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Friday, September 15, 2017

FEDERAL JUDGE TO BRONIN ADMINISTRATION: YOU ARE WRONG ON INDEMNIFICATION OF POLICE OFFICERS

US Federal Judge Willaim Garfinkel issued a decision this week that appears to slap Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and his decision not to indemnify City Police Officers when thy are sued over the performance of their duties.

Judge Garfinkel wrote, in no uncertain terms:

"The City’s position, in addition to being unsupported by precedent, is bewildering. How can Hartford maintain a qualified police force when it is willing to expose its officers to personal liability for compensatory damages for civil rights judgments? What capable officer, in his or her right mind, would want to work for such a city? And what message does this send to the community, the residents of Hartford, when their governing officials promote a position that, in all likelihood, will leave them without full compensation for injuries in the event that they are the victims of a civil rights violation? The Court readily understands the need, as a general rule, to deter police officers from the sort of outrageous conduct that warrants punitive damages. But this is not that case. The result in this case, in a second trial after a jury could not reach a verdict in the first, was a close call. This case arose from a confrontation apparently instigated by Fabian Edwards, who lost his case, and involved something of a melee in an enclosed environment in which the officers were initially outnumbered.3 It is safe to say that no police officer would expect to be abandoned by his employer with respect to an award of compensatory damages in this case, even if a jury unexpectedly also awarded punitive damages. Nor should any officer expect that." 

As Judge Garfinkel stated, Bronin's decision not to support his Police Officer's was "bewildering". I think one of the key points was that the officers who were originally sued , in the Judges opinion , did not display any wilfull misconduct or malicious intent but were merely performing their duty

And yes, in a violent City like Hartford unpleasant things can happen under adverse conditions. Who in their right mind would come work in a City that leaves them on their own even when they are acting in good faith. It sends , and it did send, a chilling message to our Police Officers

You can read the full decision below. Thank you Judge Garfinkel for applying common sense to this matter, even when City Hall couldn't or wouldn't

Thursday, September 14, 2017

IS IT DEJA VU AT THE HARTFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY?

The Hartford Public Library is currently the subject of controversy in the community as members of the public have organized to oppose closing of several library branches

It would appear though that the Executive Director of the Hartford Public Library is no stranger to controversy. Much of that is detailed in the New York Daily News article below from 2015.
.http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/city-controller-da-irs-probe-queens-library-article-1.2284767

That article detailed allegations of misuse of funds and what the New York City Auditor described as
a "significant likelihood of fraud and/or embezzlement.Financial abuse at Queens  Library was so out of control that city Controller Scott Stringer urged  the IRS and local prosecutors to launch criminal probes against both Thomas Galante, the library’s ousted president, and his successor, Bridget Quinn-Carey.

Stringer found that Quinn-Carey used her credit card for lavish meals, personal gasoline bills and other costs that are not regarded by the IRS as deductible business expenses and that also violated the library’s own prohibition against using the organization’s credit cards for personal expenses.

According to the article “I urge the current board to have a serious discussion about whether someone who was a party to so much malfeasance can effectively lead this organization going forward,” Stringer said.

And here is another article describing Quinn-Carey's behavior.http://licpost.com/queens-library-delusions-of-confidence.

Does this pattern of behavior sound familiar? According to the article"This and other illicit activity covered in the Comptroller’s reports engaged in by Mr. Galante and by current Interim Library President and CEO Bridget Quinn-Carey (who served as Chief Operating Officer when Galante was in charge) took place while “the Library was eliminating services to the reading public, cutting operating hours of Queens branches by an average of 4 hours per week,” according to Stringer.

"Between 2008 and 2013 when library branches in Astoria, Court Square, Long Island City, Jackson Heights, Sunnyside, and Woodside, among many others, reduced hours and programs which had a tremendous impact on almost everyone–especially school children and senior citizens."

Apparently the Board decided she couldn't, and she then appeared in Hartford.

Some things never change, especially in Hartford

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED

I don't think I have ever done this before, but this posting and this cause are very important to me.

I need your help and information.

I have received several calls over the past couple weeks regarding Animal Control in the City of Hartford and the killing of impounded dogs. The callers have claimed that captured dogs are not being properly advertised as required by Connecticut Law before they are killed.

Imagine your pet being impounded by the City of Hartford and killed before you could even get a return call to check on them or find out if they had been found

And I don't want to make this an indictment of Hartford's Animal Control Officer, I understand he is overworked as the only active ACO in Hartford since the Bronin budget cuts forced the lay off of two other ACO's last year and one more is out on some sort of sick leave.

If you have had difficulty in contacting ACO's in  Hartford or in trying to recover or adopt a dog or if you have information on dogs being killed while in the Hartford pound, please contact me either by e-mail or phone or if you wish, comments can be left on this posting also.

We need to be the voices for our beloved pets

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

HOW BROKE IS THE HARTFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY?

Apparently not very broke by the looks of some of the salaries.

A lot of discussion has been going on regarding the intention of the Hartford Public Library Board of Directors decision to close several library branches.. Below is a list of salaries paid at the Hartford Public Library.
For a relatively small operation, I just wonder how much could be saved to keep branches open by possibly paying more realistic salaries.
A Chief Administrative Officer , and an  Executive Director. And $101,151.96 for  a "Customer Experience Officer"? Is that like a greeter at Walmart?
And it looks like more "directors" on that list than a Hollywood movie set.

Bridget Quinn-Carey, Chief Executive Officer 860-695-6348
Mary T. Tzambazakis, Chief Administrative Officer
860-695-6312
Leticia Cotto, Customer Experience Officer
860-695-6335

Brenda Miller, Executive Director of Hartford History Center
860-695-6347
Homa Naficy, Executive Director of The American Place
860-695-6334
Gilda Roncari, Director of Donor Relations 
860-695-6296
Don Wilson, Director of Marketing & Communications
860-695-6282
This is the Hartford Public Library, not the Smithsonian.
A meeting will be held tomorrow night at City Hall with the Hartford City Council regarding the Library.

