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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

03/31/09 The Raw Greenwich Late Night News Feed

If You Want To Know What's Going On In Greenwich You Have Got To Read The Out Of Town Newspapers ....

PHOTO: Taki Theodoracopulos and his son, John-Taki Theodoracopulos

Lifestyles Of The Rich And Their Spoiled And Stupid Offspring

Lock Up Your Daughters! Is the World Ready for Taki Jr.?
New York Observer

.....John-Taki Theodoracopulos—J.T. to his friends—is a bike messenger and an as-of-yet-undiscovered artist. He lives alone in a townhouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn. He’s married to but currently separated from Assia Baudi de Selve, the daughter of Count Maurizio Baudi de Selve of Torino, with whom he has two young children. They live with their mom in Manhattan and he tries to see them every day......


.....When he was 9, teachers discovered he was dyslexic, so his parents sent him to the Eagle Hill School in Greenwich, Conn. He remembers marveling at the graffiti along the highway ...




....Taki—who lives in New York only for the months of April, May, October and November, spending the rest of his time mostly on his boat and in Gstaad—and J.T. proceeded to share international adventures. In September 2002, J.T. went to meet dad at the Hotel Byblos in St. Tropez. Taki later wrote about it in The Spectator, recounting how one evening while he was “sitting around the hotel’s swimming-pool drinking with the Somerset boys,” J.T. bumped into Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. Mr. Combs suggested J.T. watch where he was going; J.T., who had dreadlocks at the time, told me he responded: “Fucking idiot.” Mr. Combs slapped J.T., who moved to head-butt Mr. Combs. J.T. found himself on the floor with several bodyguards on top of him. Taki grabbed a Perrier bottle and headed for the action, but the dust had cleared....

People & Places
Danbury News Times
Kathleen Malloy, of Stamford, has joined the law office of Philip Russell LLC in Greenwich as an associate attorney. She will concentrate on criminal litigation, claims litigation and civil rights.


Malloy previously was an assistant district attorney at the King's County District Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, N.Y. There, she conducted criminal investigations and prosecuted offenses through trial.


Before that, Malloy worked for a hedge fund in New York City and as a student clerk for the chief judge of the U.S. District Courtin Oklahoma.....


Stamford investment firm buys Hancock tower
Norwalk Advocate
Broadway, underwritten by $723.8 million from Greenwich-based RBS Greenwich Capital, paid $1.3 billion for the property in 2006 and defaulted on short-term ...

State Looking At Ways To Improve Truck Safety
Hartford Courant

Officials know how to improve truck safety in Connecticut.

They didn't need a recent study by an academy of engineers to confirm that high-tech scales and in-truck, EZ-Pass-like transponders already in use at the Union weigh station for companies with good safety records would, if their use were expanded to the state's five other stations, ease congestion — especially at the antiquated Greenwich station.The officials also know that the technology could allow them to zero in on trucks that require more detailed inspections and for a more random weigh-station schedule. That would make it less likely that rogue truckers who communicate by CB and iPhone would take to the back roads and skirt the stations.

Norwalk leads state in building permits
The Hour

.....Ellington issued permits for eight new units; Norwich issued permits for seven new units; Bridgeport followed with permits for six new units; Greenwich recorded five units; Hartford followed with permits for four new residential units during February ...


Community almanac
Stamford Advocate



....LYME DISEASE SUPPORT GROUP Resource and group assistance for issues surrounding tick-borne illness. Meets from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month through June at Greenwich Town Hall, 101 Field Point Road. Call 622-7849.
AL-ANON Meets at 11:30 a.m. in Room 14 at St. Catherine of Siena Church, Post Road and Riverside Avenue. Beginner's one-hour meeting at 8:15 p.m. in the second-floor conference room of Greenwich Hospital, Perryridge Road. Call (888) 8-ALANON....



Four at Four: Carmakers To Offer Free Cars to Spur Car Sales
Wall Street Journal Blogs‎
Our stock exchanges are now run by people who dance to the tune of powerful hedge funds from Greenwich
, New York and elsewhere.....

Hartford’s Front Street developer dies
Hartford Business
Greenwich developer Brad Nitkin
, chosen to develop Hartford's Front Street retail-commercial zone, has died. According to HB Nitkin Group Web site, ...

ALSO:

Front Street Project Will Go On Despite Developer Nitkin's Death
Hartford Courant
He died this weekend in New York, and his Greenwich funeral was Tuesday
. But the still-nascent Front Street project will continue unaffected, ...

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03/31/09 Greenwich Grandmother Has Lost Beloved Grandson Who Has Paid The Ultimate Sacrifice For The Freedoms We Often Take For Granted

Afghan casualty mourned in Greenwich
Connecticut Post


By Colin Gustafson

GREENWICH -- He grew up near Los Angeles, but as a boy Francis Toner would spend his summer days in Greenwich -- roving the beaches of Greenwich Point Park, playing baseball at a Brunswick School summer camp and swimming in the pool near his grandmother's home.

A Navy lieutenant who had been serving in northern Afghanistan since October, Toner was shot to death Friday, just days before he was scheduled to return home to visit family and friends.

The 26-year-old was fatally wounded after an insurgent disguised as an Afghan soldier opened fire on U.S. service members stationed at a base in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said.....

Navy lieutenant Francis Toner was clearly a dedicated and professional officer, and was doing vital work to bring stability to Afghanistan and, by extension, greater security to us all.

.....Toner, who attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island and served in the Navy as a garrison engineer, had been assigned to a blended military unit there, called "Combined Security Transition Command," used to train Afghan soldiers.

He was set to arrive home today to reunite with his wife, Brooke, according to his grandmother, Peggy Maynard, a town resident of nearly 30 years.

Maynard fondly recalled hosting her grandson, "Frankie," and his younger sister, Amanda, now 22, as children during their month-long summer visits to her condominium on Greenwich Hills Drive where Maynard still lives.....

