05/06/08 - The Bird Report From Greenwich Point

Remember Usenet - Greenwich News Group Report

Report 05/05/2008 Sandhill Craner, Yellow-throated W

From: Meredith Sampson w/ "First Sundays" Birding Group

5/04 - Old Greenwich,

Greenwich Point -- HARLEQUIN DUCK, SNOW GOOSE, BROWN THRASHER, 2 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS.

Greenwich yard -- WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. From John Corwin: ...

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05/06/08 - We Must Keep These Subversives Out !!!!!

Is Greenwich Diva Next To Be Put On The List For Criticizing The List?

Nelson Mandela flagged on US terrorist watch lists
By claudette

I just received this from 'Network Journal E-Newsletter'. This is a total embarrassment to the US Is Presiden Mahmoud Ahmandinejad (Iran) on the terrorist list? Why didn't someone take Mr. Mendela off this list years ago? ...

Greenwich Diva - http://greenwichdiva.com

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05/06/08 - Greenwich Bussiness News Alert - We Are Being Sent To Hell In A Hand Basket

Greenwich Bussiness News Report:

Fannie Mae Only Lost 2.19 Billion

Dollar Falls Against Yen as Fannie Mae Posts $2.19 Billion Loss
Bloomberg - USA
``It's bad for the dollar and good for the yen,'' said Alan Ruskin, head of international currency strategy at RBS Greenwich Capital Markets in Greenwich, ...

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05/06/08 - Reader submitted Comments - You Can Be A Virtual Super Delegate In Greenwich

We Need Change says....

Democratic delegates will soon be making a clear choice about the type of leadership they want to see from their government, and the type of new direction they want to see their country take.

No, I'm not talking about the convention happening in Denver this August. I'm talking about the one happening in Bridgeport, CT on Monday night. That's where, with your help, Jim Himes will be officially nominated as the Democratic candidate for Congress from Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District.

Even if you're not able to make it in person, Jim Himes wants you to be involved in what will be a very special night by becoming a "virtual delegate" to the convention.

George Bush was just in Connecticut with Chris Shays, and he was able raise over $700,000 for Republican candidates. Jim Himes needs the resources to fight back against Chris Shays' growing war chest. Fight back before May 12th by becoming a "virtual delegate" here:

http://www.himesforcongress.com/virtualdelegate

You can also tell Jim Himes what you would say in a nominating speech - why you are supporting his campaign - and he'll feature the best nominations both online at himesforcongress.com, and at the convention itself:

Jim Himes is going to kick this summer off in a big way this coming Monday in Bridgeport, and with your involvement, and your support, he is going to win in November!

Become a "virtual delegate," "vitrual superdelegate," (or even a "virtual superhuman delegate"!) today.

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05/06/08 - Did You Know That Greenwich Gossip Webmaster Bill Clark Had Been Banned By The Yellowich Time

The Local Rag

Starts to Clean Up Its Act

As faithful readers of this column know, the Local Rag, aka Yellowwich Time, has had a pretty poor history of truth-telling and fact-reporting in recent decades. The reason was not far to seek: it was locally owned, locally run, and well versed in the mythology that Greenwich is Disneyland East, where nothing nasty or dishonest or untoward ever occurs. And if it does, the theory went, their readers certainly didn't want to know about it.

An ostrich with its head deep-buried in the sand would have been an apt image of Yellowwich Time. There was a rumor circulating for many years that the paper was published in the basement of Town Hall, so that all the bent or incompetent politicians could censor everything before it was printed. And woe betide anyone who dared to question the status quo or rock the boat in Town; all the blunderbusses of the illiterate reporting and editorial staffs would be leveled at him or her in a effort to belittle, discredit, and smear the offender. In this town in those days it was lockstep or nothing.

Which is why your scribe once told Bill Rowe, the then-owner of the rag, that the paper should change its masthead color from green to yellow. Why, he wanted to know? So that it would reflect the color of the journalism you publish, replied your scribe. Rowe walked off in a huff; and from that day forward the Local Rag has adamantly refused to publish anything written by your scribe - who had thitherto been one of the more popular letter writers in Town.

