More of the same from the lovely bigots who flood the News-Times board...

Ray Sissum ALL THE TIME: This is what you get when you let Niggers run around free. They wouldn't be stealing so much if they were where they belong- in the fields, PICKING OUR COTTON!!

[...]

OLD COGGER: Back in the good old days, when a varmint stole the transportation aka horse; we'd hang 'em. Time for that again I say. Darn Tootin'

Two words: Elise Marciano.

As a follow-up to my post on the New York Times feature on Ase-AmenRa Kariamu Ase-AmenRa Kariamu, WTNH did a report with the Danbury resident who taught us everything we need to know about anthrax decontamination.

In the interview, Kariamu speaks out against those who feel that the whole episode is his fault (cue the compassionate one).

I'm in the process of updating the links on this site and I thought it would be useful to share this site with everyone.

In case you didn't know, the Danbury code of ordinances is available online (via municode.com). I've received several emails from people in the 4th ward who wanted to read the ordinance regarding waste management ...the information you need (and is being challenged by Putnam's attorney) is located in Chapter 16A: Waste Management.

I'll add this site site in the links section of this site under the section entitled "The Rules." NOTE: This is not the most up-to-date version of the code of ordinances.

From last night's Common Council meeting, here's the discussion on Item 19: ICE ACCESS.

For those who didn't attend the meeting, the proposal was sent to a "committee of the whole" which is slightly different from an ad-hoc committee. That being the case, after the council meeting, I did a interview with Minority Leader Tom Saadi who gave a full explanation on what transpired.

NOTE: I'll post the public speaking portion of the meeting at a later time...that gem of a video requires my special attention...


As Councilman Saadi stated, if you have information or question regarding this program that you want to present to the Council BEFORE the "committee as a whole" meets, email ALL OF THEM.

To make it easy, just copy and paste the following list in your email program (seeing that the IT department at City Hall didn't think about maybe creating a central email address where ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL would receive the same message...ugh!).

Email addresses of the members of the Common Council
copy and paste into your email program

r.arconti@ci.danbury.ct.us, p.curran@ci.danbury.ct.us, j.knapp@ci.danbury.ct.us, w.levy@ci.danbury.ct.us, b.riley@ci.danbury.ct.us, g.seabury@ci.danbury.ct.us, c.stanley@ci.danbury.ct.us, l.mcmahon@ci.danbury.ct.us, s.nagarsheth@ci.danbury.ct.us, j.johnson@ci.danbury.ct.us, c.trombetta@ci.danbury.ct.us, m.calandrino@ci.danbury.ct.us, j.cavo@ci.danbury.ct.us, j.esposito@ci.danbury.ct.us, t.saadi@ci.danbury.ct.us, d.perkins@ci.danbury.ct.us, f.visconti@ci.danbury.ct.us, b.chianese@ci.danbury.ct.us, p.rotello@ci.danbury.ct.us, j.diggs@ci.danbury.ct.us, m.teicholz@ci.danbury.ct.us

THIS IS A HATCITYBLOG LIVE BLOG
Today is the day the Danbury Common Council will consider FORMALLY joining in a partnership with The Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

I'll bring you coverage from everything that happens at City Hall as well as past footage on the ongoing debate here in Danbury.

Let's start with looking at some past statements from Mayor Boughton regarding using local police to enforce immigration law:

Hartford Courant, April 26 2006.

Most local police departments say they have no interest in arresting illegal immigrants who have not committed crimes. Even in Danbury, when Mayor Mark Boughton last year tried unsuccessfully to have state police enforce immigration law, he said he didn't want his police doing it because it could discourage immigrants from cooperating in criminal investigations.

New York Times 05.25.05

It will begin at Kennedy Park, where the crowds of Hispanic men who gather before dawn to find work as day laborers helped prompt Mayor Mark D. Boughton to ask that the state police be deputized to enforce federal immigration laws.

[...]

Now, while members of Danbury's Common Council continue to draft a ''repetitive outdoor activity'' ordinance to restrict volleyball by cracking down on parking and noise, among other things, the mayor says deputizing the state police may not be necessary, that the police may have enough remedies without becoming immigration agents.

Hartford Courant 05.07.05.

