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Friday, March 20, 2009

03/20/09 This Is What Is Meant By A Lack Of Corporate Morality And Fairness In Greenwich

A FAMILY AFFAIR: A Stella D’oro striker (center) and her two kids march in a rally in the Bronx Jan. 31. PHOTO: SARAH SECUNDA

The Indypendent

When the 136 factory workers at the Stella D’oro Biscuit Co. in the Bronx went on strike Aug. 13, they didn’t expect to be out on the street for long. Evelyn Rivera, who had only been at Stella D’oro since August 2007, recalls the reassurances she received from some of the factory’s older hands. “Maybe five weeks,” they told her.

The strike had been launched to protest, among other concessions, wage cuts of up to 26 percent demanded by Brynwood Partners, the private equity firm that purchased Stella D’oro from Kraft Foods, Inc. in 2006.

Declaring Brynwood’s terms unacceptable, the workers set up a 24-hour picket line outside the factory gates at 237th Street and Broadway that by their own account better resembled a neighborhood party than a scene of dissent.....

....The stakes abruptly became apparent when, a month into the strike, the bottom fell out of the U.S. economy and nationwide unemployment soared. As longtime Stella D’oro employee Emelia Dorsu puts it, “Right now you can’t even find a job.”....

....According to Alston, the union requested a copy of Brynwood’s financial records for an accountant to review in order to verify the company’s claims. She says that Brynwood denied union reps a copy, informing them that they could access the financial records only at company headquarters, in Greenwich, Conn., where they would be allowed to sit and take notes.

Brynwood has not responded to repeated requests by The Indypendent for comment.

Weeks of haggling followed. Once it became apparent that Brynwood would not budge on its central demands, Stella D’oro workers voted unanimously to strike.

In September, Local 50 filed an Unfair Labor Practice with the National Labor Review Board (NLRB), the federal governmental agency charged with adjudicating labor disputes. As its central grievance Local 50 cited Brynwood’s refusal to negotiate in good faith....

.....It’s a battle that Alston considers “representative of the entire country in terms of working men and women.”

“What we’re giving is an example,” says Stella D’oro striker Eddie Marrero. “You gotta hold your ground no matter what, and take pride in yourself and don’t let nobody come in here and say, ‘You don’t deserve this. You make too much for what you do.’”

This is where you let them know: I am a human being working for a living,” Marrero says.

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03/20/09 Leonore Annenberg, who has died aged 91, was a former chief of protocol at the White House and the widow of Walter Annenberg

Presidents Jimmy Carter,Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford with then U.S. Chief of Protocol Leonore Annenberg aboard an Air Force jet carrying them to the funeral of Anwar al-Sadat in 1981

Leonore Annenberg, who has died aged 91, was a former chief of protocol at the White House and the widow of Walter Annenberg, President Nixon's ambassador to Britain, with whom she formed a philanthropic partnership that sponsored causes on both sides of the Atlantic.

Leonore Annenberg
Telegraph.co.uk

In her capacity as chairman and president of the Annenberg Foundation after her husband's death in 2002, Leonore Annenberg, known as Lee, gave away billions of dollars to cultural and medical institutions.....

....She was born Leonore Cohn in New York on February 20 1918, the elder daughter of Max Cohn, a textile merchant whose business was failing, and of Clara Henle, his wife, whose family had emigrated from Berlin. Lee was the niece of Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures, who brought her up from the aged of 11 onwards – her mother having died when Lee was seven, leaving her father unable to cope. Harry Cohn was one of the legendary Hollywood producers, and the subject of many stories, not all of them complimentary.....

....In 1946 she married Lewis Rosenstiel, a multi-millionaire three decades her elder who had founded the Schenley liquor distillery (the second largest in the United States after Seagram). She moved into his 1,500-acre estate at Greenwich, Connecticut, and gave birth to a second daughter. But the marriage ended in a bitter divorce, Lee citing extreme mental cruelty and leaving the marital home with only the clothes she was wearing.

In 1951 she married her third husband, Walter Annenberg, which proved a close and enduring alliance. He had inherited a failing publishing empire, out of which he made a great success and a great fortune. As publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer he became a close friend of Senator Richard Nixon.....

.....For the rest of their lives the Annenbergs were philanthropists supporting numerous worthy causes. In 1989 Walter founded the Annenberg Foundation, which created the Annenberg Challenge, a $500 million contribution to a five-year programme of educational reform.
The foundation has now given away some $4.2 billion, and after Walter's death at the age of 94 Lee succeeded him as chairman and president.......

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03/20/09 Fat Cats In The Backcoutry Of Greenwich Watch In Horror As Fellow Town Resident Richard Blumenthal Sends Out Subpoena To AIG Bonus Bums

Connecticut lawmakers subpoena AIG workers

Hartford Courant

HARTFORD, Conn. - A legislative committee in Connecticut wants to haul in at least a dozen employees of insurance giant AIG, including CEO Edward M. Liddy, to testify about the financial products division in Wilton.

