Hyper Local News Pages

Friday, August 22, 2008

08/2208 Greenwich Citizen News Links For Friday


Siebert Lands DPW Top Job

Town Native, GHS Grad to Draw $155K a Year

For the first time, a woman has been appointed to run the Greenwich Department of Public Works (DPW).

own native and Greenwich High School graduate Amy Siebert's selection as DPW commissioner was announced Thursday by Selectman Peter Tesei during the Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting in Town Hall.

The slightly built Siebert, wearing a boardroom-perfect black suit, sat in the last spectator row, far from the podium, and blushed a bit as Tesei told why she edged out four other finalists in a nationwide search for the job ....

...Since July 2007, she served as DPW deputy commissioner under then-Commissioner Lloyd Hubbs. In 2007, he collected the Town of Greenwich's third fattest paycheck - $163,934.69.

After Hubbs resigned in late spring because due to his wife's desire to return to California....

Please Read The Full Greenwich Citizen Story

Please See:

08/16/08 Home Much Did The Single Family Homeowners Pay Walters Odani To Recruit The Deputy Commissioner To Be The Commissioner Of Public Works?

08/18/08 Greenwich Time - Siebert to lead public works

08/21/08 Greenwich Post - Public Works commissioner here to stay




Kelly Goes to Washington as Connecticut Governor

By Anne W. Semmes

When Greenwich High School senior Dan Kelly, 17, as a junior came across the American Legion-sponsored Boys' State program that teaches local and state government, he thought it would look good on his college application. Little did he know it would land him in the White House with the title of Connecticut Boys State Governor.

A member of student government, he was familiar with "sitting in a room talking about parking problems and why muffins had decreased in size," he said. But, last month, he was in Washington discussing Iran at the State Department along with an Iranian-born student....

Please See:

08/07/08 - Greenwich Round Up Posting: GTNL - Fictitious President From The State Of Texas Stops Kelly Of Greenwich From Repelling Of "The Don't Ask Don't Tell" From Becomming Law.

  • Headline:

    American Legion Post 29 Surely Is Proud Of Their Fictitious Lawmaker Who Tried To Put An End To "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

    Quote:

    "Everybody else was trying all these gimmicks in their speeches, like stepping down into the crowd or listing their accomplishments in student government," Greenwich High School senior Dan Kelly recalled. "I just thought it would be best to get people excited about the program, so I talked about what a great opportunity we have" to participate in Boys State.



    GHS senior makes waves in Washington


Reinken, 11, Tackles Local, World News - and Too Much Homework

Mortimer Zuckerman, Rupert Murdoch and other top-tier newspaper publishers may want to make way for Blake Reinken, 11 - the newest publisher on the block.

But unlike Zuckerman and Murdoch, Reinken wears three hats. He is founder, publisher and editor of Greenwich Kids News - his newspaper "for kids, by kids."

The Whitby School sixth grader has three issues under his belt. Respectively, the January, February and May editions of GKN featured front page stories on global warming, too much homework and delays in Hamilton Avenue School construction....

Please Read The Full Greenwich Citizen Story



New Beginnings

GHS Gridders Excited On Day 1 of Practice


It had been 241 days. That's the last time Greenwich High's football team officially suited up. It's the day the 2007 Cardinals emerged victorious, 28-14, over Shelton in the CIAC Class LL state championship game.

Please Read The Full Greenwich Citizen Story




We are going to get right to the point: The next time you are at the supermarket, buy an extra bag of groceries and donate it to the Connecticut Food Bank.

Please Read The Full Greenwich Citizen Editorial




Call me a chicken, but when I was a kid I would've been way too scared to take a train into Harlem, get off at the 125th Street stop, walk a couple blocks over to the subway station, and then hop onto the #4 headed for 161st Street in the South Bronx....

..."Just like me"? Turns out, I was the clueless one. When I finally realized that she wasn't looking for a handout, I held out my hand. She took it and she shook it. As she held it for what by Greenwich standards would be way too long, I was reminded of something Mother Teresa once said. She claimed that the entire Gospel of Jesus Christ could be written on one hand, with the five fingers representing these five words: "You did it to me."

According to the soon-to-be-saint, my five fingers, at the end of my life, will either excuse me or accuse me of doing it to the least of these. Now, that scares me.

Rev. Kenneth Kieffer is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Greenwich. E-mail: 27Yankees@optonline.net

Please Read The Full Greenwich Time Feature Article



Task Continues to Hold Those Accountable in the Wiffle Ball Controversy

By Anne W. Semmes

The latest chapter of the Wiffle ball controversy is that a Riverside property owner, Thomas Gallagher, disputed the takeover of the municipal lot bordering his property by a group of teenage Wiffle ball players, and in doing so distributed an unauthorized juvenile criminal report of one of the ballplayers to other property owners - as well to the first selectman as a means to bring an end to their takeover.

