12/15/08 Greenwich Time News Links For Monday (Updated)

Nola Taylor, dressed as Sarah Bush,

adjusts candles at the Bush-Holley House candle light open house.

(Helen Neafsey/Greenwich Time photo)

Families celebrate season at Bush-Holley

Dozens of residents celebrated the holiday seasons Sunday with a history lesson. Families got to take interactive tours of the Bush-Holley Historic Site in Cos Cob, where costumed guides spoke about how the late residents of the historic home celebrated the holidays Sunday evening.

State cuts could cost Greenwich schools

Budget cuts being proposed by the state's school board could wipe out more than $3.4 million in municipal aid to Greenwich, state officials say.

Greenwich Police still waiting for ruling

When the town sought an expedited appeal in the case of a Greenwich police officer who sued after he was not promoted to captain, many thought a speedy decision would soon follow, bringing closure to a case that has frozen the police department's ability to fill several key positions for nearly four years.

Here Is The "LOCAL" HARD HITTING EDITORIAL From The Greenwich Time Editors: "Air service resumption is good news"

It's been repeatedly noted during these tough economic times that declining fuel prices have been the bright spot - though the tough times are largely what caused the recent steep decline. That bright spot last week was focused on the state's Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, where overseas commercial flights are being resumed now that jet fuel prices have fallen. That can be good for the state economy in the short and long terms.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell made it official last Tuesday, announcing that Northwest Airlines is going to restore its direct service from Bradley to Amsterdam this coming June. Plans are for five flights a week by 160-seat Boeing 757-200 jets.

State officials said they and western Massachusetts representatives made a strong push for resumption of the service that was halted in October. They had good reason. It was estimated that the service produces tens of millions of dollars in direct and indirect benefits to the region. The convenience it will provide to international travelers is also a major plus, especially since Amsterdam is a busy hub. The service will be operated in cooperation with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which provides connections to 81 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India.

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PLEASE NOTE:

The Greenwich Time Web master could not be bothered with putting up a letter to the editor today. Maybe the Greenwich Time editor did not get any letters all weekend long.

UPDATE:

The Greenwich Time Has Added A Bunch Of New Stories Today:

Greenwich Time Reporters Feel The Heat

Somebody Has Lit A Fire Under A Few

Reporter's Rear Ends

Now You Can Get A Sneak Preview

Of What's Going To Be In

Tomorrow's Greenwich Time

This Is How The Greenwich Time

News Web Site Should Be

Continually Updated Everyday.....

Greenwich deputy superintendent to leave

Posted: 12/15/2008 01:28:38 PM EST

No Reporter By Line

Deputy Superintendent of Schools Kathy Greider will step down as the school chief's second-in-command in May to take a position as superintendent of the Farmington school system, district officials said today.

Greider, who was hired in 2007 to serve as deputy to the town's outgoing school's leader, Betty Sternberg, cited a desire to advance in her career and be closer to her family as her chief reasons for leaving Greenwich.

Ellen Flanagan, the district's director of human resources who has spearheaded an effort to implement a retooled teacher-evaluation system, will take the deputy position upon Greider's departure

May 18, 2009.Greider temporarily assumed the superintendent's post for two months over the summer after Sternberg took a medical leave of absence in mid-July to treat an undisclosed health condition.

Greider also helped establish the "breakthrough coaching" program, which teaches principals and their administrative staff how to balance office duties in order to allow principals to spend more time with teachers.

"My time in Greenwich has been extremely rewarding, working with some of the most talented and dedicated professionals in education today," Greider said in a prepared statement.

"I leave Greenwich having gained so much both personally and professionally," she continued, "and hold fond memories of my interactions with the board, staff, students, parents and members of the community."

Driver plows into Byram home

Debra Friedman / Staff Writer

Posted: 12/15/2008 02:01:26 PM EST

A woman crashed her car into a house on Louden Street in Byram this morning, but escaped without serious injuries, police said.

