Democrats stepped up pressure Tuesday on Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell to sign a health insurance bill that could loom large in this fall’s General Assembly races.
Backers of legislation that would open the state-employee health plan to a pool of municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses said a veto would align Rell with “special interests.”
“Today, I call on Gov. Rell to have the courage to say no to special interests and say yes to help for small businesses,” said Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, a Democrat.
The bill was passed by the large Democratic majorities in the House and Senate without attracting a single Republican vote in either chamber.
The Rell administration says that the bill’s Democratic proponents exaggerate potential savings to the new pool, while downplaying the risk of as much as $78 million in higher costs to the state health plan.
“That’s $78 million the state doesn’t have right now,” said Chris Cooper, a spokesman for Rell.
Insurers warn that opening the state-employee pool could bring in higher-risk participants that could drive up costs.
Bysiewicz hosted a press conference Tuesday with the bill’s lead sponsor, House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan of Meriden, and executives of two businesses and a nonprofit that support the bill.
“This is a great opportunity,” said Donovan, a labor activist who is expected to succeed James Amann as speaker in January. “With this bill, we can have a big win for the people of Connecticut.”
Donovan said the new pool could provide the health benefits enjoyed by state employees, including prescription co-pays as low as $3, to small businesses and nonprofits now struggling with high premiums and poor benefits.
He was joined by Ned Lamont, the Democrats’ U.S. Senate nominee in 2006 and the owner of a cable-television business, consultant John Hopper of Stamford and Jessica Sager, the director of a New Haven child care organization.
Lamont said he was amused by arguments that Donovan’s plan was the first step on a slippery slope to socialized medicine.
“Nonsense,” Lamont said. “What you’re doing is you’re giving small business a choice. You’re giving small business an option. You’re putting a little bit of competition on the table. And I think that’s good.”
Hopper said the cost of health insurance is stopping his communication consulting business from offering full-time positions to some of his 15 part-time employees. He has five full-time employees.
He said he pays $2,400 a month to cover his own family of five.
“This is a critical issue for us right now,” said Hopper, who identified himself as a Republican who voted for Rell.
=================================
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Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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
Does Officer Franco Know How To
Properly Handle Class Clowns?
In Late May Of 2006 The Very Unhappy School Resource Officer Carlos Franco Filed A Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against The Greenwich Police Department
Properly Handle Class Clowns?
In Late May Of 2006 The Very Unhappy School Resource Officer Carlos Franco Filed A Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against The Greenwich Police Department
The lawsuit consisted of 40 page of allegations going back nearly two decades.
The Federal civil rights lawsuit's chief complaint is that the Greenwich Police Department has "systematically and continuously discriminated" against members of racial and ethnic minorities in its hiring and promotional practices in ways that hurt him and others professionally and created a hostile work environment.
School Resource Officer Franco's lawsuit contended that a Greenwich Police Detective had disrespected a black female police officer for referring to her as "Buckwheat," after the Little Rascals character.
Franco's lawsuit said a Greenwich Police Lieutenant used a racial epithet for blacks that we wont reprint here.
PO Franco's lawsuit accussed the Greenwich Police Department of racial profiling. Officer Franco's lawsuit charged that the department disproportionately detained and arrested members of minorities and cites other examples of what the plaintiffs consider questionable conduct, including the use of highly offensive language to refer to racial minorities and a tendency to "mock African-American complainants, witnesses and arrestees, imitating their speech and mannerisms."
The suit alleged that civilian minority group members, whether arrested or simply looking for help, have been belittled and mistreated by white officers regularly.
PO Franco's lawsuit contended that a Greenwich Police Detective had disrespected a black female police officer for referring to her as "Buckwheat," after the Little Rascals character. Franco's lawsuit said a Greenwich Police Lieutenant used a racial epithet for blacks that we wont reprint here. PO Franco's lawsuit accussed the Greenwich Police Department of racial profiling.
Police Officer Franco's lawsuit says the he had "individually and collectively with others sought redress" internally before seeking relief in the courts.
