Ouch

Saturday, February 03, 2007
Time: 3:03 PM

Oh man, does my finger hurt.

Last night, I tripped and hyper extended my right ring finger. To make matters worse, I extended my finger so bad that my skin broke and required four stitches.

Don't worry, I'm doing okay pur it it hurts to type right now so I'm taking it easy today. Hopefully, the swelling will go down so I can get this blog thing off the ground and start waking people up to the nonsense happening around the city (TRUST ME, THERE IS A LOT OF NONSENSE HAPPENING).

Now, where is the Tylenol...

A Ken Krayeske history lesson


Time: 2:35 PM

When you watch this video, remember one thing and Ken Krayeske (FREELANCE REPORTER AND FORMER CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE CLIFF THORNTON).

1. Krayeske's name was somehow placed on a secret list.

2. A flyer with his full description was distributed among the State and Hartford Police Department.

3. Krayekse was arrested, held on 75,000 BAIL, and was later released (AFTER THE GOVERNOR'S BALL WAS OVER) on a promise to appear in court.

4. The police report contradicts several witnesses who saw the arrest as well as Krayeske's time stamp ON HIS PHOTOGRAPHS.

5. I could go on and on and on...just watch the video and maybe you'll begin to get a better understanding about why Krayeske was singled out.


Mayor Boughton's re-election campaign...


Time: 2:24 PM

is in full swing.

The ONLY issue that matters in this eleciton is D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T and the mayor has a record to defend.

Boughton can't look to the future when everyone is looking at his past.

D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T

When it rains, it pours

Thursday, February 01, 2007
Time: 2:15 PM

Just when you think things are going in the right direction, BANG, my harddrive on my laptop crashes again. Thank goodness I backed up a majority of my files as the people at Apple warned me that this might happen.

That's it! No more short cuts. I'm biting the bullet and paying the man to do a complete overhaul of the system. Thankfully, I uploaded the new layout and I'll have it up and running as soon I re-create the new graphics (yeah, you got it, I lost it on the laptop).

In any case, I think I'm at the point where I'm just going to add the new design to the site and update it as I go forward. I've been babbling about the new layout for too long and I can't take it any more. There is too much to report on and enough is enough.

Look for the new look this weekend.

Molly Ivins 1944-2007

Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Time: 8:33 PM

A great, great, great person has passed away.
Syndicated political columnist Molly Ivins died of breast cancer Wednesday evening at her home in Austin. She was 62 years old, and had much, much more to give this world.

She remained cheerful despite Texas politics. She emphasized the more hilarious aspects of both state and national government, and consequently never had to write fiction. She said, "Good thing we’ve still got politics—finest form of free entertainment ever invented."

The issue is...


Time: 9:45 AM

D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T.
From today's letter to the editor.
The News-Times recently covered the proposed Savannah Hills subdivision on Danbury's Great Plain Road.

The site being considered is part of a large hilly open space with vernal pools, hemlock forest, mountain laurel and wetlands that provide important habitats for wildlife.

The 33-acre proposed development is part of a larger 100-acre forest including ridgelines, gorges and streams of great beauty. This is a watershed area for Candlewood Lake, providing water protection for our area's greatest resource.

At the last Environmental Impact Commission public hearing, a neighbor mentioned amphibian population in the area. Dr. Danzer, Danbury's environmental scientist, reported that this site might be the habitat for the northern slimy salamander, which is on Connecticut's threatened species list. He recommended that the state Department of Environmental Protection be consulted.

The disappearance of an amphibian species is significant; a greater issue for Danbury citizens is the potential loss of an entire ecosystem, once commonplace in our area.

Overdevelopment was the main topic of discussion at Mayor Boughton's open forum on Jan. 20. The mayor talked about offering a bond referendum that would give Danbury residents an opportunity to preserve some of the most desirable remaining open spaces.

Currently, residents on the north, south and west sides of Danbury enjoy protected open space areas. I hope it is not too late to protect the only open space area remaining on the east side of our city.

Please contact the mayor, legislators and Common Council members if you share my concern.