At about 10:45 a.m., Greenwich police, fire fighters and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene at 2 Louden St. to find a car that had smashed through a house's garage door and into a wall that connected to a basement. The house was located just off the exit 2 ramp on Interstate 95 South, which was closed for approximately 30 minutes during the aftermath of the accident......

.....Police said the driver, who has not been identified, told officers at the scene that her brakes failed. However, Cochran said police were investigating whether she may have pressed the wrong pedal when coming to a stop sign at the end of the off ramp.

The homeowners, who were not home at the time of the accident, were notified by police shortly after the collision and arrived to the scene around noon to assess the damage.

Town budget

gap widens

By Neil Vigdor / Staff Writer

Posted: 12/14/2008 02:34:07 AM EST

A projected $10.5 million gap in the town budget is widening to proportions that officials have never seen before in what has arguably been Connecticut's most prosperous town.

"We went through how big the problem could be. It's $31 million over the next 18 months," said Roland Gieger, the town's budget director.

Budget officials are predicting an $8.5 million shortfall in revenues from conveyance tax receipts, the sale of building permits and bank interest in the current fiscal year, which has six months to go, and a $6 million shortfall in 2008-09.

That comes on top of the anticipated $10.5 million gap, which has been bandied about since early this fall and has been attributed to rising personnel costs and shrinking revenues.

The architects of the town's projected $364 million budget will also have to make up another $6 million, which they had hoped to have left over in the General Fund balance at the end of the current fiscal year to help pare down the tax rate and pay for unanticipated expenses.

Property owners could face a spike in property taxes in excess of the customary 2 to 4 percent annual increase sought by the town if the gap isn't closed, town officials said.

"It's a significant fiscal challenge and one that requires making difficult decisions, which I'm certainly ready to do. It's a matter of prioritization," First Selectman Peter Tesei said.

In a Nov. 26 memo to municipal department heads and the town's appointing authorities Tesei called for an across-the-board 10 percent minimum reduction in non-salary town expenditures, a clamp-down on employee travel and a hiring freeze for all positions but a few positions in police, fire and other essential areas.

Tesei also wants to limit overtime, saying it should be reserved for when public safety warrants it or a potential liability emerges. All overtime requests are to be vetted by Tesei's office.

"We're looking at everything," Tesei said......

Commuter fee: Parking increase weighed

By Neil Vigdor / Staff Writer

Posted: 12/13/2008 02:37:35 AM EST

The words bargain and Greenwich don't often go together.

But when it comes to how much commuters are charged to park in municipal railroad lots, some bureaucrats argue that the town is short-changing itself.

An analysis by the town's parking services department shows that Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, New Haven and Port Chester, N.Y., all charge more than Greenwich on an annual basis for railroad parking.

The city of Stamford charges a yearly rate of $1,008, more than double the cost of the most expensive permit available in Greenwich - $465 at Greenwich Plaza - which some elected officials said explains why there are lengthy waiting lists for spaces in town.

The rates would go up by 5 percent next year under a proposal by town Parking Services Director Allen Corry, who recently told the Board of Selectmen that he was sensitive to residents feeling the pinch of the current recession and didn't want to pass on too big of an increase.

But Selectman Peter Crumbine, who has often argued that the town charges below-market value for coveted amenities such as parking spaces and boat slips, wasn't as sympathetic.

"The economy affects the town, too," Crumbine said at Thursday's selectmen's meeting. "What's going on here?"

Crumbine made a counterproposal of a 10 percent hike to the board, which is scheduled to vote on the parking fees Friday at Town Hall.

Leslie Tarkington, a Board of Estimate and Taxation member and permit holder at Greenwich Plaza, where spots are coveted, called on Corry to better publicize the plan and share with selectmen several years of financial data from the railroad parking operation.

During the last four years alone, Tarkington said, the cost of the parking permits has gone up 33 percent. At the same time, she said the garage complex could use improvements, including additional police patrols at night.......

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