stupid connecticut crime

c'mon now. if you're GOING to commit a crime, a police department should NOT be your first choice

Man Charged With Trespassing At West Hartford Police Station
 By DAVID OWENS, dowens@courant.com

WEST HARTFORD—

 A South Windsor man apparently in search of a restroom at the West Hartford police station instead found himself under arrest after he wandered through an unlocked door into a secure area, police said.

Rather than stop when two officers called to him, Matthew Deffley ran. The officers quickly caught him and he was charged with third-degree criminal trespass and interfering with an officer.............

this is one of the most tragic things i have read

i'm posting it because i have very long hair. i am quite careful but one never knows. 9/10ths of the time, it is in a bun. every once in a while it will be in a braid or a ponytail. we have a revolving door at work that's automatic. it DOES have a reverse switch on it, but i ALWAYS make sure my hair is not flying about.  one doesn't think things like this can happen. this story shows us they can

and of course to the family and friends of ms dufault, i am so very sorry for your loss

Yale Student Killed as Hair Gets Caught in Lathe

By LISA W. FODERARO

As a Yale undergraduate majoring in astronomy and physics, Michele Dufault was used to extreme physical environments. She worked on underwater robotic vehicles last summer as a fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. She also traveled to Houston as part of a team of undergraduates chosen by NASA to perform a plasma physics experiment in reduced gravity.But it was a rudimentary machine — a lathe in a campus laboratory — that erased what everyone imagined to be a brilliant future for Ms. Dufault, who also found time to mentor girls interested in science and to play saxophone in Yale’s precision marching band............

please let's get teh decriminalization of marijuana passed!

and believe it or not, i do NOT smoke it (or use it in any form). i sure do know if i was going through something painful (as in cancer treatments or the like), i WOULD be smoking it. there is absolutely NO reason it should be a crime. i even think it should not be a ticket-able offense

Judiciary Committee OKs Bill To Decriminalize Small Amounts Of Marijuana
By DANIELA ALTIMARI,  
ARTFORD— — Lawmakers took a step Tuesday toward decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

The legislature's judiciary committee approved a measure that would make the penalty for possession of a half-ounce of marijuana or less akin to receiving a speeding ticket. Those charged would be assessed fines instead of facing criminal penalties.

The committee passed a similar bill in 2009, but it died before the session ended.................

radioactive - planned parenthood of southern new england

click here to hear the broadcast

my home away from home

see why i love the half door

why would one family need:

 62 rifles, some shot guns, some machine guns, 10 pistols, a flare gun a grenade launcher, two crossbows and a MASSIVE amount of ammo? WHY?  WHY would someone allow an open gun cabinet in the room of a 12 year old who, 3 years ago (accidentally????) shot his father in the neck?there is NOTHING in the entire universe which could justify that cache of weapons in a home with children. NOTHING would YOU want these people as neighbors? HELL, i don't want 'em in our COUNTRY much less our state or my neighborhood.

Police: 12-Year-Old Who 'Recklessly' Fired Gun Is Same Boy Who Shot Father In 2008


By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY, cdempsey@courant.com The Hartford Courant

EAST HAMPTON — —

A 12-year-old seen firing a rifle at his home without supervision, leading to his mother's arrest Wednesday, is the same boy who shot his father in the neck three years ago, police said.

A neighbor saw the boy "recklessly firing a .22-caliber rifle without supervision" on the family's property on Jan. 18, according to police. The allegation led to the arrest of the mother, Alexandria Simonelli, 51, on charges of risk of injury to a minor and first-degree reckless endangerment, police said.

She posted $20,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned April 19 at Superior Court in Middletown............

pic: Police seized 62 rifles, shotguns and machine guns from the Wopowog Road home after Joseph Simonelli Sr. was accidentally shot in the neck, according to the 2008 arrest warrant. (Fox CT)

congratulations are in order!

UConn Beats Butler, 53-41, Giving Jim Calhoun His Third National Championship

 

pic: Jeremy Lamb hugs the NCAA trophy at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas after he helped lead the Huskies to the 2011 National Championship Game. (Patrick Raycraft / Hartford Courant / April 4, 2011)

 

top dogs

 

UConn Wins NCAA National Championship

Thousands Cheer On Both Teams In Houston

i too would like to know why the west hartford police department didn't respond

for at least an hour. hell, i even know what 'to air out' a house means

(i have had NO bad experiences with the wh police. just the opposite. i have found them to be nothing but helpful AND i have also found their response times are beyond excellent. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO what went wrong here???)

