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Saturday, July 13, 2013
OUCH
For the tongue in cheek version of Jared's Joy Ride, check out Colin McEnroe's column here. Can the music video be far off ?
Friday, July 12, 2013
WE AREN'T THIS BAD ....YET
As bad as things sometimes look in Hartford, I guess they could always be worse.
http://www.nancyonnorwalk.com/2013/07/norwalk-dems-battle-in-city-hall-parking-lot/
http://www.nancyonnorwalk.com/2013/07/norwalk-dems-battle-in-city-hall-parking-lot/
YOU'RE FIRED
I can only think it was some producer trying to play a poorly thought out prank on their last day of work at KTVU, if not I am pretty sure today will be their last day.
This is the statement from the station:
EARLIER IN THE NEWSCAST WE GAVE SOME NAMES OF PILOTS INVOLVED IN THE ASIANA AIRLINES CRASH. THESE NAMES WERE NOT ACCURATE DESPITE AN N-T-S-B OFFICIAL IN WASHINGTON CONFIRMING THEM LATE THIS MORNING. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THIS ERROR.
UPDATE:
NTSB statement on erroneous confirmation of crew names
July 12
The National Transportation Safety Board apologizes for inaccurate and offensive names that were mistakenly confirmed as those of the pilots of Asiana flight 214, which crashed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6.
Earlier today, in response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft.
The NTSB does not release or confirm the names of crewmembers or people involved in transportation accidents to the media. We work hard to ensure that only appropriate factual information regarding an investigation is released and deeply regret today's incident.
Appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that such a serious error is not repeated.
Office of Public Affairs
490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20594
(202) 314-6100
Kelly Nantel
kelly.nantel@ntsb.gov
WHY?
I try not to take the blog too seriously, most times, at least. I am starting to realize what people have been telling me for a while. "We the People" has definitely become an engine for change in Hartford.
As much as I appreciate that though, I really do have to ask...Why?
I have some excellent partners and sources that make it all possible, but it would be so much easier if the City was just run right.
With the number of high priced, most of them in the six figure salary, so called managers, it seems as though very little managing is taking place.Whether it is the p-card abuse or Kupiec's joy ride, why does it come out here first. Shouldn't our managers and our double dipping COO have a handle on the operation first?
I just wonder what the outcome would have been if I didn't develop the information regarding the former Chief of Staff and his apparent theft of a City vehicle. Would anyone have even known?
And when would the vehicle he took without permission have been noticed as missing? Maybe when the dust on it from the parking garage got too thick that it bothered some city Hall manager with allergies?
As the incident unfolded Monday morning it was amazing that no one, not even the HPD Fleet manager knew who the vehicle was issued to. Cops were saying the registration cam back to HPD but apparently no one had a record of who the vehicle had been issued to.. That is just amazing that there is no vehicle data base that should show any City vehicle at a moments notice. If people are being paid to manage a fleet, then damn it, manage the fleet.
That would also require though that those in power play by the rules and allow the people being paid to do their jobs. You can't bypass the rules and hand out vehicles or cellphones or I-pads like candy without following a process in place. To the best of my knowledge there is no small asset inventory in place for the City of Hartford. I have asked for it and no one has provided it.
That means if you are a City of Hartford employee and are issued an I-pad or a cellphone or in the Case of Jared Kupiec, a car. No one even knows you have it, so there is no procedure to protect the city's assets to make sure that property eventually makes it back to City Hall, unless someone remembers to ask for it back.
This just crazy that we run a half a billion dollar corporation like this, if you can even call it "running". It is a free for all allowed to flail out of control because of misplaced loyalties to law school study buddies and chronies rather than qualified professionals.
Council President Shawn Wooden today requested an Audit into City Vehicles based on the Kupiec incident. An incident that was revealed through a blog posting, not an observant City employee or even a highly paid Department head doing their job.
Even more troubling though is the comment in Wooden's letter that " I understand that an audit of this scope will likely be a labor intensive one, so I am asking that it be completed by September 30, 2013". This report would most likely be a few key strokes on a computer to generate for management at any properly operated business.
The report would probably also tell you the last time it was serviced, the mileage etc, etc. And if it was a really well run business, the entire fleet would be tracked by GPS and able to tell you where that vehicle was at that exact moment and how fast it was travelling.
