Hat City Blog

The anti-immigrant hypocrite strikes again

2012-01-25T19:44:00.010-05:00

Trust me, the mayor is not fooling the people who know the REAL Mark Boughton.

You gotta be kidding me! Here's the dishonest one chiming in on East Haven Joseph Maturo's idiotic regarding Latinos in his city

Republican Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said Maturo should dismantle and rebuild his police department.

"There seems to be a pervasive attitude, at least among some members of the department, and I would take it apart and start from scratch," Boughton said. "Regarding the comments by the mayor, they were completely insensitive, totally inappropriate and just wrong. He has apologized, but one of your most-important jobs is understanding your constituency and listening to them."

Understanding your constituency and listening to them?!? This comes from the same mayor who:

Openly embraced members of the area's xenophobic anti-immigrant hate-group, turned his back on immigrant right supporters while at the same time stating to the general public that the same group should not have a seat at the table when it came to the issue of illegal immigration.

Refused to meet with the multitude of residents who opposed his plan to enter the city into the 287g/ICE ACCESS program while falsely accusing media outlets who wrote editorials in opposition of his plan of irresponsible reporting.

Used the topic of illegal immigration to ram through an irresponsible parade ordinance, abused his power as mayor to block the BI-PARTISAN majority of the council attempts to fix the ordinance (although he has admitted to the public that the ordinance in it's present form is flawed).

LIED and LIED about the city's role in the Danbury 11 case.

Stood by his racist hand-picked City Clerk who had no problem displaying his support for the most disgusting element of the city's population.

...and RAN AND HID from the media for over a day while it was exposed that his majority leader of the city council (Pauline Basso) and his hand-picked member of the Planning Commission (Joel Urice) forwarded a series of highly offensive and racist emails to others.

And to pour salt on the wound, Boughton still supports the morons who forwarded the racist emails ALTHOUGH one of the persons responsible for the blow-up refused to apologize for his role in the incident opting instead to blaming others for exposing his bigotry.

Boughton is a REAL piece of work...the only difference between him and the bonehead from East Haven is that Boughton's not stupid enough let to spew his true feelings about the immigrant population to the press.

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Danbury Live 01.24.12 broadcast

2012-01-25T10:58:00.000-05:00

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Danbury Live 01.17.12 broadcast (Danbury BOE Meeting)

2012-01-19T12:53:00.002-05:00

JOE DASILVA CASE VIDEO FLASHBACK: Ecuadorian media reports on the death of Luis Encalada Bueno

2012-01-18T12:59:00.001-05:00

In light of Joe DaSilva's plea deal in the negligent homicide of Ecuadorian immigrant Luis Encalada Bueno, here's a video recap of how the news media in Ecuador reported on the tragic incident.

Originally posted on HatCityBLOG,Jan 30 2010

ETV Telerama

ETV Telerama

Video courtesy of TV Telerama Online/Cuenca Al Dia : Nov 27 2009

The media reports of the victim in connection with the arrest of property owner Joe DaSilva Jr. stretch beyond the borders of this country.

The tragic death of Ecuadorean Luis Encalada Bueno received a deal of media attention in his homeland back in November of last year. The video on top of this post is from a report by TV Telerama Online/Cuenca Al Dia which was published on Nov 2009 (non-translated). For those who only speak English, the images alone tell the story.

Also, with the assistance of the Tribuna, the News-Times did a write-up which includes a translated article from El Tiempo, a newspaper in Ecuador.

The Ecuadorean man who died in November after an apparent beating on Town Hill Avenue in Danbury left behind a wife and nine children in his home country.

Luis Encalada Bueno, 42, was buried by his family Nov. 29 in his native town of Zhidmad, Ecuador, 23 days after his death in Danbury.

[...]

Encalada's family said he immigrated to the United States seven years ago, seeking to earn an income that would help improve living conditions for his family, which includes eight children 18 or younger, two of them special needs youths.

Encalada lived in Connecticut for the full seven years and worked in construction. In the last few weeks of his life, he reportedly found himself unemployed and without money.

"He told us he was looking for work, that the things were not good over there, and that his intention was to stay for another three years and to return home," explained his wife, Hortensia.

"He came home dead," she said.

I encourage you to read the entire piece over at the News-Times website.

This is a developing story...

THE CASE AGAINST JOE DASILVA: Plea deal accepted

2012-01-18T12:31:00.003-05:00

Residents crate a makeshift memorial at the location where
the alleged assault of Luis Encalada took place (58 Town Hill Ave).
Photo by ctblogger 03.03.10.

There was rumblings at the Danbury Superior Court House that an plea deal was about to be reached in the Joe DaSilva manslaughter case...and now it's done.

About 20 minutes ago, DaSilva accepted a plea bargain of negligent homicide (from manslaughter) that has the possibility of sending him to jail for up to 7 years (suspended after 2.5 years).

The deal was done under the umbrella of the Alford doctrine which is the following:

Alford Doctrine: A plea in a criminal case in which the defendant does not admit guilt, but agrees that the state has enough evidence against him or her to get a conviction. Allows the defendant to enter into a plea bargain with the state. If the judge accepts the Alford Plea, a guilty finding is made on the record.

After he accepted the plea, Prosecutor Sharmese Hodge gave a recap of the chain of events that led to DaSilva's conviction, which included lying to the Danbury Police Department. In essence, Hodge's recant is identical to the police warrant affidavit which can be read by clicking here.

Although DaSilva accepted the plea, his legal troubles are far from over as can you bet that there will be a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of family members of Luis Encalada Bueno for his death.

More to come...

Martin Luther King, Jr. on Civil Rights and Peace

2012-01-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

JOE DASILVA CASE FLASHBACK: Arrest warrant sheds new details in case; expose possible cover-up attempt

2012-01-12T18:43:00.003-05:00

With the laundry list of motions to suppress evidence by the defense attorney in the Joe DaSilva manslaughter trial, I thought now would be a good time to go back and take a look at police warrant on the matter.

One look at the affadavit and you can understand why defense attorney Eugene Riccio is trying his best to keep the jury from hearing certain pieces of evidence in the case.

Originally post on 02.16.10

Today, the Danbury Superior Court unsealed Joe DaSilva's arrest warrant affidavit and it document gives new details regarding the events leading up to the death of Luis Encalada Bueno, which includes what seems to be an attempted cover-up by an employee of DaSilva.

According to court documents, Danbury PD interviewed several people who were with Encalada hours before the incident.

Here's a summary of what witness number one (CW-1) stated to police (portions of statement redacted):

"On November 5 2009, I met some friends who asked me to go drink with than at an apartment on Town Hill Ave…I stayed overnight with some of the guys. At some point Friday morning (November 6), XXXX had to be taken to the hospital because he drank too much. After he was taken away, some of the guys left and as I woke up, I saw a guy known to be DaSilva grabbing my friend (CW-2) by the neck and shirt yelling stuff in English. I do not understand lot of English but I understood DaSilvsa was saying "Get the fuck out of here!" […] I got out of the apartment before CW-2 was thrown by DaSilva; I was starting to go down the stairs when DaSilva was still yelling and he kicked me in the back, making me slip downtime stairs. […] He yelled something like "If I see you again I'll kill you!" […] CW-2 and I wan towards the courthouse and Walgreens on Main Street, and CW-2 said something to me about Luis still being in the apartment and we should check on him. […] As we were walking towards the apartment, we saw Luis lying on the ground near a dumpster.

In the testimony, witness one stated that he seen DaSilva before because his office building is next to the witness' place of employment

I know DaSilva from where I work. I worked at XXXX for about 3 years and DaSilva owns the building I work in and also has an office near there. I have seen DaSilva come into XXXXX and have seen him around a number of times,

The arrest warrant also states that witness one pointed out DaSilva in a police photograph lineup.

Witness two (CW-2) also gaves his account of what happened to the police. Here's a summary of the statement.

On Friday November 6th, I was with my friends on Town Hill Ave. […] Sometime in the morning, I saw this guy DaSilva come to the apartment. There was also a second guy but I don't know him. DaSilva owns the house and we were not supposed to be in there. Luis was lying on the couch when DaSilva came in, he (DaSilva) was very angry, he was yelling get the fuck out of here, this is private property, he grabbed me and tried to throw me down the stairs, he hit me in the back and as I was falling I was able to grab the rail and stop myself from falling down the stairs. I think he did the same thing to CW-1 who has behind me. […]When CW-1 and I left, Luis Encalada was still in the apartment sleeping on the couch, I did see DaSilva of back into the apartment that Luis was in as I was leaving. CW-1 and I walked around to Main St., by the Walgreens and the old court building. I then received a call on my cell phone from CW-3. CW-3 told me that he/she found Luis Encalada on the ground outside Town Hill Ave.

CW-2 also stated this to the police:

I was with Luis the night before this and most of that morning, I did not see him fall or fight anyone. He did not complain about his stomach or any other illness. In fact, he was even dancing the night before all of this.

CW-2 also pointed out DaSilva in a police photograph line-up.

After verifying that 58 Town Hill Ave is owned by DaSilva, On Nov 6th, detectives for the DPD interview the owner of the Palace Theatre at his home in New Milford CT.

According to court records, here's a summary of what transpired (portions in BOLD were done by yours truly for emphasis).

It was explained to DaSilva that detectives were investigating a complaint by two (2) men that he assaulted when while making them leave his property at 58 Town Hill Ave. DaSilva just smiled and shrugged and said, "What do you want me to say?" He was then asked if it was possible that these men got rough with him and maybe he was defending himself. DaSilva stated "No, I wasn't there at all." DaSilva stated that about a month prior he had forced several Hispanic males from the second floor apartment, but that was the last time he was there at 58 Town Hill Ave. DaSilva stated one or two of his employees may have been at 58 Town Hill Ave. today around lunch time. DaSilva stated that Rolando DaSilva (no relation) was there to turn on the boiler and that maybe Joe Rodrigues was there also, but he was not sure about the Rodrigues. Joseph DaSilva provided his cellular phone number as (XXX)XXX-XXXX, and stated he is the only person to use this phone.DaSilva was asked if he was made aware that there were persons illegally in the second floor apartment, he stated no he had not. DaSilva was asked if he was in phone contact with Rolando DaSilva at all around the time Rolando DaSilva was to be working at 58 Town Hill Ave. He stated "No".

After interviewing DaSilva, on Nov 6th, Danbury detectives interviewed Rolando DaSilva. Here's a summary of what transpired:

Rolando SaSilva was asked if he was at 58 Town Hill Ave., earlier in the day. Rolando DaSilva stated that he was, sometime around lunch time. Rolando DaSilva stated he was only there about 5 minutes and did not see anyone. He stated he parked his white company van out front, entered the building, went to the basement, turned the heating system on, and left. Roland DaSilva stated he did not go to tthe second floor and did not see any Hispanic males. Rolando DaSilva provided his cellular phone number as (XXX)-XXX-XXXX, and stated he alone uses this phone. Rolando DaSilva was asked if he saw Joseph DaSilva at 58 Town Hill Ave., he stated no. When asked if he spoke to him via cell phone just prior to being at 58 Town Hill Ave., while there, or just leaving, Rolando states no.

Detectives then interview Brian Ferguson, the only legal tenant at 58 Town Hill Ave. Here's a summary of what was reported in the warrant:

Ferguson stated that he had called DaSilva's office from his cell phone in the morning to report running water in the basement.

Also on Nov 6th, Danbury PD obtained a search and seizure warrant to conduct the crime scene at 58 Town Hill Ave.

Items were located and collected. These items include what appeared to be a blood stain on the wall of the hallway outside the second floor apartment, what appeared to be blood droplet on the stairs leading from the second floor apartment to the front entrance of 58 Town Hill Ave. Also located and photographed were several blood like stains on the ground outside 58 Town HIll Ave., that appear to on the path Encalada would have traveled from 58 Town Hill Ave., to where he was found 2 driveways away.

As the arrest warrant further states, that on Nov 9th, detectives interviewed Jose Rodrigues.

Rodrigues stated that he was not at 58 Town Hill Ave., at all on 06 November, but he was there earlier that today along with John Doyle and Fausto Costa to empty and clean out the second floor apartment. Rodrigues stated they were sent there by Joseph DaSilva. Rodrigues provided his cellular phone number as (XXX) XXX-XXXX, and stated he is the only one to use his phone.

Upon further investigation, Danbury PD conducted a voluntary second interview with Rolando DaSilva in which they pressed him on his previous statement:

It was explained to DaSilva that information he had told both detectives on 06 November 2009 was found not to be true, on that date DaSilva stated that he had been at 58 Town Hill Ave., around lunch time, that he was there only a short period of time, that he was alone and his boss Joe DaSilva was not present. Rolando DaSilva also stated that he had not seen any men in the second floor apartment and had not communicated by phone with Joe DaSilva around that time. Some evidence to show these facts not to be true was shown to Rolando DaSilva. He was then told that he could possibly face criminal charges if he continued to lie about this information.

[…]

Rolando DaSilva stated that he was afraid and also felt badly about what had happened. Rolando DaSilva then provided the following statement: On Friday Nov. 6, 2009 I went to work at about 7 AM. I work for Joe DaSilva at DaSilva Realty, 288 Main St., Danbury. I do the plumbing and heating for Joe's properties. Sometime before lunch I got a call on my cell phone from Denise Archiere, who is the office manager. She told me that there was water running in the basement of 58 Town Hill Ave. I knew that I also had to turn the heat on. I told Denise that if there was water running in the basement, there had to be someone on the second floor. I drove right over to 58 Town Hill. When I got to 58 Town Hill, Joe DaSilva had just gotten there. Joe said to me, "Do what you gotta do." Joe seemed pissed off. I know that he was pissed off about the guys upstairs. There have been drunk, wasted Mexicans illegally squatting in the 2nd floor apt. I assumed that Joe was going upstairs and I planned on staying in the basement. I didn't want any part of whatever was going to take place.

I went down into the basement to take care of the water and heat. While I was in the basement I heard a commotion on the stairs. I heard footsteps, loud voices, yelling. The footsteps were loud but not fast. I recognized the voice that was yelling. The only person I heard was Joe. He was yelling, "Get the fuck out of my house," and things like that. It sounded to me that Joe was throwing the guys out of the apt. I had the impression that Joe didn't even want me there, so I just stayed in the basement. I came out of the basement after it got quiet. This all took about 10 minutes. When I got outside, Joe was already gone. This statement was read by Rolando DaSilva and his wife Susan. Rolando DaSilva then swore to this statement and signed it as Susan DaSilva also signed this document as a witness. During this interview, Rolando DaSilva stated that Joe DaSilva's white Ford pick up truck was parked in front of his (Rolando's) van on Town Hill Ave.

Shortly after leaving Rolando DaSilva's residence, detectives were contacted via cell phone by Rolando DaSilva, who asked both detectives to return to his home as he had more information to provide.

That upon return to Rolando DaSilva's home, DaSilva stated that he had not been completely honest during the prior statement. DaSilva stated that he is in fear of being fired by Joe DaSilva for cooperating with the investigation. Rolando provided the following in a second statement:

After the detectives left my house, I felt bad because I had not been completely honest. I talked to my wife and told her about the things I hadn't told the police. I then called Det. Trompetta and asked him to come back to my house. Have felt bad about this whole incident and want to get it off my chest. Everything was correct in my first statement up to the point that I got to 58 Town Hill. Joe did get there right before me. He said to me, "Stay out of my way," and went upstairs. I didn't go to the basement. I followed Joe upstairs and I stayed in the hallway outside of the 2nd floor apt. I saw Joe go into the apt., and start throwing people out. Joe was yelling, "Get the fuck out, get out of my house." There were 3 guys in the apt., maybe 4. Joe was grabbing them and pushing them down the stairs. I didn't see him punch or hit anybody, just push them out and try to kick them down the stairs. The first or 2nd guy in the bunch was holding onto the railings and holding everyone up. Joe was trying to get them out of the apt. I just stayed out of the way. Once everyone was out of the apt., I went to the basement. When I came out I saw two guys walking south on Town Hill by # 54. I think they were 2 of the guys that were in the apt. I didn't see anybody lying on the ground out front. Joe had already left. I don't know where the 3rd guy was. This statement was also read by Rolando DaSilva and his wife Susan. DaSilva swore to the truth and then sign the statement, which was witnessed by his wife. Rolando DaSilva was asked about the portion of his statement where he stated he did not see Joe DaSilva punch or hit anyone while in the hallway, he was also asked if he had entered the apartment with Joe. He stated he had not and does not know what happened in the apartment.

After obtaining the revised statement from DaSilva, the Danbury PD obtained a court order instructing various cell phone companies to provide details records for several cell phone numbers provided by DaSilva and other individuals who were interviewed.

Here's a summary of their findings:

That a review of Ferguson's cellular phone (his only phone) records show that on 06 November 2009, Brian Ferguson called (XXX) XXX-XXXX, the office of DaSilva Realty. This was a 27 second call.

[…]

That a review of the cellular phone records for the phones of Rolando DaSilva and Joseph DaSilva show that on 06 November 2009, at approximately 11 :55:41 AM, Rolando DaSilva's. phone received an inbound call from DaSilva Realty, this call lasted 47 seconds. Also the records show that at approximately 11 :58:25 AM Rolando DaSilva's phone received an inbound "direct connect" call from Joseph DaSilva's cellular phone. This call lasted 72.2 seconds.

That a review of Rolando DaSilva's records for 07 November 2009 show an outbound call to the cellular phone of Joseph DaSilva's cellular phone at approximately 8:56:39 AM This call lasted 238 seconds. At approximately 9:14:37 AM Joseph DaSilva places an outbound call to (XXX) XXX-XXXX, the home phone of Attorney Joseph DaSilva. This call lasted 38 seconds. A second call lasting 50 seconds was placed to Attorney DaSilva at 10:41: 12 AM.

After obtaining this information, Danbury PD requested another interview with DaSilva in which he declined.

The warrant concluded with the following:

That the affiant believes based on the sworn statements of cooperating witness # 1, cooperating witness # 2, cooperating witness # 4, Rolando DaSilva as well as the cellular telephone records of Joseph DaSilva, Brian Ferguson and Rolando DaSilva that; during the late morning of 06 November 2009, Luis Encalada was in the second floor apartment of 58 Town Hill Ave., Danbury, Connecticut with CW-1 and CW-2, That Luis Encalada was sleeping on a couch. That at approximately 11: 25 AM, on 06 November 2009, Brian Ferguson, the resident of the first floor of 58 Town Hill Ave., called the office of Joseph DaSilva to report "running water" in the basement of 58 Town Hill Ave.

That at approximately 11 :25 AM on 06 November 2006, Denise Archieri, the office manager of Joseph DaSilva Realty, called Rolando DaSilva, the companies plumber, on his cellular phone dispatching him to 58 Town Hill Ave., to address the" running water" problem. That at approximately 11 :58 AM, Rolando DaSilva was contacted by Joseph DaSilva using the "direct connect" option of his cellular phone. That shortly after 12:00 PM, Rolando DaSilva arrived at 58 Town Hill Ave., observing that Joseph DaSilva had arrived at that location moments prior. That Joseph DaSilva being aware that persons were illegally in the second floor apartment went upstairs to the second floor of 58 Town Hill Ave., entered the apartment, and confronted CW-1 and CW-2. That Joseph DaSilva physically pulled CW-2 from the apartment into the hallway, then struck CW-2 in the back, causing CW-2 to fall down the stairs. CW-2 was able to grab the rail while falling to stop from falling to the bottom of the stairs. CW-1 ran from the apartment and was kicked in the back by Joseph DaSilva at the top of the stairs causing CW-1 to also fall into the stairwell. Joseph DaSilva was then observed by CW-2 to re enter the second floor apartment where Luis Encalada was sleeping. Joseph DaSilva was alone with Encalada for a short period of time',· then observed by Rolando DaSilva pulling a third male (Encalada) from the apartment and push him down the stairwell. That according to Danbury Hospital records Luis Encalada was extremely intoxicated. Encalada was most likely unable to stand, balance or defend himself, tumbled down the stairs. That CW-3, CW-4 along with Angel, while walking on Town Hill Ave.,towards number 58, observed Luis Encalada on the ground in the driveway of 66 Town Hill Ave. apparently injured. That CW-3 separated from CW-4 and Angel to find help. That at 12: 30 PM Angel, using Lu'is Encalada's cellular phone called CW-2 and informed CW-2 of how they found Encalada. That CW-4 asked Encalada what had happened to him and was told by Encalada "Silva hit me." That at 12:54 PM,· CW-1 and CW-2 arrived at 66 Town Hill Ave., and, using Encalada's cellular phone, called 911 for help.

That the affiant believes that on 06 November 2009 at 58 Town Hill Ave., Joseph DaSilva struck CW-1 in the back, pushed CW-1 down a flight of stairs, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes. That on 06 November 2009 Joseph DaSilva struck CW-2 in the back, pushed CW-2 down a flight of stairs in violation of Connecticut General Statutes. That on 06 November 2009 Joseph DaSilva pulled the extremely intoxicated Luis Encalada from a second floor apartment at 58 Town Hill Ave., Danbury and pushed him down a flight of stairs. That the reckless actions of Joseph DaSilva Jr., on 06 November 2009 at 58 Town Hill Ave., Danbury, Connecticut caused blunt force injury to the abdomen of Luis Encalada resulting in the death of Luis Encalada. And that these action are in violation of the Connecticut General Statutes.

Although one is presumed innocent until proven guilty, it will be interesting to hear DaSilva's defense for the alleged inaccuracies in his statement to the police.

UPDATE: John Pirro was able to obtain some comments from some of the parties involved in the case.

DaSilva's attorney, Eugene Riccio, said the documents tell only one side of the story.

"Information in arrest warrants is, by definition, accusatory," he said. "It usually does not include the entire circumstances of the incident."

Riccio declined to comment on why, according to the affadavit, his client apparently lied to police about being at the apartment.

[...]

Contacted by The News-Times on Tuesday, Rolando DaSilva declined comment "on the advice of my attorney," but said he is still employed by Joseph DaSilva.

DaSILVA ARREST WARRANT AFFIDAVIT (pdf):

Who is Mary Ann Doran?

2012-01-11T16:45:00.019-05:00

During my time in the Hat City, I've been a participant of countless conversations with people who go out of their way to give their take on the political history of Danbury...and time and time again there's always a reasonable chance that the name Mary Ann Doran will be referenced.

Who is Mary Ann Doran?

For a new generation of post-Danbury Fair residents, few know the full history of one of city's most controversial political figures...

When I first heard the name Mary Ann Doran, I was a student at Western Connecticut State University in late 1980s during a time when the city made state headlines with allegations of corruption and wrongdoing at the mayor's office.

From her role in the revelation of a FBI investigation into political corruption in the city, the role she played in the now infamous late night altercation/encounter at City Hall that involved herself, the Danbury Police Department, then Mayor Jim Dyer, as well as other political notables (you gotta read about that episode), and a whole hosts of alleged unethical decisions that could make your head spin, whenever you opened a copy of the News-Times during the latter half of '87, Doran's name was in the headlines..and most of the time, it wasn't a good thing.

To put it short, many who had anything to say about Doran are still dismayed that the current Registrar of Voters was rewarded with an elected position given her checkered political past.

A few nights ago, I had a conversation with someone who wondered if Doran's past was ever examined by the media. Although twenty-five years ago is a lifetime in political terms, in the late 80s-early 90s, numerous journalism classes devoted to the media coverage of the Dyer controversy and one of the most amazing write-ups from the News-Times at that time centered on Doran's political resume.

In July 1987, the News-Times published a massive investigation article on the political history of Doran (reported by Gina Brisgone, Ruth Lockwood, Valerie Roth, and Steven G. Vegh and written by Steven G. Vegh in the News-Times, July 24, 1987), which was required reading for journalism students who followed the Dyer scandal as it unfolded.

Lets just say that those yearning for a history lesson regarding the current Republican Registrar of Voters (who by the way is still very active in local politics as many consider her to be the real party boss among Danbury Republicans), the following article is for you.

DANBURY NEWS-TIMES: JULY 24 1987. (to download the article as it appeared in the News-Times, click here

DANBURY - Two months ago, Mary Ann Doran was chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, an aide in Mayor James Dyer's office and one of the city's most influential politicians.

Doran, 37, controlled virtually all appointments to city commissions, according to City Hall and Democratic sources.

"Mary Ann is wielding power through all the commissions," said one source who knows Doran and Dyer. "Who suggested all the names to the mayor for appointments? Mary Ann. All those people owe favors to Mary Ann."

She acquired her power because she was a top achiever in a party that unabashedly defends patronage. Her 21-year party career, which started before she graduated from Danbury High School in 1966, has excluded virtually all other interests. Democratic insiders say she has never held a full-time job.

Doran won influential Democratic patrons, such as Norman Buzaid, the town committee chairman in the early 1970s who later became a Superior Court judge; Joseph Burke, a long-time Democratic activist; and Dyer. Their interests were her interests; and they rewarded her with part-time jobs in the state Capitol, private business and City Hall.

Their aid to her was unflagging, saving her reputation and career more than once as she blurred the boundaries of financial and political propriety.

Doran's late-night resignation June 1 from her part-time post in the mayor's office and her announcement that the FBI was investigating corruption by Dyer was, therefore, an audacious step. The FBI confirmed a Danbury investigation, but has refused to specify what it is scrutinizing.

By revealing the FBI probe, Doran triggered a flood of rumors that continue to immerse the city and have complicated what had been Dyer's likely renomination. Dyer has a re-election committee and so is an official candidate under state law, but has not announced his plans.

Doran said that if, as party chairman, she didn't distance herself from Dyer by resigning, the result of the FBI investigation could embarrass Democratic candidates in the coming city election.

But sources interviewed during a seven week News-Times investigation said Doran herself has been a potential source of embarrassment for the party.

Almost all spoke on the condition that their names not be used. They cited fears that their businesses and jobs, or their standing in the Democratic party, could suffer if they angered Doran.

According to those sources, Doran shirked responsibility while a clerk at the state Capitol, mishandled funds while a deputy sheriff and campaigned against Roy Costa, the Democrats' mayoral candidate in 1977.

Doran also suggested and accepted a $200 cash campaign contribution from city Planning Director Leonard Sedney in 1983 that was never noted in finance reports filed by either the town committee or Dyer's campaign, as required by state law, sources said. Sedney refused to comment on the donation, which exceeded the legal $50 limit on cash contributions.

Doran offered to be interviewed for this article last Friday, but agreed to postpone the meeting until this week, However, she canceled an interview set for yesterday and said she would be unavailable until next week.

