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Sunday, October 17, 2010

OUCH...THAT HAS TO HURT

According to police sources, a Hispanic male reported last night that he was the victim of a mugging by two "large" black males on Baldwin Street in Hartford. The victim, who apparently didn't wish to co-operate with police or provide much information regarding the incident, also had a finger cut off during the alleged mugging.

Earlier today a resident of Cowles Street, which backs up to Baldwin Street, called the Hartford Police Department to report finding a finger in their yard.

Somehow I tend to think that there is a lot more to this story than just a simple mugging.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

AN INCREDIBLE NIGHT IN HARTFORD....ALL IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE



Sometimes we don't realize what we have in our midst, even though we drive by it a few times a day. I'm talking about the amazing facility called the Connecticut Science Center.

Tonight they held their "Green Gala" fundraiser, and it was great. The center itself is a great venue. Add to that a few hundred donors making their programs possible, food stations with everything from sushi to sliced Angus beef sliders and appletinis with dry ice added for a smoking effect( it is science , you know)and that is only the start. Performance actors dressed as birch trees, ( I know, you had to be there to appreciate it), but just imagine a large tree motioning and welcoming you into the venue and then you realize there is a human behind the outfit.

Other artists performed, reminiscent of the famous group "Stomp" except all of their music was performed on recycled buckets and construction cones. Again, you had to be there, but it had everyone in the hall gyrating to the bass and the rhythm and the sound was great.

"Street Beats" performs at the Connecticut Science Center


The DJ was also incredible. DJ Kered had the crowd moving all night, young and umm, not so young, packed the main concourse to dance to the beat. And if the night wasn't interesting enough, me dancing with Hartford Council President rJo Winch had to mean the planets were in alignment or something, or maybe it was a full moon. If that wasn't enough, dancing with Hartford's Mayor Pedro Segarra to Lady Gaga was worth the price of admission in itself.


Council President rJo Winch and myself dancing, I know ,the pic is a collectors item



Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra dancing to the tones of Lady Gaga

The whole night just highlighted everything that is possible for Hartford if we come together and accentuate the positive. Many of the people weren't from Hartford, but the fact that they were willing to donate to one of Hartford's gems and spend the night downtown says something positive.

A presentation by the Connecticut Science Center's CEO and President Matt Fleury welcomed everyone to the event, but a couple of key numbers also caught my attention. Since the Center opened, over 500,000 visitors have come through the doors. I would gamble and say that is probably the highest drawing attraction in Hartford.

A second great number given by Fleury is that over 10,000 Hartford school students have visited the Center free of charge due to corporate donations.

I only wish it was possible for tonight's event to be open to everyone from Hartford. After all that we have been through and the negatives we have faced, it is great to see something positive in our midst. If nothing else we do have some great dancers from Hartford hitting the dance floor, Mayor Pedro Segarra, WFSB's Mark Dixon and Irene O'Connor, Southend leader Hyacinth Yennie, Hartford Council President rJo Winch and former Democratic Town Chair Sean Arena were just a few strutting their stuff and seemingly having a great time in our great city.


Hartford's version of Fred and Ginger, Council President rJo Winch and Sean Arena dancing the night away

It may just be a coincidence, but there seems to be a lot of positive energy happening in the last couple months and positive signs of more to come.

Maybe Hartford's motto is true "After the clouds, the sun", and maybe a good time along the way.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

M.A.R.G. MEETING TONIGHT

The Maple Avenue Revitalization Group (MARG) will meet tonight, October 14th, at 6:00PM in the basement of St. Augustine Church at 10 Campfield Avenue.

Police Chief Daryl Roberts and Public Works Director Kevin Burnham are expected to attend.

For further information, contact Hyacinth Yennie at 860-296-5543

Thursday, October 7, 2010

ROSIE RIDES AGAIN



I'm not sure if that is an attempt at a smile or the result of something bad for lunch in the picture above, but Hartford's former Corporation Counsel John Rose has landed a new job after being terminated by Mayor Pedro Sagarra after he took office in June.

Surprise, surprise, surprise though. In true Hartford style, Rose has been hired by one of the very firms he paid tens of thousands of dollars to as "outside counsel" to through the Corporation Counsel's office. Rose has been hired by the Crumbie Law Group, LLC.

Apparently Mr. Rose may have been taking some night courses though because he now claims to be proficient in areas where he was a huge failure for the people of Hartford when he was Corporation Counsel -
* Municipal Litigation
* Commercial Litigation
* Real Estate Law
* Premises and Retail Property
* Personal Injury
* Municipal Services
* Corporate Governance
* Labor and Employment Law

He seems to have overlooked "Freedom of Information" related areas. I guess he still may not be comfortable with FOI cases.

