02/27/09 Jerry and His Midget-Loving Transsexuals Move to Stamford

It's true. America's most notorious talk-show host, Jerry Springer, is planning to move his show to Stamford.

Gov. Jodi Rell welcomed NBC Universal as they announced a deal Friday afternoon to set up a large television production studio at the Rich Forum Theater.

Jerry's bringing his friends, including Steve Wilkos, his former bodyguard-turned-show-host and Maury, as in, Povich. And with them, between 150 to 200 jobs. Plus, some cash. It's expected they'll make an initial investment of more than $3 million. That's a lot of paternity tests.

The state's 30-percent production tax credit sealed the deal, reports the Governor's office, the same reason Blue Sky Studios opened up a new animation productions studio in Greenwich last month. They also pick up a 20-percent tax credit on infrastructure costs over $1 million.

“This is good news at a time when we need good news, and my administration will continue to do all it can to bring good, dependable jobs to the state,” Rell said.

Start shining those stripper poles, Stamford.

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02/27/09 Northbound Greenwich Weigh Station Truck Stop Yields Weapons, Hollywood Florida Man Arrested

Greenwich (WTNH) - A Florida truck driver was arrested in Connecticut at the Greenwich weigh station after being found with a 40-caliber handgun and a knife with a blade over seven inches.

The State Police Truck Squad began inspecting the vehicle at the northbound Greenwich weigh station Friday morning, when Jeraldo Muniz, 40, of Hollywood, Fla. told officers he was in possession of the weapons.

Muniz was taken to State Police Troop G headquarters in Bridgeport, where he was charged with two counts of Carrying a Weapon in a Motor Vehicle and Carrying a Handgun without a Permit. He is being held on $15,000 bond.

Full Story: www.wtnh.com

Related Story:

CT.gov - State Police Truck Squad Makes Weapons Arrest

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02/27/09:GREENWICH PUBLIC SCHOOLS MEETING BRIEF: 2/26/09 Board of Education Meeting

MEETING BRIEF:

February 26, 2009 BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING:
(Meeting Materials are available on the GPS Web Site - Go to District
Calendar: http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=86 - Click on the the
date of the meeting)

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT:

Dr. Betty J. Sternberg, Superintendent of
Schools, reported on the:

Hiring of Two Principals, introducing Trish McGuire as the Principal for
Julian Curtiss School and Angela Schmidt as the Principal for North Mianus
School. (News Archives: http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=75)

Opening of Hamilton Avenue School, acknowledging and applauding Tony Byrne
and the school and District staff that worked so hard to accomplish the
move and the opening of the new school. She noted that there was still
much work to be done/provided by the Building Committee/Contractor in
order to acquire a permanent Certificate of Occupancy.
(http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=5910)

Secondary Schools Review, citing the development of the Vision of a GPS
Graduate and the numerous Discussion Forums that have taken place over the
last two months. (SSRC: http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=6289)

Science Curriculum Review/Panel Discussion, highlighting the engaging
panel discussion with regional scientists on Science Education in the 21st
Century with the community. (PreK-12 Science Review:
http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=31 )

Data Driven Decision-Making focus, citing training in holistic
accountability for Cabinet, administrators and teacher representatives
from each school. Each school has a Data Team in place and the District
Data Team is forming and will be in place next month.

Greenwich Alliance for Education, meeting to plan for aligning resources
and priorities (http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=93)

SCHOOL WELCOME:

Western Middle School - WMS Jazz Band led by Karen
Anderson performed.

Dr. Stacey Gross, WMS Principal presented results of a
very successful SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) initiative aimed at
reducing the number of detentions and suspensions using data to identify
needs and develop targeted strategies for improvement.

UPDATE ON SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH:

The Superintendent Search Firm
representatives presented an overview of the Leadership Profile developed
after extensive interviews, focus groups and community forums were
conducted in late December/January. The report is available on the GPS web
site at: http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=6367 .

Chairman of the Board's Search Committee, Steven Anderson reviewed the timeline: The Board
will interview candidates in March with the objective of announcing the
Superintendent prior to an expected start date of July 1, 2009.

