07/24/08 Greenwich Roundup Might Have Been Wrong About The New Greenwich Time Editor

Greenwich Time Editor David Warner Has His Reporters Updating The News Website Throughout The Day

Fifty households lose water service

07/24/2008 01:31:07 PM

Workers are on the scene of a water main break on Ritch Avenue doing repairs.

About 50 households are affected by the outage, according to Lorraine Bukowski, spokeswoman for Aquarion Water Co. The outage in the 8-inch water main was reported at 12:45 p.m., she said.....

Benefit set for Corinne Lantz

07/24/2008 01:39:56 PM

The family and friends of Corinne Lantz, 17, a Greenwich High School honor student who was severely injured in a Feb. 21 accident on the Post Road in Cos Cob, will host a charitable softball tournament and raffle Aug. 17 for her benefit.

Organizers are seeking help in sponsoring the benefit from those who will volunteer to supply food, beverages, tee-shirts and raffle items....

State funding expected for Bruce

07/24/2008 01:53:53 PM

Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Thursday that $750,000 for the Bruce Museum is expected to be approved at the Aug 4 meeting of the State Bond Commission.

"The Bruce Museum promotes the understanding and appreciation of art and science to enrich the lives of all people,"Rell said in a press release. "These funds will help the Bruce Museum maintain and expand the artistic, cultural and historical programs it has provided to the people of Greenwich and other Fairfield County communities for so many years."

The museum was built as a private home in 1853. Robert Moffat Bruce....

Some $750,000 in funding for the Bruce Museum is expected to win approval Aug. 4 from the State Bond Commission....

Congratulations To

The Greenwich Time Editor And Staff

For The Frequent News Updates

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07/24/08 John Dyment Of Cos Cob Can't Talk About His Hedge Fund Bailing Out The Senate Banking Chairman

Defunct Dodd Campaign Continues To Pull In Money

Hartford Courant

By JESSE A. HAMILTON

Washington Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON — - The Dodd for President campaign has been defunct for almost seven months, but it's still hauling in money at a brisk pace — $77,851 in May, for instance. The campaign is still looking for cash because, in the modern political tradition, it spent more than it took in.

But for a veteran senator like Dodd, who holds a chairmanship and senior positions on major committees...

So, what makes a person give to a campaign that has long since given up?

The same reason, experts say, that people have long been generous with Dodd. Many of his post-campaign contributors are finance professionals, clustered in the southwestern corner of Connecticut. Dodd is the chairman of the Senate banking committee, and so oversees the lawmaking and agencies that affect U.S. financial businesses.

"In the case of somebody like Sen. Dodd, he's still a senator and a chairman," said Jan Baran, a Washington attorney who specializes in election law. "He might be able to collect some money from folks he'll have an ongoing relationship with."...

...In the financial realm, the executives of Shumway Capital Partners, a Greenwich-based hedge fund, have been among Dodd's chief recent contributors. From CEO Chris Shumway on down, 16 employees gave $32,900, plus another $2,300 from the Shumway household.

Reached at home in Cos Cob, Shumway President John Dyment said, "I'm not interested in commenting." He explained that it's company policy. "I'm not allowed to talk to the press."....

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07/24/08 Former Greenwich Police Officer Jack Stein II amazed doctors three years ago with his return to the rink after hip replacement surgery.

Formerly resilient spirit hit his limit

By Rick Badie The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 07/24/08

He amazed doctors three years ago with his return to the rink so quickly after double-hip replacement surgery.

Five months, to be exact.

John William "Jack" Stein II's post-surgical recovery was so remarkable doctors at Resurgens Orthopedics at St. Joseph's brought him on board to advise hip surgery patients. To tell how he'd learned to walk —- and skate —- again.

"I've been playing hockey for 44 years," Stein told me in February 2005. "I wasn't going to give it up. . . . I slowly worked up to walking two miles a day, but I'd have tears in my eyes. The pain was brutal."

I wrote about Stein when he played forward in an ice hockey game to benefit Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta. He played on the metro Atlanta police team. The cops lost 7-6 to the firefighters. Stein —- a bear of a man at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds —- scored two goals.

In recent years, Stein's health soured. It caused him to retire from his job as a bike patrol officer with the Gwinnett County Police Department. He had been a cop 21 years, three of them in Greenwich, Conn., his hometown.

Last year, he had his feet operated on, but the surgery wasn't successful. Another surgery was required, something that didn't sit well with this former narcotics detective. Then, in January, he had a back operation, followed in April by hemorrhoid surgery.