When you travel through Greenwich tomorrow and see the American flags at half mast please stop a think about the extraordinary challenges faced by young men like Lieutenant Francis Toner and the strain on their families Should always be on our minds, and today our thoughts and prayers are the family of Lieutenant Francis Toner.

...."He really cherished his grandmother so much," said Toner's sister, Amanda, who added that during college, "he would go up [to Greenwich] whenever he could, just to get away for a while and visit Grammy."

In fact, Maynard was one of the last people in the family to hear from Toner, who called around 1:30 a.m. March 21 (10 a.m. in Afghanistan) to "check in" with his grandmother and chat about his work at the base, where he was helping train Afghan soldiers.

During the conversation, Maynard said, "I remembered sending him a card that said, 'I believe, I believe, I believe in you.' And when I asked him about it, he said, 'Grammy, I have your card sitting on my desk.' ... He was just a very caring, gentle person that way.".....

No words can bring Ms. Maynard's "Frankie"' back. Yet what all of in Greenwich do hope is that that she can draw strength from the fact that Lieutenant Francis Toner was well-respected and admired. Lieutenant Toner died serving his country, helping to secure abroad the kind of freedom and liberties that so many of us take for granted here in this country.

....The California native decided to attend the Merchant Marine Academy to play for its football team and study engineering while remaining close to family members out East, according to his father, Frank Toner, of Narragansett, R.I., where Francis last lived.

When Toner graduated in 2006, President George W. Bush presented him with a plaque and shook his hand during the ceremony, Maynard said. The young man also enjoyed his work in Afghanistan, she added, and even tried to teach some of the Afghan soldiers how to play softball, recording video footage of the effort and later e-mailing it to relatives.

Since his death, Toner has also been remembered in articles appearing in newspapers across the country, from the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News, to the Providence Journal and the Boston Globe ­-- another point of pride for his grandmother.

"He was always a hero to us," she said. "Now, he's a hero to everyone."

Toner is survived by his wife, his father and stepmother, Sharon Toner; his mother, Becky Toner; his sister; and brothers, John and Michael. He requested to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

It shouldn't take the death of another fine military officer for us to realize that we are free and we are thankful.

And to all the military men and women , past present and future: We sincerely thank you for doing what you've been ordered to do without complaint.

We thank you for every blistered foot, for mud-filled boots, for the long hot marches, for sleepless days and nights.

We thank you for leaving your family behind with fear of death in the back of your mind.

And most importantly, we thank you for protecting us and my country.

May God Bless And Look Out For
Lieutenant Francis Toner's Kind And Gentle Soul

03/31/09 Recession Buster: Save Seventy Five Cents .... Read Tomorrow's Greenwich Time At Greenwich Roundup Tonight (Updated)

Man pleads guilty to bank robberies
By Debra Friedman

A Jersey City man who admitted to a string of bank robberies, three of which occurred in Greenwich, Westport and New Canaan, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Newark.

Huy Trong Luong, 40, who officials said dressed as a woman during each robbery, told the court he was guilty of robbing a Wachovia bank branch in Old Greenwich on Jan 11, 2008, as well as a Commerce Bank in Bergenfield, N.J., on April 20, 2008....

..."This is good news," said Detective Lt. Mark Marino, head of the Criminal Investigations Division. "He certainly caused quite a bit of commotion and disturbance." Marino said that during the Greenwich robbery, Luong pretended to have a bomb.....

Old Greenwich theft suspect caught
By Debra Friedman
Police said they believe the man responsible for a rash of car break-ins in Old Greenwich is now behind bars.

William Valentine, 44, of 14 Lipton Place, in Stamford, was arrested Monday at state Superior Court in Stamford when he arrived to appear on an unrelated legal matter, police said.

Valentine is charged with 35 counts of burglary and one count each of first-degree and fourth-degree larceny, police said. His arrest comes as the result of a five-month-long investigation into a series of thefts by the Police's Neighborhood Resource Section. ...

Workshop to avoid foreclosures
Greenwich Time

The United Way of Greenwich and the Urban League of Southern Connecticut are sponsoring a "Mortgage Intervention Program" for people in Greenwich who are ...

Old Greenwich theft suspect caught
Police said they believe the man responsible for a rash of car break-ins in Old Greenwich is now behind bars.

William Valentine, 44, of 14 Lipton Place, in Stamford, was arrested Monday at state Superior Court in Stamford when he arrived to appear on an unrelated legal matter, police said.

Valentine is charged with 35 counts of burglary and one count each of first-degree and fourth-degree larceny, police said. His arrest comes as the result of a five-month-long investigation into a series of thefts by the Police's Neighborhood Resource Section.

Sgt. Michael Reynolds, head of the Neighborhood Resource Section, said police believe Valentine acted alone when he allegedly entered Old Greenwich residents' unlocked cars and open garages during early morning hours and took electronic items, cash and other items of value

Greenwich train stations to get upgrade
Greenwich will receive more than $1.3 million to upgrade the four train stations as part of the $5 million in federal stimulus money that will be used to repair Metro-North Railroad stations in Fairfield County.

Big-screen debut
Big-screen debut The North Street School chorus sang "America the Beautiful" during halftime at a recent Sound Tigers hockey game at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.

Retailers take pistachio recall in stride
Jay Ragusa took the pistachio flavor off the menu at his Gofer Ice Cream shops in Greenwich, Darien and Stamford on Tuesday morning, after the federal Food and Drug Administration warned of possible salmonella contamination.

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03/31/09 Ex-Greenwich Time Manager And Now Hearst Newspaper Business Reporter Jim "I Like Writing About Beer" Zebora Tells Us What's Brewing


What's Brewing: Making beer at home

Greenwich Time

OK, I'll admit it.

For five or so years there, I was like totally illegal in my beer-making activities.

But so was my friend Jim Abrams, who at the time was both a lawyer and Connecticut legislator, and today is a superior court judge.

