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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

ARE THEY CRAZY?

This is just one of those things that makes me shake my head in disbelief and wonder if we need to start testing the air and water for hallucinogenics at Hartford City Hall.

During the Perez years, a new Public Safety Complex for Hartford was planned and construction began. The Hartford Police Federal Ctredit Union currently occupies space in the Police building at Jennings Road in Hartford.  The normal progression would seem to be that accommodations would be made to move the Credit Union to the new Public Safety Complex. In a corrupt administration things don't  always go as expected and many times deals are cut behind the scenes.

Since Perez's Administration was clearly corrupt, common sense doesn't apply and the HPD Credit Union was cut out of the new complex and the location was given to the Hartford Municipal Employees Credit Union instead.

Sources have told me that the HPD Credit Union  "was done dirty" and the City wanted to make it  up to them and began the process of selling them an abandoned property directly across the street from the new complex.  Although the property has not been officially closed on yet, one source told me that the City had accepted their bid of approximately $170.000  for the City owned property months ago. Apparently the closing has been postponed on at least three different occasions.  The first time , according to sources the City provided an inaccurate plot plan which needed to be corrected with accurate dimensions.

Ok, so now here comes the crazy part. Another closing has been scheduled for this week and on the eve of the closing the City is trying to put it off again apparently. The reason is that COO David Panagore has , according to sources,  notified the HPD Credit Union that Federal money has been found to actually move the building from its current location to the corner of Main Street and Albany Avenue.

This is a property that would return to the Grand List and begin producing much needed tax revenue once the sale is completed. One person familiar with the sale asked is this was the way the city handles Economic Development and why would anyone consider moving a business here if the process is so cumbersome

That corner was slated to be the location of a new McDonald's Restaurant recently until the project was killed by the city. More craziness that City Hall would kill any development project at this time, but again, it has to be the air quality clogging the brains at City Hall.

Hopefully if the building is moved, since it is a historic property, the vendor will be different than the one used to preserve the historic facade of the new Complex. That was done wrong and the entire facade eventually collapsed. The HPD Credit Union might just end up as a pile of bricks on High Street.

A call to the Mayor's Chief of Staff for comment has not been returned as of this time.

ADAM CLOUD APPOINTS DEPUTY TREASURER

In accordance with Hartford's Charter, Hartford's City Treasurer has appointed his Deputy Treasurer.
Clouds pick is raising some eyebrows in political circles. His choice is Carmen Sirerra who was terminated from her job in the Office of the State Comptroller after she accused former Comptroller, now Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman of "making Puerto Rican jokes" according to media reports from 1999.

This brush up occurred after Sierra was not endorsed in her run for City Treasurer at the time, the office was eventually won by Kathleen Palm who served as Hartford's Treasurer until her retirement last year. At the time media accounts reported that "Wyman may be separating herself from someone she considers disloyal"

At least one politico was not happy with that decision at the time, current endorsed Democratic Registrar of Voters candidate Ramon Arroyo had promised Wyman that he would "remember the issue when she came up for re-election. A promise that apparently never came true since Wyman was successfully re-elected and went on to run as Lieutenant Governor with Connecticut's current Governor Dannel Malloy.

Arroyo's own candidacy for Registrar of  Voters is not without controversy as he continues to refuse to answer questions posed from residents  about his 1991 arrest for soliciting a prostitute.

Sierra's comments about Wyman were made during her appearance on a local public access program when a caller to the show made an anti-Semitic remark and referred to "blood sucking Jew's". Sierra apparently did not challenge the remark, but she was challenged by the late John O'Connell when he called in and questioned her lack of a response to the anti-Semitic remarks, Candidate Sierra did not address the issue but instead of denouncing the slur, Sierra described it as a ``joke'' and added that Wyman, who is Jewish, makes Puerto Rican jokes..

Cloud himself , during an interview for his endorsement for Treasurer had been asked  by a 6th District Democratic Town Committee member Alex Rodriguez if he (Cloud)had any plans of naming Sierra as his Deputy and Cloud apparently answered "Absolutely not". When I spoke to Treasurer Cloud this morning, he contends that Sierra was the most qualified candidate he had available.

THE GEMS IN OUR MIDST

Monday night I was invited to a "Meet and Greet" for the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House at 77 Forest Street. I am almost embarrassed to admit I had never visited this Hartford landmark before. The main house was already closed for the day, but the Visitor Center was open and was impressive with the displays and the information that was displayed there.

One display claims that Abraham Lincoln at one point told Harriet Beecher Stowe that her book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" may have been responsible for the start of the Civil War. One program that is running through September 3, 2012 is called "Images of Separation" and uses objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice.

Click here to read more about the Harriet Beecher-Stowe homestead

We sometimes focus on the negative but don't realize all the positives also. A trip to the Harriet Beecher Stowe house might just be the best $3.00 you spend this summer. Over 30,000 people visited the Center last year with roughly 10% being "international" visitors.

While you are at it don't forget many of our other Hartford gems like the Mark Twain Home just next door, the gardens at Elizabeth Park, the Connecticut State Capitol, The Connecticut Science  Center, Bushnell Park or even one of the many events happening at Hartford's Riverfront throughout the summer. Feel free to post any other of Hartford's gems that are open to explore this summer

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

REACT, REACT , REACT

I think everyday our leadership vacuum becomes more obvious as our so called leaders go into reactionary mode every time there is a crisis.The vision we would hope to expect just doesn't seem to be a trait of most of our elected officials.

After a recent violent weekend , Mayor Segarra reacted by a media stunt walking "On the Beat " with Hartford's Police Chief James Rovella. I think it would be a fair question to ask Segarra how many times did he walk Hartford's violent neighborhoods prior to that night and how many times has he been back since that night. I think most of us already know the answer to that question. Leadership requires vision... where are we going and how are we going to get there.

