05/04/08 - Reader Submitted Comments - Help save GHS Music room / Auditorium

Anonymous Says:

The Finance, Land Use and Education Committees of the RTM are voting on the budget Monday night.

We are asking you to contact as many of these committee members as you can, either via phone or email by Monday.

Please ask them to leave the $2.1 million in the budget so that the GHS project to improve and enlarge the music classrooms and auditorium for our only public high school will continue to move forward. A vote to delete funding is a vote to kill the project.

After almost 40 years, funding to develop plans for GHS facilities for curricular study of performing arts is finally in the budget. If deleted, thousands of children in the elementary schools today will find, when they get to GHS, the same sub-standard 40 year old facilities that exist now.

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05/04/08 - Shame On Sternberg - "It's been going on for 70 years. What's changed?" Selectman Peter Crumbine said.

Quote:

"I think it's an example of her not understanding our community,To pick a fight with an organization that has served the community for decades is just not sound judgment in my opinion.", said First Selectman Peter Tesei, who serves on the board of the Greenwich Council of the Boy Scouts

Headline:

Boy Scouts Saw An 80 Percent Drop In Thier Recruiting Effort

Betty Sternberg Is Not Content With Just Destroying Our Schools, She Has To Destroy The Boy Scouts Too.

Story:

Sternberg under fire for Scouts policy

A decision to bar the Boy Scouts from on-campus recruiting while classes are in session at Greenwich Public Schools isn't earning many merit badges for Superintendent Betty Sternberg, who has been under intense criticism from fellow town officials and supporters of the youth organization...

...Chartered in 1912 by Scouting pioneer Ernest Thompson Seton, author of the first American Boy Scout handbook, the Greenwich Council serves more 2,300 youths in town and is helped run by about 400 adult volunteers. The Boy Scouts' ties to the schools date back to at least 1938, with its contributions including sponsorship of an annual essay contest for middle-schoolers and organization of a career day at Greenwich High School...

...Lavery said as an after-school activity, she didn't have a problem with the organization recruiting on campus.

This is not the first time Lavery is wrestling with a controversy involving the Boy Scouts. She is a former board member of the United Way of Greenwich, from which the Scouts received funding prior to a 2000...

Comment:

How Soon We Forget

The Chairman of the founding committee of Boy Scouts of America was from Greenwich. Does the name Earnest Thomas Seton ring a bell?

Greenwich Boy Scouts participated in the world war effort in many different ways. Boy Scouts took part in scrap drives, collecting tin, aluminum, rags and tires for recycling into war materials.

God forbid, if Greenwich was hit with a horrible disaster tomorrow, Greenwich Council 67 Boy Scouts would be lining up to help and provide aid.

Year after year an Eagle scout competes a project to benefit the community. Have you seen the nine eleven memorial that a Greenwich Eagle scout made for the town.

Every year the Greenwich Council also conducts a massive food drive to feed poor in Town.

And Betty Sternberg and her failed school administrator can't give the Boy Scouts 10 or 15 minutes for a presentation.

It has been statistically shown that boys actively involved in the Boy Scout program perform better in school.

You would think that a School Superintendent that has schools that failed the presidents no child left standards would welcome a group like the Boy Scouts.

How many groups visit the Greenwich School System that have George W. Bush serving as President of their organization?

One of the causes contributing to the success of the Boy Scouts of America has been the thoughtful, wholehearted way in which each President of the United States since William Howard Taft in 1910 has taken an active part in the work of the movement. Each served as Honorary President during his term in office.

"Times and challenges change, yet the values of Scouting will never change. Scouts of any era would recognize every word that you live by today, because those words have always defined Scouting. The goodness of a person and of the society he or she lives in often comes down to very simple things, and the words found in the Scout Law. Every society depends on trust and loyalty, on courtesy and kindness, on bravery and reverence. These are the values of Scouting, and these are the values of America." George W. Bush

"For almost a century, the Boy Scouts of America have helped to make volunteer service an American ideal. With every act of kindness, you've strengthened our nation's commitment to community and promoted a sense of civic responsibility."Bill Clinton

"The Boy Scouts of America has assumed a leadership role in confronting this problem [drug abuse]. You are teaching self-protection strategies against drugs and other dangers. You have circulated these strategies in direct language in a very successful pamphlet called Drugs: A Deadly Game. And you have done something else—you are leading the youth of America by example."George H. Bush

