Saturday, February 17, 2007
hartford sidewalks (AND streets)
i am livid because coincidentally i had an experience yesterday.
i was minding my own bid-nez (as i am apt to do) and outside an establishment in hartford smoking. i only had a light wrap on and it was FRIGID. i saw a blind man trying to get over a snow bank to cross farmington avenue. i knew there was no open path at the cross walk because i had to cross over the very same spot myself. i had to do that because there was NO available parking on the street where i usually park due to the fact the streets were COVERED with snow. IF there are cars on hartford streets during a parking ban (such as there was on wednesday) the cars are SUPPOSED TO BE TOWED so the streets can be properly plowed. go down any of the little side streets in hartford (especially around farmington avenue). there are still cars that are parked where they were during the storm. they didn't get towed much less ticketed. the driving is treacherous. there are schools around the area and when a school bus attempts to go down these streets, well you can't even imagine. it really IS horrid. anyway, i had to park elsewhere and walk over to my destination. there NO paths to get through at cross walks so i had to maneuver very carefully to get over the snow and cross that street. once i crossed, the sidewalk i got to was almost unwalkable. the walks belonged to a business.
anyway, i saw this blind man trying to cross over farmington avenue. a woman and her young child guided him to a place he could cross. i watched him as he crossed the busy street. cars weren't slowing down. finally one car DID stop and he successfully got to the other side ONLY TO FIND NO WHERE TO GET OVER THE BANK ON THAT SIDE. (i should say i don't know this man but i have often seen him crossing the street at the very same spot. he has NO problems. he knows when the lights change and i've never seen him coming close to getting hit). i dashed down (in my light wrap with the frigid temperatures) and yelled out, 'do you need help'? i offered him my arm and helped him get over the bank. i asked where he was going and he told me the next side street over. i looked down the sidewalk and said, 'oh SHIT'. i told him i was going to have to walk him because there was NO WAY he could do it on his own. there was a tramped down path for ONE PERSON of SOLID ICE. it was NOT shoveled, it was tamped down into a solid ice mass. NOT smooth mind you but wicked bumpy. it was only a few inches wide too. i fell. i fell BEFORE i even took the first step with him. that sidewalk as i mentioned belonged to a business. KING PEREZ, WHY DIDN'T THAT BUSINESS SHOVEL THEIR WALKS ADEQUATELY AND BY THE LAW?
i got him down to the side street after what seemed like forever. i was frozen solid and i still had to turn around and make it all the way back to from whence i had come.
i was going to write to king perez to complain about the streets and the sidewalks, but now, this will do
Icy sidewalks are a hazard for pedestrians
by News Channel 8's Bob Wilson
(Hartford-WTNH) _ Connecticut got a big dose of snow and ice this week making for some slippery situations. Hospitals around the state are reporting more emergency room visits because of nasty falls on the ice.
Jane D'Manno was out walking her dog on the slippery sidewalks in Hartford Friday evening and was one of the dozens slip and fall victims around the Hartford area. She fell on the ice before because it is too thick for her to shovel................
why would the pentagon prevent va doctors
i understand about the privacy act. this ain't it by the way. our troops deserve THE VERY BEST treatment in the entire universe! period
catch-22 (i AM the bombardier)
Pentagon Red Tape Keeps Medical Records From Doctors of the Wounded
By Al Kamen
Department of Veterans Affairs doctors are furious over a recent decision by the Pentagon to block their access to medical information needed to treat severely injured troops arriving at VA hospitals from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA physicians handle troops with serious brain injuries and other major health problems. They, rely on digital medical records that track the care given wounded troops from the moment of their arrival at a field hospital through their evacuation to the United States.......
..................The access cutoff came after Morris, in a Jan. 23 e-mail, instructed a colleague: "If the VA currently has access I need a list of persons and I need their accounts shut off ASAP. It is illegal for them to have access without data use agreements and access controls in place by federal regulations and public law."
There have been meetings between VA and Pentagon officials. The Pentagon declined to comment yesterday............
Thursday, February 15, 2007
update on the baker's dozen
from first draft via raw story
Semper Fi Hannity
Last month the wingnuts were outraged when the Baker's Dozen a Yale singing group was attacked in San Fransisco. Though there were reports that this may have been a case of gay bashing the wingnuts seized on another aspect. Wingnut blogger Gateway Pundit had a post title that says it all...Yale Group Gets Beaten for Performing "Star Spangled Banner."
