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Monday, September 16, 2013

HPD ASKING FOR HELP TO ID SUSPECT

 
FROM HPD:

HPD Detectives are looking for your assistance in a burglary that occurred on 09/03/13.  Attached is a photo of a fraudulent ID card that was dropped by the suspect during the commission of a burglary at 51 Westland Street in Hartford.  The photo ID card is not legitimate but it is believed that the photo is of the actual person who committed the crime. Two flat panel televisions were stolen during the burglary. A neighbor of the victim has reported that two males had come to her door prior to this burglary, trying to sell her gas and electric for less.  The neighbor stated that one of the males had the photo ID card on him. Anyone with information or who may know the person pictured, is asked to call Lt. Brain Foley at (860) 757-4463, or tips can be reported anonymously to (860) 722-TIPS.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

SADLY, IT LOOKS LIKE NUMBER 20 IS ON THE BOOKS

It appears that homicide number 20 for the City of Hartford may have occurred earlier today.

Sources are telling me that  a male individual was babysitting for his girlfriends  18 month old daughter earlier today on Middlefield Street in Hartford. Through some sort of interaction with the boyfriend, the child apparently suffered  life threatening injuries. The manner and cause of those injuries will be determined after an autopsy by the Connecticut Medical Examiner.. Sources told me that the manner and cause of death needs to be determined but they believe it is a homicide.
Sources have also told me that the boyfriend "is no stranger" to law enforcement officials in Hartford.

For some unknown reason, after the child sustained the injuries, the boyfriend drove to a home on Durham Street, he then took the child to Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center where the child was pronounced dead.

Hartford police later seized the boyfriends vehicle that he used to transport the child as potential evidence and the car was towed from the ER parking lot at Saint Francis

JUMPING (OR PUSHED) FROM THE SINKING SHIP

Two more department heads have abandoned ship and are jumping from the Segarra administration, Kevin Burnham , Hartford's DPW Director has announced his resignation and Finance Director has also announced his resignation today. Both are effective October 4,2013.

Although the resignations, especially Molleda are long overdue, this now leaves the Segarra Administration without a permanent Chief Operating Officer, Chief of Staff, Corporation Counsel, Human Resources Director, Public Works Director, Finance Director, Fire Chief and the Director of Emergency Dispatch Center. Does anyone see a problem here?  These positions need to be filled by competent people that  care about Hartford and actually live here to bring stability back to City Government

We don't need to hire anymore consultants at $85.00 an hour to determine how to fill these slots either.

The Mayor needs to begin re-stocking his cabinet soon though if he is going to  survive. The COO position has been open for over a year now and the next departure from City Hall needs to be Saundra Kee - Borges. Acting positions are nothing more than seat warmers. We need to have strong professional leadership coming out of City Hall for a change. Professionals that have vision and goals and can implement change to move our City forward efficiently in all of these vacant positions

Here is the press release from the Mayor's Office and not one mention of a ribbon cutting

Today, Mayor Segarra announced that he has accepted the resignation of Kevin Burnham, Director of the Department of Public Works and Julio Molleda, Director of Finance. Mr. Burnham has worked for the City of Hartford since 2002 and has an annual salary of $120,019. Mr. Molleda worked for the Hartford Library and Board of Education before coming to City Hall in 2011 at an annual salary of $151,918. Their resignation is effective October 4th.
Concurrently, Mayor Segarra has appointed two long-standing professionals with experience in local government to fill the positions.  Mr. Joseph A. Ruffo, CPA will take over as Interim Director of Finance. Mr. Ruffo, a former Auditor, Accounting Instructor and Budget Reviewer for the Government Finance Officers Association for more than 20 years, has been the Comptroller/Deputy Comptroller for the City of Norwich since 1987. He will continue at the same salary as the previous finance director.

The Mayor has also appointed Mr. Keith Chapman, former Town Manager of Newington, Special Advisor to the City Manager of New London and Hartford, as Interim Director of the Department of Public Works. Mr. Chapman has overseen the Public Works Department in Newington and New London and has over 20 years of experience in city management. Mr. Chapman’s salary is $140,000.

Both Mr. Chapman and Mr. Ruffo will start on Monday, September 16 to begin the transition.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A FACEBOOK REQUEST

This something g that I have never done before on the blog. I am reposting something from Facebook. This was posted by the brother of a friend of my sister's that we grew up with. It involves a Vietnam Veteran who is down on his luck, Please read the posting, this is legit and not a scam.