As the report was also sent anonymously to the police, Chief David Ridberg ordered an internal investigation as to where the widespread leak of the report took place. The trail led to Gallagher.

Ridberg was "relieved that the report was not released by any police officers," he said. "People did what they did for their own motives."

The trail began with the mother of the juvenile featured in the report who had apologized to Halsey Road resident Patricia Doyle, whose house her son had burgled. To best explain the incident, she obtained the report from her son's Stamford-based lawyer, Edward Nemchek, and gave it to Doyle.

"Quite honestly," the mother stated in the report, she had not been told she "could not pass it out." Doyle had then passed the report to Gallagher. "Handing out a copy of the report to a client is legitimate in my mind," said Ridberg. "The lawyers sharing information with a client of a report is totally legitimate. We are not moving forward with any charges against the people who distributed these reports." There would be "no penalties attached."

Regarding the attorney's sharing of the report, Ridberg called it a possible "civil punishment. They may be subject to internal sanctions by the court," he said.

Neither Nemchek nor Gallagher was available for comment.

Doyle, when reached, said only, "I'm so done with this whole story - I'm sorry."

Please Read The Full Greenwich Citizen Story

Where Did Cheif Ridberg Get His Law Degree From?

The Back Of A Cereal Box!!!

This Kind Of Amateurish Reporting Drives Me Nuts!!!!

Why does Anne W. Semmes always take what Town officials say as the gospel?

Why is rookie reporter Semmes to lazy to pick up the phone and call a legal expert?

How about the state bar association or a the court clerks office?

How about a U Conn Or Yale Law Professor?

Why didn't cub reporter Semmes interview anyone who was in favor of the whiffle ball field or the family whose son was harmed by this intentional, spiteful and illegal release of juvenile records.

Why didn't Semmes ask Cheif Ridberg about if Mr. Galagher had filed a freedom of information request or about police computer logs that would definately prove that no police employee illegally down load the juvinile file?


Seenes so called "news report" reads like a

one sided Town Of Greenwich Press Release

and

Greenwich Citizen readers deserve reporting

that is much better than this.


PLEASE SEE:

08/19/08 GREENWICH TIME WHITEWASH: Newspaper Provides No Proof That A Police Employee Did Not Illegally Release A Juvenile Police Report To Thomas Gallagher.

HEADLINE:

Once Again The Local Rag Sells Out It's Readers Right To Know To The Powers That Be In Greenwich

Forget About "Let The Chips Fall Where They May" The Greenwich Police Department Is Giving Special Consideration And Playing Favorites With Anti-Wiffle Ballers.

The Greenwich Police Department should know that youth cases are shielded from the public by law to prevent minors from being stigmatized by the crimes they commit.


QUOTE:


"No child grows up to perfection,"
said the mother, who Greenwich Time agreed not to name because it would reveal the identity of the juvenile. "I just want them to know how hurtful adults can be. What kind of lesson are they trying to teach by doing this?"


THE STORY:


Wiffle woes dog neighbor


By Neil Vigdor / Greenwich Time Staff writer
Article Launched: 08/19/2008 12:48:07 PM

First Neil Vidgor Dutifully Reports On The Town's Smoke And Mirror Activities Designed To Distract Citizen's From A Serious Breach Of Conneticut State Law....

A Riverside man's complaints to the town about an unauthorized Wiffle ball field that sprouted on a municipally owned lot next to his property may come back to bite him.

First Selectman Peter Tesei has ordered the Department of Public Works to survey the area near town Lot 5A on Riverside Lane to see if any of the abutting residential properties encroach on the parcel.

The directive comes after several of those who tried to save the ill-fated field from being shut down last month questioned whether a picket fence, bushes and driveway belonging to the homeowner at 100 Riverside Lane are located on town property.

"I think it's a good idea, in light of all the controversy, to delineate what the boundaries are," Tesei said...

Now Towards The End Of The Article Neil Vidgor Sheepishly Brings Up The Problem That A Juvinile Police Record Was Illegally Disimenated In Greenwich.

Please Read How The Ameturish Vidgor Whitewashes The Towns Handeling Of The Crime....


...Gallagher also declined to comment about the release Monday of an internal affairs investigation by the police department, implicating him in the unauthorized distribution of a juvenile criminal report on one of the teens who built the Wiffle ball field.

The report, which was sent anonymously to those who live near the field, related to the alleged burglary of fireworks from a residence in May by one of the teens, who is under 18. Several of the recipients complained about the public disclosure of the report to police, prompting an internal investigation into a potential leak....

