Since it's my first Father's Day weekend, I decided to take a break from documenting the dishonesty of our Mayor and his cronies administration and take the family to Kent Falls.

Blogging will be light as I'm going to enjoy the weekend with my daughter. That's not to say that I won't post something tomorrow, it's just that I need a small break before going full speed (and trust me, things are going to go FULL SPEED after this weekend).

...developing.

State Rep. Jason Bartlett is hosting the first ever Bethel health fair in at the Bethel High School tomorrow at the Bethel Middle School from 10 AM – 2 PM.

Here's the info:

State Representative Jason Bartlett (D- Bethel, Danbury, Redding) will host the first ever Bethel Health Fair on Saturday, June 16, to help bring a positive focus and share information on health care issues for the Bethel community and surrounding towns.

The fair, which will be held at Bethel Middle School from 10 AM – 2 PM, will host a series of booths that will provide visitors with a range of information dealing with all aspects of health issues.

“Bethel has never had a health fair before, and I am proud to have been able to organize one along with the support of Danbury Hospital,” Rep. Bartlett said.

Bartlett has been a strong advocate of health care concerns in the General Assembly and has introduced several pieces of legislation this session that include universal healthcare for all Connecticut residents, Lyme disease prevention and awareness, and the establishment of a school-based health center in Danbury.

Congressman Chris Murphy will attend and give a speech on various health care issues affecting Connecticut. Murphy has been a prominent voice on numerous pieces of health care legislation including the implementation of Medicare Part D, the creation of the 2003 workplace smoking ban, and investments into embryonic and adult stem cell research.

For children and parents, there will be a booth with information about Amber Alerts and the steps that parents can take to protect their children. In addition, Jonathan the Husky Dog will be available representing Healthy Husky Sports and will take photographs with the children.

“It is my hope that adults and children of all ages from around the community will attend the event and take with them the information they need for proper healthcare awareness,” Rep. Bartlett said.

A bloodmobile will also be on hand at the health fair. Those wishing to donate are asked to call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to make an appointment prior to the date of the event.

The health fair will also be broadcast live on 98Q FM for two hours. Local organizations that will have booths with information, hand-outs and screenings include:

Karate America Olympus Personal Training AIDS Project Danbury Children’s Trust Fund Preventative Medicine Naturopathic Medicine

Red Cross Disaster Prevention Bethel Visiting Nurses Association Fairfield County Safe Kids Slips/Trips/Falls – Injury Prevention Heart Disease Risk Reduction Lyme Disease Awareness

As I stated in an earlier post, many residents in the community are extremely upset with the actions of the Danbury Police department stemming from an incident that occurred last Friday at the Danbury Fair carnival. It is alleged by eyewitnesses that officers mishandled innocent people and used racial epithets while breaking up a fight at the event.

They claim that police officers who were dispatched to a fight between three young men, which broke out as a carnival in the mall parking lot wound down, grossly overreacted -- swinging nightsticks, beating innocent people, and using racial epithets against some of the eight people who were eventually taken into custody. Most were charged with breach of peace and trespassing.

[...]

But eyewitnesses said none of those charged were involved in the fight, and many were just waiting in the parking lot for parents or friends to pick them up when they were attacked by police.

"They (the police) were angry. They started riling people up and hitting people," said Alan Perkins, who described watching several of his friends get pounded, manhandled and thrown to the ground.

"One of them grabbed my daughter and threw her against a car, then they stomped on her," said Laurel Quinones, whose 16-year-old daughter, also named Laurel, was taken to the hospital with arm and shoulder injuries.

"They weren't treated like human beings," said Rachel Austin, whose son Quincy also was injured.

Veaundre Williams, a local youth minister who said he knew several victims, drew gasps from the crowd as he told of one of the girls being grabbed by the hair and slammed down by police.

On Monday, a meeting was held at the New Hope Baptist Church where approximately 200+ frustrated and upset minority residents let their feelings about the incident known to Chief of Police Allan Baker and demanded that an immediate investigation be launched to look into the matter.

