12/29/08 The "Equus" horses went to Greenwich for a day to visit a horse farm owned by one of the show's producers and Radcliffe keeps his pants on

Daniel Radcliffe (left) speaks with Spencer Liff (right) during a rehearsal of the play "Equus" in New York in October 2008. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Actors find their way as horses in B'way's 'Equus'

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By Michael Kuchwara
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Even horses need to rehearse. Especially those played by humans.

It's 30 minutes before the audience begins filing into the Broadhurst Theatre for a Tuesday evening performance of "Equus." Actors in street clothes pace and leap across the stage. In the center of all the activity stands Daniel Radcliffe, wearing jeans and a number 10 Eli Manning New York Giants jersey. He, too, is in constant motion.

The performers' movements are under the watchful eye of Spencer Liff, dance captain for the Broadway revival of Peter Shaffer's play about a young man (portrayed by Radcliffe) who blinds six horses and a psychiatrist (Richard Griffiths) who wants to find out why.

It's a group warm-up after a day off for Radcliffe and the young men who portray the horses and who, during the show, wear masks made of tubular aluminum and high, platform hoofs.

Liff will not be going on tonight as one of the steeds. Instead, he will be observing the performance along with the paying customers. Understudy Kevin Boseman will take Liff's place. And the 23-year-old Liff will be giving notes on the movement, just as if "Equus" were a musical and he was critiquing the dancing.

"But you can't really call it choreography because without music it's hard to have choreography," Liff says during an interview in a dressing room several days later.

The performer should know. He's a Broadway dance baby, touring in "The Will Rogers Follies" at age 6 and making his Broadway debut at 9 in "Big." He has also danced in such recent musicals as "The Wedding Singer" and "Cry-Baby" as well as in the films "Across the Universe" and "Hairspray."

"I definitely think that what we do on stage is not dancing," Liff continues. "But I still hold the job as dance captain, which is normal for a musical to have, because we do have six guys on stage. We need to be together. We need to stay tight. And we need rehearsals, just as dancers do....

....The "Equus" horses went to Greenwich, Conn., for a day to visit a horse farm owned by one of the show's producers. The actors watched professionals groom the animals and then took turns grooming the horses themselves.

Liff, who is from Arizona, has ridden before; Pisoni had been on horseback only once while growing up, although he did go riding with his 6-year-old niece after he got the "Equus" job. Now both men are more aware of the animals they occasionally see on the streets of Manhattan, particularly those ridden by police officers in the theater district.

"I can't help but stop and just take any glimpse I can as they go by, they just kind of refresh what we are suppose to be doing at night," Liff says. "You just stop, look and say, 'That is what I play every night.' It's a constant reminder. There is a fascination now and I know that all of us pay attention."

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12/29/08 Greenwich High School Water Polo Is The Team To Beat

Around Broadneck: Arnold family plunges into water polo

Hometown Annapolis

... he said. The club's boys under-18 team is ranked second this year in the region, behind a team from Connecticut's Greenwich High School. Normally, the NAAC team places first. "Greenwich is our toughest competitor," Ned said. "Sort of like Broadneck ...

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12/29/08 Berfore The Madoff Scandal: Fairfield Greenwich founder Walter Noel was known as the owner of the loins from which sprung five total babes!!!

Leave The Noel Sisters Alone!

... I really think people need to lay off of these girls. As you are most likekely aware at this point, the “Fabulous” Noel sisters, having danced in the social spotlight for the last several years, were thrown into the national spotlight when their father, Walter Noel, and his company Fairfield Greenwich Group (FGG) sent over 7 Billion Dollars ...

Source: Guest of a Guest - NYC People, Parties,... - http://guestofaguest.com/

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12/29/08 Rabbi Richard Chapin Is Leaving Greenwich For Sunny West Palm Beach Florida

Temple Israel in Palm Beach County picks new rabbi

Palm Beach County's oldest organized Jewish congregation has welcomed its sixth rabbi in 85 years, choosing a man who says he wants to build on its legacy as it looks forward to rebuilding its synagogue.

Rabbi Richard Chapin, 58, replaces the retiring Howard ShapiroWest after 27 years at Temple Israel, founded by half a dozen young families in West Palm Beach in 1923. At the time, an estimated 200 of the city's 10,000 residents were Jewish.

The Reform congregation plans to rebuild its synagogue on North Flagler Drive after years of wear and hurricane damage and hopes to see it completed by 2010.

Chapin greeted several hundred members in a consecration ceremony recently at temporary quarters at the Jewish Community Center on Military Trail.

Before the service, Chapin talked about renewal in a time of historic change in the nation at large.

Chapin was born in Newark, N.J., grew up near Buffalo, N.Y., and spent the past eight years as a rabbi in Greenwich.

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12/29/08 The Raw Greenwich Blog And RSS Feed For Monday

Citizen Journalists And Bloggers Who Are From, Work In Or Used To Live In Greenwich....

Greenwich Diva
14 poud 2-ounce Richard Walker Sault is the biggest baby delivered at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Orange County, CA - It took two doctors to lift 14-pound, 2 ounce Richard Walker Sault Jr. from his mother’s womb during a C-section delivery on December 23rd. Mother, Sara ...

Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter
"The Unit" - What's not to love - Last night's episode of "The Unit" dealt with the death of a solider in action. What grabbed our attention was the solidarity between members of that elite ...

The Blonde Excuse
G-G-Gastroenteritis - As a late Christmas present this year, I got gastroenteritis, also known as the stomach flu. Feeling very much in the giving spirit, I decided to share it wi...

Rock Star Diary
Christmas in CT 2008 - I had an amazing Christmas in CT with my family. Santa brought me everything I wanted and more! Mom's xmas dinner was sooooo good. So of course I over ate an...

The New And Improved "For What It's Worth" (Wordpress Edition)
There goes my sympathy - I had admired that Frenchman, Thierry Magnon de la Villehuchet for slashing his wrists after losing his clients’ and friends’ money with Bernie Madoff. But...

The Perrot Memorial Library Blog
Snow Reminder - As a reminder, please remember that there is a state law concerning the failure to remove snow and ice from vehicle roofs. “We have all seen snow and ice ...

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12/29/08 Greenwich Citizen News And Sports Links

Sean Brennan, Brunswick School's football coach and dean of academic affairs, will leave at the end of the academic year. Brennan has accepted the position of Head of School at Vermont Academy.

Bruins' Classy Leader Takes His Act to Vermont

... This football coach's mentality translates nicely into the world of academia. "There was that sterotype coming to Greenwich that the kids were soft and spoiled," Brennan said. "I was pleasantly surprised that the contrary is true. I saw that these ...


Root a Plus, But Cardinal Skaters Are Minus 2

Coming off a 13-8 season that ended with an FCIAC quarterfinal loss to Trinity Catholic and a CIAC Division I opening-round loss to top-seeded Hamden, the hunger is back for the Greenwich High hockey team.


