Trini Leonard smiled as she held a sleeping baby boy up to his father, 9,000 miles away from the computer screen in front of her.
"He definitely has your nose," she said from Greenwich Hospital.
U.S. Marine Corps Captain Tim Leonard nodded in agreement. "Yes," he said, sitting in a video conferencing center Thursday in Al-Asad, Iraq.
It was the second time the Stamford resident had seen his new son. Thanks to modern technology and a New Jersey-based charity, Tim witnessed his son's birth the day before.
"It's a great feeling being able to witness this event far from home," Leonard, 30, told members of the media Thursday during a video conference arranged by the Freedom Calls Foundation.
"And I'm just so happy he's healthy. He's a big boy, 8 pounds, 12 ounces. Yesterday he was screaming and crying, so it's nice to see him so calm in his mother's arms."
Explicit chat online with cop posing as teen leads to arrest
A Greenwich doctor has been charged with engaging in sexually explicit online conversations with an undercover Westchester County investigator posing as a 15-year-old boy, New York authorities said.
Clifford Berken, 55, of 39 Cogswell Lane, Stamford, was arraigned in White Plains City Court Thursday on one count of first-degree attempted dissemination of indecent material to minors, a felony. He was being held until his bail hearing today, officials said.
Berken allegedly had online conversations with an undercover investigator from the Westchester County District Attorney's Office from Tuesday to Thursday, officials said. Berken believed the investigator to be a 15-year-old boy and the conversations discussed various sex acts, officials said.
During the conversations, Berken offered to meet the "teenage boy" in downtown White Plains, officials said. When Berken arrived for the meeting, he was placed under arrest.
Officials at the Westchester County District Attorney's Office were not available for further comment Thursday night.
Berken specializes in gastroenterology as an attending physician at Greenwich Hospital as well as through his own practice at 500 W. Putnam Ave.
He has been practicing medicine at Greenwich Hospital since 1983, according to information on his private practice's Web site.
"We are very sorry to learn about this incident," said George Pawlush, spokesman for Greenwich Hospital. "Dr. Berken has been highly regarded as a medical practitioner and until we hear final judgment on this matter, the hospital has suspended his medical privileges."
LAS VEGAS - A broken O.J. Simpson has been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for a Las Vegas hotel armed robbery by a judge who rejected his apology and said, "It was much more than stupidity.
The economic crisis will likely lead to more students enrolling in the town's public school system as more cash-conscious families seek affordable education options, school officials said.
With private school tuition exceeding $33,000 in some cases, "there are some people in a situation where it's going to be difficult to make those payments and who we think may be withdrawing," said Assistant Superintendent John Curtin.
That could lead to an influx of new students transferring to the public school system in fall 2009, school officials said.
The prospect is a concern for some because the district's annual budget is based on enrollment projections that don't account for deteriorating economic conditions.
If enrollment exceeds those projections, class sizes could swell at some schools, forcing administrators to seek additional funding from the central administration to hire additional staff.
District officials won't have a clear picture of whether an enrollment spike is in store until families begin registering their children for classes in the spring and summer of 2009, Curtin said. But he cautioned there is no way to determine whether students have transferred into the public school system because of economic hardship.
However, with the economy declining, there are already signs that enrollment next fall will exceed the district's projections.
While there was little evidence that the economic crisis affected enrollment at the elementary and middle school levels this year, Greenwich High School saw enrollment exceed projections by 27 students as of Sept. 15. ....
NEW HAVEN - A campaign committee for U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, who was defeated in last month's election, says it has uncovered apparent fraud in its financial records and referred the matter to federal authorities.
The Shays for Congress Committee says it became aware, after a post-election review, of a series of anomalies that appear to be the result of fraudulent activity by one of its former employees. Details were not released.
Campaign officials say the committee's attorney contacted the U.S. attorney's office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Election Commission and is cooperating fully with law enforcement officials.
"This is a serious and sad situation," said Shays, a champion of campaign finance reform. "If true, the actions of this individual represent a betrayal of my campaign, its supporters and the very things I stand for, but in no way do they reflect upon the incredibly dedicated and honorable service of my other staff members and extended family of volunteers and supporters.".....
Greenwich Vietnam Veteran to be honored by stateThere are many other ways Roger Paulmeno's story could have ended. Having enlisted in the Army during the Vietnam War in 1970, the Old Greenwich resident served five months and a day before 30 percent of his body was burned and his eyesight damaged by a white phosphorus grenade.
Having enlisted in the Army during the Vietnam War in 1970, the Old Greenwich resident served five months and a day before 30 percent of his body was burned and his eyesight damaged by a white phosphorus grenade.
"They ran me right into the operating room," said Paulmeno, 59, a native of the Bronx. "The last thing I remember, they were cutting off my crucifix (to treat me)."
Despite the odds, Paulmeno has recovered physically and emotionally, even dedicating his life to counseling other veterans back to health. For those reasons and others, he will be inducted into Connecticut's Veterans Hall of Fame Tuesday.
Established in 2005 by Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the Hall of Fame recognizes not only extraordinary service in combat but also extensive community and public service......
STAMFORD - Inside a seemingly normal Metro-North Railroad commuter car Thursday, a technician in a white lab coat sat at what looked like a command center.
Ex-FBI, CIA chief salutes Boy ScoutsSTAMFORD - He was director of the FBI during the famous Abscam public corruption and organized crime investigation of the late 1970s that sent a U.S. senator and six members of the U.S. House of Representatives to jail.
The "Martha Stewart Show" has always focused on creating cost-effective meals and crafts, and it has recently taken this philosophy a step further with a daily segment offering budget-friendly tips.
Eddie Ross makes setting the table with other people's discards look easy. An hour or two rummaging in a Greenwich consignment shop and Ross has the makings of four holiday table vignettes.
An hour or two rummaging in a Greenwich consignment shop and Ross has the makings of four holiday table vignettes. Give him another minute to look around and he's found more good stuff amid the so-called junk: Stueben candlesticks, sterling flatware with a mother-of-pearl inlay and green Venetian glass birds for a pop of color. "This was probably grandma's stuff, but none of it says grandma," Ross says. "It's fresh and modern, and I can see a sophisticated young couple serving a holiday dinner this way."
None of this something old-becomes-something new innovation should surprise viewers of Bravo's second season of "Top Design," who watched the Greenwich native's star-making turn as the fourth-place finisher and fan favorite known for his biting one-liners. For weeks it appeared the 30-year-old Ross, who until last month was the senior style editor at Martha Stewart Living magazine, was the designer to beat......
State must deal with its own woesThe news from Hartford keeps getting worse. As the state deficit grows, officials are running out of ways to keep pace without making debilitating cuts.
State Comptroller Nancy Wyman on Monday said the state's projected operating deficit has dramatically increased in the last month due to sharply declining tax revenues. She said the problem calls for another special session of the legislature. But with the year nearly over, that prospect is unlikely.
If a special session doesn't happen, that puts even more pressure on the start of the regular session on Jan. 7. Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Monday that she will put together a new deficit-reduction plan, and Democratic leaders will also need to examine every option for addressing the growing gaps between revenue and spending plans...... Blah ..... Blah ...... Blah ....... Blah ....... Blah ...... Blah ....... Blah ....... Blah .......
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