One of the biggest news events in the area was the fire at Danbury Airport. Unfortunately, I arrived on the scene right after the fire was for the most part put out but if you saw the report on television, you know how serious this fire was (thank God no one was hurt).

This post also marked the first time I attempted to produce a high-resolution video clip which could be watched on television (granted that you know how to view files from your computer on your TV). Be on the lookout for better quality videos next year as I'm working out an arrangement with a video service and moving away from YouTube.

Originally posted on Sept 13 2007.

I found out about the fire at Danbury Airport around 11:20 and ran down to the scene. FOX-61, NEWS-12, WVIT and WTNH were on the scene as well the print media including the News-Times, which got a jump on everyone since they have a police-fire scanner.

I'm rather tired right now because I didn't leave until well after 1:00 A.M. and I have a great deal of video from the fire to process. I'll update this site with images and video from the fire soon.

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UPDATE: Wow, what a night. I thought the library fire was bad but this is by far on the ugliest fires I've ever seen in Danbury.

First off, HATS OFF to the Danbury Fire Department. I have no idea how those guys but that fire out so fast (with all those different types of fuels and chemicals) but they did it and it probably saved lives. Talk about a wild first night for the new firehouse...

Hats off to all the residents of Danbury who catch video and photos of the fire. I've seen some amazing photos and video from people who were on the scene (McNally's had a decent crowd that night and people caught pictures on their cell phones). Unfortunately, I found out about the blaze late in the evening and by the time I arrived on the scene, most of the fire was extinguished (thank goodness). The silver lining in arriving late was that I was able to get some close-up shots of the building and video tape the firefighters in action.

Also a round of thanks goes out to those guys in uniform who came up to me and say "hey, you're that guy with the blog." I really appreciated that they didn't give me any problems and pointed to the best place to film the footage while staying out of their way. Big thumbs up goes the guys who took care of the on-lookers who were dangerously darting in the street. I owe you round the next time I see ya.

NOTE: The following video is formatted high-resolution and surround sound stereo. Although you can watch it on this webpage, it's really designed for full screen. For the full experience, just click the rectangle on the lower part of the video window and enjoy the show.


You can watch my photo slide show of the scene by clicking here.

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The News-Times did an excellent job with their coverage of the blaze. Obviously, there is no information regarding the origin of the blaze because of all the fuels and stuff involved but the state examiners are on the scene and I'm sure we'll learn more about what happened in the coming days.

The newspaper also did a smart thing collecting footage from readers and I encourage you to take a look at their user-submitted photos and videos.

News-Times user submitted photos
News-Times user submitted video of the fire

You can also read/watch the report from WTNH by clicking here.

UPDATE 7:00 p.m.: It seems like the Danbury News-Times photographer Carol Kaliff caught the photo of the night (if not the year). Her photo from the fire is on the AP wire and was picked up by the Hartford Courant in their article on the blaze. I'm sure the photo will be used elsewhere so I'll keep an eye out and see who else picks it up.

I think an award is in store for someone...

You just don't know how to stop the political nonsense?

Let's review:

City Hall schedule

MON 12.24: Closed at noon
TUE 12.25: Closed
WED 12.26: Open for business
THURS 12.27: COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA FOR JANUARY PASSED OUT TO MEMBERS. Agenda is not available online.
FRI 12.28: Last day City Hall is open UNTIL NEXT WEDNESDAY

MON 12.31: Closed
TUE 1.01.08: Closed
WED 1.02.08: Democratic and Republican Common Council Caucus
THURS 1.03.08: COMMON COUNCIL MEETING

Now, chew on that for a while...trust me, it will all make sense later.

...oh yeah, as of Saturday December 29, 2007, two days after the agenda was distributed to the members of the Common Council, the agenda is STILL NOT available online for viewing by the general public.

Two of the top issues in Danbury that always drives residents insane are irresponsible development and traffic congestion. In looking back at some of the key moments in Danbury from 2007, the bizarre opening of Elmer's Diner best highlight both of these concerns.

While we'll go back and report on the origins of this development and set the record straight about how this diner came to existence, when the diner opened, I wanted to make a point to show the various traffic problems this business created for commuters who travel daily on North Street.

As 2007 comes to an end and we enter 2008, we'll also update readers on what happened in terms of the traffic problems after this write-up was posted.