The Banking Committee issued subpoenas on Friday commanding the employees, who are state residents they discovered in news accounts and who lawmakers believe received bonuses, to appear at a March 26 hearing.

Legislators are also seeking documents regarding the division's retention bonus plan and any related contracts. They plan to ask why $165 million in bonuses were handed out, when they were ordered and why the company is using a Connecticut labor law to justify the payments.

"This Connecticut Banks Committee is well within its jurisdiction to issue these subpoenas," said Sen. Robert Duff, D-Norwalk, the committee's co-chairman. "Not only is the CEO potentially misusing a Connecticut law, the recipients are Connecticut residents and beneficiaries of our taxpayer money."

AIG officials have partially blamed the Connecticut Wage Act for why they've paid the bonuses. The state law allows employees to sue for twice the full amount of contractually owed wages -- in this case $330 million -- as well as attorney's fees, if the employer refuses to pay up.

If the subpoenas were challenged in court but upheld, the executives could face criminal charges if they refuse to comply.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. announced Friday that AIG has provided them with some documents pertaining to the bonuses. Neither official has released the information to the public.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell's office said the largest AIG bonus given was $6.4 million. Bonuses of more than $4 million were given to six employees while another 66 people received more than $1 million each. In total, more than 400 people in AIG's financial products division received bonuses, Rell said.

Farrell said all of the employee names have been redacted from the documents. He's trying to determine whether the bonuses violate the state's Unfair Trade Practices Act.

"Depending upon the legal conclusions we reach and whether there is a need for enforcement action, our subpoena remains active and we can still get the names, should we make a determination that they are necessary," he said.

Blumenthal urged the AIG executives to attend Thursday's hearing.

"They are Connecticut citizens, and we have a right to hear from them as to what they were supposed to do in return for these outsized, outlandish and outrageous payments," he said.

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03/20/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Hatred palooza 2009 on Sat AM for AIG FPG execs.


Check out the chaos and class -warfare breaking out on:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/t/4020/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=552

Jon Green and his Working Families party are planning the "hatred-palooza 2009" tour of AIG FPG execs houses on Saturday AM. They are soliciting nasty grams to send to AIG employees. Seems to me opinion is mixed.

Hey - reasonable people can argue whether these guys should keep or give up this money, but no one deserves to have the mob with pitchforks terrorize their children and neighbors.

I sent the following:

"I think they are trying to intimidate Democrats into being more in tune with the Working Families' left-leaning policies," Schofield said - a Democrat who is arguably in office by a razor thin margin provided by Working Families Party endorsement in her state congressional race, and who is about to lose that endorsement in a rematch with her Republican opponent.

"You have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, it's just about the issues." Jon Green - chief instigator, motivator and leader of the Connecticut WFP retorts.

Right on - that's what I say.

I dig 3rd party candidates. I voted for John Anderson in 1980, despite the vitriol from my colleagues at the CCAG. You would have thought I personally elected Ronald Reagan. I was a Weicker staff member in Greenwich in the early eighties and supported his Connecticut Party achievements which brought permanent and fundamental change to how we fund our state government through the income tax. I voted for Ralph Nader, much to the glee of my husband, a Bush supporter.

But Jon Green and his party lose my support when he goes after the innocents in a crass bid-for-attention tour of Fairfield on Saturday morning one might call the "hatred-palooza tour 2009." Jon is taking bus-loads of the furious on a tour of homes of AIGFPG execs and plans to let them know in no certain terms that they are scum. There will be chanting, screaming, sign waving for sure. There will likely be threats, shoving and lots of righteous profanity, all endured by the innocent and designed to threaten, intimidate, and make the 6 pm news.

Green has done a masterful job of bringing fusion politics to Connecticut and keeping the Dems' feet to the fire. He even sounded reasonable when he seemed to suggest that the AIG bonuses might help us balance our budget in CT ( "Not so fast Barack" 3/17 blog), and I agree that contrition is in order by the folks that made this money. Reasonable people can argue that the money be returned, even after the case.

However, firing up the faithful, handing them pitch-forks and sending them to indiscriminately harass families, children, neighbors is a tactic better left the the right-to-life nut cases who exploited this scorched earth policy with doctors who performed legal abortions. It's fear-mongering, hate engendering, and caters to the most base human emotions. It's disingenuous to think this does not play on a big dose of envy, class-warfare and ignorance, and it smacks of the worst of cynical opportunism.

It destroys his credibility and looses support for him and his more long term cause

Lisa



COMMENT:



Dear Lisa,



If AIG Fat Cats Were Not Outed The Tax Dollars Would Not Have Been Returned.



Jackpot Jimmy Haas Knew That His Multi Million Dollar Retention Contract Was Not Worth The Paper It Was Written On If His Neighbors Tax Dollars Were Not Used To Fund It.



Jackpot Jimmy Knew That If AIG Went Into Bankruptcy That The Judge Would Void His Worthless Retention Contract, So He And Other AIG Executives Stole Their Neighbors Hard Earned Tax Dollars.