Byram's Holiday Windows

Kriti Collection's holiday windows at 1 N. Water St. placed second in the Most Festive category in Greenwich Chamber of Commerce's Annual Window Decorating Contest

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12/29/08 Greenwich Post Press Releases For Monday

Pancakes and Santa

Saturday, Dec. 13, the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich hosted its annual Pancake Breakfast with Santa event for the Greenwich community. Kids, parents and club supporters ate pancakes, sat on Santa’s lap and listened to the Greenwich Academy Singers perform. Above, Club member Jaden Williams, 9, enjoyed some one-on-one time with Santa.

Gilder named volunteer of month

Kerry Gilder, 17, has been chosen as Red Cross Volunteer of the Month for her outstanding service to the Greenwich Chapter. Kerry is an active volunteer in Youth Council and Safe Rides and serves as a peer educator with the Red Cross Open Eyes program. Kerry began volunteering with the Red Cross when she was 10 years old.

Kerry has demonstrated her ability to take on many tasks and provide support and leadership for her peers. She is enthusiastic and reliable, creative and caring, according to those at the Red Cross who have worked with her. Kerry is always willing to work and is the first to volunteer to take on more responsibility, said a spokesperson. This past year, Kerry served as vice president of Youth Council and helped orchestrate a number of community service projects. She has worked for several years on the group’s tree decorating committee for the Junior League’s annual “Enchanted Forest.” She has participated in hosting a “Senior Prom” at Greenwich Adult Day Care Center. She has been instrumental in bringing the American Red Cross’ International Measles Campaign to the Greenwich community and will do so again this coming spring. Kerry has dedicated her time to help raise money for disaster relief, and served the Red Cross at health fairs, bake sales, blood drives and at its annual fundraising gala “The Red & White Ball.”

This fall, Kerry received advanced training to become a HIV/AIDS peer educator. She, along with six Greenwich High School seniors, taught basic HIV facts to the sophomore health classes at the high school and participated in AIDS awareness week at the school by giving seminars on the social impact of HIV and AIDS......

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12/29/08 Fairfield Greenwich Investors Seek Out Walter Noel's Offshore Accounts

Walter Noel's Son In Law Could

Help Him Send Money To Columbia

$6.5 Billion In Columbia Will By You A Massive Estate

And Your Very Own Private Militia

Fairfield Greenwich investors believe that Bernard Madoff middle man Walter Noel and his foreign born son in laws have stuffed hundreds of millions of dollars into offshore tax havens accounts. The lawyers representing Greenwich Fairfield investors say that these offshore monies could prove tricky to recover.

In the weeks since the Bernard Madoff Scheme was uncovered on Dec. 11 SEC investigators and forensic accountants have been scouring Greenwich resident Walter Noel's books. It is reported that Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel and his family members have laid claim to most of the $6.5 Billion that remains in Greenwich Fairfield.

Fairfield Greenwich investors claim that Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel and his family members have offshore accounts possibly in the Caribbean, South America and Europe.

If Walter Noel is telling the truth and he has nothing to hide, then he should immediately provide his investors a detailed list of all of his and Fairfield Greenwich's assets, as well as, the assets of other family members involved in Fairfield Greenwich. This disclosure should include, but not be limited to, all investments, loans, lines of credit, business interests and brokerage accounts, as well as, there exact locations and account names.

Fairfield Greenwich investors should receive a complete accounting of the $6.5 Billion that Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel supposedly has left over.

But since Madoff middleman Walter Noel is not fully cooperating with his investor's attorneys tracking down the estimated $6.5 billion supposedly remaining at Fairfield Greenwich is already promising to be a very long and complicated financial investigation.

And should Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel prove less than forthcoming regarding these offshore accounts, investors lawyers could be in for a very tough time.

These tax havens are designed under foreign laws to be nearly impervious to investor's subpoenas, regulatory complaints or other inquiries. It is notoriously tough for US officials to seize or even see what's in secret tax haven accounts.

However, Fairfield Greenwich investors say that their lawyers will trace the monies associated with Walter Noel and his family and they do not care where the trail goes. Lawyers after Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel intend to be dogged in their pursuit of Fairfield Greenwich.

SEC regulatory and criminal investigators have privately told investors lawyers that there are Fairfield Greenwich accounts that appear to have received or sent money to offshore locations.

Why Hasn't The SEC and FBI frozen all of Fairfield Greenwich and the multiple Noel families business and investment accounts?

Are they waiting for the Noel Clan to start a new life in Columbia under the protection of the FARC?

If the SEC and FBI doesn't move rapidly to freeze the assets of Bernard Madoff middle man Walter Noel, Then the Greenwich resident may use the money to transform into El Padrino Walter Noel.

FOR THE RECORD:

Not everyone fell for the Madoff mystique. The SEC now admits that it has been receiving formal complaints about Mr Madoff's methods since 1999, including a 2005 report entitled The World's Largest Hedge Fund is a Fraud. The report was shelved in 2006; no action taken. The SEC, under its new management, must find out why. It must establish why feeder funds like Fairfield Greenwich Connecticut, were so relaxed about investing vast sums without even a semblance of due diligence. Could have been the $300 Million that Bernard Madoff paid Walter Noel year after year?

The SEC must ask Walter Noel's sons in laws the awkward questions about how they suposedly could have known so little for so long.

PLUS:

Bernard Madoff regularly sent bundles of money to offshore accounts in the Caribbean and Europe, the Observer newspaper in London.

Madoff Headline Roundup:

Bernie Madoff a Ripoff 'Victim'

NY Post

Swindler extraordinaire Bernard Madoff got a taste of his own medicine last weekend when a burglar stole a $10,000 statue from his posh, $9.4 million Palm Beach estate, according to a police report. The theft occurred sometime between 3 p.m. on Dec. 19 and 11:30 a.m. last Sunday, a week after Madoff confessed to ripping off $50 billion from investors in a decades-long Ponzi scheme. The five-foot, copper artwork overlooked the Madoffs' inground pool, and portrays two young lifeguards sitting on a raised stand......

He also owns a $3 million oceanfront estate in Montauk, LI, which has been pummeled by severe beach erosion. The surrounding estates have been largely spared.

Financier's Own Fortune Led Investors to Madoff

Wall Street Journal

Bernard Madoff thanks to a strong marketing hook: the French aristocrat put his money where his mouth was.Mr. de La Villehuchet, who was found dead in an apparent suicide at his New York office last week, lost a total of $1.5 billion on behalf of customers such as the Rothschild & Cie investment bank and Liliane Bettencourt, one of Europe's wealthiest individuals and a large shareholder in French cosmetics company L'Oreal SA.

But Mr. de La Villehuchet, who was 65 years old, also had $50 million of his own money tied up in Mr. Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme, his brother Bernard de La Villehuchet said in a telephone interview this weekend. Over the years, this personal investment was tantamount to a guarantee for other investors. Earlier this year, for example, as the financial crisis was spreading and investors sought safe havens, Mr. de La Villehuchet urged friends and relatives to transfer more of their wealth to Mr. Madoff -- as Mr. de La Villehuchet had done himself, according to his brother.....

Day before husband's suicide, wife of French financier ruined by Madoff scheme, quit yacht club

NY Daily News

The day before a French aristocrat killed himself in despair over the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, he was preparing to part with some of the luxuries in his life.Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet's wife called their Connecticut yacht club on Monday to cancel their $2,500-a-year membership, a staffer said."She was crying," said Milford Yacht Club treasurer John DePalma, whose secretary took Claudine Villehuchet's call on Monday....

