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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

10/07/08 A Greenwich Blogger Points Out What A Total Failure The Greenwich Time Editorial Page Is, In A Very Civil Way

Blogger Chris Fountain Is Perfectly Polite To
Greenwich Time Managing Editor Jim Zorba



Going boldly where no editor has dared tread before.

Greenwich Time runs a hard-hitting editorial on property taxes today. It starts off with the usual liberal lament that Greenwich doesn't pay enough taxes and Waterbury too much then, perhaps sensing that its readers might not agree with that proposition, switches gears and rails againt wasteful spending: that ought to appeal to these damn skinflint Yankees!

I was under the obviously mistaken impression that editorial writers took a position and then defended it. Our local paper differs, and has instead produced another soggy opinion piece that says and concludes nothing. I don't purchase the Greenwich Time so I suppose I have no cause to complain about the salary paid to its editor, but talk about wasteful spending ....

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Please send your comments to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

10/07/08 Greenwich Time News Lnks Or Managing Editor Jim Zorba Tries To Go After Greenwich Bloggers (Updated)




By Greenwich "Associated Press" Time


WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday a radical plan to buy massive amounts of short-term debts in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is imperiling the economy.
By Greenwich "Associated Press" Time
NEW YORK Wall Street tumbled Monday, joining a selloff around the world, as fears grew that the financial crisis will cascade through...


Greenwich CEO grilled for Lehman collapse

By Greenwich "Associated Press" Time

WASHINGTON - Former Lehman Brothers chief executive Richard S. Fuld Jr. told a skeptical House committee Monday that he tried various ways to save the 158-year-old investment banking firm, including making a plea for help to federal regulators, but in the end was "overwhelmed" by events.



Pair charged in drug death


By Debra Friedman
The New Greenwich Time Crime Reporter????

Article Launched: 10/07/2008 02:29:39 AM EDT

A Greenwich man and a woman from Norwalk are facing charges in connection with the February 2007 overdose death of a Greenwich High School student.


Frank Chimblo Jr., 35, of 13-2 Harold St., was arrested on Oct. 3 and charged with second-degree manslaughter and sale of narcotics after an investigation revealed he had sold methadone to Kyle Lendenmann, a junior at the high school, on two different occasions, police said.


Catherine Bausch, 29, of 48 Truman St., in Norwalk was also arrested in connection with the overdose incident and charged with illegal sale of narcotics on Sept. 28, police said.


Police believe Bausch sold the drugs to Chimblo, who in turn sold them to Lendenmann.....

....Lendenmann, who was found unconscious in his Indian Head Road house on Feb. 23, 2007, and pronounced dead at Greenwich Hospital after resuscitation efforts failed, according to police. Lendenmann was 17 at the time....

  • Comment:

  • This could be another messy case coming out of Greenwich. Detective Tim Biggs says that Chimblo acted as a criminal informant for numerous police agencies over the years. "He at one time was a criminal informant for numerous police agencies, but this wasn't part of what occurred,"

  • The Chimblo's also have a multi-million dollar lawsuit pending against the Greenwich Police Department.


YMCA chief steps down

By Neil Vigdor
Staff Writer

Article Launched: 10/07/2008 02:30:05 AM EDT

After a little over a year at the helm, Bernie Mucci is out as the CEO and president of the Greenwich Family YMCA, leaving behind a $160,000 per year job and questions about his departure.

A spokeswoman for the nonprofit recreational facility characterized Mucci's departure as a retirement and referred to a press release that she said the YMCA put out on Sept. 22 announcing the change.


Rebecca Fretty, a longtime town resident and marketing executive with ties to the Junior League of Greenwich, will take over the top job Oct. 20.

....Messages seeking comment from Bob Goergen, chairman of the YMCA's board of directors, were left Monday on his cell phone and with Rowe, who said she would be the only person responding to questions on the matter.


When asked about the departure of Mucci, who was 61 at the time he was hired, Rowe said in an earlier interview that "not much notice" was given by him about his plans to retire.....

....YMCA board members Charles Tyler Sr. and Hilary Pearl are serving as interim co-CEOs until Fretty starts later this month, Rowe said.
Rowe said she did not have information on the search process for a new CEO.


Selectman Lin Lavery, a former president of the Junior League of Greenwich, said Fretty was a solid choice to lead the Y.


"She will be a wonderful asset to the Y," Lavery said. "She is talented, energetic and she is a good spirit for the Y."



Zoning panel mulls Aquarion Water, hospital projects

By Colleen Flaherty
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/07/2008 02:29:39 AM EDT

It's a beautiful, bucolic setting. That's how Planning and Zoning Commission chairman Donald Heller described the neighborhood around Aquarion Water Co.