But bit by bit karma has reasserted itself, as it always does. Bill Rowe sold out to a chain; that chain sold out to another chain; and pretty soon the new owners and stockholders decided it was time that Greenwich had a real newspaper. The illiterate reporters were replaced by ones who knew how to write English; the middle-level editorial staff like Mike Sweeney and Bruce Hunter vanished into the sunset; and now - finally - the ax has fallen on senior editor Joe Pisani.

Your scribe remembers nostalgically the arguments he used to carry on with Joe in his ground-floor corner office: your scribe would castigate him for printing rumor and slander as fact, and Joe would scream back that he would print anything he damn well pleased. The entire staff would gather in the bullpen to overhear these exchanges, which provided great entertainment to the masses. But Joe was the boss, and whether any of the staff agreed with your scribe or not, they knew that he buttered their bread. Anti-scribalism became the official unwritten policy of the Yellowwich Time.

Well, Joe's chickens have now come home to roost. The new owners apparently believe that biased and inaccurate reporting should be a thing of the past. Likewise, slavish knuckling under to powerful interests, be they Town Hall, crooked police chiefs, or the Kennedy family (as in the Martha Moxley murder), are no longer considered proper journalistic behavior. The era of Joe Pisani has, thankfully, come to an end.

Predictably, the mandarins and Poo-Bahs of Town have reacted with shock and dismay. Their pet editor has been fired! How will they ever be able to control the news in this Town again?

Good question. One hopes that the "good-old-boy" school of sanitized stories and hatchet journalism will now go the way of the dodo, and that we will never have another Joe Pisani in our midst, bending and shaping the "news" to fit his personal predilections and those of his handlers. Greenwich deserves better than that.

Let's let Joe have a few last words. "I'm not that good of an editor," he is reported to have said the day the ax fell. Nor a grammarian, one might add. In yesterday's Yellowwich Time he wrote his final column, which he aptly thought might be labeled "this tedious and tendentious and pontificating column." No doubt he thought he was being cutesy and ironic; but as far as your scribe is concerned, these were about the truest words he ever wrote.

He also talked about how newspaper-writing allowed one "to sit in judgment on the world as you know it. Being a weak man, I've never resisted that temptation...." Once again, some refreshing last-minute honesty and truth-telling after a long career of biased and slanted "reporting". Do you think that practicing Roman Catholic Pisani is finally making his confession, dear reader? It certainly seems so.

Fittingly, the Yellowwich Time building on East Elm Street has also been closed permanently and sold to a new owner. Perhaps it will be torn down for condos or retail stores or a combination of both. But for the moment, as your scribe walks past the windows of the corner office, he can still hear echoes of Joe Pisani yelling, purple in the face, "I'll publish anything I damn well please!" But the echoes are growing fainter, and soon they will cease altogether. Karma has prevailed, yet again.

More From Bill Clark's Greenwich Gossip:

• Pictures!
• Rape and Pillage, Part II
• The Next Survivor Series
• Announcing AutoBlogger!!
• Bye, Bye, Michele
• For Your Viewing Pleasure...
• Christ's Church Comes to Christ Church
• 770 vs. 1

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05/06/08 - Don't Say Ommmmmmm......Say Amennnnnnnnn

Christian yoga offered at center
Stamford Advocate

GREENWICH - Christian yoga will be held on Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. and 10 to 11 a.m. Saturdays at Father O'Connor Center, 4 Riverside Ave.

Reconnect, reflect and create space for God's voice through yoga postures, Christian music and meditation.

For teens and adults. Classes are $10 each. Call 550-8811 for more information.

Meditative service planned at church....

Comment:

Next week there will be a special

Hindu Communion Service

Followed By The New Age Hindu Confessional

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05/05/08 - Greenwich Sports Update - Golf

Weddell a runaway winner
Boston Globe

O'Connor Independent School Tournament:

In the nine-hole competition at Greenwich Country Club, Gillian Dudeck of Miss Porter's defeated Sky McCaine of Rye Country Day in a one-hole playoff after both shot 45 during regulation. In the 18-hole competition, Greenwich Academy's Kelly Rohrbach shot a 5-over 79 to win by two strokes over Loomis-Chafee's Allie Bankart. Greenwich Academy edged Loomis-Chaffee for the team title, 400-398....