The fact is that brewing beer back in the early 1990s -- when making wine at home was explicitly permitted but state laws were silent on homebrewing beer -- hurt neither of our careers. In fact, it may have even helped my journalistic cachet just a bit.‎.......

Jim Zebora, managing editor of Greenwich Time, is a dedicated homebrewer and a contributor to Zymurgy, the magazine of the American Homebrewers Association. His column appears once a month. His e-mail address is jim.zebora@scni.com



WTF JIM?


Did The Ever S0 Clueless Jim Zebora Not Relize That He Was Fired From The Managing Editor Job At The Greenwich Time And Now Answers To Failed Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter.


OR:


Was Zebora Just Drunk When He Typed Out This Beer Story.


OR:


Is Hearst Newspaper President Steven SwartzOn Drugs For Keeping These Two Bozos At The Green Kitty Litter Liner.


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03/31/09 NO SUPPORT: Daddy Skips Son's Arraignment

Malloy appears for arraignment
Stamford Times

STAMFORD -- Mayor Dannel Malloy's second-born son appeared at state Superior Court in Stamford for arraignment Tuesday to have his case transferred upstairs, where more serious matters are tried.

Benjamin Malloy, 21, of 277 Ocean Drive East in Stamford, signed a court order to transfer his case to Part A.

Accompanied by his mother, Kathy, Director of Legal Affairs for the City of Stamford, Thomas Cassone and attorney Robert Bello, Malloy -- dressed in a beige suit jacket, slacks and sneakers -- quickly exited the courtroom after his arraignment and offered no comment on his way out.

In November of 2007, he was arrested by Greenwich police for numerous drug charges including possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana with intent ...

....The charges stem from a March 3 incident in which Malloy, along with two of his friends -- 20-year-old Michael Krepak and a 17-year-old Stamford resident -- allegedly attempted to steal two grams of marijuana from 19-year-old Eric Sing by sticking what appeared to be pistols in his face.

According to the affidavit, Malloy brandished an unloaded silver pellet gun when he demanded Sing, "give (him) the weed." Police executed a search warrant and recovered BB's in Malloy's bedroom. A black, .22 caliber blank gun belonging to the 17-year-old was also recovered by police.This is Malloy's second arrest in a span of two years.

In November of 2007, he was arrested by Greenwich police for numerous drug charges including possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana with intent to sell. Malloy was given a second chance in 2008, when he was granted entrance into the Accelerated Rehabilitation program, which would have dismissed those charges had he completed a two-year probationary period. ....

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03/31/09 Reporter Debra Friedman Has Breaking News - Court Records To Be Released

Court records to be released in missing Greenwich honeymooner's case
Greenwich Time

By Debra Friedman

GREENWICH -- Nearly 2,200 pages of sealed court transcripts, documents and photos in the case of George Smith, a Greenwich man who vanished while on a Mediterranean honeymoon cruise in 2005, are set to be released to the public within 30 days, officials said.

The records include transcripts from a four-day hearing last May in which the probate court upheld Smith's widow, Jennifer Hagel Smith's, settlement with the Royal Caribbean cruise line as well as Hagel Smith's deposition in April 2007, according to Attorney Michael Jones, of Ivey, Barnum and O'Mara, who is representing George Smith's parents.

Attorneys for both sides met in Greenwich Probate Court Tuesday afternoon for a hearing about proposed redactions to the records that were made over the past 60 days by both parties....

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03/31/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENT: Thank you for blogging

Hi

I just wanted to send you a quick note to thank you again for posting about The Fresh Air Fund over the past few months and to let you know that we are currently running a Facebook Cause fund raising campaign. If you or your readers are on Facebook, please check us out and join the cause:

http://tinyurl.com/freshairfund-cause

We are also very excited that our Twitter following has just broken 1000 followers. If you aren't following us yet, please do - twitter.com/freshairfund

Thanks so much and please let me know if you have any questions or can post a mention.

Sara
--
Sara Wilson, Fresh Air Fund
sara@freshair.org
www.freshair.org

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03/31/09 PRESS RELEASE:Reminder: Rob Mathes Performs Greenwich Benefit Concert for Dana's Angels Research Trust

Dana's Angels Research Trust Rob Mathes Benefit Concert
Rob Mathes Benefit Concert
in Greenwich for
Dana's Angels Research Trust

8:00 p.m., Friday, April 17, 2009
Greenwich High School
10 Hillside Road, Greenwich, CT


Group Sales - call 203-861-2063

Tickets Also Available at The Music Source in Old Greenwich
203-698-0444

One Show Only, General Seating
Dana's Angels Research Trust (DART), a 501(c)(3) organization with strictly charitable purposes, was founded by Phil and Andrea Marella to fund medical research, medical education, or medical or hospital care for the treatment or cure of Niemann-Pick Type C disease (NPC) or other similar genetic diseases.

From the age of five, it was apparent that the Marella's daughter Dana, a happy, caring and energetic child, had visual and learning difficulties. Since that time, Dana's visual and cognitive abilities, and her balance have become progressively worse. After years of searching for answers to her challenges, Dana was diagnosed in 2002 at the age of eight with NPC, a genetic disorder that prohibits the metabolism of cholesterol and other lipids. In 2004, at the age of 5, Dana's brother Andrew, the Marella's 4th child, was also diagnosed with NPC.

DART aims to help all of those (adults and children) suffering from the disease of NPC. DART's efforts may also help millions of people suffering from heart disease, strokes, Alzheimer's disease and other disorders that appear to be related to the metabolism of cholesterol.

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03/31/09 The Raw Greenwich News Feed: This Just In .....

The Latest Greenwich News Briefs:

Pair pleads not guilty in ATM fraud that may involve 2 towns
Norwalk Advocate
Immigration officials have placed detainers on Constantin and Gheorghe, believed to be from Romania, and Greenwich police are investigating whether the two ...


....According to police files, Greenwich police and the state Financial Crimes Task Force are investigating a similar ATM crime that occurred in Greenwich a week earlier.


