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Monday, April 28, 2008

04/28/08 - Do you really think it was Greenwich Senior Citizens who were involved in counterfeiting beach passes?



Town Of Greenwich Is Going To Put An End To The Senior Citizen Beach Card Counterfeiting Gangs.

Park's Department Head Joseph Siciliano has another dumb idea.

Joesph Siciliano is going to put holograms on senior citizen passes this year in order to stop the beach pass counterfeiters in Town.

Who the heck is going to make fake senior citizen beach passes?

Duh, Would Someone Please Tell Joseph Sicilano The Town Of Greenwich gives out senior citizen beach for
FREE !!!

Why isn't Joseph Siciliano smart enough to put the holograms on this years beach card, which costs $27 per person?

Better yet why isn't Joseph Siciliano smart enough to get holograms on parking stickers that cost $100 each?

Why isn't Joseph Sicilano smart enough to protect the taxpayers by calling one of the hundreds of firms that quickly deliver holograms?

Affordable Holograms USA

Hologram labels, stickers, ID card
products with same day service.
www.novavisioninc.com

It's easy to get 1,000 holigrams for less than $200.

Here Is A Good Example Of
Incompetent-High-Paid Greenwich Town Administrators Pretending To Be At Work....


Currently, beach cards have the town seal printed on them as well as a bar code, though the town does not plan to scan the bar codes until next year.

Why isn't Joseph Siciliano smart enough to realize that Hand-held bar code scanners are cheap !!!!

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The Park pass bar codes are going to be in sequential order.

It is very easy to program a barcode scanner to accept pass numbers 00001 - 19145 and to reject all of the other numbers.

When is the Greenwich News Media Outlets Going To Start Asking Objective Questions That Deliver Hard Hitting Journalism That Protects The Single Family Home Owners And Taxpayers Of Greenwich?

Please read this Greenwich Time article and tell me if you see one quote from a Greenwich citizen or an opposing politician that thinks the public trust has been violated and that tax dollars are being mismanaged.

Beach cards to get holograms


To outsmart would-be counterfeiters, the town is introducing holograms on beach cards issued to senior citizens this year.

Next year, the town will put the holograms, which feature the town seal, on all beach cards. Currently, cards have the town seal printed on them as well as a bar code, though the town does not plan to scan the bar codes until next year. Beachgoers who try to enter Greenwich Point or Byram parks with counterfeit cards will also be in for a rude awakening next year.

"The town is embarking on a program where we'll be scanning all beach cards instead of a visual check," said Tom Greco, manager of business services operations for the parks department.

The town's introduction of added security layers to its beach cards comes as the police investigate an alleged counterfeiting caper involving the highly coveted passes, municipal parking stickers and marina permits.

Right now, much of what investigators have to go on in the case is a binder received in February from an anonymous tipster containing copies of the fake materials. It also identified the person allegedly running the operation, who police have said is a suspect and would not identify.

The alleged suspect in the case also has declined, through his attorney, to be interviewed by police, police have said.

Park officials said they were planning the measures before the scheme came to light.

"I want to reduce the risk of falsifying cards,"...Blah...Blah....Blah....Blah...


Here's how it works In Greenwich:


High paid Government Officials make bad decisions that lead to very expensive failures.


The single family home owners are forced to pay for the expensive screw ups .


The Town of Greenwich spins those failed decisions, and the Greenwich press only types what failed Town Administrators spew out.


Then the reporters just put the town spew through a spell check and go home to listen to the World's Greatest Communication Hoax (WGCH) read the "spin clips" in the morning.


There is no accountability in Greenwich, because Greenwich reporters don't have the journalistic balls to ask Town Administrators hard hitting questions that expose the truth.


Greenwich reporters are afraid to do a simple Google search on the cost and ease of applying holograms on beach passes, because they would have to go back and ask some Town Administrators some real hard hitting questions.


It is much easier to run a Town Press Release through the spell check and then go home.



Warning:
Weak Reporting Can Be Outsourced To India

Indians speak English and can run press releases through a spell check.

Complete Greenwich RTM Meetings can now viewed by an Indian Reporter via the internet.

An Indian Reporter can make a free skype call to get a quote from the First Selectman, School Superintendent or any other public official listed on the Town Web Site.

Photo's can be emailed to India.

Technology Marches On....

Weak local news reporting

can and has beeen

outsourced to India

Your city's news - from India

The job posting was a head-scratcher:

"We seek a newspaper journalist based in India to report on the city government and political scene of Pasadena, California, USA."

Outsourcing first claimed manufacturing jobs, then hit services such as technical support, airline reservations and tax preparation. Now comes the next frontier: local journalism. ...

