"I regard this scenario as disheartening and I feel for the employees that lost their jobs. While the Mayor may be a nice guy, this is another example that he has abandoned his original campaign theme of "People Over Politics" in favor of special interests. Given this harsh economic time, our municipal leaders should be very concerned about not only attracting new quality jobs to Danbury but also retaining jobs already in place. In my mind, a Mayor needs to be the "champion" to lead the fight for his constituents."

• Local caucuses of the two major parties must meet between July 21 and July 28 to nominate candidates for vacancies on boards of selectman, town councils and mayor's offices, as well as elected town boards such as education and planning.


• The completed rosters for both parties must be filed with the local registrars of voters Town Clerk by July 29.


• Minor parties have until Sept. 2 to file a list of endorsed candidates with their local town clerks.


• Members of the Republican and Democratic parties who are not nominated by their local caucuses, however, still have a chance to run. They can obtain primary petition forms from their local registrars of voters and collect signatures from members of their party. To qualify for a primary run, these candidates must collect signatures that equal 5 percent of the registered party members in their town or district. These completed petitions must be returned to the local registrars by Aug. 12.


• Depending on how many candidates qualify, the towns then hold primary elections for all offices on Sept. 15.


• Candidates for office have still one more route they can follow to qualify for the general election ballot on Nov. 3. That is the nominating petitions process in which, after obtaining forms from the secretary of the state's office in Hartford, a candidate for mayor or first selectman collects signatures that equal 1 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election for that office. If the position is an at-large position on a board, the number of signatures must equal 1 percent of all registered voters in the municipality.


• Nominating petitions must be returned to the secretary of the state's office by Aug. 5.

Simon says despite the dailies being "shockingly thinner — he "picked up a paper the other day and thought they'd left out a section" — they're keeping up the quality.

"It's a pleasant surprise," he says, "They seem to be doing it with smoke and mirrors."

At the dailies, Hearst has consolidated entertainment, weekend and business sections, increased shared regional content and added more bells and whistles online.

"We've launched new blogging platforms, more database polls, videos," says Tom Baden, editor of the Connecticut Post. They certainly have. Beneath and between flashing ads, blogs, slideshows, videos and interactive polls, the eye can hardly land upon the links to news stories.

But increased regional news stories are not pleasing some readers. Dale Salm, managing editor of Connecticut Magazine and a reader of many local and regional papers, says, "[Readers] have written letters to the editor to the effect that if they wanted to subscribe to the Connecticut Post, they would. They do not appreciate 'shared editorial' and feel cheated."

The June 10 Stamford Advocate, for instance, ran seven news stories about Stamford, and 14 regional (Fairfield County), two state and seven national/international stories.

The June 9 issue of the Connecticut Post ran three stories about Bridgeport, two about Milford, one about Stratford and one about Fairfield — towns the paper covers. It also ran one story each from Greenwich, Ridgefield and Danbury, picked up from sister Hearst papers.

Critics, such as Salm and former and current journalists from local papers who asked that their names not be used, doubt readers of the Connecticut Post care about Greenwich, Ridgefield or Danbury.

McCumber says the papers share content only where they see "there's some interest across the market. We play it differently."

The loss of veteran reporters concerns industry watchers. Salm notes most of the "skilled editors and writers ... have been handed their walking papers after years of devoted service. Almost all the people writing for the [Advocate] today were not there a year ago, and frankly have neither the history with the publication and its audience nor the skill to do justice to what was the area's top daily."

The Stamford Advocate now has only one experienced city reporter. Seven new, young reporters have been hired in the last year and a half. Many do not live in Fairfield County.

(a) Charters, charter amendments and home rule ordinance amendments: Hearings; draft and final report; public notice; referendum; effective date; filing of copies with Secretary of the State; file maintained by State Library. (a) The commission shall hold at least two public hearings on the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments; one prior to the beginning of any substantive work on such charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, and one after the draft report to the appointing authority has been completed, but not submitted, after which hearings the commission may amend such report. The commission may hold such other public hearings as it deems necessary.