Lost in the hubbub is the political reality that having state police enforce immigration law in Connecticut is unlikely to happen anytime soon, if ever. And even Boughton acknowledges that his plan would have little effect on the number of undocumented immigrants in town.

[...]

Blumenthal responded to Boughton's request by saying it would need the approval of Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle and the state legislature.

Blumenthal said there is no chance of that happening this year and he has "serious reservations" about the proposal.

"Deputizing local or state police is not a long term or fundamental solution to the problem," he said.

Although Boughton wants state police to enforce immigration law, he is not interested in Danbury police having the same authority, for fear it would cripple their ability to investigate other crimes.

"The same is true, to an even greater extent, for the state police," Blumenthal said.

My first question is why hasn't anyone in the media made mention of Boughton's previous comments which directly contradicts his present statements about local police enforcing immigration laws?

---

6:00: The woman who brings new meaning to the term "deer in headlights" the dishonest Elise Marciano is AT IT AGAIN.


The head of the anti-immigrant extremist movement ends the year just like she started, by LYING, being 100 percent DISHONEST and absolutely NARROW-MINDED while playing the nice little old lady to members of the media who don't know her up close and personal.


Take a look at her so-called "petition" regarding ICE ACCESS she so proudly presented to the DANBURY Common Council.

---

For now, lets forget the outrageousness of the content of this petition, or the lack of proper grammar, and lets focus on the research we did on members of Marciano's group (BOXED IN RED) who signed the petition...and take a look at their addresses:

• William A Gulya: Bethel, CT

• Barbara J Keidel: Watertown, CT

• Nancy A & Edward C Huse: Brookfield, CT

Now, out of the 17 people Marciano could find to sign her "petition" 4 MEMBERS ARE NOT RESIDENTS OF DANBURY. If that's the case, why did Marciano allow them to sign this "petition?" Elise knows better because she has connections with elected and appointed officials at City Hall and should know how to properly file a petition, which is as follows:

• Printed name
• Address
• Signature

Now, if 4 OUT OF THE 17 PEOPLE who signed the petition ARE NOT RESIDENTS OF DANBURY, who's to say that the signatures marked in blue WHICH ARE UNREADABLE are residents of Danbury?

This is just par for the course for Marciano and her band of misfits, which you'll see in the future.

---

10:00 P.M.: The meeting is over and the Common Council decided to form a committee of the whole to further look into the program.

Mayor Boughton wasn't being completely correct when he stated that he couldn't extend the amount of time the public had to speak and several people who had their hands uip for some time didn't have a chance to speak WHILE Elise Marciano was able to get her point in AFTER waiting until the last minute to raise her hand. I'm working on the video footage and you'll be able to see what happened inside the chambers later.

As a sidenote, I saw that Pauline Basso was outside the chambers babbling with Channel 30 about the program and I mentioned to the reporter that she's the person responsible for the email controversy. The expression on their faces was priceless.

By popular demand, here's my video report on First Night in Danbury complete with the entire fireworks finale. I'll add a photo slideshow to this thread, post a shorter TV-quality video file, and offer my opinions on News Years Eve in Danbury later.

As we get ready for tonight's Common Council meeting, I thought it would be informative to take a look back at the biggest controversy on the Common Council in 2007, the parade ordinance.

From the insulting amount of misinformation peddled by Mayor Boughton, anti-immigrant leader Elise Marciano, and the media who DROPPED THE BALL, to what will go down as the biggest disregard of the City Charter in recent memory, the debate surrounding the parade ordinance set the tone for future political battles in Danbury.

For the first time, people throughout the state of Connecticut were able to get a a peek into Danbury's world of dirty politics as this blog's coverage surrounding the ordinance received a great deal of media attention.

I'll start this multi-post flashback on the ordinance with an interview I conducted with Common Councilman Paul Rotello. The Democrat from the 6th Ward took time out of his schedule to set the record straight and debunked the misinformation surrounding the impact the ordinance would have on spontaneous parades.

Trust me, those who fought against the parade ordinance will never forget what happened and this story is FAR from being concluded.

I Originally posted May 2, 2007)

There been an alarming amount of misinformation from those who are pulling all the political tricks in order to push this so-called "parade ordinance" through the system.