The Rev. Ivan Pitts, pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church and president of the Danbury chapter of the NAACP, demanded action from Police Chief Alan Baker, who attended the meeting.

"This is a very, very important issue," Pitts said. "We're very upset and we want answers."

[...]

Michael Dinho, 20, said he was trying to leave the carnival when an officer pulled him out of his car and smashed his face against the vehicle, resulting in a broken tooth and a sore neck.

"This is like Birmingham, 1965," one woman in the audience said.

"Things like this aren't supposed to happen in Danbury," another man said.

As I talked to several residents who attened the meeting and others who are still reeling form last week’s incident, most people were highly critical of the absence of one elected official at the meeting Monday night at church...Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. As of today, Mayor Boughton has yet to formally issue an official public statement, address members of the tense public, or hold a press conference regarding the matter.

Boughton's only comment to date is this blurb, based on a query from a reporter, in the third News-Times article on the incident, which was published on Wednesday.

"We're going to let Internal Affairs do their job. We're going to go out and gather the facts before jumping to conclusions. Part of the problem is everybody is going off what they heard," Boughton said.

Most people I’ve talked to were also quick to point out that although the mayor didn’t say anything publicly, that didn’t stop the police department in releasing a statement in which they state that they have video and audio footage that seems to back up their claim that no one was mistreated. As one person who wishes to say anonymous stated about the incident, “he [Boughton] couldn’t find time to say anything but had the time to let the police to go to the press with their video and audio claim. Aren’t the police the ones who always tell everyone not to jump to conclusions when they’re caught on videotaped beating up someone?”

In my travels across the city over the last two days, it became apparent that many residents are critical at Boughton for mishandling this situation by not issuing a statement and/or reassuring worried residents that the city will get to the bottom of the matter. Using such phrases as “out-of-touch” and “delusional,” people I’ve talked stated that if something like this would have happened in New Haven, Stamford, or Hartford, that those cities mayors (John DeStefano, Dan Malloy, Eddie Perez) would certainly handled the situation differently and gave an alleged incident the seriousness and the priority that is expected from a city’s highest elected official.

Coming on the heels of Boughton's absence, one individual who has been in a state of dismay over the mayor's handling of the situation from the beginning is Democratic Mayoral candidate Helena Abrantes. In an extremely critical statement released to the media this morning, Abrantes calls upon calling on Boughton to "'step up,' assume the role as leader of our community and effectively address continued growing concerns throughout the city."

“Danbury historically has fostered and maintained an environment where people of all races, religions, ethnicities and personal preferences were not only welcome, but embraced. This is what has made Danbury strong throughout its long and proud history,” Abrantes said. “This Mayor, through his actions and his words, has done nothing but polarize this community time and time again by pitting people against people, playing politics for personal gain with those of extremist and destructive views over the best interests of all the people of our city, and playing on the emotions of the so-called hot issues of the day at the expense of our City’s reputation,” she went on to say.

“As Mayor, I would have been present and available to the community at the New Hope Baptist Church to assure concerned members of our city that there would be a thorough and exhaustive investigation regarding the incident that recently occurred at the Danbury Fair. I would charge the Chief of Police to report to me his findings within 10 days. This is a situation that requires full public disclosure once all the facts are determined and immediate and appropriate action, if warranted,” Abrantes stated.

“This Mayor was absent and noncommittal regarding the kind of investigation that this incident demands and displayed a lack of leadership in addressing the serious concerns expressed by African- American citizens of our community in particular.” Our Mayor must be sensitive and genuinely concerned about the sentiments and feelings of each and every member group representative of our city,” said Abrantes. “People over politics is nothing more than an empty slogan and has been proven to be a ‘dyslectic’ approach in the governance of our city under this Mayor,” she further stated.

We’re not even close to fully knowing what actually happened last Friday but one thing is for certain, there is a right way and wrong way to handle situations where allegations racial slurs and police misconduct is involved and so far, Mayor Boughton is not getting a passing grade among the many minority residents in the area.