NOTE: The cached link to the original News-Times article is dead. We now have a server in place that takes a daily snapshot of the site so things like this can be avoided in the future. I'll have to do a Lexis-Nexis search to find the original online article and editorial and I'll update the site once that's done.

Originally posted in May 2007.

Why is the City of Danbury allowing this dangerous parking on a busy road to take place? Why aren't there any NO PARKING SIGNS in front of the diner? Isn't this just a disaster just waiting to happen?

While I was working on a full background post on Elmer's Diner scandal, since the News-Times did such a poor job with their story on the Diner nightmare, I felt compelled to start rolling on my footage.

The situation is quite simple and everyone knew the drill...with the limited parking space at the location, the high traffic conditions on Padanaram Road (one of the busiest streets in Danbury) and the grumblings from the public since the start of the diner's construction, EVERYONE who travel the roads in Danbury daily were fully aware about the serious traffic problems the opening of Elmer's Diner would create (including a mayor who lives in that general area and has had an earful from the public for months).

Given this fact, one has to wonder why the traffic conditions at the diner's highly congested location were not properly addressed?



Think about it.

Elmer's Diner consist of 22 parking spaces for a place that seats 88 people.

Again...the diner ONLY has 22 parking spaces for 88 people.

Now, based on that fact alone, you know you're going to run into some problems. Oh, lets not leave out the fact that there is no stop light present, no crosswalk, and it's only a two lane street.






(click photo to enlarge)
Since the parking is limited and the parking area is extremely tight, customers are doing two things that are recklessly irresponsible:

• Park on the shoulder of Padanaram Road

People opening their car doors while not parking properly off the shoulder and are too far into the road, customers leaving the diner AND MAKING AN ILLEGAL U-TURN INTO TRAFFIC, customers leaving the parking lot are limited in the amount of traffic they can view due to the cars parked an the road).

• Park in the strip mall and dart across the Padanaram Rd

WHAT'S EVEN MORE DANGEROUSLY are the customers who have no regard for the traffic laws (or didn't notice that there isn't a crosswalk in the street) and are parking across the street at the strip mall, taking their lives into their hands, and darting across the busy street.

Note the irresponsible parent rushing across the street to the diner WITH HER KIDS IN HER HANDS.


Now, again, with the limited parking, the major traffic congestion on this stretch of road, and the parking on the other side of the street, EVERYONE in Danbury knew the exact problems we now face were going to happen.

What will it take for Mayor Boughton and those who are in charge in keeping our roads safe will show a marginable amount of leadership and get this situation taken care of before someone gets hurt?

• Will a MAJOR accident do the trick?

• Will someone getting hit by a car to get City Hall to deal with the situation?

Unfortunately, the city HAS done nothing about the TRAFFIC DISASTER that everyone knew was coming. According to the News-Times, Mayor Boughton hasn't gotten around to addressing the EASIEST traffic problem that should have been addressed months ago...sending a formal request to the state to post NO PARKING SIGNS IN FRONT OF THE DINER.

Nearly 25,000 motorists drive on Padanaram Road between Hayestown Avenue and Golden Hill Road each weekday, according to city traffic statistics.

Capt. Robert Myles said even though police haven't handed out tickets for parking on Padanaram Road, vehicles could be towed if they jut out into the road.

"There is a wide shoulder, but you can see where it could be a hazard," he said.

Myles said the police are talking with the state Department of Transportation about putting up three "No Parking" signs along the state road.

Judd Everhart, a DOT spokesman, said a formal request for signs from the city had not been filed as of Tuesday.

Once it's filed, a state worker will check out the scene. Everhart could not set a timetable for the process, but said it would be "weeks compared to days."

To give you a real idea of just how bad things are over on Padanaram right now, I present to you this following video footage of the location. While your watching the trainwreck, take note of the following situations:

• AN ELDERLY WOMAN CROSSING THE STREET WITH THE USE OF A WALKER.

• A customer leaving the diner in a SUV, after parking on the shoulder of Padanaram Road, and MAKING A U-TURN.

• A woman making a ill-advised left hand turn out of the parking lot which could have resulted in an accident.

• Customers having problems turning in and out of the diner parking lot due to cars on the street, which are blocking the view of the road.