Police blotter Via The Greenwich Time


Pamela Pell, 49, of 28 Porchuck Road, was arrested Friday night and charged with risk of injury to a minor, interfering with an officer and disorderly conduct following a domestic incident, police said.

She was released on a $1000 bond. She was scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford yesterday.

**************************************

Robert Berwick, 40, of 73 Weaver St., was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree breach of peace following an incident at Greenwich Library police said,


According to a police report, Berwick was following and videotaping people at the library causing alarm. Berwick was arrested at his home late Saturday night, police said. He was released on a $5000 bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on Oct. 14.

  • Comment:
  • This guy got a $5,000 bond for filming people in a public building that is supported with tax dollars. Was he filming patrons in the restroom or something bad like that. What's next will citizens be arrested for filming in people at a BOE or P&Z Meeting. Something tells us there is more to this story.

**************************************


John P. Coen, 44, of 81 Sherwood Place, turned himself in to police headquarters early Friday morning on an outstanding arrest warrant stemming from a complaint that he allegedly touched a female patron inappropriately in a bar/restaurant, according to police.


The incident occurred on Aug. 18 in Old Greenwich, police said. Coen was charged with disorderly conduct and fourth-degree sexual assault, police said.


Coen was released on $700 bond. He is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on Friday, Oct. 10.



People turn to second hand stores as economy slumps

By Albie Yuravich
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/07/2008 02:29:37 AM EDT

Even in well-to-do Greenwich, people like to save a buck. Many local consignment shops are seeing a swell in business amid turmoil on Wall Street and rising gasoline and food prices, part of a national trend of buyers and sellers flocking to consignment and thrift stores to pick up discounted items and unload their wares....

..."All walks of life are finding it tougher," Scarpelli said. "There is less frivolous buying at the moment."

Roughan and Scarpelli agreed: Shoppers want greater value for their money today.

With no end in sight to volatility in the stock market and soaring prices for just about everything from the basics like milk and gas to designer couture, consignment shop owners may be reaping the benefits for some time.

"Every month just keeps getting better and better," Second Time Around's Casler said.


Cardinals work overtime

Ask Greenwich High School field hockey coach Ally Orrico about her team, and she'll tell you that the players have this knack for being in the right place at the right time.....

Our letter writers really put it on the line

By Jim Zebora

Article Launched: 10/07/2008 08:34:58 AM EDT

With all due respect to bloggers, people who write to newspapers are just the best. Our letter writers show the courage to share their views with the world - whether opining about the financial bailout, the presidential election, downtown parking or Henrietta the turkey - and they do so with their identities known to all.

  • Comment To Jim Zorba:
  • With all do respect to editorial suits who are just now beginning to recognize the power of Bloggers and citizen journalists. Jim Zebora is being less than genuine in his editorial. Jim Zorba knows damn well who Greenwich Diva is and how Neil "I Won't Publish The Fake Beach Passes In My Desk Drawer" Vigdor screwed her over in the Greenwich Time.
  • Jim Zorba knows damn well knows who Greenwich Gossip is and how former Greenwich Time owner Bill Rowe placed a ban, that is still honored today, on any of his letters every appearing in the Greenwich Time.
  • Jim Zorba knows damn well who StationStops is and how his comments were removed from and he was locked out of Hearst Media message boards, because he complained that news websites had did a poor job of reporting on the mugging at the Riverside Walgreen's.
  • Jim Zorba knows everyone at Our Greenwich, because he was involved in firing most of them from the Greenwich Time newsroom.
  • Jim Zorba knows that For What It's Worth was fired because a bunch of real estate advertisers came into the Greenwich Post wanting him fired, because he said the Greenwich Real Estate market is going to hell in a hand basket. Jim Zorba would never consider hiring the best real estate columnist in Greenwich, because he is afraid he will have to meet with angry advertisers from Coldwell Banker.
  • Jim Zorba damn well knows who Greenwich Roundup is. We have had more than a few talks with Mr. Zorba.
  • Jim Zorba knows that as of January of this year the Greenwich Police Department had 80 Civilian Complaints in the previous 24 Months. That's about one complaint every 8 0r nine days.
  • Jim Zorba knows that more that 98% of the complaints are routinely found to be unfounded.
  • Jim Zorba knows that this were getting so bad that the so-called "GPD Internal Affairs Investigator" also known as, Captain Michael "The Judge Says I Was Illegally Appointed" Pacewicz was finding the cases unfounded without even bothering to talk to complainants or their witnesses.
  • Jim Zorba at first started to do the right thing and assigned a Greenwich Time Crime Reporter Martin Cassidy to investigate how civilian complaints are handled at the Greenwich Police Department, but cowered under his desk in fear when Greenwich Police Chief David Ridberg went ballistic.
  • Jim Zorba sits on the Civilan Complaint Process investigation in much the same way that Joe Pisani sat on The Martha Moxley Investigation.
  • Please See:
  • http://greenwichroundup.blogspot.com/2008/08/082508-tell-david-warner-to-cancel-my.html

Jim Zorba Continues:

It's a more civilized way of making a statement than hiding behind a conjured-up screen name.


