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Monday, September 5, 2011

MORE DARK CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON FOR HARTFORD

Many people were openly disgusted when the news came out about a woman who lived alone, along with her dog, was found dead in her home on Goodrich Street in Hartford. Debra Jurasus-Shriner by all reports had been deceased in her home, undiscovered, for at least two months. The reports painted a very grim picture of a decomposing corpse of both Debra Jurasus-Shriner and her dog, lying dead in the house. Mail was reported to be piling up as well as a strong odor coming from the house.

Fingers were quickly pointed at the Hartford Police Department and the way the calls from neighbors and others were handled. Mayor Segarra quickly called for a complete investigation into the matter.

Now the entire situation is about to take another bizarre twist that will, and should, be a black eye for our City.

Several police sources have confirmed for me that arrest warrants are expected to be issued by prosecutors and the Court for several neighbors of Debra Jurasus-Shriner. It seems that while Debra Jurasus-Shriner lay deceased and decomposing in her home, at least four of her neighbors were burglarizing her home and stealing her property. Apparently, according to sources, none of the thieves ever took the time to make an anonymous call to alert authorities of the dead body inside the home after they were done ripping her off.

At least one source questioned how anyone could even enter the home to steal anything. A source familiar with what now was a crime scene said that even veteran law enforcement officers were overwhelmed with the stench of the decomposing body as well as the flies and maggots in the home from the rotting flesh as they collected evidence inside the home.

I know this could happen anywhere, but what kind of a society are we when some one's neighbors can just step over her rotting body to take a television or other personal items they stole from her? Although he was highly criticized by politicians for his comments when he made them after the hit and run of Angel Arce-Torres on Park Street, Chief Daryl Roberts had it right. Roberts had stated at the time that as a City we had lost our "moral compass" and we had a "toxic relationship" with each other.

I would have stronger words for anyone that could treat a neighbor like that, but Chief Roberts evaluation would still apply today.

To learn a litle more about Debra Jurasus-Shriner, click here to read Helen Ubinas's column from August 4, 2011

ANOTHER VERSION OF THE BROKEN WINDOW THEORY ?



For those not familiar with the "Broken Window" theory, it was introduced in 1982 in an article by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling. Essentially the study apparently showed that if you ignore the little things, the larger issues are allowed to occur without check. It was meant to apply to crime issues in an urban environment, but it would seem to apply to a much broader spectrum of behavior.

Can the same theory be equated to job performance and accountability? Very rarely are government employees held to a standard that might apply to their counterparts in the private sector. Part of that I think is based on the hiring of supervisors and department heads who in many cases, particularly in Hartford, are political cronies who receive their positions based upon political influence rather than any actual legitimate selection process.

The picture above is a perfect example. It happens to be in the rear lot of the Hartford Police Department, but I'm sure most of us have seen the same conditions of trash barrels along Franklin Avenue, Park Street or even many of Hartford's parks. And although the picture above was taken today, several people I asked said the overflowing trash is a regular condition. It apparently is not one that occurred because it was a holiday weekend.

I have to wonder how long someone working at Westfarms Mall or the Travelers Insurance would be employed if their boss pulled into a parking lot and saw something like this?

I know in the great scheme of things, this may seem like a minor issue, but that is what the broken window theory is all about. If no one is held accountable for something like this, they will have no problem escalating their incompetence to the next level knowing the consequences are non-existent.

Isn't it time that we insist that those we pay to actually supervise, start supervising? And this is not a police department issue, the picture just happens to have been taken in their lot.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

MAYOR SEGARRA: IT IS TIME TO SHOW SOME BACKBONE AND LEADERSHIP, END THE NOLAN LAWSUIT

Mayor Segarra, it is time the people of Hartford have a real leader and not just a ceremonial ribbon cutter. It is time we see some leadership more concerned about doing the right thing for Hartford rather than wondering how decisions will affect specific voting blocks across the City. It is time we have a leader more concerned about working to solve the City's problems than attending fundraisers.

A real leader with his pulse on the operations of the City should not need an outside report to realize the leadership of the Hartford Police Department is spiraling out of control. A leader who is able to read blog comments, as I know you do, should put a little bit of weight on the deluge of comments on a recent post regarding HPD. If even only 10% are accurate, you have a real problem Mr. Mayor.

If you had a Corporation Counsel reviewing potential litigation, you would put the brakes on the City's liability that your court actions are most likely compounding everyday.

In the Dan Nolan case you are perpetrating a fraud brought about by a corrupt Mayor headed to prison. The focus of your actions, former Deputy Chief Dan Nolan, a well respected firefighter who hails from a family of well respected firefighters and is also a respected veteran who is about to deploy to Afghanistan to once again serve his country.