"That one did him in," Becky Stein, his wife, told me. "It was an excruciatingly hard surgery, and he still wasn't recovered from it."

His cheerfulness, needless to say, nose-dived. He was sad because he had to quit police work. Sad because he had to quit skating. Becky Stein said the last time he skated was eight or nine months ago.

"We were just talking the other day, and I said, 'Jack, you can play hockey again,' " she said. " 'Just go back to public skating and try to build the muscles back up.' I knew he was depressed. Well, not depressed. Down is a better word."

He suffered from insomnia and took to sleeping in the basement. It was darker there, and the morning light didn't crack through so early. It's where he retired Friday night.

Saturday morning, Becky Stein woke up first. She tip-toed around their Lawrenceville house so as not to wake Jack. Time passed. The former high school All-American and semi-pro, 51, still hadn't come upstairs.

So Becky Stein went downstairs. Her husband of 16 years had committed suicide.

On Wednesday, a funeral Mass was held at the Catholic Church of Saint Monica in Duluth. Attendance was huge, what you'd expect for someone who loved police work, pets and playing sports. Local police officers, as well as those from nearby communities, paid their respects alongside family and friends. So did the Badie Tour.

Johan Moeller Jensen of Suwanee couldn't attend his friend's funeral because he's on vacation in Denmark. He used to play forward alongside Jack for a Duluth hockey team.

"Jack was our oldest player, but what he didn't have in his legs anymore, he had in his understanding of the game," Jensen wrote in an e-mail. "We would often joke with the younger players that they should look for Jack out on the ice, then just sit back and watch and learn.

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07/24/08 Greenwich Post News Links For Thursday

Shopping around

Cocoon employee Gary Davla makes sure everything is in order at the start of Saturday’s sidewalk sales on Greenwich Avenue. Despite the heat, the avenue was packed with shoppers during the final day of the three-day event.
(David Ames / Greenwich Post photo)

• Police arrest head of Shoreline Pools

“Those who knowingly violate pool safety codes designed to protect children should be held accountable for their actions.”

...the Town of Greenwich, which, the lawsuit says, ignored “multiple obvious code violations” when it approved the pool for use. The suit also lists other defendants, including the engineer who designed the pool.

According to the arrest warrant, Mr. Lionetti, president of Shoreline Pools, failed to have his company install mandated safety devices in the pool. It is alleged that the safety devices would have prevented Zachary’s death...

• Program puts brakes on reckless driving

While the private neighborhoods of Greenwich were able to install fences and speed bumps to reduce speeding and divert traffic, the homes on the town’s public roads were previously left unprotected... until now.

The town’s traffic calming program, which started last summer, will begin its first construction project. This program is the town’s attempt to give all Greenwich residents a fair chance to install traffic calming devices in their neighborhood.

The initial qualification is straightforward: The neighborhood must receive signatures from half of its residences. Once the town approves the application, Kevin Conroy, a project manager from Fuss and O’Neill, collects data concerning the traffic of the street to determine the severity of the situation...

• Washed up? Neighbors object to subdivision

....According to professional engineer Craig Flaherty of Redniss and Mead, Inc., even at peak flood times, the 20-acre property would flood at a lesser rate than it does now. In addition, the volume at those spots will decrease with the proposed subdivision, he said, except near Nutmeg Drive.

John Maxwell, a resident of Alec Templeton Lane, warned the agency not to approve the proposal because he said it would add to the runoff on his property that is under water during flooding season. Agency members said, though, that his land would be left unchanged, for better or worse.

Besides the fears of flooding, some residents mentioned the possible safety hazards that could come from too much runoff.

Neighbor Karl Schultz discussed the danger of water levels rising dramatically even within a few hours, and that small children playing outside could drown in such a flood...

• Town plan aims for best use of resources

The town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) released last week emphasizes environmental planning and making maximum use of town resources.

Town Planner Diane Fox unveiled the plan, which is updated every 10 years by state law, at a press conference last Wednesday with Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Donald Heller and commission member Frank Farricker. The plan contains about 250 recommendations, covering topics from downtown and neighborhood development to the Cos Cob Power Plant, and is designed to organize and set priorities for the town over the next decade while providing a vision for growth and change.

To that end, Ms. Fox said concentration on environmental management and energy conservation was critical.

“We had a considerable number of meetings while forming this draft and the biggest issue was the environment,” she said. “We need to protect the environment and create standards and regulations that will help us do that.”...