When you read Officer Franco's 40 page lawsuit you get the feeling that he is pissed off about being assigned to work at Greenwich High School.
PO Franco's lawsuit contended the department has "manipulated assignments of the few minority officers on the job to foster the appearance of diversity,"...
Franco's suit also says that only 3 of the 66 officers hired since 1992 who are still with the department are minorities.
The lawsuit noted that Franco and the other minority officers was the fairness of the application process the department uses to select its sergeants.
"Is Franco An Unhappy Officer With A Taser?"
In fact, the unhappy Police Officer Franco's lawsuit was amended in December of 2006 to added new charges that police brass retaliated with discipline against the plaintiffs because of the suit.
It Looks Like You Have A Greenwich Police Officer That Assigned To Greenwich High School And Is Unhappy With His Work Environment.
Maybe, this unhappy officer is taking his frustrations out on the teenagers at Greenwich High School. Many students describe Franco as arrogant and use words that I can't publish here.
The numbers speak for themselves....
Last year the police arrested 54 students on campus alone, a figure equivalent to 2% of the entire student body. Over the first two months of the year, students were arrested at a rate of three a month. If that held up, there would have been 27 more students arrested up to this point.
If Police Officer Franco gets away with tasering this kid, you can bet that he'll use it more in the future.
Some Town insiders say the major reason for putting a Police Officer Franco in Greenwich High School to begin with was the displacement of officers from the call center by civilians. These insiders say that the former police chief teamed up with the school superintendent Larry Leverett to help the police keep their staffing numbers up by putting Franco in the school.
As a precaution Police Chief Ridberg should take all of the weapons out of Greenwich High School.
Please see:
3 Greenwich Cops Give 140 Pound Boy 50,000 Volts And A $50,000 Bail For not Going To A School Office Over Water Ballon Incident: (Updated)
============================================
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05/21/08 - Today's News Links From The Greenwich Post - these so-called "News Stories" look like press releases
‘Fair for all’ supports church’s outreach efforts
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Riverside presents the 66th annual Fair for All on May 30 and 31 at 200 Riverside Ave. All money raised will go to local charities, through St. Paul’s Outreach Program.
Lile Gibbons seeks fifth term
State Rep. Lile Gibbons is seeking the Republican nomination for a fifth term in the state Legislature’s 150th District. Ms. Gibbons serves as an assistant Republican leader, ranking member on Human Services, and a member of the Finance and Energy committees.
Well that's all of the press releases for today....
Please see:
05/19/08 - Beat The Press - The Greenwich Citizen, The Greenwich Post Have Their Heads In The Sand
On Tuesday May 13th A Greenwich High School Student Gets 50,000 volts and a $50,000 bail and by Friday May 16th The Greenwich Citizen, The Greenwich Post and the Greenwich Time have all sat on the story...
Greenwich Roundup - Where You Get A Mix... - http://greenwichroundup.blogspot.com/
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GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com
05/21/08 - Why Didn't David Curin Get A $50,000 Bail For Assualting A Lady On Greenwich Avenue?
Police Watch: The following are released reports from May 20
ASSAULT
Donald Curran, 50, of 115 River Road was arrested May 18 and charged with third degree assault and breach of peace. According to police, Curran became upset at a woman whom he claimed parked in a parking spot he was about to use on Greenwich Avenue. He allegedly was seen yelling at her before using profanity and throwing napkins in her face. Police charge that the woman attempted to get out of her car, but Curran slammed the door shut and caused her left thumb to get jammed in the door, breaking her nail.
He then reportedly ran into a nearby Subway, grabbed his son, who had been inside the restaurant, and left the area.
Curran was released on a promise to appear in court June 2.
He then reportedly ran into a nearby Subway, grabbed his son, who had been inside the restaurant, and left the area.
Curran was released on a promise to appear in court June 2.
I guess the out of control David Curran is lucky that he did not throw a water balloon at the lady, because he probably would have had to come up with $50,000 instead of getting a "free pass" also know as "a promise to to appear in court".