....According to the 15-page internal affairs probe, which the newspaper obtained through a Freedom of Information request, Gallagher sent a copy of the report to Tesei, the first selectman, on July 15, by e-mail....

Did The Greenwich Police Department Honor Thomas Doyle's Freedom Of Information Request, Or Did They Officially Notify Him That Dispersing Such Information About Youthful Offenders Is Against The Law?

The Greenwich Time Story Continues....

....According to the investigation, Gallagher obtained the report from the victim of the burglary, Patricia Doyle, who lives on Halsey Drive. During a visit to the field, Doyle informed Gallagher about the burglary, leading him to request a copy of the police report, according to the investigation....

Why Is The Greenwich Police Department Choosing Sides In The Wiffle Ball Controversey Fall Out?

The Greenwich Police Department Needs To Stop Playing Favorites.

Patricia Doyle admitted to The Greenwich Police Department that she illegally disiminated a juvinile police report?

Why wasn't Doyle charged in the crime she admitted too?


The Greenwich Time Article Continues...

...In the police investigation, it said that Doyle was "willing to take blame for the incident" and "never anticipated the report would have been used in this manner."....

The Greenwich Time Article Continues....

According to the police investigation, Doyle received a copy of the report from Stamford attorney Edward Nemchek, the lawyer for one of the other juveniles involved in the burglary. A message seeking comment was left Monday night at Nemchek's law office...

Can The Greenwich Police Department Show Proof That They Officially Denied Thomas Gallagers Freedom Of Information Request As Required By Conneticut State Law?

The Greenwich Time Article Continues....

Police Chief David Ridberg said the investigation puts to rest any theories that the report was leaked by a member of his department.

"I'm happy to find out that we maintained a professional demeanor and didn't take sides in this argument and also didn't violate policy and statute by releasing confidential information," Ridberg said. "I recognize there are some that might believe I don't want to find someone responsible within the department, but we invite anyone to request a copy of the investigation."

Can We Also Request A Copy Of The

Greenwich Police Department Letter

Officially Dening Thomas Gallagers

Freedom Of Information Request?

Everyone Knows That The Greenwich Police Department has an official policy that all requests for documents must be made in witting.

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to obtain records of all public agencies with certain exceptions.

Open Records Law Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-18a et seq.

Exempt: Fifteen total exemptions including: Personnel, medical and some law enforcement files; juvenile records; some witness and victim identification records; pending litigation files; and real estate documents.

All Public Agencies, including the Greenwich Police Department, are required to respond or fill Freedom Of Information Requests with in 4 business days.

As usual, Neil Vigdor And The Greenwich Time's News Story Is Woefully Incomplete.

Here Is A NEWSFLASH FOR NIEL VIDGOR:


Any Person's Freedom Of Information request is a public document and can be legally requested by another person.

Two quarters will buy anyone in town, including Neil Vidgor, a copy of Thomas Gallager's Written Freedom Of Information Request And The Greenwich Police Department's Official Written Response to Mr. Gallager.

Thomas Gallager's Written Freedom Of Information Request And The Greenwich Police Department's Official Written Response To Mr. Gallager's request are both public documents that a "professional and competent" reporter would have routinely requested copies of.

But, Ameture Reporter Neil Vigdor And The Greenwich Time Blindly Trust Greenwich Police Cheif David Ridberg Who Has A Vested Interest In Trying To Vindicate His Department Knowledge Of The Illegal Release Of A Juvinile Report

If Police Cheif David Ridberg Has Nothing To Hide He Can Send A Copy Of Thomas Gallager's Written Freedom Of Information Request And The Greenwich Police Department's Official Written Responce To GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com And We Will Post The Documents Here At Greenwich Roundup.

Or, Better Yet Police Cheif David Ridberg can release Greenwich Police Department Computer Logs showing that the specific juvinile file had not been downloaded in the past 120 days.

More Information:

The mission of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission is "to administer and enforce the provisions of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, and to thereby ensure citizen access to the records and meetings of public agencies in the State of Connecticut."
For additional information on the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, go to www.state.ct.us/foi or contact the Commission by phone at (860) 566-5682 or via email at foi@ct.gov.

FOR THE RECORD:

Neil Vidgor was the reporter who did not publish copies of the fake beach passess he received last February, thus assisting the Greenwich Police Department in yet anither Whitewash.

Criminals in Greenwich are safe as long as Niel Vidgor is responsible for reporting on and keeping Police Chief David Ridberg accountable to the public.

=================================================

Please send your comments or copies of Thomas Gallager's Written Freedom Of Information Request And The Greenwich Police Department's Official Written Responce To Mr. Gallager's request
to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com


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