Read The Full Story:

A news site hires two to cover Pasadena from afar. That helps a shoestring budget go further.

By Alex Pham

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

May 11, 2007

When is local journalism not really local? When it's about Pasadena and written by someone in India. James Macpherson, editor and publisher of the Pasadena Now website, hired two reporters last weekend to cover the Pasadena City Council.


One lives in Mumbai and will be paid $12,000 a year. The other will work in Bangalore for $7,200. The council broadcasts its meetings on the Web. From nearly 9,000 miles away, the outsourced journalists plan to watch, then write their stories while their boss sleeps India is 12.5 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time. "A lot of the routine stuff we do can be done by really talented people in another time zone at much lower wages," said Macpherson, 51, who used to run a clothing business with manufacturing help from Vietnam and India.

So, on the Indian version of Craigslist, he posted an ad that said in part, "We do not believe that geographic distance between California and India will present unsurmountable problems, and that working together with you will result in your development of a keen working knowledge of this city's affairs." Dozens replied. One of the two chosen had attended the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Rob Gunnison, the director of school affairs there, is dismayed. "It just seems so fundamental to journalism to be there," Gunnison said. "I still can't quite believe it's not a hoax."

It's not. Macpherson plans to run his first batch of outsourced stories Tuesday. The Pasadena native runs the website, which he said gets 45,000 visitors a month, on a shoestring budget from his condo with help from his wife, a data entry worker and two interns. Macpherson plans to hire half a dozen more Indian reporters. He'll add some local flavor by doing interviews, then e-mailing the recordings to India. "When you instant-message someone in Mumbai, it's like looking over her shoulder," he said.

Larry Wilson, editor of the 30,000-circulation Pasadena Star-News newspaper, scoffed. "To pretend you can get the feel and the culture of a town as complicated and interesting as Pasadena by e-mailing and doing things over the Internet is nutty," he said.

AND NOW HERE IS THE PUNCH LINE

GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATOR'S LIKE THE IDEA OF OUTSOURCING REPORTING TO INDIA

Ann Erdman, spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena, thinks the approach is a little odd. But "as long as they get their facts correct, I'm a happy camper," she said.

If Greenwich Time Editor And Chief Joe Pisani Is Not Careful

He And His Crew May Find Themselve's On

The Unemployment Line While There Jobs Are Outsourced.



Please read more:

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


02/19/08 - Coverup? - Why Isn't This Felony Being Investigated By The Police Department?


02/20/08 - Is The Coverup Comming To An End? - Police Commisioner Tesei Lights A Fire Under Police Chief Ridberg's Rear End.


02/21/08 - Stop The Coverup - Since When Is Joesph Siciliano A Criminal Investigator?


03/18/08 - First Selectman Peter Tesei said, "Every effort should be made to identify the culprit and prosecute the person."


04/21/08 - You Can Blame This Screw Up On High Paid Parks Department Head Joesph "I Thought I Could Handle A Police Investigation" Sicilano


04/22/08 - See The Channel 2 Video - Fakes Allowing Many Access To Exclusive Waterfront

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Please send your comments and news tips to Bangalore.

Press releases should be sent to Mumbai.

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Lunch, anyone?


For those who can't decide...

04/28/08 - Gofer Ice Cream, a Greenwich ice cream chain known for its red, white and blue cartoon logo of a gopher enjoying an ice cream cone


Gofer Founder and President Jay Ragusa looks forward to returning to Darien where his store was warmly received by the community during the three seasons the store was there.

Gofer in the News...
by Gofer1

Currently located in Stamford and Greenwich, where the first store debuted five years ago, Gofer Ice Cream will open at 1020 Boston Post Road, the site of the original store in Darien. A grand reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will ...

It's Always a Good Day to... Gofer Ice Cream - http://gofericecream.blogspot.com/

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please send your comments, news tips and comments to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

It's all in the name...

Just check it out...

04/28/08 - Fat Chance - Lee is hoping the Planning and Zoning Commission will prohibit the couple from obtaining the necessary town permits.

The mansion at 18 Simmons Lane, once part of the storied estate of Zalman Gilbert Simmons.
(Bob Luckey Jr./Greenwich Time Photo)

Headline:

John Tesei, the Greenwich attorney representing the Kogans in their pursuit of town permits to construct the mansion.

Tesei says despite neighbors concerns, the mansion, with its Turkish and Finnish baths in the basement and expansive layout throughout, is custom designed for the couple.


Quote:

"This thing is triple the existing home and that's absurd," Charles Lee said. "There is a point where a community is entitled to say this is not appropriate for our community."