Doran also questioned the importance of events a decade old, and suggested that the current FBI probe centers on authentic, important illegalities.

Doran questioned Dyer's perception of her, as well.

"All I can say is, why did he hire me if I was a bad person? Why did he keep me there if I had done so many bad things?" she asked.

Many people in and outside the party say they strongly doubt that Dyer was ignorant of anything Doran did politically before or after she joined his City Hall staff in 1980. A nit-picking, hands-on mayor, Dyer was Doran's close political partner.

But Dyer said he knew nothing about Doran's tarnished past until Sedney told him in April about the 1983 contribution. Other acquaintances told him what they knew only after he and Doran broke relations following the June 1 debacle, Dyer said. He said they never told him anything about Doran earlier because they assumed he already knew.

"I can't believe what's happening. Everything coming out now about her," Dyer said. "It's like I was blind. Nobody ever told me. When she became the town committee chair, I should have told her she couldn't work for me. I should have recognized the potential for the conflict, and I didn't."

The Democratic Town Committee elected Doran chairman in 1982. Frank Klecha and Theodore Goldstein, her two predecessors, said DOran earned the post by working hard and making friends in the party, not through any political power-broker.

Dyer agreed, saying Doran alone was responsible for her rise to chairman.

"I don't know if I thought it was a good idea, but I certainly didn't discourage it, and that's the mistake I made," he said.

Doran was still a student at Danbury High School when she began working for the Democratic Party in the 1960s. A devoted worker, she became the protege of Buzaid, who in turn, acted as her political godfather, even after she joined the town committee in 1974.

The relationship paid tangle benefits in 1975 when Buzaid successfully pressed stat Sen. Wayne Baker, a Danbury Democrat, to give Doran a job as clerk on the state legislature's Public Personnel and Military Affairs committee, of which Baker was chairman.

State records show that Doran worked part-time fore four months during the 1975 legislative session averaging 25 hours a week and earning somewhat less than the standard $4,000 salary for clerks.

As the committee clerk, Doran should have been the lead employee among the committee's clerical staff. Yet "nine times out of 10, Mary Ann didn't show up" for her clerking duties, said a long-time acquaintance of Doran.

Several former committee members said they can't recall Doran having any role.

"I don't remember Mary Ann, to tell the truth," said John J. Tiffany II, who was the ranking state representative on the committee.

Alan J. Mazzola, another committee member, couldn't remember Doran either. But he agreed with several former committee members who said a secretary, Pauline Larson, was their staff keystone.

"I was doing most of the work, I will grant you," Larson said. "Mary Ann probably could have put a little more time."

Baker refused to comment on Doran's legislative role. Other Democrats, however, said hat thy 1976, Baker and Nicholas Motto, a state representative who co-chaired the committee, were so angry with Doran's truancy that they promoted Larson to clerk. Doran was dropped to secretary, where she continued as a no-show, the long-time acquaintance said.

Before Doran landed her legislative post, she campaigned for Gloria Rice Clarke, a Greenwich lawyer who was elected Fairfield County sheriff in November 1974.

Seven months later, Clarke favored Doran by appointing her as a deputy sheriff. Deputies generally act as intermediaries between legal opponents by serving legal papers, auctioning foreclosed properties and collecting money won by plaintiffs in lawsuits. Doran started working July 1, 1975, and left on Dec. 31, 1976.

It was the money collections that brought Doran, and the local Democratic Party, to the verge of scandal, according to Burke and Harold Rosen, a Democratic stalwart whose wife, JOyce, was an assistant Democratic registrar of voters int he Third Ward in the 1970s.

Rosen said he began hearing complaints in 1975 or 1976 from creditors who said Doran owed them nearly $7,000 she had collected from auctions and foreclosures.

"Collections were a big problem, disbursement of funds: how it was disbursed, how fast it was disbursed," Rosen said. "That was the only thing Mary Ann was guilty of, slowness in disbursing. A thousand things could have happened between the closing and the time it (the money) was disbursed."

Several sources said the creditors who were owned money held by Doran were ready to file formal complaints against her about the time Burke moved to rescue her.

"Mary Ann never cam to me," he said. "It was other people who told me."

Alarmed at the reports, Burke said he first sought aid from a well-connected lawyer who called Sheriff Clarke. But Burke said he was told that Doran would have to solve the problem herself.

So he turned to Buzaid. "I went to Norman about it, and Norman was about to go on the bench (as judge)," he said. Buzaid wrote out a check for $1,200. The check was made out to me, and he and I went to CityTrust and cashed it. … (The problem) got sward off," Burke said.

The check was drawn on Buzaid's personal funds and made out by Jimetta Sanaha, Buzaid's legal secretary, who now is the assistant city clerk, Burke said.

Burke said he exchanged the cash for a ban check made available to Doran. He gave the check directly to Doran.

Her response? "She wasn't grateful, and she was pissed off at Norman for sticking his nose in it," Burke said.

Burke was active for decades in Democratic politics and campaigned actively for the late Gov. Ella Grasso and the late U.S. Sen. Thomas Dodd, as wells for U.S. Rep. Wilbur Mills, D-Ark., in his brief candidacy for president in 1972.

"He was very active in Connecticut and Massachusetts. I always found him to be very honorable in all his dealing with me," Mills said of Burke from his Washington, D.C., law office.

Burke, a former Newtown resident who now lives in Florida, said eh became good friends with both Doran and Dyer in the 1970s through the state Young Democrats organization. He said he aided Doran and Dyer in setting up a Young Democrats branch in Newtown.

Both Burke and Rosen said they were willing to speak about Doran's past because they are no longer active in local politics and they were dismayed that Doran accused Dyer of being the target of an FBI probe into corruption.

Buzaid and Samaha refused to comment on the incident.

Clarke denied knowledge of any impropriety and said she suggested that Doran resign from the sheriff's office because Doran was not thrilled with he post and should leave to open the job to someone with more enthusiasm.

Danbury Superior Court documents show the personal financial problems plagued Doran in the next couple of years.

In August 1978, the Connecticut National Bank sued her because she had never made good on $2,150 worth of bad checks she had deposited into her account at the bank.

Records show that Doran wrote three bad checks between December 1977 and February 1978, and that the bank filed suit six months later because she still had not paid them off.

In December 1979, Superior Court Judge Joseph Chernauskas agreed with the bank and ordered DOran to pay the $2,150, plus $41.80 in court costs.

Six months later, Doran was sued by the Danbury Savings & Loan Association for failing to pay a $1,205.46 loan she had taken out in March 1978.

Doran decided to represent herself in the suit, and in September 1980, Superior Court Judge Howard J. Moraghan ordered her to pay $1,435.11, including interest, in monthly installments of $100. He also said Doran would have to pay $55.40 in court costs.

When Doran left the sheriff's department, Burke, then a real estate agent and mortgage broker, hired her to work in his office on Danbury-Newtown Road.

Burke said his offer was attractive to Doran because she could do political work while on the job. That work focused on promoting George Massoud as the Democrats' 1977 mayoral candidate.

When Roy Costa, a Democratic Common Council member, upset Massoud by winning the party's candidacy in a primary election, Doran and developer Nicholas Attick devoted themselves to Costa's downfall in the general election, Burke said.

Boughton, a Republican, was elected mayor in 1977.

"She and Nick and I worked together on that fiasco," he said. "Whatever he (Attick) did, she had a hand in, too, because I was helping them too." Burke said they aided Boughton's campaign to snuff out any impetus held by Costa's supporters, who came from outside the town committee.

Anonymous letters circulated during the campaign suggested that Costa was a womanizer, and Costa was investigated by a private detective. Burke said he did not know the source of the letters.

Attick later pleaded no contest to violating state election law during that campaign and paid a $200 fine.

The Democrats not only lost the mayorship but 17 out of the council's 21 seats in that election.

In the aftermath, Democratic Town Committee members charged Doran with working for Republican candidates and disloyalty to the party. A panel was scheduled to review the charges and consider dumping Doran from the party.

Doran acknowledged that she campaigned for Kathy Sofia, a Republican candidate who won a Common Council seat, but denied working against Costa.

The loyalty hearing was canceled and never rescheduled soon after The News-Times reported that several women in the party said their lives were being threatened if they testified against Doran. One of the women said at the time that an unknown phone caller said she wouldn't be safe in her car is she spoke against Doran.

Public advices for keeping Doran on the town committee included Dyer, then representative for the state's 110th House District. Dyer said last month that he defended Doran because few Democrats were blameless in the Republicans' sweeping win and because forgetting the past was crucial to Democratic unity.

Led by a union of Doran and Dyer, Democrats regained all the top elective posts and most Common Council seats in the 1979 election. Dyer, as the new mayor, rewarded Doran in early 1980 with a part-time job in his office, where she remained until last month.

Doran had no academic degrees or experience working in city government, and her job was variously described as conference coordinator, constituent liaison or mayoral aide. Dyer said she was valuable to him in several ways.

"By having her here, I at least thought I'd know what she was up to" he said. "It would also give me direct linkage to the party. I'm still a Democrat and I still have to go through the nominating process and, eventually, the electorate.

She also "was a hard worker," Dyer said. Doran dealt with complaints from city residents, "and constituent work isn't the easiest," he said.

But as Dyer's aide, Doran had more than prestige - she also controlled all appointments to city boards and commissions, according to City Hall and Democratic sources.

Dyer agree that Doran handled appointments to the city's 161 commission seats. "That was part of her job - to find people to serve, including Republicans," he said.

But he denied giving her carte blanche to pick whomever she wanted, and said he always talked with Doran about appointments.

"I still was the appointing authority. There were people she wanted that I didn't appoint because I wanted my own people," he said.

Other sources, however, said Doran wielded commission appointments as favors or rewards to Democrats who pleased her. Appointees who didn't do what she wanted - support her choices for party nominations, contribute to party campaigns - were threatened with losing their seats, those sources said.

A Democrat who is a former commission chairman said Doran boasted to her that she controlled all appointments.

"In almost any commission that has any influence, that has any power, you'll find the same group involved; loyal Democrats who, shall I say, take orders," the ex-commission chairman added.

Often, she said, there is an unspoken understanding with appointees.

"All these people, to a certain extent, are required to be in fundraisers, selling raffle tickets. … Nobody says you have to, but you understand when the letters (correspondence from Dyer) stop coming in and your appointment stops at the end of the year," she said.

Fourteen of the 22 current members of the Planning Commission, Zoning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals contributed a total of $3,345 to the Democrats in the municipal campaigns of 1983 and 1985 and in the first six months of 1987. Of that total, $320 went to Dyer's campaign committees and $3,025 went to Democratic Town Committee coffers.

Zoning Commission member John Leopold said he felt committee pressure to conform after state Rep. Lynn Taborsak was not renominated by the party last year. She forces a primary and won to become the Democratic candidate in the state's 109th House District.

Leopold, who is the chairman of the Western Connecticut State University History Department, and he told a Third Ward town committee member last summer that he supported Taborsak. The member reacted with surprise, and "sarcastically wished me good luck," Leopold said.

"It's a matter of how you read the person's statement," Leopold said. "I read it as a threat, without a doubt, a veiled threat: 'You don't play ball with us, we don't play ball with you.' "

Leopold said he does not yet know if he will be renominated to the Zoning Commission.

Among the papers Doran left in her former mayoral office was a stack of correspondence from people indicating that she solicited contributions for the party. Dyer said he was surprised to discover those papers, as well town committee files.

"She had far more political material here than she should have," Dyer said. He said he had instructed Doran to limit her politicking from City Hall to "the barest minimum."

But sources said Doran's lobbying extended to trying to influence directly the recommendations of city planners and votes of commission members on zoning requests from specific businessmen.

They said Doran lobbied Wayne Skelly numerous times when he was chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals in 1982 and 1983 to look favorably on zoning variances requested by the Kovacs family.

The 1983 case involved land near exit 8 on Interstate 84 that Rober and Paul Kovacs proposed for a gas station. The 1983 case involved side yard setback for Frank Kovacs' office on Newtown Road, and ex-ZBA member said.

Skelly opposed both proposal, but before the ZBA took action on the requests, Doran tried to change his mind. "Give this guy (Kovacs) a hand, he's been loyal to the party," Doran told Skelly, according to the former ZBA member.

The Exit 8 proposal was withdrawn after the ZBA referred the Kovacs brothers to the Zoning Commission. The Newtown Road request first was denied by the ZBA, then approved with restrictions.

Dyer said he sometimes lobbies commissions when projects, such as a Toys 'R' Us store proposed for Backus Avenue, could cause problems for the city. He said such lobbying is part of his job as Danbury's top elected leader. Doran, he said, had no standing to do with same.

"She abused her position and did it under my name. I'd told Mary Ann to stay out of it," Dyer said.

Dyer said ZBA members Sally Estefan and Phyllis Garavel suggested that Doran lobbied the board members to support an appeal by Attick. Attick wanted to overturn a zoning permit granted to Edward Lashins for land next to lakefront property Attick owned and planned to develop.

Dyer said he confronted Doran. "She said she felt Nick was getting unfair treatment," he said. "I told her she shouldn't be interfering in such matters."

The ZBA members, including Garavel and Estafan, denied or said they could not remember being called by Doran prior to their vote on the appeal.

Storm panel final report released

2012-01-09T12:30:00.003-05:00

Dixon: CT Post:

The governor's Two Storm Panel adopted a list of 82 recommendations Monday morning aimed at preparing the state for the next big storm.
The top suggestion calls for "reasonable performance standards" for utility recovery and restoration.

The recommendations, in eight chapters, also call for revisions to state engineering standards to anticipate higher sea levels due to climate changes.

The report "strongly" recommends better communications between utility workers and management.
Also suggested: Better standards for backup power requirements and communication infrastructure.

Gov. Malloy released the following statement:

“We’ve been working on some ideas since the days immediately after Tropical Storm Irene, and we’ve been watching the work of the Two Storm Panel every step of the way,” said Governor Malloy. “During that time, we’ve been working to develop a set of proposals to address how the state, its municipalities, and its utilities can better respond in situations like the two we witnessed in August and October. These 82 recommendations are welcomed because they will help us make what we’ve been getting ready to propose an even better product.”

[...]

“We did many things right in the wake of these two storms, but when the margin of error is zero – like it was for these two storms – we have to do better,” said Governor Malloy. “In my time as Mayor of Stamford, we were constantly examining and updating our policies and procedures as they pertained to the preparedness of the City to aid and protect its residents in crisis situations. And that’s what we’ve been doing at the state level since I became Governor. I want to thank the Two Storm Panel for their hard work, and for helping us to ensure that the actions we take will have a meaningful impact on the safety of our residents.”

You can read the 82 recommendations from the panel below...will residents be willing to fork over the millions in cash necessary to address the recommendations?

Bethel and Ridgefield receive last round of state grants for infrastructure improvements

2012-01-03T16:07:00.005-05:00

Today, the governor's office announced state funding for infrastructure improvement projects in Bethel and Ridgefield.

PRESS RELEASE:

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced the last round of Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) awards today. Towns across the state were awarded funds to make infrastructure upgrades, strengthen business corridors and local economies, and improve public spaces. The State Bond Commission allocated $20 million for 2012 STEAP grants in September 2011.

“Over the past several weeks I’ve enjoyed visiting the small towns across Connecticut that make our state a great place to live,” said Governor Malloy. “Local leaders have done a tremendous job advocating for their communities and ensuring that these important projects are getting the attention and support they need—and state government has stepped up as a partner in the effort to improve the quality of life for residents. These projects are part of reinventing Connecticut and making us a stronger, highly competitive, and more vibrant state.”

[...]

Bethel was awarded $500,000 to reconstruct and repave major roads impacted by the Stony Hill sewer extension. This award goes toward a larger project that will cost an estimated $1.48 million to complete.

“I am pleased Bethel has received this state grant approval for $500,000 for the Stony Hill Road resurfacing project. I have worked with town officials for several months to get state assistance for the project. The town put in sewer lines to benefit some property owners and a road resurfacing is needed to complete the project. This grant benefits all the residents who travel this road in Bethel," said State Representative David Scribner (R-107, Brookfield and Bethel).

[...]

Ridgefield received two awards. The first is a $75,000 grant to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Danbury Road and Route 7. This intersection controls traffic for a 322 unit complex including a nursing home, assisted living facility and an age-restricted condo development. The nursing home and assisted living facility average 400 ambulance calls a year and the intersection has become difficult to navigate since the road was widened to 4 lanes.

The second award, $200,000, will improve safety and traffic flow through the Ridgefield Center Business District. The project calls for reconstructing the 233-space municipal parking lot between Bailey Avenue and Prospect Street. The lot serves 112 businesses and the Ridgefield Town Hall and will be upgraded, landscaped, and lit.

"As a ranking member of the state's transportation committee I know all too well the financial challenges communities have with maintaining safe roads and workable transportation systems. The STEAP award being provided to Ridgefield will help make the business district more accessible to residents and safer for pedestrians. There is also a great need for a traffic light at the heavily travelled intersection of Danbury Road and Rte 7. I am pleased to see that this initiative will be completed with the state's support. The commuting public deserves safe and reliable transportation systems and these awards will help smaller communities in a substantial way," said Senator Toni Boucher (R-Wilton).

Happy holidays

2011-12-24T17:40:00.001-05:00

...HatCityBLOG will be back to full speed on Jan 3 2012!

Read/download Mike McLachlan's Danbury 11 deposition

2011-12-22T10:11:00.002-05:00

No wonder the city settled...I'll breakdown this incredible document later.

THE MERURIAL: "Lots of Artists, Little Art Scene"

2011-12-21T15:33:00.007-05:00

He just doesn't get it!

The Mercurial's Amanda Bloom hit the nail on the head in her write-up regarding the laughable claim from the honest one that Danbury is the "6th best city in the United States for the Arts"

ON NOVEMBER 30, The Atlantic Cities published "The Most Artistic Cities in America", in which Danbury was listed as the number six most artistic city. The title of this article is somewhat misleading; essentially, reporter Richard Florida came to his conclusions by comparing the concentration of artists in each city compared to the national average of artists living in the United States.

"We use a measure called a 'location quotient,' or LQ, which is basically a ratio that compares a region's share of artists to the national share of artists," writes Florida. "An LQ of one implies that its regional share equals the national average; less than one is less than the national average and greater than one is more than the national average. An LQ of two, for example, means a region has twice the national average of artists."

With the aid of Florida's colleague, Kevin Stolarick of the Martin Prosperity Institute, Florida pulled data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to find how many "artist and related workers" were counted in each city. The end result lists Danbury at an impressive number six with an LQ of 2.460, in between Santa Fe, New Mexico at number one with an LQ of 7.587 and Jersey City at number 10 with an LQ of 2.256. Danbury isn't too far behind New York City, listed at number 3 with an LQ of 2.573 and number 4, Los Angeles, with an LQ of 2.513.

This is valuable and exciting information. Danbury is brimming with artists, which is old news to many who live here. However, the assertion that Danbury is one of the top 10 artistic cities in America is so false it smarts. (The Hat City Blogger chided Mayor Mark Boughton for citing Florida's article in the Mayor's spuriously titled blog post "Danbury Named 6th Best City in America for the Arts".) For many years now, the art scene has been clinging to the edges of the city, holding on for dear life. Those who lived in the area 10 and 20 years ago will remember a powerful art scene, a hopping downtown, a booming city. But that is no longer the case.

Downtown is semiconscious, with a couple music venues here, a few galleries over there, and far too many empty storefronts. Danbury artists travel to other parts of the state to show their work, to move their careers forward, to network, to experience art and to purchase art. There are too few spaces in which Danbury can celebrate its artists, too few venues to hear its outstanding musicians. But that's not to say an "Artistic City" can't grow from our LQ 2.460 artist population.

A shift must take place in order for the arts to take a lasting hold downtown. Artists, galleries, music venues and shops need the utmost support of the City. Eliminate restrictions for these places of business. Prioritize permits for these places of business. Abolish the nine-year-old moratorium on new liquor licenses in the CityCenter district, which coincidentally parallels the cultural fallout of downtown Danbury, the slow fade of the downtown gallery, music hall, boutique and artisan shop. If the City does what it can to make the arts truly viable, our LQ 2.460 community will take care of the rest.

To the Danbury Main Street Partnership, Mayor Mark Boughton and new economic development director Bruce R. Tuomala: Prepare the soil, and our artists will make a magnificent garden.

I can still remember the days of when listening to acts such as Monsterland, China Pig, Gnu Fuz, Onion, Sans Cherub at multiple venues downtown was common place (remember Seattle Espresso, The Blue Moon Book Store, Gallery 13, Chameleon, The Chicken Coop, Hat City Ale House on Wednesday nights?) Cover bands such as The Zoo and The Nerds would make it a point to play in Danbury where they were usually welcomed with close to sold out attendance.

...and don't get me started with the popularity of the GasBall festival at the Green!

While the talent of today's art community isn't on par with the scene in the 90s, it's still quite good...unfortunately the support for the arts by city leaders has all but disappeared (for example, give Tom Carruthers a call).

It's one thing to brag about Danbury being listed in some silly article which uses a formula that's laughable at first glace. What Danbury needs is REAL support for the arts, which includes a REAL re-commitment to the CT Film Festival, recognition of local alternative talents, and s REAL commitment to artists and photographers whose works go seldom noticed downtown or mentioned in the media (unless it's some display on the third floor at City Hall).

Back in the late 80s-90s, because of the popularity of the local indpendent music scene, a famous musician named Danbury as the Seattle of the East Coast...and for good reason. There is a groundswell of talented people in the city that could do wonders for the revitalization of downtown. What's needed is the type of leadership that recognizes the benefit of the arts and provide that section of the community an input in revamping Main Street.

HatCityBLOG VIDEO: 2011 State of the City Address

2011-12-21T13:48:00.001-05:00

H/T to the Great John N for the video!

State of the City 2011
Danbury, Connecticut

Thank you, and of course I would like to thank you for attending today’s event.

Congratulations are in order for Jim Marquis and his team as the recipient of the Cecil J. Previdi Award. As Mayor of Danbury I am proud to see Jim and his business flourish in our great city. Kimchuck’s success is a direct reflection of Jim’s energy, his enthusiasm, and vision.

Before I begin my remarks, I would like to recognize the public officials who have taken time out of their day to be here.

Danbury works because we all work together, regardless of party- to move the agenda of our community forward.

Of course all of us in government disagree from time to time, that’s to be expected, but when the debate is over - we figure out a way to compromise. I would venture to say that all of our state and local elected officials who serve Danbury understand that the art of compromise is what moves our community forward. They understand that none of our residents are served when we dig in, and when we refuse to bend.

It’s a lesson that our federal government might want to follow given the challenges that our nation faces.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have had a terrific year as far as new business growth and development in the City of Danbury.

The Danbury Hospital has broken ground a $150 million expansion, Western CT State University has broken ground on it’s new performing arts center, The Army will soon break ground on the Army Reserve center at Lee Farm, The Danbury Fair Mall has filled the old Filenes space with a Cheese Cake Factory, Brio, Dick’s Sporting Goods and a just announced LL Bean, the Shops at Marcus Diary are under construction with Whole Foods being their anchor tenant, over the last several months we have announced expansions at Goodrich. Pitney Bowes, DRS Technologies and Boehringer Ingelheim. The Reserve has begun to build again, and thanks to Union Savings Bank we have broken ground on a new building on Main Street, The Matrix Corporate Center has done a phenomenal job a recruiting employers to their facility. This year we have cut ribbons to welcome companies like Guideposts, GM and STP at their facility.

We are in final negotiations with several blue chip organizations, if everything works out just right, in early 2012, we hope to announce new and relocations that will add significant job growth to our region. So stay tuned..

There is a reason our phones are ringing and why our unemployment rate continues to be the lowest in the state, it’s because we have sent a very loud and clear message that we are a pro-jobs community.

All that is good news for us locally - and something that this Chamber of Commerce and this community ought to be incredibly proud of.

We still have a ways to go with our housing industry, and we must continue to be relentless and fearless when it comes to creating jobs for our residents.

These economic times demand the very best in us. There is no margin for error..

Last year I came to you and reported to you that we would be hiring a full-time Director of Economic Development. This past spring the City Council approved the funding for the position.

I am proud to announce today that I have approved the hiring of Bruce Tuomala for the position of Director of Economic Development for the City of Danbury.

Bruce comes to us with wide resume of business development and community outreach. A unique blend that marries broader business perspectives and the intimacy and the needs of our Main Street.

The focus of our new Director will be two fold. First to market our 44 square miles to any business that wants to come to Danbury, stay in Danbury, or expand in Danbury.

The message has got to be that while we cannot control state policies and national politics, we are open for business in Western Connecticut.

Second will be to work closely with a new agency that has been created to market and manage Main Street, the Danbury Main Street Partnership.

This past year, we created this entity by ordinance, and solicited people who would be interested in donating their time to improve Main Street. To our delight there were so many people interested, that we had to make some tough choices as to who would serve on the Partnership.

For those who were not selected for the first Partnership, fear not, we will be more than happy to gain your valuable insight and ideas through a variety of different committees and policy groups as we begin to enhance the engagement of our Main Street by my administration.

Our City Council is currently considering proposals from the City to lower permit fees and sewer and water connection fees along Main Street. Imagine that, a government actually lowering the cost of business. Remarkable..

The Zoning Commission has already created the Downtown Revitalization Zone or DRZ. Broadening what we consider Main Street, and including more properties that will be eligible to take advantage of these new incentives.

While I think everyone agrees that our Main Street has great buildings and enormous potential, Bruce and the Main Street Partnership as well as Andrea Gartner and the CityCenter organization can begin to think strategically about how to leverage the changes to our regulations and how to leverage our new package of incentives to encourage economic growth and development along the Main Street corridor.

A key to a successful Main Street is to locate city services and agencies whenever possible along the central corridor. For example, the addition of Naugatuck Community College has been helpful in putting people on Main Street during the day and during the evening. There are almost 700 students now using the Main Street building.

The City of Danbury has a lot of tough choices to make regarding expanded space as it relates to our schools. When possible we ought look to locate those facilities on Main Street or at least in the DRZ. Besides the students, schools bring staff and support personnel downtown who will use the facilities and the stores and restaurants located on Main Street.

With service from the HART bus line, the Danbury Public Library, and access to many other amenties like Western Connecticut State University, locating any of our school facilities along the Main Street corridor will be important for the long term stability of Main Street.