A leader with a conscience wouldn't just admit in private that the Brooks and the Nolan matters are wrong,. A real leader would step up, especially a leader that claims he has fought injustice his entire adult life, and put an end to what is clearly wrong.

In the most recent brief submitted by the City in the Nolan case for a hearing this Wednesday, September 7, 2011 in Hartford Superior Court it becomes even clearer that this matter is wrong and malicious. In the brief it calls attention to Nolan's actions and states “However, I would be remise(sic) if I did not redirect the Courts attention back to the most egregious aspect of Mr. Nolan’s conduct and that is Mr. Nolan’s acceptance or encouragement of donations of varying types resulting in Mr. Nolan reducing disciplinary towers"

That is the most egregious behavior? Take into consideration that the decision to terminate Nolan was brought about, supposedly, by former Fire Chief Charles Teale. But even though Nolan was soliciting for charity, Teale admitted under oath that he took a payoff of several thousand dollars from an individual after he was disciplined by the City for improper behavior ,where he pocketed money for renting out City facilities and was forced to pay the city back the money he improperly pocketed.

Teale also testified that eventually he realized taking the payoff was wrong and he donated the money to charity. The timeline on that "realization" may have been a few years though and only after he realized questions had arisen about the payoff. Teale refused to answer any questions when I asked him about it. Sources familiar with the matter said he made a large donation to Camp Courant last year, several years after he took the payoff.

Nolan solicits for charity and is fired, yet Teale takes a payoff and that's acceptable? I'm not a jury consultant, but it seems like a no-brainer to me that should boost any settlement for Nolan if the City keeps moving forward.

Real leaders need to do what is right, and don't worry about the votes. If a leader is effective, I think the voters will recognize that and the support will be there. On the other hand, I would hope after the Perez years the voters will be smart enough to recognize more fraud and pandering for votes

Over the next week I will be posting excerpts from the transcripts of the Nolan Arbitration hearings and you can read the testimony in their own words as they testified under oath. You can read about Chief Teale's payoffs and forays to strip clubs in Springfield, although he claims he didn't have a personal relationship with Nolan.

You will be able to read about the City of Hartford's witnesses that they called that made better witness for the Nolan side. Firefighters that testified they were better firefighters because of Chief Nolan's actions. Testimony that they never felt they were endangered by Chief Nolan's training, in fact quite the opposite. They testified that Nolan's actions and taught them teamwork and the need to work together, something that it seems like any firefighter putting his or her life in another firefighters hands would appreciate.

You will also be able to read the testimony of former Assistant Chief Parker where he essentially concurs with Nolan's decision to remove several recruits from the Academy class because they were unable to cut the requirements and were dangerous to other firefighters.

All in all, the City's witnesses seemed to strengthen Nolan's defense.

Mr. Mayor, as an attorney yourself, I'm sure this makes even more sense to you than it does me, please cut our losses and end this lunacy now.

Friday, September 2, 2011

IS THERE ANY COMMON SENSE AT HARTFORD CITY HALL



Sometimes it is amazing that Hartford as a city is able to even survive. Another perfect example happened today, almost at my front door.

Around noon time a work crew showed up at Farmington and Sigourney Street and began blocking off traffic with traffic cones and a couple police officers. It seems that someone decided to begin the "milling" process to resurface the area around Farmington and Sigourney Street. That in and of itself wouldn't be bad, we complain about the condition of our streets so a little traffic upset is necessary to repair them.

A "little traffic upset" turned into grid-lock by about 2:45PM. HPD realized it was a problem and advised the contractor that they needed to be off the street by 3:00PM to comply with their City permit.

Traffic was already a mess by then, very little was moving and from what I am told HPD supervisors began demanding the contractor shut down and open up the intersection. Then the Hartford City Hall brain trust kicked in and decided they new better about the traffic flow than HPD. The contractor was allowed to stay on the street until after 5:00PM, the noise of the horns blowing from aggravated motorists was constant, and fire apparatus and school buses had a difficult time navigating through the area.

I just wonder who makes these decisions and why even bother giving out the permits if they mean nothing. And wouldn't it maybe make sense to mill a busy intersection like that after rush hour? By 7:00PM the street has very little traffic, most people have already fled the City by that time.

Either I'm looking at it wrong or I guess common sense isn't a strong suit in Hartford.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

I'M STILL SHAKING MY HEAD IN DISBELIEF

For many of my blog readers, this may be "inside baseball" and not make a lot of sense. For those readers familiar with HPD, I'm pretty sure many of you are shaking your heads also.