STORY:

Mansion's new owners draw scrutiny


After signing some paperwork and turning over $1.85 million in cash three years ago, Olga Kogan began the process of buying 18 Simmons Lane and planning the construction of what could be one of the largest Greenwich homes built in recent years....

...
Kogan, who heads a trust and whose husband, Valery, is chairman of the supervisory board of East Line Group, a Moscow-based company that operates Domodedovo International Airport, the busiest airport in Russia. The Kogans, who could not be reached for comment, have been the source of intense scrutiny from neighbors who have hired lawyers and other consultants...

...
Haaretz Newspaper in Israel recently reported that the couple bought property in Caesarea, along the Mediterranean coast, for $17 million where they expect to spend $50 million to build their dream estate....

Is This A Done Deal?

"Everybody has their 15 seconds of fame," John Tesei said. "This house will have its 15 seconds of fame, neighbors will have 15 seconds...we'll run it out a couple more days and life will go on."

The zoning commission is still reviewing the plans.

Please see:

04/17/08 - The Russians Are Comming !!!! The Russians Are Comming !!!! The Russians Are Comming !!!!

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A new way to shop...

Watch this unusual roller coaster ride...

04/28/08 - Skakel says art is a way for him to communicate with his son, family and friends and helps him cope with life in prison.



The drawing shows the boy wearing a T-shirt that reads "love" and surrounded by colorful animals. A nearby skeleton with sunglasses symbolizes death, but two doves overhead depict triumph over death, said Jeffrey Greene, manager of Community Partners in Action, the nonprofit group that runs the program.

"He's expressing that he himself is not dead and that his incarceration does not negate the fact that he is alive and he is still part of his son's life," Greene said. "There's all this beauty but there are all these dangers as well."

An eyeball in the sky symbolizes God watching over the boy, but a lamb is shown next to a lion.


Skakel art will be on display in Hartford
WTNH, CT

Prison art, worked-up by Michael Skakel, will be on display this week at a Hartford exhibit....

...
part of program that helps inmates be creative while locked-up. Skakel is doing 20-years-to life for the 1975 death of his Greenwich neighbor Martha Moxley.

Please Also See:

Kennedy cousin Skakel, other prison inmates, turning to art
The Associated Press

...In another piece, Skakel drew a comic strip about the loss of innocence. A young boy wants to play football, but his friends are not home. Then he runs into someone who gives him marijuana to smoke.

Many states offer such programs, but Connecticut has one of the most extensive, Greene said. The program keeps a permanent collection of the art work made over the years, publishes an annual journal and runs special projects such as using art by inmates to educate others about AIDS and drugs.

Two studies in the 1980s found such programs reduced disciplinary problems and recidivism among inmates, according to the William James Association, a nonprofit which runs a program in California.

"It just works on so many different levels," said Laurie Brooks, executive director of the William James Association. "It kind of transforms some of the destructive tendencies they have into a more productive approach to life and a more positive outlook on themselves."...

Kennedy cousin Skakel turns to art in
7Online.com

...One of his drawings that will be displayed next week is of his nine-year-old son, George. Another is a comic strip about the loss of innocence.

The art program is run by the nonprofit group Community Partners in Action and costs about $100,000 a year. State and private foundations pay for it....


Inmates' Artwork, Including Skakel's, To Be Shown
Hartford Courant

At first glance, the painting "Faith for George" is perplexing.

Who is the boy in the LOVE T-shirt and why is he in some wild place surrounded by animals including a lion, wart hog, zebra and lamb? Why is a skeletal death figure staring at him? And what's the unblinking eye in the sky, above the setting red sun?

The work, one of 333 pieces to be exhibited next month in a Hartford show of artwork by 152 Connecticut inmates, makes sense once its creator, Michael Skakel, explains it.

"It's about my communicating my trust that God will look after my beloved son in a dangerous world while I cannot protect him, comfort him or be with him at this time. The 'Eye in the Sky' represents God's all knowing and watchful eye always looking over George for me," Skakel said this week in a written communication from MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution.....


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Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to
GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

04/28/08 - Monday's News Headlines And Links From The Greenwich Post



Heavenly launch
The book launch for 'Sargeant's Heaven' written by Greenwich residents Icy Frantz and Nina Weld drew lots of children including, from left, Lucy Saleeby, Daisy Stuart and Allie Keigher. The story aims to help children through the loss of a loved one and was inspired by Ms. Frantz's three young sons after the loss of her fourth and youngest son, Sargeant in April 2002.
For information, visit Sargeantsheaven.com.
— Elaine Ubina photo

Cos Cob Power Plant meeting televised tonight

GCTV Channel 79 will be broadcasting the special Board of Selectmen Meeting concerning the Cos Cob Power Plant from Central Middle School Monday, April 28, at 7 p.m. Rebroadcasts of the meeting will be scheduled on channel 79 as soon as possible. The meeting will also be made available on the GCTV Channel 79 Web site.

