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Thursday, November 17, 2011

IS IT REALLY THAT HARD FOR CITY HALL TO TELL THE TRUTH?

After the previous post and the "Press Release" from City Hall claiming that the dispatch Center was moved due to a "mock exercise" I have received numerous calls from people inside the building

Apparently, as I have previously posted, the evacuation is due to an infestation of fleas. Once again, I stand by my information, no matter how the City tries to spin the information.

I received one internal memo through "alternative means" and another one detailing the infestation should be available shortly.

Why can't they just tell the truth, how difficult would it be to say " we have experienced an infestation of fleas and for the health and safety of our employees, we will be moving the dispatch Center for 24 hours as we exterminate the area."

What else should we expect them to lie to us about? Once again, so much for that "Segarra Transparency". Do you see the words "mock exercise" anywhere in the Chief's memo?

Dispatch Center Relocation

HARTFORD DISPATCH CENTER EVACUATED

I could say so many things about this and go in so many different directions.

The Emergency Dispatch Center at Jennings Road has been evacuated and moved to the Emergency Operations Center at City Hall because of "bugs". Yes, the actual living type...insects, not the "electronic" type.

Apparently the Dispatch Center was overrun with crawling critters and needed to be fumigated, although no one would say exactly what the "insects" are.

I can suggest other areas that might be worthy of a fumigation, and even maybe an exorcism. Maybe the Chief's complex should be swept for "bugs" also

UPDATE 12:00pm


In typical City of Hartford "spin machine" the move is being called a "Mock Exercise" not a word was mentioned that the Center is overrun with bugs.

Here is the release below:

PUBLIC SAFETY NEWS

From the City of Hartford Office of Communications and New Media

For Immediate Release: Thursday, November 17, 2011



DISASTER RELOCATION OF HARTFORD DISPATCH CENTER;

MOCK EXERCISE SCHEDULED TODAY



(Hartford) - The City of Hartford's Emergency Services and Telecommunications Division will be conducting a mock exercise today wherein the entire City of Hartford Dispatch Center will be abandoned and moved to the City's Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Room 304 on the third floor of Hartford City Hall, 550 Main Street, Hartford.



The media is invited to a press availability with City of Hartford Emergency Planning officials at the EOC today at 1:00 p.m. to discuss the emergency planning exercise. Emergency Services and Telecommunications Director Andrew Jaffee and Jared Kupiec, Chief of Staff to Mayor Pedro E. Segarra, will be available for interviews.



For further information contact Nancy Mulroy, Public Information Officer, City of Hartford Office of Communications and New Media at 860-757-4021/office or 860-930-8945/cell.

Friday, November 11, 2011

A MESSAGE FROM AFGHANISTAN


I don't usually post other's writings, but occasionally I make an exception. I posted the "Batman" piece a couple weeks ago. Today on Veteran's Day I received an e-mail from Dan Nolan, currently serving our country in Afghanistan. He asked me to post the following and I think it is the least I can do for him.

WRITTEN BY DAN NOLAN FROM AFGHANISTAN:


Dan Nolan
Pay It Forward
In Memory Of Matt Dirrane

Today is Veterans Day and I am very proud of my fellow Veterans who have served this country honorably. This is in no way meant to take away from the appreciation they all so very much deserve on this day. In addition to honoring our many veterans today I would also like to direct your thoughts and attention to a very close friend of mine, Matt Dirrane, who tragically lost his life 11 months ago today while vacationing in Costa Rica. For those of you who did not have the pleasure of knowing him, Matt had a gift of making everyone feel great, he was extremely loyal and loving to his friends and family. He was a protector and a guardian to all. He would do anything for someone in need without hesitating to provide help, even to a complete stranger. I am sure those of you who knew him as well as I did have been devastated by his loss and have suffered through trying times without him. As you can imagine, it has been even more difficult on his immediate loving family, in particular his sister Pauline. One month from today marks the one-year anniversary of his passing. Instead of making December 11th a day of sadness, I would like to request that instead we celebrate Matt’s contributions to our lives and his generosity that has defined him. I would like everyone to honor him by performing a random act or acts of kindness throughout the next 30 days in Matt’s memory. Pay It Forward. For example, pay for the person's coffee behind you at the drive-thru, clear snow off of a neighbor's car, donate to a worthy cause, adopt a pet from a shelter. The possibilities are endless. Additionally, please take a moment to post your good deed(s) on the “In Loving Memory of Matt Dirrane” Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Loving-Memory-of-Matt-Dirrane/146785158705639?ref=ts) in order to help ease some of the burden Matt’s family may be feeling as the date of his loss approaches. I know Matt would not want us to mourn his death when we could be doing something positive to celebrate his life. So please from now until December 11th I ask of you to pay it forward in honor of my dear friend Matt Dirrane. Some of us may have reasons to complain, but most of us in general have pretty easy lives. Sure, there will be rough times along the way. It happens to all of us. Why not reach out and help someone who’s going through one of these rough times? It could be a loved one, a neighbor, a friend, a co-worker or a complete stranger. Please try and reach out to someone and perform an act of kindness. You’ll find the benefit far outweighs the effort. If everyone did this, imagine the effect it could have on the entire world. It’s amazing to think about, the possibilities are endless. I hope I have inspired all who read this to do at least one good deed to help someone who could use a helping hand.