• Widow says Smith mixed pills, liquor on honeymoon

The widow of George Smith, the Greenwich man who went missing from his honeymoon cruise, claimed Friday that Mr. Smith mixed prescription drugs with alcohol when he disappeared on July 5, 2005. Jennifer Hagel Smith, in a press release, said that Mr. Smith’s “intoxication from the combined effects of alcohol and prescription drugs may have contributed to his disappearance.”

Ms. Hagel Smith, whose $1.1-million settlement with Royal Caribbean International is being challenged in Stamford Superior Court by the Smith family, said that she has “sought to keep this private,” but “is now required to make public this information to defend against the Smith family’s attack on both the settlement agreement and her personally.”

In an e-mail to the Post, Ms. Hagel Smith said, “I have sat back for over three years and allowed the Smith family and their representatives to endlessly attack my character and I have refused to respond in kind because of my loyalty to George.”...

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07/24/08 Should Town Building Department Employees Be Charged With Manslaughter In The Death Of 6 Year Old Zachary Archer Cohn?

Will All Who Caused Little Zachary's Death Be Held Accountable?

Town Of Greenwich Building Department employees issued a permit for the pool in June 2005 and a certificate of occupancy for it in August 2006, according to a Greenwich Police Department affidavit.

Will the Greenwich Police Department charge Town Building Inspectors with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the drowning death of a 6-year-old Greenwich boy?

Town Of Greenwich Building Department employees gave a certificate of occupancy to the swimming pool that did not have a state required device to help prevent the six year olds entrapment in the pool drain.

It is clear that Town Of Greenwich Building Department employees "illegally" issued a Certificate Of Occupancy for a swimming pool that failed to meet state building codes.

A town hall insider says that a search of town records indicates that Town Building Department Personnel knew about the new building code that required all new pools to be outfitted with safety vacuum release devices on each drain.

This device would have shut down the suction of a pump when little Zachary Archer Cohn's arm blocked the drain.

On Monday, the Greenwich Police Department arrested David Lionetti, of Shoreline Pools, with second-degree manslaughter in connection with little Zachary's death.

Zachary's arm became stuck in an intake valve in the backyard pool of his family's Taconic Road home last July 28th.

Mr. Lionetti's company is accused of failing to install the vacuum release system and failing to design an appropriate dual drain system that would have lessened the suction force of the drain that trapped Zachary.

However, the Town Of Greenwich employees violated state building codes when they failed to require an appropriate dual drain system that would have lessened the suction force of the drain issued a permit for the pool in June 2005.

Further Town Of Greenwich Building Department Employees once again violated state building codes when they issued a certificate of occupancy for a pool without the install the vacuum release system and the appropriate dual drain setup.

For some bizarre reason, State Attorney David Cohen, the prosecutor in the case, is telling the press that " The Greenwich Police Department is not currently considering charging additional people in six year old Zachary's death.

Perhaps prosecutors will need more information to prove that Town Building Department Employees "illegally" issued a certificate of occupancy for a swimming pool that created an unjustifiable risk.

The facts clearly show that if Town Building Department Employees had not "illegally" issued a certificate of occupancy little Zachary would be getting ready to enter the second grade.

However, Zachery Cohen's family members have told friends and confidants that they believe that many people were responsible for little Zachary's death and they will deal with these responsible persons as more information comes to light.

Currently, Zachary's parents, Brian and Karen Cohn, are sueing Shoreline Pools, as well as, the Town Of Greenwich in connection with Zachary's death.

Perhaps Town Building Employees should start saving up for that $25,000 bond that they will need when they are also arrested for with second-degree manslaughter in connection with Zachary's death last July 28.

Also, on this Monday July 28th of this year please say a prayer for the family that lost a little boy, because contractors and town inspectors cut corners and allowed an illegal and unsafe structure to be built.

Please See Yesterdays Greenwich Roundup Articles:

07/23/08 Insiders Say Lionetti Got Email Alerts About New Laws Covering The Safety Vacuum Release System Required For Pool Construction

AND:

07/23/08 Is Frank Mazza A Nut Case? The School's Building Committee Wants Town Employees To Approve 112 Inspections In Less Than 4 Business Days

Please See Today's Greenwich Time Article

07/24/08 Affidavit says pool prez knew law

By Martin B. Cassidy
Greenwich Time Staff Writer

A swimming pool company president charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the drowning death of a 6-year-old Greenwich boy knew installing a specialized device to help prevent drain entrapment was legally required, but failed to do so, according to an arrest affidavit....