It will be interesting if Mr. Rose plays as free and loose with the resources of the Crumbie Law Group as he did with the resources of the people of Hartford. For some reason I doubt that will happen when the money actually counts.

SOME HOPE THAT ENDED QUICKLY

I will eventually get to more details of the HPD Union sponsored seminar, but one of the main things discussed was the importance of police/community relationships.

The amount of mistrust between the community and the police always has surprised me. This has been a topic of conversation between myself and Chief Daryl Roberts on many occasions. The residents don't trust the cops, the cops don't trust the residents and everyone suffers.

One of my constant gripes are officers that constantly miss huge opportunities to interact with the community and let those opportunities slip by. I'm not sure if it is something that needs to be taught because it just seems like common sense.

A perfect example are the vigils held by Rev. Henry Brown after just about every homicide. I try to support Rev. Brown by attending as many vigils as possible. I would almost assure anyone that at just about every vigil there is a wealth of knowledge that could be gained into the crimes by some in attendance. Many of the vigils are attended by people that live within a couple hundred feet of the crime scenes.

The same people that live in the neighborhood and look out their windows when they hear noise or gunfire. The same people that hear the talk on the streets and know who is doing what. The same people that are afraid of the police and have no trust that they can talk to the unknown officer in the uniform.

At so many of these vigils, police officers are in attendance but they sit in their cruisers, most times with the windows rolled up. Parked at the curb while numerous potential witnesses, potential crime solvers stand feet away from them waiting to do the right thing. Unfortunately they can't do the right thing because they are afraid. Afraid of the dangerous streets and afraid to approach or even trust the unknown officer in the uniform.

At tonight's vigil at Enfield and Greenfield Streets a glimmering ray of hope was shining huge. Several officers were present. They had flyers, they were standing on the yellow line in traffic stopping vehicles, talking to people, looking for information. Other officers were walking up and down the streets going up to porches and talking to people. The television news cameras were eating it up, everyone was focused on the interaction between the police and the community.

One reporter asked me if the police always did that and I told her I had never seen it before, but I thought it was great. It was a great effort, but the bottom fell out quickly.

The vigil started and the five or six officers regrouped on an opposite corner away from the residents in attendance. They probably didn't even realize how it looked to those in attendance. What they had just made look so good a few minutes earlier now looked like business as usual once again. Maybe it isn't just common sense, but crossing the street, meeting the residents, just mingling would make a huge difference in how the police are perceived.

It isn't going to change things overnight, but we need to start working toward the mutual respect and relationships that will benefit everyone, especially Hartford as a city.

ANOTHER MURDER, ANOTHER VIGIL....BUT STILL NO OUTRAGE

Hartford is a city with, I think, an amazing untapped resource in its residents. It is also a city that never ceases to amaze me. So far this week has been a series of emotional ups and downs when you stand back and look at what Hartford has to offer. Realizing that baby steps get things started, the HPD Union this week took quite a few steps in the seminar they offered. I wrote a little about it last night, and I have a lot more to write later.

The sad part though is that many of the Hartford officers we were sitting with at the seminar had started their work day several hours earlier. They had been called in to investigate after a 27 year old woman became Hartford's latest homicide victim. A 27 year old woman who had no thoughts of violence as she spent the evening at a newly opened club on Franklin Avenue. A 27 year old woman who from all indications was fleeing from a bar after a fight broke out inside. A 27 year old woman who was not an instigator or a drug dealer or a gang member.

Simply enough, she was a 27 year old woman shot dead in the street as the result of two thugs settling a fight after one of the thugs ran to his car to retrieve a weapon. The total disregard for human life was exhibited as a 27 year old woman had the extreme misfortune of being an innocent victim of Hartford's gun violence. A 27 year old woman who had a bullet fired by a cowardly thug strike her in the head, ending her life almost immediately.

A bullet fired as the result of a gunfight between two cowards who chose to settle their differences at the barrel of a gun. A 27 year old woman who has the misfortune of being Hartford's 18th homicide victim for 2010.

The sad part though is in asking where is the outrage? Last week a 25 year old mother of a 4 year old son was victim number 17 as she exited a convenience store in the middle of a gunfight orchestrated by more gun toting cowards. A blip on the 11 o'clock news on Channel 3, a couple inches in a column of the Courant, but still no outrage. Try that in Farmington or Avon or Vernon and see what the response would be.

The really sad part though is that postings about predator politicians dancing in their blue boxers or how many women can a potential Mayoral candidate impregnate generate all types of responses. Shoot a 27 year old woman in the head or a 25 year old mother through the heart and nothing, no outrage...nothing.