I'll let the comments, and I'm sure there will be plenty, speak for themselves and maybe explain the situation a little better than I can.

HPD veteran and well respected Lieutenant Marco Tedeschi has been removed as the Department Advocate and has been replaced by Sergeant Christine Mertes. The Department advocate reviews Internal Investigations and makes recommendations to the Chief of Police as to potential discipline for those officers involved.

Let the comments begin.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

FORGET THE BRANDING , WHAT IS OUR IDENTITY?

The uproar over Hartford's attempt at "branding", by a Canadian consulting company if you can believe that, seems to have died down for the time being. But I think it points to a variety of other issues.

The first is the big question as to what we as a city really see ourselves as. Are we the misfit located between New York and Boston and we accept our second rate position because we know we can't compete with those two? I would hope not since we have a lot to offer, but it sometimes seems that is the reality.

Hartford suffers from an identity crisis. We may not want to admit it, but we do. In a city so rich with history, we seem quick to throw that all out when the latest and greatest marketing idea is pitched. Five "h's" in a circle is the latest, really, are you kidding me?

What about a silhouette of the Colt's Building blue onion dome? What about the Sailors and Soldiers memorial Arch? What about the readily identifiable profile of Mark Twain? All symbols of Hartford's rich history and what forms the basis of the foundation for our City. Hartford's history is what should be shapinng our future.

But also so many little things that all form the spokes in the wheel that should be moving Hartford forward are constantly forgotten. As an example, has anyone noticed that the fountains in front of City Hall were never started up this year. The majestic beauty of Hartford City Hall is something that many people noticed as they travelled Main Street. I'm not sure why the fountains aren't operating and why the flower beds that normally are planted in front of City Hall are barren this year.
I know, little things, but it says something about the vibrancy of a city.

Something else I was always impressed with were the Rising Star Shuttles that constantly looped around Downtown Hartford, a courtesy for visitors and people that just wanted to get from point "A" to point "B" downtown. I didn't notice until last Thursday night that it has been a while since I saw the familiar yellow shuttles circling downtown.

I was having dinner on the patio at Hot Tomatoes last Thursday (another one of Hartford's great restaurants) and I saw one of the large Connecticut Company buses that kept circling up Union Place and Ann Street. No riders were on the bus at any point that it passed me. Eventually I noticed on the electronic sign board above the driver said "STAR SHUTTLE". There was no mention that it was a courtesy shuttle or that it was free.

No wonder ridership is down, or for that matter nonexistent. Imagine a McDonald's without any signs or markings and see how many burgers they would sell? Probably not many, especially with people that weren't familiar with it's location. The same is true for the shuttle, it needs to be marketed to be successful.

It also seems like a huge waste to be using a full size bus for something that could be accomplished in a much smaller vehicle. The few times I used the shuttle, the smaller buses almost forced you to be up near the driver and it was almost like a tour bus as they described restaurants and features about Hartford.

One of the biggest things I think we need in Hartford to regain our identity is support for the engine that really drives our City. That engine is our small businesses that have been largely overlooked as they are taxed out of business one by one and no one is standing up to lobby for them. We need to once again start a Chamber of Commerce to be the voice for our small business community.

I know, I know, you are going to say we have the MetroHartford Alliance. "Metro" Hartford isn't the problem, once you get out of Hartford's boundaries, small business's still have a hard time surviving in this economy, but they have a huge advantage when it comes to their mill rate for taxes.

No one is speaking out for Hartford's small business owners, many of whom are also Hartford residents. As you go into your neighborhoods grocery, restaurant, dry cleaners or just about any business, ask them is they belong to a chamber of Commerce. The answer will most likely be no.

If we really want to brand ourselves and start a marketing campaign, how about "Hartford first". As a City and as people who care about Hartford, we need to start putting "Hartford first" and stop settling for mediocrity. We should worry about jobs for Hartford residents first before we go out of our way to bring outside companies in , some of them also from outside Connecticut, for construction jobs in Hartford.

We need to make sure when it comes to small business promotion we remember "Hartford first" and keep our neighborhoods strong by creating more jobs through growing companies. And we also need to start putting "Hartford first" in the way we treat others and our neighbors.

I know I have jumped around a lot on this posting, but before we start spending $100million on the "i-quilt" project, why don't we start focusing on some of the smaller things that help remedy our identity crisis rather than confuse it even more.

UPDATE: apparently the Rising Star Shuttle may be on the chopping block, click on Jeff Cohen's link on the right to read more at WNPR.