Why is David Curran who assaulted a lady on Greenwich Avenue and fled the crime scene with a child, less of a flight risk than a minority teenager that threw water balloons in a Senior High School prank?
Bail is not supposed to be used as a punishment. The Eighth Amendment in the US Federal Bill of Rights says, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
Look at this incident....
....Jeffrey Jay, 49, of 50 Fox Run Lane was arrested May 3 and charged with breach of peace and risk of injury to a minor. According to police, Jay was at the movies on Railroad Avenue with his family and, while at the theater, encountered his daughter’s boyfriend. Police said Jay became very angry that the boyfriend was there and allegedly instigated a pushing match with him before grabbing him, shoving him into the wall and shaking him. The boy, who is 15, then reportedly struck Jay in the left eye to get him to release him. Jay was released on a $500 cash bond and is due in court May 12....
...Jeffrey Jay assaults a 15 year old boy on at the theater on Railroad Avenue, things are so bad that he is forced to defend himself, and the crazed Jeffery Jay only has to pay $500 and is allowed to go home with a minor child...
Could it be that the Greenwich Police Department treats teenagers and minorities differently than others in town?
Clearly, the $50,000 Bail Bond for the Hispanic teenager who through water balloons was an abuse of police powers in Greenwich.
Just like it was abusive for three Greenwich Police Officers to restrain a 140 pound teenager and use a taser on him three times?
Please see:
Watch The News 12 Video - Greenwich police defend Taser use on student
Greenwich police defended their decision Tuesday to use a Taser on a high school student last week.
According to police, a school resource officer was called into the student center at the school. The officer was asked to get 18-year-old Victor Londano to the principal’s office. Authorities say Londano became unruly...
What the News 12 Reporter is not aware of is the Victor Londono is screwed.
The one officer that the Greenwich Police Department has chosen to defend the police departments actions is the Illegally Appointed Greenwich Police Captain Micheael Pacewicz who's legal mess is costing the single family home owners of Greenwich over 1 Million Dollars.
The Illegally Appointed Captain Pacewicz is all over the news media calling the high school student that got 50,000 volts and a $50,000 bail a criminal who deserved what he got.
Now Guess who is responsible for handling any complaint about excessive use of force. that's right the illegally appointed Pacewicz.
But that's OK, because Pacewicz has a history of clearing police misconduct without ever interviewing the complainant.
Pacewicz kind of reminds one of some small minded sheriff in small Mississippi town.
The last time I check the Greenwich Police Department received a little over 80 civilian complaints over a two year period. At that time the Greenwich Police Department was averaging a complaint every 9 days.
The complaints keep on getting filed, because rank and file police officers know that they will not be held accountable. The civilian complaint process is rigged in Greenwich.
If this Greenwich High School teenager want to file a complaint about excessive force he can't just download the form on his computer and mail it in to the police.
First he must go to the police department and ask the Desk Sargent for a complaint form. Then the desk sargent, will tell him that the Greenwich Police Department's written complaint policy is that he must first speak to a police supervisor who is in the Silver Shield police union and try and resolve his complaint.
After some difficulty, the teenager might actually get his hands on a civilian complaint form that has a cover letter that talks about the police union and the rights of unionised police personnel.
Then there is a blurb in the letter that the complainant could end up being arrested a prosecuted by the police department.
After completing the form, the teenager must return it to the Cheif Of Police's office and the have the form forwarded to Pacewicz.
Please see:
05/20/08 - Caught On Tape - Police Officer Franco Giving 140 Pound Boy Up To 50,000 Volts Three Different Times
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05/21/08 - Greenwich Police Departments Repeated Use Of A Taser On A High School Student Has Struck A Nerve - Concerned Parents Want To See The Video
Let Us See The Video !!!!
People Are Continuing To Talk About The Taser Incident As They Wait For Greenwich High School And The Greenwich Police Department To Release The Surveillance Videos.
People Are Continuing To Talk About The Taser Incident As They Wait For Greenwich High School And The Greenwich Police Department To Release The Surveillance Videos.