• The sound of brakes locking up on a truck that is driving too fast, which during the winter would certainly hit the set of cars pulling out of the parking lot.

After almost being a victim of an accident while videotaping the traffic from the sidewalk, watching a senior citizen crossing Padanaram Road (using a walker) to a parking spot that was not designated for the diner, and incident after incident of diner customers causing traffic violations, it's my sincere opinion that the current administration has once again failed the residents of Danbury by not taking the necessary steps to keep one of the most heavily trafficked road in the area safe.

In other words, this whole traffic situation this diner created should have been foreseen and properly addressed before the diner was allowed to open. Seeing that the city hasn't requested that the DOT place NO PARKING signs in front of the diner (which would at least solve the problem with cars parking in the shoulder and being in the way of emergency vehicles) speaks volumes about the foresight of this administration.

Again the problems stemming from the opening of the diner is NOTHING new to anyone who has been keeping an eye on the construction of the site. This very blog has commented several posts on the traffic conditions in the road that connects Danbury to New Fairfield going back as far as late 2005. When the mayor addressed the diner in the media, he felt it better to use the overused political card of placing the blame on the previous administration instead of maybe addressing the matters the diner created that could have been addressed by the various departments under his own watch.

Again, this portion of the News-Times article speaks volumes about the foresight of this administration.

Judd Everhart, a DOT spokesman, said a formal request for [NO PARKING] signs [in front of the diner] from the city had not been filed as of Tuesday.

I guess the mayor was too busy playing the role of the immigration czar (here, here, and here), to address real issues in Danbury that people are up in arms about.








Well keep an eye on things and let you know when the first person is hit by a car, someone pulls a stupid traffic move that causes a major accident, when parks on the side of the road, opens a car door and it gets ripped off by a passing car, or any other host of traffic problems that even Stevie Wonder could see happening months ago.

If anyone gets hurt, you know which way to point the finger...

Coming off the heels of the Concord Monitor's anti-endorsement of Mitt Romney, now, the largest newspaper in New Hampshire gives the thumbs down to Mark Nielsen's Mark Boughton's man.

THERE IS A reason Mitt Romney has not received a single newspaper endorsement in New Hampshire. It's the same reason his poll numbers are dropping. He has not been able to convince the people of this state that he's the conservative he says he is.

Like a lot of people in New Hampshire, we wanted to believe Romney. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. We listened very carefully to his expertly rehearsed sales pitch. But in the end he didn't close the deal for us. Now, two weeks before the primary, the same is happening with voters.

[...]

And after a year of comparing Romney to McCain, of sizing up the two in person and in the media, Granite Staters are turning back to McCain. The former Navy pilot, once written off by the national media establishment, is now in a statistical dead heat with Romney here.

How could that be? Romney has all the advantages: money, organization, geographic proximity, statesman-like hair, etc.

But he lacks something John McCain has in spades: conviction.

Granite Staters want a candidate who will look them in the eye and tell them the truth. John McCain has done that day in and day out, never wavering, never faltering, never pandering.

Mitt Romney has not. He has spoken his lines well, but the people can sense that the words are memorized, not heartfelt.

Last week Romney was reduced to debating what the meaning of "saw" is. It was only the latest in a string of demonstrably false claims -- he'd been a hunter "pretty much" all his life, he'd had the NRA's endorsement, he marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. -- that call into question the veracity of his justifications for switching sides on immigration, abortion, taxes and his affection for Ronald Reagan.

In this primary, the more Mitt Romney speaks, the less believable he becomes. That is why Granite Staters who have listened attentively are now returning to John McCain. They might not agree with McCain on everything, as we don't, but like us, they judge him to be a man of integrity and conviction, a man who won't sell them out, who won't break his promises, and who won't lie to get elected.

Since Romney's a man who:

• Lacks conviction,
• Panders,
• Flip-flops,
• Will say anything to get re-elected.

...then he and Boughton are a perfect fit...

As we wind down 2007 (and becuase I'm too busy gathering information for next year), I like to take this time to look back and check out some of the irrational moments that were caught on tape.

From now until New Years, the HatCityBLOG vault will be re-opened and the posts that received the most attention will be re-posted.

The following video-clip featuring Elise Marciano, John McGowan, and the TRUE mindset of rabid anti-immigrant movement spoke volumes about in terms of their beliefs (which became even more apparent later in the year).