Remember…
“We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own” ~ Ben Sweetland.

Stay safe Dan, we appreciate your service both to our Country and our City

ANOTHER ELECTION, ANOTHER ANGEL MORALES POLICE REPORT


Hartford Democratic Town Committee Secretary Angel Morales, 2nd from right

It looks like we may have a new political tradition in the making, an election season won't be complete without a police complaint against Hartford Democratic Town Committee Secretary Angel Morales.

For regular readers of the blog, you will remember the incident last year where he was accused of bringing a young man back to his campaign headquarters and disrobing and dancing in front of the young man wearing only his navy blue boxers. The young victim of Morales's "performance" fled from the office and reported the incident to police.

Morales had picked the young man up in a vehicle he had rented through his campaign funds, a Lincoln Continental Mark IV. Although Morales was operating under suspension, the entire matter was "squashed" and no charges were brought.

The original posting can be read by clicking here

Here is the police report for that incident:
Morales Case Report-redacted

Now it seems that Morales is being accused of breach of peace after he created a disturbance at a polling place on Tuesday. The complaint was made by the moderator for the polls at the Learning Corridor.Although the moderator didn't know that the individual was Angel Morales, several sources I spoke with identified the suspect as Morales.

According to the sources, Morales entered the polling location and for some reason began yelling at the moderator, claiming that he was from the Mayor's Office and was going to teach the moderator a lesson. According to the sources who witnessed the incident, at one point Morales became very agitated and approached the moderator in a physically threatening manner. At that point security officials for the Learning Corridor were just arriving and they physically removed Morales from the building.

The matter is currently under investigation according to the HPD incident report. We will have to see if this one gets "squashed" also, only time will tell.

Here is the incident report for the 2nd Annual Angel Morales Election Incident:
***As I mentioned above, the moderator wasn't familiar with Angel Morales, other sources at the polling place identified the subject as Angel Morales, Hartford Democratic Town Committee Secretary . Morales has also interned at the Capitol for State Rep. Minnie Gonzalez and he claimed to be a paid campaign staffer for Mayor Segarra. I COULDN'T GET THE DOCUMENT TO SAVE AS "LANDSCAPE", SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE
MORALES INCIDENT REPORT 11 8 2011

Thursday, November 10, 2011

A NEW ONE FOR THE "BLOGLIST"

It will be big shoes to fill, but I removed Helen Ubinas from the bloglist in the right column. Helen has left the Courant recently and along with that her column is gone.

During the campaign, I was fortunate to listen to one of Hartford's last Republican's, at least one who actually made sense, Michael Fryar. Michael also has a blog and it is worth checking out, http://itsenoughto.blogspot.com

Click the link above or you can follow his writing in the column to the right

THE ELECTION IS OVER, THE HELL WITH PUBLIC SAFETY

The big issue for anyone who attended candidates forums seemed to be public safety. Mayor Segarra constantly reiterated his commitment to Public Safety and making the City safe.

Well, now the election is done and apparently campaign promises mean nothing after the votes are cast.

In Wednesday's COMPSTAT meeting at the Hartford Police Department, department supervisors were told to be prepared for staff cuts and that their walk beats would all be pulled to back fill openings in the Patrol Division. According to sources, supervisors were told by outgoing Chief Daryl K. Roberts that this was only the "first wave" of cuts and was due to budget cuts by Mayor Segarra.

The timing seems quite interesting. In typical political form, we can now see that campaign promises mean nothing. Although "Public Safety" was the political catch phrase during the campaign, it seems that after the polls closed, 12 hours later, public safety can be put on the back burner for another 3 and a half years until the next election cycle.

Although patrol is the backbone of any Police Department, Community Service Officers and walkbeats play a huge role in crime control across the city. Those relationships are invaluable when it comes to controlling or reducing crime. In Hartford, walkbeats, CSO's and SRO's are a huge preventative measure. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the department and under staffing, the Patrol Division has been relegated to be almost exclusively reactionary.

Patrol Officers very rarely are given the time to be proactive or preventative in Hartford, they are too busy answering calls for service after incidents occur. That is not a knock on the patrol officers, it is just the reality that there aren't enough officers on the streets in Hartford.

Maybe rather than stripping walk beats and CSO's from neighborhoods, we should be looking at emptying out some of the 2nd floor at Jennings Road. Really, a detective to handle Freedom of Information requests? A Sergeant to handle backrubs and foot massages for Assistant Chief's? (and if you think I am kidding on that one, just wait until you see what is coming out soon).

Let's see how the voters that fell for empty promises made about Public Safety feel about their neighborhoods being stripped of their walk beat officers and Community Service Officers, while at the same time City Hall is about to be filled with more political appointments and cronies whose claim to fame is that they know how to drive the Mayor around or stick lawn signs in the ground for campaigns.

And I wonder if the Hartford Police Union is rethinking the promises made to them before the election for their endorsements as they head into almost two years without a contract. I would venture to say that is an issue that doesn't build morale or increase productivity and is only costing the City more as officers continue to leave for greener pastures in other Departments.

Will the voters remember in 2015? Probably not.