UPDATE ON 2009-10 OPERATING BUDGET:

Board Chairman Nancy Weissler reported
on the BET Budget Committee's decision to reduce the 2009-10 BOE Operating
Budget by $1million due to the financial situation the Town is facing.
This results in a proposed BOE budget of just under $126 million. The
Board is considering a number of areas (detail attached) to address the $1
million in reductions. These areas under consideration were developed with
and/or generated from administrators throughout the District. The full BET
will hold a Public Hearing on the 2009-10 Budget on March 17 and will take
action on March 19. The proposed budget will then go to the RTM for
approval in May. The Board of Education will continue to deliberate the
possible areas for reductions at their April 2nd work session and will
vote on the specific changes to the Budget in May, after the RTM vote. To
follow the Budget Development Process go to:
http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=4658

ACTION:

Revised 2009-10 Capital Budget - Approved 8-0

CURRICULUM REVIEW:

PreK-12 World Languages (WL), Step I - Director of Curriculum, Instruction
& Professional Learning Chris Winters introduced Step I of the WL
Curriculum Review and Dr. Myriam (Mimi) Met, recently retired from the
National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland. A
nationally and internationally acclaimed educator and consultant in the
field, Dr. Met spent three days in the District visiting K-12 World
Language classrooms, meeting with teachers and administrators, and
reviewing curriculum documents. She praised the District for having an
exemplary staff and program, and offered suggestions to consider for
continuous improvement. Program Coordinators Kristi Lawson and Marcia
Schenker are leading this two-year curriculum review.

MONITORING REPORTS*:

E-050 Human Resources - Director of Human Resources Ellen Flanagan
presented. Report will be discussed further at March 12 BOE Work Session.

L-020 Professional Personnel Practices - Ellen Flanagan presented, next
step: action on March 26 Consent Agenda

L-002 Contracts & Agreements - Ellen Flanagan presented, next step: action
on March 26 Consent Agenda.

E-080 Public Involvement in Schools - Kim Eves presented, next step:
action on March 26 Consent Agenda.

E-051 District Administrative Operations - Assistant Superintendent for
Operations Susan Wallerstein presented. Report will be discussed further
at March 12 BOE Work Session.

*A Monitoring Report is an annual report summarizing the District's
compliance with a given Board Policy. Reference the GPS Web Site:
http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=89 for Policies, Procedures
and Monitoring Reports.

ACTION ITEMS:

SIT Professional Learning Sessions 2009 - Deputy Superintendent Kathy
Greider proposed, after consultation with Principals, two early release
days in June 2009 for students, in order to provide professional
development time for staff to focus on Strategic Improvement Team (SIT)
planning for the 2009-10 school year. The decision has been deferred until
the March 26 meeting at which time there will be more information on
number of snow days/last day of school for this year both of which could
impact this proposal.

Tuition/Rental Rates - Approved 2009-10 Tuition, Summer School, Preschool,
and Rental Rates, 8-0

Monthly Financial & Staffing Report - Approved 8-0

Transfers $10,000 and Above - Approved 8-0

BOARD CONSENT AGENDA:

Policy Revision E-003: Approved 8-0
Monitoring Report E-002 Whole Student Development: Approved 8-0
BOE Meeting Minutes (12/18/08, 1/8/09, 1/22/09, 2/5/09): Approved
w/Revisions 8-0

BOE 2008-09 AGENDA PLAN:

Reviewed and added discussions on Monitoring Reports E-050 and E-051 in
the March Work Session and on the 2009-10 Budget in the April 2 Work
Session.

NEXT BOE MEETING:

The next Board of Education meeting is a Work Session on March 12, 2009 at
the Havemeyer Building, 7:00PM

Board meeting agendas are available on the GPS Web Calendar approximately
5 working days prior to the meeting. Meeting materials can be downloaded
from the web site, as available, generally 3-4 days prior to the meeting.

Go to the GPS Web Calendar at:
http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=86 and click on the meeting
date.

Kim Eves
Director of Communications
Greenwich Board of Education
290 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830

http://www.greenwichschools.org/

Phone: 203-625-7415
e mail: kim_eves@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Fax: 203-869-8003

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02/27/09 PRESS RELEASE: Are there concerns in your district about the writing abilities of your students?

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To learn more about WriteToLearn please register to attend a free one hour live webinar overview presentation. Select the webinar date and time that best fits your schedule. Click the links below to register.

