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Thursday, May 21, 2009

IS A PRESS CONFERENCE STILL A PRESS CONFERENCE IF NO PRESS ATTENDS?


Sarah Barr, the dishonorable Mayor Eddie A. Perez's Director of Miscommunication was at it again today. After the lively press conference she orchestrated yesterday at the site of the proposed new Public Safety Complex, she was at it again today. The press conference yesterday was a huge joke as they announced another $750,000 in federal money being allocated for the facility that now puts the amount allocated at less than 50% of the total cost. At this rate we should expect another 40 or 50 press conferences before the project can be completed. This is already the third press conference in the last four years "announcing" the project. I sure hope Chief Roberts isn't holding his breath waiting for the completion of the project. Maybe that's why no Police Department representatives were in attendance yesterday, although the Fire Department was heavily represented, with Chief Teale standing proud over Perez's shoulder. I guess when you do as the Mayor tells you and you hire his buddies and fire his enemies, you remain in Eddie's good graces. The only good thing about the press conference was that it gave Channel 3 an opportunity to catch Perez in another one of his many lies. When asked about using stimulus money to hire police and firefighters that were laid off due to budget cuts, Perez replied that police and fire cuts were not being discussed and using stimulus money to "supplant" would be illegal. Cut to the video clip of King Eddie's Chief Operating Puppet, I mean Chief Operating Officer Lee Erdmann. In the clip of Erdmann testifying before the City Council budget hearings, Erdmann is on video stating that one of the options being discussed is laying off police and firefighters and hiring them back with stimulus money.You can view the video of Erdmann's testimony under the previous post "What is the Real truth about Hartford's financial condition"

But I digress. After her performance on Wednesday, Barr, the former Channel 3 reporter before she was terminated, held another press conference Thursday in front of the Hartford Hilton. The plan was to show people what a wonderful place Hartford is to "staycation" through using the media to sell the message. The only problem was that no media showed up. I wonder if Sarah gets the message that the media is tired of her useless messages. Even more interesting was the location Sarah Barr ( former Channel 3 reporter before she was terminated) chose for the conference. As at yesterdays press conference when King Eddie had Chief Teale standing proud over his shoulder, today he chose to have the "butt ugly building", which is just north of the Hilton, standing proudly behind him. For those that aren't familiar with the "butt ugly building", it has become the single most recognized symbol of corruption in Hartford, aside from Eddie Perez's mugshot and the granite countertops in his home. The butt ugly building was reported to be a focal point of the Grand
Jury investigation and the Gile's parking lot deals. ("we need to take care of Abe").
I'm not sure what Sarah was thinking, but the "butt ugly building" in the background is about as appropriate as holding the press conference on the lawn of the Hartford Correctional Center where Perez may be spending his "staycation" sometime in the not too distant future.

Even if one reporter had attended, I could think of a few spots that would make more sense to promote Hartford. Maybe the Bushnell Park Carousel, Elizabeth Park, the Wadsworth, the Mark Twain House, the Riverfront Plazas, anywhere but in the shadow of the "butt ugly building".

But I guess in Sarah Barr's defense, she must know what she is doing, she is paid almost a $100,000 a year to promote the Gospel of Perez. ( And $100,000 is a lot more than she was being paid before she was terminated as a reporter at Channel 3)

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