Woman Called For Police An Hour Before West Hartford Shooting
By VANESSA DE LA TORRE and DAVID OWENS, vdelatorre@courant.com

WEST HARTFORD ——

More than an hour before a man was shot in the neck on Tuesday, allegedly by a 17-year-old Conard High School student, a woman called police and asked that an officer be sent to her Abbotsford Avenue home to deal with a bullying problem.

"The same kids that are messing with my daughter in school are coming around my house, threatening me and my children," Quintina Texidor said during a three-minute phone call that began at 2:57 p.m.

"Someone will be there shortly," the dispatcher told Texidor....................  

i'm not a big college basketball fan

of course i DO have a tinge of pride when uconn WOMEN and men make the final four. it just doesn't mean that much to me though

i did come across this rather unusual article about kemba walker. THIS made me smile

Stapleton: UConn's Kemba Walker uneasy in the NCAA tournament spotlight

By ART STAPLETON

STORRS, Conn. – The mega-ratings reality show starring Kemba Walker is far more compelling than what the television cameras have captured on the basketball court.
There is overwhelming attention paid to the Connecticut junior guard wherever he goes.
Two-dozen reporters gathered around Walker inside Gampel Pavillion, where he spoke Tuesday afternoon for more than an hour on a variety of topics — mostly centered on the thrill of having led UConn to within two victories of its third national championship.
Outside, adoring students serve as paparazzi with honking horns from passing cars.............

and here is yet ANOTHER young (grrrl this time) one being bullied

a VERY touching video indeed

it seems to me schools do NOT do enough to protect children. then when something really goes wrong, schools start pointing the finger; we were never notified so and so was bullied or we did all we COULD or what the hell ever excuse they come up with. (note: i do NOT know the circumstances about ms pollack's school. i have no idea if they're helping or ignoring or what. i'm hoping the former NOT the later of course)

MY name is Alye Pollack and I am being bullied (VIDEO)

 

Bullying Video Draws Attention

Mother of Bullied Girl Speaks

ok middletown school district, what the hell is up with this?

Bullied Student Can't Get Homework

The 7th grader has been out of school to two months.

View more videos at: http://nbcconnecticut.com.

By Doug Greene

advertisement

The reading comprehension exercises in Monique McClain's workbook leave her frustrated.

For the last two months, she hasn't done much because she has been out of school after she said classmates bullied her.

She was getting homework assignments from teachers at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Middletown, but not anymore. Not even a lawyer and a state marshal could get her the assignments..............

 

 

this is west hartford.........we do NOT have shootings here

at any rate, three are caught, 2 are missing. if tried and FOUND GUILTY (of course they are only alleged attempted MURDERERS as of this moment) the minors should be charged as adults and all of 'em should do the MAXIMUM time. a gun in the hand of a minor in a neighborhood. the (alleged) shooter EATING EFFING POUNDCAKE as he's firing. no. no and no

whoops, UPDATE: ALL FIVE ARE IN CUSTODY  NOW

 

Five Charged In Connection With West Hartford Shooting

By DAVID OWENS and HILLARY FEDERICO, dowens@courant.com The Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD—

Five young men remain in custody this morning in connection with a shooting Tuesday afternoon on Abbotsford Avenue that left a man critically injured.

Police said Thursday that a 17-year-old from West Hartford was the shooter. They did not identify him because of his age. He is charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit, and possession of less than four ounces of marijuana.

Police charged four others, including another 17-year-old who was not named, with conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. The three who police named are Andre Cooke, 18, of 62 South Quaker Lane, Marcus Stevens, 18, of 91 Red Top Drive, and Justin Reyes, 18, of 156 Dart St., Hartford...............

.........The shooter was apparently eating pound cake when he opened fire, LaSata said............

 

 

i've written about the bridge before

they make THE BEST tofu salad i have ever had.  i've tried to duplicate it. i CANNOT

Van Plunges Into Tofu Shop

Tofu production is suspended, according to report.

 

here's their website the bridge

¡Mira! Hartford: Resident artist Anne Cubberly wants you to know a...