Born In Greenwich says:
Blue wall of silence. If you resist then you are shot or taserd? Makes sense.
Greenwich Police Officers have a very very difficult time with authority, more so the the taxpayers.
Just read all their internal issues over the last few years.
Please don't use my name says
What they did was show a school full of kids how much violence three cops can inflict on one unarmed kid in a school when they act out of proportion to the situation and without the necessary self control we expect of people we allow to walk around our schools with dangerous weapons.
I'm sure these kids feel perfectly safe now - NOT!
Some cops think a badge gives them the authority to act with impunity. If you don't think there are bad cops out there, many of them, then you are not paying very much attention to the frequent news stories that report it. Unfortunately, you can't just assume a cop is right, they often aren't.
Let's see a quick release of the tape of the incident to see how much resistence this one kid was putting up against three cops.
No lame excuses or coverups, just show us what happened.
ANON says:
Tough Sh*t kids....do as you're told by the police and this won't happen. If you knew anything about use of force procedure that is taught at the police academy, you'd know that you are taught to use a taser before empty handle struggle.
STUDY AFTER STUDY shows the taser causes less injuries to cops AND suspects. It also reduces the cost to taxpayers when a cop goes out on comp for an injury and his/her slot needs to be filled with ovetime.
Taxpayer says:
Wait until a police officers kid is taserd or a politician, then there may be changs.
See how a officer handles his kid getting taserd.
How in the world did they survive before the tasers?
Huh says:
There were three cops and they couldn't deal with ONE teenager without using weapons? Let's go to the videotape on this one.
School "resource" officer? Resource for what? Sounds more like a Rambo wannabe.
If they decide to sue, then fine.
Just look at all the cops with their "hypertension disability" claims.
What's good for the goose..
Jenny says:
The police use these tasers a little too quickly. Its intention was to be used instead of a gun - so ask yourself, should the police have SHOT this kid? Over water balloons? The answer would be NO. He shouldn't have been shot, he shouldn't have been tasered.
frank says:
Unfortunantly, this is what happens everyday in the innner-city. While I do feel bad for the high school student as well as his classmates that witnessed such criminal behavior by the "POLICE", maybe someone will start listening to what minorities have been saying for years. Although this student (by the mothers last name) seems to be a minority, cops are getting out of hand every regardless of your ethnicity. They get away with murder let alone just hurting someone with un-necessary force. I look at police as a legal gang due to their behavior which is no different than a criminal.
the judge says:
He got off easy,. in my day he would gotten billy clubbed.
james beardsley says:
this is shocking
Possible Overkill says:
Water balloons were a prank from a prior day.
Tasered over shouting and kicking a chair? What a lame response. Where were the school administrators? And where were this kid's friends to suggest he calm himself down? Pretty much a waste of taxpayer money, judicial time.
And instead of suspending the student for a week why not have him instead go to class, learn and then help clean up the cafeteria for the week??
Or would that infringe on some unionized worker??
Silly CYA culture...
Asbestos Head says:
This also could be the Spanish version of "Don't tase me bro"
outsider says:
The BRAT got what he deserved.
Shock the parents also!!!!!!
Guess Who from Fairfield says:
What a load of crap from the chief - water ballon throwing, a criminal offense, really?
SO your saying when my 9 year old has her summer friends over and the play with water ballons, she is committing a crime.
LIAR, LIAR, big fatty PANTS on fire, Chief.
Excessive force!
Sue the school. Sue the cops, Sue the Chief for being a stupid bastard.
That should be a crime.
BS says:
If a parent tasers their kid, the probably would get arrested. Lets see what happens when a officers son or daughter gets taserd. How have the tasers the taxpayers paid for helped the taxpayers?
Connecticut Sam says:
Arrest the cop. He is a bully.
MIKE says:
Thats right, believe everything you read in the paper, you'll always get the whole story.
