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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

BREAKING NEWS...CHIEF ROBERTS UPDATES HIS BLOG



Sorry Chief, it's only been ten months since your last blog entry.

To read the Chief's latest blog entry just click on the link in the right hand column

THE PROSECUTION RESTS..... AND NOW ETHICS MATTER


If nothing else has been learned from the Perez corruption scandal, at least someone is paying attention to the City of Hartford's Ethics code.

Apparently Cirque du Soleil has offered complimentary admission to numerous City of Hartford officials and employees.

In a quick response, Hartford's Chief Operating Officer David Panagore sent out the following e-mail to Hartford Department heads and the City Council:

From: Panagore, David B.
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 1:36 PM
To: Dept Heads (City)
Subject: A COI Advisory
Importance: High



Many of you may have received an invitation to a private preview for Cirque du Soleil on June 16th (See below) . After conferring with the Corporation Counsel, I share the following advice and direction.



Accepting free tickets to an event falls within the ambit of the ethics code. Without knowing the value of each ticket, the provision in the Code proscribes receiving gifts aggrgegating more than $100 in any calendar year so with Cirque tickets one could run afoul of that prohibition pretty quickly. For example, any staffer who issues a permit for the Cirque show is well advised not to take tickets. Every employee of the City is covered by the Ethics Code and, quite simply, the better part of valor is simply to not accept any free tickets or other such gifts.



If you have any questions, please contact myself or John Rose.



If only he had been around a few years ago and could have changed "cirque du Soleil tickets" to "granite counter tops", the City could have avoided a lot of embarrassment and avoided a corruption trial.

Friday, June 4, 2010

CAN SARAH BARR BE TRUSTED TO TELL THE TRUTH?



Another opportunity to use this picture of Sarah Barr, but also a time to shed some light on whether she understands her job and more importantly does she understand truth and honesty.

The greater question though is do any of the so called "staffers" of the Perez inner circle understand why they are there. It is pretty obvious that none of them are there to actually serve the City, they are there to support the Mayor. But even in doing that, they are terribly incompetent. How could anyone that is supposed to be loyal to their boss allow embarrassing incident after embarrassing incident to occur. I don't care for Perez, most people realize that, but does anyone in his office have his back and really try to protect him?

Sarah Barr ,as an example, has done more to harm Perez than she has done to make him look good. And right about now it would take a lot to make Perez look good, but it is almost like his staff go out of their way to embarrass him. Could you imagine anyone like Sarah Barr or Susan McMullen surviving their stunts if they worked in the CEO's office of one of Hartford's major corporations like the Traveler's or the Aetna.

I can almost guarantee that if someone with a suspended license was allowed to be hired and then drive the CEO of Aetna for several months, many people down the food chain would be on the unemployment line right about now. But not at Hartford City Hall where incompetence is rewarded almost daily.

It also raises a lot of questions though, the most important being how many other drivers are operating the hundreds of city-owned vehicles that shouldn't be behind the wheel driving. What process is being undertaken to check on that? Knowing the way Hartford operates, probably none. Hartford's version of "don't ask, don't tell"

After I posted the information regarding the Mayor's driver being arrested for operating under suspension I e-mailed several questions to Sarah Barr requesting answers to a few questions I had. In her capacity as the Communications Director for the Mayor, that is her job to answer questions.

I know she won't answer questions from me, but I really don't need her comment because I usually have my facts together long before I even attempt to contact her.

In today's Hartford Courant she apparently did answer questions for them, but her answers seemed far from the truth, if not actually outright lies.

When she was apparently asked if a background check was performed before the driver for Perez was hired, according to the Courant article, she said a background check was performed but "nothing that was red-flaggable" came up.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Unless he had a phony license, a drivers license expired for several years should have been more than "red-flaggable", it should have been "rockets red glaring-able" to grab someones attention. But again, in this administration no one ever acknowledges errors, every thing is always done right.

Barr went on to state, according to the Courant,that the background showed "There were no violations. Nothing came up in the normal process of the check". Does anyone want to place bets on whether an actual background check was ever performed ? My money would be placed on no, absolutely not.