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05/05/08 - This Place Makes Byram Look Safe - Would You Like To Go To The Movies And Have A Nice Dinner In Port Chester?

Be Prepared

When You Go Out For Dinner In Port Chester

Don't Get Caught In The Gross Fire

Fender Bender Mayhem

Men said to have hit car attack accusers with screwdriver, tire iron, Port Chester police say

Journal News

... the fallen woman and two men. The Stamford woman was stabbed in the cheek with the screwdriver, a 24-year-old Greenwich man got a broken nose and other head wounds, and a 28-year-old Stamford man received a large cut to his left hand, police said. ...

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05/06/08 - Betty Sterberg accused her critics of playing politics in the Greenwich Time. Did she mean Tesei, Crumbine, Dadakis and 75 % of RTM?

The Unspeakable Betty Sternberg

Strikes Again

By: Bill Clark
As Seen In Greenwich Gossip

Probably no Town employee is as wildly unpopular as the unspeakable Betty Sternberg, who continues to make new enemies at every turn. Now she has managed to p*ss off the Boy Scouts - the organization, the kids, and the parents. What will she pick on next, one wonders? Motherhood? Apple pie? When, oh when, dear reader, will the Board of Ed finally get the message and fire her, as they should have done many months and many millions of wasted dollars ago?

Even the First Selectman, Peter Tesei, has finally gotten off the fence and let his opinion be known: "I think it's an example of her not understanding our community," he said; "To pick a fight with an organization that has served the community for decades is just not sound judgment in my opinion."

Right on, Peter! So would you please follow through and get rid of her while we still have the remnants of our neighborhood school system and a few dollars left in the kitty? Please, pretty please?

Peter's mention of the "decades" of the Boy Scouts' service to our community is accurate as far as it goes, but there is much more. The Boy Scouts of America was founded right here in Town, at the Cos Cob estate of Ernest Thompson Seton. Seton wrote the first Boy Scout handbook, and his daughter, Anya Seton, later became a best-selling novelist. Her book The Winthrop Woman is about the early days of Greenwich, and well worth reading if you haven't done so already.

In one of the wisest decisions in recent years, the Town bought Seton's estate and saved it from the developers. You can get lost in the woods barely a mile from I-95, dear reader, and you can even visit the erstwhile Seton mansion, perched high overlooking a lake. Unfortunately, in one of the dumbest decisions in recent years, the Town evicted the lovely Swedish family that had been renting the mansion for $6,000 a month, and the house is now a shambles of broken windows and peeling paint. From historical landmark to local eyesore in a few short years - doesn't say much for the Town of Greenwich as a landlord, does it?

Other local officials besides Tesei are now - finally! - speaking out against the unspeakable Sternberg. Selectman Peter Crumbine noted that the relationship between the school system and the Boy Scouts has "been going on for 70 years. What's changed?" Former Scout and RTM District 1 member Ed Dadakis was even more direct: "This is really outrageous, and it seems that Mrs. Sternberg and her school administration are totally out of touch with the Greenwich community."

Well, maybe it's time for the Board of Education to cave in and admit they made a dreadful mistake in hiring the unspeakable Betty. The damage she has done during her tenure thus far is incalculable; the spiralling costs and mismanaged building projects are unrivalled in Town history; and the degree of opprobrium she engenders from every quarter (except her pet Board of Ed) surpasses that of any local resident since the days of the notorious "Boss" Tweed, or "the Witch of Wall Street," Hetty Green. Let's hope that the days of "the Witch of the Greenwich School System" are finally drawing to a close, and that very soon she will be invited to mount her broomstick and fly out of Town forever, leaving only enormous unpaid bills and a plethora of hard feelings and bad memories behind her.

More From Bill Clark And Greenwich Gossip:

• The Local Rag Starts to Clean Up Its Act
• The Unspeakable Betty Sternberg Strikes Again
• Pictures!
• Rape and Pillage, Part II
• The Next Survivor Series
• Announcing AutoBlogger!!
• Bye, Bye, Michele
• For Your Viewing Pleasure...
• Christ's Church Comes to Christ Church
• 770 vs. 1

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05/06/08 - Greenwich Library News

Greenwich Library Blogs Alert:

Mousercize
When: Tuesday May 6th, 2008 - 01:00 PM

Where: Greenwich Library at Training Center Attendees will practice using the mouse.