If Jackpot Jimmy Haas Was Was Suspected Of Raping His Neighbors There Would Ne Public Outrage And Disgust.



Well Jackpot Jimmy Haas' Greedy And Cold Heart Did Allow Him To Financially Rape His Neighbors.



Greedy Jackpot Jimmy Haas Spoke To Both The New York Post And The New York Times He Never Once Said, "I Am So Very Deeply Sorry For What I And The Others At AIG Have Done"



If Greedy Jackpot Jimmy Wanted To He Could Make One Phone Call And Be On Any National Television Network Of His Choosing And Say,"I Don't Know What I Was Thinking. This Country Has Been So Very Good To My Family. I Am Sincerely Sorry For What I And My Palls At AIG Did To The American Taxpayers. Can You Ever Forgive Me.



But Jackpot Jimmy Haas Wont Do This Because He Isn't Sorry For Taking His Neighbors Hard Earned Tax Dollars. At Best Greedy Jackpot Jimmy Haas Is Only Sorry That He Got Caught.



If The Working Families Want To Shine The Spotlight On A Bunch Of Fat Cat Cockroaches, Then Greenwich Roundup Says Let Them Shine The Light So Everyone Can See These Predatory Insects Scurry For The Dark



As You Men And Women Fight Overseas To Protect Our American Way Of Life, In No Way Is Greenwich Roundup Going To Criticize Them For Exercise Their Rights To Assemble And Speak Out Against The Greed That Is Destroying Our Great Country.



It Is Not Even Clear If Jackpot Jimmy Haas Rescind Both Taxpayer Funded Multi Million Bonus Payments?



Not May People Are Aware That There Are Two Sets Of Bonus Payments



This Is The First Bonus And Covers December 01, 2007 To November 30, 2008 That Was To Be Paid No Later Than March 15th of 2009.



Most People Don't Realize That The Clock Is Already Ticking On A Second Round Of Bonus Payments.



The Second Bonus Payments Cover December 01, 2008 To November 30, 2009 That Was To Be Paid No Later Than March 15th of 2010.



Lisa, In Your Letter You Say.....



"Hey - reasonable people can argue whether these guys should keep or give up this money."



I Don't Know Of Any Reasonable Person That Would Argue That Jackpot Jimmy Should Keep His Nieghbors Tax Dollars.



In Fact The Greedy Jackpot Jimmys Of This World Considered Working Families That Lost heir Homes To Forclosure A Bunch Of Losers.



PLEASE SEE:



03/06/09 CNBC's Santelli Has Gotten Die Hard Greenwich Republicans Upset Over The Notion That They May Have To Help With Their Neighbor's Mortgage



PLEASE ALSO SEE:



03/20/09 Post Jackpot Jimmy Cries Like A Baby As He Gives Back His AIG Multi Million Pirate Booty Back To The Taxpayers



03/18/09 The Jack Pot Jimmys Of The Greenwich Backcountry Are Shaking In Terror As The New York Post Shows Up In New Canaan And Fairfield (Updated)



MORE INFORMATION:



Showing Up At A Greedy CEO's House Isn't All That Bad



2/9/09 Greenwich Time News Links. Top Story: Greenwich Police Department Lt. James Heavey Has To Shut Down A Portion Of Glenville Road



Protesters from the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America picket William Frey's home in Greenwich Sunday. Frey is CEO of Greenwich Financial Services LLC



If you know anything about Greenwich Roundup, then you know he is a very big fans of getting up in people's faces in a self-righteous matter



So Today's top Greenwich Time news story is natuarly this group that wore t-shirts that said, "Stop Loan Sharks," outside the home of William Frey, CEO of Greenwich Financial services .......



TOP STORY:



Group wants to stop loan modifications were affecting thousands of people who are losing their homes in foreclosure



QUOTES:



PROTESTORS: "Fix our loans, save our homes. Shame on you, CEO"



GPD LT. JAMES HEAVEY: "It was organized and orderly. They left without incident."



THE STORY:



Protesters rally outside of CEO's home



Hundreds of protesters rallied on Glenville Road outside the home of a financial company CEO to denounce predatory mortgage lending practices.



Organizers with the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a nonprofit homeowner advocacy group, gathered outside the home of William Frey, CEO of Greenwich Financial Services, LLC. The move was part of the nonprofit's national accountability campaign to get company executives, who they believe contributed to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, to support refinancing loans to keep people in their homes, according to Liz Floyd, one of the organizers and a counselor with NACA.



The Greenwich Time Also Reported That Repeated calls to Frey were not answered as he hid in his house Sunday


########

ONE LAST ITEM ABOUT

JACKPOT JIMMY HAAS

AND HIS PALS AT AIG

Greenwich Resident Richard Blumenthal

Sent Jackpot Jimmy A Subpoena Today

Connecticut AG Subpoenas AIGers For Testimony On Bonuses

TPMMuckraker

By Zachary Roth

This could be good.