I have to do a bit of video archiving this morning before I release my posts. The mood and tone of Danbury is anything but well right now (MAN, that's an understatement) and I feel that it's important to bring the news that's not being properly addressed.

As I'm finished freeing up space on my harddrive, I'll get back to business.

Be back soon.

Attaboy Galante! You just help take down the State Senate Minority leader.

I guess the rumors flying around the Capitol today were true but "Looney" DeLuca really didn't have any other choice.

Sen. Louis C. DeLuca, R-Woodbury, resigned today as leader of the Senate Republican minority.

He issued the following statement:

"After careful consideration, and out of respect for this institution and for my caucus, I have decided to step down from my leadership position. I promised from the beginning that I would not allow the mistake that I made interfere with my public office. By stepping down today, I am making sure that my personal issue does not overshadow all of the good work we've done and will do as a caucus."

"I want to say thank you to my friends, colleagues and constituents for the support they've given me and my family throughout this difficult time, and I apologize to anyone I've let down. It has been my pleasure to have served as Senate Minority Leader and I look forward to continuing to be a productive member of our caucus."

Update 1: State Senate President Don Williams issued the following statement:

"Senator DeLuca's decision to step down as Senate minority leader was the right decision for him to make, for both his caucus and for the people of Connecticut.

"The question of what, if any, other sanctions Senator DeLuca should face from his colleagues in the Senate is a question that my caucus will discuss when it meets again.

"Until then, I am putting all my energies into negotiating a fair and far reaching budget plan for the people of Connecticut."

Update 2: WTNH filed this early report.

Here's a little immigration history lesson courtesy of that drunk from New Milford.

Too funny. The fact that these guys too over George Bush's favorite Democrat senator's independent party has to be driving him nuts.

God bless you John Orman!

people are taking note at Mayor Boughton's public silence to this date regarding this matter. Many in the area and across the state are also taking a close look at all the racist and bigoted comments that have popped up on the News-Times board that accompanied the article. I mean, I'm getting bombarded with emails and IM messages from people who couldn't believe what they were read from the idiots who flood the the News-Times site. That coupled with a recent outright racist, disgusting, and incredibly ignorant post on other "so-called" local site (if you can call it that) from a person who's apparently an insensitive low-life jackass that still has his blogging "training wheels" on, exposes a great deal about a segment of our community that should be ashamed of themselves.

I can only hope that cooler heads will prevail and that a speedy investigation is done so we can get to the bottom of whatever happened Friday night. Unlike most idiots (who shouldn't be allowed a keyboard) who have put their two cents into this matter (thus exposing yet again the bigotry in this city), I won't comment on this matter simply because (like many) I wasn't there and don't know the details...it's that simple. If you didn't witness anything, or (more importantly), weren't at the event, then simply STFU.

As for those who claim that "we're only against the illegal immigrants," or don't think the label racist is appropriate to describe them, I have one thing to say...whatever.

One could only hope that someone didn't copy and paste all the messages that popped up on the News-Times board today as it would bring great embarrassment to a great city that already has a dark cloud over itself due to the actions of a shrieking minority of anti-immigrant, moronic, political puppets who apparently taught any common sense.

Hat tip to Elizabeth Putnam for weeding out the crap...man, she's having a long week monitoring the boards and it's only Tuesday!

I've been closely monitoring the events surrounding the immigration raids in New Haven and it seems like the overflowing outrage from the Fair Haven community and Mayor John DeStefano made ICE blink, and I don't think Mayor Boughton is going to be happy with the results...

As another rally protested a federal sweep of local immigrants, a government official Tuesday announced a suspension of raids in the New Haven area.

The official, Bruce Chadbourne, field office director of New England Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, told the Associated Press in this article he was “temporarily” calling off raids here.

However, he made clear he wasn’t apologizing or agreeing with complaints made Monday by New Haven’s mayor that last week’s sweep of between 29 and 33 undocumented workers (the numbers depend on which side of the controversy you ask) violated families’ civil rights as well as federal guidelines.