Any development such as Savannah Hills should only receive approval if all steps are taken to preserve the quality of our environment. Our city's Environmental Impact, Conservation, and Planning commissions need to do all within their power to ensure that any development in the Great Plain woodlands respects the beauty and character of this truly priceless natural resource.
D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T.

...just wait till this site gets up to full speed and you'll see what I mean.

Danbury High School Darfur documentary gaining more attention

Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Time: 6:43 PM


The genocide in Darfur is simply a disgrace; it's outrageous that the world is sitting on the sidelines while hundreds of thousands of Africans are being slaughtered.

In case you don't know the seriousness of the situation, here's a quick history lesson on the conflict.
The Darfur conflict is an ongoing armed conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan, mainly between the Janjaweed (translated: "devils on horseback"), a militia group recruited from the tribes of the Abbala (camel-herding Arabs), and the non-Baggara people (mostly land-tilling tribes) of the region. The Sudanese government, while publicly denying that it supports the Janjaweed, has provided arms and assistance and has participated in joint attacks with the group, systematically targeting the Fur, Zaghawa, and Massaleit ethnic groups in Darfur. The conflict began in July 2003. Unlike in the Second Sudanese Civil War, which was fought between the primarily Muslim north and Christian and Animist south, in Darfur most of the residents are Muslim, as are the Janjaweed.

Estimated number of deaths in the conflict have ranged from 50,000 (World Health Organization, September 2004) to 450,000 (Dr. Eric Reeves, 28 April 2006). Most NGOs use 400,000, a figure from the Coalition for International Justice that has since been cited by the United Nations. As many as 2.5 million are thought to have been displaced.


Thankfully, the students at Danbury High are doing what they can to remind people about the situation in Darfur with a documentary on the tragedy. Entitled "The Promise," the seven minute documentary has caught the eye of many across the country and is receiving a great deal of media attention.

Here's channel 8's report on the student project.

For more information on the student documentary, click here (and make sure you bookmark the site).

Tillman media coverage


Time: 3:50 PM

Following up on my post regarding the passing of Emma Faust Tillman, here's Fox 61 report on the former longest living woman in the world.

Updates


Time: 2:25 PM

As I ready the site for the move over to the new layout, you'll notice several updates to the links section. If there is a link that does not work, please email me and I'll get it fix pronto.

Thanks in advance.

InauguRELLgate scandal: Media coverage of Krayeske rally


Time: 1:39 PM

(While I'm working on a work-around for a number of issues with the new layout, I'll keep everyone up to date with the latest events surrounding the Gov Rell/Ken Krayeske scandal. The following crosspost is from ConnecticutBLOG)

Finally the lies will be exposed.

Today starts the beginning of freelance journalist/blogger Ken Krayeske's trial. This morning, supporters on Krayeske held a rally in his honor outside Hartford Superior Court. Channel 8 was on the scene and filed this report.

UPDATE: Here are the reports from Channel 30 and 3 (5:30PM).

Stop the escalation

Monday, January 29, 2007
Time: 6:04 PM

God bless Gen. Wes Clark. This ad is being pushed in the six home states of the Republicans on Foreign Relations Committee that voted against the Levin/Biden/Hagel resolution.

Very powerful.

Manic Monday


Time: 5:45 PM

Oh boy, ran into some new problems with the new layout. I won't even get into it because it's simply too geeky but I have to find some way around the problem pronto.

In honor of my manic state of mind, I present to you this oldie but goodie (depending if you're a product of the 80's).



Good grief...I'm old.

So off topic...but needs to be said.


Time: 10:10 AM

I just read that East Hartford's Emma Faust Tillman pass away at the age of 114. The daughter of slaves, I remember watching CNN when they reported that Tillman was just named the oldest living person in the world last week. In fact, until just recently, Tillman walked on her own and had a pretty independent life.

