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Monday, September 10, 2012

IT IS ALWAYS AN ADVENTURE WITH ANDREW.

My regular readers are familiar with my nephew Andrew. I have written about him here before and his efforts to compete in the 2014 Paralympics in Russia. Andrew has taken to skiing and is proving to be quite the competitor, even though he is afflicted with Cerebral palsy. You can read more about Andrew at his website, andrewraces.com or just click here.

Andrew skiing at Camelback Mountain in New York last winter
 
 
Last Friday, a friend of mine gave me three tickets to Sunday's Red Sox game at Fenway Park. I decided to take my nephew Andrew, who has become a big Red Sox fan  and his younger brother, Ryan. Although Andrew has become a master on skis, everyday activities like walking are still a challenge for him and he seems as though he wants to face his challenges head on.

 A wheelchair is something you very rarely see Andrew break out unless he has a long journey, like an airport or some other distance he has to travel.Andrew is also a member of his school band at Fermi High School in Enfield. His younger brother Ryan, who sometimes doesn't get the attention for being the great kid he is with Andrew in the media limelight, once pushed his brother in his wheelchair the entire distance of a Parade route in Enfield so Andrew could play with the band.


If the tears aren;t coming to your eyes yet, hold on.So often the great things people do aren't mentioned, and sometimes a small effort by someone can have a huge impact.

All I know is that his name is Kenny and he is a security guard at Fenway Park at the main gate at Yawkey Way by the souvenir shop.I left Hartford early Sunday to pick up my nephews and make sure we got to Fenway early enough so I could get a handicap parking space close to the park. The Boston Police were great and directed us to Overland Street, which I guess they shut down during the games, specifically to accommodate handicap parking needs.

Since we had left Hartford early, by the time we got there and Andrew walked to the Ticket gate, we saw the sign that the gates opened 90 minutes before game time. That left Andrew at least an hour to stand before we could get to our seats.

That is where Kenny the security guard came in. I approached him and explained that I had a person with me with a disability and was there a place he could sit while we waited for the gates to open. I think Andrew doesn't see it as a disability but that's another story. Anyway, Kenny asked if he could walk down stairs. I told him it wasn't pretty, but yes he could do it.

He then pulled a couple of Red Sox wrist bands out of his pocket, put one on me, one on Andrew and the 3rd on Ryan and he told us to follow him he was taking us out on the field for the teams warming up before the game. Andrew's face lit up with a smile like a kid on Christmas morning and I think Ryan was pretty impressed also as we were walked onto the Field.

It was a deed that put some joy on Andrew's face and hopefully helps him forget some of the pain he has experienced throughout his young life with treatments and surgeries to break bones and then pin them back together  to help him walk. I'm not sure if Kenny the security guard will appreciate what he did for Andrew and how it made him feel special, but I am pretty sure Andrew and Ryan will both be telling the story of their special day with the Red Sox for a while, I know I will.

A fundraiser will be held next Sunday to support Andrew's efforts to make it to the paralympics, more on that below.
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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

AND THE CITY OF HARTFORD FIRED HIM

The link below is a story that aired last night on WFSB, Channel 3. To view the story click here, The story is about Hartford Fire Deputy Chief Dan Nolan who was terminated from Hartford's Fire Department by our felonious former Mayor Eddie Perez, The move was supported at the time by Hartford's former Fire Chief and Springfield Mardi Gras regular, Charles Teale.

The termination has since been overturned by a Superior Court Judge and the City is under orders to bring Nolan back/ Dan just finished a tour with the Army in Afghanistan and it seems as though his charitable acts continued even while he was out of the country.

Nolan may be exactly what the Hartford Fire Department needs right now to straighten out its ranks and restore some dignity to Hartford's Firefighting community

Sunday, September 2, 2012

VICTIMS OR CRIMINALS?

A news story is beginning to make the rounds today about two "young women" who were  kidnapped, tied up and sexually assaulted at the Travel Inn Motel on Weston Street..

The fact of the matter is that the two young women freely admitted to police that they went to the hotel room specifically with the intent of buying drugs. The two "young women" had just finished their shifts as strippers at a local adult establishment.. They further told police that they spent the night partying and doing drugs in the room. In fact at one point, one of the "young women" went to her car to get her laptop so they could play music during their drug binge.

I am not in anyway condoning sexual assault, but let's tell the full story here, rather than portray these fine "young women" as innocent victims that were preyed upon by some deviant in that awful City of Hartford, where no one is safe.

I also wonder if the "victims" will face any charges since their intent was clearly to commit a criminal act. If you play with snakes, the chances are pretty good you are going to get bit.

You can read the Courant's story here

Friday, August 31, 2012

HPD INTERNAL AFFAIRS SINKS ITS CLAWS INTO LOBSTER THEFT INVESTIGATION

HPD sources have confirmed that a veteran HPD Officer is finding herself in hot water over alleged theft of lobsters and other seafood from the New Park Avenue Stop and Shop. Officer Natoya Guthrie is apparently being investigated for the theft of the lobsters while using the self checkout line recently at the store.