"I applaud your many efforts and programs encouraging character development and leadership among American youth. By sponsoring many useful physical, mental, and social activities designed to promote self-responsibility, the Scouts strengthen the cornerstone of individual freedom in our nation. These programs develop the youngster's confidence in his ability to deal with nature, society, and a challenging world."Ronald Reagan

"As a former volunteer Scout leader ... I am greatly impressed by the role of your fine program in our national life. It is a constructive initiative on the part of young Americans to explore career interests and to become better prepared for a more satisfying and rewarding future." Jimmy Cater

"One of the proudest moments of my life came in the Court of Honor when I was awarded the Eagle Scout badge. I still have that badge. It is a treasured possession. I am the first Eagle Scout Vice President. The three great principles which Scouting provides—self-discipline, teamwork, and moral and patriotic values—are the basic building blocks of leadership. I applaud the Scouting program for continuing to emphasize them. I am confident that your ability to bring ideals, values, and leadership training to millions of our young people will help to bring about a new era—a time in which not only our Republic will progress in peace and freedom, but a time in which the entire world shall be secure, and all its people free."Gerald Ford

"I welcome your determination to seek out new members in our great and growing cities, as well as throughout rural America. For through Scouting many of these young citizens can more fully develop their potential for public service and become effective leaders in their communities and in our nation. Richard Nixon

"I welcome this opportunity to express my pride and deep sense of gratitude for the outstanding example and enviable reputation for human understanding and fair play which have throughout the productive life of your organization been hallmarks of Scouting everywhere. Your conduct, both individually and in your group activities, has been worthy of admiration by all the young citizens of our land. Today, as we face the challenges of an increasingly complex and frequently disturbing world, America needs an alert, responsible, and energetic youth to provide her with a vital resource in a hopefully happier and fuller future for all. As I applaud your past, I also urge you to rededicate yourselves to the ideals of the Scout Oath, and to reaffirm your obligations to your God and to your country. In so doing, you will contribute to the strengthening of America's heritage and thereby to the realization of our common goals in the Great Society." Lydon Johnson

"For more than 50 years Scouting has played an important part in the lives of the Boy Scouts of this nation. It has helped to mold character, to form friendships, to provide a worthwhile outlet for the natural energies of growing boys, and to train these boys to become good citizens of the futureIn a very real sense, the principles learned and practiced as Boy Scouts add to the strength of America and her ideals."John F Keneddy

"The Boy Scout movement merits the unstinted support of every American who wants to make his country and his world a better place in which to live. Its emphasis on community service and tolerance and world friendship promotes a speedier attainment of the enduring peace among men for which we all strive. By developing among its members both a spirit of sturdiness, self-reliance, and a realization of the need for cooperative effort in every major enterprise, the movement is a prime force in preparing tomorrow's men for their duty to themselves, their country, and their world. Here in the United States the Boy Scouts of America have accomplished much in its years of service. But today, more than ever before, we need expansion of its membership and influence."Dewight Eisehower

"The Boy Scouts of America, since it was founded in 1910, has contributed greatly to the character training of our youth. What a greater nation this would be if the principles of Scouting could be woven more closely into our daily lives. If we can impress upon our youth principles of friendliness and mutual respect, we shall go a long way toward establishing a better understanding among the nations of the world. The Boy Scouts of America is making a vital contribution to the character building of our boys and young men. Let us work together to make the program of the Boy Scouts available to every American boy."Harry Truman

"As one who has been interested in Scouting over many years it has been most heartening to have so many evidences of the practical values of Scout training. We must remember that next to active military service itself, there is no higher opportunity for serving our country than helping youth to carry on in their efforts to make themselves physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight, and prepared to help their country to the full in time of war, as well as in time of peace. We must make sure that those volunteer agencies which are supplementing the church, the home, and the school by providing programs that will help equip the present generation to cope with life problems in the difficult days ahead are maintained to their maximum capacity and effectiveness."Franklin Roosevet

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05/04/07 - Joe Pisani, Editor Of Greenwich Time, Has Been Fired By The Paper's New Owner

Quote:

"To say I was shocked and dismayed to learn Joe Pisani was departing from his position as editor of my two favorite newspapers is an understatement.", said Bernie Yudain, a former Greenwich Time managing editor who still writes a column for the newspaper.

"I can't imagine Greenwich Time without Joe P running the show.", said former Republican First Selectman John Margenot

Headline:

New Publishers Recognized That The Money And Subscriber Losing Greenwich Time Has Been Faking It For Years.