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March 17, 2009
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March 25, 2009
STARTS at 12:00 PM Eastern, 11:00 AM Central, 10:00 AM Mountain, 9:00 AM Pacific
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With WriteToLearn, a student can practice essay writing and summarization skills, and their efforts are measured by the state-of-the-art Knowledge Analysis Technologies™ (KAT) engine. The KAT engine is a unique automated assessment technology that evaluates the meaning of text, not just grammatical correctness or spelling. Students receive immediate, specific feedback on their work, and teachers easily assess student efforts individually or as a class.

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Watch 4th graders and their dramatic improvement using WriteToLearn:
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Please Send Your Community Events And Press Releases To GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/27/09 This Just In .....

The Latest Greenwich News Briefs:

Poky Police Late Yet Again on Ponzis, Thieves Bloomberg - USA Here we go again. The latest burst of regulatory rigor in response to a horse that’s already left the barn comes in the case of Poky Police versus WG Trading Investors LP of Greenwich, Connecticut, and Westridge Capital Management Inc. of Santa Barbara, California. Since Feb. 12, the National Futures Association, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Justice Department have all swept in with charges that range from securities fraud to conspiracy to wire fraud against the two firms and the money managers who are principals at both entities: Paul Greenwood and Stephen Walsh. The two men were arrested Feb. 25 and released on bonds of $7 million apiece. Reached by telephone, their lawyers declined to comment on allegations that their clients misappropriated $554 million from investors over the past 13 years. Greenwood and Walsh were high-life money managers who didn’t shy from public view. (If you think you’ve read this story before, it’s because you have.) They may not have sponsored cricket They may not have sponsored cricket teams like R. Allen Stanford, but together they had a minority interest in the New York Islanders hockey team in the 1990s. Neither was chairman of a stock market, like Nasdaq’s Bernie Madoff, but Greenwood is supervisor of the town of North Salem, New York, and Walsh is president of the Sands Point Golf Club on New York’s Long Island. Glossy Clippings The golf club’s Web page crows that Walsh has “a skill set that will ensure the Club is prepared to meet future challenges, remains financially sound and is true to the character established by its Founding Members.” You couldn’t make this stuff up. Greenwood over the years has been the subject of write-ups in the New York Times, the glossy Bedford Magazine and the Web page of the North Salem Bridle Trails Association, which gushed over Greenwood’s farm, “They call it Grand Central Farm and grand it is.” Bedford fussed over Greenwood’s collection of Steiff teddy bears. “Noah had nothing on us,” Greenwood told the magazine in an article that ran last year, comparing his menagerie to the biblical ark loaded with animals. “At last count, we’ve given shelter to more than 1,350 Steiff toys, and there’s no way our collecting days are over.” Ah, but his money-management days might be. While Greenwood and Walsh were hiding in plain sight, regulators say they also were collecting hundreds of millions ($667 million, to be exact) from investors and then writing checks to themselves -- a total of $293 million to Greenwood and $261 million to Walsh. Disappearing Act You’ll be shocked to know that after the NFA showed up to begin auditing the books at the Greenwich office starting Feb. 5, Greenwood and Walsh made themselves very scarce. They even played little games with their regulator. As described in the NFA’s Feb. 12 “notice of member responsibility,” Greenwood told NFA officials during a phone conversation that he’d get back to them about where some missing money was; e-mailed them to say he’d be in the Greenwich office on Feb. 10; and then had an assistant tell the regulators that he was at a meeting in New York City when they showed up that day. Maybe, though, none of that should be a surprise, because regulators already knew that Westridge wasn’t too keen on having financial cops look at their books. In 1989, a business conduct committee of the NFA issued a complaint against the firm alleging that it had broken the rules “by failing to cooperate with NFA in an NFA audit.” Other allegations included “failing to provide customers with a disclosure document.” Denying the Allegations There are all sorts of violations that financial regulators can allege against firms, but if it isn’t a big, fat, waving red flag when a firm doesn’t want to cooperate with an audit, I don’t know what is In the end, though, Westridge filed an answer in which it denied the allegations, then settled the case for a paltry $5,000 fine and an agreement to get in line with CFTC rules in its disclosure documents. No one at Westridge let that little problem get in the way when it filled out its most recent investment adviser application with the SEC. In a document dated Jan. 29, 2009, Westridge had to answer the question, “Has any self-regulatory organization or commodities exchange ever found you or any advisory affiliate to have been involved in a violation of its rules?” Westridge checked the box that said “No.” Nor did Westridge flag the fact that Walsh, Greenwood & Co., the broker-dealer that Walsh and Greenwood ran from 1979 to 1992, had come into the SEC’s crosshairs in 1987, when the agency said that the firm had failed to maintain minimum net capital requirements; was using customer securities as collateral for bank loans; and was not keeping accurate records. The firm consented to a censure and said it would “comply with undertakings to prevent recurrence of similar violations.’ So many red flags. So few regulators who know how to spot them. What About The Poky Reporters And Editors At That The Green Kitty Litter Liner Totally Missed The Story And Still Have Failed To Report On The Greenwich Ponzi Scheme Arrests.... 2/13/09 PRESS RELEASE: Emergency Action Taken Against Greenwich Traders Paul Greenwood & Stephen Walsh- Questions About "Hundreds Of Millions Dollars" 02/21/09 National Futures Association Suspends Greenwich Traders Paul Greenwood and Stephen Walsh 02/25/09 Greenwich Fraudsters Busted By The FBI ......More On The Greenwich Ponzi Scheme That Hearst Newspapers Is Failing To Cover 02/25/09 Greenwich Fraudsters Also Wasted Money On The New York Islanders 02/25/09 Where Is Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter? The Greenwich Fraud Scheme That Hearst Newspapers Is Not Covering Just Hit $1.3 Billion 02/25/09 Didn't Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter Or Hearst Newspaper Business Editor Jim Zebora Get The Department Of Justice Press Release 02/25/09 Wall Street Journal: Bearly Legal? Investment Managers Charged with Fraud Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter And Hearst Newspaper Fairfield County Editor Jim Zebora Are Still In His Self Induced Comas, As 456 Newspapers Cover The Greenwich Ponzi Scheme Story For Them !!!! If You Want To Know Whats Going On In Greenwich You Have To Read The Out Of Town Newspapers Maybe, The Incompetent Hearst Newspaper Editors Will Get The Billion Dollar Greenwich Ponzi Scheme Story Up On The Web Later Today Or Tomorrow But The Greenwich Time Always Misses The Big Ponzi Scheme Stories That Has A Greenwich Connection. If You Search The Greenwich Time Web Site For Walter Noel Of Fairfield Greenwich You Get This Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter And Hearst Newspaper Fairfield County Editor Jim Zebora Are Walking Around The Green Kitty Litter Liner Offices Saying, "Who The Heck Is Bernard Madoff And What Does He Have To Do With Greenwich?"