Greenwich Library | Today's Events - http://www.greenwichlibrary.org

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05/06/08 - Greenwich News Roundup For Tuesday

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Top Stories

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Sternberg defends policy on recruiting by Boy Scouts

Schools Superintendent Betty Sternberg, grappling yesterday with the fallout from her decision to block the Boy Scouts from recruiting on campus during classes, accused her critics of playing politics.

Shame On Sternberg - "It's been going on for seventy years...

Greenwich schools limit Boy Scouts recruiting
Hartford Courant

Boy Scouts Banned From Greenwich Schools
WCBS-TV New York

Greenwich bans Boys Scouts from in-school recruiting
Stamford Advocate

ALSO:

Judge upholds Greenwich widow’s deal
Greenwich Post, CT -
Hopper last Friday upheld Jennifer Hagel Smith’s $1-million settlement with Royal Caribbean cruise lines. ...

Court Upholds Settlement In Missing Passenger Case
Hartford Courant

Hagel Smith wins probate case
Greenwich Time

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Featured Greenwich News Reports:

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Patriot National Bank welcomes new assistant branch manager to ...
Stamford Plus Magazine

She will be working in our Greenwich office at 100 Mason Street (661.0800) with manager, Neil Dixon. Litzie began her banking career as a part-time teller ...

Art to the Avenue continues this week with two events
Greenwich Post

As part of this year's Art to the Avenue celebration, the Greenwich Arts Council is presenting two productions this week. This Thursday, May 8, ...

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The Raw Greenwich Feed
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1. Sears' Lampert playing it close

   Chicago Tribune

   ... the 120-year-old company an identity in the crowded retail landscape, and investors are getting impatient. The Greenwich, Conn.-based billionaire smiled and nodded at the company's annual meeting Monday as Sears Chief Information Officer Karen ...

   Tag: Retail

2. Tropicana Files for Bankruptcy Protection

   Vegas Syndicate

   ... positive cash flow from its operations and has lined up $67 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Greenwich, Conn.-based Silver Point Finance LLC. "We have more than adequate resources to meet our ongoing financial needs," Butera said. "We ...

   Tags: Atlantic City, NJ

3. Tropicana Entertainment Files for Chapter 11 Reorganization

   Business Wire

   ... each property ' s competitive market position. The DIP loan is being provided by Silver Point Finance, LLC of Greenwich, Connecticut. " Our company is going into this process from a position of financial and operational strength, " said Tropicana ...

   Tags: Atlantic City, NJ

4. Top editor leaves Stamford, Greenwich papers

   NewsTimesLive.com
   

   Joseph F. Pisani, who ushered The Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time into the digital age while wearing bow ties and surrounding himself with vintage typewriters, has left as editor of the newspapers....

   Please Also See: Comments About Joe Pisani Leaving The Greenwich Time

5. State to drop some charges against 'dinnertime bandit'

   Hartford Courant

   ... nearly $1 million in goods between September 1996 and October 1997, as well as seven other attempted break-ins in Greenwich. Investigators dubbed Golder the dinnertime bandit due to his alleged penchant for breaking into wealthy homes as ...

   Tags: Stamford

6. Name Droping On Cinco de Mayo

   by Camilla

   This is my second time at Boxcar Cantina, supposedly a very popular Mexican restaurant in Greenwich, Connecticut. Since the first time I was there we were joined by Ron Howard and some of his friends for dinner (that sounds really nice, ...

7. Canada's Dollar Rises From 3-Week Low as Prices for Some Commodities Rise

   Bloomberg.com

   ... more resilient'' than the U.S., said Alan Ruskin , head of international currency strategy in North America at RBS Greenwich Capital Markets Inc. in Greenwich, Connecticut. ``I prefer the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar on the basis that ...