Not content with letting New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo hog the spotlight, his Connecticut counterpart, Richard Blumenthal, has subpoenaed several AIG employees, incluing CEO Ed Liddy, to testify about those bonuses, totaling $165 million, at a legislative hearing March 26th.

Said Blumenthal in a statement:

"Now living off supersized taxpayer-paid bonuses, these AIG employees have a moral and legal obligation to appear at this legislative hearing and disclose details about corporate compensation to employees," said Blumenthal in a written statement.



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03/20/09 Six Days Later Failed Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter Has Rookie Reporter Debra Friedman Get The Rest Of The Story At Wilbur Peck

Aldina Portu moved into Wilbur Peck two years ago and has since made multiple complaints to police and the Housing Authority about the increased violence and harassment she says plagues the complex. Last weekend's clash between some residents and police has been a long time in the making, she said. (Keelin Daly/Greenwich Time photo)

Residents not surprised by violent Wilbur Peck incident

By Debra Friedman
STAFF WRITER

The violence at Wilbur Peck Court public housing complex last Saturday morning came as no surprise to many residents, who said they have warned town officials about a growing problem of harassment and disturbances there.

"There is a lot of violence and it's gotten worse," said Aldina Portu, 47, a two-year resident of Wilbur Peck Court. "I'm sick and tired of calling 911."

Portu said she has spoken to police and housing authority officials informing them that a small group of people harass neighbors, fight, abuse drugs and alcohol in public and create loud noises during all hours of the night.....



Greenwich Time Hates To Tell
Failed Greenwich Time
Managing Editor Bruce Hunter
We Told You So, But.....

.....Eby Kerekes, 52, an eight-year resident of Wilbur Peck Court, said she is constantly disturbed by a group of young men she sees hanging out from her window.

"I have no peace," said Kerekes. "You have to walk on egg shells around here. It keeps getting worse."

Ramone Medrano, 86, who has lived at Wilbur Peck Court for 20 years, said he often hears a group of men drinking and making noise late at night.

"Every day it's the same thing," he said.....

What's Terry Mardula Hiding?

....Terry Mardula, deputy director of the Greenwich Housing Authority, said he was aware of residents' frustration over a group known to cause disturbances and they are taking the matter seriously.

However, he said that there is no simple solution to solve the problem.

"People think this wouldn't have happened if there was more security there, or if there were more cameras. That is not the cause of this. These are young adults who abuse alcohol and do not like to be directed on what to do," said Mardula.

While Mardula said the Wilbur Peck complex is equipped with security cameras, he declined to comment on their condition or disclose how many there are. Residents said the cameras only monitor the garbage areas.....
Mardula Only Monitors The Garbage When He Has
A Drug And Gang Problem In Front Of His Building?
======================

What About The Dash Board Cameras On The Police Cars?

....Police Chief David Ridberg said his department has been advocating for more cameras.

"I don't know that they are adequate," said Ridberg about the condition of the current cameras.
Police said last weekend's incident brought heightened attention to people already known to them as a result of prior criminal activity.....

Oh It's Not A Crazy One Time Incident
That Somehow Got Out Of Hand

....."We've had prior dealings with at least four of them," said Ridberg...

....For three men, it was the second arrest this year. Cardenas-Rey was charged on Feb. 14 with interfering with a police officer and disorderly conduct after police responded to the complex for a noise complaint where he was allegedly belligerent and physically combative towards police officers. Daniel and Christopher Flores were arrested the same night and charged with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief, according to court records. .....

Ridberg Pussy Foots Around The Gang Question

...."It depends on how you classify a gang. If it's a very general description of two or more people engaged in criminal activity, then yes. .....

This Kind Of Reminds One Of When
Former President Clinton Said,
"It Depends What Your Deifinition Of "Is" Is

At Least Mardula Is Willing To Tell The Taxpayers The Truth About The Violence

....While he noted that some behaviors are correctable, like a noise violation, others, such as behaving violently, are not.

"For me, it's hard to see how this is correctable," Mardula said

PLEASE SEE:
PLEASE ALSO SEE:
WINS-AM New York
Stamford News
Stamford Advocate
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03/20/09 Kevin Is A Good Celebrity Reporter, Because He Doesn't Sit At An Old Greenwich Resturant Sucking Down Free Drinks In Exchange A Weekly Plug



Mary Tyler Moore's Lifetime of Challenges
Parade Magazine


by Kevin Sessums

Here Is A Sneak Preview.....
Publication Date: 03/22/2009


Emmy Award-winner Mary Tyler Moore discusses the joys and pitfalls of fame and admits her personal regrets as a mother.

Mary Tyler Moore swings open the door of her Greenwich, Conn., home, and I am suddenly greeted by her four dogs. Her laughter is a lovely counterpoint to the barking all around us and calms the canine brood. It calms me, too. This lightness is one of the secrets of her appeal. Another is her still-balletic carriage at age 72 as she walks to her favorite fireside chair for an afternoon chat.