Greenwich cafe gets visit from feminist icon Greenwich Time ... poet and feminist icon Erica Jong offered herself up to Aphrodite Thursday, during a poetry reading and book signing at Arcadia Cafe in Old Greenwich. ...

Chiropractor pleads not guilty in punching death Stamford Advocate William Lindemann, 47, of 12 Wyckham Hill Lane, Greenwich, and 425 Dockside Drive, Unit 406, Naples, Fla., was released after posting $1 million bond. ...

Greenwich seniors celebrate staying put Greenwich Time By Colleen Flaherty Marylin Chou, right, one of the founders of At Home Greenwich, greets her friend, Bea Emery, during a party at the Second Congregational ...

Mexico's Peso Falls to Record Low on Pared Interest-Rate Bets Bloomberg ... billion to defend the peso," Flavia Cattan-Naslausky, a currency strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut, wrote in a report today. ...

US workers on jobless benefits at record high Reuters India - Mumbai,India The economy is going to continue to contract, probably at least until the middle of the year," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich capital.......

Darien Times Wave brains Greenwich: Girls Wave Hockey wins "from the neck up" 1 ... Darien Times - Darien,CT,USA She who popped the winning goal up stairs at the end of a lone effort, racing the puck in from center to put the tight game away 1-0 over top-seed Greenwich ...