MANSLAUGHTER IN THE SECOND DEGREE

Manslaughter in the second degree is defined as the unlawful killing of a human being without malice either express or implied, and without intent to kill or to inflict the injury causing death, committed accidentally in the commission of some unlawful act not felonious, or in the improper performance of an act lawful in itself. Manslaughter in the second degree may be committed by the doing of an unlawful act, or the doing of a lawful act in an unlawful manner, although at the time the defendant did not actually know that the act would result in homicide, and this notwithstanding, after the act was done, or while in progress the defendant used ordinary care to prevent the taking of human life; nor is the intention to take life necessary in a prosecution for this offense.

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07/24/08 Greenwich Time Reporter Neil Vigdor Updates & Relaunches His Story About A Juvenile Police Report That Was Circulated By Wiffleball Opponents

Police Commissioner Gordon charges Robin with the task of fighting juvenile delinquency. Being the genius he is, Robin convinces the Greenwich Whiffle Ball Boys that stealing from the little guy is wrong.

However, convincing one Whiffle Ball Boy that stealing "illegal fireworks" from the rich is wrong takes a little more effort, but they don't call him the Boy Wonder for nothing.

Police: leak not from within

By Neil Vigdor
Staff Writer

Article Launched: 07/24/2008 02:30:55 AM

Police Chief David Ridberg said yesterday that it was unlikely that a police officer or a civilian employee of his department was the source of a criminal report circulating in Riverside on a teen who helped build a controversial Wiffle ball field there.

The criminal report related to an alleged May 2008 burglary of fireworks from a local resident by the teen, who is under 18.....

Please Read Today's Full "Relaunched" Greenwich Time Story

Please see yesterday's Greenwich Roundup Article:

07/23/08 Will Lindy Urso Seek Police Department Computer Forensic Records Showing Who Modified Or Downloaded A Certain Police File

Please See Last Tuesday's Greenwich Roundup Article:

07/22/08 Police Chief David Ridberg said that disciplinary action and possible criminal charges may be filed if a Greenwich Police Officer Is Involved.

07/24/08 Greenwich Time News Links For Thursday

America II captain Chris Upton fixes the American flag on the yacht. The boat is docked at the Delamar in Greenwich Harbor.
(Bob Luckey Jr./Greenwich Time photo)

America's Cup boat docks at Delamar

For Ben Millard, 17, the opportunity to sail an historic 12-meter yacht is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

"This is a dream come true," he said.

Millard, a competitive sailor since the age of 7, is spending the summer as an intern aboard the America II US 42, a 70-foot America's Cup yacht that recently docked at the Delamar Hotel in Greenwich Harbor.

The historic vessel helped the United States regain the sport's most prestigious honor, the America's Cup trophy, from Australiain 1987, after losing it in 1983, according Patrick Sikorski, trustee of the 12m Yacht Development Foundation, a Greenwich-based nonprofit group dedicated to the acquisition, restoration and preservation of these boats.

"It's a national historic treasure," he said...

Teens charged in theft of club's TVs

STAMFORD - Four Greenwich teenagers were arrested early yesterday after officers found two stolen flat-screen televisions in two cars, city police said.

Seniors' bus service gets extra $50G to cover gas expenses

The Transportation Association of Greenwich has barely made it through the past six months.

Firefighters test out new sonar scanner

Splashing slowly through Greenwich Harbor, Sound Beach volunteer firefighters yesterday took turns checking out a luminous red, blue and yellow image of the seabed of the channel on-screen.

13-year old All-Stars reach state final

TRUMBULL - Greenwich's 13-year-old Babe Ruth team moved to within one win of capturing the state title and moving on to the regional tournament with an impressive 7-0 win over Newtown under the lights at Unity Field on Tuesday night.

A lesson in state budget cutting

There's at least one pretty obvious conclusion we can draw from the bit of good news announced by Gov.

Board trims Ham Ave. options

The Board of Education has whittled down its options from six to three this week, as it races to find the most viable contingency plan if the Hamilton Avenue School reconstruction project doesn't finish on time.

School officials confirmed yesterday that they were giving strongest consideration to two options that would place uprooted students into temporary modular units and Glenville School...

....school officials are considering shifting Hamilton Avenue students to Glenville School, while Glenville students would take the temporary modulars from which Hamilton Avenue students were evacuated last school year after mold was discovered in the ceiling panels....

Please see related Greenwich Roundup articles:

07/02/08 The Greenwich BOE Is A Total Mess !!!