Instead , unfortunately far too often we realize we have arrived, now what are we going to do?

If not for the severity and sadness of the Aurora shootings, it would almost be comical for the politico reactions..

Former Governor John Rowland was on his radio show last Friday talking about an executive order he issued after the fatal shootings at Connecticut's lottery Headquarters several years ago. Rowland spoke of how the next day he immediately issued an executive order banning any state employees, except law enforcement officials, from bringing guns to work

I have to ask myself what goes through the mind set of someone planning a mass murder spree. Hopefully I will never know , but I know one thing for sure, an executive order from the Governor or anyone else probably would not enter into my decision . "OHH, I can't walk in and execute my co workers today because the Governor has banned me from bringing my deadly weapons into the workplace". Purely reactionary and definitely not preventative

How many of Hartford's gun toting thugs do you think have actually obtained letters of reference to properly obtain their pistol permits so that they can carry them on the streets of our City? I know one thing though, they definitely have not obtained the firearms instructions  required, otherwise their accuracy might be much more deadly.

Going back to the vision thing, I have to wonder after the Hartford Distributors shootings of a couple summers ago, what steps have been taken to prevent another such event. Maybe an executive order banning co-workers from shooting each other?

Maybe we should look at the real problem, rather than reacting by the seat of the pants. What training has taken place with unions and employers to be able to recognize the first sign of potential workplace violence or improper behavior? Have the labor unions conducted any kind of training to identify the next potential Omar Thornton or is it just being left to chance for the next time?

And finally to get to my point and back to vision. Hartford is an extremely violent city, but what are the root causes and how do we attack the problem? The immediate solution might be hiring more police officers , but what about long term? How are we losing the moral compass of our young people who think it is acceptable to put a couple slugs into someones brain to settle a dispute?

Long term one of the solutions seems to be a better societal interaction with our youth and intervention where our parents and schools might be failing them. It is no secret that a strong family structure, critical to raising any child , is lacking in many of Hartford's homes. No father figure, mother's or fathers that are not present or incarcerated all lead to a lack of direction on the part of our young people.

Many grandparents are trying to take up the slack and raise their grandchildren when the parents aren't, but I know some days I don't have the energy to deal with my dog, never mind the responsibility to raise a child and I would assume the same is true for the energy level of many grandparents.

Some of you reading this are probably saying to yourselves that he isn't singing the praises of Chief Rovella once yet, so here goes ,the whole reason for this posting is "vision"

I constantly talk about how impressed I am with the "vision" of Chief Rovella and his passion for Hartford. One area of his vision that seems to outweigh many of the others is his interest in the PAL program, the Police Athletic League. Rovella seems to be paying close attention to the very successful PAL program run by the City of Waterbury

The City of Waterbury has an extremely successful PAL program which serves over 3400 youth in the City, From their website The Police Activity League of Waterbury, Inc. (PAL) provides the youth of the Greater Waterbury area with positive guidance during their crucial childhood years. It has been proven that a strong support system, such as PAL, has a direct relationship with lowering crime rates, and has a powerful impact on a child's future.

You can view more about the Waterbury Program by clicking here

Waterbury is comparable to the size of Hartford , give or take 10,000 residents, yet their most recent homicide numbers for 2008 were a total of five murders compared to Hartford's 32. I can't say it is all because of PAL, but clearly something is working right with Waterbury's youth when it comes to violence.

Rovella's plans for PAL include a greatly expanded use of the Quirk Middle school and its facilities, which would seem to be a no-brainer. A partnership between the Board of Education and the police Department to reduce youth violence in a very violent City is something that would most likely gain national attention if operated properly.

It would seem that if Mayor Segarra shares in the vision and actually appoints the majority of the Board of Education members, there should be no  impediments to a plan that could potentially save the lives of Hartford youth from senseless violence. It's called leadership and vision.

Let's stop reacting and start showing some vision.

Monday, July 23, 2012

ENOUGH ABOUT THE "PROCESS"

On Tuesday, July 10th, Mayor Segarra named James Rovella as his pick as the permanent replacement for the position of Chief of the Hartford Police Department. The process was bizarre., it was a waste of $50,000 and produced less than stellar results. The Corporation Counsel should be attempting to recover our $50,000 dollars from an incompetent search firm.

Now as i speak to Council members asking where they stand on Rovella's approval by the Council, they are all non-committal and keep mentioning "the process". I don't want to dwell on "the process" because I am a strong believer in Chief Rovella and his vision and I feel that in spite of "the process" we now have the best choice in place to move HPD forward..

If the Council has an issue with "the process" is that any reason not to approve Rovella. Rovella was just a pawn in a nonsensical game of Hartford government orchestrated through the Mayor's Chief Operating Officer. If the Council really wants to get answers as to "the process"they won't come from Rovella, he didn't design nor implement "the process"

Under the City Charter, the Council has it within their power to get answers to any questions they may have as to "the process" by conducting hearings and put David panagore in the hot seat and have him answer the questions they may have , on the record for everyone to hear. If the Council has a shortage of questions I might suggest a few.

Why was a no bid contract given out for $50,0000 to conduct the search? What was Mr' Panagores prior relationship with Robert Wasserman and why was the decision made to go with his firm? What business relationship existed between Panagore and Wasserman prior to the contract being issued?

I know the Council has been deluged with calls and comments from taxpayers  upset with the process, Council President Shawn Woode, stated at the recent meeting of the Maple Avenue NRZ that he was "very, very, very, very disappointed by the process". Ok. Mr Wooden, now do what you are empowered to do, and get to the truth  without casting any more of a cloud over the appointment of Chief Rovella