Latins Quiet About Madoff Losses

Wall Street Journal

Wealthy Latin Americans appear to be among the big losers in the $50 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by financier Bernard Madoff, although many in the region are reluctant to step forward due to the private nature of Latin American fortunes, worries about security, and concerns about tipping off local tax authorities.Some were brought into the Madoff investment fund, which the New York-based financier confessed earlier this month was a Ponzi scheme, through Banco Santander, the Spanish bank, which has major operations through the region.

Other investors appear to have been introduced to the scheme through their friendship with Andrés Piedrahita, a socially prominent, Colombian-born banker living in Madrid and London. Mr. Piedrahita, is a son-in-law of Walter Noel, founder of the Fairfield Greenwich Group, which may have lost $7.5 billion it had invested with Mr. Madoff. In a statement released in Spain, Fairfield Greenwich said it was a victim of fraud and was considering legal action to protect its clients. Mr. Piedrahita couldn't be reached for comment.....

Credit Suisse clients lost 1 bln francs in Madoff scam: media report

AFP

Clients of Switzerland's second biggest bank Credit Suisse have lost up to a billion Swiss francs in the alleged pyramid scheme of Wall Street titan Bernard Madoff, according to a Sunday media report.Citing the bank's "internal estimates," Swiss Sunday newspaper Sonntag said customers had lost "between 900 and 1,000 million francs (840-934 million dollars, 598-665 million euros)."Credit Suisse spokesman Jan Vonder Muehll was reported confirming that clients had lost money, but he did not specify the amount.Muehll also stressed: "Credit Suisse did not actively recommend or sell Bernard Madoff investment products.".....

Madoff Must Reveal All Assets by New Year’s Eve, Judge Rules

Bloomberg

Investors looking to recoup some of the $50 billion they lost in Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme may get a better idea what the New York financial adviser has left when he is forced to reveal his assets to regulators. Madoff, 70, must provide a detailed list of all investments, loans, lines of credit, business interests, brokerage accounts and other holdings to the Securities and Exchange Commission by New Year’s Eve, a federal judge ruled.

Madoff’s foreign business units were given until Jan. 26 to provide a similar accounting. The list is to include all assets held for his “direct or indirect benefit,” U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan wrote in a Dec. 18 order in the SEC lawsuit against Madoff. The list must describe “the source, amount, disposition and current location of each of the items listed.”....

'Forrest Gump' Eric Roth screenwriter sues over Madoff losses

NY Daily News

The writer of a string of Hollywood hits - including "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - sued his investment manager Friday for losing a bundle in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.Screenwriter Eric Roth claims his "trusted investment manager," Stanley Chais, "simply handed off" his money to Madoff while collecting "enormous fees." When he learned of his "heavy" losses last week: Roth exclaimed: "I'm the biggest sucker who ever walked the face of the Earth. The tragedy is the people who lost their life savings and their dreams."....

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12/29/09 The Wall Street Journal Puts The Focus On Colombian born Andrés Piedrahita, a son-in-law of Walter Noel, founder of the Fairfield Greenwich

Wealthy Latin Americans, some brought in through Spain's Banco Santander, were among Madoff's big losers.

Latins Quiet About Madoff Losses

Wall Street Journal

By JOSE DE CORDOBA in Mexico City, ANTONIO REGALADO in Madrid and JOEL MILLMAN in Portland, Ore.

Wealthy Latin Americans appear to be among the big losers in the $50 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by financier Bernard Madoff, although many in the region are reluctant to step forward due to the private nature of Latin American fortunes, worries about security, and concerns about tipping off local tax authorities.

Some were brought into the Madoff investment fund, which the New York-based financier confessed earlier this month was a Ponzi scheme, through Banco Santander, the Spanish bank, which has major operations through the region.

Other investors appear to have been introduced to the scheme through their friendship with Andrés Piedrahita, a socially prominent, Colombian-born banker living in Madrid and London. Mr. Piedrahita, is a son-in-law of Walter Noel, founder of the Fairfield Greenwich Group, which may have lost $7.5 billion it had invested with Mr. Madoff. In a statement released in Spain, Fairfield Greenwich said it was a victim of fraud and was considering legal action to protect its clients. Mr. Piedrahita couldn't be reached for comment.

Earlier this month Banco Santander, which operates in Puerto Rico and eight Latin American countries from Mexico to Argentina, admitted losing more than €2.3 billion ($3.22 billion) it had invested in the Madoff fund......

.....In Brazil, no investors have yet stepped forward to declare losses, even though local fund managers said some wealthy Brazilians invested alongside Mr. Madoff. Lawyers say the likely reason for investors' silence in Brazil is that they invested overseas without declaring that money to Brazil's tax authorities, a relatively common practice in Brazil due to heavy regulation and high tax rates.

"It was not declared money, and if that is the case, the victims are not going to appear," said Marcelo Trindade, a lawyer and former chief of Brazil's market regulator, the Comissao de Valores Mobiliarios, or CVM.

One large fund that fed billions to Mr. Madoff, the Fairfield Greenwich Group, had a Brazilian presence. According to Fairfield's Web site, it employed a representative in Brazil, Bianca Haegler, who is the niece of the fund's founder Walter Noel. Mr. Noel's wife, Monica, comes from a wealthy family in Rio de Janeiro with Swiss roots and whose members appear frequently in the society pages.

Fairfield's Sentry fund was Mr. Madoff's largest single investor, with $7.5 billion in the apparent Ponzi scheme.

Several messages and emails left at the Haegler investment company, located in a Rio office tower that also houses hedge funds and money managers, weren't returned. According to Brazil's market regulator, Ms. Haegler wasn't registered to sell investments in Brazil. Following inquiries about Ms. Haegler, Fairfield removed her name from its Web site.

Actively marketing an off-shore fund in Brazil is illegal. However, officials with Brazil's regulator said this month they had received no complaints about Fairfield and didn't plan to investigate. "If a billionaire loses money in New York, that is not our affair," said Carlos Alberto Rebello, a CVM official.

Felipe Taylor, co-founder of Ciano Investimentos, a hedge fund in Rio, said affected investors include members of Brazil's large and wealthy Jewish enclave. Mr. Taylor declined to name specific investors.

According to other fund managers, wealthy Brazilians invested in Mr. Madoff or Fairfield's funds via private banks, including Safra and UBS. Safra said it had purchased Madoff products for some private banking clients, but declined to discuss individual cases. UBS said it may also have offered clients access to Mr. Madoff's fund, but didn't provide details.

.... In a profile of Mr. Piedrahita last week, Poder, a Colombian business magazine, said that local investors may have lost as much as $200 million to Mr. Madoff's apparent scam through the Fairfield Sentry fund, which had been promoted by Mr. Piedrahita in Colombia for the past 15 years.

"A lot of wealthy Colombians got burnt," said one leading Bogota businessman. But to date, no Colombian investor has acknowledged losing money in the Madoff affair. Colombia has a history of kidnappings and businessmen are generally wary of talking about their wealth in the media.