In the next two years we will also have to deal with the challenge of growing enrollment in our public school system. The good news is that people want to live in Danbury. While other cities of similar size in the Northeast are losing population and people are leaving, in Danbury the opposite is true.

It’s no accident that this year Danbury was ranked as the 5th best city to live in in the State of Connecticut by Connecticut Magazine. To put that in persective, Danbury was ranked higher than Bristol, Stratford, Middletown, New Haven, Milford, and Hartford for our quality of life. We were only eclipsed by Greenwich, Stamford, West Hartford and Fairfield, communities that are much more wealthy than ours.

While investing in our education system is not something that we are really in a position to do, it is something that we must do to preserve our property values and our quality of life. In April, I will ask the voters to approve a modest borrowing to cover the cost of addressing our space needs for our schools and we will have a straight discussion about the cost of staffing our new space to meet the needs of our children into the next decade.

I have also asked Dr. Pascarella, our Superintendent of Schools, to design the next generation of programming for the new space. Programming that will not just focus on putting students into chairs, but will help all of us - including Bruce, market the total community as a great place to live, work, and be educated in.

While the 2020 Task Force Report is being finalized, I envision the acquisition of a new building to house two new middle school academies, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Academy (STEM) that we hope to partner with a local corporation that will provide resources and mentoring, and we will add grades 6,7,8 to our popular elementary Magnet School.

Both academies will hold approximately 375 students that will help us manage the numbers at our middle schools.

Danbury, like any community during this economic crisis, is faced with significant financial challenges related to the cost of employee benefits and salaries.

Today I am proud to report that we have been working in a cooperative fashion with all of our unions to restructure compensation levels as well as pensions, medical costs, and retiree medical costs. While there will be a short term expense, these changes will bend the cost curve over the long term for our taxpayers.

Just so that we are clear, we have redefined public employment through these contracts in a way never done before. If these agreements are ratified by the union members, many new employees will be participating in a defined contribution plan rather than a traditional pension plan, health care plans will have been retooled to be more in line with the private sector, in some contracts provisions like longevity payments and retiree medical have been completely eliminated.

When taken together these new contracts, will save millions of dollars of future expenses and make our government sustainable for generations to come.

All of these changes are difficult to make, but are necessary if we are to put Danbury’s long term future on a sustainable financial path.

Union contracts were not the only thing on our mind to help reduce cost. Working smarter, more efficiently has been critical for us.

Every department has been asked to participate in our redesign of city government.

Under Chief Herald’s direction, the Fire Department has implemented a pilot program to have our firefighters respond to non-fire related calls with a SUV that is equipped with medical supplies and equipment. This vehicle or SRV, now responds to the 75% of calls that are not a working fire. This reduces the wear and tear on our more expensive pumper trucks and ladder trucks. In addition, the new vehicle saves our taxpayers thousands of dollars in diesel fuel when our firefighters go to shopping center to help someone who has locked their keys in their car.

Chief Baker has implemented a new pilot program that has added multi-directional cameras to our police cars that can read multiple license plates from multiple views to determine if the vehicle has a lapsed registration or insurance or is wanted as stolen property. The cameras work in milli-seconds and save time and manpower on what a was once a laborious process of hand entering each license plate one at a time to determine if the car in question was properly registered.

Both Chiefs are working on our civilian driven combined dispatch center that will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime costs. The city will issue an RFP right after the first of the year to hire an outsider vendor to do our dispatching of fire,police, and ems our rollout will be in the summer of 12’.

Our Finance department and IT Department will be implementing a new core software system that will help us better track expenses and will help us reduce paperwork and ultimately personnel as more functions become automated.

Of course we look at the revenue side of the budget as well. We have one of the most creative and innovative tax collectors in the state. Scott Fergusan spends his time coming with new ways to collect the taxes that are due. That is why we routinely maintain a 99% to 100% collection rate.

Several years ago I came to you explaining that the City of Danbury of would like to purchase the Transfer Station located at 307 White. As negotiations dragged on and the economy continued it’s downward spiral, it became clear that a public-private partnership would be less risky for the city and would still provide a revenue stream for Danbury.

This year Winters Brothers Inc and The City of Danbury have signed a memo of understanding that will provide transparency to the facility and will generate a significant amount of dollars for Danbury.

Last year our bond rating was upgraded by both S&P and Fitch, I am confident we will maintain our current bond rating as well as our credit ratings given these changes to our employee benefit package and our tight management of the city’s finances.

The next several budget years will not be easy given the poor economy, lack of state aid, and the pressures of funding our schools, but residents can feel good that our long term forecast has brightened dramatically.

I have to confess, this past year has been a long and difficult one both professionally and personally.

We started 2011 off with some of the worst snowfalls in recent memory - which brought roof collapses and had our firefighters shoveling the roofs of our school buildings all over the city. We moved through the spring and the summer during the rainiest season in the history of Danbury. We had not one, but two tropical storms that brought record amounts of flooding and damage to many parts of the city and of course an extended power outage.

We then had a late season October snowfall that was arguably was the worst in our history in terms of damage to our city. The October storm brought limbs down and a second extended power outage that was worse than the first.

I will never forget how strong this community was during those trying times. I was so proud of my wife Phyllis who spent several days at our shelter at the War Memorial comforting and feeding those who could not go home.. I was honored to work side by side with our first responders, my staff Wayne Shepperd, PJ Prunty, Elisa Munoz, Joan Soderstrom, and a host of city employees who have went above and beyond the call.

All also want to recognize Antonio Iadarola Director of Public Works, Chief Baker and Chief Herald, Duke Hart our Superintendent of Highways, and Paul Estefan our Director of Emergency Management for their outstanding service to Danbury during this difficult time.

Ashbritt, the company that collected debris from the storm left this morning- thank God. For the record Ashbritt has collected over 100,000 yards of debris, cleared 3,184 tree limbs, and cut down 27 trees for a cost of $3.8 million dollars.

The grand total of damage from these storms from Jan. 1 2011 until now for both public and private buildings is into the tens of millions of dollars.

Is that important? Absolutely.
Do I think about these costs everyday? Yes.

But, in the long run, we must look at the totality of our lives and ask - does it matter? I’m not so sure..

You see, at the same time that we were managing the storms, roof collapses, floods, policing the city, power outages, cleaning debris from streets, my own father was taking the final journey to his resting place, he was making his peace with God and what lies beyond during that last October snow - he did this while I held his hand, it was a beautiful moment. A life changing moment.

That’s the part of life that matters.

I mention this personal experience to you not because I want to depress you before the holidays, but because I would ask that you take time during this holiday season to reflect on what is important and then reflect on what really matters.

Is it important that you have the next promotion or get the next job? Sure.

Does it matter?

Is it important that you have brush on your lawn from the storm that haven’t been picked up? Absolutely.

Does it matter?

(Let me be clear, we will pick up your brush).

Ladies and Gentlemen, we live in a great city of eternal optimism, with limitless potential, that can overcome any obstacle placed in front of it - and we always do

That’s what matters.

A city made up of a beautiful mosaic of people from all over the world that all get along and work together.

That’s what matters.

We live in a city where people want to do business, where the entrepreneurial flame burns bright for start ups, small and medium sized businesses, our corporate partners every day.

That’s what matters.

We live in a city that cares for the less fortunate, that does more for those in need than most cities in the State of Connecticut.

That’s what matters.

Feel good about our city, our state, our country.

This is the holiday season - live, love, laugh, and celebrate with your friends, your family, your co-workers and your neighbors.

Because that’s what truly matters..

Ladies and Gentlemen, that is the state of our city for 2011.

May God Bless You and May God Bless our Great City..

Danbury named 6th best city in the United States for the Arts? Not so fast...

2011-12-20T15:25:00.009-05:00

Even during X-Mas season, our mayor is being dishonest and misleading...I guess he'll get a lump of coal in his stocking.

Okay people. calm down...

All the spin over a report from The Atlantic Cities naming HatCity as the 6th best city in the United States for the Arts is about as misleading as Mayor Boughton outlandish "Danbury Triple A Bond Rating" claim.

I'll let the breakdown of the report from The Atlantic speak for itself.

But which U.S. cities and metros have the most extensive artistic communities?

With the help of my Martin Prosperity Institute colleague Kevin Stolarick, I used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to rank the leading metros for both their numbers of artists and their concentration relative to their population. We used the data on "artists and related workers," which covers both employed and self-employed visual artists in the United States. There are about 237,000 such artists across the U.S., of which roughly 210,000 are located in cities and metro areas.

The list of the top metros with the largest number of artists largely follows population size, as you would expect. New York comes in first, followed by Los Angeles, with Chicago in third place, San Francisco in fourth and Seattle fifth. Atlanta, greater Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Orange County, California and Dallas, Texas round out the top ten. Even with all the hub-bub of Art Basel, Miami ranks just 28th on this metric.

Now, the important part...

But we wanted to examine which metros have the largest concentration of artists relative to their population. We use a measure called a "location quotient," or LQ, which is basically a ratio that compares a region’s share of artists to the national share of artists. An LQ of one implies that its regional share equals the national average; less than one is less than the national average and greater than one is more than the national average. An LQ of two, for example, means a region has twice the national average of artists.

Based on the location quotient ratio, Danbury ranks six with a LQ rating of 2.460. In other words, Danbury ranks six in terms of the number of artists versus the national average...which is a FAR CRY from Danbury being the 6th best city in the United States for the Arts

That being said, Danbury has a great musical and artistic following. I strongly encourage everyone to bookmark Amanda Bloom's Danbury-based arts, news, and entertainment website "The Mercurial" for everything artistic in Danbury!

SHAMELESS PLUG UPDATE: As a HUGE fan of the music scene in the area, if you're looking for a sample of Danbury's best musical talent, then make sure to attend the legendary Monday night open mic jam at Tuxedo Junction (formerly located at the 1Bar). As a preview of what you can expect on any given Monday night, from a previous open mic jam, here's my video of local area talent Jon Chapman singing Bob Dylan's "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You."

Coming soon...

2011-12-20T10:17:00.001-05:00

...an early X-Mas present.

Prepare to be outraged.

Two police crusiers collide downtown early Sunday morning

2011-12-19T15:35:00.003-05:00

Photo courtesy of Dave Bonan

Dave Bonan sent me this tweet on Sunday morning...

HatCityBLOG VIDEO: Board of Education Dec 07 2011 meeting

2011-12-14T15:08:00.003-05:00

When I posted my write-up on the Democrats assuming leadership of the Republican-controlled Board of Education, I promised to show everyone video footage of the meeting in it's entirety...well here it is!

HatCityBLOG VIDEO: Legislative Assistant Ad-Hoc Committee

2011-12-14T11:12:00.003-05:00

I'll break down the dishonest nonsense that was on display by Mayor Boughton and his ilk later...

City Council Minority Leader Tom Saadi speaks out on Legislative Assistant appointment controversy

2011-12-09T13:25:00.004-05:00

After the outrageous antics of Mayor Boughton during the special meeting of the city council in which he objected to the Democrats sending his nomination of Legislative Assistant to an ad-hoc committee, I spoke to Minority Leader Tom Saadi to get his thoughts on what transpired.

NOTE: The ad-hoc committee is scheduled to meet on Monday night...

Democrats assumed leadership of Republican controlled Board of Education

2011-12-09T11:41:00.010-05:00

Board of Education Chairperson Gladys Cooper and Vice Chair Kathy Molinaro

“Janelli has a habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory..."
-Mayor Boughton on Republican Board of Education member Richard Janelli: Danbury Patch, August 25 2011

It seems like Mayor Boughton's comment came true on Wednesday night as with the help of Janelli, with a 6-5 vote, the Republican controlled Board of Education elected Democrats Gladys Cooper and Kathy Molinaro as Chair and Vice Chair.

From Wednesday night, here's a small video clip of the voting (I'll post the longer version of the meeting later).

More on this later...

Boughton flip-flops on his word regarding Legislative Assistant appointment recommendation (PART 1)

2011-12-07T14:24:00.004-05:00

So much for "People over Politics"

During Monday's special meeting of the City Council, Mark Boughton showed to the public why he earned the distinguished title of "Danbury's Last Honest Man" by accusing Democrats of playing politics over the appointment of Jean Natale as Legislative Assistant.

First a little background is in order...

Back in 2009, Danbury was in the final phases of revising the city's charter (for those who are unfamiliar with the document, the city charter is the legal document that defines the way in which the municipality operates). During the process, it was proposed by the Charter Revision Commission that the office of City Clerk, the individual responsible for the record keeping of the cit council, be eliminated and replaced with the title of Legislative Assistant (you can view the Commission's vote on the elimination of the City Clerk position by clicking here).

While the position of City Clerk was an elected official, it was proposed that the Legislative Assistant be an appointed city employee that did not have to adhere to the merit system (civil service). It was further proposed by the Commission that the appointment be made by the Mayor as opposed to the President of the council. This cased some uneasiness among some members of the council who felt that the appointment should be done by the council as opposed to the mayor.

In 2009, during a public hearing on the proposed changes to the charter, Minority Leader Tom Saadi proposed to revise the commission's recommendation for the Legislative Assistant position so that the appointment would be made by the President of the Council as opposed to the Mayor (you can view the entire discussion by clicking here). During the debate on the matter, while Mayor Boughton was speaking in opposition to Saadi's motion and he said the following on the record:

BOUGHTON: "…and testing is not necessarily a problem, you know you can set up your own, we can set up our own testing methodology even if we want to have an ad-hoc committee serve as a test to do final interviews, then make a recommendation to the council as a whole under my letter as the final recommendation of my appointment…"

Seeing that the Legislative Assistant would be the clerk of the city council, and that the person nominated would not have to go the type of testing that usually required by those seeking employment with the city (per the guidelines of the civil service merit system), the mayor's suggestion that his Legislative Assistant nominee be subjected to questioning by the council (via ad-hoc committee) makes perfect sense.

Fast forward to 2011 and it seems like the mayor has not only had a change of tune, but he had the audacity to accuse those who followed his 2009 recommendation of playing politics while abusing his role as the presiding officer of the council by bullying those who didn't play by his rules.

…lets roll the videotape!

Like I said, so much for "People Over Politics"...I'll have MUCH more on this later as this matter is too detailed to put in one blog posting.

THE CASE AGAINST JEAN NATALE: The public speaks out

2011-12-05T15:30:00.002-05:00

In anticipation of Mayor Boughton going against his word by proposing the appointment of Jean Natale as Legislative Assistant without a proper hiring process that would had gave members of the public an opportunity to apply for the position, from the Charter Revision Commission meetings, here's footage of members of the public as well as them Democratic Common Council member Warren Levy speaking out against Natale's performance/and or the need for the position to be eliminated and replaced with a person appointed through a hiring process.

Listen carefully and listen to the laundry list of complaints against Natale's performance as City Clerk.

Common Councilman Warren Levy:

Minority Leader Tom Saadi:

Lynn Waller:

Margret Mitchell:

...more to come!

Danbury High School receives failing grade from ConnCAN

2011-12-01T11:56:00.005-05:00

It's that time of the year again as the 2011 school report cards from The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) were released today. When it comes to Danbury High, as in 2009 and 2010 ConnCAN gave the school a failing grade for it's overall school performance with only 30 percent of students meeting the state goals across all subjects.

Here's a breakdown of ConnCAN's report:

ConnCAN's School Report Cards assign letter grades to over 1,000 Connecticut public schools and 160 school districts based on their students’ achievement in four categories. The report cards are designed to help Connecticut families access information about their local schools and serve as effective advocates for their children. The report cards are also designed to create transparency and awareness about how our public schools perform. Connecticut residents deserve to know how well their public schools are meeting the needs of every student.

Each school and district profile offers descriptive information (such as grade levels, school type, school size, and student demographics) that was obtained from the Connecticut State Department of Education’s website. Each school and district profile also provides student performance data that is based on the 2011 Connecticut Mastery Test for grades three through eight and the 2011 Connecticut Academic Performance Test for grade 10.

Methodology of ConnCAN’s School and District Report Cards

About Connecticut Student Achievement Data

Each year, Connecticut administers two standardized tests, the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT). These tests are designed to measure how well students are achieving on grade-level academic subjects. Both tests are designed and administered by the State Department of Education.

The CONNECTICUT MASTERY TEST (CMT) is administered each spring to all public school students in grades three through eight. The CMT measures how student achievement in the areas of mathematics, reading, and writing compared to the expectations for their grade level. In fifth and eighth grades, science is also tested.

The CONNECTICUT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE TEST (CAPT) is administered each spring to all public school students in tenth grade. The CAPT measures student achievement in the areas of mathematics, reading, writing, and science compared to the expectations for high school students.

The skills tested on the CMT and CAPT are identified in the Connecticut curriculum framework, and each student’s achievement is compared to a set of established standards for his or her grade in each subject area. There is no “passing” grade on the CMT or the CAPT. Instead, the State of Department of Education sets a “goal” level score for each subject area in every grade tested. The State Department of Education gives each student a raw score (ranging from 100-400 points) and assigns score cut points for each of five levels: Advanced, At Goal, Proficient, Basic, or Below Basic. The State Department of Education reports scores for schools and districts as the percentage of students scoring at one of these levels. According to the State Department of Education, a student scoring at the “Goal” level has the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities that are “reasonable to expect of students” within their grade level.

ConnCAN uses the Goal standard to set the bar for rating schools since it is the state’s best estimate of students meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations. The State Department of Education reports on the percentage of students “At Goal” in the subjects tested (math, reading, writing and science) for schools in which at least 20 students in any given grade completed the CMT or CAPT.

How we calculate achievement scores

ConnCAN’s report cards provide a single score to help readers compare schools and subgroups within those schools. To do so, we calculate a single “Students At or Above Goal Range” by taking that average percentage of students at or above goal across all subject areas on CMT and CAPT. We calculate this score for elementary schools using the results from the fifth-grade test (with fourth-grade results used when an elementary school does not have a fifth grade). For middle schools, we use the results from the eighth-grade test (with the seventh-grade results used when a middle school does not have an eighth grade). For high schools, we use the results from the CAPT, which tests tenth grade students only. To differentiate between elementary and middle schools, ConnCAN classifies K-6 schools as elementary schools, and classifies schools that are called “Middle” or “Intermediate” and serve grades 4-6 or 5-6 as middle schools. In each case, we use the highest grade level available to calculate the school’s grades. Each district is reviewed separately at the elementary, middle, and high school level. These scores provide a straightforward, easy-to-use yardstick on how well schools, on average, meet the needs of students across key subject areas.

Connecticut’s performance on national tests shows that our state has the NATION’S LARGEST ACHIEVEMENT GAP between low-income and middle class students and between African-American and Hispanic students and their white peers. To better understand how well schools and districts are closing this gap, we calculate the results for African-American, Hispanic, and low-income students using the same method we use to calculate a whole school’s performance. For example, African-American student performance at elementary schools is measured by averaging the percentage of fifth-grade African-American students at or above goal across all subject areas.

How we assign grades

To provide families and communities with a clear benchmark for how their child’s school or district performs, we use achievement scores to assign the school a letter grade from A to F. For each school and district we also show how scores compare to district and state averages.

We assign each school and district letter grades in four categories: Overall Student Performance, Student Subgroup Performance, Performance Gains, and Achievement Gap.

Overall Student Performance

Each school and district receives a grade for how well their students perform overall. To determine this grade, we calculate the average percentage of students meeting state goals across all subjects across the highest grade-level tested in a school. We also report subject-specific achievement results. We calculate grades as follows:

Grade for Percentage of Students At/Above Goal
A 90-100
A- 84-89
B+ 78-83
B 72-77
B- 66-71
C+ 60-65
C 54-59
C- 48-53
D+ 42-47
D 36-41
D- 30-35
F <30

Student Subgroup Performance

To help understand how well schools and districts are educating specific groups of students who are generally the most underserved, we break down the average percentage of students meeting state goals across all subjects in a school’s highest tested grade level across the following student groups: African-American, Hispanic, and low-income students. We calculate grades as follows:

Grade for Percentage of Subgroup Students At/Above Goal
A 90-100
A- 84-89
B+ 78-83
B 72-77
B- 66-71
C+ 60-65
C 54-59
C- 48-53
D+ 42-47
D 36-41
D- 30-35
F <30

Performance Gains

To better understand how well schools and districts are helping students make achievement gains from year to year, we provide a grade for performance gains. To calculate this grade for elementary schools, we determine the average change between 2010 third grade and the 2011 fourth grade, and the 2010 fourth grade and the 2011 fifth grade. For middle schools, we calculate the average change between 2010 fifth grade and 2011 sixth grade, the 2010 sixth grade and the 2011 seventh grade, and the 2010 seventh grade and 2011 eighth grade. We use these average changes to calculate a score. A positive score means that the average percentage of students scoring at goal increased during their year in school, while a negative score means the average percentage of students scoring at goal decreased.

Note: We cannot calculate Performance Gains at the school or district level for high schools since the CAPT is administered in tenth grade only.

If a school's score increased, we divide the difference between these scores by the percentage of students not at goal in 2010. Then, we apply following grade scale:
A .24 or more
A- .20 to .23
B+ .16 to .19
B .12 to .15
B- .08 to .11
C+ .04 to .07
C .00 to .03

If a school's score decreased, we divide the difference between these scores by the percentage of students at goal in 2010. Then, we apply following grade scale:
C- -0.1 to -.04
D+ -.05 to -.08
D .09 to -.12
D- -.13 to -.16
F -.17 or more

Schools with an average percentage of students at goal in 2010 of 85 percent or greater receive an N/A. At or above this 85 percent level, the grade scale begins to approach the ceiling of 100, which diminishes its meaningfulness as a measure of improvement. It is important to note that this indicator is most reliable in showing a school’s impact on the change in student achievement if the school’s student population remains stable from year to year. If many students leave or enter a school within a given year (in other words, if student mobility is high), this indicator is less effective in measuring a school’s ability to improve student achievement.

Achievement Gap

To better understand how well schools and districts are closing the achievement gap, we calculate the average gap between the performance of low-income and minority students to their upper-income and white peers. We measure the achievement gap at each school and district (if data were available for relevant subgroups) by subtracting the minority group’s student performance from the majority group’s performance in a school’s highest tested grade level. For example, the Hispanic-white achievement gap is calculated by subtracting the average percentage of Hispanic students meeting the goal level in each subject area from the average percentage of white students meeting the goal level in each subject; if the percentage of Hispanic students at goal is 25% and the percentage of white students at goal is 45%, the gap is 20.

Grade for Achievement Gap Size
A 0-2
A- 3-5
B+ 6-8
B 9-11
B- 12-14
C+ 15-17
C 18-20
C- 21-23
D+ 24-26
D 27-29
D- 29-31
F >31

...more later.

New State House redistricting plan gives two new seats to Danbury

2011-12-01T10:38:00.006-05:00

Here's the proposed redistricted map for the State House of Representatives.

Here's the break down in terms of what the proposed House redistricting means for Danbury...

Danbury will be represented by six state representatives, up from the current four. Two districts the 110th (mine) and the 109th (Joe Taborsak's) remain wholly in Danbury, although changed. The 138th (Jan Giegler) picked up a part of Ridgebury in Ridgefield, and has lost a bit but not all of the current part of New Fairfield and the area around the FCI to the 108th (Richard Smith). The 2nd (Dan Carter) lost a couple of blocks near Park Avenue School, and picked up a bit of northern Bethel, and for the first time got a bit of Dodgingtown in Newtown. A sliver of northeastern Danbury has become part of the 107th (David Scribner).

No official word on the State Senate map although sources say that the 24th district (McLachlan) will change slightly by picking up seats from Northern Bethel that's currently in the 26th.

More later.

THE CASE AGAINST CITY CLERK JEAN NATALE: The immigration edition

2011-11-30T19:01:00.013-05:00

JEAN NATALE: A PROFILE IN INCOMPETENCE

In honor of Mayor Boughton playing politics by self-appointing Jean Natale as Legislative Assistant of the City Council without posting the position to the public or offering anyone a chance in applying for the position, here's the first in a series of posts that highlights the gross incompetence of the present City Clerk.

From not being available for the public in her office, running her department in a highly partisan and unhealthy manner, and not assisting Common Council members with requests, to either being cited for not giving proper notice to meetings and/or being accused of not notifying certain members of the Common Council on meetings, Jean Natale has, without question, earned the title of worse City Clerk in the history of the City of Danbury.

This write-up was part of a larger post I did back in 2009 on Natale's outlandish activities at City Hall as well as her laughable presentation in front of the charter commission.

If there is one moment from the City's Clerk's testimony in front of the Charter Revision Commission that sticks out the most for me, it's her comment regarding notifying individuals on the Common Council of upcoming meetings. In fact, this portion of the City Clerk's testimony is so misleading, that it requires me to break it up into several parts.

Here's Natale in her own words:

Part 1: For now, lets put aside her notion about emailing council members and lets just take a look at her statement regarding the filing of public notices in accordance to state statue.

In order to better understand the incompetence of Natale in regards at least one instance when it comes to properly filing meetings, lets review the Freedom of Information Act: Section 1-225(d), G.S, which relates to what I'm getting at:

Notice of each special meeting of every public agency … shall be given not less than twenty-four hours prior to the time of such meeting by filing a notice of the time and place thereof ... in the office of the clerk of such subdivision for any public agency of a political subdivision of the state.

In other words, whenever there is any type of meeting that involves the Common Council, whether it's a public hearing, ad-hoc committee meeting, common council meeting, the clerk (in terms of Danbury, the City Clerk), MUST file notice of the meeting at least twenty-four hours before the start of the meeting.

I bring this to your attention because on at least one occasion, an individual filed a complaint with the Freedom of Information Commission which resulted in the commission admonishing the City of Danbury and the City Clerk for violating Section 1-225(d), G.S.

Back on March 7, 2007 beginning at 7:15 p.m., the Common Council held a grant agency budget ad-hoc committee (a budget meeting that focuses on the city distributing grants to different social agencies in the area). It's worthy to note that meeting where the Hispanic Center funds for the 07-08 year were frozen AND (in a rare move) members of Elise Marciano's whack-pack (who have a long history of hatred towards the Hispanic Center and then executive director Maria Cinta-Lowe) were allowed to speak and launched into a tirade against the organization.

Although this meeting is critical in the history of the anti-immigrant community's war against the Hispanic Center (including what many view as conspiracy between elected officials, individuals in the media (primarily commentators on local access television) and those in the anti-immigrant establishment), rather than go down that timeline, lets focus on why this meeting is important in regards to the competence of the City Clerk.