Her story is touching because my great-grandfather, who was also very independent, lived until 105 and made a living as a Pullman Porter. He was also the primary contributor to the novel "Raising From the Rails: Pullman Porters and the making of the black middle class" by Boston Globe Reporter Larry Tye (for those who don't understand the importance Pullman Porters had on African American society, I'll go into more detail about this topic during Black History month in February).

I was very fortunate to have my great-grandfather around until recently as I learned a great deal of important information about my family's past from conversations he had with our family. He knew how important his memories were to the family and made it a mission to pass as much knowledge down to everyone as possible. I'll always love him for sharing those important memories and will do everything in my power to make sure my daughter shares in that knowledge.

As African-American, being able to track back your family history to the slave trade is a VERY VERY RARE thing. Eventually, based on the information passed on from my great-grandfather, I'm sure my family will one day be able to trace back where in Africa we originated (and trust me, the day I'm able to go back to the area where my ancestors were captured from will be the greatest day of my life).

I can only imagine the knowledge Ms. Tillman passed down to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and God bless Ms Tillman for having a such wonderful full life.

More tests


Time: 9:55 AM

Since I made the move to the new blogger, I'm running a series of tests on new features. If you even used blogger in the past, you know how buggy the system is and can appreciate the care I'm taking to ensure that the transition to the new template will go smoothly. I just noticed that three things from the old site didn't come over correctly and I have to make adjustments or else the layout will be all out of whack and I'll have to adjust each post by hand (which I'm NOT doing again).

For those I talked to for interviews this weekend, I will be emailing or calling you personally either today or tomorrow. Again, thanks for the incredible responses and feedback and I'm working like a madman to incorporate each of your ideas into the new site.

Please keep the feedback, concerns, news in your neighborhood, and documents coming. I promise our new team will get to each story so email at hatcityblog@yahoo.com.

I can't wait for this to be over so I can get back to something of a normal life.

Manic Sunday and misc stuff

Sunday, January 28, 2007
Time: 11:46 AM

I'm taking the family to meet my folks today so posting will be very light.

I spend most of yesterday doing research on a very big story which is not getting the attention it deserves in the media (in fact, this story is outrageous and people should, and will, be held accountable). Lets just say again that based on my conversations with people in a majority of the wards in this city, THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE THIS YEAR WILL BE DEVELOPMENT, period. No illegal immigration, no sex offender ordinance, no 311 system...no, no, no, no. THE FIRST THING that comes out of the mouths of a CLEAR majority of people is one thing...D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T.

I'm tempted to just start rolling the stories but that wouldn't be the right thing to do. Most of my material will only work with the new layout, there is a great deal of paper work that needs to be digitized, and many more video interviews need to be conducted before I can get the ball rolling.

The thing I'm most excited about in my travels across the city was finding out how many people read this site and people thanking me for what I'm doing. It's one thing to see the number of hits on this site, it's another thing to have people say "HEY, your that HatCityBLOG guy, " proceed to talk to me about issues in their community, and ask me how they can help out.

With that, I'm very please to announce that more people will be joining the HatCityBLOG team and my ultimate goal is to have a person from each ward reporting on what's going on in their community. Right now some people are helping out as writers and others will doing the dirty work as researchers. It's getting to the point where this blog thing is becoming bigger than I ever thought and I'm helping readers of this site from other cities across the nation get started with their own blog.

In closing, I'd like to thank all those who I've talked to in the last month in my travels across Danbury. Thank you for your comments, talking to me about your concerns, and taking time out of your schedule to chat with me. It's almost like there is a serious disconnect with people who think they know what's going on and the community who seriously feel that their concerns are not being heard. Hopefully, over the next year, this site will be an vehicle for the silent majority who's getting overlooked and by all indications will express their feelings come this November.

Now, off to my parent's house...they want to see their granddaughter.