ROUNDUP OF WALL STREET JOURNAL

ARTICLES ABOUT WALTER NOEL:

Fairfield Extended Madoff's Reach

Dec 18, 2008

Fairfield Greenwich -- run by financier Walter Noel Jr., his four sons-in-law and a former SEC official -- had a total of about $7.5 billion with Mr. Madoff ...

Fairfield Group Forced to Confront Its Madoff Ties

Dec 16, 2008

Walter Noel's Fairfield Greenwich Group was part of a larger network on which Bernard Madoff relied to raise new money. The group's funds let clients access ...

Sprawling Network Sold Madoff to Europeans

Dec 15, 2008

Andrés Piedrahita, the Colombian son-in-law of Fairfield Greenwich owner Walter Noel, sold Madoff funds to great number of wealthy Spaniards. ...

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12/29/08 Greenwich High School Police Officer Frano Will Get His Day In Court

BLACK AND LATINO OFFICERS STILL CLAIM THAT

THE GREENWICH POLICE DEPARTMENT IS RACIST

Greenwich Police discrimination suit slated for spring

By Debra Friedman

Staff Writer
Posted: 12/29/2008 07:44:54 AM EST

A spring trial date has been set in the racial discrimination case brought by eight Greenwich police officers after a federal judge made a split ruling on the town's motion for summary judgment.

U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz ruled that five claims will be argued before a jury in a federal court in New Haven, while several other elements of the initial complaint have been thrown out.
"Although the town makes solid arguments on both fronts, the court ultimately concludes that the plaintiffs are entitled to a trial on their claim of constructive acquiescence," Kravitz wrote in a brief filed in early December.

The lawsuit, filed against the town in 2006, alleges that the six black and two Hispanic officers have been denied equal opportunity to advance and faced a hostile work environment.

"We are pleased and we are not surprised by the outcome," said Lewis Chimes, a New Haven-based attorney representing the officers......

.....The remaining claims include issues regarding an alleged hostile work environment, the 2005 sergeant's examination, demotion and removal of plaintiffs, failure to appoint several officers to specialized units and a post-filing retaliation for one of the officers involved, according to court documents......

PLEASE SEE:

05/20/08 - School Resource Officer Carlos Franco Says Greenwich Police Department Is Racist. SRO Carlos Franco May Not Be A Happy Camper At GHS

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

11/20/08 Rookie Reporter Friedman Once Again Reguritates A Town Press Release And Only A Town Offical Is Quoted. There Is No Other Side To The Story.

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12/29/08 Greenwich Time News Links -- TOP STORY: Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson Finally Discovers That Everyone At Hamiltonn Is Mad As Hell

Plans for Hamilton Avenue School to reopen Jan. 5

after a lengthy construction project may now be in jeopardy

HAMILTON AVENUE AND GLENVILLE PARENTS BANNED FROM THE GREENWICH'S LOCAL RAG

HEARST NEWSPAPERS DO NOT WANT TO HEAR FROM

GREENWICH SCHOOL PARENTS

ONCE AGAIN GREENWICH TIME CUB REPORTER COLIN GUSTAFSON REFUSES TO INTERVIEW THE HAMILTON AND GLENVILLE PARENTS WHO SUFFER FROM BOARD OF EDUCATION INCOMPETENCE

HAMILTON AVENUE AND GLENVILLE SCHOOL MOTHERS DON'T COUNT CUB REPORTER GUSTAFSON ONLY GETS HALF OF THE STORY BECAUSE HE ONLY HAS TIME TO TALK TO TOWN OFFICIALS AND GREENWICH BOARD OF EDUCATION EMPLOYEES

Anger builds over Ham Ave.

By Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin "King Of The BOE Press Release" Gustafson
Posted: 12/29/2008 07:45:20 AM EST

Teacher's aide Dawn Nethercott early last week had finished packing the last of her classroom supplies into cardboard boxes to be shipped to the Chickahominy school's new building over the holidays.

But instead of preparing to move those boxes, Nethercott spent the next day unpacking and reassembling her supplies in a temporary pre-kindergarten classroom at North Street School.

"I've basically been in tears all day," she said last Tuesday, one day after school officials abandoned a long-awaited relocation plan. "The frustration and disappointment is devastating."

Last Monday, Superintendent of Schools Betty Sternberg scrapped plans to move staff and equipment into the reconstructed school over the holiday break, after the school's building committee failed to secure the necessary safety approvals......

.....Building committee Chairman Frank Mazza said Monday that an order had been placed for replacement flue pipes, which would likely arrive by mid-January and could be installed in four to five days, with additional time needed for opening and resealing pipe enclosures.

"We are still moving forward, working every day to try to get this done," Mazza said.
Despite these reassurances, some town leaders said they were befuddled by the latest holdup in the project.

"I think we can all agree it's a mess," said Rep. Lile Gibbons. "I have spoken with many members of the building committee (and town officials), and it's still a total puzzlement as to how so many things could've gone wrong."

Board of Estimate and Taxation Chairman Steven Walko said the reconstruction efforts has been plagued by a lack of communication between the project's manager, architect, engineer, contractor and committee members, who typically meet once a week.

"From the beginning, I've been very disappointed with the level of communication," Walko said. "Many times, there have been instances where one party or another could have been much more aggressive" in tackling various problems that have arisen, he added.

Town Administrator John Crary said there were also inherent challenges in having a building committee of unpaid volunteers - as opposed to a single, paid administrator with centralized authority - overseeing school construction projects.

The state requires school construction projects receiving state aid to be supervised by a committee of residents, who often have a variety of professional backgrounds, selected by town officials to oversee work on the school board's behalf.

"These are people who may not be on the scene every day, and who, in some cases, may not be knowledgeable enough to build a building," said Crary.......

OVER AND OVER HAMILTON AVENUE MOTHERS HAVE WARNED THE THE TOWN, THE BOE, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND GREENWICH TIME CUB REPORTER COLIN GUSTAFSON THAT FRANK MAZZA AND HIS BAND OF IDIOTS WERE SCREWING UP THE "NEW" $30 MILLION DOLLAR SCHOOL, BUT NO ONE WOULD TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY.

And Now You Have Rep. Lile Gibbons. Saying : "...it's still a total puzzlement as to how so many things could've gone wrong."

Board of Estimate and Taxation Chairman Steven Walko Is: "....very disappointed with the level of communication."

Town Administrator John Crary Now Realizes That Frank Mazza And His Band Of Idiots: ".....may not be knowledgeable enough to build a building."

NETHERCOTT IS IN "TEARS", GIBBONS IS "PUZZLED", WALKO IS "DISAPPOINTED" AND CRARY ONLY NOW REALIZES THE TRUTH, BECAUSE CUB REPORTER COLIN GUSTAFSON DOESN"T WANT TO BE BOTHERED BY THE POORER MEMBERS OF GREENWICH SOCIETY.

Greenwich Time Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson Is Out Of Touch He Still Doesn't Realize That Ham Ave School Is not Opening On January 5th Or Even February 5th.