Writers to Greenwich Time tend to be pretty intelligent folks, too, and I learn something from them every day. It's especially heartening to see the informed, thoughtful give-and-take on this part of the editorial page.


Reasonable people can and do disagree, and in their letters to the editor they do so in what I believe is an extraordinarily civilized way.


Unlike many blog-posters.

  • Perhaps Jim Zorba is right that we are a bit edgy and somewhat rude when Greenwich Roundup publishes a post like......
  • 08/29/08 Is Michael Bodson Parading Colin Gustafson Around With A Nose Ring?
  • But isn't rude for Colin Gustafson to put up an August headline that insults the intelegence of every taxpayer in Greenwich?
  • Small fixes are left for Ham Ave.
  • By Colin Gustafson
  • August 08, 2008
  • A variety of unresolved facilities issues - most of them easy to fix - are preventing the Hamilton Avenue School from receiving sign-offs from inspectors necessary for students to return to the building, the school board told parents last night.
  • Broken glass needs to be repaired, as well as cracks in some of the floor-level surfaces that must be patched. .... Blah ..... Blah ...... blah ..... Blah ..... Blah ..... Ham Ave Is Opening On Time !!!!!!!
  • What does Jim Zorba want us to do, say something nice and polite like......
  • "Excuse me dear kind Sir , If I may Mr Zorba, I beg to differ with Colin and think that he might be only posibly getting one side of the story, because there are no quotes from parents, students,teachers or taxpayers who must pay for this 3o Million Dollar fiasco."
  • "Wouldn't it be prudent for Colin to first listenen to the BOE and then start listening to other voices in this civilized community, oh dear Sir Zorba."

Jim Zorba Continues:

Local-level discourse reveals the fabric of our community. This year, we have seen voluminous dialogues on subjects such as the ad hoc Wiffle ball field in Cos Cob, the cupcake controversy in the Greenwich school system, and of course dear Henrietta, the Tod's Point personality recently relocated under the state Department of Environmental Protection's turkey - or is it citizen? - protection program.

"That turkey has just as much a right to live there and play as any of us do; that is her home," one man wrote, urging that Henrietta be left alone.


"This turkey came running at me and attacked me," the letter directly below read. "It had me backed up against a rock wall." She vowed to stay away from Tod's Point until Henrietta was gone.

For the Record Greenwich Roundup and a few other bloggers have repeatedly asked to be placed on the Board Of Education's Press Release Email List, just like the Greenwich Citizen, Greenwich Post and the Greenwich Time.


The Board Of Education has not honored these public document requests, because Greenwich Bloggers are not complacent.


Is the Board Of Education being civilized to Greenwich Bloggers?


There is a strong long held tradition in Journalism that if a reporter or a news gathering organization is excluded from a press conference or press kit, then all reporters would report on the exclusion and boycott the offending groups press conference.

Public officials who wanted to manipulate news gathering and reporters were exposed and told, "Guess what if you exclude this reporter, then there will be no press conference, because no reporter will show up."

It was the only honorable and civilized thing fellow reporters to do.

Greenwich Roundup exposed how reporter Chris Fountain was let go over first amendment issues. The Greenwich Time was very brutish and uncivilized to turn a blind eye to the troubles of a fellow reporter.

When Sarah Littman was let go at the Greenwich Time, the uncivilized Greenwich Bloggers were there supporting this reporter.

Maybe, Jim Zorba should go ask citizen journalist Bill "I Was The Only Reporter Asking For The Two Month Old Document" Clark how many hoops he had to jump through to get a copy of the school survey rating Betty Sternberg's performance.

Jim Zorba has forgotten the number one rule in Journalism.

"A great reporter afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted."

The Greenwich Time is Way Too Comfortable And Is Now Crying Because They Are Being Afflicted By The New Media Consisting Of Citizen Journalists And Bloggers.

David Warner thouht he would enjoy a comfortable 30 years in complacent Greenwich and then retire with a big swan song like Joe Pisani did.