Moore’s light touch has helped leaven a surprisingly difficult life. In her newest memoir, Growing Up Again, Moore chronicles her 40 years of living with type 1 diabetes. Proceeds from the book will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, of which she is the international chairman. “I’ve had the fame and the joy of getting laughter—those are gifts,” she tells me. “Now I want others to learn how I fell down and picked myself up.”

Moore also has been public about her alcoholism. She says she hasn’t had a drink since 1984. Her mother was an alcoholic and her father an emotionally distant man whose approval she never felt she achieved. She has been divorced twice. The original “cougar,” she has been married to her third husband, Dr. Robert Levine, for 25 years. He is 18 years her junior. In 1980, her only child—Richard Meeker Jr., from her first marriage—died at 24 from an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound.

We talk about all this and, as Moore stares into the fire, I ask if she has finally forgiven herself for not being... “...a good mother?” she quietly finishes my question.

“No, I haven’t. I still feel as if I weren’t a good enough mother. I didn’t break any rules. I didn’t cause my son any pain. But I did bring to my life some of my father, who was very controlling and very remote. I was working a lot. I wasn’t there enough.”

“Do you still want to work?” I ask.....

Related: Photos of Mary Tyler Moore Through the Years

PLEASE SEE:
03/07/2009 - Scene . . . Sports columnist Mike Lupica was seen having dinner at Valbella restaurant in Old Greenwich the night of Feb. 28 along with Regis and Joy Philbin.
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03/20/09 It Must Be Friday Afternoon, Because The Pokey Greenwich Citizen Is Fuinally Starting To Up Date It's So Called News Web Site


At Neighbor to Neighbor, the line grows longer

By Anne W. Semmes

On Friday mornings in Greenwich a scene is playing out of the present perilous times, when unemployment in town is the highest in 40 years ...

Lawyers negotiate next move in Moore case

"We've been negotiating," said Greenwich attorney Phil Russell, who is defending Moore, who has pleaded not guilty in the tragic accident "It's a difficult ...

Citizens say: Get King Street fire house up and running to save lives

If they don't, it appears restless citizens will resort to legal means to force the Town of Greenwich to provide them with a state-mandated four-minute ...

More To Come As The Pokey Greenwich Citizen Continues To Update


This Just In....
The Greenwich Hibernian Association will hold its 35th annual Greenwich St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday, March 22
When they took in the latest issue of The Witherell Times, patients learned about a radical new model of the nursing home on the drawing board.

eschickler@bcnnew.com Angie Wacek showed she's a star gymnast of the future at the State Open championship last Saturday.

The question my friends and customers ask me most frequently is "how do I navigate a wine shop?" Selection and service can be very uneven from store to store.

In retirement, the life of David Carson, former People's Bank chief executive officer, is the microcosm of the way this country should be running.

Entrepreneurial Woman's Network hosts Business Expo On Monday, March 30, the Entrepreneurial Woman's Network will present the 2009 EWN Business Expo with Greenwich-based business Ruth Ann Desantis, LLC and more than 40 other vendors at the Norwalk Inn And Conference Center, 99 East Avenue, Norwalk, from 6 to 9 pm
Wait They Are Still Updating
There Is More:

Micro management from 'our' politicians To the Editor: I voted to elect Scott Frantz to our state Senate and think he is a capable and honest public servant.

"A popular Government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or perhaps both A people who mean to be their own Governor, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.

In a society driven by money, success and competition, the long-lasting baseball rivalries are no exception.

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03/20/09 What Ressession? Patricia Valenti of the Greenwich office of Newmark Knight Frank Inks Lease That Allows Brings A New Hedge Fund To Greenwich

The Latest Real Estate News:


Connecticut Post

A Manhattan hedge fund firm that invests in financially distressed companies is planning to move in May.

Restoration Capital Management LLC has leased the 5,400-square-foot third floor of 325 Greenwich Ave., in downtown Greenwich. Retailers Simon Pearce and Great Stuff occupy the first floor of the 22,000-square-foot building.

Pamela Lawrence of Greenwich, managing principal of Restoration Capital Management, said the company looked at office buildings in Greenwich and Stamford before choosing its new home.

"We wanted to be close to the train station," Lawrence said. "It's a really attractive space. I really like the location and so does my partner. We can walk to a lot of stores and restaurants."

Restoration Capital Principal Ivona Smith and Lawrence co-founded the firm in March 2001. It has assets under management of about $630 million and invests in public and private companies with a total value of a little less than $2 billion.....

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03/20/09 The Raw Greenwich Blog And RSS Feed

For What It's Worth By Riverside Blogger Chris Fountain
Be alarmed - Barny Frank, whoremaster of Georgetown, is pushing to ban all bonuses,any bonuses, being paid to any employee of a company that’s received TARP money. He a...