PLEASE SEE:

12/23/08 Failed School Administrators And Officials At Work: "Since the TCO wasn't received, some questions".. Does Anyone Know Whats Going To Happen?

12/23/08 Principal Damaris Rau Response Causes Confusion

12/23/08 A Hamilton Avenue School Parent Response To Principal Rau's Clueless Email

12/23/08 BOE Chairwoman Nancy Weissler Response Is That I Just Told The Greenwich Time - Forget About April - We Have To Listen What Mazza Wants To Do

12/23/08 Failed School Superintendent Betty Sternberg's Response Is: Hey I Am Clueless Too. I Haven't A Clue When Hamilton Avenue School Will Open.

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

12/24/08 Bill Clark Reports: Greenwich Time Might Not Be Around To Report If Hamilton Avenue School Opens On April Fools Day

AND:

12/24/08 All Of Western Greenwich Applauds As First Selectman Peter Tesei Joins Greenwich Roundup In Calling For Frank Mazza's Removal From Glenville

THERE IS A REASON THAT HAMILTON AVENUE SCHOOL PARENTS TELL GREENWICH ROUNDUP "THANK YOU"

PLEASE SEE:

12/24/08 Reader Submitted Comments:Thanks From Hamilton Avenue Parents!

GREENWICH TIME'S NEWS LINKS CONTINUE:

GEMS posts solid numbers for cardiac rescues

The Greenwich Emergency Medical Service has a 34 percent cardiac arrest save rate for the 2007, a figure emergency responders say is much higher than national averages.

Family donates Torah to Chabad
When Greenwich resident Leon Gandelman grew up in Lvov in the Soviet Union in the 1940s and '50s, he was not allowed to practice his religion in public.

Work on the deficit must wait
Though Gov. M. Jodi Rell called for a special legislative session for Friday to tackle budget deficits, it won't happen.

Gun sales surge in state
Some gun owners soon may find they must wait in line at their favorite shooting ranges. At Forest & Field Outdoor Specialties, a Norwalk gun store and shooting range, demand among novices and experienced gun owners for more training is so great that "classes are now completely booked for the rest of December, way into January and beyond," said Scott Moss, a lifelong outdoorsman and competitive shooter.

Economy causes pet adoptions to drop

While the holiday season has traditionally been a time when many animals find a home, shelters say they're filled to the brim as adoptions decline and abandonments soar.

Magnetic bursts treating woman's depression

By Carrie Peyton Dahlberg

McClatchy Newspapers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Once a week, Lucinda Smith tucks earplugs into both ears, flips her auburn hair over a neck rest and waits for a powerful magnetic burst to be aimed at her skull.

GREENWICH TIME'S LOCAL HARD HITTING EDITORIAL"Dodd's continuing lack of candor"

It was past time months ago for Connecticut U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd to come clean and release documents on two mortgages he received from Countrywide Financial Corp.

That it still has not happened is now approaching outrageousness.

Following a meeting in Westport last Monday with Fairfield County labor leaders, Connecticut's senior senator once again hedged on saying when he would release the documents. Mr. Dodd continues to say the information will be forthcoming but he refuses to say when.

The situation has kept an ethical cloud over the state's senior senator since the disclosure that he and a colleague appear to have received preferential treatment in 2003 on mortgages from Countrywide Financial, which was later implicated in the subprime mortgage scandals and eventually was taken over by Bank of America. For the mortgages, Mr. Dodd was placed into Countrywide's "VIP" program, which saved him some $2,700 in upfront costs on the loans and allowed his loan rates to decrease as rates dropped.

At the time the information became public, Mr. Dodd said he never sought special treatment from Countrywide, and he pledged to disclose information about the loans. Since then, it's been one dodge after another to repeated questions about the matter.

Full disclosure is key because Sen. Dodd is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and is at ground zero in the nation's Capitol in trying to put a stop to America's economic meltdown. Certainly, his efforts in the Senate to craft remedies for the crisis are appreciated, but this personal issue continues to be an unneeded distraction.

It may be true, as the senator has said repeatedly said in recent months, that there's little to be told about his deal with Countrywide for refinancing a Washington townhouse and his home here in Connecticut ...... BLAH ...... BLAH ...... BLAH ...... BLAH ....... BLAH ....... BLAH ....... BLAH ...... BLAH ....... BLAH .........

A need for education on cesarean births

To the editor:

Cesarean birth rates among healthy normal pregnancies is rising to a troubling rate. That is what the International Cesarean Awareness Network of Connecticut is aiming to help through education, information and support for women who have had cesarean sections.

Post-partum moms I've met who were recovering from major abdominal surgery have had an incredibly difficult time trying to breast feed. The baby not only has health disadvantages related to nutrition, but the lungs did not receive the natural preparation for out-of-womb breathing that being squeezed through the birth canal provides. This is why many cesarean-section babies need resuscitation in that first hour after birth.

I had a cesarean birth with my son, which is why I am so passionate about this subject.

I want to extend invites to all women across Connecticut to become more educated about birth and maternity care through films like "The Business of Being Born," which the International Cesarean Awareness Network of Connecticut is showing for free on Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe in West Haven.

In a state that has a 34.1-percent cesarean rate, education is drastically needed!
For more information about the International Cesarean Awareness Network of Connecticut, or "The Business of Being Born," please contact me at ICANConnecticut@aol.com
Danielle Elwood

The writer is chapter leader of the International Cesarean Awareness Network of Connecticut.
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12/28/08 Greenwich Area Legal Eagles Are Expecting A Big Payday In The Walter "Feeder Fund" Noels Scandal

Under No Circumstances Should You Use The Above Lawyer

To Go After Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel And His Greenwich Fairfield Operation.

You Wont Read This In The Greenwich Time:

Greenwich Lawyers Are Finding A Silver Lining In The

Greenwich Fairfield $7.5 Billion Dollar Disaster.

Walter Noel Rescues Greenwich Area Attorneys

From The Slowing Economy And Credit Crunch

Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel's Involvement in the $50 Billion Dollar Madoff Ponzie Scheme Is Breathing New Life In The Area Legal Profession.

Since Walter Noel announced on December 12th that Fairfield Greenwich was involved with the Madoff Fraudulent Investment Vehicle, his investors lawsuits have been swirling. The initial string of legal complaints suggests that the targets will be just as varied as the number of investors that were suckered by Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel.

The most obvious target will be hedge fund middle man Walter Noel himself. But other who could get sucked into the litigation rush include Noel's five son in laws, as well as other relatives that were involved in running Fairfield Greenwich. And everyone wants a piece of Bernard Madoff and his brother Peter's hide.

Suckered Greenwich Fairfield investors are not buying the story that Madoff's sons Andrew and Mark knew nothing about the massive fraud operation.

Fairfield Greenwich investors want the 300 Million a year that was paid to Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel operation for recruiting and giving investors access to the supposedly closed Madoff Fund.

This Legal Brouhaha Might Be So So Rich That Reformed Greenwich Lawyer Chris Fountain Might Be Tempted To Reenter The Legal Profession In Order To Cash In On The Legal Mess That Hedge Fund Middle Man Walter Noel Has Created.