It is definitely time to start reviewing the City Vehicle policy. There should be three people with City take home privileges, the mayor, the police Chief and the Fire Chief, period. In addition all other City vehicles should be clearly marked with city seals and markings. What is the need for stealth by the Fire Chief or the Fire Department. no HFD markings and in most cases not even municipal plates. Why?
In a City struggling with the need for additional police presence and visibility , other than detective's vehicles, every other vehicle should be clearly and very visibly marked a s a police vehicle. If you don't want a marked police vehicle in your driveway, don't take it home.
And as far as DPW, no one is owed a ride back and forth to work by the taxpayers. Follow the Weather Channel, if a blizzard is predicted, either stay local or take an SUV home for the night, but there is no need for vehicles to go home on a daily basis.
There is no reason for the Chief of Staff , the COO or even Department heads to have take home cars
The City of Hartford residents deserve so much more from those who are supposed to be running the operation. Allowing the direction and management of the city to be dictated by a blog is wrong.
As much as I appreciate that though, I really do have to ask...Why?
I have some excellent partners and sources that make it all possible, but it would be so much easier if the City was just run right.
With the number of high priced, most of them in the six figure salary, so called managers, it seems as though very little managing is taking place.Whether it is the p-card abuse or Kupiec's joy ride, why does it come out here first. Shouldn't our managers and our double dipping COO have a handle on the operation first?
I just wonder what the outcome would have been if I didn't develop the information regarding the former Chief of Staff and his apparent theft of a City vehicle. Would anyone have even known?
And when would the vehicle he took without permission have been noticed as missing? Maybe when the dust on it from the parking garage got too thick that it bothered some city Hall manager with allergies?
As the incident unfolded Monday morning it was amazing that no one, not even the HPD Fleet manager knew who the vehicle was issued to. Cops were saying the registration cam back to HPD but apparently no one had a record of who the vehicle had been issued to.. That is just amazing that there is no vehicle data base that should show any City vehicle at a moments notice. If people are being paid to manage a fleet, then damn it, manage the fleet.
That would also require though that those in power play by the rules and allow the people being paid to do their jobs. You can't bypass the rules and hand out vehicles or cellphones or I-pads like candy without following a process in place. To the best of my knowledge there is no small asset inventory in place for the City of Hartford. I have asked for it and no one has provided it.
That means if you are a City of Hartford employee and are issued an I-pad or a cellphone or in the Case of Jared Kupiec, a car. No one even knows you have it, so there is no procedure to protect the city's assets to make sure that property eventually makes it back to City Hall, unless someone remembers to ask for it back.
This just crazy that we run a half a billion dollar corporation like this, if you can even call it "running". It is a free for all allowed to flail out of control because of misplaced loyalties to law school study buddies and chronies rather than qualified professionals.
Council President Shawn Wooden today requested an Audit into City Vehicles based on the Kupiec incident. An incident that was revealed through a blog posting, not an observant City employee or even a highly paid Department head doing their job.
Even more troubling though is the comment in Wooden's letter that " I understand that an audit of this scope will likely be a labor intensive one, so I am asking that it be completed by September 30, 2013". This report would most likely be a few key strokes on a computer to generate for management at any properly operated business.
The report would probably also tell you the last time it was serviced, the mileage etc, etc. And if it was a really well run business, the entire fleet would be tracked by GPS and able to tell you where that vehicle was at that exact moment and how fast it was travelling.
It is definitely time to start reviewing the City Vehicle policy. There should be three people with City take home privileges, the mayor, the police Chief and the Fire Chief, period. In addition all other City vehicles should be clearly marked with city seals and markings. What is the need for stealth by the Fire Chief or the Fire Department. no HFD markings and in most cases not even municipal plates. Why?
In a City struggling with the need for additional police presence and visibility , other than detective's vehicles, every other vehicle should be clearly and very visibly marked a s a police vehicle. If you don't want a marked police vehicle in your driveway, don't take it home.
And as far as DPW, no one is owed a ride back and forth to work by the taxpayers. Follow the Weather Channel, if a blizzard is predicted, either stay local or take an SUV home for the night, but there is no need for vehicles to go home on a daily basis.