It's Now Time For Greenwich Time Reporters And Editors To Push It Up A Notch Or Two If They Want To Survive.

Story:

Pisani out as editor

Joseph F. Pisani, who ushered Greenwich Time and The Advocate into the digital age while wearing bow ties and surrounding himself with vintage typewriters, has left as editor of the newspapers

A replacement has not been named, and Pisani declined to comment for this story....

...Tribune Co.'s sale of the newspapers six months ago immediately resulted in the departure of several editorial department heads, including Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter, Editorial Page Editor Joy Haenlein, Features and Food Editor Valerie Foster and Advocate Sports Editor Bob Kennedy. The editorial staff in the two newsrooms has decreased from nearly 90 to the mid-60s...

...On his way to The Advocate to clean out his office Friday, Pisani continued to practice his craft. At St. John's church on Atlantic Street, he learned possible vandals had toppled a statue of the Virgin Mary overnight.

He was off the job, but for one last time, he summoned his staff to cover the news.

"Let's get a story on that and bring it out," he said

Comment:

Joe Pasanni was a nice guy who was liked by insiders and politician, because he didn't ever rock the boat in Greenwich.

The Greenwich Time will be forever stained by how it handled cases where children have been murdered in Greenwich.

For example, The Greenwich Time did a poor job of covering the Martha Moxley Murder on on October. 30, 1975.

In the early eighties the Greenwich Time attempted to revive it's poor image in the early 1980s by hiring investigative journalist Len Levitt to look into the unsolved murder case. Levitt's story, based on more than 100 interviews and 400 pages of police documents turned over on the order of the state's Freedom of Information Commission, remained unpublished for nearly a decade.

The story was finally published over several pages in 1991.

When Levitt appeared in an Editor & Publisher cover story bashing the newspapers for the long delay in publishing his work, Pisani refused to talk to him.

Please Look At How The Current Greenwich Time Has Displyed A Grave Indifference To Death of John J. Bria.

Have Seen Any Greenwich Time Editorials Criticizing How This Three Year Old Murder Is Being Investigated?

• 01/04/08 - Greenwich Police Officers Sit On The Post Road Looking For Burned Out Tailights In Hopes Of Making A Drug Arrest
• 02/03/08 - The Stamford Police Know How To Properly Investigate A Drug Death
• 02/04/08 - Savannah Lamotte, would tell police about John J. Bria's Death: "Maria and Jason picked me up around 9 p.m. …
• 02/06/08 - Dr. Ian Rubin's Family Has Complained About The Press, But At Least The Family Got Justice.
• 02/13/07 Finally: Greenwich Cops Reopen Bria Drug Death Case

Have Seen A Greenwich Time Editorial Complaining That No One Has Been Arrestted In The Year Old Drug Death Of....

Kyle Lendenmann?

Where is the Exhuastive Greenwich Time Investigative Report On .....

Matthew Margolies
"Greenwich's other Unsolved Murder."

Please See....
http://www.matthewmargolies.com/

Just The Other Day The Greenwich Time Didn't Even Get The Current Big Murder Case Up On Their Website....

05/01/08 - Greenwich Time MIA On Kissel Murder Mystery - There Is Nothing On The Web

Joe Pisani was a very nice Grandfatherly man, but his management of the Grenwich Time was nothing to write home about.

It's a shame that Mr. Pisani did not help hold the the officials in the Town Greenwich more accountable to the public.

If The Greenwich Time Was More Willing To Go After Incompetence In The Greenwich Public Schools And In Town Government, Then More Residents Would Start Reading Their Paper.

Disgusted Town Employees Say That The School Changed Molded Ceiling Tiles Over A Year Ago In The Contaminated Modular Classrooms, But The Greenwich Time Is Afraid To Go After The Story

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05/04/08 - The Greenwich Post Is Pissing Off A Lot Of People In Greenwich

Local Newspaper Angers Greenwich Residents

Greenwich Media Watch:

Is The Editor Of The Greenwich Post Committing Commercial Suicide?

Yesterday Greenwich news readers opened the Greenwich Post to find that a local newspaper columnist had been fired, because some real estate agencies complained that his columns were somehow hurting their businesses.

The spineless publisher and editor caned this brilliant columnist out of fear a real estate agency might pull some ads....

Please See:

05/02/08 - Where The Heck Is Chris Fountain And His "For What It's Worth" Column In The Greenwich Post Real Estate Section

Just look at the response and support Chris Fountain is getting from the the citizens that are sick and tired of the local media protecting the powers that be and not being willing to tell the truth in this town.