This Madoff and related hedge fund middleman cases, like the ones currently targeting Walter Noel could turn out to be bigger that Enron and World Com combined.

However there is one little problem.

Despite the wide range of potential targets involved with Fairfield Greenwich, there is some doubt about weather Walter Noel's burned investors can get their mega bucks back. Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel and his family members are crying poverty and saying that they were wiped out.

Incredible as it may seem, the Mandoff Hedge Fund Middle Man who was paid $300 Million A Year From The Ponzie Scheme actually has the balls to tell everyone that he is a victim.

The lack of money is creating a huge litigation black-hole, that may just suck up more of Walter "Feeder Fund" Noel's investors money.

This lack of big bucks targets will probably turn off a reformed Greenwich Lawyer like Chris Fountain, because wiped out investors may only want to pay if a lawyer wins and recovers money.

A realist like Chris Fountain will probably tell Walter Noel's victims that the there is little or no recover ability for their hard earned dollars.

On the other hand there is still 6.5 Billion remaining in Fairfield Greenwich and a good part of that is supposedly claimed by Walter Noel's son in laws and other family members.

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

Chris Fountain's "For What It's Worth" Blog Which Is All Over Bernard Madoff And Walter Noel Like White On Rice. Or Should We Say Like Smell On A Skunk

Well here’s an angle I hadn’t considered

Bernie Madoff was brought down by Obama (!) because Madoff was financing a massive U.S. spy ring of Mossad. Or so says Al-Jazeerah, and they wouldn’t be every...

ALSO:

An exercise in futility?

Bernie Madoff must reveal all his assets to a federal judge by this Wednesday. Even if the man’s Ponzi scheme was a simple one, capable of fooling only the most naive and unsuspecting investors (plus some greed-blinded fund of fund managers) surely he was sophisticated enough to transfer his assets ......

Life is unfair

Bernie Madoff is going to jail for the rest of his life, Walt Noel may avoid that fate but will certainly be stripped naked by rapacious creditors and his own attorneys, but Washington Mutual, fraudulent lender to every deadbeat in the country, escapes all censure. The bank itself went down, of course, wiping out its shareholders but its principals are even now eyeing Walt’s Villa Mustique and private jet collection, wondering how little they’ll have to pay for them......

Hot times in Palm Beach

With a tip of the hat to New York Social Diary, photos of Walter and Monica having a blast in Florida (note attache case stuffed with cash under pink flowers, background)......

Hypo

My old criminal law professor, Loftus Becker, used to challenge the class by posing “hypos” - a hypothetical set of facts from which we were to determine whether a crime had been committed.

He’d have liked this one:

Suppose you run a “fund of funds”, collecting $200 million per year to select other hedge fund managers for your clients’ money and then monitoring that manager’s performance.
Suppose that an integral part of one particular manager’s trading strategy was to sell off all securities at the end of each month, park the proceeds in cash or cash equivalents and start the process anew the first day of the next month.

Suppose that, in your role of monitor, you received a monthly statement from that hedge fund manager showing that the proceeds for the preceding month had been placed in the Fidelity’s Spartan U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund.

Suppose that no such fund existed, and had not existed for at least the past three years.
Suppose that, instead of confronting that manager and demanding an explanation, you busied yourself preparing for your annual Christmas jaunt to Mustique and Monica’s trip to a Mexican wedding.

Have you engaged in such reckless neglect that your behavior has gone beyond mere civil liability and crossed the line to criminal fraud?

Life in the slow lane

When Monica Noel sat in for her now infamous interview with the New York Post she insisted that the Noels were just an ordinary family whose children grew up in a normal cottage. Rich? Not the Noels.

So what does a “not rich, normal Greenwich family” wedding look like?

The Times tells us:

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12/28/08 Google Page Rankings Of Greenwich News And Info Sites Today & Today's Raw Greenwich Blog And RSS Feed

How Google Page Rank Works:

Mathematical PageRanks (out of 100) for a simple network (PageRanks reported by Google are rescaled logarithmically). Page C has a higher PageRank than Page E, even though it has fewer links to it: the link it has is much higher valued. A web surfer who chooses a random link on every page (but with 15% likelihood jumps to a random page on the whole web) is going to be on Page E for 8.1% of the time. (The 15% likelihood of jumping to an arbitrary page corresponds to a damping factor of 85%.) Without damping, all web surfers would eventually end up on Pages A, B, or C, and all other pages would have PageRank zero. Page A is assumed to link to all pages in the web, because it has no outgoing links.

Google Page Rank Results For Greenwich Web Sites:

Greenwich Time

Google Page Rank 6 Out Of 10

Greenwich Citizen

Google Page Rank 5 out of 10

Greenwich Post

Google Page Rank 4 Out Of 10

Jane Genova

Google Page Rank: 4 Out Of 10

Technorati Ratings: Authority 38 Rank: 154,561

The Greenwich Page At Topix (Edited By The Publisher Of Greenwich RoundUp)

Google Page Rank 4 Out Of 10

Greenwich Roundup

Google Page Rank 3 Out Of 10

Technocrati Rating Authority 6 Rank: 865,967

Iggy Makarevich At High Strangeness

Google Page Rank 3 Out Of 10

Technorati Ratings: Authority 11 Rank 527,906

Publicani By Dr. Zak Maymin Of Greenwich

Google Page Rank: 3 Out Of 10

Technorati Ratings: 1 Rank: Rank: 2,543,982

Rock Star Diary

Google Page Rank: 3 Out Of 10

Technorati Ratings: Authority 4 Rank: 1,951,828

Greenwich Gossip:

Google Page Rank 2 Out Of 10

No Technorati Ratings Found

Greenwich Guy - Eye On Greenwich

Google Page Rank 2 Out Of 10

Technorati Ratings: Authority 3 Rank: 1,417,385

The Daily Spurgeon

Google Page Rank: 2 Out Of 10

Authority 6 Rank: 865,967

Exit 55 By Rob WGCH Adams

Google Page Rank 1 Out Of 10

Technocrati Rating; Authority 5 Rank: 1,655,777

Greenwich Diva:

Google Page Rank 1 Out 10

Technorati Ratings: Authority 16 Rank: 640,608

Our Greenwich

Google Page Rank 1 Out Of 10

No Technorati Ratings Found

Pray Connecticut

Google Page Rank 1 Out Of 10

No Technorati Ratings Found

The Greenwich Blog

Google Page Rank 1 Out Of 10

No Technorati Ratings Found

Eddie Ross:

Google Page Rank: 0 Out Of 10

Technorati Ratings: Authority 124 Rank: 35,928

Ed's First Blog:

Google Page Rank 0 Out Of 10

No Technorati Ratings Found

For What Its Worth:

Google Page Rank: 0 Out 10

Technocrati Ratings Authority 17 Rank: 605,911

The Blonde Excuse:

Google Page Rank: 0 Out Of 10

Technorati Ratings: Authority 7 Rank: 767,750

Here Is Today's Raw Greenwich Blog And RSS Feed:

Citizen Journalists And Bloggers Who Are From, Work In Or Used To Live In Greenwich......