On July of 2007, the Freedom of Information Commission heard a complaint filed by the person who represented the Hispanic Center at the grant agency meeting, John Gogliettino, against the City of Danbury and the City Clerk about the meeting. Here's the final decision by the Commission which admonished the actions of the City Clerk and is a TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT to the City of Danbury (take note of the portion in BOLD):

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT

FINAL DECISION: Docket #FIC 2007-171

In the Matter of a Complaint by

John Gogliettino, Complainant
against

City Clerk, City of Danbury; and
Common Council, City of Danbury,
March 12, 2008

The above-captioned matter was heard as a contested case on July 6, 2007, at which time the complainant and the respondents appeared, stipulated to certain facts and presented testimony, exhibits and argument on the complaint.

After consideration of the entire record, the following facts are found and conclusions of law are reached:

1. The respondents are public agencies within the meaning of §1-200(1), G.S.

2. By letter of complaint filed March 22, 2007, the complainant appealed to the Commission, alleging that the respondents violated the Freedom of Information (“FOI”) Act by failing to post timely notice of a budget workshop.

3. It is found that the respondent Common Council held a special meeting on March 7, 2007 beginning at 7:15 p.m.

4. It is found that notice of the special meeting was stamped received for record by the respondent City Clerk on March 7, 2007 at 8:53 a.m.

5. Section 1-225(d) provides in relevant part:

Notice of each special meeting of every public agency … shall be given not less than twenty-four hours prior to the time of such meeting by filing a notice of the time and place thereof … in the office of the clerk of such subdivision for any public agency of a political subdivision of the state.

6. The respondent Common Council contends that the notice was actually delivered to the City Clerk sometime between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m. on March 6, 2007. The respondent Common Council further contends that its efforts to deliver timely notice to the City Clerk were delayed by the illness of the Clerk of the Common Council, who is also the City Clerk, and that the Clerk had to engage others to complete the task of delivering the notice.

7. Although there appear to have been circumstances explaining the delay in delivering the notice, it is found that the respondents failed to overcome the presumption that the notice was received at the time and date it was stamped received.

8. It is concluded that the respondents violated §1-225(a), G.S.

The following order by the Commission is hereby recommended on the basis of the record concerning the above-captioned complaint:

1. Henceforth the respondents shall strictly comply with the requirements of §1-225(a), G.S.

Approved by Order of the Freedom of Information Commission at its regular meeting of March 12, 2008.

Because the FOI Commission concluded that the City Clerk failed to properly file notice of the meeting twenty-four hours before the meeting, Jean Natale (the very person who glowingly talked about how she provided notice of all meetings to the charter revision commission) was found in violation of FOI law and admonished by the FOI commission in their final report on the matter.

Which brings me to...

Part 2: Jean Natale's role in what was called the by the media as the "racially motivated" Hispanic Center controversy.

Photo is from the Danbury 11 protest, October 2006. City Clerk Jean Natale (standing on the left) is next to two anti-immigrant individuals who let their thoughts on immigrants in the area known to the public.

News-Times editorial, 06.06.08:

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton badly mishandled a discussion about funding for the Hispanic Center at Tuesday's Common Council meeting.
Boughton runs council meetings. It was clear some council members were not notified of a committee meeting on the funding.

Instead of recognizing the need to send the issue back to committee for a full public airing, Boughton tried to limit critical comments -- especially from council member Jane Diggs, a fellow Republican.

"This is the Common Council," Diggs said. "It is not a club. You do not exclude me because I don't have the same views as you."

Exactly right.

The mayor's instinct to shut down discussion was wrong. It also is puzzling.

Boughton has repeatedly told The News-Times that city contributions to the Hispanic Center would be restored if the center reorganized itself and concentrated on community service.

The center has done that, and yet it became a political football at Tuesday night's council meeting because some council members, notably President Joe Cavo, don't agree with the views of some of the center's board members.

"I think it was all racially motivated," Diggs said.

Too harsh? Well, the actions of the mayor, Cavo and City Clerk Jean Natale invite harsh judgments.

Natale's behavior is especially troubling. She failed to notify all council members of the committee meeting and now is blaming them for not doing their "homework."

The people of Danbury deserve better than this. If Boughton, Cavo and Natale can prevent a full discussion on this public issue, they can do the same on any other public issue.

Mayor Boughton, let's do this over and get it right.

During her presentation to the Charter Revision Commission, Natale made a big issue over the fact that she provides weekly emails to each member of the Common Council regarding upcoming meetings for the next week...a VERY BIG issue. Now, it's important to remember that the City Clerk is not legally required to provide weekly emails to the members of the council BUT since she made this part of her presentation, it's clearly fair game to point out her incompetence in this area which created an uproar at last month's common council and resulted in widespread criticism in all the newspapers (not withstanding a News-Times blistering editorial which severely criticized Natale for her role in the Hispanic Center controversy).

Here's a copy of the email Natale sent to all the Common Council members (note the date of the email):

With taking the date of Natale's email into account, read this section on the Hispanic Center saga filed by the Fairfield Weekly

City Clerk Jean Natale, a Republican, counters that she posted notices for the ad-hoc meeting in City Hall and gave announcement via the city's website as usual. She faxed us a meeting noticed stamped May 19 at 9:35 a.m. and an email to an IT assistant to have the notice posted online, May 20 2:12 p.m., as proof.

By Natale's own admission she:

A: Provided to the Weekly (a) notice of the meeting to the Town Clerk that was stamped on Monday June 19 and,

B: Provided to the Weekly an email she sent to the IT department over 24 hours later requesting that the meeting be posted on the city website calendar for a meeting held on Thursday the 22nd.

Based on what Natale provided the Weekly, several things immediately pop into mind that should have resulted in the media asking follow-up questions.

If Natale sent an email to all the Common Council members on May 15 about the meetings for the next week and,

A: Giving her the benefit of the doubt when it comes to her receiving notice of the Hispanic Center meeting after she sent the initial e-mail AND,

B: Natale had the notice of the meeting stamped on Monday May 19th at 9:35 am AND,

C: Natale had informed the IT department to post the meeting on the city website on Tuesday May 20th at 2:12 pm, THEN,

1.: Why didn't Natale send out another revised email notifying the members of the Common Council of the Hispanic Center meeting on the 16th, 19th, OR 20th (although she was able to take care of her legal public notification requirements on the 19 and able to "alert" the IT department on the 20th) AND,

2.: If Natale brought up the fact with the Charter Revision Commission about how she emails members of the Common Council about meetings, why did Natale NOT provide the Weekly a copy of the email she sent to all the members of the Common Council that DID NOT HAVE THE HISPANIC CENTER AD-HOC MEETING POSTED (which I presented above).

Furthermore,

3.: Why did it take Natale over 24 hours from the time the meeting was stamped in the City Clerk's office to alert the IT department to have the meeting posted online?

ALSO,

4.: Did Natale make sure that the IT department actually placed the meeting online after her request. Miscommunications between the City Clerk and the IT department is nothing new and has been noted on this site in the past...

This brings us to the comments from the members of the Common Council who were COMPLETELY unaware of the Hispanic Center ad-hoc meeting. As a side note, let me personally state that I (like all but one Democratic member and one Republican member of the Common Council) was completely unaware of the meeting. Let me also note that I check the website daily and DID NOT SEE ANY NOTICE OF THE AD-HOC MEETING. If I saw the notice (and given the fact that I followed the tensions between the members of City Hall that had a axe to grind with the Hispanic Center for the last year in great detail) I would have been there to video tape the event. In fact, I was actually at City Hall during the time of the meeting at a different event (open space forum in the Common Council chambers).

Again, EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT (for the exception of Fred Visconti who was a member of the ad-hoc committee and probably received written notice), as well as Republican Jane Diggs had no idea that the meeting took place on the 22nd of May. But SOMEHOW anti-immigrant organization leader Elise Marciano and followers not only have knowledge of the meeting, but were in attendance, and were able to speak (for the public to speak during an ad-oc meeting is extremely rare) and free to spread misinformation about the role of the organization without ANY rebuttal from those who would have been able to point out Marciano's misleading claims, which played a deciding factor in the ad-hoc committee recommendation to deny the Hispanic Center's funding. Several people called this event, which was called "embarrassing" by the chairman, as a secretive meeting which further fuels the notion that there is a connection between those in the anti-immigrant community and elected (and appointed) officials at City Hall.

From the Weekly:

On May 22, Cinta-Lowe's successor, Eva Colon, came into an ad-hoc committee, chaired by Reilly, that the U.S. Citizens for Immigration Law Enforcement knew about and some of Common Council say they didn't.

"This hate group always seems to have inside information," says Reilly. "It's really a group that, for some reason, has an axe to grind with Latinos."

[...]

Meanwhile, "quite a few members were unaware," [of the meeting] says Democratic councilman Paul Rotello...

During the June Common Council, questions surrounding the City Clerk's role in certain members not knowing about the Hispanic Center ad-hoc committee came out. Although several members of the Council spoke out in frustration in not knowing about the meeting, in an effort to keep this post as short as possible, we'll focus on Councilwoman Jane Diggs written criticism directed at the City's Clerk's incompetence.

In her statement to the public, Councilwoman Diggs shed light on what she called the "underhanded" and "secretive" nature of certain members of the Common Council as well as the City Clerk in regards to the entire Hispanic Center debacle which she described as "racially motivated". Unfortunately for all of us, Diggs was unable to enter all of her remarks (three pages worth) into the record due to the repeated interruption and objections of the mayor. Since Diggs has now refused to release her full remarks to the public, we'll never fully know what else she was going to say about her encounter with the City Clerk and other officials including Common Council President Joe Cavo, other Republican leaders, and possibly Mayor Boughton himself.

Given that disappointment, Diggs was able to get some rather important points into the record and it's very revealing. Here, for the first time, is a transcript of what Diggs said about the City Clerk, her lack of knowledge of the Hispanic Center ad-hoc meeting and what she viewed as "racially motivated" intentions by certain members of the council as well as the City Clerk.

DIGGS: This ad-hoc meeting was not properly posted in a manner that it should have been by the City Clerk and to include persons who they wanted in this ad-hoc meeting, and may I add, individuals from the community who have downplayed the importance of diversity in the city.

I checked with Corporation Council regarding with constitutes a legal meeting but at this point...I'm fully beyond that point, I'm fully beyond that issue and I really want to speak this evening on the process...I'm talking about the process that transpired almost two weeks ago.

My remarks are really about inclusion and about race because this is what the denial of funding for the Hispanic Center is all about. I know I was denied access or even knowing about this meeting because it was promoted in a very secretive and underhanded manner by quite a number of the Republican leaders and the City Clerk's office.

I contacted the City Clerk after learning of the meeting and she stated that she was too busy during the course of the week to post the meeting. I contacted the Council President the day after the meeting was held and he simply stated that it was posted in the Common Council chambers..."

At this point (where Diggs was giving a inside detail in what actually happened in regards to the process among the members of the council and City Clerk who she later described as "racially motivated" when ONCE AGAIN, Mayor Boughton interrupted in an effort to stop her from getting her entire statement on the record.

BOUGHTON: The issue as it relates to whether it was posted or not posted is really germane to the funding of the Hispanic Center...

DIGGS: It really is focused on the funding of the HIspanic Center because I think it was all racially motivated...

Finally, I compiled a video that outlines a majority of the points I just raised (and includes video of Diggs' remarks).

To this date, NO ONE from the Mayor's office, the City Clerk, or the leadership of the Republican-controlled Common Council (Pres. Joe Cavo) have responded to any of the points Diggs made in her statement with the most important being where Diggs states that in her conversation with Natale about the Hispanic Center ad-hoc meeting, that the City Clerk informed her that "she [Natale] was too busy during the course of the week to post the meeting."

Unfortunately, as of this date, the mainstream media has failed to question the City Clerk, Cavo, and Mayor Boughton about Diggs' conversation with Natale which seems to DIRECTLY contradict Natale's statement to the Fairfield County Weekly as well as Cavo's defense of the City Clerk at the Common Council meeting. Also, to this date, Natale has not denied, when confronted by Diggs about the HIspanic Center) that she told Diggs "she [Natale] was too busy during the course of the week to post the meeting." Given Natale's thoughts on immigration, questions surrounding her role in this controversy should concern everyone.

Boughton's twitter commentary become topic of online discussion

2011-11-28T10:23:00.000-05:00

WARNING: Old man trying too hard to be hip alert!!!!!!

Although I don't follow his account, whenever I view the twitter account from Danbury's last honest man, I always wondered what other people thought of his unusual posts...well now I know...500 comments and counting.

(H/T to My Left Nutmeg's joesaho)

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: The Marty Heiser Show 11.09.11 broadcast

2011-11-28T10:01:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving break

2011-11-23T11:00:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a well-deserved holiday break from the silliness in Danbury. Enjoying the holiday with my family and I'll chat with ya later!

Trombetta watch in effect

2011-11-21T21:11:00.006-05:00

"Hello Supreme Ruler Mark, it's your buddy Chucky the pawn.

Since I won my election, can I get your blessing and complete the closing on my house and move out of the second ward?

Word on the street is that fresh from his election win, 2nd ward councilman Charles Trombetta has his bags packed and is in the process of bolting from the second ward. Several people have alleged that Trombetta sold the house some time ago and intentionally put off the closing of his place until after the election for political purposes.

Why would he run for council in the second ward if he planned on moving in the first place? Well because it's easier for Boughton to secure the seat for his purposes if Trombetta ran for office, won re-election, abruptly quit the council after his win, and place a new rubber-stamp pawn in the seat, as opposed to having Trombetta do the right thing and not run for re-election and risk losing the seat to the Democrats.

The over under in Trombetta announcing his exodus from the 2nd ward and being replaced by another Boughton kiss-ass is Christmas...trust me, take the under.

...politics over people my ass.

SOTS release election turnout figures

2011-11-18T16:25:00.001-05:00

Today, the Secretary of State's office released the turnout figures for last week's election and as expected, the numbers for Danbury are a joke.

Danbury
Total registered voters: 32618
Number of votes casted: 11450
Turnout percentage: 35.10%

Press release from the SOTS office:

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today released voter turnout numbers from the 2011 Municipal Elections which showed that overall, the statewide voter turnout among registered voters in Connecticut was 30.62%. The town with the highest voter turnout for the municipal offices was Hampton, where 63.75% of registered voters cast ballots. The town with the lowest voter turnout was Sterling, where only 6.01% of registered voters cast ballots. A complete listing of turnout among towns that held elections on November 8, 2011 is available online at www.sots.ct.gov and also follows on the bottom of this news release. Two towns that held municipal elections on November 8th have yet to report turnout figures to the office of the Secretary of the State. In addition, five towns held municipal elections in May.

“The devastating October snow storm presented some serious challenges to election administrators all over the state of Connecticut, and I think that shows up in the somewhat lower turnout figures compared to past municipal elections,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official. “Despite the difficulties posed by a lack of electricity and mobility, and the displacement of many residents into shelters, I am proud of the way local elections official came together to make sure registered voters in Connecticut could cast ballots as scheduled on November 8th. Residents of our cities and towns got to see firsthand how the people elected to municipal government can have great impact on their communities – especially in a time of crisis. There were some communities where contested races clearly increased the voter turnout. I hope in the future we can help all of Connecticut’s citizens understand the importance of choosing the right leaders in their communities so we can see more people going to vote.”

You can view a complete listing of the turnout results over at the SOTS website.

City Center releases holiday schedule

2011-11-18T13:46:00.002-05:00

Press release from City Center:

n the spirit of creating downtown Danbury as the center for community
unity, prosperity and health, Andrea Gartner, Executive Director of
CityCenter Danbury, announces CityCenter's new seasonal initiative intended
to attract people to come to downtown Danbury and raise awareness of the
myriad scheduled events going on. This year, for CityCenter's Holiday
Season, from Light the Lights to First Night, there is truly something for
everyone to enjoy.

"I think it's important for the community to think of CityCenter as a
destination for the holidays this season," states Ms. Gartner, "We have
great momentum moving forward into 2012 with the formation of the Danbury
Main Street Partnership and a newly appointed Economic Development Director.
We need the support of everyone interested in seeing a thriving, revitalized
downtown. I invite the public to make at least one visit before the end of
the year, from Light the Lights to First Night, and come see what we're up
to. For example, a tour of our Museum in the Streets outdoor installation
might just be what interests visiting relatives; a show at the Palace
Danbury could be a welcome break from mall shopping; vacationing teens can
hit the independent, all-ages music scene at the Heirloom Arts Theatre,
sports fans can take in a Whalers game and youngsters can delight in the
Danbury Railway Museum's annual Santa Train. There is no better time than
the holidays to explore Main Street Danbury."

CityCenter Danbury's Holiday Celebration begins with the 36th Annual holiday
lighting event "Light the Lights". This year, the program has been moved to
Saturday, November 26th ( Thanksgiving holiday weekend) to provide a more
family-friendly program than the Tuesday nights of the recent past.

All events are free on Saturday, November 26th.

* Beginning at 11AM, the iconic Danbury art-scene mainstay, Malcolm
Tent, offers his Trash American Style 25th Anniversary Celebration Pop-Up
Store at the Heirloom Arts Theatre at 155 Main Street until 7PM.

* At 2PM, a Holiday Crafters' Gallery located down stairs in the
Danbury Library will be on hand until 7PM to help shoppers jumpstart their
gift giving ideas.

* From 3-4:30PM, there will be a drop-in holiday craft for children to
do at the Danbury Library

* The Palace Danbury located at 165 Main Street will be screening The
Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation for a free at 3:30PM. This movie is a
family comedy with a positive message for children ages 5 and above. Running
time is approximately 90 minutes.

All these activities precede the main event.

Each year, the community joins the Mayor of Danbury at sundown on the
Danbury Library Plaza for a countdown to turning on the downtown holiday
lights. This highly-anticipated Light the Lights program begins at 5:15PM
with performances by the Singers of St. James' Episcopal Church Choir,
students from 5-6-7-8 Dance Arts and a community brass ensemble coordinated
through the Danbury Music Centre.

Those gathered will be invited to join in the carol singing; a count down to
the tree lighting; and the arrival of Santa Claus. After the Honorable
Mayor Mark Boughton has flipped the giant light switch and downtown has been
illuminated, the Beckerle Hose Company will deliver Santa via fire truck to
Library Plaza where children can enjoy hot chocolate and cookies, tell their
wishes to Santa and have their picture taken with him.

Light the Lights kicks off a complete calendar of over two dozen events
happening in downtown at Danbury Library, Danbury Music Centre, Danbury
Museum and Historical Museum, Danbury Railway Museum, Danbury Whalers at the
Danbury Arena, Heirloom Arts Theatre, the Palace Danbury. The holiday
season culminates on Saturday, December 31st with the annual Run Into the
New Year 5K at 3PM and the community-wide, family-friendly First Night
Danbury from 4-8PM and finishing the year with a fireworks display. For a
complete list of everything that's happening, visit
www.citycenterdanbury.com or call 203-792-1711

Will Moody's lower Danbury's Aa1 bond rating?

2011-11-15T16:35:00.003-05:00

In wake of tonight's widely unknown, largely unannounced special city council meeting where the city will take two million dollars out of the fund balance to pay for the storm, this article in the Connecticut Post should sound alarm bells at city hall.

One of the major credit ratings agencies warned Monday that October's nor'easter might have taken a toll on municipal credit ratings as towns head into winter with budget shortfalls.

While not issuing any official downgrades, Moody's Investors Service said the impact on credit ratings will vary by town, but overall it's a challenge.

"The prolonged delay in the restoration of electrical service is credit negative for many Connecticut local governments given the budgetary pressure of cleanup and other costs that are due early in the winter season," the Moody's report said, citing overtime costs and the need to open emergency shelters as contributing to budgetary stress.

[...]

The costs Moody's is particularly concerned about include: the depletion of winter storm budgets; the need to extend the school year due to lost days; and the lag in payments from federal and state sources that might create a liquidity problem for the municipalities.

Colleen Flanagan, a spokesman for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, said he understands the problem.

"Municipalities have incurred a number of expenses following Tropical Storm Irene and last month's nor'easter, which is why Gov. Malloy has been so aggressive in pursuing (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funding for cities, towns, and homeowners," Flanagan said.

Given the fact that in their Aa1 rating of Danbury, Moody's was rather critical of the mayor's use of the fund balance to balance the city budget, and the fact that we at the start of the winter season, hopefully members of the council will ask questions regarding tonight's move to use two million dollars to cover costs from the storm.

Webster Bank has video of Still River death?

2011-11-15T12:36:00.003-05:00

An un-named but reliable source informed me that Webster Bank has video surveillance footage of Darryl Hill jumping into the Still River and to his death. Sources also claim that Hill was darting into traffic earlier in the day of his incident...developing.

Stupid comment of the week

2011-11-10T12:12:00.006-05:00

Too funny!

State GOP committee member Virginia Landgrebe, of New Milford, said she would love to see Boughton make another gubernatorial run.

[...]

"Just look at what he's [Mark Boughton] done for Danbury," she commented. "The city was going downhill when he first took office, and he turned the city around....

Hmmm...let me think about this.

Under which mayor's watch did the following happen:

Streetscape of downtown Main Street

Beautification of Elmwood Park

Creation of the Patriot garage

The elimination of the "slab of concrete" and the drafting of the Ice Arena

Creation of the City Center Green

Western Ct Academy of International Studies

Approval for the second parking garage on Main Street

(I could go on and on but I think you get the point)

If you said Mark Boughton then YOU'RE WRONG. Although Danbury's version of Napoleon Bonaparte likes to take credit for many of the things I mentioned, those items were done in the 1990s under Gene Eriquez...NOT Mark Boughton.

Our current dishonest mayor can take credit for bonding the city into oblivion, building an over-the-top police station that's STILL littered with problems (as well as the fact that it's build in a flood zone), creating the condo boom that responsible for an increase in strains on local services (i.e., overcrowding of schools), helping label Danbury as one of the most racist anti-immigrant city's in the state (you're welcomed East Haven), and running City Hall like a dictatorship...and all of this happened under the watch of an local media that's nothing more than a shell of what it use to be.

Apparently Landgrebe's laughable comment reinforces the opinion several people have of her teaching ability...just sayin'.

Danbury election day round-up/results

2011-11-09T10:56:00.008-05:00

The dishonesty continues...

"It's not just a question of whether Mark Boughton has done enough for people to want to fire him...it's whether he's done enough bad things that people want to hire someone else."
-Common Council 6th Ward member Paul Rotello remarks on Mayor Boughton's win,
News-Times Nov 7 2007.

Here's the scene from DTC headquarters on election night.

Lynn Taborsak concession speech.

Democratic council caucus speech:

Official certified election results:

Cross tabs:

CAMPAIGN 2011 LIVE BLOG

2011-11-08T09:49:00.009-05:00

Today's love blog of Election Day 2011 will start at ~~12:00~~ 1:00 PM. Although the main focus will be on Danbury, I will also cover the local races in Bethel....

When voting today, when entering your ballot through the mavhine, please make note of the number on the counter as well as of the time you voted. Once the live blog begins, let us know where you voted, the time you cast your vote, and the counter on the machine. Since I've been tracking voter turnout at each of the wards for several elections, with your help, I can provide a rough estimate for this year's turnout.

Remember, if you don't vote, then you can't bitch about the state of affairs in Greater Danbury.

UPDATE 11.09.11: The results on the News-Times website are so far off that's it's almost laughable. I'll have the results from all the races later...

UPDATE: I will start a UStream live video feed from Danbury DTC headquarters starting at 7:45 PM.

LIVE BLOG/TWITTER STREAM (use the #Danbury2011 or #Bethel2011 hashtag when posting to Twitter and it will appear in the stream below):

Lynn Taborsak: A candidate for the people

2011-11-07T17:56:00.002-05:00

In honor of the News-Times laughable headline that called Danbury's most divisive mayor in recent memory as an individual who "bring people together", I decided to post a video I did a while back that highlights Democratic mayoral candidate Lynn Taborsak's geniune commitment to assisting people of need.

I'll let the video tell the story.

I think we know who really puts people before politics...

Boughton misleads the public about Danbury's "Triple A" bond rating

2011-11-07T16:09:00.003-05:00

THE MIS-LEADER STRIKES AGAIN!

~~Our Dictator in Chief~~ has made it a habit to state that the city of Danbury has a "Triple A bond rating! In fact, this rant about Danbury's bond rating has replaced targeting the illegal immigrant community as his mantra…and lie his rants on immigration, when it comes to the city's rating, Boughton misleading the public YET AGAIN.

In his opening remarks at this year's mayoral debate, Boughton said the following:

Danbury bonds & credit is AAA rated (better than the state and the U.S).

What Boughton is not telling the public is that he's cherry-picking from a less-than-well known rating agency in order to push his own agenda.

Let me explain…

In terms of bond credit rating, there are three firms that make up the "Big Three credit rating agencies), Standard and Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch Group. The S&P and Moody's and US based while Fitch is controlled by FIMALAC (a.k.a. Financière Marc de Lacharrière), a French credit rating and risk management corporation.

Here's a breakdown of the credit rating system for the big three rating firms (S&P, Fitch, and Moody's).

The most referenced and well known of the three agencies is the S&P, which made headlines earlier this year when it's lowered the U.S. government's rating from AAA to AA+…here's what Boughton had to say about the S&P rating at the time.

Friday night’s surprise downgrade by the credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s from “AAA” to “AA+” has hit our country in a deeply profound way – and has caused panic in the Obama Administration. This past weekend the Administration was busy trying to dispel the importance of this action – mainly because they were concerned of its impact on the economy.

But the action of the Administration misses the mark. The downgrade will be about the stock market and the economy in the short term, but in the long term the action by S&P has damaged the psyche of our country and our business community.

American exceptionalism has been questioned, and now, an independent agency, has said that we are no longer the gold standard in the world economy.

Because the of the AA+ rating, the US government is "no longer the gold standard?" What Boughton fails to inform the public is that S&P (as well as Moody's) also gave Danbury the SAME RATING.

You can view the S&P report on Danbury by clicking here and Moody's full report by clicking here.…and here's Fitch's report that Boughton referenced (click here). As you can see, only one out of three agencies (the one controlled by a company outside of the United States) gave Danbury a triple A rating while the other two out of the three agencies gave the city the lower AA+/Aa1 rating.