More jumped on the band wagon giving insights such as this from The Bullwinkle Blog...
The ever-tolerant left of Pelosiville attacked a group of college students for singing the Star-Spangled Banner...........
.............Sooo.....
Today SFGate reports that "as many as three U.S. Marines were involved" in the alleged attack. There have been no arrests in the matter so the attorney for the victims has written the Marine Corps who do not appear to have been all that helpful thus far......
In the letter, Hammer said the Marine he identified was also involved in the attack on Aziz, who was "brutally punched in the face after he had turned to walk away'' from a group of men. One doctor observed that Aziz's jaw was broken "by a trained fighter or someone using a deadly weapon.''
The Marine, according to the letter, used a cellular phone to photograph "the wounds to the knuckles of his fellow attackers and proceeded to attempt to destroy evidence in an effort to cover up his involvement and escape prosecution.'' ...........
once again i am left wondering WHY NO ARRESTS YET???????????
if i kicked and hit and beat the crap out of someone AND they had my van on tape coming to the scene AND they had TONS of witnesses saying i beat the crap out of someone AND they had me on TAPE beating the crap out of someone.......do you think i'd NOT be arrested SIX WEEKS AFTER THE VIOLENT ATTACK? you bet my big fat butt would be in the slammer right now!
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL? hell no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yale Families Demand Action From Marines
Choir Group Assaulted In S.F.
By Dan Noyes
Feb. 12 - KGO - He was the victim of a New Year's attack in San Francisco, and now his family's being asked to pay. Their first official contact with the city was a bill for the ambulance. That bill, quite literally, added insult to injury. The parents of the Yale singing group, beaten up over New Year's, believe the D.A.'s office has all the evidence needed to file charges. And they're upset nothing has come of the case so far.
It's now been six weeks since the beating of The Baker's Dozen and the first official word the families get from the city is a bill.
Paramedics rushed 18-year-old Sharyar Aziz to the hospital over New Year's after he was knocked to the ground, punched and kicked by several assailants. His jaw was broken in two places. ......
AND get this.....(if i were in charge HEADS WOULD ROLL ) this is JUST un effing believable
Exclusive: D.A. Discusses Choir Assault Case
By Dan Noyes
......District Attorney Kamala Harris may be frustrated at the pace of the police investigation into the Yale choir beating that resulted in black eyes, sprained ankles, a serious concussion and a jaw broken in two places, but apparently not enough to assign a deputy district attorney and investigator to the case.
ABC7's Dan Noyes: "Have you assigned an inspector to this case?"
Kamala Harris: "No, we're not investigating this case. It's being investigated by the police department." .........
............Jim Hammer: "Several times they thought there was enough evidence to arrest some of those responsible and that each time the D.A. has rebuffed them."
Dan Noyes: "They haven't come to your office for warrants?"
Kamala Harris: "Arrest warrants or search warrants?"
Dan Noyes: "Arrest warrants."
Kamala Harris: "No, not to my knowledge."
There is no denying that the D.A.'s office made an unusual request last weekend to the father of a Yale student who was knocked to the ground, punched and kicked by several assailants, causing a serious concussion. They asked the parent to send a four-page letter, outlining the evidence and the reasons why the prosecutors should file charges.
Dean Johnson, ABC7 Legal Analyst: "I personally think that's outrageous and I have never in 20 years as a prosecutor heard of such a thing." ..........
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
and this one gave me a headache....
at any rate, the parking RATES will be changing come april
Council Adjusts Parking Rates At Meters, Lots
By DANIEL P. JONES, Courant Staff Writer
WEST HARTFORD -- Come early April, it will cost more to use a parking meter in West Hartford Center, but it will cost less to park for a day in the town's two main surface lots in the center.The town council Tuesday night unanimously approved new parking rates for on-street metered spaces in the center and for the lots. The changes will take effect April 2.The rate for on-street metered parking will go from 25 cents for 30 minutes to 25 cents for 15 minutes, or four quarters for an hour. The maximum time allowed before vehicles must be moved from metered spaces will remain two hours.............