Greenwich Blog : The Blog of Greenwich, Connecticut :: USA
Naturalist Workshop: Birding Basics - Naturalist Workshop: Birding Basics Audubon Greenwich Saturday, March 21 9:30 am-noon 613 Riversville Road An introduction to the tools & skills used in ...

Exit 55 By Rob "WGCH" Adams - The Sports Voice Of Greenwich
Might as Well Embrace It - There's nothing I can do about the old Yankee Stadium. Sadly, it's over. They've even begun to rip up the field. Of course, that's not fast enough for som...

Greenwich Time: Local Sports - RSS Feed
Greenwich Wins first Open crown since 2006 - NEW HAVEN -- Greenwich High School boys swimming coach Terry Lowe has guided the Cardinals to 30 State Open titles during his glorious tenure.

Today's Greenwich Time
Letters to the Editor: Health Department staffers should be kept by town - Health Dept. staffers should be kept by town To the editor: It is extremely distressing to read about cuts in the budget of the Greenwich Department of Health...

Zez Says: Greenwich Time / Stamford Advocate Columnist Jerry Zezima
"Jailhouse Talk" - By Jerry Zezima The Stamford Advocate As a columnist whose work has no redeeming social value, which has no doubt contributed to the decline of the newspaper...

The Fox Trot By Nick "The Sly" Fox
TNA Impact! Results for 3/19: Foley Turns Heel? - - The Main Event Mafia come out to the ring. Kurt Angle said that everything he predicted for Destination X came true and that it was the biggest screwjob ...

Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter
Duh - Special Olympics Joke by our trusty leader - We're all scratching our heads. How could a leader such as Barack Obama make a joke about the Special Olympics? But it really did happen last night on ...

The Perrot Memorial Library Blog
Memorial Service Tomorrow - Don't forget: The memorial service for Kate McClelland and Kathy Krasniewicz will take place tomorrow, Friday, March 20th, 2009, at 3:30 P.M. at the First ...

Greenwich Geek David S. Isenberg's musings at isen.blog
Quote of Note: Chris Fusaro - *"If you come in for a haircut and I cut your ear off, are you going to give me a tip?" * Chris Fusaro, a barber with shop near AIG Financial Products HQ in...

Greenwich Resident Jerry Dumas Writes And Draws The Comic Strip Sam And Silo, And Is A Greenwich Time Columnist
The bailouts seem to be almost comical - President Barack Obama and his top economic aides frantically tried to calm a nationwide furor over bonuses paid by comic strip syndicates to a handful of ...

The Daily Spurgeon
No tears in Heaven - There are many reasons why glorified spirits cannot weep. These are well known to you, but let us just hint at them. All outward causes of grief are gone...

EDDIE "Greenwich Native" ROSS
It's All in the Details - Planning Makes Perfect - Why can some people pull off a sit-down dinner for twelve without so much as a hitch, while others are caught in a three-alarm panic the moment the doorbell ...

The Latest From Claudette Rothman, AKA,Greenwich Diva
Rapper Kanye West charged with vandalism, battery and grand theft - Rapper Kanye West was charged with vandalism, battery and grand theft in connection with an incident at LAX last September 11. West and his bodyguard were ...

Vivapop Community Events RSS Feed
Car Tune Clinic Requirements - VIVAPOP SOAP BOX DERBY Greenwich, CT 203-000-0000 Events Car Tune Clinic *Set-up* - Clear out Ferrari garage [? people] - Set up saw horses [? people...

Ex-Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bernie Yudain
Economy casts a shadow over reunions - Newspapers, under heavy economic pressure and the menacing technology of the Internet, are cutting back these days....

03/20/09 More On The Plot To Extort Money From The Randy Greenwich Man

Ohio Crooks Sen Extortion Letter By Email.


MANSFIELD -- A Mansfield couple was arrested Wednesday and charged in an extortion plot that took $100,000 from a Greenwich, Conn., man, police said.

Dawn Jessop, 28, and Christopher Jessop, 29, both of 600 Stewart Lane, were charged with first-degree larceny by extortion and first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny, according to a news release issued Thursday by the Greenwich (Conn.) Police Department.

Police said the couple threatened to tell the man's wife about his alleged infidelities if he did not pay them a large sum of money, police reported.

The arrest came after a five-month investigation that ended Wednesday, police said, when the Jessops appeared in Greenwich unannounced to extort more money from the man, whom police did not identify.

Arrangements were made to wire an additional $50,000 to the Jessops' account, and a meeting was set up at a hotel, according to police. Police arrsted the Jessops when they arrived at the hotel.

Police did not reveal how they became involved in the investigation, though they said Dawn Jessop contacted the Greenwich man online in the fall and later threatened to talk to his family unless he sent money.

The Jessops appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford on Thursday after being held at police headquarters overnight on a $100,000 bond. After their arraignment, they were transferred to the custody of the state Department of Corrections until their April 23 court date, a court clerk said. They were each assigned a public defender.

According to Richland County Probate Court records, Christopher Michael Jessop of Mansfield, 28, a truck driver, and Dawn Rachelle Smith of Mansfield, 27, a collection agent, applied for a marriage license in December 2007.