© 2024 Hat City Blog | READ, WATCH, AND LEARN.
No part of the content or the blog may be reproduced without prior written permission.
PEOPLE-POWERED MEDIA.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

INDEPENDENT PARTY OF DANBNRY
DATABASE COMING SOON


“Facebook”“Twitter”“Email”

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CITY OF DANBURY VIDEO ARCHIVE (Dec 2012-present)

The Mercurial (RIP)
Danbury News Times
Danbury Patch
Danbury Hamlet Hub
Danbury Daily Voice
Tribuna Newspaper
CT News Junkie
CT Capitol Report

10.03.18 (PDF):
"Approval of Danbury Prospect Charter School"

10.30.20 (HatCityBLOG VID): Charter School discussion during 2020 interview with Julie Kushner

2018 (RADIO): WLAD
"State Board of Ed signs off on Danbury charter school proposal"

08.20 (VID): CT-LEAD
"Stand up for Education Justice" Rally

08.20.20 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Charter schools are not ‘magic bullet’ to improving Danbury schools"

09.13.20 (OP-ED): CHAPMAN
Candidate for state Senate supports charter school for Danbury

01.15.21 (VID): CT-LEAD
Danbury Prospect Charter School press conference

03.19.21 (OP-ED): CT MIRROR
"Danbury leaders do not want a charter school"

04.01.21 (OP-ED): CT-LEAD:
"Why did Sen. Kushner vote against us?"

05.06.21 (VID): Danbury rally to fully fund public schools

10.07.21 (VID): Danbury City-Wide PTO "Meet the Candidates" education forum

10.07.21 NEWSTIMES
Danbury candidates quarrel over charter school, education funding

01.10.22 NEWSTIMES
"New operator named for Danbury charter school: ‘I’m a huge advocate for parent choice’"

01.10.22 NEWSTIMES
"Some Danbury Democrats ‘open minded’ about charter school after new, CT operator named"

01.21.22 (OP-ED): CT MIRROR
"Lessons from Danbury: Ending the dual process for charter school approval"

02.09.22 NEWSTIMES
"Proposed Danbury charter school won’t open in 2022, governor leaves funding out of budget"

02.18.22 NEWSTIMES:
Danbury residents plead for charter school funds in 9-hour state budget hearing: ‘Just exhausted’

03.05.22 (LTE):
Time has come for Danbury charter school

03.12.22 (OP-ED): TAYLOR
"Why I am excited about the Danbury Charter School"

03.16.22 (LTE):
"Why a Danbury Charter School?"

04.02.22 CT EXAMINER:
"Crowding and a Lack of Options for Danbury Students, But No Agreement on Solutions"

04.04.22 (OP-ED): DCS
"Danbury Charter School plans debut"

04.07.22 (PODCAST): (CEA)
"SENATOR KUSHNER DISCUSSES POINTS OF OPTIMISM FOR DANBURY PUBLIC SCHOOLS"

04.18.22 (VID): CT-LEAD
Protest press conference

04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU
Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school

06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER:
"Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"

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On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.

The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.

Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.

Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.

CLICK HERE TO READ/DOWNLOAD MAYOR BOUGHTON'S DEPOSITION

CLICK HERE TO READ/DOWNLOAD MIKE McLACHLAN (then MAYOR CHIEF OF STAFF) DEPOSITION

Danbury Area Coalition for the Rights of Immigrants v.
U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security
3:06-cv-01992-RNC ( D. Conn. )

(02.25.08) Court docket

(10.24.07) Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Emergency Motion for Protective Order

(09.26.07) Press Release

(12.14.06) Complaint


Barrera v. Boughton, No. 07-01436
(D. Conn. filed Sept. 26, 2007)

(02.25.08) Court Docket

Amended complaint

Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Defendants' Motion to Dismiss State Law Claims

Plaintiffs' Opposition to Motion to Dismiss

Order on Motion to Dismiss

Defendants' Answer to Amended Complaint

NEW HAVEN REGISTER: Immigrant's 2006 arrest was flawed Danbury mayor testifies

(10.05.07 (VIDEO) Boughton mislead the public about Danbury's involvement in raid

