MAYOR BRONIN: STEP BACK, TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND DO WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR CITY, PLEASE

Enough is enough. It is time to stop the finger pointing, the childish antics and the amateur behavior.

I really am getting tired of our City being a joke over a stadium that probably should have never been built in the first place. But it was started and here we are today having to deal with it.

The really sad part, with all the problems aside, is that anyone who has been invited in there has told me it is going to be a beautiful facility when it is done. A great space to watch a baseball game and get the people that don't know Hartford like many of us do, to experience Hartford.

I implore Mayor Bronin to take a deep breath and reassess the situation . But please reassess the situation as the Mayor, not as a lawyer. Please assess the situation as a Mayor who has a responsibility to the 400 plus people that were promised, and counted on jobs at the stadium. Reassess as the Mayor who has an obligation  to the numerous small business people involved with the project and surrounding the stadium area to remain viable with the income generated.

I understand that no one wants to look weak when they have an opportunity to dig their heels in and prove a point. But I also understand that no one benefits from these prolonged battles, except maybe the lawyers involved.

Again I implore Mayor Bronin to act like the Mayor that was elected by the people of Hartford. A Mayor that promised jobs. A Mayor that promised returning Hartford to some version of economic stability. A mayor that promised accountability and much better management that we had been seeing.

Mayor, insist that everyone get in the same room and start talking and  take Centerplan's offers and promises seriously.Put the egos aside. Forget what has been done up to this point and layout a realistic time frame for completion. Maybe keep the Stadium Authority  away from that meeting room, I think their lack of knowledge has been a hindrance to the project.

Admit the City and Development Services were wrong in their assumptions. I think eventually we will be admitting that anyway, and it will probably be a lot cheaper while working out a realistic solution as opposed to doing it in front of a jury determining damages. Admit the time frame for completion and opening this spring was unrealistic and a little too energetic

Admit that Centerplan may not have been up to the challenge of building a baseball stadium which is much different than retail buildings, apartments or rest areas. Admit that there will be no baseball in Hartford this year. But admit we are committed to getting it done, and soon.

But hopefully the City , Centerplan and the Yardgoats can agree to making it ready to go on opening day of 2017. I definitely think that is "doable" if we knock off the nonsense and get back to work immediately.  Not what we had hoped for, but the reality is that is a much  better  goal than seeing it sit empty while the court cases unfold.

Centerplan also needs to make assurances that hey are up to the task, and reasonable expectations can be fulfilled. Whether that involves financial disclosures on their part or even a third party oversight to assure appropriate time lines and deadlines , work it out and come to an agreement.

The ongoing battles may make for good fill for newspapers and newscasts and radio shows, but the interests of Hartford's people who live here demand more.

Mayor, show us you are capable of responsible leadership rather than creating controversy. We all know you inherited a mess and if we wanted that type of leadership your opponent probably would have been returned to office. We expected better and now it is time for you to start delivering that without hurting Hartford, its reputation or its finances more.

Please get it done, and soon. Everyone has to work to be part of the solution, the City, Centerplan, DONO LLC, the Yardgoats and us as residents being called upon to support this project. Your leadership  can make that happen, bickering and backbiting is doing nothing to get the stadium open and generating revenue.

SURPRISED BY THE POLL RESULTS

The numbers for the first few hours of the blog poll above seemed unusual to me. I did something I normally don't do. For security reasons, a tracking program is attached to the blog. The program is meant to actually be able to identify any "anonymous" comments that might be threatening or disturbing.

I went to the software program today for my own piece of mid to see what was going  on. As they say, nothing on the internet is ever really anonymous. Not surprisingly, the majority of the comments or pro votes for Bronin were coming from "hartford.gov" ip  addresses , quite a few were also coming from the State of Connecticut-judicial branch  and the University of Connecticut ip addresses.

If only the Broninites could organize an effort so quickly to save Riverfest as they did to throw off the poll numbers.

I guess the only poll I need to take regarding the Bronin Administration and their performance is the one that matters, when I talk to people on the streets of our City because they actually live here , unlike many of Luke's staff

And yes, I do have screen shots of the IP addresses to prove what I am saying, but I'll save that for today

And once City Hall closed for the day , after 4:30 PM the positive votes slowed down and the negative votes really increased.. The games people play when the truth hurts

THE TRUE COST OF GUN VIOLENCE

Here is an interstign report detailing the true cost of gun violence. I think we all realize the impact a shooting has on families, but this report goes even further to dig into the "hidden costs".

It is estimated that a shooting has almost $583,000 in costs attached to it and that is just a shooting, not a deadly shooting. The negative economic impact on our community as a result of gun violence  is huge

Take a few minutes to read the report

True Cost of Gun Violence

A NEW POLL, PLEASE VOTE.

The previous poll on the Stadium Authority poll reflected a pretty substantial vote of "no confidence" in the Hartford Stadium Authority, The final vote was 252 negative votes, 166 reflecting "absolutely no confidence " in the authority. 86 voting for their removal and only 16 votes in support of the Stadium Authority.

I. Charles Matthews and the other Authority must have been busy drumming up those 16 positive votes

Since that pooll, I have been asked by many readers to make a poll a regular item on the blog, so here you go:

If the November Mayoral election were held today, would you vote for Luke Bronin?  Simple answers, either YES or NO.

Feel free to elaborate with your answers on this posting here.