...........................The hourly parking rate in the surface lots will remain $1.50 for any portion of the first hour and 75 cents per 30 minutes thereafter. The first hour will begin after the first 30 minutes, which will remain free.The hours of operation for the new parking garages will be 24 hours, seven days a week.The main surface lots will be open 5 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next day, when the entrance gates will be closed but automated exit gates will allow motorists to pay and leave, said John Phillips, the town's municipal parking supervisor. Parking from 5 to 9 a.m. will be free. Parking overnight - from 2 to 5 a.m. - is prohibited..............
i have my fingers crossed on this one
Proposals to help low-income seniors gaining steam at Capitol
(Hartford-AP) _ Dozens of measures are being considered at the state Capitol to offer tax relief to Connecticut's low-income senior citizens.
Several seniors and advocates for elderly residents lobbied the General Assembly today.
They wanted to express their concerns about energy prices, tax increases and other strains on their incomes that are fixed by pensions and investments.
Some proposals would freeze the local tax amounts that low-income seniors pay. ...........
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
if you are in mystic
connecticut has a rich history of helping with social reform.
there ARE some not so nice pieces in our history but then again, we had people like george and abby greenman too
Conn. abolitionists' home open to the public
by News Channel 8's Tina Detelj
Mystic-WTNH) _ There is a new connection to Connecticut's abolitionist history that is now being shared with the public.
For the first time, visitors are being invited into the home of George and Abby Greenman. They owned a well known Mystic shipyard where the Mystic Seaport now stands.
"They were strong abolitionists, big social reformers," said Michael O'Farrell from Mystic Seaport.
They may have even provided a stop on the underground railroad in the mid 1800's.
"They really believed that blacks and whites were equal," said O'Farrell.
As legend has it, slaves in southern states would stowaway on lumber schooners heading to the Mystic shipyard............
this is the sort of story we need to read more of

“THERE’S MORE LOVE on this street corner than in all the state of Connecticut," says Anthony Cymerys, also known as Joe the Barber. David Weaver, left, is a regular visitor in front of the former YMCA building in downtown Hartford, where Joe gives free haircuts and food every Wednesday. (MARK MIRKO)
this is the sort of PERSON we need MORE of. giving. this is real giving. caring. this is real caring. at 75, he's not giving up. neither should we
By JENNIFER WARNER COOPER Special To The Courant February 11 2007
It's 5 p.m. on a wintry Wednesday, with temperatures in the low 20s. Joe the Barber is on the sidewalk outside Hartford's former YMCA building, talking softly to a man with cuts and bruises on his face. He removes his own wool hat and gently fits it over the raw stitches on the man's forehead. He reaches up to tug the hat gently over the man's ears once, twice."You need to keep your head warm," Joe urges.Joe the Barber, whose given name is Anthony Cymerys, sets up his alfresco barbershop and snack bar across from Bushnell Park every Wednesday.Balding and white-haired, the 5-foot-6 Cymerys passes out sandwiches from the back of his gray Dodge Caravan and ladles soup from a stainless-steel stockpot that sits in a cooler on the sidewalk. Steam from the soup carries the smell of hot chicken broth up and over the cold concrete steps of the vacant building.No matter what the weather, Cymerys, 75, has set up shop here once a week for the past decade. In warmer weather, as many as 50 people gather here, but in winter, it's more like 15 to 20 regulars.Beards are trimmed, and hair is clipped. Cymerys can do a buzz, a fade, a zero, "whatever styles the guys ask for."His fee never varies - a hug for a haircut............
Monday, February 12, 2007
congratulations to Eugene DeNeutte
from new haven public schools
SUNDAY, FEB. 11, 2007, VA HOSPITAL, 3 P.M., WEST HAVEN: Eugene A. DeNeutte, a Sound School Graduate of the class of 2000, was seriously injured by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. He has been recuperating and making great gains at the VA Hospital in West Haven. The Sound School has been supporting him and visiting him throughout his recuperation and therapy and the Parent Advisory Council has begun a campaign to provide Valentines for Veterans for Eugene and the others at VA. This Sunday, February 11th at 3pm at the VA Hospital there will be a Purple Heart Ceremony for Eugene.
CT soldier receives purple heart
(West Haven-WTNH) _ Eugene DeNeutte was seriously injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
While recovering from his injuries at the VA Hospital in West Haven, DeNeutte was presented with the purple heart. ...........
Friday, February 09, 2007
ok maine, what's UP with THAT???