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03/20/09 The Raw GreenWich News Feed: This Just In .....

The Latest Greenwich News Briefs:

FOREX-Dollar on track for worst week in 24 years
Reuters
... grand sweep of history we are witnessing the end of 'Rome' on the Potomac," said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist a RBS Greenwich Capital. ...
Greenwich Wins first Open crown since 2006
Greenwich Time
NEW HAVEN -- Greenwich High School boys swimming coach Terry Lowe has guided the Cardinals to 30 State Open titles during his glorious ...

The Latest Greenwich Blog Posts:

LOOK it's SPRING – Our Greenwich
By john ferris robben
Redsocks girls walking from Greenwich HS to Gofers in the rain. Flowers have emerged on the hill in front of the 2nd Congregational Church. PTA meeting and Jazz Fest. info. Lights, Camera watch the Action. Underground work at the top of ...
Our Greenwich - http://ourgreenwich.com/
Boys Swimming: Live from the State Open - iTeams High School ...
By Zac Boyer
Other contenders include New Canaan, which won in 2007 and set four records at the Class M meet at Wesleyan University on Tuesday, as well as Fairfield Prep, Ridgefield, Westhill/Stamford and, of course, Greenwich, which has won seven ...
iTeams High School Sports blog - http://blogs.courant.com/school_zone/



Please send your comments and greenwich blog links to
GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

03/20/09 The Raw Greenwich Overnight News Feed (Updated)



Connecticut’s ‘Rodeo Drive’ Abandoned as Hedge Funds Collapse

Bloomberg


By Allison Abell Schwartz and Matt Townsend


Finding a parking spot for your Mercedes or BMW on Greenwich Avenue, the main shopping strip of the U.S. hedge-fund capital, used to be a challenge. Not anymore.


With the recession hammering retail sales, empty curbside spaces abound along the suburban Connecticut thoroughfare, known as the Rodeo Drive of the northeast, and “For Rent” signs decorate vacant storefronts. Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and Borders have all closed their Greenwich Avenue locations.


As banks and hedge funds cut jobs or close down in the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, Greenwich merchants are suffering sales declines. Some stores are simply packing it in. Many are renegotiating rents, cutting inventory or offering cheaper products.


“We never used to have one day with no sales,” said May Lai Ku, the manager of Cochni, a woman’s clothing store on the avenue. “Now that happens three to four times a month.”


Ku, 46, said her store had about $40,000 in sales in January 2008. This year, it will take about three months to make the same amount, with almost everything in the store discounted as much as 80 percent, she said.....


....Sales are down 50 percent from a year ago at Petit Patapon, a children’s clothing store on Greenwich Avenue, according to manager Nancy Harper, 58. At 3:30 p.m. on a Friday, the store hadn’t yet made a sale. It may close when its lease expires in October because the landlord is asking double the rent, Harper said. ...


....Plaza Too, a women’s shoe boutique with nine locations including one in Greenwich, experienced a 35 percent decline in sales in the fourth quarter. The chain may struggle to keep revenue from dropping more than the 30 percent it’s projecting for this year.

“It’s horrible,” Tom Mendes, the founder and owner, said in an interview. “It’s been rough since October.”....


....Jill duPont, owner of Greenwich Avenue clothing boutique Out of the Box, agrees.

“It used to be a mom-and-pop kind of town,” duPont said. “That has gone and been replaced by the nationals. At these prices, I’m not sure it’s going to come back.”....


....Rachel Ashwell Designs Inc., operator of the Shabby Chic home-furnishings chain, closed its Greenwich Avenue store. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in January.

Borders Group Inc. shut its Borders Express branch on the avenue in January in an effort to close underperforming stores, said Anne Roman, a company spokeswoman.


AnnTaylor Stores Inc. left Greenwich Avenue Jan. 24 as part of a program to shutter 117 underperforming locations by 2010, said spokeswoman Beth Warner.

Gap Inc., which closed the Greenwich Avenue Banana Republic last June, shutters stores for reasons including location and performance, according to Louise Callagy, a company spokeswoman. She declined to comment specifically on the Greenwich store......


....Not every shopkeeper is giving up on Greenwich. J. Crew Group Inc. opened a Madewell clothing store on the avenue this month.


Roberto Chiappelloni, owner of Manfredi Jewels, said he sold a $224,000 Vacheron Constantin watch two weeks ago to a collector......



Senate Tackles AIG Bonus Bill After House Approves Its Version
FOXNews

....But some Democrats, including freshmen Reps. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Michael McMahon, D-N.Y., had planned to vote against the bill because they believed lawmakers were "rushing through" the process.

Himes and McMahon represent many Wall Street constituents in Greenwich, Conn., and Staten Island. But in the end, Himes relented and voted for the bill. ...


Himes and McMahon represent many Wall Street constituents in Greenwich, Conn., and Staten Island. But in the end, Himes relented and voted for the bill.