From the three reports, what stands out the most regarding Boughton's fiscal management is the critique from Moody's

CHALLENGES

-Ability to replenish fund balance appropriation to maintain financial stability

[…]

HISTORICALLY SOUND FINANCIAL POSITION EXPECTED TO CONTINUE

Moody's believes that the City of Danbury will maintain its favorable financial position, given management's prudent fiscal practices and the city's commitment of maintaining unreserved General Fund balance at a minimum 5% and targeted 10% of General Fund revenues. However, inability to fully replenish fund balance appropriations has led to three consecutive years fund balance draws, In fiscal 2010, the city was able to narrow a $2.6 million operating deficit to a $906,000 draw on reserves through savings their 2010 refunding. Total ending fund balance totaled $25.4 million or 14.1% of General Fund revenues, down from its fiscal 2007 peak of $28.3 million or 15.1% of revenues.

In other words, while Moody's forecast a "favorable financial position" for the city, the agency has a problem with Boughton's use of dipping into the fund balance in order to balance the city's budget…a common practice Boughton.

What's more alarming about Moody's report is their requirement for the city to achieve a higher rating:

WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO UP

-Significant improvement in the city's financial position such as the reduced reliance on reserves for tax relief purposes

The term "significant improvement in the city's financial position" doesn't sound like the rosy picture Boughton sold to the public…in fact, if anything, the report from Moody's is luke warm at best.

While there is a debate on whether a AAA or a AA bonding is significant, what's important for the residents of Danbury to understand is that ONCE AGAIN, their mayor is misleading the public for political purposes.

In closing, I'll post these remarks from a reader who's been pointing out Boughton's "Triple A bond rating" LIE for some time...

In response to the previous comment. Thank god for this blog. If not for this blog then most of the public would have no idea of the constant lies and manipulation heaped on us by the current mayor and his rubber stamp city government. He has no problem in blatantly standing up and lying to the public. Case and point he stood up in a recent debate and proclaimed we have a triple A bond rating. As a matter of fact it was the cornerstone of his accomplishments according to him. When he knows as do i and many others its just a lie. Our bond rating with two of the major rating agencies is not good at best. According to S & P the most respected of all the ratings agencies our rating is the same as Waterbury! Dont believe me look itup. it is all available here on the web. Standardandpoors dot com,Moodys dot com and fitchrating dot com. He knows this and still stands up and proclaims triple A! I wanted to jump out of my seat and scream THATS JUST A LIE!!! Now you may want to believe that this guy is for you and all the others in Danbury. The fact is he would slit your and my throat if it would get him to the next level. Al knows this and tells the truth. You dont like it read the news Times they are more then willing to keep Boughtons lies going for you the public. If you want the truth keep reading Als blogs. It is your choice.

-nuff said.

CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHT: Helena Abrantes for 2nd Ward City Council

2011-11-07T13:31:00.006-05:00

This year 2007 mayoral candidate Helena Abrantes decided to throw her hat into the race for her old seat on the city council.

Here's Abrantes' bio:

Helena is a candidate for the City Council in Ward 2 where she lives with her husband, David. Helena has two adult children who both attended Danbury Public Schools. Her oldest son graduated from Fordham University with a degree in Physics. Her youngest son graduated from the University of New Haven and is a franchise owner and a 2nd Lieutenant in the army. Helena served on the City Council from 1995 to 2001 and as City Clerk from 2001 until 2003. She was the Mayoral candidate for the Democratic party in 2007. Helena is a para-legal and owns a restaurant, The Atlantic, on Osborne Street. She is very concerned with the city’s direction and thinks we need people on the Council who can voice their opinion. She will meet regularly with her constituents and attend City Council meetings on their behalf.

Recently, I met up with Abrantes and talked to her about her campaign and her take on issues in the city...as well as her take on the performance of Mark Boughton four years after her run for mayor.

For more info on Helena, call 203.512.5692.

Nice to see that Danbury Republicans have no regard for the law

2011-11-07T11:49:00.010-05:00

Although they are told for several campaign cycles that the property in the photo above is PUBLIC PROPERTY (corner of Barnum Rd. and Pembroke Road 37) and that placing campaign signs on public property is strictly prohibited, Danbury Republicans such as City Councilwoman Colleen Stanley (come on Colleen, you're better than this), 2nd ward Councilmen Mike Halas and Charlie (I'm planning on moving out of the second ward the day after the election) Trombetta continue to disregard city law for their own selfish political purposes.

...oh, and in case the Republicans claim that they can place the signs there because Mike Halas has a lease agreement with the city, HERE'S A COPY OF THE AGREEMENT...which is NOT a LEASE agreement but rather a LICENSE agreement signed between Corporation Counsel, Mayor Boughton and Mike Halas that CLEARLY states that the CITY OF DANBURY owns the land and that Halas is ONLY TO beautify the property!

I like Halas' comment in his letter to the council when he requested the agreement (second page in the document)

This area would continuously be maintained by us and would meet any special regulations and guidelines the city of Danbury may have.

Well, it seems that the law doesn't apply to those who kiss ~~the dictator of Danbury's~~ the mayor's ring.

...more later.

UPDATE: Apparently people in the neighborhood are quite upset over Halas' ignoring city law. I wouldn't recommend that you go down and rip the signs apart or confront Halas at his farm as things could escalate into a physical confrontation.

Instead be cool and forward your anger towards The Office of Neighborhood Services (UNIT) at 203.796.8026. Talk to Coordinator Shawn Stillman and demand that he remove the signs TODAY! If needed, forward Stillman the link to this post which includes the copy of the license agreement approved by the mayor and Corporation Counsel.

Helena Abrantes on Danbury 11 case four years later: "Boughton was not telling the truth"

2011-11-06T14:48:00.006-05:00

Helena Abrantes comments on allegations that Boughton misled the public about city's role in the ICE raid at Kennedy Park. 2007 Chamber of Commerce Mayoral Debate. Photo by CTBlogger

This past week, I had the opportunity to interview 2nd Ward Democratic City Council candidate Helena Abrantes and talk to her about her campaign. For those who don't recall, Abrantes was the 2007 mayoral candidate who faced off against Mark Boughton during a time when the mayor was under fire for comments he made regarding the city's role in the immigration raid at Kennedy Park (more commonly known as the Danbury 11 case).

Although Boughton stated repeatedly that Danbury played no role in the ICE undercover sting operation against day laborers, during her run for mayor court documents showed that Danbury Police did played a significant role in the raid.

Four years after her run for mayor, Abrantes gave her thoughts on the case including what we learned from Boughton's deposition in the matter, as well as the city's decision to settle the matter.

You will be able to view my interview with Abrantes in full soon...

VIDEO: What would be different with a Lynn Taborsak administration

2011-11-04T11:38:00.002-04:00

This week, Lynn Taborsak was a guest on David Stevenson's local access show "Progressive Soup" and talked about what her administration would look like her watch as opposed to the one man rule we currently have under the current Dishonest Man in Chief."

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Community Forum 11.03.11 broadcast

2011-11-04T11:36:00.000-04:00

Danbury Democratic caucus express frustration with CL&P

2011-11-04T09:32:00.003-04:00

The following letter from the Danbury Democratic caucus was sent to CL&P CEO Jeffery Butler.

Follow the money trail: The Boughton 2011 files

2011-11-02T16:50:00.004-04:00

"We get thousands of checks from thousands of people and we just wouldn't have any way of knowing something like that is happening."

Mayor Boughton's response to his acceptance of James Galante alleged bundled campaign contributions

You didn't think I'd forget to grab a copy of our mayor's campaign finance statements?

As we approach Election Day, I thought it would be great to post a copy of our city's last honest man's finance statements.

When it comes to Mark Boughton, it's always important to show ~~who's kissing the emperor's ring~~ who donates to the mayor campaign as it usually reveals quite a bit about other matters such as:

Additional illegal bundled campaign contributions from James Galante

Democratic town committee members who donated to Boughton's campaign,

An family-owned immigrant newspaper that has donated (along with immediate family members) over 600 dollars in in-kind advertising contributions in late 2005 (NOTE: although the in-kind advertising contribution was received on 10.10.05, Boughton's campaign did not disclose the contribution until after the election against then Democratic mayoral candidate Dean Esposito on 01.10.06). The same business donated over 1,400 to Boughton during the 2007 campaign cycle (including 1,100 after the ICE ACCESS program was introduced in during the October Common Council meeting)

Massive contributions from developers (including the infamous Dan Bertram of BRT) and well as

Contributions from some of the top anti-immigrant, racist, xenophobes in the area.

Contribution from the main players who contributed to the worst episode in the history of Danbury: The James Dyer scandal of the 1980s.

Help follow the money trail and connect the dots...

January 10 2011 campaign finance statement

April 10 2011 campaign finance statement

July 10 2011 campaign finance statement

October 10 2011 campaign finance statement

November 1 2011 campaign finance statement

THE CASE AGAINST TROY GRANT: Sentencing day

2011-11-02T10:21:00.003-04:00

Today, convicted sex offender Troy Grant is scheduled be sentenced for the crimes he committed against the city's most vulnerable residents.

Grant, the former executive director of Pathways Danbury, advisor to the youth minister at New Hope Baptist Church, member of Younglife and the Harambee Center, faced up to 100 years in prison for his numerous charges of having sexual relations with minors. Grant later accepted a plea deal which will require him to serve no less than 12 and no more than 20 years in jail with 30 years probation and a life time registration as a sex offender.

At today's sentencing, the prosecution and defense will make their case for the amount of time Grant is to serve.

UPDATE 2:10 PM John Pirro over at the News-Times filed this report.

A judge sentenced Danbury minister and former youth counselor Troy Grant to 20 years in prison on Wednesday, calling him a "classic pedophile" who preyed on society's must vulnerable members.

Superior Court Judge Janet Reynolds brushed aside the defendant's attempted apology and a request by his lawyer for a lesser sentence in imposing the maximum term permitted by the deal that saw Grant plead guilty in September.

"If I could give you more than 20 years, I would," she said.

...more later.

UPDATE 2:00 PM: Grant has just been sentenced to the maximum amount of time he can serve via the plea deal: 20 years, 35 years probation, lifetime registration as a sex offender, NO contact with any children (even relatives).

...it's a shame that Judge Reynolds couldn't give Grant more time but seeing how inmates feel about sexual predators, it's fair to say that Grant will have a REAL uncomfortable time in prison.

THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY WITH THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CASE.

Boughton + city education problems = OUT OF TOUCH

2011-11-01T11:24:00.004-04:00

As I stated several times over the last couple of years, the NUMBER ONE issue on the minds of residents in Danbury is NOT immigration or the economy but rather EDUCATION. The Danbury Patch fielded questions from residents for the mayoral candidates that reinforce my comment...as well as the fact that when it comes to the problems in our education system, Mayor Boughton is completely out of touch with the reality of the situation while Lynn Taborsak hit the nail on the head.

This is REQUIRED READING.

Lynn/Mark: Do you plan on addressing the issue of overcrowding in the Danbury Schools by re-evaluating the school budget and increasing it to enable the superintendent to build and renovate buildings thereby reducing the number of kids in each school?

Lynn Taborsak's response:

The Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education have no authority to borrow money to build or renovate schools. That is the responsibility of the municipal government. The school district provides the programs, staff, equipment, books, and computers to educate our children. The city provide the buildings. They have to work together to resolve the issue of school overcrowding. Mayor Boughton has painted the school district as public enemy #1 because of the cost of school improvements to taxpayers. The truth is that many improvements like new boilers, new windows and solar panels save the district money down the road with lower energy costs. The city receives both Clean Energy grants and state reimbursement for those costs. We can’t have overcrowded, run-down substandard school facilities and expect children to succeed.

Mark Boughton's response:

We have a long range planning committee- the 2020 Task Force is finishing it's report. Once the report has been issued and the Task Force has formed a consensus on its recommendations, we will go to the voters looking for a positive vote. Building and renovating schools is an extremely costly process and will have a significant impact on your tax bill, therefore we must be sensitive to the needs of our taxpayers. Last year almost 200 families lost their home due to foreclosure, these are some of the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression. The final recommendations of the 2020 Task Force must be the most cost efficient possible if we are going to ask the voters to support it. Last fiscal year the Danbury Public Schools ran a significant surplus. That surplus was use to pay down expenses in the coming years. That should indicate the question is nor "does the BOE have enough money?" the question is "how does the BOE spend its money?" under state statute the Mayor or the City Council cannot tell the BOE how to spend its money.

2) Lynn/Mark: Do you feel that it is more important to spend money developing downtown Danbury or to spend that money on solving our school overcrowding problem?

Mark Boughton's response:

I believe that both our important. However, the priority must be balancing the numbers of students in our schools. Right now the BOE has rolled out a plan to address the short term needs, we are working on a long term solution.

Lynn Taborsak's response:

It’s more important to solve the problem of overcrowded schools than to spend taxpayer dollars developing the downtown. Here is why: We currently exceed the recommended class size for elementary school classes by 8. The middle school enrollment exceeds the State Department of Education guidelines by 200 to 300 students in both middle schools. The High School is bursting at the seams. You cannot provide high quality education in hallways, closets and storage rooms. You cannot expect “failing” schools to succeed in meeting the challenges they face with these substandard conditions. The City of Danbury is the landlord for the school district. If the Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team[UNIT] was empowered to crack down on substandard schools, Mayor Boughton would be in court with a list of violations a mile long. He is a bad landlord and he is afraid to tell voters the truth about overcrowding. We need a third middle school and 30 more elementary classrooms to start. We need to get the maximum state assistance possible and present voters with a plan we can afford.

Lynn/Mark: Are you willing to stop the rapid rate of new home/condo construction in order to put an end to the influx of families moving to the Danbury area which, in my opinion, is responsible for the overcrowding that we are now seeing in our schools? Of all the questions I feel the last one is the most important because all of these new homes are what is causing people to move to Danbury in the first place.

Lynn Taborsak's response:

3) According to the demographer hired by the school district to examine population trends, it’s the sale of small starter homes in the 4th, 5th and 6th Wards that is driving the increase in the school population in Danbury. I’m sure that the proliferation of condominiums and luxury townhouses contributes to the school population too, but not to the same extent. The real problem with “over-development” is that it costs more to provide services [fire, police, schools, libraries, roads, water, sewer and parks] than the tax revenue generated by each unit. Danbury turned over the largest tract of industrial zoned land in all of Fairfield County for thousands of condominium units in one meeting of the Zoning Commission in 2004. That was a terrible loss for tax base and for our economic development portfolio. In one evening, we saddled our blue-collar base with the expense of creating an upscale enclave on the out skirts of town. Yet many Danbury seniors can no longer manage the upkeep of a traditional single family home and need a variety of housing choices including subsidized senior housing, age-restricted developments, moderate rental units and more modest town houses where upkeep is included in the common charges. This kind of mixed housing can be key to revitalizing our downtown area where the infrastructure for water, roads, sewers and transportation already exists. We need more of our population and workforce downtown. We don’t need more luxury condominiums on Kennedy Boulevard either. This isn’t just like Baltimore as the Mayor tried to claim in our debate. We don’t have a harbor, a Major League baseball team, a children’s museum, a zoo or an aquarium.

Mark Boughton's response:

3) New condo's and homes are not where the influx students are coming from. Our Planning Department has studied new condo developments and older condo developments, and have concluded that the amount of children generated by these developments is small.

The areas that generating new children for our schools are the older neighborhoods with Victorian homes that have been renovated into a 3 and 4 family home - many before we even had zoning regulations that now prohibit such building.

Think about it, if 40% of the children now enrolling in our schools are living at or below the poverty level, they are not living in a $300,000 condo.

Several years ago we amended our Zoning Ordinances to prohibit much of the building that you see today that occurred in the late 80's and 90's. Homes that were built "shotgun" style on small lots, must now face the street, the zone around Virginia Ave. was changed to prohibit the type of building that you see there - the old RMF-3 Zone. Finally, "shotgun" style condo's have also been prohibited.

Unfortunately, many of the 3 and 4 family homes are pre-existing and non-conforming to today's regulations, but, under the law, they are allowed to continue their current use.
You cannot change history, but we are going to continue to manage responsible development in the future to ensure that our quality of life is protected.

View streaming network TV on your mobile device

2011-10-31T12:01:00.004-04:00

For those without power, you can watch state network TV online:

NBC/WVIT (via UStream)
ABC/WTNH

WTNH Live Streaming Schedule
Our live stream runs 24 hours a day. When there is no local programming available, we will stream the local Connecticut radar.
Weekdays
Monday-Friday, 12:00pm-12:30pm News 8 at Noon
Monday-Friday, 5pm-6:30pm News 8 at 5
News 8 at 6
Fridays, 7pm-9:30pm High School Football Game of the Week

CBS/WFSB

*For Apple mobile devices, download the UStream App from the Apple Store to view WVIT/Channel 30.

School officials debunk Boughton claim regarding rise in school enrollment and condominium development

2011-10-28T12:40:00.011-04:00

As a parent of a child who has just entered the school system, in speaking with parents, teachers, and students across the city, the top issue on the minds of most residents in Danbury does not involve immigration or the economy but rather the state of education in the city.

As Mayor Boughton and the City Council continue to decrease funding for education while school enrollment increases, lingering problems in the city's school system have become more profound and troublesome for school administrators. If you talk to anyone involved in the school system, when it comes to the decrease in the level of services the city provides for children, you'll get an earful of complaints regarding the school system getting short-changed over the years and the impact this lack of proper funding is having on the quality of education in Danbury.

From decreasing or eliminating numerous school programs and a decrease in proper staffing, to a lack of school supplies and space for an ever increasing school population (that was foreseen years ago), parents should be outraged at local lawmakers who for the most part turned a blind eye to the problems within the school system...all in the name of saving a buck.

Even worse, the same politicians who have short-changed our city's education system are making statements that are insulting to people's intelligence; for example, lets take a look at the nonsense spewing from the mayor's mouth when it comes to the skyrocket increase in school enrollment at Shelter Rock School.

For years, the school population at Shelter Rock School in the city's fourth ward has ballooned to a point to where school officials are currently taking drastic steps to combat the projected increase in school enrollment over the next couple of years. If you take a look at the geographic area surrounding Shelter Rock School, you'll notice that for the most part, the only thing that's changed in that area is the tremendous increase in condominium development that has occurred over the last ten years.

Although simple logic would dictate that an increase in condominium development would equate to an increase in school enrollment, throughout his tenure as mayor Mark Boughton has refused the acknowledge this point. During the start of his second term as mayor, Boughton was questioned about the rise in condominium development and the impact it had on the school system…here’s what he had to say.

BOUGHTON: Condos don't equal kids, actually it's the sub-divisions that equal kids..four bedroom homes with yards because that's what families want. If you're going to spend a half a million bucks on a condominium then you have enough to spend on a house, if you have a family you want a house, you really don't want a condo.

As years past, more and more condo developments popped up in the fourth ward and during land use meetings, more and more residents in the ward expressed their concerns regarding the impact the developments would have on city services, including schools.

Fast forward to 2011 and even a blind man can see that the rise in condominium developments in the fourth ward resulted in an uncontrollable rise in student population at Shelter Rock School. While residents in the ward continue to claim that condos are at the root of the school population problem, as in the past Boughton refuses to acknowledge the obvious.

A few months ago at a public meeting held at Broadview School on overcrowding in the school system, here's what our misleading leader had to say on the topic of condo development and the increase in school enrollment at Shelter Rock School.

PARENT: “You all say that you didn’t realize that the influx children coming into our schools yet years ago with building condo on top of condo on top of condo which I knew, I could see it, everybody could see it and you three are standing up there to say that you didn’t know that this was going to happen?

BOUGHTON: ”…where we’re seeing the influx of kids and the neighborhoods that they are coming from are not condominiums.

[…]

PARENT: “How do you explain the explosion in the schools then…

BOUGHTON: I can show you the neighborhoods and they are not new neighborhoods.

PARENT: “But that’s exactly what’s happening at Shelter Rock and that’s where you have all the condominiums?”

BOUGHTON: “And those kids are not coming from that general area…"

Now, lets fast forward to this past Monday where I attended another meeting at Broadview on school population problems.

Since our misleading cement head of a mayor was not in attendance to offer more spin, I decided to ask a real specific question regarding the topic of condo development and school enrollment at Shelter Rock. School…and for the first time, school officials not only admitted to the obvious, that there is a direct correlation between the two items, but also that the city dropped the ball when they had the opportunity to properly address the foreseen problem.

QUESTION: "Is there a correlation between the condominium development at Shelter Rock and an increase in school enrollment at Shelter Rock School. If yes, then what plan was put in place to address the increase in school enrollment?"

Dr. Sal Pascerella, Superintendent of Schools: When the demographer looked at the numbers we asked that question as well. What we were told was that we would be getting the students out of there that we would be get out of a typical home. Well, that's not what has really happened, that particular area has had more students come out. The plan is what we have done, create a partner school and send those students there. We talked a little about additions, by utilizing modules but that didn't happen. The plan that we have is to simply create this partner school.

We seem to be getting students out of that one condo area, Julia is that correct? That's the area we're talking about, Julia is the principal of the there, in fact we went back there and we started walking around trying to look for bus stops there and there were students out there so I think that was miss quite frankly.

I don't know what could be done that much different with the economy being as it is, it is difficult for any city as it is and it would have taken to place these modules in and we don't see it happening at this point...so I guess on that question specifically I guess we can say that we missed that."

As you can see, unlike the spin from the mayor the people in the know, specifically the Superintendent of Schools and the Principal of Shelter Rock School, admits the obvious that residents in the Shelter Rock area have known (and what the mayor has denied) for years...that there is a clear and direct correlation in condominium development in the fourth ward at Shelter Rock School.

Unless we have honesty from elected officials when it comes to topics like school over-population under Boughton’s watch, problems in our school system will continue to persist…and our city’s children will pay the price.

...more later.

CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT: Luis Rodriguez for City Council

2011-10-27T15:45:00.006-04:00

Since we're in the home stretch of the municipal campaign season, I decided to bring back my CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT series.

The first person in my series of campaign interviews is City Council At Large candidate Luis Rodriguez. Here's a brief bio on the candidate.

A recent graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in Economics, Luis is looking forward to making a positive impact on his hometown. He attended Danbury Public Schools from kindergarten through high school and has been active in the community as a volunteer, mentor, and patron of city businesses and organizations alike.

He is a first generation American with his parents coming from the Dominican Republic and is the youngest of 4 children. Luis graduated from the Danbury Public School System and has been a part of and active in organizations like the Danbury Young Democrats, YMCA, and the Good Friend mentoring program.

This week, I caught up with Rodriguez and talked to him about his campaign and why he's running for City Council.

For more information on Rodriguez, visit his camnpaign page on Facebook or email directly at rodril629@yahoo.com.

If you're a candidate running for office and want to be part of the campaign spotlight, contact yours truly at hatcityblog@yahoo.com

Flip over accident causes traffic backup on Garamella and Osborne

2011-10-26T05:10:00.002-04:00

On my way through Danbury, I stumbled upon an accident on the corner of Garamella and Osborne.

Don't have many details about the accident at this time except that involved a late model Ford Escort Sport and the fire Department had to rip off the roof of the car.

Here's video footage of the scene...I'll get more details later today.

Refreshing to see that school officials admit the truth about school overcrowding (and that Mayor Boughton is a LIAR)

2011-10-25T12:38:00.003-04:00

During yesterday's meeting between school officials and member of the public at Boradview School, people witnessed a little bit of honesty from those in the know that directly debunked one of Mayor Boughton's most dishonest statements regarding the correlation between the skyrocket rise in condominium development under his watch and the rise in school enrollment.

Video to come...prepare to be outraged.

Upgrades

2011-10-24T11:41:00.001-04:00

A number of you have notified me that several links on the site are dead. I'm in the process of fixing all the dead links on the site (including the Boughton campaign report database) so hold tight...

HatCityBLOG VIDEO: 2011 Danbury Mayoral Debate

2011-10-22T10:50:00.000-04:00

A HUGE round of thanks goes out to the fearless John Neumuller who takes time out of his schedule to video tape various meetings in Danbury...for FREE (make sure to watch Neumuller's local access show Danbury Live, Saturdays at 7PM on Comcast 23).

THE CASE AGAINST JOHN McGOWAN LIVE BLOG: Sentencing day!

2011-10-21T12:33:00.012-04:00

THIS IS A LIVE BLOG WHICH WILL BE UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION...

Tomorrow is D-Day for Greater Danbury's famous anti-immigrant xenophobe as John McGowan will learn how much time he will serve in prison for sexual assault.

The 2007 mayoral candidate and co-founder of the anti-immigrant hate group United States Citizens for Immigration and Law Enforcement, was convicted of first degree sexual assault in August of this year and is scheduled to be sentenced at Litchfield Superior Court at 9:30 AM.

I will be on-hand to provide a special LIVE BLOG of the sentencing as it happens in real time (thankfully, Litchfield Superior Court allows the use of laptops computers in the courtroom). Since I've been to most of the proceedings (more than any other reporter who has covered the trial), I'll FINALLY give my take on the entire trial from the beginning and why McGowan's own boneheaded stupidity probably resulted in him losing his freedom.

9:30 PM: The Waterbury Rep-Am did a second article on McGowan's sentencing.

8:55 AM: Apparently, it seems like McGowan has trouble obeying court instructions...

In August, after being convicted of rape, McGowan took to the air to talk about his court case and said the following.

"I'm not going anywhere," McGowan said on Comcast Cable Channel 23. "I'm going to keep doing my show. I'm not going to change what I'm about.

"I don't care what the jury says, guilty or not," he said. "I'm going to keep coming here. If you don't like it, tough."

During yesterday's sentencing, the Judge told McGowan the following...

In addition to the four years in prison and 10 years parole, Ginocchio said he would suggest to parole that McGowan be required to register as a sex offender for life, abide by sex offender evaluation and treatment, obey a full no-contact protective order protecting the victim, and not mention the case or victim on any cable access show he does.

Here's what McGowan said last night hours after being released on 100,000 appeal bail.

McGowan: "We're here live on October 21st and like I stated a while back, I'm not going anywhere"

[Co-Host] Kevin Gallagher: Good.

McGowan: ...like I stated a while back I'm not going anywhere.

Given the serious of his situation (and the fact that he shoiuld count his lucky stars for being free on bail pending appeal) maybe McGowan's attorney should tell the convicted rapist to his off-handed references about his court case on TV could land him back in prison.

10.22.11, 8:30 AM: The Register Citizen has more details on the sentencing hearing...

More than half a dozen people spoke on Bethel resident John McGowan’s behalf in Litchfield Superior Court Friday in an attempt to get him a light sentence following his first-degree sexual assault conviction in August. McGowan is a former Danbury mayoral candidate and Bethel public access television host.