¡Mira! Hartford:
Resident artist Anne Cubberly wants you to know a...: "Resident artist Anne Cubberly wants you to know about the great free arts events happening around the city so that you can get away with en..."

happy st. patrick's day

my thoughts go out to the friends and family of Sgt 1st Class Dae Han Park

Watertown Special Forces Soldier Dies In Afghanistan

 

WATERTOWN

— A soldier who graduated from Watertown High School has died in Afghanistan, the Army said Monday.

Sgt. 1st Class Dae Han Park, 36, died Saturday near Kajran, in Daykundi province, Afghanistan.

editorial in the nytimes

so of course i thought i MUST link to it

Connecticut’s Better Budget

In comparison to New York’s $88 billion budget or New Jersey’s of $29 billion, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s budget in Connecticut is a mere $19.7 billion. Yet Governor Malloy has managed to create a better, fairer budget than both of his colleagues. And he is doing it without bombast, without YouTube, without making hard enemies or playing favorites.  All three governors face big deficits — Connecticut’s is $3.2 billion in the next fiscal year and $3 billion the year after. Governor Malloy’s budget proposal spreads the pain more evenly. Like Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Mr. Malloy wants to cut government spending: $1 billion from state employees and $758 million in state services. Unlike his neighbors, he recognizes that budgets cannot be balanced fairly in the short term, or at all in the long term, without having new money coming in. Instead of taking $800 million out of the education budget, Mr. Malloy proposes an array of tax increases, including some on those making more than $50,000 a year...................

and this of course from the courant
Poll Shows voters Oppose Malloy's Tax Increases; Approval Rating Only 35%
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING and DANIELA ALTIMARI, ckeating@courant.com
Many voters seem to believe that some tax increases are fine — as long as someone else is paying.
That's one finding from the latest Quinnipiac University Poll, released as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is asking Connecticut residents to pay $1.5 billion in tax increases in the coming fiscal year.
In the university's first Connecticut poll since the gubernatorial election, 66 percent said that Malloy's budget-balancing plan relies on too many tax increases, and 56 percent say the plan is unfair. In addition, 40 percent of those surveyed disapprove of Malloy's job performance in his first two months in office, and 51 percent disapprove of the way he is handling the state's budget crisis.................
 

TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): Old Leatherman

TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): Old Leatherman: "BoingBoing this week linked to a story in the New York Times about 'Leather Man' - a vagabond who walked the roads of western Connecticut in..."

yesterday, coli mcenroe's show on npr was absolutely OUTSTANDING

he had on the state troubadour, chuck costa and the state poet dick allen

give it a read and a listen HERE

here's chuck costa's website i LOVED his music. you can buy his albums there. i also believe they're available on itunes.

please give him a listen. absolutely blown away i tell  ya!
pic:

Chuck Costa

Photo:Chion Wolf

some unusual yet not unwelcomed news on chris dodd

Dodd Takes Job As CEO Of Motion Picture Association Of America
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING, ckeating@courant.com The Hartford Courant


Chris Dodd is going Hollywood.
After months of rumors, the former U.S. senator was named Tuesday as chairman and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the nation's major film studios.
Dodd had remained relatively quiet about exactly what he would be doing after serving in Washington for 36 years, but his interest in the film post had been chronicled in several major newspapers. His name had been floated for multiple jobs, including president of the University of Connecticut and ambassador to any number of countries through a nomination by his friend, President Barack Obama.............

Chris Dodd's leading role

Break out the buttered popcorn! Another front-runner has captured one of Hollywood's golden tickets: Chris Dodd is the new head of the Motion Picture Association of America.
The former senator, 66, has been rumored to get the $1.5 million-a-year job for the past couple of months, and was officially named on Tuesday..............


pic: After a year-long search to replace Dan Glickman, former senator Chris Dodd is named the new head of the MPAA. (Jessica Hill) 

Motion Picture Industry Group Names Ex-Senator Dodd as Its New Chief
By BROOKS BARNES and MICHAEL CIEPLY


— Christopher J. Dodd, the former Democratic senator of Connecticut, was named as Hollywood’s top lobbyist on Tuesday, a move that might initially prove tricky because of lobbying restrictions for former members of Congress.  The Motion Picture Association of America, which is counting on Mr. Dodd to revive its diminished influence, announced that he would take over on March 17 as its chairman and chief executive. The job, which will pay about $1.5 million a year, will require Mr. Dodd to push a Hollywood agenda in Washington that includes a more aggressive government stance against piracy and an effort to persuade China to lift limits on the distribution of Western movies.............