Sex offender OK'd to teach despite conviction
Augusta, Maine-AP) _ The man who headed up Maine's efforts to teach English to non-native speakers received his Maine teaching certificate despite a conviction for molesting a child in Connecticut.
Bernard "Barney" Berube of Augusta was sentenced a week ago in Massachusetts for molesting two boys at a summer camp 30 years ago.
A year after the camp incidents, Berube was arrested in Norwalk, Connecticut, after a woman reported that he had sexually molested her 9-year-old son. Berube, then 29, and living in Westport, pleaded no contest to sexual assault and was ordered to resign as a teacher, leave the state and seek medical help. .........................
gonzo is right
in the articles in the papers yesterday ALL he could talk about was being compensated for his EXPENSIVE dogs. he didn't have a CARE in the world about the conditions they were experiencing. NOT A CARE. not only shouldn't he be compensated, he should be FINED
perhaps having gonzo live in a stacked cage in 20 degree weather with inadequate food and water would show him the light (then again, perhaps not)
Seized pit bulls treated, authorities consider charges
by News Channel 8's Kent Pierce Posted Feb. 8, 20076:35 PM
(East Haven-WTNH) _ Dozens of pit bulls found crated in a cold outdoor shed are now getting the care they need, and authorities are looking at what kind of charges the dogs owner will face.
Some of the 37 dogs seized enjoyed freedom for the first time since animal control officers took them out of tiny cages in a shed behind an East Haven home Wednesday afternoon.
"For lack of a better word, I would say they're almost in shell-shock," animal control officer Owen Little said. "Some of them are backing up into corners. They're not used to being out of the cages or out of crates."
The dogs belong to Gonzo Montedeoca. Yesterday he told News Channel 8 the dogs were a "hobby". "Why do people collect cars? Why do people collect airplanes," he said.
But dogs need more care and animal control officers took a thermometer into the shed where the dogs were kept. ...........
stop by andy thibault's blog
Who Is For Real In Journalism World?
By ANDY THIBAULT The Cool Justice Report www.cooljustice.blogspot.com
Feb. 8, 2007EDITOR’S NOTE: This column is available for reprint courtesy of The Cool Justice Report, http://cooljustice.blogspot.com
Is Ken Krayeske any less of a journalist than those who process the low-grade vomit of politicians, business leaders or police chiefs over the course of many years in the same job?The short answer, of course, is no.Let’s look at it another way. Suppose you’re a bowler. You have fun bowling. You’re pretty good. You join the pro bowlers tour and earn some money. Guess what? You’re a professional bowler............
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
women's issues: cheers and jeers of the week
on second thought they are NOT women's issues. they are issues for ALL.
unlike another senator who's name i won't mention (da liebs) chris dodd strives for GOOD (certainly NOT for taxing us to pay for the UNJUST and ILLEGAL and IMMORAL war in iraq)
By WeNews Staff
(WOMENSENEWS)--
Cheers
Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, who authored the nation's Family and Medical Leave Act 14 years ago, said this week he will introduce a new bill to include up to six weeks' paid leave for workers who take time off from their jobs to care for sick family members, newborns or new adopted children.
The current law allows parents to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave from their jobs. The United States, Lesotho, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea are the only nations that offer no national maternity leave program, according to ABC News.
"The U.S. does not do nearly enough to ensure that our workers aren't forced to choose between their family and their job," said Dodd.............
just a thought here about connecticut "justice"
ken krayeske's bail?.... well it was 75,000 BAIL
more sheer lunacy
the ONLY TERROR we have to fight in iraq is the TERROR WE OURSELVES caused. we caused it by INVADING their country WITHOUT an actual CAUSE. we destroyed their lands, their lives and we just keep going.
US should weigh war on terrorism tax - Lieberman
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Sen. Joseph Lieberman said on Tuesday that Congress should consider a tax to fund the U.S.-declared war on terrorism and reduce the need to cut domestic programs to pay for security spending.
A former Democrat who supports the Iraq war and backs President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq, Lieberman said the proposed increase in the Pentagon's budget for next fiscal year will squeeze funding for critical domestic programs.
"I think we have to start thinking about a war on terrorism tax," the independent Connecticut lawmaker said. "I mean people keep saying we're not asking a sacrifice of anybody but our military in this war and some civilians who are working on it."