The conviction carries a minimum two-year jail sentence, with enough years of parole to make a total sentence of 10 years.

Judge James P. Ginocchio gave McGowan a slightly higher sentence of four years in prison followed by 10 years of special parole, which fell halfway between the minimum sentence and State’s Attorney David Shannon’s recommendation of six years in jail with 14 years special parole.

Shannon told the judge he believed McGowan should get more than the minimum sentence, saying he believes rape to be one of the most serious crimes there is, short of murder or harming a child.

The victim, referred to as Jane Doe, read a prepared letter stressing the difficulty she and her family have had dealing with the case over the past three years, saying that McGowan “took her humanity.”

She went on to ask that McGowan be given the maximum amount of parole so that he would be supervised.

“I have been given a life sentence of fear,” she said.

After the prosecution rested, McGowan read his prepared statement and maintained his innocence, saying that he was raised to tell the truth, and chose to represent himself because he believed the truth would prevail.

“I never would have represented myself if it wasn’t obvious I was innocent,” he said.

Once McGowan finished, multiple friends and family members spoke on his behalf, calling him a gentle person and a useful and needed member of the community.

[...]

Several individuals were cautioned by Ginocchio to keep their statements to McGowan’s character instead of the case itself, as he had already been convicted and the facts were not in question.

After everyone spoke, Ginocchio made his remarks, saying that – unlike some of McGowan’s friends thought – his gut instinct was to believe the victim.

“I can’t imagine that she would have come up here and testified like she did unless she was telling the truth,” he said. “I believed Jane Doe, and the jury believed Jane Doe.”

In addition to the four years in prison and 10 years parole, Ginocchio said he would suggest to parole that McGowan be required to register as a sex offender for life, abide by sex offender evaluation and treatment, obey a full no-contact protective order protecting the victim, and not mention the case or victim on any cable access show he does.

The defense said they plan to appeal, and requested Ginocchio set an appellate bond, though Shannon objected. Ginocchio agreed to set a bond, and set it at $100,000 cash or surety.

7:15 PM The Waterbury Republican-American and News-Times posted their write-ups on today's proceeding.

5:30 PM: Here's more on what happened today.

* During the sentencing hearing, several people spoke for and against McGowan.

* The victim in this crime read a prepared statement in court.

* McGowan's mother spoke in support of her son.

* Several people (possibly a total of 8) also spoke in favor of McGowan.

* State Attorney wanted McGowan sentenced to six years in prison with 14 years special probation. Judge gave McGowan a lesser sentence of 4 years in prison (2 years mandatory).

* State argued against the defense attorney's recommendation for an appeal bond (which basically means that McGowan is free pending appeal). Judge ruled in favor of the defense but set McGowan's bail at 100,000 dollars (which probably means 10,000 to the bails bondsman). It's unclear if the bail has been posted yet.

* The judge ordered McGowan not to mention the victim or the case on his local access show.

Still gathering more details....reporters from several media outlets are working not the story and articles should be posted later this evening. No word on whether McGowan will be free before his live TV shows airs at 9:00 on Comcast 23 (John McGowan Presents).

5:00 PM: BREAKING NEWS...McGowan sentenced to 4 years in prison (2 years min). McGowan's attorney was able to get an appeal bond, which means the former mayoral candidate is free pending appeal. Bond was set at 100,000 dollars.

...more later.

4:00 PM: Court still in session...awaiting news from court clerk office.

3:00 PM: Awaiting word from Litchfield...news soon.

2:00 PM: From August, here's McGowan on his local access show speaking on his conviction.

12:40 PM Here's Attorney Michael Voytek's bio:

Michael graduated from Fairfield Prep in 1983, from Fairfield University in 1987, magna cum laude, and from Emory Law School in 1990, with distinction. At Emory, he was the Managing Editor of the Emory International Law Review and was published in the Emory Journal of International Affairs. Michael is admitted to practice law in the States of Connecticut, New York, Georgia and Massachusetts. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court in Connecticut.

Michael started his career at Lord, Day and Lord, a Wall Street law firm in 1990. He worked principally on mergers and acquisitions matters in its New York office. After a brief stint in Boston at Goodwin Procter, Michael worked at Paul Hastings law firm in its New York and Atlanta offices for over 10 years. While at Paul Hastings, Michael acted in a General Counsel capacity for corporate entities, officers and directors and entrepreneurs in many diverse industries. After leaving Paul Hastings, from 2003 thru 2004, he bolstered the corporate practice of Goodkind Labaton in New York working on general corporate, contracts, and transactional matters such as m&a, corporate finance, securities and private equity deals. In 2005, he started the Voytek Law Firm.

In addition to his legal work, Michael is active in his community having served on a variety of charitable boards of directors (most notably on the Boy Scouts' Connecticut Yankee Council's Executive Board as its VP of Legal Affairs and on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Bridgeport). He also served on the Board of the Bethel Women's Recovery Center as its General Counsel. He was the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Connecticut Eagle Scout Association.

Michael is also involved with local community groups in Bridgeport - serving as Chairman of the Committee to Ungag the People, as Special Counsel to the Boys and Girls Club of Bridgeport and the Derail the Jail Committee and as general counsel to various NRZs in the City of Bridgeport. By way of additional pro bono work, he helps indigent tenants at the Security Deposit Clinic in Waterbury and Bridgeport on a monthly basis.

In his spare time, Michael makes appearances on "Bridgeport Now", a local cable news television show where he provides commentary on local and state political issues. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Roma Club and is actively involved with the New Canaan Society. Michael is proud to be an Eagle Scout.

You can also read several articles on Voytek's activities in the Bridgeport area (via Only in Bridgeport website).

09.21.11, 9:40 AM: I'm at the courthouse in Litchfield where I just learned that McGowan's sentencing has been pushed back to 2 PM.

McGowan has FINALLY retained an attorney who will probably request an appeal bond. Attorney name: Michael Voytek.

Don't know if I can stay till 2 for the sentencing but there will be several media outlets on hand to cover the event.

THIS IS A LIVE BLOG WHICH WILL BE UPDATED WITH NEW INFORMATION.

Debate video

2011-10-19T13:25:00.002-04:00

Sorry but a personal emergency kept me away from last night's debate but from what I heard, it seems like Taborsak gave the dishonest one a run for his money, complete with our mayor attempting to pull a cheap shot at the end by pulling a quote from Taborsak's Danbury 11 deposition (and this comes from a assclown whose Danbury 11 deposition exposed his laundry list of LIES and MISLEADING statements to the public).

I'm currently working on obtaining the video from the debate as I'm told there are several classic Boughton dishonest moments that I'll enjoy.

...developing.

Tribuna Newspaper should recuse themselves from mayoral debate due to undisclosed contributions to Boughton campaign

2011-10-17T09:56:00.011-04:00

Let me start this post off by stating that this is not personal. I've known the family that publishes the Tribuna Newspaper for many years and the following post has nothing to do with the newspaper as a whole. The rationale behind this post is to provide the public full disclosure regarding the relationship behind the members of the board at the Tribuna and Mark Boughton as well call into question the newspaper's participation in the mayoral debate.

Since the announcement of this week's mayoral debate between Mark Boughton and Lynn Taborsak, I've been very concerned over the Tribuna Newspaper's participation in the event.

In 2007, since records of campaign statements were not available electronically, I decided to create an online database of Boughton's campaign finance statements starting with his first term in office. While many in the media were focused on the illegal bundled contributions made to Boughton from James Galante, I along with the help of others examined Boughton's records and came across several disturbing campaign contributions made by the family that runs the Tribuna Newspaper going as far back as 2005.

The contributions for the '07 campaign cycle are listed below:

April 10 SEEC filing: Publisher of Tribuna (Celia Bacelar) $120 - 2/21/07 -

July 10 SEEC filing: Publisher of Tribuna (Celia Bacelar) $120 - 2/21/07

July 10 SEEC filing: Tribuna Newspaper LLC purchased a advertising slot in Mayor Boughton's program book on 06/13/07

January 10th 2008 SEEC filing/Report: Palmares, Genilson (page 7) - $1000.
This person is the husband of the publisher of the Tribuna (Celia Bacelar).

January 10th 2008 SEEC filing/Report: Angela Barbosa (daughter of Celia Bacelar and and at the time, listed as Managing Editor of the Tribuna) $100.00 on 10/27/08.

It's interesting to note that at the time and the contributions in the Jan 2008 report were made (late Oct 2007), Mayor Boughton and several members of Common Council promoted the city entering the highly controversial ICE ACCESS/287G program. Many members of the public and organizations, including the Tribina Newspaper, spoke out in opposition to the program (including Celia Bacelar's daughter/Tribuna reporter/board member Emanuela Lima who spoke in opposition to the proposal at the Oct 2007 Common Council meeting). It was also during this period where the I witnessed Bacelar ad her daughter Lima attend the open house opening of Boughton's headquarters on the corner of Main and South Street (across from CVS).

After reporting on my findings, another ethnic paper in the city, Communidade News made several mentions of the contributions. For instance, when the Tribuna sent a press release to the media announcing the formation of the anti-ICE ACCESS group, Businesses For a Better Community, Communidade News Editor (and former writer at the Tribuna) Breno da Mata sent the following reply.

From: brenodamata@XXXXXXXX.com

This press release was written by Emanuela Lima, Editor of Tribuna
Newspaper, the same group/family that helped financially Mark
Boughton's campaign.

I'm confused...

Quoting Businesses For a Better Community :

> For Immediate Release:
>
> Press Contact:
> Emanuela Lima
> 203-XXX-XXXX
> 203-XXX-XXXX
>
>
>
> Danbury Small Business Owners:
> ICE Partnership Will Hurt Our Businesses!
>
> Danbury, CT - A growing group of small business owners throughout Danbury
> are becoming more vocal in their opposition to the Common Council's support
> of an ICE Partnership. The small business owners point to the Town of
> Riverside, NJ, highlighted in a NY Times article on Sept. 26th, 2007 that
> documented the decimated downtown following strict anti-immigrant
> legislation. Business owners in Danbury, where up to 34% of the population
> is foreign born, is fearful that a partnership with ICE would lead to
> increased harassment and discrimination to Latino's regardless of their
> legal status. A community fearful of police harassment is not a good
> business environment.
>
> "An ICE partnership is bad for business," stated Wilson Hernandez, owner of
> Mitad Del Mundo Restaurant. "Who is going to want to shop downtown if they
> are scared of harassment by police?"
>
> "I am nervous that an ICE partnership will hurt my business and make it no
> longer profitable to be on Main St.," stated Minas Bakery & Deli owner
> Marcilio Fernandes. If Latin's regardless of legal status are continually
> harassed in Danbury why would I want to keep my business here?"
>
> The Town of Riverside watched as the economy plummeted. Hair Salons,
> restaurants, and corner shops that were Latino owned and catered to the
> community boarded up their business leaving Main Street. Danbury business
> owners are very weary of Danbury following Riverside's path.
>
> "I have raised my family here, I have roots in this community; I don't want
> to watch Danbury follow Riverside," stated Renata Amaral, co-owner of RM
> Insurance.
>
> Recently the town of Riverside rescinded their anti-immigrant ordinance.
> Small business owners in Danbury are hopefully the Common Council will not
> follow Riverside's path.
>
>

Instead of addressing the campaign contributions made to Boughton during the 07 cycle, the Tribuna opted to attack the messenger an statement in which it is announced that the paper would "withdrawal" support for Boughton:

TRIBUNA WITHDRAWALS ITS SUPPORT FOR MAYOR BOUGHTON

Mayor's Proposed Partnership with ICE is hurtful to the community and the local immigrant population

Danbury, CT - Since its creation in 2000, TRIBUNA NEWSPAPER has expressed its support to Danbury's mayors. From Gene Eriquez to Mark Boughton, this multi-cultural publication has worked closely with local leaders covering stories and voicing concerns of the local immigrant community.

After announcing its plans to check the legal status of the city's immigrants in 2005, TRIBUNA had several conversations with Mayor Mark Boughton expressing its opposition to his plan. Eventually, the mayor set the issue aside. TRIBUNA continued with its support for Boughton on the last election, endorsing him as the candidate with the best overall plans for the city.

Recent e-mails to the press have claimed that TRIBUNA's previous support weakens its participation in the community coalition fighting against the proposal. These e-mails were sent by a former disgruntled employee of TRIBUNA, who was fired for unethical behavior shortly after TRIBUNA was launched. This incident was well documented. But most importantly, we would like to remind all that this is not a time for bickering amongst immigrants and attacks for personal gain.

TRIBUNA is a strong voice against Boughton's proposal since it knows that the recent mayor's plans of a partnership with ICE are a true harm to the community. It makes sense for authorities to expect that illegal immigrants who committed crimes to be deported. But TRIBUNA will no longer support a mayor who would pass a plan that would also deport immigrant workers, who came to this country legally and don't have a green card because they are waiting for the conclusion of their legalization process. A plan that could take children away from good parents, divide families and close businesses owned by honest people who have contributed greatly to this city. TRIBUNA once again invites Mayor Mark Boughton to reconsider his support for this measure and its impact in this city.

Almost a year to the day when they announced their "withdrawal" of support for Boughton, campaign reports show that Barcelar's daughter/Tribuna Managing Editor/Reporter Angela Barbosa attended a fundraiser for Boughton and donated 120.000 to his campaign. Later that year, in a reversal from their 2007 declaration in which the paper withdrawal support for Boughton, the paper wrote the following endorsement of Boughton over 2009 Democratic mayoral candidate Gary Goncalves.

Tribuna Editorial, Nov 2009:

As an immigrant, I disagree with the way Mayor Mark Boughton addressed the partnership agreement with ICE in 2008. As a member of the Danbury community, however, I cannot judge a mayoral candidate's platform based only on the issue of immigration.

The reality is that during Boughton's four terms, the city saw new schools, such as Western Connecticut AIS Magnet School and Ellsworth Avenue Elementary School (formerly Roberts Avenue), newly paved roads, the new Firefighter House Engine 26 on the west side, an upgraded athletic field in Rogers Park, and a modern Police Department. The new station revitalized a sector of the city considered challenging, and lifted the morale of the police officers that today are able to work in a safe, efficient facility. All of these improvements benefit the residents who are citizens, as well as the immigrants in Danbury.

For these reasons, Tribuna is endorsing Mark Boughton for Mayor of the City of Danbury.

In response to the paper's reversal, The Communidade News had this to say (NOTE: Originally written in Portuguese, translated to English via Google Translation so the grammar is a bit off):

This week the residents of Danbury will know who will lead the city for the next two years. If the current representative of the office, Mark Boughton or his opponent, Democrat Gary Goncalves.

During the period in which the election was open, few have ventured to point out openly the possible winner. With the exception of the Brazilian community, who pushed a change to continue to hope that one day they can live in the city without fear. Fear that this was built over the past six years thanks to the dishonest and intolerant policy, focused on their own interests of the current mayor.

Gary Goncalves represented the change we needed. The Brazilians had them. But not all. Just a week before the election, the community was again the victim of its own people. One of the newspapers, they say Brazil, but that proves year after year that just uses the community will once again show their "true colors" to use an expression in English.

Official support of this journal to the current mayor proves, once again, which side they really belong. The justifications presented in an editorial is ridiculous, to say the least. It says at one point that "does not agree with the position of mayor as a partnership between police and immigration, still reinforces the support for it.
How well a friend said, it is as if a Jew would support the candidate of the Nazi party. Unbelievable!

Again opportunism and unhealthy desire to be close to the "power", speaks louder than the well-being of the community. Over the past four years, the policy of persecution and fear a reduced number of shops in Singapore a few stores, which are today for a daily sacrifice to keep the doors open. And this same newspaper, which supports the city, also called for listing them.

Contradiction? More than that, lack of character to assume that, in addition to not share the difficulties of the local merchant, still working behind the scenes, and now publicly, to make their lives worse.

Unfortunately, these same traders who place their ads in this newspaper do not realize they are funding their own bankruptcy. But how? Let me explain: in recent years the family owned this newspaper has donated significant money to the campaign of Mayor. In 2007, for example, while the community protested against the adoption of the law 287G, they donated money to the campaign of Mayor. Money left in the pocket of the entrepreneur Singapore through the site.

Everyone has the freedom to choose the way forward. But we have to have the honor to take on a public way, without double play and try, at all costs, take advantage of both sides.

To this date, although they have written numerous articles on Boughton and the municipal elections, neither the Tribuna Newspaper (in an official statement), Barcelar as Publisher, or her daughters who hold board positions at the newspaper have disclose their history of campaign contributions Boughton with the public and in my opinion, their behavior is not only wrong, but also unethical.

For this reason, the Tribuna should recuse themselves from this week's debate between Boughton and Lynn Taborsak.

...more later.

This is what you get when the education budget is shortchanged

2011-10-13T11:41:00.006-04:00

Unreal...

Two Broadview Middle School students were transported to Danbury Hospital after a school bus accident Wednesday afternoon, said Elio Longo, director of finance for the Board of Education.
The accident involved a car and a bus, and no more information was available Wednesday night.
The accident was revealed in a Board of Education meeting, because the school system needs to have a school nurse on hand for an hour before school and after school in case of such an accident, Longo said.
Superintendent of Schools Sal Pascarella said hours for school nurses had been cut this year to save money in the budget, and this was an unanticipated consequence.

Wait, there's more!

The hours for the school nurses were not "just cut" this year. In the past 4 years, nurses were expected to be at school 15 minutes before the start and 15 minutes after the day ends - no more, no less. Should there be a nurse in call for such emergencies? Of course, but I believe that duty largely fell on the nurse supervisor. If no nurse or supervisor came to the accident, perhaps it was due to the cut of the full-time nurse supervisor position last year and now down to one nurse taking on the role of part-time supervisor and part-time school nurse. There lies the fault, where a district as large as Danbury and with numerous children with medical conditions we never would have seen in a school setting years ago, cuts a vital position because they deem it was unnecessary to have.

Boughton's dirty hands are all over this mess since it was the mayor who has drastically slashed funding for education over the years in order to keep his beloved "Triple A" bond rating that he boasts about anytime he speaks into a microphone...so much for People over Politics!

The members of the Board of Education don't get off the hook since they are responsible for allocating the money given to them by the city. Cutting funding for nurses (a.k.a. child safety) in order to save a buck is unconscionable.

BREAKING NEWS: News-Times mayoral debate set for Oct 18th?!?

2011-10-11T15:51:00.004-04:00

Hearing from multiple sources that News-Times top dog Art Cummings has been behind the scenes trying to establish a mayoral debate...and apparently his efforts worked.

According to sources, the mayoral debate between Mark Boughton and Lynn Taborsak is set for October 18th at Broadview Middle School. More details (and verification) to come...

UPDATE: The News-Times gets around to report on the debate...better late than never.

Republican Mayor Mark Boughton and his Democratic challenger in next month's election, Lynn Taborsak, will face off next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a mayoral debate.
The debate, which is being sponsored by The News-Times, Tribuna and WLAD, will be held at Broadview Middle School in the city.
News-Times Editor Art Cummings will serve as moderator for the debate, while Dirk Perrefort of The News-Times, Emanuela Leaf of Tribuna and Jillian Mauro of WLAD will comprise the media panel that will ask questions of the candidates.

More later...

Boughton and McLachlan LOVE Mormonism: A primer

2011-10-11T14:44:00.008-04:00

An official statement of the LDS Church First Presidency issued on August 17, 1951, reads:

"The position of the LDS Church regarding the Negro may be understood when another doctrine of the church is kept in mind, namely, that the conduct of spirits in the pre-mortal existence has some determining effect upon the conditions and circumstances under which these spirits take on mortality, and that while the details of this principle have not been made known, the principle itself indicates that the coming to this earth and taking on mortality is a privilege that is given to those who maintained their first estate; and that the worth of the privilege is so great that spirits are willing to come to earth and take on bodies no matter what the handicap may be as to the kind of bodies they are to secure; and that among the handicaps, failure of the right to enjoy in mortality the blessings of the priesthood is a handicap which spirits are willing to assume in order that they might come to earth. Under this principle there is no injustice whatsoever involved in this deprivation as to the holding of the priesthood by the Negroes....."

"Man will be punished for his own sins and not for Adam's transgression. If this is carried further, it would imply that the Negro is punished or alloted to a certain position on this earth, not because of Cain's transgression, but came to earth through the loins of Cain because of his failure to achieve other stature in the spirit world."
- William E. Berrett's "The Church and the Negroid People," pp. 16-17

[...]
Address at Brigham Young University (BYU), by Mormon Elder, Mark E Peterson, in speaking to a convention of teachers of religion at the college level, said:

"The discussion on civil rights, especially over the last 20 years, has drawn some very sharp lines. It has blinded the thinking of some of our own people, I believe. They have allowed their political affiliations to color their thinking to some extent.I think I have read enough to give you an idea of what the Negro is after."
He is not just seeking the opportunity of sitting down in a cafe where white people eat. He isn't just trying to ride on the same streetcar or the same Pullman car with white people. It isn't that he just desires to go to the same theater as the white people. From this, and other interviews I have read, it appears that the Negro seeks absorption with the white race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it by intermarriage."

"That is his objective and we must face it. We must not allow our feelings to carry us away, nor must we feel so sorry for Negroes that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have. Remember the little statement that we used to say about sin, 'First we pity, then endure, then embrace'...."

As a primer for a future post on the demented connection between Mitt Romney, Mark Boughton and Mike McLachlan, here's a little video that accurately breaks down the history of Mormonism.

Yes, the points in the video are taken directly from the history of Mormonism (seriously)...and the video just scratched the surface when it comes to this so-called religion.

Did you pick up your jaw off the ground yet...don't worry, I'm just getting started.

...to be continued.

Just in time for the campaign season

2011-10-11T09:34:00.006-04:00

From the mayor who makes it a habit to pave roads to satify ~~potential voters~~ residents, here's Mark Boughton's latest "Politics over People" moment.

A bulldozer on Foster Street sent a powerful signal to Danbury educators on Monday that some of the city's school space issues could be relieved by next fall.

[...]

Danbury bought the Foster Street building in 2005 with plans to renovate it for the Head Start preschool program and to free up classrooms Head Start uses in other city schools.

The city since determined it would be more cost efficient to demolish the building and build anew. It plans to put up a 30,000-square-foot modular building that will be ready for the Head Start program in the fall.

"We're on goal, and the intent is to have the building open in the fall of 2012," Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said Monday. "This is a nice-looking building."

When it comes to this project, In typical fashion Boughton is being so dishonest with the public that it's laughable for those who know the real story bend the head start project...unfortunately our fearless mayor is too much of a lying coward to debate Lynn Taborsak on this subject as well as a laundry list of failures under his ten year watch.

...but wait, the man who for YEARS refused the Democrats request to fill the position of full time economic developer most likely blew up Dirk Perrefort's cell phone pitching this scam of a story to the News-Times.

City officials have whittled down the dozens of applications received for the economic development director position to the final three candidates.

Mayor Mark Boughton said Monday he hopes to interview job finalists by next week and announce the new hire next month.

[...]

Boughton has said that while the new economic development director would be responsible for generating economic growth throughout the city, a focus would be placed on downtown renewal efforts.

A Main Street Renaissance Task Force examining downtown renewal earlier this year recommended that a full-time director be hired and that a Main Street partnership begun to help spur growth in CityCenter.

Boughton said he intends to announce members of the new partnership next month in conjunction with announcing the new director.

I guess this nonsense from Boughton will go good with his latest dishonest mailer...

...I think I'm going to be sick.

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: The Marty Heiser Show 10.07.11 broadcast

2011-10-09T15:45:00.001-04:00

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Danbury Live 10.08.11

2011-10-09T13:18:00.000-04:00

The dishonest one is at it again...this time it's about education

2011-10-05T20:51:00.001-04:00

The dishonest one is at it again...this time Boughton misleads the public regarding the political makeup of the Board of Education.

Danbury Patch

Boughton said if Lynn really thought education was a priority for the city, she would have recruited a full slate of candidates for the Board of Education, rather than half a slate. He said the Democrats controled the board until 2009 for the previous 30-plus years.

"They had all the time in the world to expand the classrooms," Boughton said.

Nice try Mark put those in the game know that you're lying your ass off.

Although this requires a bit of explaining (which I'll do in a future post REAL SOON) Boughton knows he's being dishonest about the Democrats running the Board of Education for years as a simple look at the voting record will reveal that a CLEAR majority of decisions made by the board involved the MAJORITY of Republicans and two Democrats which combined really ruled things on the BOE. The remaining Democrats on the board were actually in the minority and for years openly complained about the two Democrats who conspired with the Republicans to control the board.

Again, this entire episode is rather complex and will take a bit of time to fully explain but I'll break things down for everyone in a future post (which will include video) REAL SOON.

Boughton has no time to debate Taborsak because...

2011-10-05T17:06:00.004-04:00

...he's more interested in checking out the seven foot provolone at Stew Leonards today!

A 7-foot long, handcrafted "Il Giardino Provolone Gigante" will arrive at Stew Leonard's at 99 Federal Road on Wednesday.
The arrival of the big cheese in the store's deli is in conjunction with a 25th anniversary celebration Wednesday at 5 p.m. Stew Leonard Jr. will speak, as well as Mayor Mark Boughton, who will be there with a proclamation naming Oct. 5 "Stew Leonard's Day." There will be free refreshments.

I guess we all have our priorities...and in Boughton's case it includes making any phoney excuse to avoid debating someone who can really call him out on his 10 years of dishonesty and misleading the public.

Boughton said what?!?

2011-10-04T17:23:00.014-04:00

It's official, Mark Boughton is a dishonest, two-faced moron.

In an interview with Mayor Mark Boughton regarding space issues, Boughton said, “Look at Morris Street School, look at their test scores. It begs the question, why do you need a new school if they are scoring higher than the magnet school? It's heartwarming to see the good work they are doing. They got it down.”

So in other words, although schools like Morris and Shelter Rock are suffering from exterme overcrowding to a point where classes are being taught in closets and art programs are taught from a cart, in Boughton's world, when it comes to educaiuton under his watch all is okay because the school officials are finding insane ways to cope with the lack of support they've received from this joke of a mayor.

...and lets not forget that this remark comes from the same person who ran to the gullible Christine Rose at the Danbury Patch to brag about a so-called "purchase" of a building to ease overcrowding in schools (which is nothing more than a campaign gimmick to counter the criticism Boughton received on his god-awful education record from Lynn Taborsak).