(b) The commission shall submit its draft report, including the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, to the clerk of the municipality, who shall transmit such report to the appointing authority. The appointing authority shall hold at least one public hearing on the draft report and shall hold its last hearing not later than forty-five days after the submission of the draft report to such clerk. Not later than fifteen days after its last hearing, the appointing authority shall make recommendations to the commission for such changes in the draft report as it deems desirable.

(c) If the appointing authority makes no recommendations for changes in the draft report to the commission within such fifteen days, the report of the commission shall be final and the appointing authority shall act on such report. If the appointing authority makes recommendations for changes in the draft report to the commission, the commission shall confer with the appointing authority concerning any such recommendations and may amend any provisions of the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, in accordance with such recommendations, or the commission may reject such recommendations. In either case the commission shall make its final report to the appointing authority not later than thirty days after receiving such recommendations.

(d) Not later than fifteen days after receiving the final report, the appointing authority, by a majority vote of its entire membership, shall either approve the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments or reject the same or separate provisions thereof. Not later than forty-five days after a vote of the appointing authority to reject such matter, a petition for a referendum thereon, signed by not less than ten per cent of the electors of such municipality, as determined by the last-completed registry list thereof, and filed and certified in accordance with the provisions of section 7-188, may be presented to the appointing authority. Not later than thirty days after approval by the appointing authority or the certification of such a petition (1) the proposed charter shall be published in full at least once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality, or (2) the portion of the charter or home rule ordinance being amended shall be published at least once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality with a notice that a complete copy of the charter or home rule ordinance and amendment is available in the town clerk's office and that a copy shall be mailed to any person who requests a copy. The town clerk shall mail or otherwise provide such copy to any person who requests a copy.

Title
Common Council Special Meeting
Start Time 7:00 PM
Location
Common Council Chambers
Occurs
3/10/2009
Extra Details for entire event

SPECIAL COMMON COUNCIL MEETING –
March 10, 2009

The meeting will be called to order at 7:00 P.M.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE & PRAYER

ROLL CALL

McMahon, Nagarsheth, Halas, Trombetta, Calandrino, Perkins, Visconti, Chianese, Esposito, Saadi, Cavo, Rotello, Diggs, Teicholz, Arconti, Curran, Knapp, Levy, Riley, Seabury, Stanley

________________PRESENT _______________ABSENT

NOTICE OF THE SPECIAL MEETING – There will be a Special Meeting of the Common Council on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. in the Common Council Chambers in City Hall to act on the item below.

________________________________________________________________

PUBLIC SPEAKING

________________________________________________________________
1 – REPORT - Board of Education, Teachers Contract
________________________________________________________________
2 – REPORT - Charter Revision Commission – Final Report
________________________________________________________________
There being no further business to come before the Common Council a motion was made at _________P.M. by __________for the meeting to be adjourned.

• NOT available in her office,


• spends most of her time chatting it up with her buddies in the Registrar of Voters office


• has OTHER people doing the job SHE WAS ELECTED to do,


• ignores STATE LAW,


• abuses her role as Justice of the Peace by doing wedding ceremonies during City Hall hours (a.k.a WHEN SHE SHOULD BE IN HER OFFICE)


• and/or wastes taxpayer's money at an ALARMING RATE

(a) Charters, charter amendments and home rule ordinance amendments: Hearings; draft and final report; public notice; referendum; effective date; filing of copies with Secretary of the State; file maintained by State Library. (a) The commission shall hold at least two public hearings on the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments; one prior to the beginning of any substantive work on such charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, and one after the draft report to the appointing authority has been completed, but not submitted, after which hearings the commission may amend such report. The commission may hold such other public hearings as it deems necessary.

(b) The commission shall submit its draft report, including the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, to the clerk of the municipality, who shall transmit such report to the appointing authority. The appointing authority shall hold at least one public hearing on the draft report and shall hold its last hearing not later than forty-five days after the submission of the draft report to such clerk. Not later than fifteen days after its last hearing, the appointing authority shall make recommendations to the commission for such changes in the draft report as it deems desirable.