Greenwich student says:
it's not alright that he goes and say bye to friends where he needed to walk by them anyways to leave the school. 3 cops and 2 more security guards didn't take him down? but the need to taser him was in no doubt at all. He should've listened instead of arguing no doubt, but to take it as far as MORE than 3 tasers, no way, the paper might say 3, but i know for a fact its more.
think about it says:
It's a kid, for goodness' sake! He is still in high school! And he didn't kill anybody. And no, it is not a crime to come back to school after one's been suspended. It is a violation of school rules, but not a felony offense. But just because this kid wanted to come back to school (think about that- he wasn't out robbing stores; he wanted to be in school), he wound up being shocked three times with a taser, handcuffed, arrested, prosecuted, and held for $50,000 in bail. His mother, who says she can't afford an attorney, probably had to go to a bailbondsman for the bail, and pay 10% of that amount up front- that means that her son's throwing a water balloon has cost her $5,000.
That is why sane communities in middle class neighborhoods don't station police officers in their schools. They let trained educators and psychologists and coaches deal with adolescents. Adolescents get unruly, get upset, deal with situations inappropriately and emotionally. Yet in responsible communities schools understand that you have to deal with young people differently. And they realize that, yes, you don't respond to adolescent bahavior and immaturity with brutal force, and you don't treat every upset kid as a criminal.
It's time to get the police out of our schools, and demand that our schools deal resonsibly with our children, and not just take the easy and convenient route of dumping them into the criminal justice system.
Tina says:
I just keep thinking what if it was my child.
Heads should roll with this policy and police action.
This one is going to cost the Town of Greenwich. It should and humiliation for this should be nationwide.
Release the video.
Let's see this one go up on Youtube and let the civilian population gather together to say. You just do not do this.
Angie says:
A school full of teachers, psychologists and guidance counselors, and a student is tasered for pulling a prank on SERIOR PRANK DAY!!!
Super Nanny could have handled it in 30 seconds.
Where were the educational professionals? Get the police OUT OF GREENWICH HIGH SCHOOL!
Samantha says:
there were students in the greenwich high school that protested by wearing t-shirts that said "Don't Taze Me!" on them with victor londono's name and the date that he was zapped
Robert Harmon says:
From what has been said in the previous article and in this article it seems that the real reason for this event is the fact that a student must be picked up by a parent when suspended,
This scenario does not call for any violence, after all he was leaving the premises which is what was originally asked of him.
STUDENT says:
Greenwich cops have nothing better to do than go around looking for kids that do stupid stuff like throwing water balloons to arrest them, they love arresting people, because thats how they keep their job, it was not necessary to shock a kid just for kicking chairs, that cop should get a job in the bronx or somewhere in New York where the real crimes happen because there's no crime in greenwich so anything they find wrong they're going to make such a big deal out of it because they have nothing better to do.
Jack says:
Would a white kid from backcountry have gotten tased? Probably not. This is was an insane over reaction by the officer.
country dad says:
High school is still part of a kid's formative years.
GHS has highly qualified and big-budgeted non-academic support system for kids who need help: school psychiatrists, psychologists, guidance counselors, mentor teachers, peer counselling by other students, etc. Anger management for an 18 year kid is not rocket science for this team to work on.
For the police to get involved in this manner is a big failure of this team and the Greenwich police. Greenwich police is a big and also highly budgeted force. And because the town has a low crime rate, they sometimes look into the male teenage population to justify their existence.
Parents of teenagers in this town must be vigilant that this population group does not get targeted unnecessarily.
Joan says:
One major reason for putting a police officer in GHS to begin with was the displacement of officers from the call center by civilians. Insiders know that the former police chief teamed up with the school superintendent Larry Leverett to help the police keep their staffing numbers up by putting an officer in the school.
There's not justification for having police prowling the halls looking for teenagers to arrest in a school that ranked among the safest in the entire state before the cops were introduced. If this could happen to this kid, it could happen to any of our kids.
Alisa says:
I feel as if people are forgetting that he threw some balloons.
Kids have let mice loose in Greenwich High School and people were stepping on them. Many of the were killed. I remember one year kids were going around stabbing random people with needles.