(09.18.07) Yale Law Students expose Danbury involvement in raid

(12.14.06) VIDEO: Interview with Yale Law Students at FOI presser

(12.14.06) VIDEO: Danbury 11 FOI complaint media roundup

City Clerk Jean Natale standing next to skinhead sparks outrage

(10.03.06) VIDEO: Danbury 11 rally

(09.29.06) VIDEO: Danbury 11 case deepens

Word of raid spread across the country

(09/29/06) VIDEO: Danbury 11 protest news conference

(09/29/06) Immigrant newspaper "El Canillita" gives best account of ICE day labor raid at Kennedy Park


trans_button Santos Family Story
VIDEO: Tereza Pereira's ordeal with ICE agents

VIDEO: Danbury Peace Coalition Immigration Forum (April 2006)
featuring Mayor Boughton and Immigration attorney Philip Berns

VIDEO: 2007 Stop the Raids immigration forum at WCSU

2007: Community protest anti-immigration forum

A tribute to Hispanic Center Director and immigrant activist Maria Cinta Lowe

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2023 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Results:
11.15.23 Recanvass return
(Head Moderator Return Format)

11.07.23: Election night returns
(Head Moderator Return Format)

11.07.23: Initial returns


ESPOSITO FINANCE REPORTS:
Oct 10 2022
Jan 10 2023
Apr 10 2023
Jul 10 2023
Oct 10 2023

ALVES FINANCE REPORTS:
Apr 10 2023
Jul 10 2023
Oct 10 2023

CAMPAIGN SLATE DATABASE
Dem/GOP slate/ballot position

VIDEO: DRTC convention
VIDEO: DDTC conveniton


2021 (ALVES/ESPOSITO)

TOWN COMMITTEES
(VID) DDTC nomination convention
(PDF) DDTC campaign slate flyer

(VID) DRTC nomination convention
(PDF) DRTC campaign slate flyer

FORUMS/DEBATES
(VID) 2021 Danbury City-Wide PTO educational forum

CAMPAIGN FINANCE
First quarter
Alves Apr 10th SEEC filing

Second quarter
Alves Jul 10th SEEC filing
Esposito Jul 10th SEEC filing

Third quarter
Alves Oct 12th SEEC report
Esposito Oct 12th SEEC report

CAMPAIGN MAILERS
Alves "Jan 6th" attack mailer 10.21.21
Esposito "you can't trust Alves" attack mailer 10.20.21
Alves mailer 10.20.21
Alves mailer 09.30.21
Esposito mailer 09.28.21
Alves mailer 09.27.21
Esposito mailer 09.27.21


PAST CAMPAIGN COVERAGE

2005 (BOUGHTON/ESPOSITO)
Danbury 2005 election results
Newstimes Dean Esposito profile (10.25.05)

2007 (BOUGHTON/ABRANTES)
Danbury 2007 election results
(VID) Helana Abrantes TV ad
(VID) BRT tax deferral presser
(VID) Helena Abrantes "Community Forum" interview

2009 (BOUGHTON/GONCALVES)
Danbury 2009 election results
(VID) 2009 Danbury City-Wide PTO educational forum
(VID) 2009 Danbury Chamber of Commerce mayoral debate
(VID) 2009 DDTC nomination convention

2011 (BOUGHTON/TABORSAK)
Danbury 2011 election results
(VID) Saadi/Nero campaign kickoff

2013 (BOUGHTON/NO DTC ENDORSED CANDIDATE/MCALLISTER)
Danbury 2013 election results
(VID) 2013 DDTC nominaiton convention

2015 (BOUGHTON UNCHALLENGED)
Danbury 2015 election results

2017 (BOUGHTON/ALMEIDA)
Danbury 2017 election results
(VID) Al Almeida concession speech
(VID) 2017 Danbury City-Wide PTO educational forum
(VID) Al Almeida nomination acceptance speech

2019 (BOUGHTON/SETARO)
Danbury 2019 election results
(VID) 2019 NewsTimes Editorial Board interview with Mark Boughton and Chris Setaro
(VID) 2019 Danbury City-Wide PTO educational forum
(VID) 2019 Danbury Chamber of Commerce mayoral debate
(VID) 2019 convention endorsement speeches from Mark Boughton and Chris Setaro