Just after closing March 19, two men entered a Bank of America branch in Greenwich and stuck a scanning device on the ATM machine, the files said. After a short time, bank employees noticed the scanner and deactivated the ATM.


Before a technician arrived, the suspects returned to the bank and took back the device, according to the files. The men are believed to be from eastern Europe, according to the files.


Greenwich Detective Mark Solomon said he could not comment on the Greenwich case or how it may be connected to the Norwalk case. ...

PLEASE SEE:
SATURDAY
03/28/09 Greenwich ATM Thieves Caught In Norwalk
See Pictures Of How The ATM Thefts Were Committed

Newburg newsprint plant closes for three weeks
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC
A news release from the Greenwich, Conn.-based company said the market-related downtime will result in about 25000 metric tons of lost production. ...

The Latest Greenwich Blog Post:

More On The Greenwich ATM Crooks.....
Cops eye suspects' tie to Greenwich scam try
By Conspiracy news
Constantin and Gheorghe are charged with fraudulent use of an ATM, unlawful use of a scanning device, third-degree identity theft and conspiracy to commit third-degree identity theft. They each were held in lieu of a $1.5 million bond.
I am SPY - http://www.spy.im/



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03/31/09 The Raw Overnight Greenwich News Feed (Updated)

If You Want To Know What's Going On In Greenwich You Have To Read The Out Of Town Newspapers......

Republican senators join line for pay cuts
Waterbury Republican American

L. Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, quietly inquired in December about forgoing his $30403-a-year salary as a ranking committee member. ...
Several Rell bills voted down
Danbury News Times

Livvy R. Floren, R-Greenwich, said. "It will do nothing but cut out the bloat." Spallone noted that the state's landmark legislation that created the ...


Rob Wong, Erik Kremheller and Spiker Hayden joined the Greenwich High School boys tennis team as freshmen in 2006 and promptly helped power ...

Business People
Stamford Advocate

Vicki Craver of Greenwich is a former vice president of the fixed-income division at Goldman Sachs. She joined the Fairfield County Community Foundation in ...

When Wiltonian Donna Conway adopted her daughter, Lelah, 8, “it was like a window opened up.” Lelah, born in Shanxi, China, “has brought so much to me: Irish dancing, the life of a girl, an awareness of the joy children have in growing up,” Ms. Conway said.

Inspired by her own experience as an adoptive parent, Ms. Conway became active in the National Council for Adoption (NCFA), and was recently named a member of the Board of Directors. Ms. Conway is one of 16 members of the national board, and the only representative from the Northeast.......

....Eventually she met her husband Jonathan, a Greenwich native who works for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Greenwich, and the couple moved to Wilton. ...
$70M allocated for new commuter buses
Norwalk Advocate
... the Stamford Urban Transitway, $1.9 million for road paving in Norwalk, $1.3 million for road paving in Greenwich and $975000 for road paving in Darien.

Obama pick favors international law.....
Obama's Harold Koh, Promoter of Sharia?????
Another Day, Another Scary Nomination
Town Hall

...New York lawyer Steven Stein said that Koh, in addressing the Yale Club of Greenwich in 2007, claimed that "in an appropriate case, he didn't see any reason why sharia law would not be applied to govern a case in the United States."

It turns out that on March 21, 2007, Carol Iannone, on Phi Beta Cons blog, published a letter from Stein to Dean Koh about his Yale Club remarks. Stein wrote, in part, "In your discussion of 'global law' I recall at least one favorable reference to 'Sharia', among other foreign laws that could, in an appropriate instance (according to you) govern a controversy in a federal or state court in the US."

Whether or not Koh ever responded to Stein's letter, Stein's representations of Koh's remarks are certainly consistent with Koh's writings that I reviewed.....

Community almanac
Stamford Advocate
NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS Greenwich-Stamford affiliate meets
7:30 to 9 pm on the first and third Wednesday of the month at the Tully Health Center ...

Kids gym to open new Stamford shopping center
Norwalk Advocate

Other kids' recreation and sports facilities in the region include Kids U and My Gym in Stamford, Tumble Bugs in Greenwich and Norwalk, Gymboree in Danbury, ...
April Book clubs
Stamford Times

Thursday, April 2: Jr. Book Club, 4:30 p.m. Book discussion for students in grades 3-5. Enjoy snacks as we discuss a favorite children's book. Register and pick up a copy of the book at the Children's Room desk. For more information, call 622-7940. Meeting Room, Greenwich Library, 101 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich.
Tuesday, April 14: Friends Selective Eye Book Discussion with Susan Boyar 1 p.m. The group will discuss "Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood. For more information, call the Friends Office at 622-7938. Meeting Room, Greenwich Library, 101 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich.
Wednesdays, April 15 to May 27: Bob Smith Shakespeare Series: Henry IV - Part 1, 7 p.m. Partake of Bob Smith's wonderful weekly Shakespeare Series; this time "Henry IV, Part 1." Free and open to all. Copies of the play will be provided. For more information, call Matthew Sgritta at 622-7972. Cole Auditorium, Greenwich Library, 101 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich.
Tuesday, April 21: Foreign Affairs Book Club, 7 p.m. The Foreign Affairs Book Club book for April is H.S. Dent's "The Great Depression Ahead." Free and open to all. For more information, call Yang Wang at 622-7924. Meeting Room, Greenwich Library, 101 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich.
Thursday, April 23: Middle School Book Club, 4:30 p.m. Book discussion group for teens and pre-teens in grades 6-8. Stop by the Children's Desk to register and pick up a copy of the book. For more information, call Teen Services Librarian Margaret Walsh at 622-7915. Meeting Room, Greenwich Library, 101 West Putnam Ave., Greenwich.