No action was taken with the other pranks.
This is a good kid.
I am a girl that attended Greenwich High school.
Its easy to listen to what the police say and judge victor but anyone who knows him knows this is messed up.
Yes he reacted in a way that he "shouldn't have".
He stopped to say goodbye to his friends. I could write pages on how I feel about this issue but I wont waste your time,
TDM says:
If this incident happened 20 years ago that kid would had got the whooping that he deserved, and if he had decent parents, they would have given him the same treatment when he got home. The liberal yuppies who are going to complain about this are the ones who allow children to behave this way. Kids no longer are accountable for their actions and it disgusts me. As for the parents, it sounds like they are just looking for a reason to sue the town so they can go to Foxwoods for a week with my tax dollars.
The GPD should be commended for their actions and that little brat should sit in a jail cell for a couple weeks to learn respect for authorities.
elmo says:
The student was wrong but, should kicking a desk necessitate a Tasering?
Incident should have been handled by the principal and a gym teacher, if needed.
But what about the police officer's training?
Is he (or she) that physically unfit or that poorly trained in basic physical restraint techniques that he could not handle one high school student?
A properly trained officer should have been able to have an unarmed student down, pinned, handcuffed if necessary and sitting in a desk chair within seconds.
Amy Karshian says:
I think this is outrageous Greenwich High School is a role model school for the region and we shouldn't have police officers tasing students in a low risk school just a bad example of why resource officers can take their powers as a police officer too far especially in Greenwich.
Glen says:
Consider a couple of facts.
First, corporal punishment has been illegal in America's public schools for a lot longer than twenty years. No school official is permitted to punch, slap, spank or otherwise assault a student. And the reasons for that come from long experience in the abuse of kids by school officials.
Indeed, teachers sometimes are suspended or put on probation for making comments that are considered particularly mean or abusive.
Yet for some bizarre reason, Greenwich High School thinks it's OK for a police officer in the school to put a taser directly onto a kid's body and delivers painful electric shocks to his chest, his stomach, and his leg.
That is brutality, plain and simple. No other member of the teaching staff or the administration or, for that matter, the security guard, would be permitted to do that. So it seems that the school is rolling the clock back to the old days of abuse, skirting the law by permitting police officers to administer the "whoopin'". That's wrong.
Jon says:
Look at the double-talk from the police department: the article stated that the student's behavior only became "criminal" when he kicked a chair and refused to put his hands behind his back....Huh?
Is it a violation of the law to "kick a chair"?
No one was injured, and not even the chair appears to have sustained damage.
Then the kid refused to put his hands behind his back- clearly to be arrested. Yet the police department's double-speak suggested that it was only after he refused to let himself be arrested that his behavior became- well- illegal and made him subject to arrest....Huh?
Only because he refused to be arrested did he become subject to arrest? The Greenwich Police Department has a lot to answer for.
What's not being reported says:
Greenwich is the 5th safest town of its size in all of America. It's crime rate since 1992 has fallen by well over 50%. It's rate of violent crime is negligible. And the rate of out of school suspensions and expulsions place it among the safest in the state of Connecticut, far better than the average for its socio-economic grouping.
Yet last year the police arrested 54 students on campus alone, a figure equivalent to 2% of the entire student body. Over the first two months of the year, students were arrested at a rate of three a month. If that held up, there would have been 27 more students arrested up to this point. That is far in excess of the experience at similar schools in the state.
If the police officer gets away with tasering this kid, you can bet that he'll use it more in the future.
Steve says:
It is shameful that the school board and the administration have enabled this sort of ugly assault on a kid by putting police officers on permanent duty in the school.
Tom Gogola, in an editorial in Fairfield County Weekly, hit the nail on the head when he wrote:
"What kind of police force can't constrain one high-school kid? And what kind of school administration is so out of touch and afraid of its students that it lets armed police officers deal with its disciplinary problems?.