The New And Improved "For What It's Worth" (Wordpress Edition)
Aside from no moose hunting from a snowmobile, what’s the difference? - Our country’s latest dynastic political heiress, Caroline Kennedy, may have impressed the New York Times editors with her “eloquence” but others, not so st...

Greenwich Forum
Norwalk boy, 15, leads cops on 2-state chase - 7 Comments, last updated on Sunday Dec 28 by Dont drop the soap

Rock Star Diary
Christmas in CT 2008 - I had an amazing Christmas in CT with my family. Santa brought me everything I wanted and more! Mom's xmas dinner was sooooo good. So of course I over ate an...

Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter
Those Trophy Kids - They're living out Baby Boomer Fantasies - The Millennial Generation aka Trophy Kids have grown up, well, at least in number of years on planet earth. But as they enter the work force they are getting...

Cos Cob Blogger Iggy Makarevich At High Strangeness
Leaked? Whaddaya Mean 'Leaked'? - Sometimes strange and seemingly rather stupid trends afflict large portions of the populace. Well, seemingly large, at least, if whatever trend it is is some...

John Ferris Robben - T-shirt Philosophy Page At Our Greenwich
It was Boxing Day! What’s that? More boxing soon. - What’s the punchline? Boxing? Cheers!

Notes On Technocrati Ratings:

Technorati collects, organizes, and distributes the global online conversation.

Technorati Authority is the number of blogs linking to a website in the last six months. The higher the number, the more Technorati Authority the blog has.

A Technorati Ranking relates to the number of sources that point to a particular weblog relative to other weblogs. The more sources referencing a weblog, the higher the Technorati ranking. The Higher The number the better.

More About Google Page Rank:

PageRank is a link analysis algorithm used by the Google Internet search engine that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of "measuring" its relative importance within the set. The algorithm may be applied to any collection of entities with reciprocal quotations and references. The numerical weight that it assigns to any given element E is also called the PageRank of E and denoted by PR(E).

The name "PageRank" is a trademark of Google, and the PageRank process has been patented (U.S. Patent 6,285,999 ). However, the patent is assigned to Stanford University and not to Google. Google has exclusive license rights on the patent from Stanford University. The university received 1.8 million shares in exchange for the patent, which were sold in 2005 for $336 million US Dollars.

PageRank was developed at Stanford University by Larry Page (hence the name Page-Rank[3]) and later Sergey Brin as part of a research project about a new kind of search engine. The project started in 1995 and led to a functional prototype, named Google, in 1998. Shortly after, Page and Brin founded Google Inc., the company behind the Google search engine. While just one of many factors which determine the ranking of Google search results, PageRank continues to provide the basis for all of Google's web search tools.

PageRank is based on citation analysis that was developed in the 1950s by Eugene Garfield at the University of Pennsylvania, and Google's founders cite Garfield's work in their original paper. By following links from one page to another, virtual communities of webpages are found. Web link analysis was first developed by Jon Kleinberg and his team while working on the CLEVER project at IBM's Almaden Research Center.

PageRank results from a "ballot" among all the other pages on the World Wide Web about how important a page is. A hyperlink to a page counts as a vote of support. The PageRank of a page is defined recursively and depends on the number and PageRank metric of all pages that link to it ("incoming links"). A page that is linked to by many pages with high PageRank receives a high rank itself. If there are no links to a web page there is no support for that page.

Google assigns a numeric weighting from 0-10 for each webpage on the Internet; this PageRank denotes a site’s importance in the eyes of Google. The PageRank is derived from a theoretical probability value on a logarithmic scale like the Richter Scale. The PageRank of a particular page is roughly based upon the quantity of inbound links as well as the PageRank of the pages providing the links. It is known that other factors, e.g. relevance of search words on the page and actual visits to the page reported by the Google toolbar also influence the PageRank. In order to prevent manipulation, spoofing and Spamdexing, Google provides no specific details about how other factors influence PageRank.

MORE ON TECHNORATI:

Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs, competing with Google and Yahoo. As of June 2008, Technorati indexes 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media.[2] The name Technorati is a portmanteau, pointing to the technological version of literati, or intellectuals.

Technorati was founded by Dave Sifry and its headquarters are in San Francisco, California, USA. Tantek Çelik was the site's Chief Technologist.

Technology:

Technorati looks at tags that authors have placed on their websites. These tags help categorize search results, with recent results coming first[citation needed].

Criticism:

In February 2006, Debi Jones pointed out that Technorati's "State of the Blogosphere" postings, which claimed that they track 27.7 million blogs, failed to take into account MySpace blogs, of which she says there are 56 million. As a result, she says the utility of Technorati as a gauge for blog popularity is questionable.However by March 2006, Aaron Brazell pointed out that Technorati had started tracking MySpace blogs.

In May 2006 Technorati teamed up with the PR agency Edelman. The deal earned a lot of criticism, both on principle and as a result of Edelman's 2006 fake blog scandals. Edelman and Technorati officially ended the deal in December 2006. That month, Oliver Reichenstein pointed out that the so called "State of the Blogosphere" was more of a PR-tool and money maker for Edelman and Technorati than a reliable source, explaining in particular a) why Technorati/Edelman's claim that "31% of the blogs are written in Japanese" was "bogus" and b) where the financial profit for the involved parties was in this.

In May 2007, Andrew Orlowski writing for the tech tabloid The Register criticized Technorati's May 2007 redesign. He suggests that Technorati has decided to focus more on returning image thumbnails rather than blog results. He also claims that Technorati never quite worked correctly in the past and that the alleged refocus is "a tacit admission that it's given up on its original mission".

If You Want To Improve Your Technorati Results You Should Place A Lot Of Tags On Your Posts. Unfortunately, Greenwich Roundup Has Not Been Taging For Quite A While.

It Is Also Said That Tagging Blog Posts Might Improve Goggle Page Rank Results. However, I Do Not Know If This Is True.

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12/28/08 Greenwich Time News Links

Joel Ing gets some help from his son Trevor as they dispose of their Christmas tree at Greenwich Point Saturday.

(David Ames/For Greenwich Time)

Christmas heave: Residents toss trees for recycling
Cos Cob resident John Whalen brought his four-foot balsam fir Christmas tree to Bruce Park Saturday to be recycled, and will return in a few weeks to pick up the mulch it will be reduced to for use in his garden.

Town hit by increase of foreclosures
The number of foreclosure proceedings underway in Greenwich in the first 11 months of the year increased by 42 percent from the same period last year, according to a foreclosure database company.

Bush departs with legacy in question
Some will remember him as Bush the protector, the president who prevented another terrorist attack from befalling the U.

Students make their pitch with college essays
It took six weeks of brainstorming for a topic, writing and red-penning dozens of drafts before Greenwich High School senior Michael Drittel had a two-page essay that he was comfortable sending to his top choice of colleges.

Camacho brothers victorious at Danbury tourney
CAMACHO BROTHERS DOMINATE Jason and Alex Camacho of Stamford High School won their respective weight classes at the Ryan Sabbagh holiday tournament at Danbury High School.