From the misinformation regarding the impact this new policy will have on spontaneous celebrations (e.g. immigrants World Cup festivities), to the possible constitutional problems, which could ultimately cost the city a GREAT deal of money in legal fees, more than ever, it's important for people to have a better understanding about what Mayor Boughton is attempting to push through the Common Council.

Since the News-Times failed to fully inform the public, I felt it necessary to pick up the slack and do the job that the mainstream media refuse to do. Instead of explaining how bad an ordinance this is for the everyone in Danbury, I decided to go to the lawmakers who are fighting this ordinance and have them do it for me.

In an exclusive interview with HatCityBLOG, Democratic Common Councilman Paul Rotello took time out of his schedule to help explain the various problems with the ordinance and why everyone should be concerned.

Part 1: The public is misinformed ("This is not the ordinance you want, this is not the ordinance you expect.")



Part 2: If this ordinance doesn't address "spontaneous celebrations" then why do we really need this ordinance? Is this matter more about a knee-jerk reaction to immigration? (note: the World Cup games were in 2006).



Part 3: Threat to the right to assemble and technical problems with the ordinance.

Sections of the ordinance mentioned by Councilman Rotello in interview (note the section in BOLD)
Click here to download the entire ordinance (pdf)
ARTICLE II: PARADES AND PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES

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.

[...]

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.

[...]


Sec 11-22 Standards for issuance

(a): The Chief of Police shall issue a permit as provided for herin when, from a consideration of the application and from such other informaiton as may otherwise be obtained, he finds that:

(1) The conduct of the parade or public assembly will not substantially interrupt the safe and orderly movement of the other pedestrian or vehicular traffic contiguous to its route or location;

(2) The conduct of the parade or public assembly will not require the diversion of so great a number of City police officers to properly police the line of movement and the areas contiguous thereto as to prevent normal police protection of the City;

(3) The concentration of persons, animals, and vehicles at public assembly points of the parade or public assembly will not unduly interfere with proper fire and police protection of, or ambulance service to, areas contiguous to such public assembly areas;

(4) The conduct of the parade or public assembly is not reasonably likely to cause injury to persons or property;

(5) The parade or public assembly is scheduled to move from its point of origin to its point of termination expeditiously and without unreasonable delays en route;

(6) Adequate sanitation and other required health facilities are or will be made available in or adjacent to any public assembly areas;

(7) There are sufficient parking places near the site of the parade or public assembly to accommodate the number of vehicles reasonably expected;

(8) No parade or public assembly permit application for the same time and location has already been granted or has been received and will be granted;

(9) No parade or public assembly permit application for the same time but a different location has already been granted or has been received and will be granted, and the police resources required for that prior parade or public assembly are so great that in combination with the subsequent proposed application, the resulting deployment of police services would have an immediate and adverse effect upon the welfare and safety of persons and property; and

(10) No event is scheduled elsewhere in the City where the police resources required for that event are so great that the deployment of police services for the proposed parade or public assembly would have an immediate and adverse effect upon the welfare and safety of persons and property.

For those in the 4th Ward, here's a reminder to PLEASE attend the Planning Commission hearing on the transfer station tonight at City Hall at 7:30 PM, Common Council chambers.

For those who missed the first hearing or missed the town hall meeting, you can view the video footage from those events here.

---

VIDEO: Town Hall meeting on Transfer Station 12.17.07

VIDEO: Planning Commission public hearing 12.19.07.

UPDATE 01.03.08: For those who couldn't stay for the entire meeting (it ended at 12:10 A.M.), Danbury Live taped the meeting and it will be broadcasted on Saturday night.

Here's item 19 on the agenda: Mayor Boughton's ICE ACCESS proposal (pdf file).

Included is Mayor Boughton and Chief Baker's 30-day report that's 60 days late, an one page, two-sided sheet of paper on ICE ACCESS, and an opinion from Corporation Council that raises more questions than answers.

Remember, the Common Council received this information on the afternoon of DECEMBER 27TH and the last day City Hall was open was on DECEMBER 28TH.