For updated information, tune into Channel 79

Or visit Gctv.greenwich.org.
Stimulus payments on their way

The Internal Revenue Service has begun to transfer economic stimulus payments to millions of Americans, some of whom will see payments in their bank accounts as early as to


For Volunteer Week
American Red Cross calls people to lend a hand

National Volunteer Week is April 27 to May 3. It is a time to recognize dedicated volunteers and celebrate the spirit of volunteerism. The theme of National Volunteer Week is "Change the World."In honor of that theme and the more than 800 volunteers in the Greenwich Chapter who help people with time, skills and education, the American Red Cross is asking everyone to consider being a volunteer.

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04/28/08 - Westchester County Airport Crash - The pilot told a police officer at the hospital workers that he had 20 years of flying experience.


The scene of last night’s crash at Westchester County Airport.

(Journal News Photo)


Quote:

“If he had hit a steel fence or something that didn’t give, it would have
been much worse.”

Headline:

1:30 a.m. - Crews were working feverishly to clear the totaled plane from the runway because a liver was being flown in for a transplant patient at Westchester Medical Center


Story:


Plane crashes in Westchester, 2 injured

By Greg Clary
The Journal News

A small aircraft crashed on landing late last night at Westchester County Airport.

It appears the two people aboard the Cessna escaped serious injury. They were taken to Westchester Medical Center.

Numerous fire departments and ambulance crews scrambled to the airport just before midnight.

"It was coming in for a landing and preliminarily it appears the pilot touched down and clipped some of the runway lights with the wheels of the plane, causing it to flip over," said Kieran O'Leary, spokesman for the Westchester County Police Department...

....There were several aircraft incidents at the airport last year.

On Sept. 2, a Long Island man suffered minor injuries after his single-engine plane crashed in an aborted takeoff. The pilot of the 2001 TB-20 Trinidad touched down but slid off Runway 11, crashing into trees and a fence, police said.

In August, a small private plane, a Piaggio P180, experienced a problem with its landing gear and landed on its belly, blocking the main runway for hours. The two people aboard were not injured.

In March 2007, a Gulfstream 200 Galaxy, with six passengers and two pilots aboard, made a safe landing when the pilot missed a turn and slipped about 20 feet off the runway. No one was injured.

According to the county's Web site, 240 single-engine and 135 multi-engine planes and 14 helicopters are based at the airport. There were 179,000 flights out of the airport in 2006.

Related articles:
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04/28/08 The Raw Greenwich News Feed For Monday


The Raw Feed

  1. Draft day brings tears

    1 hr ago | South Bend Tribune

    ... do with me ending up there." Center John Sullivan had the longest wait of the four drafted Irish players. The Old Greenwich, Conn., product, who counts legendary Irish coach Knute Rockne as being somewhere in his family tree, went to Minnesota in ...

    Tags: Sports, NFL Football, Baltimore Colts, Minnesota Vikings

  2. A Preservation 911

    Mediabistro.com

    ... but my specialty is historic preservation. On that note, we're concerned about the fate of this particular Greenwich, Conn. mansion. Apparently this Richardsonian Romanesque residence will be demolished by the end of May, to the great distress of a ...


  3. Completion of Gamesa Solar and Ener3 Acquisitions Create European...

    PR Newswire

    Solar power focused, with operations based in Spain and Italy GREENWICH, Conn. and LONDON
    First Reserve Corporation, the leading private equity firm specialising in the energy ...
    Tags: Financial Services, Investment Services, Science And Technology, Alternative Energy


GREENWICH Time RSS Feed



Schools switch annoys parents

Six new families who were ready to enroll their second-graders at North Street School last summer when they unexpectedly received phone calls from the district officials offering them spots at another school instead.
Full Story


When police collected school supplies for fellow officer Sean O'Donnell to distribute to Iraqi children last year, military veterans on the force decided to found their own veterans' group to better coordinate their efforts.
Full Story

North Mianus fair ready for 62nd year

Thought you knew everything there was to know about the North Mianus POW WOW, which is now in its 62nd year?
Full Story

Two Greenwich High School students will be presented with awards at the Science Education Center of Fairfield County's annual meeting, 6:30 p.
Full Story

Families flock to Chinese open house

Brendan Coppinger drove almost 90 miles yesterday to check out an open house at Eastern Middle School for the Chinese Language School of Connecticut.
Full Story


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The Raw Greenwich Blog And RSS Feed - Bloggers Who Are From, Work In Or Used To Live In Greenwich