There is no reason for the Chief of Staff , the COO or even Department heads to have take home cars
The City of Hartford residents deserve so much more from those who are supposed to be running the operation. Allowing the direction and management of the city to be dictated by a blog is wrong.
GET OUT THOSE LEISURE SUITS AND PARACHUTE PANTS TONIGHT
I don't post commercial events here too often, but I think this one is worth it. When many business owners are bailing on Hartford, at least one continues to invest in Hartford and grow while also creating new jobs for people, many of whom are Hartford residents. Jerry Fornacelli, owner of Hartford's Russian Lady, the Tavern Downtown and the newest addition the Rocking Horse Café.
Although the Tavern Downtown has been a staple of the Union place dining establishments for some time, Jerry recently relocated to the former Coach's space directly next to the Russian Lady Café and expanded the restaurant . Just south of the Russian lady, Jerry renovated a vacant store front and created the Rocking horse Café. The atmosphere makes you think you are in the old west with the pine barn board siding, saddles and country Western music.
The latest addition to the Ann Street triple crown this summer are the weekly block parties, complete with the mechanical bull in the middle of the street, free for anyone brave enough to jump on and trust Pat at the controls. He hasn't launched anyone off yet, but then again I haven't climbed on .
The block parties are events that usually draw over a thousand people to celebrate Hartford in the block of Ann Uccello Street between Asylum Street and Allyn Place.. It is great to see people out enjoying Hartford and patronizing the other restaurants and bars around the are being drawn in by the block party.
These events are a gamble for the owner because they require a rather large police presence, street closures , porta-potties and fencing and all the logistics, none of this is cheap, the Police coverage alone is a few thousand every week, even if it gets rained out. All that can change on a moments notice with the weather, but Jerry is an entertainer and I think he thrives on the crowds and seeing people enjoying all that Hartford has to offer.
Tonight is the flashback to the 80's Blockparty and should be a great night. It will probably bring back memories to many of us to the first time we sat in the Barber Chair by the front entrance drinking your first , now famous, Russian Lady Long Island Ice Tea and then keeping the hurricane glass. Some of those memories I am sure many of us would like to forget, like the shots of Peach tree schnapps when that was first introduced
Luckily most of us have grown up, or at least grown older, but tonight should be a good night, just seeing crowds downtown is a good thing.
And again, in full disclosure, I do have a business relationship with Jerry but I still love the place, business or not. Say hello if you stop by
Although the Tavern Downtown has been a staple of the Union place dining establishments for some time, Jerry recently relocated to the former Coach's space directly next to the Russian Lady Café and expanded the restaurant . Just south of the Russian lady, Jerry renovated a vacant store front and created the Rocking horse Café. The atmosphere makes you think you are in the old west with the pine barn board siding, saddles and country Western music.
The latest addition to the Ann Street triple crown this summer are the weekly block parties, complete with the mechanical bull in the middle of the street, free for anyone brave enough to jump on and trust Pat at the controls. He hasn't launched anyone off yet, but then again I haven't climbed on .
The block parties are events that usually draw over a thousand people to celebrate Hartford in the block of Ann Uccello Street between Asylum Street and Allyn Place.. It is great to see people out enjoying Hartford and patronizing the other restaurants and bars around the are being drawn in by the block party.
These events are a gamble for the owner because they require a rather large police presence, street closures , porta-potties and fencing and all the logistics, none of this is cheap, the Police coverage alone is a few thousand every week, even if it gets rained out. All that can change on a moments notice with the weather, but Jerry is an entertainer and I think he thrives on the crowds and seeing people enjoying all that Hartford has to offer.
Tonight is the flashback to the 80's Blockparty and should be a great night. It will probably bring back memories to many of us to the first time we sat in the Barber Chair by the front entrance drinking your first , now famous, Russian Lady Long Island Ice Tea and then keeping the hurricane glass. Some of those memories I am sure many of us would like to forget, like the shots of Peach tree schnapps when that was first introduced
Luckily most of us have grown up, or at least grown older, but tonight should be a good night, just seeing crowds downtown is a good thing.
And again, in full disclosure, I do have a business relationship with Jerry but I still love the place, business or not. Say hello if you stop by
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