 The incident was apparently observed by Store security personnel and referred to a Hartford Police Officer that was working a private job as part of the store's security efforts. Sources have also confirmed that it is believed that this was not the first time Guthrie used the scheme at the self checkout register.

 A review of Guthrie's shopping records and  Stop and Shop customer card and related seafood purchases caused Stop and Shop to review other video that apparently uncovered other instances. The Hartford Police Internal Affairs Division is working hard to crack the case. In the meantime Officer Guthrie may be transferred to the HPD Marine Unit Dive Team to acquire her seafood direct from the sea

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

ANOTHER HARTFORD FIREFIGHTER ARRESTED

Sources tonight are confirming the arrest of another Hartford Firefighter by Law enforcement officials in Rhode Island. Firefighter Rory Wentworth of Engine 11 on Sisson Avenue was apparently arrested after assaulting another Hartford firefighter Patrick Phelan of Engine 8 on Park Street. Sources have confirmed that Wentworth was arrested on felony assault charges after causing serious injuries to Phelan during the assault. No further details are available at this point or on Wentworth's status with the Hartford Fire Department. Hartford Firefighter Rafael Diaz who was arrested on numerous drug charges on August 2, 2012, was also in Court yesterday and his case was continued to October 3, 2012. You can read more on Diaz here Unfortunately thi behavior is not limited to the Fire department. Sources have also confirmed that two Hartford Police officers are facing possible ciminal actiom related to their behavior. One for possible larceny Charges and another for mishandling of evidence. More on those two cases as information develops.

SOMETHING STINKS

Is history about to repeat itself in Hartford. Is it time for another grand Jury to look at Hartford's development deals being cooked up at City Hall. The answer might quite possibly be yes.

While the appeal is still in the works for former Mayor Eddie Perez's conviction on corruption charges, another land deal is starting to raise some eyebrow's . We  may just be looking at our next "Butt Ugly Building" in the making.

 On July 25, 2012 I posted about the difficulties of the Hartford Police Credit Union to close on a property that they wanted to purchase for the new home of the Hartford Police Federal Credit Union. You can read that post here.

It didn't seem to make sense that the City would place obstacles in the way of the land purchase, considering that the Police Credit Union would be purchasing essentially an abandoned property, investing several hundred thousand dollars in its rehab and returning a non producing asset to the City' tax rolls.

But eventually the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place as people came forward with information. It seems that Hartford's COO David Panagore had come up with a plan to physically move the Credit Union building to a property at 1391 Main Street. According to sources, Panagore had told them that there was "federal" money available for the move. That has since proven not to be the case and there is no money to move the building  unless funded by Hartford's Taxpayer's.

Now the million dollar question, actually make that the half a million dollar question, $500,000 to be exact. Why the need to move the property? Well that becomes somewhat clearer as you dig down deeper to find out who all the players in the deal are. It may be a coincidence, but since I have begun digging into this and obtaining documents, at least two of the key players are no longer City of Hartford employees, David Panagore has submitted his resignation and Roger O'Brien was officially terminated today after a 7 day suspension.

After tracking down the ownership, it still is not clear who the actual owner is, but t appears that it is a Texas Corporation represented by Hartford Attorney, political operative and former Councilman John Kennelly. TLC Properties INC is listed by Dun and Bradstreet as both a Louisiana Corporation formed in August of 1996 and a Texas Corporation also formed in August of 1996. The president and CEO is Kevin P.Reilly. Reilly is also listed on numerous filings as the President and CEO of Lamar Advertising.
According to the City of Hartford's Assessor's Office the Fair market value of the property is listed at $164,700 with an annual assessment of $115,290 . The land value according to the Assessor is $53,060.

On June 22,2012 the License and Inspection Department of the City of Hartford served the property owners and their Attorney John B. Kennelly with a "Order to Abate" which essentially meant they condemned the property, claiming that the building "is in imminent danger of failure" The billboard above the property, owned by Lamar Advertising, was immediately removed .

On June 20, 2012, Kennelly apparently applied for a demolition permit to tear the building down. That has not been completed as of this date, but a demolition contractor from Milford is listed on the permit application.

Now the interesting part. Several sources at City Hall have called telling me that there is an offer being prepared by the City to purchase the property for $500,000. A property that has been condemned and a property that the assessor says the land is assessed at $53,060 may now be purchased by the City for ten times that value. The big question is why. Is this another deal like the Butt Ugly Building where Mayor Perez was quoted in Grand Jury testimony as saying"we need to take care of Abe". referring to politico Abe Giles. Should we now list another political operatives name who needs to be "taken care" of at the taxpayers expense?

And for what, to move an abandoned building that sits perfectly fine on the lot it was built on . And a property that the HPD Credit Union was more than willing to purchase at $170,000 with no additional expenses to the taxpayers of Hartford?

As a loophole to gathering information, pending real estate transactions and negotiations are exempt from disclosure under Freedom Of Information statutes in Connecticut. So none of this would be public until after the taxpayers cut a check.

Requests for comment from TLC Properties and Lamar Advertising were not returned. Attorney Kennelly did return a voicemail message stating that he was busy.
1391 Main Assessor Record 1391 Main Condemnation Order