Originally posted, May 2007.

Since the start of my site, I've been criticized by politicians and anti-immigrant radicals who say I offer nothing but biased reporting.

Case in point, while claiming that they're only against illegal-immigration in interviews to the press, the anti-immigrant xenophobes in Danbury repeatedly show their true colors and attack ALL immigrants during their own forums, meetings, and rallies (which are usually out of view of the press and the general public).

The Vice President of the United States for Immigration Enforcement (and co-host of the BigT's Talk and Variety show), John McGowan, issued a challenge to me and demanded that I factually report on the organization's "well attended" anti-immigration forum.

The following videoclip is my reply...and this factually happened.



nuff said.

Lets' just say that McGowan and Marciano didn't like that clip.

The feedback from the video clip was great. Here's a small sample of the responses I received from this post from people around the country.

Good post. It's interesting that xenophobes and racists are heavily concerned with not being identified ("name-called") as racists and xenophobes. The simplest way to avoid the wholly accurate label is to avoid deserving it. If you go around obsessing over, complaining about and campaigning against people of other nationalities and races, expect to be thought of as someone who hates other nationalities and races. What next, rapists don't want to be called rapists?

[...]

That old man should be sent to an old-farts concentration camp where he can be put to good use, like turned into fertilizer or something far more productive than what he is now. He's a stupid moron.

[...]

WTF CONCENTRATION CAMPS?you fcking nazis!

[...]

THE RACIST,XENOPHOBES,HOMOPHOBES AND EVERY PERSON THAT DO NOT ACCEPT THE OTHERS MY GOD CREATE, ARE PEOPLE THAT HAVE SMALL BRAINS AND VERY SHORT IDEAS. IN CONCLUSION THEY'RE REALLY STUPID. SOY LATINO Y ESTOY ORGULLOSO DE SER HUMANO,COMPORTARME COMO HUMANO Y NO PRIMITIVAMENTE COMO LOS ANTERIORMENTE DESCRITOS.

Indian trading post.

We, too, are devastated by the recent "assumed" evaluation of our property. Especially since we had a hike this year ($1,800) for not sending a report back on rentals (which we don't have).

As senior citizen brother and sister co-owners (with a 94-year-old mother/life use), we are basically sitting on acres of raw land with a Route 7 frontage that includes a 200-square-foot retail shop. We are on a state road and have no city/town services: sewer, water, etc. Yet we pay and pay and pay to have the DOT take acres on both sides of the property, reducing the land and its value.

[...]

Where does it end? We pay for a million-dollar policy on a shop open only weekends. We pay to have trespassers fish across our lake and rip down our "No Trespassing" signs. According to two prominent local lawyers, we have overpaid for decades. But the cost of fighting City Hall is prohibitive.

If the Danbury planning and zoning officials keep telling prospective buyers unfounded limitations, we'll never be able to sell and move to a more civilized area. With any luck, a nonprofit, nontaxable agency will save us in time.

A tough situation indeed.

I can't wait to watch this movie all day tomorrow!

When it comes to assisting those in need, the Association of Religious Communities (ARC) is a top notch act. Today, the News-Times did a follow-up flashback on ARC's request for infant clothing for South Asian Refugees and lets just say that the feedback was tremendous.

For more info on ARC and the help they provide in the community in a number of areas, check out their website.

Episode: Charter Revision Commission Public Hearing: 12.03.07 (Repeat).

This is brutal.

If you were building a Republican presidential candidate from a kit, imagine what pieces you might use: an athletic build, ramrod posture, Reaganesque hair, a charismatic speaking style and a crisp dark suit. You'd add a beautiful wife and family, a wildly successful business career and just enough executive government experience. You'd pour in some old GOP bromides - spending cuts and lower taxes - plus some new positions for 2008: anti-immigrant rhetoric and a focus on faith.

Add it all up and you get Mitt Romney, a disquieting figure who sure looks like the next president and most surely must be stopped.

[...]

If you followed only his tenure as governor of Massachusetts, you might imagine Romney as a pragmatic moderate with liberal positions on numerous social issues and an ability to work well with Democrats. If you followed only his campaign for president, you'd swear he was a red-meat conservative, pandering to the religious right, whatever the cost. Pay attention to both, and you're left to wonder if there's anything at all at his core.