More sweeps in town had been expected on Tuesday, but none were known to have occurred. In the past few days City Hall has pressed its complaints to the federal government, claiming it the feds were retaliating against New Haven for its new immigrant-friendly municipal ID program. (The feds denied it.) Also, U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and U.S. Sens. Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman wrote the head of the Department of Homeland Security seeking information about the raids.

ICE spokeswoman Paula Grenier Tuesday declined to elaborate on Chadbourne’s published comments; she said he made them Monday and was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

She declined to say how long “temporary” means. She did say the suspension covers all of Connecticut. She said she knew of no raids taking place on Tuesday; there was a rumor of a raid in Milford.

[...]

At a Tuesday afternoon protest outside City Hall, some 100 activists denounced the raids again. They were joined by singer Lila Downs (pictured), who was in town to perform Tuesday night at the Arts & Ideas festival.

“My community is not a terrorist community. It is a hard-working community to seeks to take care of itself,” declared Sarahi Almonte. She runs Junta for Progressive Action, a group at the center, along with Unidad Latina en Acción, of immigration-reform efforts and support for targeted immigrants.

[...]

Speakers at the rally announced that a “Stop the Raids” march will begin Saturday at Grand Avenue and Front Street at 3 a.m. Activists from the Federation of Hospital and University Employees (at Yale and Yale-New Haven) were out in force Tuesday and planned to participate in Saturday’s march. Yale union organizer Barbara Vereen (pictured) noted that Yale tried to induce immigrants to cross picket lines during a 2003 strike in order to fill strikers’ jobs. The immigrants refused. “We’re going to stand by the same immigrants that stood by us,” Vereen said.

I know John DeStefano as I followed him throughout his 2006 gubernatorial campaign and had the pleasure of interviewing him on more than one occasion and let's just say that he's one tough politician who was really pissed off over the way ICE handled their raids in his city last week.

Unlike in present Danbury where the mayor and his cronies embrace the likes of Elise Marciano and her whack-pack, DeStefano and his administration calling the anti-immigrant groups what they really are (racists) and the branches of the Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control were rendered irrelevant in a matter of days. To witness the community come out in force and rip the disciples of Paul Streitz to shreds was simply amazing.

The outpouring of support from the community, along with the support of City Hall, Congressmen, senators, presidential nominees, and the tremendous amount of attention the entire situation received in the national media really made a significant impact on the public and brought attention to a situation that many in Danbury and other parts of the country have been talking about for years...that the ICE raids are inhumane. From the feedback from bloggers across the country, the events in New Haven has really put a spotlight on the inhumanity of ICE raids and this is due in large part of a mayor who finally had the courage to stand up to ICE and say "enough is enough."

I have to congratulate my good friends at the New Haven Independent who have covered the situation in New Haven from day one. Melissa Bailey and Paul Bass deserve an award coverage in the entire matter. Trust me, we haven't heard the last of this story.

The Great Maura at My Left Nutmeg makes the case...

Just when it seems Connecticut might be close to shedding the label "Corrupticut", another scandal emerges that makes people more cynical about politics and more disengaged from the process of governing ourselves.

We can all tick off the names of prominent Connecticut politicians who have been recently or are currently serving time for serious crimes: John Rowland, Phil Giordano, Joe Ganim, Ernie Newton.

So when the Minority Leader of the Senate pleads guilty to intimidation charges, lies to the FBI, and fails to report being offered a bribe, it makes people wonder how to get rid of the crooks and liars whose actions pervert the idea of self-government.

Rep. Mike Lawlor, chairman of the Judiciary Committee and former member of the Select Committee of Inquiry, which held hearings into the possible impeachment of Gov. John Rowland, said today that impeachment of General Assembly members is not allowed under the Connecticut Constitution.

However, expulsion or punishment of the member by a 2/3 vote of the chamber to which he/she is elected is possible, Lawlor says.

[U]nder the Connecticut Constitution, only “the governor, and all other executive and judicial officers” can be impeached.

However, [Lawlor] said, Article III, Section 13 of the state constitution provides that a legislator can be expelled or punished by a two-thirds vote of the chamber in which that legislator is a member.