At 9:24 PM, lr mann said...

I am very sorry to hear you were let go. I only wish I had a subscription to the Greenwich Post so that I could cancel it.

The only way for America to dig its way out of this mess is for the facts to come out... Which ultimately they will and the sooner the better.

I commend you for your honest reporting.

At 10:16 AM, Anonymous said...

Chris,
Keep up the good work. Your column is a great resource for us Greenwich real estate obsessed.

At 3:56 PM, Anonymous said...

I am going to "fire" the Post. The only reason I had a subscription was to read your column. I will look forward to your online posts instead!

At 4:02 PM, Anonymous said...

I am canceling my subscription. Your article was the only reason I subscribed. I am looking forward to more frequent postings!

Those real estate agencies need to get a grip. People (especially those who make enough money to afford a house in Greenwich) are not dumb - no amount of rose tinted glasses are going to cover up the true market conditions. Keep up your reporting!

At 8:46 AM, Anonymous said...

What a bunch of cowards. As if not reporting the news means it doesn't happen.

What is the email of the Greenwich Post's publisher? I would like to write him.

At 11:48 AM, Anonymous said...

The contacts at the Post can be found here: http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/greenwich-staff.shtml


Below is an email I sent to the Editor and the advertising reps along with a response I received from one of the latter.

If you go to the Post's website, you will see some web ads inserted on the right side. Sadly, this confirms how important real estate-related advertising is to a publication like the post. Given the live or die by their sold ad space, I would not expect much to come from my complaint.

Chris, keep up the blog posts and let's hope you get picked up by one of the other publications.

Tom

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Subject: Canning Chris Fountain

Editor:

Please register my complaint on your decision to fire Chris Fountain. While Chris mocked the pricing of a house that I purchased in early 2004, I still enjoyed reading his column to keep me up on what was going on in town-related real estate. His candor was always appreciated, even when it may have been “politically incorrect”.

I have no reason to doubt, as Chris suggests on his blog, that “according to the owner, it came down to a choice between my readers, who liked me, and certain real estate agencies who did not. The latter pays bills, the former does not, so I got the heave ho.” That you appear to have caved to pressure from other realtors is disappointing to say the least. Sure, advertising is the lifeblood of publications such as yours and no one should expect any sort of journalistic moral code from you, but to cave in so publicly is an embarrassment.

Did you stop to ask where those current advertisers would go if they pulled their ads from your publication? There are only three publications that find their ways into most Greenwich homes and onto local newsstands and I seriously doubt the realtors would be willing to give up 20-30% of their local “eyeballs” over this issue. Frankly, the only reason I read the Post was for Chris’ column and the real estate ads and you have removed the more important of those reasons. My kids may read the sports columns but their ability to put money into your advertisers hands is limited at best.

I would ask that you reconsider this decision and reinstate Chris’ column.

Tom......

The response which I received within minutes of sending this morning:

Dear Tom,

Thank you for your email. I’ll be sure it gets into the hands of the Editor and Publisher here at Hersam Acorn Newspapers.

Dana Gaccione
The Greenwich Post
Hersam Acorn Newspapers

At 10:20 AM, Anonymous said...

The only reason I read the Greenwich Post is now gone? What a mistake. I hope you keep blogging. Get some ads here, we will still happily read you thoughts.

Sorry the Posst made such a big mistake.

At 3:11 PM, judy said...

Chris,

I just sent off an email to cancel delivery . . . just kept it simple - No Chris Fountain; No Post, thank you.

Having grown up in town (a couple of years behind you), I enjoy your musing about the way things have changed just as much (if not more) than real estate news.

But I am happy to hear you will be continuing to blog here!

Judy

At 7:42 PM, tpjudge@aim.com tp judge said...

Chris there is only one way to stick it to them....sell more real estate and blog more.

I have always been a fan of the column and have often used it as my second opinion of the market.

Lets kick it up a notch. I have a a few ideas on how to help.

Tim Judge
Judge and Associates Inc

At 7:33 AM, Anonymous said...

Chris, you didn't deserve this. You merely reported the news gathered by a major publisher and widely reported elsewhere. Its not as if you sourced it from conversation overheard at a cocktail party.

This loyal reader hopes you will continue your witty, insightful and honest column online.

By the way, don't you think its time the Greenwich Post adds the "This is a Paid Advertisement" disclaimer to all of its so called reporting and columns? Based on there decision to fire you, it’s probably dishonest not too.