...oh yeah, it's been SIX DAYS since the agenda was distributed to the members of the Council but our WONDERFUL City Clerk STILL hasn't gotten around to posting the agenda online yet so the public can view and research the proposal and express their thoughts to their representatives BEFORE TOMORROW NIGHT.



I'll have more on this later today...

UPDATE (1/2/08 @ 12:00 P.M.): With just a little over a day until January's Common Council meeting, the City Clerk finally gets around to posting the agenda for TOMORROW'S meeting including the one of the most controversial proposals in recent memory, Danbury's formal agreement with ICE ACCESS. Something to think about as you're at work and have VERY LIMITED TIME to fully analyze, research, and digest the impact of this program.

...did I tell you that Mayor Boughton's 30 day report (which was announced in October) was distributed to all the members of the Common Council SIX DAYS AGO and that City Hall has been closed since MONDAY.

As I said before, I'll have more on this later including information that was distributed to the members of the Council that was NOT provided to the public.

The New York Times did a piece on the aftermath of the anthrax nonsense in Danbury and lets just say that our Mayor is a REAL classy guy.

When Ase-AmenRa Kariamu and his wife, Althea, returned to their house here after nearly four months, it neither felt nor looked like home. The odor of chlorine was so powerful that they had to wear masks. A baby portrait of their eldest daughter in an upstairs hallway was a pale bronze, as if a relic from generations past.

Tools, supplies and art pieces from Mr. Kariamu’s backyard workshop were piled in the basement.

“It looks like junk right now,” he said on Friday, picking up a half-broken shekere, a beaded gourd instrument, whose net of beads had been torn. “Oh, man,” he said, laughing. “Really just unbelievable.”

But at least he and his family were healthy and the house was free of anthrax.

Last summer, Mr. Kariamu, 49, and his 9-year-old son, Seku-Baye, contracted cutaneous anthrax, an infection of the skin. It was an ordeal that turned the family’s life — and home — upside down and wreaked economic havoc on the city’s north end.

[...]

Now, after three and a half months of a cleanup that included treating surfaces in the rental house with chlorine bleach and pumping it full of spore-killing gas, the Connecticut Department of Public Health declared it safe for occupancy on Dec. 22.

The path to the back porch of the gray clapboard house at 69 Padanaram Road was littered with a pile of plastic sheeting. A heavy-duty forklift, a crane and a portable toilet, all from the cleanup effort, crowded the small backyard, and tire tracks six inches deep crisscrossed what had been a swath of grass.

While the federal Environmental Protection Agency said it might reimburse Mr. Kariamu for damage caused by the fumigation, he said he had not been able to work with his drums and had not paid rent since September.

His landlord, Donald Lombardo, said he was being “patient” about the rent. “Basically, I called him and told him, ‘Pay me what you can. And if you can’t, somehow we’ll work it out in the end,’” Mr. Lombardo said.

But not only did the City of Danbury turn down Mr. Kariamu’s request for emergency financial assistance, Mayor Mark D. Boughton seemed anything but sympathetic.

Danbury incurred about $100,000 in overtime charges for police and fire personnel, Mr. Boughton said, adding that he was most concerned about the cost to local businesses. A stretch of Padanaram Road — a main thoroughfare through this city — was blocked off, sometimes for days at a time, as work at the contaminated property proceeded.

A pizza parlor nearly went out of business because of financial losses brought on by the road closing, Mr. Boughton said, suggesting that some local establishments might sue Mr. Kariamu to recoup lost revenue.

“He certainly does bear responsibility,” the mayor said.

So much for people over politics. By his own words, Boughton was MOST concerned about the local businesses rather than:

• The health and well being of the Kariamu family and or,
• How in a post-9111 world, how an imported item with LACED WITH ANTHRAX was allowed into the country.

The last honest man puts on his arrogant hat and point the finger at the victim. Unbelievable.

I'll let the New York Times explain why Mayor Mark is off the deep end...

Mr. Kariamu, the director of a West African drumming program at the nonprofit Danbury Music Center, said he did not see it that way. He said the New York City hide dealer who had sold him the infected skin had assured him it had been legally imported.

He said he had assumed that if it were contaminated, it would not have been allowed in the country.

BINGO!