Hedge Funds Blur Lines with Private Eye
Markets Media News

Greenwich, Conn.-based AQR has been courting the retail market, in January launching its first mutual fund, the Diversified Arbitrage Fund. ...
Pencil It In
The Hour

Just Books' Kids Board meets from 4-4:45 pm where children ages 5-18 can review new books at Just Books, 28 Arcadia Road, Old Greenwich. Drop ins welcome. ...

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03/31/09 The Raw Greenwich Blog And RSS Feed - Bloggers Who Are From, Work In Or Used To Live In Greenwich (updated)

Clueless Greenwich Bloggers Miss The Big Story:



The Clueless Greenwich Bloggers Continue.....

The Latest From Claudette Rothman, AKA,Greenwich Diva
Pigeons were caught bringing a cell phone and charger to detainees in Brazil’s prison. - Two pigeons were busted after they attempted to bring cell phones to detainees at a prison in Sorocaba, Brazil, authorities said. Prison guards captured th...

For What It's Worth By Riverside Blogger Chris Fountain
Blumenthal in all his ignorant, arrogant bloom - I don’t know who the interviewer is who is mentioned in this story but he exposes Dick Blumenthal for exactly the toad that he is. Great job. Beck interview...

Today's Greenwich Time Letters To The Editor
Overdue notice - To the editor, Congratulations to the Byram-Schubert Library! We are all looking forward to their official opening ceremonies in May "¦ and of course we ar...

The Blonde Excuse
Beach Walk 1 - One of my favorite things to do around town is to go for a walk around the beach. Brent and I have been going together a lot this winter, often accompanied b...

The Perrot Memorial Library Blog
New to Borrow at Perrot: Blu-ray Discs! - Blu-Ray discs are now available to borrow at Perrot! [You must have a Blu-Ray player to view these films] Our initial selection includes...

Vivapop Community Events RSS Feed
Cancer support group: Apr. 1 - Greenwich Hospital Greenwich, CT 203-863-4277 Wellness/Fitness Experts teach how nutrition, weight management and exercise can reduce risks and improve ...

Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter
Who's Next: Post-Wagoner Era - The not-exactly unthinkable happened: GM Chief Executive Officer [CEO] Rick Wagoner got cut from the Establishment. Now, the question is: Who's next? ...

The Fox Trot By Nick "The Sly" Fox
Burnett Gets Belted, but Cano and the Yankees Beat the Pirates! - YANKEES 9, PIRATES 8 at Tampa, Fla. Sunday, March 29 Pirates at the plate: Eric Hinske cracked his first home run of the spring to put Pittsburgh on the ...

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Monday, March 30, 2009

03/30/09 When It Comes To News About Affordable Housing In Greenwich: The Greenwich Time Follows Greenwich Roundup And The New York Times

Critics question towns stance on affordable housing
Greenwich Time


Affordable housing advocates Monday challenged the town's claim that it has complied with a 20-year-old agreement with the state stipulating it would build two dozen affordable housing units in exchange for acquiring the Cos Cob Power Plant property....


Finally The Greenwich Time Starts Listening
To Affordable Housing Advocates
Who Would Like To See ....
More Units For Police Officers,
Fire Fighters, Teachers, Nurses, EMS
And Other Working Families In Greenwich

....Barry Nova, who sat on the Greenwich Housing Authority's board for 10 years, said he felt the town should be ashamed of itself.

"They are trying to weasel their way out of a 20-year commitment and frankly, it's quite obvious," said Nova, alleging that the three projects the town claims to have helped fund were using federal grant money, not its own.

"How the town can say they have satisfied the commitment by making available no land and no money is the most creative thing I've heard lately," said Nova.....



Maybe They Should Stop Calling It Affordable Housing
And Start Refering To It As Work Force Housing



It Is A Shame That You Have Greenwich Police Officers That
Can't Afford To Live In The Town They Serve

....Greenwich resident and Housing Authority commissioner Bernadette Settelmeyer ..... said she brought the issue back into focus in order to give a voice to those who need affordable housing in Greenwich......

...."This is unfair," said Settelmeyer. "It's not up to the town to have the final say. It's up to the state. It was an obligation to the state."......


PLEASE SEE:




If You Want To Know What's Really Going On In Greenwich
You Have Got To Read The Out Of Town Newspapers......


New York Times


By LISA PREVOST


TWENTY-TWO years ago, the town of Greenwich struck a sweet deal with the state. The town persuaded the Department of Transportation to transfer ownership of a nine-acre power plant site on the Cos Cob shore of the Mianus River for $1 and some promises.

An affluent community, Greenwich pledged to use 75 percent of the land for open space that was accessible to residents and nonresidents alike. The remaining 25 percent was to be reserved for housing for low-to-moderate-income persons.

Two decades later, after demolition of the plant and removal of soil contaminants, Greenwich residents are finally contemplating development of the waterfront site into a public park and recreation area. Amid debates over details of the park, however, a solitary voice has raised an uncomfortable question: What about the affordable housing?

In January, during a hearing of the planning and zoning commission on the park proposal, Bernadette Settelmeyer, a resident who serves on the Greenwich Housing Authority, caused a stir when she raised the subject of the housing commitment and requested that a proposal to meet that requirement be made part of the park plan. The matter has since wound up in the hands of the town attorney, who is looking into whether the town still has such an obligation.
Reader Points Out Greenwich Roundup Mistake
Brian,

You are right about the housing issue, but wrong about the “P and Z trying to pull a fast one”. The responsibility for honoring the town’s obligation under the deed to sale for the power plant to provide 24 units of housing belongs solely with the First Selectman. P and Z cannot legally condition site plan approval on this, as our brief is only with land use, not Town obligations


Dave Thompson from DPW, who is presenting the case for the power plant in front of P and Z, said in a public meeting that the Law Department was trying to prove a case that says that the obligation has already been met. He said that the position of the First Selectman as he understood it was that 24 units have been created since 1997 through requirements of site plan approval, one or two accessory apartments created by property owners in town, a couple of new units built by the housing authority, all totaling up to 24.