As a parent, ten years of this dishonest nonsense from this clown is enough!

No love for Boughton at Wooster Heights

2011-10-03T10:36:00.009-04:00

Seems like someone isn't a fan of Danbury's last honest man.

As the dishonest one avoids debating Lynn Taborsak and one places his over-the-top campaign signs around town, one resident decided to make a statement and leave Boughton a message on his sign on the corner of Wooster Hights and W. Wooster Street.

...I guess that 10 years of Boughton's "People Over Politics" nonsense is really resonating with everyone.

DHS principal notifies parents about school fights on FRIDAY EVENING?!?

2011-10-03T08:30:00.004-04:00

Talk about a Friday evening dump...this email prepared by officials at Danbury High School was sent to members of the board of education last Friday at 3:30.

We are sending the following message out (in real people voices - Portuguese, Spanish and English) at 6:30 tonight.

Good evening parents, guardians, and students. This is Mr. Bocaccio, principal of Danbury High School. I’d like to take this opportunity to communicate with everyone. On Wednesday, before school there was an altercation involving 10 students. This situation was quickly attended to and all students involved were appropriately disciplined. The remainder of the day, with the exception of the persisting rumors, proceeded as usual. Today was a very normal day at school. I am very proud of our student body, almost 3,000 strong, where students come together to work and study on a daily basis. I want to thank our parents for their concern and support. I wish everyone a pleasant weekend, and I look forward to seeing our students on Monday morning.

--
Best regards,
Meghan G. Martins, Ed.D.
Associate Principal of Instruction for Secondary Schools
Danbury Public Schools
P: 203-797-4802
F: 203-797-4730

I don't know about you but sending this message on a Friday evening is a tad bit insulting to parents who should had been notified about the incident at the high school at the same time school officials reached out to the community leaders such as Rev Pitts and the Hispanic Center for assistance...which was on WEDNESDAY.

Sending a message to parents two days after the fact and claiming that on Wednesday "the remainder of the day, with the exception of the persisting rumors, proceeded as usual" when community leaders at the Hispanic Center not only chased down Dominican students who feared that there would be more altercations between themselves and African-American students...

Alvarez-Dimarzo said that when word of the brawl got back to her, she got into her car to look for some of the students she had come to know in her time with the Hispanic Center.

She said that many of them had donned "Dominican Pride" T-shirts after school let out, making them easily identifiable.

"I talked to some of these kids yesterday. They're not looking to fight because someone's black," she said Thursday. "They're afraid of getting beaten up and they're angry."

...put also posted the following message on Facebook later on Wednesday calling for calm.

This post goes out to my Danbury High School youth! I want to talk to you, but more than talk I need you to listen to what I will ask of you. To the members of Trinidad I will say Dominicana Soy! But I will not excuse nor tolerate the use of ethnic pride for violence. I recognize your need for acknowledgement and respect. I am saddened by the incidents at DHS today. I've had the opportunity to meet with some of you this afternoon. Thank you for listening and thank you for taking the shirts off. For those that I haven't seen today-hear me out. Trinidad you have an open invitation to see me, talk to me and meet with me. I'm putting the ball in your court. My doors are open for conflict resolution. Use me as your vehicle. Allow me to hear and better understand what you are going through. No reprimands no accusations. But I need you to put weapons down-I need you to not use violence and gang intimidation tactics. Allow me to help you resolve this conflict. I will hear and not judge your side of the story. But I will ask of you this-no violence-call the fight off-do not allow one more friend to get hurt. To all other friends, please if you have access to DHS student community at home, in the community or any place else or even if you don't let's lead by example. Please share this post and help me reach every DHS student today.
Peace.

Ingrid
Executive Director
Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury
Centro Hispano (203) 798-2855

In short, DHS interim principal Bocaccio's message was two days too late as parents could had worked in conjunction with Rev. Pitts and the Hispanic Center and played a significant role in assisting in calming the situation down.

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Spotlight On 09.27.11 broadcast

2011-10-02T13:15:00.001-04:00

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Community Forum interview with 4th Ward City Councilmen Tom Saadi and Peter Nero

2011-09-30T13:55:00.002-04:00

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Bethel Today 09.27.11 broadcast

2011-09-30T13:12:00.001-04:00

ConnCAN drop-out rate analysis provides mixed news for schools in Greater Danbury

2011-09-29T18:22:00.000-04:00

Today, the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now released their annual report on the comparison of the official high school graduation rate by the CT Department of Education versus the more accurate rates calculated by Education Week’s Diplomas Count project...and the report provides a mixed bag of news for schools in Greater Danbury.

Press release:

Today, ConnCAN released a new issue brief, “Connecticut Graduation Rates.” Using data from the Class of 2008 (the most recent year for which numbers are available), the brief analyzes graduation rates by race and gender, in Connecticut and nationally. The brief also discusses the economic and social impact of not graduating from high school prepared for college and careers.

Key points include:
The statewide graduation rate has not improved since 2003: every year, 9,000 Connecticut high schoolers do not graduate – nearly enough students to fill UConn’s Gampel Pavilion.

The graduation rate gap between Hispanic and white (non-Hispanic) students is 31.8 points; the gap between African-American and white students is 22.5 points.

Dropouts from the Class of 2008 will lose more than $2.5 billion in lifetime earnings because they lack a high school diploma.

The State of Connecticut spends $84 million a year on college remediation in basic subjects because 65-72 percent of state college and university students enter college ill-prepared for the work.

As in previous years, this analysis also draws attention to the differences in graduation rates calculated by the Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE) and Education Week’s Diplomas Count report, which uses a much more accurate “cohort-based” methodology for calculating graduation rates. Last year, the State Department of Education announced that it will begin to use the same methodology to generate more accurate graduation rates beginning with data from the Class of 2009.

“This brief emphasizes yet again the need for fundamental change in Connecticut’s public education system,” said Alex Johnston, ConnCAN’s CEO. “We cannot afford to lose 9,000 students every year. We cannot continue to spend so much time and money in remediation classes for the students who enter college unprepared for post-secondary work. Only by pursuing structural reforms, including policies to guarantee all public school students fair funding for their education and a great teacher every year, will Connecticut be able to graduate all its students equipped for the challenges of college and careers.”

Using last year's drop-out analysis by ConnCAN that I posted on the site last June, here's a comparison of the rates from 2007 and 2008 using the numbers from SDE and the more accurate figures from Education Week’s Diplomas Count.

District Name: Danbury School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 92.4 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 72.6 percent
Gap: 19.8 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 89.0 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 73.8 percent
Gap: 15.2 percent

District Name: Bethel School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 100 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 84.1 percent
Gap: 15.9 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.6 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 86.1 percent
Gap: 13.5 percent

District Name: Ridgefield School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 98.8 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 91.3 percent
Gap: 7.5 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.1 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 98.6 percent
Gap: 0.5 percent

District Name: Brookfield School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.1 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 87.9 percent
Gap: 11.1 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.2 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 93.4 percent
Gap: 5.8 percent

District Name: Newtown School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 97.5 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 95.5 percent
Gap: 2.0 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 96.5 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 96.4 percent
Gap: 0.1 percent

District Name: New Fairfield School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 97.4 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 88.9 percent
Gap: 8.5 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.1 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 92.7 percent
Gap: 6.4 percent

In short, the analysis shows a marginal improvement for the Danbury school system for the time between 2007 and 2008 although there is still plenty of room for improvement. With Mark Boughton and the city council drastically decreasing the education budget from 2009 to present, it will be interesting to see the drop-out analysis for 09-11 when they become available.

Full analysis is below...

BREAKING NEWS: Racial violence at Danbury High School?!?

2011-09-29T13:12:00.001-04:00

Post bumped to the top w/additional info...

UPDATE 7:00 PM: Here's a News-Times follow-up that focuses on community leaders and school officials defusing the situation.

School and community leaders Thursday downplayed the racial overtones of a fight Wednesday morning between black and Latino students at Danbury High School.

That incident occurred the day after a fight between two students on Tuesday that might have started over a girl or a racial slur.

[...]

According to Olivia Negron, a senior, the fight was touched off Tuesday when one male student inappropriately touched another, a female, in the school's cafeteria.

Others intervened and a fight broke out, she said.

The following day, Wednesday, the two groups fought again, only this time friends from both sides jumped into the fracas, Negron said.

[...]

"There was a rumor that led to a fight that led to a fight that led to a rumor that because there was no school today, (of the fight) possibly spilling into the street," said Ingrid Alvarez-Dimarzo, director of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury.

"Here is social media and people, and now you got Dominican kids riling (up) other Dominican kids to go and fight black kids," she said. "But when you sit down and talk to them individually (you don't hear that)."

Alvarez-Dimarzo said that when word of the brawl got back to her, she got into her car to look for some of the students she had come to know in her time with the Hispanic Center.

She said that many of them had donned "Dominican Pride" T-shirts after school let out, making them easily identifiable.

"I talked to some of these kids yesterday. They're not looking to fight because someone's black," she said Thursday. "They're afraid of getting beaten up and they're angry."

According to Alvarez-Dimarzo, students were not attacked by virtue of their ethnicity, but in retaliation for the earlier fight.

"That only comes when kids don't have these support groups and so they try to create it on their own (with their friends)," she said. "Regardless of what side of the issue the adult community may find themselves, we still have the responsibility to help these kids process these issues."

UPDATE 12:00 PM: The following comment from a student at DHS in response to several racist and offensive comments made by others regarding the incident sheds some light on the underlying issue at the school.

no one cant judge dhs now if they dont know the whole story…. were not idiotic ethnic groups either. we stand up for our race and what we beleive in. no one told the dominicans to try and bum rush blacks, no body was thinking about the spanish boys until they decided to come after us. i know the whole story so what some of you people need to do is actually figure out the story in order to understand the meaning of the fights. DHS is now segregated !!! all do to dominicans and blacks!!! we standing up for our pride and we are also defending our lives. if a group of people were planning to fight you then yes, you would do the same everybody else did yesterday!!!

UPDATE 11:00: Here's Mark Langlois take on the incident (Danbury Patch):

A series of fights broke out Wednesday, and the school suspended 10 students who were involved.

"The individuals involved were disciplined or suspended," said Schools Superintendent Sal Pascarella, Ed.D. "We'll look into any other things that went on, but we already identified the main people involved."

Pascarella said it all started with a stupid comment, followed by more words, which turned into a fight.

"We don't think it was gang-related," Pascarella said. Once it started, staff patrolled the halls, as did members of the Danbury Police Department. "We want a unified front to stop this nonsense."

Pascarella said it isn't as though the school system is alone working on this fight. He said Ingrid Alvarez-DiMarzo, executive director of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury is working on it, as is Rev. Ivan Pitts of the New Hope Baptist Church. He said the Danbury Police Department patroled the parking lots to make sure nothing started up again there.

"There were no weapons, no injuries," Pascarella said. "We really all work together on this."

Danbury Hispanic Center Executive Director asked students to remain calm and un-involved.

UPDATE (Sept 29) 10:00 AM: Here's the latest from Eileen FitzGerald at the News-Times.

Danbury High School Principal Gary Bocaccio said 10 students were suspended Wednesday after a fight broke out in the morning, the day after a Hispanic freshman and a black freshman reportedly swapped racial epithets.

Bocaccio said more students would be questioned Friday, since school is closed Thursday for Rosh Hashana.

The students were suspended for varying amounts of time based on their involvement in the incident, but there were no weapons, no criminal charges and no offenses that could lead to expulsion, Bocaccio said Wednesday night.

He said there was an altercation Tuesday between two freshmen, a Dominican student and a black student.

Some other students told school officials that there might be some trouble, based on the incident, and staff asked to speak with some students Wednesday morning at the main office, Bocaccio said.

It was near the office that the fight broke out between the group of Latino and black students, Bocaccio said.

"The fight was broken up quickly. There were some scratches that nurses attended to immediately," he said. "We determined who was the instigator.''

UPDATE 11:45 PM: From what little I learned so far late tonight, multiple sources informed me that the fight seems to be between the Dominicans and African-Americans. With Thursday being a teacher in-service day, people are concerned that the fights that occurred at school could spill out into the streets...the most important thing now is for students to CALM DOWN!

I'll have more soon...

Just received some very disturbing news regarding racial violence at Danbury High School today.

Here's the video of two of several incidents that occurred at the High School today that's gone viral.

The Hispanic Center posted the following message to students at DHS on Facebook:

This post goes out to my Danbury High School youth! I want to talk to you, but more than talk I need you to listen to what I will ask of you. To the members of Trinidad I will say Dominicana Soy! But I will not excuse nor tolerate the use of ethnic pride for violence. I recognize your need for acknowledgement and respect. I am saddened by the incidents at DHS today. I've had the opportunity to meet with some of you this afternoon. Thank you for listening and thank you for taking the shirts off. For those that I haven't seen today-hear me out. Trinidad you have an open invitation to see me, talk to me and meet with me. I'm putting the ball in your court. My doors are open for conflict resolution. Use me as your vehicle. Allow me to hear and better understand what you are going through. No reprimands no accusations. But I need you to put weapons down-I need you to not use violence and gang intimidation tactics. Allow me to help you resolve this conflict. I will hear and not judge your side of the story. But I will ask of you this-no violence-call the fight off-do not allow one more friend to get hurt. To all other friends, please if you have access to DHS student community at home, in the community or any place else or even if you don't let's lead by example. Please share this post and help me reach every DHS student today.
Peace.
Ingrid
Executive Director
Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury
Centro Hispano (203) 798-2855

I don't have all the details on what happened today but one thing is for certain...physical violence is NOT the answer. Danbury High has seen it's fair share of racial incidents in the past and the last thing this city needs is violence based on race spreading at the school.

I'll update everyone once I get more info...if any students have information on what happened or have video of any fights that broke out today, please feel free to contact me at hatcityblog@yahoo.com or @hatcityblog on Twitter.

If your a student and are pissed off over what happened, PLEASE PLEASE take a DEEP breath and think things through before acting on your impulse. With tomorrow being a teacher in-service day, we don't want what happened at DHS to spill into the streets on Thursday.

The Hispanic Center is on high alert attempting to reach out to any DHS student who were effected by today's events. Contact them at 203.798.2855, You can also reach the Center on Facebook by clicking here.

PLEASE think b4 you act!

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Danbury Live 09.27.11 broadcast

2011-09-29T11:24:00.001-04:00

BREAKING NEWS: Danbury Chamber of Commerce opts out of mayoral luncheon?!?

2011-09-27T13:25:00.004-04:00

Several sources have informed me that there is a strong possibility that the Danbury Chamber of Commerce WILL NOT host a mayoral luncheon. Viewed as a long tradition in Danbury, the event has served as a debate setting for candidates seeking the office of mayor.

With residents being forced to shell out cash to see the candidates debate (complete with Boughton stacking the crowd with his cheerleaders at City Hall), personally, I always thought the event is nothing more than a joke. Unfortunately, in recent years, due to Mark Boughton's adamant refusal to attend FREE AND OPEN debates with his opponents, the chamber event served as the only place where you can see the mayoral candidates go head to head with each other.

UPDATE: Democratic mayoral candidate and Danbury DTC chairwoman Lynn Taborsak sent the following letter to Chamber President Steve Bull:

September 26, 2011

Stephen Bull
Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce
39 West Street
Danbury, CT 06810

Dear Steve:

I contacted you on Thursday, September 22, to ask you about the Chamber’s plan to sponsor a mayoral debate this year as has been your custom for as long as I can remember. I left my name and phone number with the receptionist who said you were on another phone call at the time.

I have spoken to the three previous Democratic Town Committee chairs – Joe DaSilva Jr., Bernie Gallo and Joe Walkovich – to see if there was any previous election where a Chamber debate was not held because of lack of interest on the part of the local party organizations. No one can recall any requirement that the local party organizations must request that the Chamber sponsor a debate.

Please let me know definitively if a Chamber Mayoral debate will be held and when and where it will take place. I am enclosing a business card with my contact information.

Sincerely yours,

Lynn Taborsak
DDTC Chair

FLASHBACK: Why is the media allowing Boughton a free pass on this Danbury 11 lies?

2011-09-23T13:36:00.003-04:00

In honor of the highly disappointing Danbury 11 feature on Sunday's News-Times, here's my first in many posts highlighting how the News-Times failed in reporting on the numerous inaccuracies Boguhton made to the public regarding the day laborer lawsuit.

Originally posted on 06.11.11

THE MISLEADER

This is unreal...

In a story this week about the federal Secure Communities or S-Comm program, I referred to a 2007 case involving the arrest of undocumented immigrants in Danbury. The city of Danbury earlier this year paid $400,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of those immigrants.

But I mistakenly attributed the arrest to the Danbury police. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton informed me via email about the error, saying that two different immigration courts “have ruled that the ‘Danbury 11’ were not arrested by Danbury Police Department, they were arrested by [U.S.] Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

The involvement of the Danbury police was to have one of their officers pose as a contractor looking for day workers. He drove to a location where immigrants often wait hoping for work, picked up 11 people and, instead of taking them to a job site, delivered them to ICE agents and it was the feds who made the arrest.

For a paper like the Fairfield Weekly to allow Boughton to get away with this statement is remarkable because the mayor was signing a different tune about Danbury's role in the immigration raid at Kennedy Park to The Weekly (as well as the Hartford Courant, WTNH, and WVIT) between 2006-2011.

Mark Spencer, 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.

WTNH, Dec. 2006:

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

WVIT, Dec. 2006:

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

Fairfield Weekly Oct 2007 (APROX. TEN MONTHS AFTER BOUGHTON MADE THE DEC 2006 STATEMENTS and after information in court revealed that Danbury PD was directly involved in the raid):

A year ago, eleven Ecuadorian day laborers were sneakily apprehended in Danbury's Kennedy Park by Immigration and Customs Enforcement with help from some men pretending to be contractors. They had some hard hats, a van and, according to recently uncovered information, a few Danbury police badges.

Why were the local cops assisting in a federal sting? Well, according to remarks from Danbury mayor Mark Boughton last December, they weren't. He repeatedly said the city played no role in the ICE raid.

[...]

Simon Moshenberg, a Yale Law Student representing the "Danbury 11" in a federal court case that began Monday, received the booking report for the arrests after placing a FOIA request. Under "arresting officer," was the name "Lolli," which turns out to be the name of a Danbury police officer. The Danbury News-Times quotes Chief Al Baker explaining that the arrests were initially made because of complaints about the day laborers' effects on traffic and that Danbury police did drive the van. The department chose not to further comment on their involvement when approached by the Weekly.

Boughton elaborated in an e-mail that "the city provided logistical support to ICE," which is "common" and "does not mean that the Danbury PD planned, organized or carried out the raid." He stands by his comments from December.

Keep in mind that Boughton stated to the Fairfield Weekly that he "stands by his comments from December [2006]" when you read what he said UNDER OATH during his deposition in the Danbury 11 case.

Line 8-12, page 248:

Q. Do you agree that the immigration police acted alone?

A. No. I've always said that the Danbury Police Department provided logistical support to the federal law enforcement agency.

Line 20 to line 25 page 249:

Q. As we sit here today, do you agree with the statement that there was no specific planning with the City prior to September 19, 2006?

A Again, I haven't seen any information either way to wither debunk or to affirm that statement.

Here's my favorite…line 10 page 252:

Q. These arrests generated quite a bit of controversy, correct?

A. Yes.

Q. And that controversy included disagreements in the press with statements that you were making; is that correct?

(City Attorney) MR. CASAGRANDE: Wait a minute.
Read that back.
(Whereupon, the question was read back)

MR. CASAGRANDE: Object to the form.

A. Disagreements with who?

Q. The press was reporting a different story as to what happened that you were being reported as having said about what happened; is that correct?

A. I don't know what you are talking -- you have to restate that.

Q. Did the press report a different story as to what happened on September 19 than what you said happened on September 19?

[…]

A. There were, I'm going to guess, dozens upon dozens of press accounts of what happened. None of them have been right. Many of them never talked to me. There are press accounts that were written today that are completely inaccurate as to what --- from what limited information I know, which I shared with you already happened.

So if you're going to rely to be the press as the arbiter of the exact sequence of events that day, you're going to chase your tail all day with that. They're never accurate. They're never right, and particularly now, because papers have been decimated with reporting, they don't do a lot of reporting. So to answer your question, there certainly have been inconsistencies right up until three months ago in terms of the accounts of what happened that day.

A. And were there specifically controversy about whether what you said happened was different from what actually happened?

MR. CASAGRANDE: Objection.

A. I don't recall any controversy.

So after he stated to the Weekly in 2007 that he "stands by his comments from December [2006]" where he "insisted that immigration police acted alone", "the city played no part in the September 19th action", and "the city was not involved in the planing of the raid", when placed under oath years later, Boughton makes the laughable claim that the media was inaccurate in their reporting OF HIS OWN WORDS...then this week, he gives the Fairfield Weekly a totally different account of Danbury's role in the Kennedy Park raid.

You can't make this stuff up folks! When will the media get serious and stop giving Boughton a free pass on the numerous misleading statements he made regarding the Danbury 11 case?

...more later.

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Progressive Soup 09.21.11 broadcast

2011-09-23T10:29:00.001-04:00

Guest: Dan Roberti, candidate for Congress (5th Dist).

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Danbury Live 09.17.11 broadcast

2011-09-21T15:25:00.002-04:00

CT 05: Maloney endorses Donovan for Congress

2011-09-20T08:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, former Congressman Jim Maloney officially threw his support behind Chris Donovan's campaign for his old congressional seat.

Donovan for Congress Press Release:

MERIDEN, CT - Former Fifth District Congressman Jim Maloney today announced his endorsement of Chris Donovan for the Fifth district Congressional seat.

"Chris Donovan has proven himself as a leader who fights on behalf of the families of Connecticut - and wins," said Maloney. "We need his leadership in Congress now more than ever. I trust Chris to stand up for Connecticut's families, to support investment in our cities and towns, and to fight for every American to have an opportunity for their own piece of the American Dream."

"I thank Jim for his endorsement and for his work as a Congressman. I am proud to have his support," said Donovan. "I will value the advice of Fifth District leaders like Jim as I fight to improve access to educational opportunities, increase access to quality, affordable health care, grow sustainable jobs with solid benefits, improve access to affordable housing, and protect Social Security and Medicare."

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: The Marty Heiser Show 09.15.11 broadcast

2011-09-17T10:20:00.002-04:00

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Danbury Live 09.03.11 broadcast

2011-09-15T20:05:00.000-04:00

BREAKING NEWS: Troy Grant accepts new plea deal

2011-09-14T12:42:00.013-04:00

Today at Danbury Superior Court, former youth mentor Troy Grant accepted a plea deal stemming from numerous charges of sexual assault to minors.

MORE DETAILS TO COME.

UPDATE 5:10 PM: WARNING: Elements of this case are somewhat graphic in nature. After much consideration, I decided to detail the case against Grant because this is a situation where a person in a position of authority as a mentor for troubled youth for several well-known organizations in Greater Danbury abused his power. Adults trusted this individual with children and unfortunately, Grant's acts probably resulted in some of the most vulnerable young members of our community being scarred for the rest of their lives. As a community, we need to fully understand what happened to these minors so we can make sure that cases like Grant's will never happen again. The following post is a combination of notes taken at today's hearing, extracts from the police warrant, and information obtained from the state's judicial website.

Okay, here's a inside look at what happened at today's hearing. This is my nest recount of what transpired today...

Around 11:30AM Troy Grant is brought from lockup to the courtroom. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit and the hearing begins with list of counts involved in plea margin being read by State Attorney prosecutor Sharmese Hodge.

COUNTS:

1. Statue 53a-71(a)(10); 53a-71(a)(10): SEX 2-ACTR IN POWER>19,VCTM<18 (crime committed in Danbury on aprox. 10.01.09)

7. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 10.11.09)

8. Statue 30-86*: ILL DELIVER LIQUOR TO MINOR (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 10.11.09)

9. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 11.01.09)

12. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 11.01.09)

13. Statue 53a-71(a)(4): SEX 2-VCTM<18Y,ACTOR=GUARDIAN (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 05.01.09)

18. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 10.01.09)

20. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 06.01.09)

21. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 06.01.09)

23. Statue 53-21(a)(2)*: ATTEMPT TO COMMIT ILL SEXUAL CONTACT-VCTM (MINOR) (crime committed in Danbury on aprox. 06.01.09)

TOTAL:
2 counts sexual assault, 2 deg
1 count giving liquor to a minor
6 counts risk of injury to minor
1 count attempt sexual assault, 2nd degree

After counts are read, court clerk reads the docket number (DBD -CR10-0137755-S), goes through each count mentioned by the prosecutor, and ask Grant for his plea. With his attorney Angelica Papastavros by his side, in a clear voice Grant responded with "guilty" to each of the counts.

After pleading guilty to each of the charges, prosecutor Hodge goes through the history of the case. This is the best transcript I could do from my notes…I also used Grant's police warrant report as background in order to fill in any blanks I missed since most of the prosecution's presentation can be found in the report (WARNING: VERY graphic details).

The investigation started on 01.19.10 with Danbury PD receiving a 737 (notification of suspected abuse). An anonymous call was made to the DCF hotline regarding sexual abuse by Troy Grant committed with two boys who he had in his custody. Another call was made by an individual who also stated that also stated that Grant was having inappropriate sexual relations with the two minors.

An investigation was conducted that indicated the minors came from hardships prior to living with Grant (e.g., one minor was previously in a detention center) and that nature of the relationship centered on Grant was providing the minor room and board as well as other items of assistance in exchange for the minors allowing Grant to perform sexual acts on them.

The individual who called to complain about Grant assisted the Danbury PD by placing a call with one of the minors who admitted to having sexual relations with Grant. Danbury PD asked the minor to come to the police station and offer a statement. The minor was dropped off at the police station by Grant. After a statement was given by the minor, Grant came into the station and also provided a statement to the police in which he detailed the sexual acts he did with the minor. Grant described at least five acts he did with the minor.

Danbury PD interview other minors (Doe 2, 3, 4) who also described Grant's offers of performing oral sex on them in exchange for goods. In one case, one minor asked Grant for 30 dollars and Grant replied "I'll give you 30 dollars if you let me perform oral sex on you."

During the investigation, Danbury PD identified four more victims (Doe 5-9) who also talked about details regarding their relationship with Grant. In one instance, a minor described an incident in which he drank alcohol at Grant house as well as watch pornography. He was also paid by Grant to watch another minor child (15 years old) perform masturbation on himself. Grant also offered to masturbate with the child. The minor child also told police that on three occasions, Grant said that he was in a position where he could get the child into the prostitution business and have sex with men and women for money.