He explained, “The impeachment an officer from the executive or judicial branch would require a hearing in the House of Representatives followed by a majority vote in the House. If the House votes to impeach, then there would then be a full trial in the Senate. Following the trial, removal from office would then require a two-thirds vote by the Senate.”

“However, in the case of a legislator, only the body in which that legislator resides can punish or expel them. Either case would require a two-thirds vote by that chamber alone,” Lawlor said.

It's possible, then, that a 2/3 majority of the Senate could vote to expel Sen. DeLuca. Democrats hold that much of a majority.

Congressman Chris Murphy just revamped his congressional website and I have to admit, it's pretty damn good.

Take a peek!

I've have more on JK's favorite customer later on in the week...

Before June's Common Council meeting, Council members Fred Visconti and Lynn Taborsak made an appearance on the cable access show "Community Forum" and shared their views on the state on Danbury under the leadership of Mayor Mark Boughton.

From the so-called parade ordinance and to the BRT tax giveaways, to irresponsible development, and the various problems with the city budget, Visconti and Taborsak clearly and carefully outline the concerns that are on the minds of residents who are upset with the direction of the city under the current administration.

Clip 1: Problems with the city budget and Mayor Boughton's re-election gimmicks (part 1 of 2).



Clip 2: Issues with the city budget including lack of information from department heads, acceleration of the budget process, concerns with education budget, and question regarding funding from the state (part 2 of 2).



Clip 3: Development madness and the BRT tax giveaways.



Clip 4: Parade ordinance outrage.

So much for flagging comments...and to think that this is posted in the editorial online.

Posted by: ctnogger Sun, Jun 10 2007
Danbury would be a nice place to live if there weren't so many niggers and spics.

Hmm, where have I heard that term "nogger" used before...

bigtprd
You really believe I'm racist? well I'm not. Just because an asshole say's it does not mean it's true. Nogger has the skin problem. You just don't want it that way. Because he is black he wants to be Al sharpton. And Knowing that should wake you up.

[...]

bigtprd
And nig you don't get it. I don't give a shit ass hole. Your a fucking scumbag that will get his turn. Gee, and I'm being kewl, Not even upset. And your a peice of shit. Now you must think were friends calling me Tom. You slime, you don't know me. Oh, by the way Comcast has many more letters of love the big T then your hate shit. Call Dave he'll tell you, LOL. And your day's also.

[...]

bigtprd
You gonna stop me here to nogger, or is that niglor,

[...]

bigtprd
Get it straight moron! We are from from being buddy or buddy's. scare you! why are you in the dark? Hey they can see you. oh, when you smile.

[...]

bigtprd
You are for Homo's and illegal Immigrants and that is the only reason you are attacking me with lies. Your black and you think that is going to get you somewhere by using your racist bull crap. Let me tell you spook man, it won't. Again I say, I have had 28 wonderful years on our talkshow. If it comes to a stop, oh well, I'll be a happy camper. But, you'll still be black with a attitude towards whites.

What do Comcast and the News-Times hve in common? They should both BAN Tom Bennett.

Elizabeth, don't be like Dave King...do the right thing and give this moron the axe.





UPDATE: Well, ulike the snails at Comcast, Elizabeth Putnam knows how to pull the trigger and uphold the rules and regulations of the newspapaer's comment section. I hope the News-Times will do the right thing and keep her on the payroll...she's one of the good ones.

Whoever wrote this editorial should be fired. Take note of the portion in bold.

The spontaneous parades that brought downtown Danbury to a halt last year after World Cup soccer matches ignited a debate about spontaneous parades.

Did the city have any recourse against such disruptions? Was there a way to require some advance planning and prior notice to Danbury police? Was all this simply attributable to cultural misunderstandings?

Last week, after much debate, the Danbury Common Council gave its answer. It voted 11-8 to adopt an ordinance that requires a parade permit for a public gathering of more than 25 people.

[...]


Will this ordinance prevent the sort of spontaneous parades the city faced last year? Maybe. Maybe not. As long as people want to rush into the streets -- hanging out of vehicles, blowing horns and blocking intersections -- they will do it.