As a sitting Commissioner on the Power Plant vote, I won’t make my own opinions known, but I thought that the facts should be known

Many thanks,
Frank A. Farricker
Cos Cob


THE HEADLINES:


No Affordable Housing For Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Teachers, Nurses Or EMS

Greenwich Resident Bernadette Settelmeyer Caught The Planning and Zoning Commission Trying To Pull A Fast One

THE QUOTE:

"We are looking at the history of it, the language of it," says Greenwich Town Attorney Wayne Fox

HERE IS SOME MORE INFORMATION
ON WORKFORCE HOUSING:

Workforce housing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Workforce housing is a relatively new term that is increasingly popular among planners, government administrators and housing activists, and is gaining cachet with home builders, developers and lenders. Workforce housing can refer to almost any housing, but always refers to affordable housing......


Affordability
Based on criteria set by mortgage lenders, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) concludes that no more than 30% of household income should be allocated to housing Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance (PITI). Typically, pricing calculations that define workforce housing use 30% of household income as the maximum threshold of affordability.


Home ownership
Most appropriately, workforce housing connotes single-family detached homes for sale at prices that workforce families can afford. Obviously, workforce families often seek alternative housing opportunities in rental apartments and rental homes, town homes, condominiums, co-ops and shared housing, including subsidized housing. The most appropriate and socially valuable definition of workforce housing connotes fee-simple ownership of single-family homes with yards, one of the least efficient but perhaps the most personally satisfying land use forms.


Critical workforce
Most appropriately, "workforce housing" connotes housing intended to appeal gainfully employed, essential workers in the community, i.e. police officers, firemen, teachers, nurses and medical technicians, office workers, etc. Workforce families are generally younger and often include or plan to include children.


Workforce housing, then, implies a subjective change in awareness of a widespread social condition that has been referred to generally by terms such as affordable housing......

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03/30/09 RECESSION BUSTER: Save Seventy Five Cents ..... Read Tomorrows Greenwich Time Tonight

Father and daughter attend trial's opening
Greenwich orthodontist Albert Repicci and his daughter Kelly are attending the genocide trial of former Khmer Rouge official Kaing Guek Eav as observers....

Herring return to Mianus Fishway
Michael Aurelia leans forward and scoops up a lone herring from the Mianus River fish ladder in Cos Cob.....

Bridge project to require traffic detour
Residents of northwest Greenwich should prepare for detours, with a portion of Porchuck Road shutting down Wednesday for a bridge replacement expected to take at least eight months.
Gas company asks judge to throw out lawsuit claims
Lawyers for Connecticut Natural Gas asked a Superior court judge Monday to throw out claims that the company was reckless as alleged in a lawsuit filed by a town firefighter injured in a 2003 fire on Davis Avenue.....

Get in the swing before heading to the golf course
By Beth Cooney
Elise Swanton of Greenwich loved golf, but not the way her hips ached after a day on the course. Those pains were keeping the Pilates .....

Greenwich Academy lacrosse ties Scarsdale in opener
By Rob Kelley
Greenwich Academy's Jackie Klauberg (19) gets a stick to the face from Scarsdale's Margaret Souther during Monday's 15-15 tie. ...


PLEASE SEE:

03/30/09 Greenwich Roundup Hates To Say He Told You So ... But The The Wednesday Copy Of The Greenwich Time Will Cost You 75 Cents !!!!!


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03/30/09 Breaking News The Greenwich Time Finally Reports On A Story That Has Been Featured Over And Over At Greenwich Roundup

Amy Guerrieri: "This is right in our backyard. If every community took a county, we could solve this problem."

Town woman looks to make a difference in Appalachia
Greenwich Time


Businesswoman Amy Guerrieri recently became inspired when watching a network television report on children living in extreme poverty in central Appalachia.

A few weeks later, Guerrieri made her own trip to Kentucky, along with 11 trucks full of school supplies, books, diapers and other items donated by local schools, businesses and residents.....

......Guerrieri also sent 4,000 bottles of vitamin-infused water from Rockin' Water, a company she recently founded with her husband Robert. The idea behind Rockin' Water is to give kids a drink with healthy ingredients to make up for what they aren't eating. In Central Appalachia, many children don't have anything to eat for breakfast, said Guerrieri, a mother of four who also co-owns Upper Crust Bagels in Old Greenwich and Rye, as well as LexZee Catering and Arcadia Coffee.

"I felt that my product could make a difference," Guerrieri said.....

If You Want To Get Noticed
Send Your Press Releases To
Greenwich Roundup


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03/30/09 The Noel's are not like you and me -- Or -- The greedy will always be with us. ...


Andres Piedrahita, Another One Of Walter Noel's Family Members To Find Odious

The Charming Mr. Piedrahita Finds Himself Caught in the Madoff Storm
Wall Street Journal


Andrés Piedrahita's job title for the past two years was managing partner of Fairfield Greenwich Group, the hedge fund that lost $6.9 billion to Bernard Madoff's pyramid scheme. But Mr. Piedrahita's real job, he once told a friend, was "to live better than any of my clients."


With an apartment in Manhattan and a mansion in London, and then in Madrid, a butler, a chauffeured car and a private jet, he did just that. The Colombian threw lavish parties, assembled an impressive art collection and held court from his Falcon yacht anchored off the Spanish island resort of Mallorca, where he has a hacienda. Friends he entertained included the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Felipe, the heir to Spain's throne, and top models like Elle Macpherson.


"I've never seen anybody live like him and spend like him, and I know billionaires who are 10 times wealthier than he is," says Fernando Botero, the son of the Colombian artist of the same name. "His job was to live grand."


Married since 1989 to Corina Noel, the daughter of Fairfield Greenwich founder Walter Noel, Mr. Piedrahita was one of four of the five Noel sons-in-law to work in the family business. But his outstanding public-relations skills set him apart from the others. Analysts say Mr. Piedrahita, 50 years old, played a key role in expanding the reach of the Madoff fraud by wooing wealthy Latin Americans and Europeans to invest in Fairfield Greenwich, which had about half its assets with Mr. Madoff.