(c) If the appointing authority makes no recommendations for changes in the draft report to the commission within such fifteen days, the report of the commission shall be final and the appointing authority shall act on such report. If the appointing authority makes recommendations for changes in the draft report to the commission, the commission shall confer with the appointing authority concerning any such recommendations and may amend any provisions of the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, in accordance with such recommendations, or the commission may reject such recommendations. In either case the commission shall make its final report to the appointing authority not later than thirty days after receiving such recommendations.

(d) Not later than fifteen days after receiving the final report, the appointing authority, by a majority vote of its entire membership, shall either approve the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments or reject the same or separate provisions thereof. Not later than forty-five days after a vote of the appointing authority to reject such matter, a petition for a referendum thereon, signed by not less than ten per cent of the electors of such municipality, as determined by the last-completed registry list thereof, and filed and certified in accordance with the provisions of section 7-188, may be presented to the appointing authority. Not later than thirty days after approval by the appointing authority or the certification of such a petition (1) the proposed charter shall be published in full at least once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality, or (2) the portion of the charter or home rule ordinance being amended shall be published at least once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality with a notice that a complete copy of the charter or home rule ordinance and amendment is available in the town clerk's office and that a copy shall be mailed to any person who requests a copy. The town clerk shall mail or otherwise provide such copy to any person who requests a copy.

(e) The appointing authority shall, by a majority vote of its entire membership, determine whether the proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments shall be submitted to the electors for approval or rejection at a regular election or at a special election warned and held for that purpose, which shall be held not later than fifteen months after either the approval by the appointing authority or the certification of a petition for a referendum.

(f) The proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments shall be prepared for the ballot by the appointing authority and may be submitted in the form of one or several questions; and, if approved by a majority of the electors of the municipality voting thereon at a regular election or if approved by a majority which number equals at least fifteen per cent of the electors of the municipality as determined by the last-completed active registry list of such municipality at a special election, such proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments shall become effective thirty days after such approval unless an effective date or dates are specified therein, in which event the date or dates specified shall prevail.

(g) Not later than thirty days after the approval by the electors of any proposed charter, charter amendments or home rule ordinance amendments, the town or city clerk shall file, with the Secretary of the State, (1) three certified copies thereof, with the effective date or dates indicated thereon, and (2) in the case of the approval of charter or home rule ordinance amendments, three certified copies of the complete charter or ordinance incorporating such amendments. The Secretary of the State shall distribute two copies, whether tangible or intangible in form, to the State Library, where a file of such charters, charter amendments and home rule ordinance amendments shall be kept for public inspection.

...the portion of the charter or home rule ordinance being amended shall be published at least once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality...

About 60 employees -- center's cleaning and maintenance staffs -- lost their jobs Wednesday, according to those on the picket lines.

"It's called union busting," said Brookfield's Ed Burke, the former chief engineer for the building's maintenance crews, who worked at the center for more than 20 years. "They didn't give us anything. They just walked us out of the building."

Burke, who has a wife and two children, said he doesn't know what he's going to do. His wife is a stay-at-home mom.

"There just aren't any jobs out there anymore," he said, adding that he also lost his and his family's health benefits.

The former employees said they were walked off the job by security guards Wednesday afternoon, less than an hour after the sale of the building to Matrix Group Realty of New York.

"This is disgusting," said Courtney Hibert, an employee of one of the building's tenants. "It's not right. Now all these people are out of a job. Nobody will be able to take care of the building like they did."

[...]

Former employees said there were rumors months ago that their jobs were on the line as a result of the sale. Their positions were posted on Monster.com -- a popular job posting Web site -- this spring.

Several of the employees who lost their jobs said they had sent their resumes to the new owner by registered mail but received no response.

[...]

An official with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30, which represents the 10 maintenance workers who lost their jobs, said they plan to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging unfair labor practices.

"This is union busting and it's against the law," said Tony Calandrino, the union's business representative for the state. "They didn't even give these people a chance to interview for their own positions."

Mayor Mark Boughton said he toured the facility with the new owner a couple of months ago and expressed his concern that the employees be accommodated.
"Ultimately they have their business model and will manage the property the best way they know how," Boughton said Thursday.