07/08/08 Hamilton Avenue School has passed only one inspection of 18 final inspections - Only Sprinkers In The Garage Get A Thumbs Up - Maybe Frank Mazza Can Set Up Temporary Classroom Partitions In The Garage, Because The Rest Of The School Has No Fire Coverage

07/08/08 - Hamilton Avenue Project Manager Gerard Adam,"Let's not keep repeating the same mistakes

07/09/08 Surprise!!! - "A lot of it wasn't ready," Town Building Official Bill Marr said, "Most of these areas will need a re-inspection."

07/09/08 Reader Submitted Comments About Glenville School -

07/10/08 You Wont See This In The Greenwich Time - Failed Board Of Education Gives Our Children Facilities Like This - Glenville School Pics

07/10/08 Parents are sending e-mails and letters. They are organizing and trying to get community leaders to stop the failed Board Of Educations latest plan.

07/11/08 Reader Submitted Comments - The BOE Needs To Be More Transparent - They Should Either Confirm Or Deny The Hamilton Avenue School Rumors

Dear Members of the Board, etc.

There is a very solid rumor circulating that under current consideration is moving Hamilton Avenue School students to the Glenville School and moving Glenville School students to the modulars because the construction will not be complete on the new Hamilton Avenue School building.

To remind everyone,

Glenville School has been found to be educationally unsound with poor air quality by TWO Boards of Education and TWO superintendents;

At a meeting of the current Board of Education, this option was removed from the list of options devised by the "facilities" committee that was formed to look into options;

At a meeting of the Board of Education, a member stated that it would be unfair to have Glenville staff move more than once in a given year, yet for the second year in a row, it is again an "option" for Hamilton Avenue Staff.

This Board needs to listen to the community, in total, not just those that will agree with them. There are many parents of Hamilton Avenue students that DO NOT AGREE with this option.

Not only is Glenville School educationally unsound, it has leaked, unchecked, for years, thereby a virtual petri dish for mold. Our children and staff and parents have had to contend with mold for far too long. It is criminal to expect them to do so yet again.

Put more effort into getting our new school completed and Glenville construction started. Do WHATEVER it takes to get this done, but DO NOT put our children in a building that has been deemed educationally unsound.

Laura J. DiBella

MORE WARNINGS ABOUT THE GREENWICH BOE:

06/10/08 Sue Wallerstein's Poor Planning And Mismanagement Is Rewarded With A Gift Of Over One Million Dollars From The Representative Town Meeting

06/05/08 Are Hamilton Avenue School Parents Getting Screwed By The Greenwich Board Of Education

06/05/08 Are Glenville Parents Going To Be Screwed By The Greenwich Board Of Education? Parents Better Start Connecting The Dots.

06/05/08 Reader Submitted Comments -When Is The Greenwich Board Of Education Going To Get Rid Of High Paid And Failed Administrators Like Susan Wallerstein

06/17/08 The Greenwich Building Inspector Had Better Not Illegally Issue A TEMPORARY Certificate Of Occupancy For Hamilton Avenue School

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07/24/08 Joe "Lock Them Up" Jordan: "Why Aren't Wiffle Ball Dads Who Brought A Tractor And Power Saw And Helped Destroy Town Property Being Prosecuted

Those involved in ball field got special treatment

To the Greenwich Time editor:

Let me get this straight. Last year, in a well-publicized case, a small group of women wanted to hold periodic exercise classes on town property at Tod's Point (zoned parkland). The town took immediate, firm and final action and prevented them from doing so.

Yet this summer, a small group of young people, after being told "no" on several occasions, took over a small parcel of town property (zoned utility) that is a crucial drainage system for an entire neighborhood. Then, along with some of their parents, they commenced to clear-cut and haul away needed underbrush, cut down trees, rip off limbs overhanging their ball field, denude the grass that was there to stem the erosion of sand and soil into the drain, erect a replica of Fenway Park and otherwise occupy their new ball field unimpeded for over two months until First Selectman Peter Tesei finally brought some adult sanity to the situation.

It is a sad commentary on our town that so many of our residents support and applaud the young people for their illegal trespassing and destruction and, at the same time condemn the women trying to do what seems to be a good and proper use of park property. Just where was the groundswell of support for the women? What a peculiar bias that loudly favors blatant trespassing by the young people and some of their parents, and harshly condemns the women for a much lesser offense.

In the case of the Wiffle ball field saga, after learning the facts, Mr. Tesei, as chief law enforcer, could not let the defiance continue, and he really had no other reasonable alternative but to close down the field. It was the illegal takeover, alteration and occupation of the town parcel which doomed the tell field, not the opposing residents.

Finally, why is it that the fathers who brought a tractor and power saw and helped destroy town property are not being prosecuted?

Joseph Jordan

Riverside

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