....Now, with the collapse of Mr. Madoff's $50 billion scheme, Mr. Piedrahita finds himself in a legal and financial storm. Spanish anticorruption prosecutors are investigating Fairfield Greenwich as well as Mr. Piedrahita to determine what they knew about Mr. Madoff's fraudulent funds when they sold them to Spanish clients. Mr. Piedrahita and Fairfield Greenwich are the targets of at least three class-action suits filed by angry investors in U.S. who say the company and its directors were grossly negligent in investing their money with Mr. Madoff.....


.....After graduating from B.U., Mr. Piedrahita knocked around New York working variously as a commodities broker, selling penny stocks and as an investment adviser. His budding financial career was almost clipped in the early 1980s. At the time, Mr. Piedrahita, who was working for a small commodities dealer then called Balfour Maclaine, got a number of his father's Bogota friends interested in investments that quickly went south. Many of his investors "stayed quiet and lost their money with dignity," says one of the investors. "They valued their friendship with the father over their investment." Balfour, now called Balmac International Inc., declined to comment......


....But one investor didn't. He says he asked Mr. Piedrahita frequently for information on how his investment was doing. Mr. Piedrahita avoided the issue, even claiming on one visit to Bogota from New York that he had forgotten to bring along the client's accounts. Growing suspicious, the client says he hopped a plane to Manhattan, went to Mr. Piedrahita's office and confronted his boss, asking for the information Mr. Piedrahita had avoided providing. "It was catastrophic," the client says, remembering the state of his account.

Bottom line: Mr. Piedrahita lost his job, says the client, who recovered all his money......


.....Friends say Mr. Piedrahita settled down after his marriage to Ms. Noel. He merged Littlestone with Fairfield Greenwich in 1997. Shortly after, he moved to London to a mansion on Chester Square. He entertained lavishly. One friend remembers a dinner party flush with English dukes and members of European royal houses. "The only dukes not there were the Dukes of Hazzard," ....


.....Just days before the Madoff collapse, Mr. Piedrahita was trying to sell a fund called Fairfield Sentry whose assets were managed by Mr. Madoff, to friends and acquaintances, says Martin Varsavsky, an Argentine businessman who lives in Madrid and says he was approached by Mr. Piedrahita. "I didn't invest because neither Andrés nor anyone else could explain to me how that fund worked," says Mr. Varsavsky.......


"I look at myself in the morning, and I'm very proud of what I have done, and so are my partners," says Mr. Piedrahita


The Noel's and the Piedrahita's are not like you and me


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03/30/09 What About Greenwich? .... Old Greenwich Resident Fight I-(5 Tolls In Rhode Island

Tolls are EZ, but are they illegal? Woman says 'Yes'
Newport This Week

NEWPORT — A Connecticut woman has filed a lawsuit in United States District Court alleging that the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority’s new toll structure is unconstitutional.

The class action lawsuit, filed by Old Greenwich, Conn. resident Isabel S. Cohen and unnamed co-plaintiffs, is the first legal challenge to the authority’s toll structure and newly-instituted EZ-Pass automated toll collection system. Ms. Cohen, who alleges that higher tolls for out-of-state residents violate the United States Constitution on several fronts, is seeking the court’s acknowledgement that the rate structure is unconstitutional. She also seeks financial awards and concessions from the state. But in a statement released Monday in response to the lawsuit, RITBA chairman David Darlington said he believes the authority’s rate structure is on solid legal footing.

.....Ms. Cohen did not return a telephone call seeking comment Monday. But in a 22-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court Friday, March 27, her attorneys argue that the new rate structure unfairly targets out-of-state EZ-Pass customers, who pay tolls ranging from 91 cents to $1.75 per bridge pass. Rhode Islanders who use the EZ-Pass system pay 83 cents per bridge crossing. Those without EZ-Pass transponders pay $2 per crossing, regardless of whether they live in Rhode Island or not.....
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03/30/09 If You Want The Latest Greenwich News Read The Connecticut Post -- Town Of Fairfield Is Comming After Walter Feeder Fund" Noel's House

From Golden In Greenwich To Homeless In Greenwich

Fairfield Greenwich Victims Are Getting More Aggressive

Town Of Fairfield Tells Judge That: There is a reasonable likelihood that Walter M. Noel Jr. is about to remove themselves or their property from this state, or are about to fraudulently dispose of or have fraudulently disposed of their property, with intent to hinder, delay or defraud their creditors.

Town seeks $75M judgment from Madoff, kin
Connecticut Post

By Genevieve Reilly

FAIRFIELD


The town's pension programs have been granted a temporary restraining order barring imprisoned Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff -- along with his family and investment firms that fed his massive Ponzi scheme -- from disposing of their assets, including several homes in Greenwich, as security for claims of up to $75 million for their losses in in his collapsed fund.

In what legal observers say is an unusual step, Judge Arthur Hiller granted the ex-parte motion Monday afternoon and scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. April 13 in Bridgeport Superior Court to consider a permanent order.

The town is seeking to recoup its pension fund investment, which had grown to a value of $42 million last November, that was lost in the elaborate swindle orchestrated by Madoff, who federal prosecutors say bilked clients around the world of billions of dollars....


Failed Greenwich Time Managing Editor
Bruce Hunter Apperntly Has No Idea That
The Town Of Fairfield Is Going After
Greenwich Resident Walter "Feeder Fund" Noels
Multi-Million Dollar House

.....The motion, filed by David Golub, a lawyer hired by the town for the Madoff case, states there is probable cause the town's pension programs could receive a $75 million judgment and seeks to secure that sum by attaching Andrew Madoff's home at 57 Tomac Ave., Mark Madoff's home at 21 Cherry Valley Road, and Noel's at 175 Round Hill Road home, all in Greenwich, as well as garnish all of the defendants' accounts at financial institutions.