But the ordinance does put in place a framework for what groups can do to help ensure the safety of their gathering and establishes some procedures for police.

Whether it works will be up to the police, who need to accommodate free expression, as well as community groups, who should show respect for the rights of neighbors.

It's bad enough that the morons at the News-Times didn't even bother to send a reporter to May's Common Council meeting (choosing instead to chase another knee-jerking immigration story in New Haven), they:

• Continue to screw up reporting the facts surrounding the ordinance,

• Fail to inform the public on the misinformation that flowed from the Mayor's own mouth,

• Failed to give the details on the ordinance, which shows that the ordinance goes WAY beyond the scope of it's original intent, does not address the VERY ISSUE that brought it to light, and will effect every citizen of Danbury.

• Failed to quote corporation council that stated on several occasions that the ordinance will have ZERO impact on spontaneous parades,

• FAILED TO PROPERLY INFORM THE PUBLIC!

I find it amazing that a person with a camera and videocamera and time on his hands can do more in-depth reporting on this very subject than the local mainstream media.

Stunning...simply stunning.

Well, here's what I'm going to do.

1. I responded to this stupid editorial.

Will this ordinance prevent the sort of spontaneous parades the city faced last year? Maybe. Maybe not.

-----

Hmm, maybe if the reporters for the News-Times were actually at the meeting(s) in May (instead of running after a knee-jerking immigration story down in NEW HAVEN), you could have heard corporation council (you know, the person who drafted the ordinance) clearly state (on numerous occasions) that the ordinance can not be used to regulate spontaneous parades.

Hell, if you simply READ THE ORDINANCE BEFORE WRITING THIS SHAMELESS EDITORIAL, you get all the answers you need.

Here, let me help you...

From the ordinance:

Sec 11-15 (a):

Parade means any march, demonstration, procession, or motorcade, which the parade permit applicant believes will consist of more than twenty-five (25) persons, animals, or vehicles or a combination thereof upon the streets, sidewalks, parks or other public property owned by or under the control of the City of Danbury, for a common purpose as a result of prior planning that interferes with the normal flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic upon said streets, sidewalks, parks, or other public property.

----

Under case law, spontaneous parades are SPONTANEOUS or in other words something that has no prior planning. By law, simply because a person is at a bar and decides to go out int he streets and celebrate after their team won DOES NOT MEAN IT IS PRIOR PLANNING based upon the law. If a cop attempts to use this ordinance on a person in that situation (of man, please let that be me) the city will be sued for violating a person's first amendment rights and lose in court (badly). Again, (as corporation council correctly stated), the ordinance does not apply to the events that happened during the World Cup games.

Your ill-informed editorial does not take into account that the ordinance goes WAY beyond the scope of it's original intent and includes public assemblies.

Here, let me help you again...from the ordinance:

Sec 11-15 (d):

Public assembly means any meeting, demonstration, picket line, rally or gathering, which the parade permit applicant believes will consist of more than twenty-five (25) persons, held on the streets, sidewalks, parks, or other public property owned by or under the control of the City of Danbury, for a common purpose as a result of prior planning that interferes with the normal flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic upon said streets, sidewalks, parks, or other public property.


----


This means a group of 25 or more people AT A PARK can be in violation of the ordinance. A procession of 25 or more people can be in violation of the ordinance.

This paper does a disservice when it does not properly report on what's happening at City Hall opting instead to chase knee-jerking stories just to sell a paper. It was a disgrace for the local newspaper to be in New Haven covering a immigration rally during the Common Council meeting in May when all the information regarding the ordinance was discussed in great detail. This paper has been playing catch-up on this issue and it still has failed in understanding the true impact of this ordinance.

I mean for crying out loud, your OWN ONLINE EDITOR interview Boughton and caught him in a lying about the ordinance when he claimed that since HE and the POLICE CHIEF had prior planning about the World Cup games, that the events that happened during the World Cup games was not spontaneous. He also stated that since people knew that they were going to celebrate in the streets, that the celebrations were not spontaneous. Both points are COMPLETELY UNTRUE and for a three-term mayor and former State Rep to say that was disgraceful. You have the video on your site so watch it for yourself.