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Please send your comments and news tips to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

02/27/09 The Raw Greenwich Blog And RSS Feed - Bloggers Who Are From, Work In Or Used To Live In Greenwich

The Latest From Claudette Rothman, AKA,Greenwich Diva

Former NPR correspondent David Malakoff arrested for child pornography - David Malakoff, former science editor and on air correspondent for National Public Radio, was arrested in D.C. last Tuesday for possession of child porn...
Greenwich Time: Local Sports - RSS Feed
Warde wins FCIAC girls basketball title - FAIRFIELD -- The Stamford girls basketball team is probably relieved that they're playing in the Class LL state tournament, not the Class L division......

The Fox Trot By Nick "The Sly" Fox
Yankees start off hot in Spring Training! - YANKEES 5, RAYS 1 at Tampa, Fla. Thursday, Feb. 26 Rays at the plate: Ben Zobrist logged the Rays' first hit of the afternoon with a fourth-inning single, ...

For What It's Worth By Riverside Blogger Chris Fountain
Good bye, RBS - Royal Bank of Scotland reports largest corporate loss in British history, plans to give British taxpayers parting gift of $466 billion of now-worthless ...

Today's Greenwich Time Most Emailed Web Article - RSS Feed
New turf rules test safety - Before the town could install any new artificial turf athletic fields it would be required to determine if the synthetic surfaces pose any health risks, un...

Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter
No wonder we are still porkers here in CT - Here in Connecticut our trusty leader Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is looking out for us porkers. The AG nailed Beverage Partnership Worldwide...

Today's Greenwich Time Letters To The Editor
Letters from Readers - Staff cuts questionable - Homemaker program slated for too big a cut To the editor: During recent days, your lead headlines have read "Cuts in homemakers service eyed" and "Homemaker...

The Blonde Excuse
Coming Home - Brent and I are almost home from our road trip out to Illinois! Full update on the way... and I promise it's worth the wait. -Lauren...

Greenwich Geek David S. Isenberg's musings at isen.blog
F2C at TechDirt - From the "Now I owe Masnick big-time" Department: Mike Masnick, at TechDirt, has written up F2C: Freedom to Connect in glowing terms. He says, . . .

Vivapop Community Events RSS Feed
Great Chefs: March 6th - COMMUNITY CHANNEL Greenwich, CT 203-863-3860 Events World renowned television chef Lidia Bastianich will be honored at the 24th annual Great Chefs ...

EDDIE "Greenwich Native" ROSS
Check out Vogue! - If you haven't had a chance to check out the March issue of Vogue yet, I'm thrilled to announce that we have 3 items (!) from our new store featured in a ...

Rock Star Diary
This and That - Here's a picture of my Dad, Dallas, in a real Hawaiian shirt that I got for him in Kauai. I know my Uncle Stud (Dad's bro) is seething with jealousy. Dallas ...

Today's Greenwich Time Most Viewed Web Article - RSS Feed
Real Estate Transactions 2.27 - DARIEN (Transactions recorded through Jan. 23 Anthony T. Vanech sold to Jean E. Carelli and James A. Graziosa, property at 22 Herman Ave for $1,030,000.....

Frank Trotta's Page At Our Greenwich
Presidential Math - On Tuesday, before a joint session of Congress, President Obama made a “George H. W. Bush: Read My Lips, No New Taxes”-type statement when he said “if your...

Greenwich Blog : The Blog of Greenwich, Connecticut :: USA
Friday Night Film Series - Friday Film Series Friends of Greenwich Library Greenwich Library Cole Auditorium February 27, 2009 8:00pm-10:00pm SONG OF SUMMER (1968-British) Directed ...

Greenwich Resident Jerry Dumas Writes And Draws The Comic Strip Sam And Silo, And Is A Greenwich Time Columnist
Updike had special ability to illustrate - Over the years I've met a fair share of poets and writers -- Laurie Lee, Robert Lowell, Norman Mailer, Richard Yates, Brian Moore, Barbara Tuchman, among ...

The Daily Spurgeon
The wind of the Spirit - The various motions of the air remain a mystery to all but the infinite Jehovah. My brethren, the like mystery is observed in the work of the Spirit of ...

Tribune Company's Greenwich News RSS Feed
Cops: Chiropractor punched elderly man, left scene - A chiropractor charged in the fatal assault of an elderly Connecticut man threw one punch that knocked the victim down, then left the scene as the man lay ...

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