As a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1994, he boasted that he would be a stronger advocate of gay rights than his opponent, Ted Kennedy. These days, he makes a point of his opposition to gay marriage and adoption.

There was a time that he said he wanted to make contraception more available - and a time that he vetoed a bill to sell it over-the-counter.

The old Romney assured voters he was pro-choice on abortion. "You will not see me wavering on that," he said in 1994, and he cited the tragedy of a relative's botched illegal abortion as the reason to keep abortions safe and legal. These days, he describes himself as pro-life.

There was a time that he supported stem-cell research and cited his own wife's multiple sclerosis in explaining his thinking; such research, he reasoned, could help families like his. These days, he largely opposes it. As a candidate for governor, Romney dismissed an anti-tax pledge as a gimmick. In this race, he was the first to sign.

[...]

In the 2008 campaign for president, there are numerous issues on which Romney has no record, and so voters must take him at his word. On these issues, those words are often chilling. While other candidates of both parties speak of restoring America's moral leadership in the world, Romney has said he'd like to "double" the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, where inmates have been held for years without formal charge or access to the courts. He dodges the issue of torture - unable to say, simply, that waterboarding is torture and America won't do it.

When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we'll know it.

Mitt Romney is such a candidate. New Hampshire Republicans and independents must vote no.

Mark Nielsen Mark Boughton really knows how to pick them...at least their political dishonesty and rabid flip-flopping are alike.

NEWSFLASH: Romney's father still didn't march with King. Our comrades at the Blue Mass Group nailed it again.

David Bernstein has delivered again. You'll recall, no doubt, that a story in the Politico recently claimed that George Romney actually did (literally, not figuratively) "march with" Martin Luther King, Jr. -- after all, two "eyewitnesses" said so. And some outfit called "Politics1" picked up the story and declared that "Mitt Romney told the truth when he claimed this week that his father had marched for civil rights with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Politico reports eyewitnesses stepped forward to verify that then-Michigan Governor George Romney walked side-by-side with King in a 1963 civil rights march in Grosse Pointe, Michigan."

False. George Romney did indeed participate in a 1963 civil rights march in Grosse Pointe. But King wasn't there. He was in New Jersey. Here's Bernstein:

Then-governor George Romney did indeed march in Grosse Pointe, on Saturday, June 29, 1963, but Martin Luther King Jr. was not there; he was in New Brunswick, New Jersey, addressing the closing session of the annual New Jersey AFL-CIO labor institute at Rutgers University.

Those facts are indisputable, and quite frankly, the campaign must have known the women's story would eventually be debunked -- few people's every daily movement has been as closely tracked and documented as King's. As I write this, I am looking at an article from page E8 of the June 30, 1963 Chicago Tribune, which discusses both events (among other civil-rights actions of the previous day), clearly placing the two men hundreds of miles apart. I also have here the June 30, 1963 San Antonio News, which carries a photo and article about Romney at the Grosse Pointe march; and an AP story about King's speech in New Jersey.

A King researcher editing his letters from that time has stated definitively that the two men never marched together; Michigan and Grosse Pointe historians have stated definitively that King was not at the 1963 Grosse Pointe march; Michigan civil-rights participants of the time have concurred; so have those who worked for George Romney at the time.

Bernstein ascribes malevolent motives to the Romney campaign in all of this, and it's hard to disagree with him.

All of this evidence is important to present to the general public, but it is unnecessary for the Romney campaign -- it has been clear for some time that they know perfectly well that the two men never marched together.

Bear in mind that the Romney team has a substantial research team (and vast resources for outsourcing more). Bear in mind that the campaign has compiled vast documentation about the candidate's father, particularly his civil-rights activities, long before the Phoenix posed the question earlier this week. Bear in mind that the campaign has direct access to George Romney's materials and documents, his family members, his friends, his former staff, etc.

Believe me, they know the two men never marched together. This is an attempt to rewrite history. And even if it is a small rewriting, it is offensive.... Changing that history by mistake -- which is quite possibly how this began -- is unfortunate. Changing that history intentionally -- which is what the campaign is doing now -- is offensive.

UPDATE: Tweety destroys Romney's mouthpiece on padding the resume.

Mitt, please, please, please visit Connecticut...