How can one hold Kariamu (or anyone who PURCHASED IMPORTED ITEMS) responsible for the incident when 1: He had no idea that skins were contaminated and 2: Was assured by the dealer that the skins were safe? You have to look at the screening process of imported items (a.k.a point the finger at the feds). Anyone who attempts to sue him (including the city) would be laughed out of the courthouse.

All this tough talk while no one INCLUDING THE MAYOR had an answer for FOX61's reporter Eric Zager when he put them on the spot and revealed that:

• The car used to transport the skins made it's way to a car dealership and,

• Tony Alves, an employee of a local car towing company towed the CONTANIMATED car from the dealership BACK to the home, as opposed to health officials taking care of the situation and,

• When FOX61 did their report, NO ONE, including Mike Nalipinski of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, COULD ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS until days later.

• What about the people at the dealership who came in contact with the car (including workers who cleaned the car for sale and buyers who were interested in the car)...what ever happened to them?

Oh, I forgot, according to the last honest man, it was outrageous to suggest that anyone dropped the ball. This is from the same man who stated that the City of Danbury played NO PART in the Sept 2006 ICE raid on the day-laborers at Kennedy Park.

whatever.

Hey, you get what you voted for...at least my conscious is clear.

photo courtesy of the NYTimes

Here's a small sample of the events that took place during First Night.

Top image: New Hope Baptist choir at St. James Church; middle left: Puppet show at Danbury Library; middle right: children games at Danbury Library; bottom: entertainment at The Palace Theatre.

I'll file my video report on everything that happened in Danbury (including the fireworks show) soon.

In 2007, one of my biggest interviews was with the lawyers of the Danbury 11 who forced the City of Danbury to hand over documents surrounding the arrest of the day laborers. The disclosure of the documents exposed a great deal about the City of Danubry's involvement in the raid as well as called into question the integrity and honesty of Mayor Boughton and his administration.

Back in September 2006, I wrote this about the arrest of 11 day-laborers at Kennedy Park.

I received reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested several people at Kennedy Place but I was unable to get down there in time to get any footage.

[...]

Is it a coincidence that this is happening the same day Mayor Boughton is planning to go to Brazil to talk about illegal immigration?

Then I wrote this...

Perfect. Now we have a situation where 11 people were picked up on Kennedy Park. Now is a perfect time to keep a close eye on what happens down there.

[...]

Is this all a waste of taxpayers money or a successful program which will make a difference? Personally, I don't see how picking up 11 people will make a difference and I guess the day-laborers will be in full force by next week.

The moment I learned about the details surround the arrest of the day-laborers, I knew something was wrong and Mayor Boughton wasn't telling the truth.

A year after the arrest, my thoughts have been verified.

With the help of other bloggers across the country and in Brazil, I was able to keep an account of Mayor Boughton's statements to the press as well as keep a close eye on this VERY IMPORTANT CASE.

The following interview with Simon Moshenberg was like an atomic bomb in Danbury as I scooped the media in finally exposing Danbury's involvement in the raid. As we move forward to 2008, and HatCityBLOG evolves into HatCityMEDIA (details to come), expect to hear MUCH MORE about this case.

Originally posted Septmber 18 2007.

Today, I conducted an in-depth interview with Simon Moshenberg of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at the Yale Law School legal clinic. Moshenberg is one of the attorneys for the "Danbury 11" and has been actively involved in forcing the City of Danbury to hand over all information regarding an ICE raid in September of last year.

For those who don’t know, the Danbury 11 refers to the eleven day laborers who were picked up in a raid by Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents. According to news reports, back in September at Danbury’s Kennedy Park, ICE agents posing as contractors pulled up in a truck and stated they would pay 11 dollars an hour to men who would help take down a fence. Eleven day laborers took up the offer, entered in the truck, and were taken to another location where they were arrested.

In response to the raid, a FOI was filed against the Department of Homeland Security and the City of Danbury in an attempt to seek information and determine what role the city had in the raid.

In several interviews to the press, Mayor Boughton has repeatedly stated that the City played NO ROLE in the raids.