But the one thing that Ex-Greenwich Time Editor David Warner didn't count on was a bunch of feed up bloggers in complacent Greenwich.

Mr. Warner was only able to take the heat of Citizen Journalists for about 100 days.

Please See:

10/04 - 10/06/08 The Raw Weekend Greenwich News Feed Continues ---- Or When Greenwich Roundup Speaks Hearst Media Listens ----- Ex-Greenwich Time Editor David Warner Is Shown The Door

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10/07/08 Ex-Greenwich Time Reporter Hoa Nguyen Tells Us Of Another Road Death Involving A Greenwich Man




Journal News


NORTH WHITE PLAINS - A 45-year-old Greenwich, Conn., man died Sunday evening after he lost control of his motorcycle on Route 22, police said.


Stephen Powers was riding north near Westlake Drive when, for an unknown reason, his motorcycle veered off the road and struck a guardrail post, North Castle police said. He then went back onto the southbound lanes of the road, police said.


He appeared to have died upon or shortly after impact, police said. Blunt force trauma was the cause of death, according to the Medical Examiner's Office.


Police are unsure why Powers lost control of his motorcycle, Officer William Scherf said, noting that the crash occurred near the end of a curve on the well-traveled road along the Kensico Reservoir.


A passer-by reported finding Powers' body underneath the bike in the roadway about 6 p.m. There were no known witnesses to the accident, Scherf said.


"It's undetermined whether he veered out of the way of oncoming traffic or an animal," Scherf said.


Because Powers, who was wearing a helmet, and the bike were found a short distance from the crash site, police do not believe speed was a factor, Scherf said. The posted speed limit for the road is 55 mph.


"It was a nice day, and he was just going out for a ride," Scherf said.


Reach Hoa Nguyen at hnguyen7@lohud.com or 914-696-8570.


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10/07/08 Hearst Newspapers Makes A Change: Debra Friedman Replaces "Martin "What Time Is It' Cassidy (Updated)



HEADLINE:


For Some Odd, Strange And Unknown Reason The Greenwich Police Department Releases They Name Of The Poor Hard Working Victim, But Does Not Release The Name Of The Driver Of The White Jeep Cherokee That Killed Him.
Hey, Greenwich Protects Drivers. What's Up With That ?????
Weird But True: According to Greenwich Police the unarmed mystery driver was found way down the road from the victim, next to a telephone utility pole he had struck.
Did the unamed mystery driver remain way down the road of his own free will or was he stuck because his SUV was immobilized by a telephone pole?


QUOTES:

"He rode on the car for some distance," said Sgt. Timothy Berry.

"She was frantic and I called 911," Catherine Wells, of Sheephill Road said.

"I knew him very well," said Ravin Malhotra, a manager at Shop Rite. "He was very hardworking and very friendly."

"All I heard is a big boom - it sounded like an explosion," said Margaret Depoli, "That's such a shame what happened,"

"They just go through, they don't stop," said Evelyne Penvenne, of 93 Sheephill Road.

"It's a problem because this is a really long straight-away," said Hans Broecking, of 98 Sheephill Road, "It's been a while since we've had some speed traps in this area."


THE STORY:




Man killed after being struck by car on Sheephill Road


By Debra Friedman

Staff Writer


Article Launched: 10/07/2008 02:29:38 AM EDT


Police are investigating the death of a 20-year-old Greenwich man who was struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle on Sheephill Road, police said


The victim, Joseph Borselio, was riding his bicycle Sunday northbound on Sheephill Road near Sound Beach Avenue Extension shortly before midnight when a white Jeep Cherokee also traveling northbound hit him, carrying the victim several feet down the road, police said.......
....According to Berry, the driver's Jeep was found down the road from the victim, next to a telephone utility pole it had struck before coming to a stop. A man standing nearby the car identified himself to officers as the driver and said he had collided with the victim, according to a police report.....

....Borselio had been a cashier at the Shop Rite on West Main Street in Stamford for two years and worked a shift on Sunday night until 7 p.m., according to a store manager.....


......Police did not say whether the Jeep involved in Sunday night's accident was exceeding the speed limit.


Berry said the Traffic Division is awaiting blood work that will determine if the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Questions ?
Police won't say if speed was not a factor in the unnamed mystery driver's killing of young man riding a bike home from work ?????
Joseph Borselio is struck in 25 mile per hour speed zone and home owning witnesses are not even aware that the unnamed mystery driver crashed into a telephone pole way down the road.
No wonder all of Sheephill Road was closed for 12 hours.
Why wasn't the unnamed mystery driver was not given a field sobriety test by the Greenwich Police Department ?????

Please Also See:






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