   Tag: Financial Markets

8. Boy Scouts Banned From Greenwich Schools

   WCBS

   Superintendent Nixes 70-Year Tradition Of Yearly 10-Minute Recruiting Session In Elementary Schools Reporting Tony Aiello GREENWICH, Conn....Please also see related article...Comments About Greenwich Schools Banning the Boy Scouts

   Tag: Educcation

9. United Rentals Announces Kenneth DeWitt as Vice President and Chief Information Officer

   BusinessWire

   ... Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor ' s MidCap 400 Index and the Russell 2000 Index and is headquartered in Greenwich, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com ...

   Tags: CIO News, Industrial Machines, United Rentals, Leasing

10. Illegally Apointed Police Captain Michael Pacewicz Has Probably Cost The Single Family Home Owners Of Greenwich One Million Dollars

    This is such a profound example of the poor leadership displayed during Lash's tenure.

    How unfortunate it was that the Jim Lash illegally put someone like Michael Pacewicz into such an important position...

11. Port Chester police: Assailants broke out screwdriver, tire iron after accident

    Journal News

    ... the fallen woman and two men. The Stamford woman was stabbed in the cheek with the screw driver, a 24-year-old Greenwich man sustained a broken nose and other head wounds and a 28-year-old Stamford man received a large cut to his left hand. All ...

    Tag: Port Chester

12. More censorship In Greenwich - Reader Submitted comments

    "...A dissenting voice to shut up."
    

    And even more so:

    From the current Chairman of the Greenwich Community Television Committee, Stuart Reider...

13. May 2006 Early Indications: Of Spaces and Places

    Early Indications

    ... who make creative centers work is increasing. These jobs matter for quality of life. Places like Marin County and Greenwich, Connecticut are undeniably appealing in many ways. But what happens when auto repair shops and dry cleaners can't survive? ...

14. Kitty Litter Liner To Get New Leader - Greenwich Time Editor Joe Pisani Fired

    Top Story: Editor of Greenwich Time, Advocate departs

15. Greenwich Video Dump - Blast To The Past - From The Greenwich Capital Video Vault

    YouTube
    

    Whassup! Greenwich Capital 1994

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News Links From
The Greenwich Post
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Spring in her step

Sheridan Mullins, 5, takes advantage of the open space to fly her kite during the Land Trust’s Spring Walk at Westfall Preserve. About 150 community members came out for the annual walk and festival. The property is adjacent to the town's 297-acre Babcock Preserve....

Food drive next week: Put your donation near the mailbox

On Saturday, letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America, including Greenwich, will collect canned food from their postal customers as part of the 16th annual National Association of Letter Carriers National Food Drive — the largest one-day food drive in the country....

Police Watch: The following reports were released May 5

....Jeffrey Jay, 49, of 50 Fox Run Lane was arrested May 3 and charged with breach of peace and risk of injury to a minor. According to police, Jay was at the movies on Railroad Avenue with his family and, while at the theater, encountered his daughter’s boyfriend. Police said Jay became very angry that the boyfriend was there and allegedly instigated a pushing match with him before grabbing him, shoving him into the wall and shaking him. The boy, who is 15, then reportedly struck Jay in the left eye to get him to release him. Jay was released on a $500 cash bond and is due in court May 12....

Greenwich Time RSS Feed

Sternberg defends policy on recruiting by Boy Scouts Schools Superintendent Betty Sternberg, grappling yesterday with the fallout from her decision to block the Boy Scouts from recruiting on campus during classes, accused her critics of playing politics. Full Story A Christmas treasure is returned When the Hock family Christmas tree goes up this year, one ornament is likely to stand out. The small, silver nutcracker, which marks a child's first Christmas, was nearly lost. Full Story Entrepreneur churns out ice cream on town streets During his summer breaks from college, Ben Van Leeuwen drove a Good Humor ice cream truck through the streets of Greenwich, dishing out tasty treats and making money. Full Story Homemaker program clears out waiting list Elderly and disabled clients who rely on the town homemaker program no longer have to wait for the service. Full Story Filipino club honors woman Growing up on the Island of Panay in the Philippines, Carmen Conseur probably never imagined that one day she would be crowned Mrs. Full Story Selectmen support one field at power plant site In a victory for environmental watchdogs and open space advocates, all three members of the Board of Selectmen say they are reluctant to build a pair of athletic fields at the former Cos Cob Power Plant site. Full Story

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