02/18/08 - Greenwich Newswire For Monday

Greenwich News Reports

Senators Come Close to Defeating FCIAC Rival Greenwich Last Week
Norwalk Citizen - Norwalk,CT
By Scott Ferrarisferrari@bcnnew.com Greenwich, who entered the game having won 10 out 11 games, were confident McMahon would be easy prey, with just four ...

Summer Resource guide available for Greenwich kids
Greenwich Post - Greenwich,CT
In addition to local camps and programs the Summer Guide will be a source of information to create summer plans for children in Greenwich. ...

Greening of Greenwich
Greenwich Time - Greenwich,CT
"We should be a leader in the Greenwich community and we should be within our state. I consider that to be a first step in that direction," Tesei said. ...

Million-Dollar Starter Homes
Forbes - NY,USA
That same amount, in Greenwich, gets a five-bedroom Colonial home on 1.3 acres of pristine, landscaped grounds. It's amenities like these that make such ...

Shop owner carves musical niche
Connecticut Post - Bridgeport,CT
He will mark his 20th year in the US next year, and is deep in the process of building a new store in the Cos Cob section of Greenwich to accommodate his ...

Greenwich Blog Posts

No Blood Pressure Screening Today - Library is Closed
When: Monday February 18th, 2008 - 01:00 PM Where: Greenwich Library at Health Information Center Library is closed.
Greenwich Library | Today's Events - http://www.greenwichlibrary.org

'Times' Suggests that Natives Are Getting Restless Over US's ...
By Philip Weiss
Peter Applebome's column on the anti-Israel lecture that the Greenwich Library censored and then allowed to take place suffered from the weary tone that many journalists adopt when they do Israel/Palestine stories. ...
Mondoweiss - http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/

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02/18/08 - Bill Clark attacks everything with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it is often difficult to tell which is which

The Silly Season Gets Sillier

by Bill Clark

Local resident Lee Whitnum has led a colorful life. She allegedly had an affair with Senator John Kerry back in the early 1990s, which seems to have been the defining moment in her life so far. She later wrote a book under the pseudonym Lee Roystone, Hedge Fund Mistress, that was loosely based on the Kerry days; it had to be recalled and reissued in a different form after a threat of legal action. Lately she has been working as a substitute teacher in the Stamford school system. Oh, yes, and she's running against Chris Shays for Congress.

Your scribe first met her in the local library soon after the first printing of HFM

The book itself was interesting, but hardly great literature. The title pretty much gives away the rather thin plot. No doubt Ms. Whitnum had fun writing it, but apparently sailed a little too close to the winds of libel and thus had to tone it down for the reissue.

Now she wants everyone to forget that part of her life, including the pictures of her and Kerry that she posted on her web site a few years ago. But she has reckoned without the power of the Internet. Even though her site explicitly stated that she expected people to ask her permission before helping themselves to her material, she failed to understand that once something gets into the public domain it takes on a life of its own. Such was the case in 2004, when Kerry was running for the presidency, and such is the case in 2008, when Whitnum is running for congress. In both instances her photos were and continue to be so widely reproduced that whatever shreds of ownership she may have once have believed she had have long since been blown away by the winds of cyberspace.

So who is this candidate for elected office from our area? Take a look for yourself, gentle reader:

John Kerry Scrapbook

This collage comes not from Whitnum's web site (which is now all but blank), but from one of many third-party sites that have posted the archived content she herself once posted for all to see. You will notice that there are no photo credits, no copyright indications, or anything else that might call for restraint on the material's dissemination. In fact, Ms. Whitmun herself was fairly unrestrained when she wrote and assembled and posted it all on the Internet.

Well, gentle reader, there are many in Town who feel that it's time for Chris Shays to retire - or be retired - but your scribe is not sure that Lee Whitnum is the one to make it happen. But at least we can thank her for generating additional interest in an election that is still over eight months away. A lot can happen in that time, and your scribe, for one, will follow events with great curiosity to see what will unfold next.
came out. She gave him her card, and urged him to read her book, the title of which he at first thought was "Hedge Fund Mysteries". His parochial ears apparently were not attuned to what she was actually saying, and in retrospect he had to wonder why she seemed so proud of the real title of her self-admittedly autobiographical book. While she was never Kerry's "mistress" - they were both unmarried at the time - she seemed to relish proclaiming the word loudly enough for all in the immediate vicinity to hear it. All, of course, except for your scribe, who only realized what she had said when he went to the card catalogue and discovered his mistake.

Greenwich Gossip - http://greenwich-gossip.blogspot.com/

• Valentine's Day Dilemma
• Elizabeth Watson 1944-2008
• Musical Magic at Christ Church
• Super Tuesday Comes to Greenwich / Update
• Manuscript Mavens Come to Greenwich Avenue! / Upda...
• Ave atque Vale, Cos Cob Food Mart
• Greenwich in Tampa
• I Had to Open My Big Mouth...//Update
• January Thaw
• New Year, New Post

02/18/08 - News Reports From Greenwich Time

Tax refund could cost people more in the end
Senate Democrats want to give Connecticut residents back some taxes this summer, but depending on how it's done, some could end up owing more taxes to the federal government.

Neighbors turn out for shuffleboard tourney
A sign hangs behind the bar at Bruce Park Grill that reads: "Men: No Shirt, No Service; Women: No Shirt, Free Drinks."

Foreign language pushed for H.S.
Since elementary school students must take a foreign language, Board of Education member Steve Anderson now wants high school students to take a year of foreign language instruction.

Greening of Greenwich
The town has set a goal to replace the vehicles in its municipal fleet with hybrid and other environmentally friendly models when their predecessors reach the end of the road.

Author sheds new lighton nation's founding father
This just in -- the cherry tree story was a fairy tale, and George Washington could fudge the truth to protect his image.

02/18/08 - The Parks Department Has Another Beach Pass Scandal. Will The Police Be Called? Will the person reponsible be punished?

Greenwich investigates fake copies of coveted beach passes ...

Newsday

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) _ Greenwich officials are investigating whether someone has been counterfeiting and distributing copies of the town's highly coveted beach access passes, parking stickers and marina permits....

Greenwich investigates fake copies of coveted beach passes ...

Boston Globe

.....The parks department head says a would-be whistle-blower recently sent his office a binder of information, including copies of fake passes and information on the alleged counterfeiter.

If true, the allegations could cost that person his or her recreation privileges and possibly bring criminal charges.

Having a Greenwich beach pass and parking permit can save beachgoers hundreds of dollars yearly -- especially for nonresidents, who pay higher entry and parking fees. And until a state Supreme Court ruling in 2001, nonresidents were banned entirely from the beaches.

It's not known who might have gotten the counterfeit passes and how many may have been in circulation.

Town officials say they've been stepping up security on the beach cards, including by adding holograms, bar codes and other anti-counterfeiting measures.....

Wait A Minute:

A Whistle Blower Gives Fake Beach Passes To The Parks Department And He or She Then Has To Give A Second Copy To Reporter
Neil Vigdor
Of The Greenwich Time.

Why Hasn't Joesph Sicilano called the Greenwich Police Department?