-Jason
Cos Cob

At 7:25 PM, Anonymous said...

Like many others, your column was the reason I read this weekly. One can easily understand by newspaper circulation is declining in the entire country (see NYT article last week). When publishers catered to their advertisers and ignore the reality of the environment, their readers will go elsewhere. We are fortunate to have the internet where we can read your what really is going on.

At 11:29 PM, Anonymous said...

Chris Fountain:

Add me to those who only opened that paper to read your column (well, used to read the traffic violations, but they disappeared, too, a few weeks ago - I suspect that move lost the rest of the "readership")

Fado Lane Fan said...

I've just bookmarked your blog, Chris. To heck with the weekly!

Anonymous said...

Your column was the only reason that sorry excuse of a newspaper didn't go directly from the mailbox to the recycling bin.

All the other real estate agents drink the Kool-Aid, smile, and tell people what they want to hear. It was so refreshing to have someone tell the truth for a change.

claudette rothman said...

They don't know good reporting when they hear it, no wonder that damn paper is free. It's free because it's not worth anything.

Claudette Rothman
greenwichdiva.com

louis van leeuwen said...

I will cancel my sub to the GREENWICH POST.

LVL
Riverside

But Readers Of Greenwich Roundup Know that the Greenwich Post has a history of selling out their readers....

04/04/08 - Forget About A Free Press - Censorship At The Greenwich Post - Helping Cover Shay's You Know What

The Greenwich Post Editor Is Sort Of Acting Like A High School Student Advisor That Kills Disent And Limits Voices, Because She Don't Want To Upset The Powers That Be....

04/14/08 - Freedom With Resposability? Let Greenwich High School Students Speak Their Minds (Updated)

04/15/08 - Ryan Has More To Say About Censorship At Greenwich High School

When I used this blog to speak out about the Greenwich Police Department and conditions in Byram, my family and I were horribly harassed and attacked by police personnel and town employees...

12/31/07 - Red Alert - The Gateway To The Town Of Greenwich And The Village Of Byram Looks Like A Hazardous Waste Zone

The answer in Greenwich always seems to be to try and get a dissenting voice to shut up.

If someone writes that the local real estate is in trouble, then fire him.

The Market Place Of Ideas Should Be Much More Free And Open In Greenwich.

Greenwich Residents Are Repeatedly Having To Turn To Internet To Hear The Voices That Might Want To Say I Think The Powers That Be Are Wrong.

Greenwich needs to buy into the belief that holds that the truth or the best policy arises out of the competition of widely various ideas in free, transparent public discourse. This is an important part of liberal democracy.

Years ago, there were some voices in Greenwich saying that a war with Iraq was going to be a big mistake. The press ignored them and most of us really did not try and seek out those other voices.

My own wife was one of those voices. I told my Korean wife that we had to go to war in two countries, because we had to "make the world safe for democracy."

My wife told me that this was the stumpiest thing she ever heard.

One time my wife honked our car horn on Greenwich Avenue in support of the anti-war protesters. I told her,"What, are you trying to get a ticket? Don't encourage those lunatics. They don't know nothing about this war."

I was sitting in the Greenwich Diner on a night before the war and was watching CNN and a waiter from Egypt told me that all this war was going to do was give Iraq to the Shiites In Iran.

I told him I had a son in the Army and that he and the rest of the military was going to show Iran who was the boss. We were going to have a military presence on both sides of Iran. Both Afghanistan and Iraq were going to become democracies and one by one all of the states in the middle east were going to become democracies. Even Iran was going to become a democracy.

Then I repeated a CNN sound byte about how "this war was going to make the world a safer place", because "democracies don't go to war with other democracies."

My Egyptian waiter walked away muttering something about how I and the rest of the world would soon be "paying $5.00 a gallon" for gas.

Yes, I was one of the Big Dummies that took a big sip of this administrations Kool aid. I should have been better informed and then I could of helped my country make better decisions.

Now I and over 70% of the nation wish we could rewind the tape and do things differently.

That Egyptian waiter is now the overnight manager of the Greenwich Diner and one of these days I have got to go tell him ,"You know what, you were right about this damn war, but you were wrong about the gas. I just went to Port Chester and paid $3.95"

All of us in Greenwich should have been open to and listened to more voices and we could have helped our country make better policy decisions.

If you go and look back at all of the screw up that have occurred in Greenwich then you start to wish that we did not have a news media that did not fire columnists over an opinion about the economy or refused to publish a letter that criticizes an elected official.

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