Statements from Mayor Boughton regarding city's role in raid, December 2006:

Hartford Courant 12.14.06

A group of students at Yale Law School is expected to file suit today in federal court in a bid to find out how Homeland Security put together its sting on Sept. 19. The students want to know what role Danbury played in the operation and if the policies guiding the department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm may be unconstitutional. Their inquiry began with a request under the federal Freedom of Information Act. "We asked nicely," said Simon Moshenberg, a second-year student from Washington, D.C. "They didn't answer. We sued."

[...]

In an interview Wednesday, Boughton insisted that immigration police acted alone. They notified Danbury police this summer that they'd be making some arrests this fall but offered no other details, he said.

Channel 8:

Boughton said the city played no part in the September 19th action...

Channel 30:

He [Boughton] said the city was not involved in the planing of the raid...

Once Moshenberg and the Yale law students obtained all the requested material from the city from their FOI complaint, new details surrounding the city's involvement in the raid emerged, which ultimately calls into question the claims the mayor.

With the new revelations made public at the Danbury 11 court hearing last week, I caught up with Moshenberg to learn more about the details that emerged from the FOI request, find out what role the city of Danbury played in the raid, and ultimately find out if the mayor was being dishonest to the public in statements he made to the press about Danbury's role in the raid.

Interview highlights (full interview will be posted soon):

1.: Information obtained from the FOI request shows Danbury police officer as the arresting officer on booking report.



2. According to Moshenberg, in brief to the court, the Department of Homeland Security states that DANBURY POLICE OFFICERS were the ones disguised as contractors and driving the van used to pick up the day laborers. This is contrary to statements Boughton made to the press in December
According to Moshenberg, the city of Danbury has not issued an official response in any legal proceedings regarding DHS's statement.



UPDATE: If you're with the media and are taking quotes from my interview with Simon, please make sure to cite this blog in your report.

As I stated in several emails, I understand the seriousness of this story and will have more of the interview posted as quickly as possible. Thank you.

UPDATE 2: I receiving inquires from the media on this on-going story. If you're a member of the media and having trouble locating the email address for this site, you can email me at hatcityblog@yahoo.com. During the next template update, I'll make it easier to locate my email address.

Gotta love Lexis-Nexis...

Key quotes from the last honest man in Danbury.

Hartford Courant, April 26 2006.

Most local police departments say they have no interest in arresting illegal immigrants who have not committed crimes. Even in Danbury, when Mayor Mark Boughton last year tried unsuccessfully to have state police enforce immigration law, he said he didn't want his police doing it because it could discourage immigrants from cooperating in criminal investigations.

New York Times 05.25.05

It will begin at Kennedy Park, where the crowds of Hispanic men who gather before dawn to find work as day laborers helped prompt Mayor Mark D. Boughton to ask that the state police be deputized to enforce federal immigration laws.

[...]

Now, while members of Danbury's Common Council continue to draft a ''repetitive outdoor activity'' ordinance to restrict volleyball by cracking down on parking and noise, among other things, the mayor says deputizing the state police may not be necessary, that the police may have enough remedies without becoming immigration agents.

Hartford Courant 05.07.05

Lost in the hubbub is the political reality that having state police enforce immigration law in Connecticut is unlikely to happen anytime soon, if ever. And even Boughton acknowledges that his plan would have little effect on the number of undocumented immigrants in town.

[...]

Blumenthal responded to Boughton's request by saying it would need the approval of Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle and the state legislature.

Blumenthal said there is no chance of that happening this year and he has "serious reservations" about the proposal.

"Deputizing local or state police is not a long term or fundamental solution to the problem," he said.

Although Boughton wants state police to enforce immigration law, he is not interested in Danbury police having the same authority, for fear it would cripple their ability to investigate other crimes.

"The same is true, to an even greater extent, for the state police," Blumenthal said.

It's too bad that The News-Times' Marietta Homayonpour didn't pose these quotes to Mayor Mark when she interviewed him WEEKS AGO for her article that conveniently came out this week.

D-I-S-H-O-N-E-S-T

While many of us celebrate the holiday weekend, Congressman Chris Murphy decided to travel to Iowa and support Senator Chris Dodd's presidential campaign.

With the Iowa caucus just days away, Congressman Murphy took a few moments to explain why he feels Senator Dodd is the best candidate for President.