The Hartford Public Library Board of Directors is as follows:
Officers Gregory C. Davis, President
Geraldine Sullivan, Vice-President
Edward C. Keith III, Treasurer
Ana Alfaro, Secretary
Directors
Arunan Arulampalam
David Barrett
Amy M. Barron
Melvyn Colón
Andrea Comer*
Miguel Correa
Andrew Diaz-Matos
Marc A. DiBella
Stephen B. Goddard
Antonio J. Matta
Phyllis Shikora
Ex-Officio
Hon. Luke A. Bronin, Mayor

Click on the "HPL Salaries" line below to view the full size document

  Hpl Salaries by on Scribd

Thursday, September 7, 2017

LUKE-TAKE SOME ADVICE FROM NIKE



As I have said here several times previously, Luke Bronin's "Chicken Little" act is wearing  thin. The sky is falling chants are wearing real thin. We have been hearing the threats for almost two years now , and nothing has changed . There is still no viable plan for sustainability as requested by the big three CEO's who are still holding the purse strings tight on their pledged $50 million dollar contribution to help the City.

That money will only be released when and if the 3 feel  comfortable that Mayor Bronin actually has a plan. So far, it doesn't seem to be a priority for Bronin and no plan has been submitted.

I am not sure Bronin actually has a plan or is even capable of devising a plan. Bronins suburban "share the pain " crusade was pretty much a flop. His shame the Unions into cooperation efforts pretty much went no where, and his constant forays into the halls of the Capitol during the recent session were probably more of an annoyance to Legislators rather than producing any positive results

Originally I would have been opposed to a Chapter 9 Bankruptcy but now in talking to numerous parties, including attorneys familiar with the process, I have to say, in the words of Nike...JUST DO IT.

Nothing has changed financially under Bronin as Mayor. Let me rephrase that, nothing has changed positively financially under Mayor Bronin. It has gotten much worse under Bronin and on the positive side, our financial ratings can't drop much lower.

Every day we listen to Chicken Little, is one more day wasted before we get on the road to recovery, Enough of the false promises and gambling on Hartford's recovery.

A couple months ago, Bronin borrowed in excess of $20 million dollars to be able to pay Hartford's bills. Apparently Bronin felt comfortable borrowing the money based on a promise from a Hartford Legislator that the State of Connecticut would cough up money to bail Hartford out. That might actually be the honorable thing for the State to actually pay their fair share for all the Tax exempt property in Hartford.

But considering we are going on several months with no state budget and the State of Connecticut facing a billion dollar deficit themselves, who would like to place a bet on the odds of any State representative from Hartford  riding in on the white horse to save the day.  And who in Hartford's delegation has the pull to get the majority of the legislature to buy into Hartford's bail out and get it passed? Clearly not the same State Reps who convinced Bronin the check was going to be in the mail month's ago.

Stop the phony narratives, stop the blackmail techniques and get to work on a plan to turn Hartford around , and give up your plans to balance your budget on the backs of Hartford's Unions. If that involves a Bankruptcy filing then do what you were elected to do and begin leading. It may hurt for a while that you were the Mayor that led Hartford into Bankruptcy, and is probably isn't the next step on the ladder you expected for your political career.  More importantly, hopefully, a few years from now, you will also be known as the Mayor that led Hartford out of it

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

HPD WORKING TO CLEAN UP DIRTY BODEGA'S

Probably one of the biggest complaints at neighborhood community meetings are the negative impact on quality of life that many small neighborhood grocery stores have on street corners and neighborhood quality of life.

 The complaints range from  drug sales to illegal alcohol sales to loitering and gun violence.

Today the Hartford Police Department and several City and State agencies  conducted unannounced inspections of several of the businesses. Hartford Police officers, Hartford License and Inspections, Hartford Health Inspectors and the State of Connecticut Labor Department and Revenue Services focused on compliance with State and City regulations throughout the South District. Nine locations in total were inspected, and five of the stores were shut down immediately due to violations.

Carolina Grocery at 865 New Britain Avenue and Town Market at 1637 Park Street, had no violations found. Anthemy Supermarket at 3 Wethersfield Avenue had several violations, but none serious enough to shut down the store, although the health Department immediately ceased all food service. The State Labor Department opened an investigation into their staff issues and the Fire Marshall's Office began an investigation into Fire Code violations.

The Baldwin Grocery at 2 Baldwin Street was allowed to remain open after fixing electrical code violations.

The Platinum Grocery at 347 Wethersfield Avenue was shut down after  Health code violations were found, including an expired Health permit and they were ordered to stop selling food. Revenue Services issued summonses for sale of untaxed cigarettes and  the Labor Department also found labor violations. STORE CLOSED

Last Stop Market at 427 Wethersfield Avenue was shut down after State Inspectors found Revenue (Tax) issues and Labor violations. STORE CLOSED

The Beltre Family Grocery at 955 Broad Street was shut down after inspectors found Labor and Revenue issues and Health Inspectors found no current Health Permit for the operation. STORE CLOSED

G&C Grocery, 760 Park Street was shut down after State Inspectors found Workers Compensation issues. STORE CLOSED

El Comerio Grocery at 307 Zion Street was also shut down after State Inspectors found Worker's Compensation issues and Revenue Inspectors issued summonses for Tax violations.

Good Work addressing Quality of Life issues in the South End by all involved, including the Southend CSO's, Sergeant Kevin Oulette and Lieutenant Ian Powell as well as all other City and State inspectors involved