McMahon was one of only six Democrats who voted against the bill. The others were Reps. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., Vic Snyder, D-Ark., Melissa Bean, D-Ill., and Larry Kissell, D-N.C.......

Dodd, Facing Opposition, Pushes Back
New York Times


ON a 48-hour swing through Connecticut last weekend, Senator Christopher J. Dodd began acting like a candidate for re-election, staging press events and commandeering a Sunday news show.

A newly aggressive Mr. Dodd was reacting to a spate of bad press and poor polling, including a Quinnipiac University survey showing him in a statistical tie with Rob Simmons, a former congressman who announced his candidacy last week.....

....Mr. Simmons, a former three-term congressman from Stonington, opened his campaign last Sunday. State Senator Sam S. F. Caligiuri of Waterbury said he expected to follow. Thomas C. Foley of Greenwich, a major Republican fund-raiser who was a development official in Iraq and ambassador to Ireland, was also weighing a run.. ...

The upper body stimulus plan
Stamford Advocate


"A lot of women start hiding their arms by their 30s," says Jen Goodkind of Greenwich, co-host of "A Fashionable Life" on WGCH radio in Greenwich and a ...

BET denies funds for fire station design
Greenwich Time


Reluctant to open the door to additional staffing so soon after layoffs by the town, the Board of Estimate and Taxation Thursday night refused to reinstate funding for the design of a new King Street fire station in the $340.2 million budget approved by its members for next year.

The BET unanimously voted to accept the recommendation of its Budget Committee to withhold $175,000 for the facility's design until it receives a comprehensive plan for the deployment of firefighters town-wide from the Fire Department......

.....With representatives of the Northwest Greenwich Association and the fire chief sitting in the audience at the Town Hall Meeting Room, BET members said the project does not have to wait until next year to get funding. ...

FiftyP.com teaches kids about money
Norwalk Advocate


Mark Pruner, president of Web Counsel LLC in Greenwich, said he believes that FiftyP.com is a good way to encourage long-term saving and budgeting early in ...

Area Stocks
Connecticut Post


Urstadt Biddle Properties, a Greenwich-based real estate investment trust that owns and operates shopping centers in the Northeast, gained 69 cents to close ...

Board wants public hearing on tolling
Stamford Advocate


Last week, the legislature's Transportation Committee approved a bill asking the state Department of Transportation to study placing tolls at state borders. That would significantly traffic in border towns such as Greenwich, Danbury, Union and East Lyme, the study said.

State Sen. L Scott Frantz, R-Greenwich, said his constituents have made clear they will oppose tolls. The study indicated that border tolling would generate $19.5 billion in revenue over 30 years, but Connecticut should focus on tolling that eases congestion, Frantz said.

"If the borders are the only place where they put tolls, I think it would completely destroy the characteristics of the towns on the border," Frantz said. "If you do it, don't do it for revenue. Do it for a net positive effect on traffic congestion."

DMV to close Stamford office: Workers will move to Norwalk when ...
TMCnet


Malloy said Stamford and Greenwich alone have about 180000 residents, not including commuters who use the Stamford DMV office.

"Everyone is going to have to drive to Norwalk and overwhelm that office. I think the governor and her staff should be ashamed of themselves," ...

Cops charge duo over tryst blackmail
Greenwich Time


By Debra Friedman

An Ohio couple was arrested Wednesday and charged in an extortion plot that took $100,000 from a Greenwich man, police said.

Dawn Jessop, 28, and Christopher Jessop, 29, both of 600 Stewart Lane, Mansfield, Ohio, were charged with first-degree larceny by extortion and first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny.

Police said the couple threatened to tell the man's wife of his alleged infidelities if he did not pay them a large sum of money, according to police.

The arrest came after a five-month investigation that ended Wednesday, police said, when the Jessops appeared in Greenwich unannounced to extort more money from the man, whom police did not identify ...

Boys and Girls Club to hold storytelling festival
Greenwich Post


In commemoration of World Story Telling Day on March 20, the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich is holding a Storytelling Festival program. ...

Fueled for a fight
Stamford Advocate


One day this week, 11 of the 15 highest gas prices in Connecticut were in Stamford, a consumer Web site reported.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the state Tuesday was $2; in Stamford it was $2.26, according to the site, GasBuddy.com.

Such numbers fuel Mike Fox's passion.

For the 11th year, Fox is lobbying the legislature for a law that would stop the oil companies from charging some stations more for gasoline than others. It's the reason motorists in Stamford, Fairfield County and other areas the oil companies view as affluent pay 20 cents, 30 cents and more for a gallon of gas, Fox says. ...

...."Each year you learned something that totally disgusted you," said Fox, a lifelong Greenwich resident. "When you get to Hartford, you have to worry about a ...

Madoff bled hedge funds too
InvestmentNews


Put another way, three of the 10 largest hedge funds to disappear last year were directly invested with Mr. Madoff’s firm: Fairfield Greenwich Group’s ...

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