Barr went on to state that "The city did not make a photocopy of his license when he was hired".As part of the hiring process, she said, licenses are examined but there is no requirement that they be photocopied the article stated. My understanding is that for any employer to comply with Federal Law, two forms of ID must be provided and copies kept to verify the employees immigration status when the I-9 form is completed. At the very least the employer must verify that the documents "appear to be genuine and relate to the individual and record the document information" according to federal law.

Maybe since Hartford has designated itself a "Sanctuary City" it can choose to ignore Federal Law.

These are the questions I had e-mailed to Sarah Barr requesting comment:

I am preparing a posting for my blog regarding this and I have a couple questions.

1. Was anyone injured and the extent of the injuries?

2. What was the extent of damage to the vehicle?

3. Was the vehicle leaving the Court after dropping the Mayor off?

4. What process is undertaken to check a city employee's driving history and driving record before allowing them to drive City vehicles?

5. Was anyone aware that his license had been suspended?

6. What was the purpose of the Mayor's Chief of Staff calling the investigating officer to City Hall

None of these questions have been answered by Sarah Barr. That's probably better off though, I'd prefer to deal with the truth rather than lies.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

NEIGHBORS WORKING TOGETHER TO GET IT DONE

Not every neighborhood in the city has a strong NRZ group operating in their area. But many residents still want to work together for the good of the City. Here is a perfect example. Whether you live in this area or not, crime is an issue we all face as Hartford residents.

Feel free to join the meeting tonight.

Community+Meeting+Flyer[1]

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

MESSAGE TO SARAH BARR: "THE BIG DOG IS ALWAYS GOING TO EAT"


Sarah Barr, Mayor Perez's Director of Communications and author of the "Gospel of Perez"



In an administration that has focused on delivering the "Gospel of Perez", it seems that the Mayor's mouthpiece Sarah Barr just can't get a break. Try as hard as she might, the punches just keep flying delivering black eye after black eye to the Perez Administration. And many are wondering if the knockout blow that will render Perez down for the count is about to be delivered by a jury of his peers.

Many of the punches that have landed though have been assisted by Sarah Barr herself.

It seems hard for me to understand how someone who was once considered an actual journalist could make a 180 degree turn and now do everything she can to stifle the media. From a journalist who once built stories through FOIA requests to now be a constant roadblock to those requesting documents through FOIA requests makes me wonder.

At what price does someone change from what they were to what they are now. At what point do the ideals and beliefs you lived by and cherished a few short years ago now become irrelevant? And once the gig at City Hall comes to a screeching halt, will her media colleagues forgive and forget and once again label her as a credible journalist? I would most likely say not.

I learned my lesson of Barr's integrity, or lack thereof, early on once I began this blog. I had asked to be added to the media list for press releases from the Mayor's Office, that request was ignored, and as aggravated as I was at the time, it has paid off. Once the word got out to other media people that I was being refused access to the press releases, they started forwarding them to me once they received them. That worked out well for a while until I started getting a dozen or more "press releases" forwarded to me every time they were issued by Barr.

It also helped in developing sources. When people realized I wasn't beholding to Barr or relying on her for information, the good information began coming in regularly. And I mean the good information that has led to some very interesting blog posts, not the spoon-fed garbage from Barr about things like the hawk landing on the Mayor's windowsill and the forecast for Hartford.

Barr has almost never responded to my request for comments when I ask for them. That's fine with me because I usually have my facts confirmed long before I would ever ask her for comment. I request comment out of courtesy, not that they deserve any courtesy. Just because the City doesn't comment doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Lieutenant J. Paul Vance from the Connecticut State Police is a master at the media game. Lt. Vance regularly gives talks about how to handle the media from his viewpoint and experience. Although I have never attended one of his talks, I know a few people who have, and they have all repeated the same comments that Vance makes.

Vance tells those attending that the "big dog" is always going to eat one way or another, it is your choice whether you feed him and keep him happy or does he go through your garbage to find what he needs. Personally, I've gotten used to going through the garbage and found that the meal is much more satisfying than being spoon fed by Sarah Barr.

So Sarah, keep ignoring my e-mails and calls, it is no big deal. Ask anyone who knows me, I'm definitely well fed.