"There is a reasonable likelihood that the defendants Andrew H. Madoff, Mark D. Madoff and Walter M. Noel Jr. are about to remove themselves or their property from this state, or are about to fraudulently dispose of or have fraudulently disposed of their property, with intent to hinder, delay or defraud their creditors," the motion states.......

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03/30/09 Renaissance Capital of Greenwich Reports That there is only one initial public offering planned for the coming week


IPOs / Week of March 30




Changyou.com Ltd.


Beijing, China, 7.5 million American depositary shares, each representing 2 class A ordinary shares, priced $14 to $16, managed by Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch. Proposed Nasdaq symbol CYOU. Business: A leading online game developer and operator in China





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03/30/09 The Raw Greenwich Evening News Feed (Updated)



If You Want To Know What's Going On In Greenwich You Have Got To Read The Out Of Town Newspapers.....



Chronicling the lives of your youngsters
The Hour

The book is available for $28.95 on Covello's Web site, http://www.frittabello.com and at two retailers, Splurge in Greenwich and Twinkletoes in Rye, ...


Stamford man rows Atlantic Ocean
Norwalk Advocate

Chris McNickle, a friend who works with Paul at the financial services consulting firm Greenwich Associates, was in Antigua Sunday to escort him the final ...





‘Momoirs’ probes mother-daughter bond
Norwalk Plus Magazine
The love and pain of the mother-child relationship are illuminated by “Momoirs: The Umbilical Cord Stops Here!”, an original stage production with a performance May 2 (Saturday) at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church (108 Sound Beach Ave.) in Old Greenwich to benefit the Stamford Counseling Center.


Lincoln Eschews Government Cheese, Gets Shot
Forbes



Lincoln National Corp. (nyse: LNC - news - people ):The insurance and investment management company has seen its shares dive downward by more than 37%, to $6.46, after it reportedly withdrew its application for funding guarantees from the U.S. government

Andrew Wilkinson is senior market analyst at Greenwich, Conn-based Interactive Brokers. Reach him via e-mail: ibanalyst@interactivebrokers.com .


Rail freight tunnel gathers steam
Stamford Advocate

... Jersey and New York should be prioritized for its promise to move millions of tons of freight off trucks and onto rail cars, said Himes, D-Greenwich. ...



Camuto Group Bullish On New Shoe License
Women's Wear Daily

NEW YORK — Following the announcement last week that Greenwich, Conn.-based Camuto Group signed a multiyear licensing agreement for Kensiegirl ...



Greenwich Dollars not worth the paper they are printed on
Stamford Advocate
By Lisa Chamoff
GREENWICH -- A dollar ain't what it used to be, but now it's certainly worth more than the Greenwich Dollar. The Greenwich Chamber of ...

PLEASE SEE:
....young Kerrin Kinnear (whose name is consistently misspelled by the equally worthless Local Rag, aka Yellowwich Time) won $75 of Greenwich Dollars in an essay contest. When she took them to Wish List on Greenwich Avenue to buy some clothes, she was told by the store manager, Ashley Kane, to suck eggs. Well, maybe not in those exact words, but basically Kerrin's mother, Jill, had to come up with the scratch for the threads......
......The Greenwich Chamber of Commerce's logo is prominently plastered at the top left corner of these rubber checks. But will Mary Ann Morrison, the overpriced "CEO" of the GCC, do anything about it? Probably not. She's too busy trying to find more tacky national chain stores to come and take a bath on Greenwich Avenue, now that she has helped to drive out the local businesses that used to thrive here.
For years your scribe has watched as Morrison has browbeat local businesses into joining her organization. More than one manager has told him that he paid the annual dues only after hearing threats of negative PR from her and her minions.

Frankly, your scribe would love to be bad-mouthed by Mary Ann and her ilk; it would mean he must be doing something right.
Do you remember the Greenwich Sidewalk Sales Days, dear reader? Time was when they were a happy street fest all up and down the Avenue. Then the Chamber of Commerce took over, charging a hefty fee to participate. Fewer stores participated. Some who dared to hold their own sidewalk sales were issued "bills" by Mary Ann for the participation fee.Whether they allowed themselves to be browbeaten into paying these specious assessments, your scribe does not know.
Had he had a storefront on Greenwich Avenue, he would have told Mary Ann to go suck eggs....
......The next time you walk down Greenwich Avenue, dear reader, know that you can thank Mary Ann and the CGG for all the empty storefronts and parking places. If you look hard enough, you will even see the GCC logo on some of the empty windows.
The same logo that is on the worthless checks, by the way.
If your scribe had been so foolish or unlucky ever to have had one of these Greenwich Dollars, and still be carrying it in his wallet, he would be at the courthouse right now filing suit against Mary Ann and the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. They promoted these fraudulent checks, and their logo is right there in living color......
.....Here is a novel suggestion, dear reader: let us all begin to boycott stores bearing the Chamber of Commerce logo until such time as Mary Ann gives Kerrin Kinnear her money back.....

Thumbs up, thumbs down
Stamford Advocate

This branch of Greenwich Library is a cherished neighborhood institution. And not only is it back, it's beautiful; nearly twice its original size with an ...

PLEASE SEE:
Friday
Following more than two years of construction, the Byram Shubert Library, a branch of Greenwich Library, was issued a temporary certificate of occupancy today and will officially open for business tomorrow, Saturday, March 28, at 9 a.m. ....
COMMENT:

Once Again Failed Hearst Newspaper Managing Editor
Bruce Hunter Has Dropped The Ball.

The Greenwich Time Website Is Always
Getting Scooped By The Greenwich Post.

Let's See How Long It Takes The Green Kitty Liner
To Report That The Long Delayed Byram Shubert Libray
Is Opening In Less Than 18 Hours.
UPDATE:

March, 28th
12:16 AM

The Pokey Greenwich Time Finally Shows Up
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