"When you put together the (Pentagon) budget and the Homeland Security budgets, we need to ask people to help us in a way that they know when they pay more it will go for their security," he said during a Senate panel hearing on the defense budget request.
Bush on Monday asked Congress to approve $700 billion in new military spending and to curb many domestic programs. The request includes $245 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars between now and late 2008..................
Monday, February 05, 2007
my favorite hat of the bunch
i knitted hats for my department. unfortunately, i just didn't get them done for december. they were all knit. i just had to weave in the ends (and there were a LOT of 'em) and add the embellishments.
i've passed them out (anonymously). here is the letter that accompanied the hats (to my co-workers by the way)
Dear …………………………..
Due to the mild December temperatures, there was an ugly incident at the North Pole this year.
A rabid swarm of vicious North Pole bees attacked an unwary Santa Claus causing him to go into anaphylactic shock. Now I’m only telling you this because there IS now some good news to share. Santa is well on his way to recovery. He was hospitalized for a week and then I took him home to nurse him. He did loose some weight, but not to worry, I’ll have him roly and poly by this upcoming December! It’s a good thing Santa does like his figgy puddings and roast beasts!
I know each and every one of you was a good boy and girl last year. Santa, being gravely ill could not make all of the deliveries he was supposed to. Now that he is conscious and back in his right mind, he has asked me to deliver these little hats to all of you. Remember, it’s the THOUGHT THAT COUNTS!
They are all made out of wool. Some all wool, some have wool and other blends. If you are allergic, Santa and I most sincerely apologize. (We did know ONE of you was allergic so no hat for you. You got a cotton scarf instead). If they are too big or too small we most sincerely apologize as well. We did our best under these trying circumstances.
With all of our love,
Mrs (Minerva) Claus and Santa
P.S. We would not be opposed if anyone wanted to trade hats with someone else.
*e’s hat hasn’t been dropped off at her house yet. Since Santa is STILL recovering, we have both decided to mail it instead of having him drop it off
**a will have her scarf (Santa was told A was allergic to wool) dropped off upon her return to work
***d will have her hat upon her return
speaking of which.... (see story below)
Perez Makes Parking Deal Critics See Political Patronage In Parking Contract
By DANIEL E. GOREN Courant Staff Writer February 3 2007
Despite interest from the city's own parking authority, the administration of Mayor Eddie A. Perez recently awarded a potentially lucrative contract to manage a city-owned parking lot to a longtime political power broker in the city's North End.The agreement - signed by Perez without the knowledge of the city council or a formal bidding process - transfers the management of a 3-acre surface parking lot downtown to a company run by former state Rep. Abraham L. Giles.The agreement was signed in November 2006 despite a request months earlier by the Hartford Parking Authority to discuss taking over management of the lot.According to critics of the mayor, the contract appears to be a thinly veiled attempt to lock up political support. Giles, political insiders say, controls key votes on the city's Democratic town committee and exerts strong influence in the predominantly black 5th House District, a constituency Perez needs as he seeks re-election this year.Former state Sen. Frank Barrows, who is running against Perez in the 2007 election, said the contract represents everything that is "wrong with politics in this city.""That's Hartford for you," said Barrows. "My old saying is that you can buy someone's soul if you buy them a chicken dinner, and that is one chicken dinner right there."Parking in downtown Hartford has long been a rich source of political patronage. In the late 1990s, the state went so far as to stop funding any new parking garages until the city changed its laws, removing the city manager as the highest parking power and establishing a parking authority...........
man i love this woman more and more: Helen Ubiñas
Mayor's Blunders And Bluster
Helen Ubiñas
What do you do when you screw up to the tune of millions of dollars? If you're El Jefe, you throw a tantrum and pass the buck.Not that hissy fits are anything new for Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez. He threw one in April when he thought the legislature was moving too slowly on a plan to ease the property tax burden on city homeowners. And, again, two months later when he took a carefully orchestrated walk to the Capitol to complain about the governor not cooperating in the fight to stop gun violence. But Pouty Perez outdid himself last week when Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the mayor's plan to build a school at the intersection of bad idea and bad idea - also known as Broad and Farmington - was, well, a bad idea.Perez wasted no time in gathering folks at the site Thursday and portraying the decision as everything except what it was - his screw-up............