Oh, and it gives me a reason once again to use that great picture.

IS CITY HALL SERIOUS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY?

In my opinion, and the opinion of many people I speak with, the one major issue keeping Hartford from any significant turn around is the perception of crime and public safety in Hartford.

I like Chief Roberts, I think he is an honest man who really cares about the city he was raised in. I know that he is constantly being told to do more with less. He has many empty promises made to him by Mayor Perez. The most notable probably being the false promises of hiring new officers. At the rate that new officer's are being funded, the Hartford Police Department is just barely keeping up with attrition.

The staffing levels could also jeopardize stimulus funding that has been given to the City for new officers. Under the contract, HPD and the City of Hartford committed to maintaining the number of sworn Police Officers at 460 minimum. Police sources familiar with the numbers tell me that by years end the number of officers could be well below that and jeopardize the stimulus funds.

A few things that really make me wonder about the Perez Administrations commitment to Public Safety in Hartford are quite obvious. One recent example is yesterdays posting about the conditions at the Southend Police substation on Maple Avenue. The are covered by this substation, the Southeast District of the city has seen some of the most impressive numbers in crime reduction and stability for the entire city.

These improvements haven't just happened by luck. A new lieutenant was assigned to the area and strong accountability was put into place. This also was accomplished by building a strong team effort by the officers working in the district. That can only be done by building morale among the officers, and forcing them to work in an office with no heat or air conditioning, to me, doesn't build or maintain morale.

The solution to that situation is simple, a directive from the Mayor to the Public Works Director... get it fixed and get it fixed immediately. I guess that might take some leadership and we all know who is Mayor.

And if you want to talk about morale, how about the carrot on the stick that keeps getting dangled in front of members of the Department. A new state of the art Public Safety Complex that was started at least 5 years ago, if not more, and is now further behind than it ever was.

I remember the first groundbreaking was held years ago under the administration of Chief Harnett. Then the second "groundbreaking" was again held toward the end of the tenure of Chief Harnett. Then the third "groundbreaking" was held under the tenure of Chief Roberts. For those that recall, Chief Roberts wasn't at that dog and pony show because it was shortly after his public comments that Hartford had a "toxic relationship" with itself and we had "lost our moral compass" and he was not in good favor with Perez.

Now, several million dollars later, the new Public Safety Complex is a pile of rubble and a testament to the Perez Administration's commitment to Hartford's Public Safety.

These things all add up to a total lack or respect and no effort to build morale in the Police Department. But one of the most glaring issues that confirms that Perez just doesn't give a damn , is really a simple fix.

For the last few years, Hartford has suffered from a lack of police cruisers. This is due to several reasons, the most popular thing for community people to throw out is that the cops abuse the vehicles and they crash them as soon as they get them. Point taken, but it is also a stark reality that police cruisers get damaged and crash. The solution may go back to training and more defensive driving classes for officers who have a problem driving. Save older vehicles for newer officers coming onto the street until they have proven themselves as capable drivers.

I don't want to see any officer wreck a car, but I'd rather see them wreck a dog of the fleet with 200,000 miles than a brand new vehicle with 1,200 miles on it. The other problem when a cruiser is wrecked is that it is not always the officers fault.Even if someone elses insurance pays the city for the loss, the money goes back into the City's General Fund, rather than replace the vehicle.

The reason for writing this is because of tonight's evening shift at the Police Department. The PD is so short of vehicles, tonight's evening shift had 9, yes nine, cruisers "doubled up". That means that because of the shortage of cruisers, 9, yes nine, officers were riding with another officer because they had no car. So, in essence where there would normally be 18 cruisers patrolling, there are instead nine cruisers with two officers in them.

That drastically effects police response times and police coverage when you cut the number of cruisers able to respond to calls in half. Some calls do require two officers to respond, but many do not. It also cuts police visibility in neighborhoods in half.

There is a lot more, but I think the point is clear that the lip service of the Perez Administration doesn't translate to a strong commitment to Hartford's crime problems and efforts to correct Hartford's image.

I guess it is difficult for a Mayor under arrest and on trial and possibly facing prison himself to welcome law enforcement with open arms.