Another minor (Doe #7,a member of Pathways) described an incident where he was stripped of his clothing, and placed in a towel short at someplace where Grant was chaperoning and placed into a shower. The minor reported the incident to his father and while at a Superbowl party where Grant was chaperoning he was assaulted by Grant and the minor thought it was in retaliation for him informing his father about the previous incident.

In another incident, another minor from Pathways described to police an incident where Grant inquired into the size of the minor's penis and propositioned him for oral sex. When the minor stated that he did not know the size of his penis, Grant stated that if he could put his mouth on it, he could make it hard and then you could measure it.

Prosecutor stated that Grant was a executive director of Pathways Danbury, as well as an advisor to the youth minister at New Hope Baptist Church, a member of Younglife, and a member of the Harambee Center. Each of the organizations are geared towards mentoring and helping troubled youth in the community. These organizations are places in which Grant focused on locating the most disenfranchised minors in the Greater Danbury community and abusing the kids in exchange for offering them help.

The prosecution then detailed the plea offer which involves jail time that will no less than 12 and no more than 20 years in jail with 30 years probation and a life time registration as a sex offender (originally, Grant faced up to 100 years in prison). Afterwards the judge asked Grant a series of questions that centered on him understanding that by accepting the plea deal, he's withdrawing his right to a trail by how peers. Grant's most animated moment came when the judge asked him "Are you pleased with the performance of your attorney" at which point Grant responded "very much so" (Grant's previous attorney Jim Diamond requested to be removed from the case citing that the "attorney-client relationship has broken down irretrievably," and Grant "failed to honor the retainer agreement" signed when Grant hired him in early February).

After the judge asked Grant a series of questions in order to make sure he understood the requirements of the plea deal, a PSI (pre-sentance investigation) was ordered and that the case would be continued to November 2nd at 9:30 where the prosecution and defense will make their argument regarding the length of Grant's sentencing. Speaking after the hearing, Grant's defense attorney Papastavros had this to say about the plea.

"I don't think this was an offer my client should have turned away from," said Papastavros. "Mr. Grant is now in a position to put this behind him and move on with his life. It's a good deal for my client."

Seeing that Grant faced 100 years in jail and that he rejected two previous offers, he should consider himself lucky that his attorney was able to get this deal that could have him back in the streets before his 60th birthday.

RELATED POST:

VIDEO: 2009 interview with Pathways Danbury Exe. Director Troy Grant

Bells Lane clear-cutting fiasco update

2011-09-13T12:38:00.005-04:00

During this month's city council meeting, Republican At-Large Councilman Phil Curran asked Deputy Corporation Counsel Laszlo Pinter for an update on the clear cutting fiasco on Bells Lane.

RELATED POSTS:

HatCityBLOG: What's with the clear-cutting on Kennedy Ave?

NEWS-TIMES: Danbury to investigate clear-cutting of trees on city-owned property.

HatCityBLOG VIDEO: City Council approves funding for freshman sports

2011-09-12T16:59:00.003-04:00

From last week, here's the city council discussion and approval of funding for freshman sports.

...for those who read about the meeting of the minds between yours truly and the mayor, here's the video of the rare encounter.

RELATED POST:

DANBURY PATCH: City Council Approves Funding for Freshmen Sports

We remember

2011-09-11T09:05:00.001-04:00

Remember...

CT 05: Donovan makes it official

2011-09-09T13:28:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Chris Donovan paid a visit to my neck of the woods in Danbury to officially announce his candidacy for Congress.

Donovan has been unofficially running for Chris Murphy's 5th Congressional seat since May, but he is kicking off his campaign this week with stops at cities across the district. He visited Waterbury and Torrington Wednesday, Danbury Thursday, and he will visit Meriden Friday and New Britain Saturday.

"My whole life has been dedicated to seeing that people are taken care of," said Donovan, who represented Meriden in the state legislature for 18 years. Since 2009, he served as speaker of the house.

Donovan said his work in the state legislature showed he can work with both Republicans and Democrats. He said his work on campaign finance reform under a Republican governor led to legislation that made it possible, "so everyone can afford to run for office."

Donovan spoke to a group of about 50 democrats, including former Town Committee chairmen Bernard Gallo and Joe DaSilva. Lynn Taborsak, who is both the Democratic Town Committee Chairman and the democratic candidate for mayor, also attended, as did former Fifth District Congressman Jim Maloney.

From yesterday at the Danbury Public Library, here's video footage of Donovan's stump speech.

To all the whining local politicians...

2011-09-07T16:28:00.002-04:00

...this commentary from Jeff Mill for the Middletown Press is for you.

In the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, three distinct sounds rose up into the still late summer air: chainsaws, generators - and whining.

Chainsaws were put to a practical use, clearing away debris left by the storm, while generators kept homes and businesses connected to the 21st century.

But the whining? The whining came from too many people with a too-important sense of themselves and too little awareness of the difference between an inconvenience and a true crisis.

Yes, hundreds of thousands of people lost power, some for a few hours, others for a few days. If your family has a person with a severe medical condition or a new-born child, that could be a matter of concern.

But in virtually every town in the region, arrangements were made for people to take shelter, or to take showers, obtain water and even food. Those who feel they must remain connected to their various PDAs and notebooks could even charge up their devices.

And, crucially, the weather cooperated; it has been one of the most pleasant weeks of all year.

As one veteran observer of the foibles of Connecticut residents noted perceptively this past week that what happened in the wake of Irene was a temporary inconvenience.

[...]

But that hasn't stopped a constant buzz from a vocal minority demanding that they get their power back NOW!

In Madison on Friday, police had to be called when some of the residents of one of the tonier precincts in that tony town unleashed verbal abuse on a CL&P crew demanding that their power be restored immediately and making ludicrous references to how much the good people pay in taxes.

Elsewhere, some other self-important people have castigated utility crews, including some of from out of state who left their homes and hearths to help out the residents of Connecticut.

Instead of a well-deserved "thank you," unfortunately some of the visiting crews found themselves on the receiving end of another greeting that ends in "you."

In some parts of the state, police officers have been stationed at staging area for utility crews to ward off would-be abusers.

And all because of why exactly? Because they are missing the latest episodes of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"? Or because they can't get the latest breaking news on the foibles of LiLo?

A scant hundred miles or so north of here, residents in southern Vermont and portions of New York's Adirondack Mountains are coping with real problems. Rampaging creeks have washed out roads in both areas and isolated communities.

While not rising to the level of a crisis, the devastation suffered in those two areas should put the whiners of Connecticut to shame. Should be probably won't.

Like spoiled children, they are throwing a tantrum.

Make sure to go to Mill's site and read his entire write-up...maybe someone should email this commentary to our narcissistic part-time mayor and disgraceful state senator who are still criticizing CL&P and Governor Malloy over the response to the hurricane.

Shame on Boughton and McLachlan for using power outage situation for political purposes

2011-09-02T15:27:00.006-04:00

We were told during the storm that restoration of services might take a week.

Crews are risking their lives to restore power to residents.

Based on news reports, on Monday 11,000 customers in Danbury were without power and on Wednesday that number was 37,000 for the Greater Danbury area.

Today...

Connecticut Light & Power reported that nearly 3,500 people around Greater Danbury are still in the dark Friday morning, five days after Tropical Storm Irene swept through the state.

For many who remained without power, frustrations were boiling over about what some perceived to be utilities dragging their feet on restoration efforts.

Ridgefield with 1,978 outages, Danbury with 707 and Redding with 183 were among the hardest hit.

Now CL&P are stating that 99 percent of their customers across the state will have their power restored by Monday with Bethel having their lights back on by tomorrow and the situation in Ridgefield improving at a fast pace (from nearly 100 percent on Sunday the dark to 39 percent as of Friday).

Although the number of residents without power has dropped dramatically from Monday to Friday, throughout the week we had politicians who are clearly using the power outages for political purposes. This includes:

Our fearless mayor who on Sunday went out of his way to defend the efforts of CL&P...

Boughton twitter account (Aug 28):

Boughton twitter account (Aug 28):

only to use the city's reverse 911 system< less than 24 hours later to bash CL&P and Gov. Malloy while providing a rant that sounded more like a re-election rallying cry than a informational message (note how the text transcript of the call provided on the city website doesn't include the full extent of the re-election talking points Boughton provided in the actual call).

TEXT PROVIDED ON THE CITY WEBSITE:
Hello this is Mayor Mark Boughton with an important priority message regarding power outages in the City of Danbury. Currently 11,000 customers are out of power in Danbury. Like you, I have been deeply frustrated by CL&P's lack of response and preparedness, but will continue to advocate on our behalf for a timely restoration of power. In addition, we have communicated to Governor Malloy's office our concerns regarding the lack of restoration of power in Danbury. Finally, if you have any questions regarding your power feel free to call CL&P at 1-800-286-2000.

Many of you have inquired about debris that came down during the storm. You can always drop off your brush at Ferris Mulch Products free of charge located at the Danbury landfill. If you cannot drop your brush off, we will collect it when we do our annual fall leaf pick up.

ACTUAL CALL FROM August 29 at 5PM:

AND a disgraceful state senator who has been taking every opportunity to blame Governor Malloy for all the troubles.

During Hurricane Gloria in the 80s, I was without power for nearly a week...and at that time when I lived in GREATER HARTFORD. During that time instead taking cheap shots, local officials provided information on where to receive water and ice as well as calls for volunteerism, which included requests to check on elderly neighbors who could be in need of assistance.

...oh, did I forget to say that politicians during that time routinely thank the restoration workers who eventually got the power back across the state.

During Hurricane Floyd in 1999, the damage to Danbury was FAR more significant with many residents losing their homes, roads and bridges being washed away, and overall damage estimated in the millions. I don't recall then Mayor Eruqiez taking cheap shots at Governor Rowland while Danbury attempted to recover from one of the strongest storms in 40 years.

WIKIPEDIA:
The effects of Hurricane Floyd in New England stretched across the region from Connecticut to Maine and included two casualties. Floyd, once a large and powerful hurricane, made landfall in North Carolina and weakened as it tracked northward along the U.S. East Coast. By September 17, 1999, the storm, downgraded in strength to a tropical storm, was situated over New England. It produced heavy rainfall and gusty winds throughout the entire region, leading to widespread downing of trees and extensive power outages before it moved away later that day. In Danbury, Connecticut, Floyd triggered severe flooding, considered the worst in 40 years, that damaged hundreds of homes.

[...]

As Floyd tracked up the Connecticut River Valley towards Massachusetts, it dropped heavy precipitation. The heaviest rainfall occurred in a southwest–northeast orientated swath from northern New Jersey to southwestern Connecticut, including southeastern New York. At the Danbury Airport, 11.13 in (283 mm) of rain was reported. Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 in (25 to 51 mm) per hour occurred at Bethel and Danbury. Numerous rivers overflowed; for example, the Still River and its tributaries triggered severe flooding.[8] The worst of the flooding—considered the worst in 40 years—took place at Danbury.[9] Hundreds of homes, two car dealerships, several roads, and other structures were damaged there.[8] At Greentree Motors, all 200 vehicles were declared a total loss.[9] Parts of the city were submerged with 4 ft (1.2 m) of water.[10]

Compared to earlier storms in Danbury, besides the power outages, Floyd's impact to Danbury was next to nothing YET we have politicians taking every opportunity to capitalize on the situation for political purposes.

If Jim Dyer or Gene Eriquez acted the way Mark Boughton and Mike McLachlan are acting, Republicans would be crying foul...and our current local officials should be ashamed on themselves.

...but of course, we're talking about local officials who apparently have no shame.

Pull out the chicken suit

2011-09-01T18:17:00.007-04:00

Oh, this is rich!

It's bad enough that Mayor Boughton had the audacity to not introduce himself when he call into a live TV interview I conducted with Democratic mayoral candidate Lynn Taborsak, today our fearless mayor wanted to come onto the Marty Heiser Show BUT only if I wasn't there.

What a joke.

Well, our fearless mayor won't appear live on the show tonight because of yours truly (too afraid to answer non-softball questions) and has opted instead to call in (well at least this time he'll actually introduce himself as Mark Boughton as opposed to masking as a random caller.

So much for People over Politics...

Well said

2011-09-01T17:59:00.002-04:00

Letter to the Editor from resident Joseph Mastrolillo (will appear in the News-Times tomorrow):

I would like to comment on the mayor's robo call to tell me that he wasn't happy with the time it was taking the CL&P to handle the power problems.

I felt he was saying the CL&P were the bad guys and he was the good guy because he called me and asked me to call the CL&P and complain.

I felt with the size of the job, the areas that were hit harder than Danbury might have to be helped first and maybe there was a lack of qualified people to do the work.

This call made me very uncomfortable and sounded political to me and also a waste of the system just to score points.

More to come...

2008 FLASHBACK: Boughton uses reverse emergency system for ICE ACCESS push poll

2011-09-01T12:58:00.003-04:00

Mark Boughton has a LONG history of using the city's reverse 911 system for political purposes. His most outrageous abuse happened three years ago where the mayor used the system to promote an ICE ACCESS push poll that he designed.

News-Times 01.09.08:

Sixty-seven percent -- or 4,700 of about 7,000 people who responded -- voted yes in the automated poll, which asked whether Danbury police should proceed with a partnership with ICE to enforce illegal immigration laws.

"People have expressed that they wanted input. What better way than to call up and ask them?" Boughton asked. "It's certainly not scientific. But because we had over 7,000 responses, you definitely get a sense of what people think."

However, Paul Rotello, a Democrat serving his second term representing the 6th Ward on the Common Council, questioned the motivation behind using a telephone system normally used to tell people about snow emergencies and road closures.

"There was no uncertainty in a so-called 'poll' the mayor himself states was unscientific," Rotello said in a prepared statement. "So why create more controversy? I can think of many reasons. But hijacking the people's 311 system with disingenuous leading questions that preordained results suggest the real motivation was to shore up ill-thought political positions, stifle critics and still debate."

[...]

Boughton and City Hall staff prepared a recorded poll Tuesday and then used the city's Connect-CTY system to call 20,000 residences Tuesday night.

Of the 7,000 responses, 19 percent (1,337 people) answered no, while about 14 percent (972 people) wanted more information.

Fifth Ward resident Pearl Turk was one of the undecided poll participants. She was disturbed by the poll because it was used to gauge support on a hot-button issue.

"It seemed to me the way it was worded was to make me respond yes," Turk said. "I wondered if it was just a maneuver to gain support."

Apparently Boughton didn't learn anything from 2008, if anything, he's become more arrogant and hyper-political in his abuse of the city's emergency system.

More later...

Danbury Dems mock Boughton: "Wonder what he is so afraid of"

2011-08-31T16:30:00.000-04:00

So much for "People over Politics..."

Danbury Dems (via Facebook):

I guess next we can expect our fearless mayor to refuse to participate in FREE and OPEN debates...

News-Times misleading headline is a disservice to Danbury residents

2011-08-31T15:24:00.005-04:00

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

37,000 residents in Danbury without power? Really?

Lets take a look at the outage report from CL&P...

DANBURY=6437

Given the frustration among those who still don't have power, it's important for the media to get the story right and not fan the flames...just sayin'.

UPDATE 4:00: The News-Times sets the record straight...

Thanks!! Dealing people all day who were convinced that 37,000 people in Danbury were w/o power became quite frustrating.

VIDEO: Flood damage to Danbury by Irene not as bad as damage from Floyd in 1999

2011-08-28T14:03:00.017-04:00

Images of flood damage from hurricane Irene (photos taken on 08.28.11 around 9:30AM. During the tropical storm of 1999, the flooding in the area was more extensive and wide-spread.

With memories of hurricane/tropical storm Floyd still fresh in my memory, today I made it a point to visit the exact locations a traveled back in 1999 in order to compare the flood damage cause by Irene to one of the worse rain storms of the 90s.

For those for forgot about Floyd's visit to Hatcity, the damage caused to this area was so widespread (although it was a tropical storm Floyd seemed to stop right over Danbury and drop inches upon inches of rain) that it was noted in Wikipedia.

The effects of Hurricane Floyd in New England stretched across the region from Connecticut to Maine and included two casualties. Floyd, once a large and powerful hurricane, made landfall in North Carolina and weakened as it tracked northward along the U.S. East Coast. By September 17, 1999, the storm, downgraded in strength to a tropical storm, was situated over New England. It produced heavy rainfall and gusty winds throughout the entire region, leading to widespread downing of trees and extensive power outages before it moved away later that day. In Danbury, Connecticut, Floyd triggered severe flooding, considered the worst in 40 years, that damaged hundreds of homes.

[...]

As Floyd tracked up the Connecticut River Valley towards Massachusetts, it dropped heavy precipitation. The heaviest rainfall occurred in a southwest–northeast orientated swath from northern New Jersey to southwestern Connecticut, including southeastern New York. At the Danbury Airport, 11.13 in (283 mm) of rain was reported. Rainfall rates of 1 to 2 in (25 to 51 mm) per hour occurred at Bethel and Danbury. Numerous rivers overflowed; for example, the Still River and its tributaries triggered severe flooding.[8] The worst of the flooding—considered the worst in 40 years—took place at Danbury.[9] Hundreds of homes, two car dealerships, several roads, and other structures were damaged there.[8] At Greentree Motors, all 200 vehicles were declared a total loss.[9] Parts of the city were submerged with 4 ft (1.2 m) of water.[10]

When comparing Irene to Floyd, it's not even close.

While it appears that Irene caused major damage to the state's coastline, when it comes to Danbury it appears that the city was spared any major destruction.

For those in the know, when it comes to flooding in Danbury, the place better known as Swampfield has certain locations that always flood. Back in 1999, I worked at one of these locations over on Finance Drive near Newtown Road and can distinctly recall the flood damage to that area (i.e., the bridge on Old Newtown Road was destroyed, water on Finance Drive came to the hood of my Jeep, intersection of Finance Drive and Newtown Road was under at least 3 to 4 feet of water, Federal Road by Stew Leonards looked like a river, etc).

With that in mind, today, I videotaped the same locations in order to give those who remember the storm of '99 a comparative view of the damage caused by hurricane Irene. Now, this is not to say that there wasn't any damage in Greater Danbury...just that in terms of the city of Danbury, the area was for the most part spared any significant damage.

Areas in video: Newtown Road, Corner of Finance/Augusta Drive and Old Newtown Road, Beaver Brook Road, Federal Road (note how Greentree Toyota learned their lesson from '99), White Street (in front of 3 Bros. Diner), West Street (Still River), White Street (Still River).

UPDATE: Here's video I shot of a storm on West Street back in March of 2010. You can compare this footage of the video I shot on West Street in the first video (3:15 to 4:11). During 1999's Floyd, I was unable to stand at that section of the street.

Finally, here's a report from WTNH back in March of this year when a rain storm flooded many of the same spots I videotaped today. Note that the flood level from that storm (caused by the combination of rain and melted snow) are almost identical to the levels from Irene.

In short, yes the flooding from Irene was bad but we've seen MUCH worse...Danbury was called Swampfield for a reason.

THE ARTURO DOTA TRIAL: Accuser pleads not guilty; police warrant paints disturbing picture

2011-08-25T17:28:00.005-04:00

During his arraignment at Danbury Superior Court, accused killer Arturo Dota plead not guilty to the stabbing death of his girlfriend Natalie Ramirez.

For those unfamiliar with the case, here's a recap of the alleged crime via WTNH.

At the court hearing, Dota's lawyer Philip Russell entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Also, according to paperwork on file at court, the prosecution objected the photographers during the arraignment. The objection was overruled by the court and the photographer was allowed in court with conditions.

Since Dota's arraignment was today, his police warrant affidavit was made available to the public…and it paints a very disturbing picture (portion of the document are redacted).

With his bond was set at 1 million dollars, Dota's next court hearing date is set for Sept. 20th.

RELATED POSTS:

NEWS-TIMES: Accused killer pleads not guilty in Danbury stabbing

DANBURY PATCH: Natalie Ramirez Wanted To Leave Him

Read more:

It's time for change on the Board of Education

2011-08-25T10:38:00.003-04:00

This is just nuts...

There seems to be some dispute about what occurred at the last Board of Education meeting this past Saturday morning. “This was a board meeting, and retreat,” according to Richard Janelli, vice chairman of the Board of Education. “We utilized the retreat to see how to improve, to view new goals. And there was also a meeting on the agenda, there was a motion item, and discussion of the year end funding. It was a public posted meeting.

Much of the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the recent discovery of $57,000 of unspent Board of Education funds, which Mayor Mark Boughton has earmarked for freshman sports. According to Janelli, “It was unanimous. The consensus was that the money could be used for other things, books, computers, tech ed; and if it were given to the BOE, it would have to go back into the budget.”

Technically, board member Janelli is correct. Only the BOE can decide how money is to be allocated for education BUT in this case, it's rather obvious that the money should go to Freshman sports. I mean really, what else is the board going to do with 57,000? Although that figure might seem like a goof deal of money, it terms of education, it almost like a drop in the bucket. Unfortunately, according to the article, there are some members of the board who feel that the money should be used for other purposes.

Enough is enough.

I'm not in agreement with many of the stuff that spews out of our current mayor's mouth, but in this case, he has a point...

“The city cannot make decisions for the Board of Education, and we are not going to do that," said the mayor. "But I cannot think of a better way to help a lot of kids than to use this money for freshman sports. It's $57,000! What are you going to do? Hire ¾ of a teacher? This is the biggest bang for the buck, and will make the most direct contribution to the kids.”

How can any member of the board (who actually shows up to the board meetings) disagree that using the money for Freshman sports is the best use of the surplus funds?

From their HORRIBLE attendance record, questionable decision making in the hiring of former DHS principal Robert Rossi, failure to address the low moral at the high school (till the eleventh hour), and a boatload of other issues that are worthy of a separate post, to say that this current board is dysfunctional is an understatement...and the fact that there is even a debate on whether or not surplus funds should be used for Freshman sports should be the final straw.

More later...

Former Danbury resident and local access TV host gives his account of earthquake from D.C.

2011-08-23T15:50:00.007-04:00

Local Access TV Hosts Ivon Alcime (right) and Marty Heiser (left) interview 2nd Ward City Council candidate Ken Gucker (center), Ideas at Work and Beyond: August 9 2007. Alcime is now a teacher at Howard University in D.C. and gave a first-hand account of the earthquake earlier today.

Since the epicenter of the earthquake is located near the nation's capitol, I decided to contact a former Danbury resident who is currently living in Washington D.C. and get his hand account on today's event.

Ivon Alcime is the former host of the local access TV show "Ideas at Work and Beyond" (currently named the Marty Heiser Show) and is a Ph.D student/instructor at Howard University in D.C. After cell phone coverage was restored in his area, I contacted Alcime to get his take on scene in D.C. after the earthquake struck.

LOCAL ACCESS VIDEO: Progressive Soup 08.17.11 broadcast

2011-08-20T18:37:00.001-04:00

Former First Selectman Bob Burke on live TV TONIGHT

2011-08-18T18:58:00.009-04:00

Tonight on the local access show "The Marty Heiser Show" former First Selectman for Bethel Bob Burke will talk about his campaign as well as take calls from the public. I will post the interview online tomorrow morning.

Make sure to tune in Comcast cable channel 23 tonight at 9PM...

UPDATE: Unfortunately I was unable to ask all my questions (which include allegations that the Tea Party movement in the state is not affiliated with the CT TEA Party Political Party. Also, Burke and Bob Crnic made several statements about the current administration which will need to be verified and I will write about in future posts.

Burke will be available for future interviews and I'm hoping that the Democratic and Republican candidates will appear on the show as Bethel's ~~"silly"~~ campaign season goes into ramming speed.

On behalf of everyone at the show, I'd like to thank Burke and Crnic for coming on the program...

UPDATE 2: On the Bethel Buzz, First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker responded to one of the allegations referenced by Burke and Crnic last night.

Bethel First Selectman Matthew Knickerbocker Responds, 8/12/2011, 12:31 p.m. :

Dear XXXXXXX,

Thank you for your email. I’m glad to have an opportunity to set the record straight. It is very unfortunate that just because we have an election coming up, some political candidates are using this as a means of spreading distortions about a project that continues to benefit the town.

Let me assure you that no one, neither the town, any town employee nor any private business owner has broken the law. Nor has any business owner, in this case the owner of Bethel Cycle, derived a benefit at taxpayer expense. Quite the opposite, in fact. It is the town that has benefitted the most from this arrangement, since the owner of the shop has covered all of the costs of renovating a building he can use, but will never own.

Here are some facts:

The resurfacing of the parking lot was paid 100% by rent payments by the previous tenant (an art gallery that ceased business s a few years ago), as required by the Department of Transportation deed. Not one penny of Bethel tax dollars was used.
Use of both the old train station and the new one are restricted by the Department of Transportation. All monies collected from leases and parking fees (as with the new station) must be kept in separate accounts and can ONLY be used for upkeep of the property. This is how the town can reduce the workload on our town crews by using contractors to plow the old station lot in the winter, using the rent money collected from the business, as well as possible future improvements to the municipal parking lot.

As mentioned above, the business owner of Bethel Cycle paid all the costs of renovation. He obtained, on his own, a small business loan to do so. Neither the town nor me as First Selectman had anything whatsoever to do with that loan. There is no kind of personal guarantee by me or the town on that loan. There is no collateral that would cause the town to lose its property in the event the business owner defaulted.

It is true the business owner is allowed to take a credit against the rent payment while the loan is being paid off. In round numbers, the rent is $3,000 per month, and he is allowed to deduct slightly less than $2,000, which gives his a positive cash flow of $1,000 per month. When the loan is paid off (and remember, 100% of the loan money was used to improve property that Bethel owns), then he will pay the full $3,000 per month.

In effect, this private business “fronted” 100% of the money needed to fix the train station, rather than have the taxpayers pay for it. Not only is there nothing wrong with this arrangement, it is almost exactly the same as the lease that Bob Burke, the former First Selectman, negotiated with Daily Fare, the food service tenant who leases space at the new train station. In that case, the business is actually allowed to deduct 100% of the rent while the cost of the commercial kitchen is being repaid. Meaning, of course, the business has not paid a penny in rent since opening in 2008.

I have no problem with this, and I am not criticizing it. But it is more than hypercritical for any political candidate to irresponsibly accuse me personally or anyone else in town government of criminal activity.

Sincerely yours,

Matthew S. Knickerbocker