In closing, PLEASE, please, please, don't write an editorial on something that you obviously have no knowledge of whatsoever. It's bad enough that this paper does not report on local political news, but when you write ill-informed editorials, you keep the low-information voters uninformed and assist the elected officials who willfully spread misinformation because they know that they can get away with it because the LOCAL MEDIA DOES NOT DO THEIR JOB IN PROPERLY REPORTING ON LOCAL NEWS.

fin.

2. FIRST THING MONDAY MORNING, I'm going to call the News-Times, find out the individual who wrote this editorial, and see if he or she will allow an interview by yours truly.

3. I'm going to find out how much to costs to take out an ad in the News-Times, create an ad blasting the editorial and the complete lack of coverage from the News-Times in regards to this issue, and ask people from across Danbury, Connecticut, and around the country to contribute money to this site so I can get the ad posted.

4. Contact people I know at the New York Times, Hartford Courant, Washington Post, top national and state blogs, and pitch them the story on the ordinance, misinformation from Mayor Boughton and his use of "immigration" for political purposes, and the anger among many in the community whose voices are being ignored.

Trust me, this story is long from over and several elected officials have a great deal of explaining to do to the residents of Danbury. If you followed my reporting on the Lamont/Lieberman race last year for ConnecticutBLOG and My Left Nutmeg, you know that I'm not playing around.

Enough is enough. The citizens of Danbury have been lied to for the last time and I'm about to show the people of this city and state the full capabilities of People-powered Media.

UPDATE: Councilwoman Lynn Taborsak placed a comment that deserves to be added to the post.

The horrible thing about the editorial today is that it's dead wrong! The Council did not vote to approve the parade ordinance by a vote of 11-8. The Council voted not to reconsider the actions[4 motions] on the parade ordinance that were taken at the May meeting. What were those actions? 1) An amendment proposed by Tom Saadi that raised the public assembly threshold to 100. It passed on a 10 to 9 vote, until the Mayor was told by Corporation Counsel that he could vote to make a tie and thereby defeat the amendment. 2) A motion by Mary Saracino to recommit the ordinance and fix it. That motion passed too, by a vote of 10 to 9 until the Mayor cast a second illegal vote to make a tie. 3) was a motion to call the question after Cavo's unprofessional outburst on how those opposing the ordinance were just OBSTRUCTIONISTS. That motion passed and ended debate on the ordinance without the Mayor having to violate the charter 3 times in the same meeting.4) The motion to approve the ordinance then passed by a vote of 10 to 9. Where does this Mary Connolly get this new number of 11 to 8? The 11 to 8 vote WAS A VOTE TO RECONSIDER THE ABOVE 4 MOTIONS. IT FAILED. 11 COUNCIL MEMBERS SAID NO. Those Council members don't think the Mayor really did anything wrong! He didn't intend to violate the charter. He got bad advice from his legal counsel. So what if a majority of the Council members felt differently. It's sad that the democratic process can be circumvented like this. However, it is even sadder that the News Times becomes a party to an abuse of power.

BINGO!

Lynn Taborsak: Well informed resident. News-Times: Ill-informed newspaper that places a higher priority on knee-jerking stories over properly informing the public about critical local issues that will have an impact on Danbury and debunking the level of misinformaiton that flows out of the mayor's office.

UPDATE 2: Since the top-notch reporters at the News-Times were too busy chasing a immigration fluff story in New Haven on the night of the parade ordinance debate back in May, here's video footage of the ENTIRE DEBATE.

Part 1: Parade ordinance debate (1 of 2):


Part 2: Parade ordinance debate (2 of 2):

NOTE: Due to a bad videotape, portions of the meeting is slightly distorted. Also, I had to change tapes after Mayor Boughton incorrectly casted his first vote which block the Democratic amendment (I lost about aprox. 3 minutes of footage).