If there ever was a time to show our appreciation, what is better than the anniversaryof 9/11.

9/9/13:I picked up a hitchhiker this ...morning. He was in his 60s, looked a little disheveled, raggy clothes, and was wearing a Vietnam Vet hat. Turns out he's been driving around the country since June and has hit all 50 states. His van broke down and he was thumbing from a campground where he's been tent camping to the dealership where his car had been towed. I told him to save my contact info in his phone in case he needed a ride back. He already had a Tim in there so he said he was going to enter my name as Tim God for rescuing him this morning. That made my day.

Later that day...My hitchhiker friend from this morning, Bill, called me to see if I could give him a ride back to the dealership tomorrow. After a lengthy conversation it turns out there's a bit more to his story. He appears to be pretty much homeless and has been camping out in his car more out of necessity than adventure. When he can raise some money for gas he moves on to the next place. He is indeed a Vietnam Veteran. He found out today his car is going to cost about $1800 to fix. He's going to reach out to his family and friends and try to raise the funds His plan is to see if the dealership will let him sleep in the car at night while they work on it because he can't afford the campground where he's staying.

I had to coax this information out of him, he seems to be a very proud man. He has asked me for nothing except for a ride in the morning. If anyone is inclined to help a stranger out, feel free to call Brustolon Buick Service Dept. tomorrow at (860) 415-4739 with a credit card and ask them to put it towards Bill Hart's (sp?) van repair. Any amount, big or small, will help.

I see "support the troops" messages on here all the time. Maybe we can't help them all but we can sure make a huge difference in this one's life. Let's see if Facebook can be used for things more important than cupcake recipes, Farmland, and me ranting about Republicans. Help a brother out and pay it forward.

9/10: To those who saw my posts yesterday about the Vietnam Vet I picked up hitch hiking- please call Brustolon Buick Service Dept. at 860.415.4739 and make a small donation to help him get his car fixed. It must happen today. Thanks to all who are stepping up to help a Veteran in need God Bless America.

Later that day: Update on my friend Bill- we went out to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and now he's taking a nap out in the cabin. Brustolons has received 10 calls and over $600 from you guys. We have about $1000 to go to completely cover his repair bill and get him on his way. His plan is to head back to Florida where he has a small camper to live in. As of now he knows nothing about our efforts to take care of his van. Thank you all and continue to spread the word, &1000 is still a long way to go!

9/11: Just spoke to the service mgr. at Brustolon. They have knocked $250 off Bills van repair. We have raised about $800 leaving a balance of about $700. If you're not aware of what talking about please read my most recent posts. We're trying to get a Vietnam Vet (Marine) back In his van so he can get back to Florida. It turns out the van won't be ready til later today so we have one more day to raise funds. Please call Brustolon Buick at 860.415.4739 if feel like kicking in a few bucks to help a veteran out. I'm hoping on 9/11 we all remember the sacrifices all veterans have made. Lets pay off Bill's bill!!!!

As of 4:30pm today, balance is $290.

HPD'S "ACADEMY CLASS"

As residents spoke about  their concerns at Monday nights Council meeting regarding attrition within the Hartford Police Department, Council members in an attempt to dupe the public stated that there was actually an Academy class graduating  today to boost the numbers. They failed to inform the public that the so called class  was just one officer graduating from the Meriden Police Academy.

Not to belittle the one officer joining the HPD ranks, here is a little more info on Hartford's latest Police Officer

Officer Jose Cortes Jr. was born in Hartford and raised in the south end in the Charter Oak neighborhood.  on February 14, 2011 at the age of 19 and shortly after graduating from Bulkeley High School, Officer Cortes joined the Hartford Police Department as a Cadet.  As a police cadet, he gained valuable experience working in many different divisions of the police department to include:  Major Crimes Division, Fiscal Division, Teleserve, Records Division, and Training Division.

On April 5, 2013, he was promoted to police recruit where he attended the 23 week Basic Training Program the POSTC Academy in Meriden.   On September 11, 2013, he graduated as a member of the 341st recruit class at POSTC.  Officer Cortes Jr. is proud to serve the City of Hartford.  He has an ambition to become a Vice and Narcotics Detective as his career progresses.        

 

REMEMBER THE EVENTS OF 9/11