SOURCES; STADIUM AUTHORITY NEEDS TO TAKE OVER FIREWATCH

According to City sources , the required fire watch at Dunkin Donuts Park is putting a strain on staffing at the Hartford Fire Department.

You can read more about that mandatory fire watch here

 Apparently, the Hartford Stadium Authority is going to have to look at other options for staffing the fire watch, such as using a private security firm. The fire watch may be required for an indefinite period of time as the Stadium construction is stalled in limbo since Mayor Luke Bronin threw the contractor, Centerplan, off the project

 The Fire sprinkler system and the electronic fire alarm were not operational at the time of Bronin's decision, resulting in Hartford's Fire Marshall requiring the fire watch which has been staffed so far by 3 Hartford firefighters staffing the stadium around the clock 7 days a week.

The projected cost for those overtime services may possibly reach into roughly over $2,000 a day. The problem will most likely be compounded this weekend with the July 4th holiday, as the first priority for staffing is the City's firehouses over a fir watch at the Stadium.

So much for pre-planning by the Stadium Authority and Mayor Bronin's staff.

JUST A CRAZY THOUGHT

I know the Mayor has been critical of Hartford's employee Unions and has portrayed them as a big part of Hartford's financial problems.

The ongoing relationship ( if you can call it that) between mayor Bronin and the Police , Fire, DPW and other employee unions has not been the best.

I am not sure our finances are really as bad as they are being portrayed, and I am also not sure that the "scorched earth"  decision making by Bronin is warranted. Maybe , if it is a bluff, it is time to start playing real poker and call the Mayor's bluff.

I just wonder what would happen if Hartford's Unions went to Mayor Bronin and said they seriously want to be a part of the solution. If they told the mayor that they understand the damage that will be done to Hartford's small businesses as well as Hartford's reputation by the cancellation of Riverfest and they want to help.

What if the relevant Unions offered to donate their time for the four or six hours it would take to pull off Riverfest. What is the Mayor also made a couple phone calls to some of our multimillionaire earning CEO's of a couple of our corporations and ask if they could kick in some of their pocket change to keep a Hartford tradition alive. What if the Mayor dipped into his political PAC , which as of last report was funded at close to $100,000, and kicked in $10,000 or $20,000 to help fund Riverfest?

 What if the perpetual fundraiser Congressman John Larson kicked in  something to support two of the towns in his district that have supported him very well over a couple of decades. Heck, we would even be willing to claim it as a political event for Larson

Maybe the Hartford Courant who ran an article this morning with a plan to move Riverfest off the river would be willing to  put their money where their mouth is and help fund the event. We aren't talking millions , we are looking for roughly $100,000 between two cities

In 2012, the last year I could find on line, Mark Bertolini the CEO of Aetna received annual compensation, including salary and benefits of $13.2 million, I would guess a charitable donation for his home City would not be out of the question to continue history and tradition in Hartford. The CEO of Hartford hospital  also makes a sizable salary, , maybe we could ask him to step up.

If things are bad as Mayor Bronin claims, now is not the time to drive us off the cliff, it is time to find as many partners as possible to be part of the solution. Hartford's Unions could play a significant role in that and make a huge statement of their love for Hartford by stepping forward.

TELL THEM LUKE SENT YOU

http://www.greenwichct.org/News/Parks_and_Recreation/2016_fireworks_display/

TIME FOR A ROAD TRIP

Since Hartford no longer "has it", consider visiting our suburban neighbors to the south or the west.

Fireworks and Baseball in New Britain

THE DILLON STADIUM FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS

Anderson Duckett Federal Indictment

HARTFORD HAD IT

HARTFORD HAD IT

I think it might be time for a new marketing slogan for Hartford. "HARTFORD HAS IT"seems to be meaning less and less everyday. We had the Winterfest skating rink. The rink was very popular for the last several years. The rink was something positive that we could draw people into Hartford with,  to show that we really are a good place to enjoy. Gone under Mayor Bronin's budget cuts (there is an effort underway now to privately fund Winterfest, you can donate at https://www.crowdrise.com/winterfest-hartford-2016-2017) Hartford had it

Hartford used to have a Mounted Police Patrol Unit that was always very popular at the Winterfest Rink and other events throughout the City. Gone under the Bronin budget cuts. Hartford had it. 

Riverfest, the JULY 4th Independence Day celebration, which highlighted Hartford's years of cleaning up a dirty river through Riverfront Recapture and the MDC. An event that drew thousands of people into the City to celebrate so much of what Hartford has to offer. An event that had a huge economic impact on Hartford, filling restaurants and other venues for the night. An event that drew people far and beyond just the river. 

Spectators were enjoying Hartford from the lawn of the Capitol to the roofs of many parking garages throughout downtown , to the spacious lawns of Samuel and Elizabeth Colts back yard, now known as Colts Park, and just about every street and parking lot from Downtown Hartford to the riverfront. Once again, gone under Bronin's budget cuts. Hartford had it.

The Old State House...gone due to budget cuts.What is next ? Closing Elizabeth Park 's Rose gardens. Let's get rid of all of our positive attractions.

It just seems inconceivable to me that a mayoral candidate that could raise over a million dollars for his own campaign couldn't pick up the phone and raise $100,000 to save an event as beneficial to Hartford as Riverfest.

I don't know if it is all part of the effort to make it look like Hartford has finally hit rock bottom or that we are beyond hope without being able to bust our labor Unions. It just doesn't make sense to me

"WE THE PEOPLE" PROGRAM JUNE 27,2016