said...........

• PD: Fake Craigslist Ad Led To Assault|wfsb.com

i'm not saying...........i'm just saying..........

as i posted the other day, if you listed to her npr interview and are STILL going to vote for her (providing she doesn't drop out first) well then, i think there is something VERY wrong with YOU

now this (although i'm not surprised)

McMahon's Answers On Vetting Questionnaire In '09 May Catch Up With Her

Jon Lender Government Watch
Linda McMahon resigned last week from the State Board of Education, saying that newly issued restrictions on board members' political activities could cause legal complications as she runs for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination.

But she still may encounter complications — political ones — because of some questionable answers that she gave in January of 2009 on a questionnaire that she filled out for Gov. M. Jodi Rell's office when the governor was poised to nominate her to the board.

McMahon, until recently the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, answered "no" to five questions to which it appears the answer should — or arguably should — have been "yes."

The Courant recently obtained a copy of the questionnaire McMahon signed Jan. 9, 2009. It was notarized, and she certified that her answers were true, complete and correct................