MORE SPORTS NEWS:

Making the case for Westhill
Hockey summaries
Hockey roundup
Wright Tech defends Cheney Tech tourney title
Girls Basketball boxes from Sat Dec 27

Diversity in the orchestra, the start of a conversation
Draw a mental image of a symphony orchestra concert. Blacks and Latinos don't fit the sketch as musicians or audience members, do they?

THE GREENWICH TIME TRIES TO DO SOME LOCAL REPORTING ON THE MADOFF PONZIE SCHEME AND FAILS MISERABLY - THIS GREENWICH TIME COLUMNIST DOESN"T EVEN MENTION GREENWICH RESIDENT WALTER NOEL: "Lessons learned after the Bernard Madoff fallout"

By Julie "I Report The Obvious" Jason

Since Dec. 11, when the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York filed a complaint against Bernard Madoff, people have been wondering whether they can become fraud victims.

Madoff's alleged fraud is gigantic in proportion - possibly the largest in history amounting to $50 billion.

According to the complaint, Madoff told senior employees that he "had for years been paying returns to certain investors out of the principal received from other, different investors" . . . "that the business was insolvent, and that it had been for years" . . . that it was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme". . . and "the losses from this fraud (were) approximately $50 billion."

You have to wonder how Madoff's investors, many of whom were investment professionals such as funds-of-funds and feeder funds, could have become embroiled in his scheme.

How does this apply to you?

Madoff's investment activity was basically affinity fraud, which normally targets ethnic groups, religious or church groups, country clubs, service clubs . . . people commonly involved in charitable or civic activities.

According to press reports, Madoff's affinity groups tended to be religious, social and charitable groups in the Hamptons, Palm Beach, New York City and Europe.

It is not uncommon for fraudsters to look for victims in those kinds of social networks.
In order to accomplish a fraud of this nature, the fraudster relies upon his charm and believability

Since Dec. 11, when the U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York filed a complaint against Bernard Madoff, people have been wondering whether they can become fraud victims.......

......Importantly, there is one essential element that a Ponzi scheme must allow the fraudster to do: He must somehow control the money you "invest" with him and all records pertaining to your money.

That is, he generates all paper and electronic records of your account activity. To get you to believe that your money is safe and the investments he is making for you profitable, he creates the reports that you receive in the mail. They look genuine but are not.

One way to lessen the likelihood of being victimized is to make sure that there is an independent custodian in the picture. A custodian holds your assets.

And, that is indeed the approach that Switzerland's UBP, the world's second biggest investor in hedge funds, is pursuing, according to a recent report in the Financial Times.

UBP, which invested with Madoff in its feeder funds, according to FT, instructed its managers to "put in immediate redemptions for any fund that does not have independent . . . custodians."

To avoid being victimized, don't rely solely on your social network. Do your own due diligence.

Investigate before you invest. Find out who has custody of your assets and consider whether you need or want an independent custodian.

- Julie Jason, a money manager and principal of Jackson, Grant Investment Advisers Inc. of Stamford, write to her c/o The Advocate and Greenwich Time, 9 Riverbend Drive, South, Building 9A, Box 4910, Stamford, CT 06907

COMMENT:

Something Tells Me That Bernard Madoof Or Walter Noel Would Be Able To Take Greenwich Time Columnist Julie "I Report The Obvious" Jason To The Cleaners With Ease.

MORE PATHETIC LOCAL BUSINESS

REPORTING FROM THE GREENWICH TIME:

Green Earth partners with Techtronic
Dymo parent plans to cut jobs
Local woman gives furniture a face-lift
Grade soars for recycling efforts at Nestle Waters

TODAY"S LOCAL HARD HITTING EDITORIAL FROM THE GREENWICH TIME: "More electricity, but more cost too"

A major new electrical power line that went into service this month likely will be viewed as a mixed blessing, given the tough economic times. On one hand, it should make the supply system more reliable and help meet the power demand in this region that has grown by leaps and bounds during recent years. On the other, customers here likely are going to see some of the costs of the line reflected in their electric bills in the not-too-distant future, at a time when rate hikes only add to financial strains on both residential and commercial customers.

Connecticut residents have reason to reflect on their own roles in the unfortunate confluence of events.

There was no denying this Middletown-to-Norwalk cable that was completed recently was sorely needed. It has a 345-kilovolt capacity that adds substantially to the 115-kv lines that have been sorely taxed by demand, especially during heat waves.

But there also is no denying it has been expensive - nearly $1.3 billion - and at least some of that is going to come out of the pockets of Connecticut Light & Power Co. customers.

As it now stands, according to news reports, Connecticut is responsible for 27 percent of the cost, sharing the expense with the other states that are part of the New England power grid. The amount to be levied is based on how much electricity each state uses.

However, more cost would be shifted to our state if certain expenses are deemed to benefit Connecticut only - such as placing lines underground, as demanded by some state residents, versus stringing them overhead.

On the positive side, the new line is expected to reduce by more than $100 million a year the so-called congestion charges that customers in Connecticut pay based on costs to manage electricity flow when demand strains overburdened lines. Also important is that the line helps address reliability issues that would cause businesses to consider whether they should relocate, or even stay, in Fairfield County. Thus it is an investment in the state's economy, which was welcomed by the Business Council of Fairfield County among others.

Yet this is probably one of the most unfortunate times to burden consumers with higher rates ...... BLAH ..... BLAH ..... BLAH ...... BLAH ..... BLAH ....... BLAH ........ BLAH ....... BLAH ..........

Old Greenwich showed its heart to one family

To the editor:

My husband and I want to thank the entire town of Old Greenwich for everything people did for our family.

Thomas Cerio, my son-in-law, let me spend three months with my lovely daughter, who was very ill. Our daily trek included shopping at the grocery story and bake shop. In addition, we stopped at Darlene's for ice cream. We were always greeted with friendly hello's.

The last month, my daughter was in a wheelchair, and people opened doors and stepped aside for her to pass.

On our last trip to Darlene's, the owner asked if we believed in God. After we ate our ice cream (on the house) the owner took us to a back room, where she prayed with us.

That evening I lost a filling from a tooth. My daughter's friend, Mary Jay, called her dentist. The next day Dr. Pagoda called and asked me to come to his office that very morning because he was going on vacation that afternoon. He replaced the filling at no charge.

Needless to say, I was shocked. He told me, "Just take care of your daughter."

My daughter's friends and neighbors were very generous and helpful. They provided food and all sorts of refreshment. We never ate so well.

In addition, the sanitation and yard workers who came to my daughter's home were very kind and offered to help any way they could.

The young people and children of Old Greenwich were remarkable. My grandson's friends, whose ages range from 16 to 20, asked if they could come for dinner. After dinner they visited with my daughter and shared with her stories about their summer activities and information regarding schools they were going to attend. One young man shortened his vacation in China so he could return to Greenwich to see my daughter.

The children of my daughter's neighbors and friends came to the house to sit and visit. She enjoyed their company very much. I was moved by the children's generosity in giving up their time to be with her. I know these children come from wonderful families.

The people of this little town have big hearts. Now I know why our Donna loved Old Greenwich so much. We can't wait to return for a visit.

Rosa W. Arnold
Foley, Ala.

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