"There are very few valid reasons why a student should ever be Tasered- or even be threatened with a Taser- at a high school (or any school for that matter). We're hoping that the Londonos sue, sue, sue!- and that the money comes out of the security staff budget, or the $250,000 yearly salary paid to schools superintendent Betty Sternberg.
That'll be a real shocker."
There was no excuse for what the police officer did. None.
Sal says:
The point is that he is an adolescent male throwing water balloons.
Of course he got incensed that teachers and administrators felt that they needed the police to intervene rather than doing it themselves. Think about what it feels like to be handled from the get-go as a criminal for mere childish behaviour. Take that feeling of violation and put it in an 18-year-old male's head.
Of course he got angry. A teacher or administrator he knew should have then diffused the situation. We cannot continue to use a heavy-hand in what really are mild situations.
It ties up our justice system and carries serious financial and social costs.
Karen says
Let me ask you a question:
if your child was talking during class and turning around and not paying attention and the teacher slugged your child in the mouth "to teach him/her a lesson", would that be acceptable to you? We outlawed corporal punishment, remember? You can't beat children in the school for any reason. But somehow it's alright to put a taser to a kid's chest and administer electric shocks? Why? Because it's a cop? Would you be OK with your child's being beaten for not paying attention, as long as the beating were administered by a police officer?
We outlawed corporal punishment for very good reasons. And we should keep the cops out of our schools for very similar reasons.
This kid's family will very likely sue the town, and they will probably win. Let's keep in mind that this comes not long after another kid was suspended for sexual harassment for purportedly saying something about a girl's chest. And last year 54 students were arrested at GHS alone. This is a school that has put virtually every inch of the school under surveillance with a system of surveillance cameras.
Doesn't anyone see how bizarre and out of control the security mentality is becoming there? Is that sort of rabid mindset really what we need for our kids?
Something is very wrong.
GHS Mother says:
Here's a little snippet from the newest article about this tasering incident:
"I don't have the money to hire a lawyer," Gonzales [the mother] said."
Please see:
05/20/08 - Former Greenwich School Administrator And Others Speak Out About Greenwich Police Use Of A Taser On A Greenwich High School Student
05/19/08 - Even More Comments About Greenwich High School Taser Incident (updated #3)
05/18/08 - Comments About Greenwich Student Getting Tased Three Times In The Greenwich Cafeteria (Update #6)
05/19/08 - Reader Submited Comments About Weapon Being Fired At Greenwich High School - What Was the Crime? (Enhanced With Video) Updated
And:3 Greenwich Cops Give 140 Pound Boy 50,000 Volts And A $50,000 Bail For not Going To A School Office Over Water Ballon Incident: (Updated)
Please send your comments to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com
05/21/08 - Greenwich Real Estate News
Greenwich Blog Post From Deal Breaker:
Greenwich Resident's Plan For 26 Toilet Home Deep Sixed
P&Z rejects Simmons Lane mansion plan [Greenwich Time]
Also:
SAC Capital founder Steve Cohen wins.
Please send your blog posts and comments to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com
05/21/08 - Why does Sue Wallerstein Get A Free Pass From The Ever So Compliant Greenwich Media?
Responsibility for school problemsTo the editor:
Who is running the Board of Education? Hamilton Avenue School children, families and staff have been subjected to mold for three years, and moved to modular classrooms with no library, no computer lab, no gymnasium and no auditorium.
How could this happen, one could ask? Bad construction, bad maintenance, blame the students, blame the teachers? Not the answers.
The head of building and construction is an assistant superintendent, who has no building, construction or engineering background or education. Her previous position was head of media. Yet she continues to receive raises to perform a job with no education or experience in that field...
Dorothea Vicoli Cheslock
Greenwich
By The Way:
Greenwich school parents and teachers are reporting that "Key Documents" from the Board Of Education Facilities Planning webpage now that the parents have had independent tests conducted at the contaminated Hamilton Avenue modular classrooms.
Please see:
http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=5782
What happened to all those March Board Of Education test results and press releases?
The Board Of Education still has links to a Greenwich Public School Press Release from June 13, 2006 telling us how lucky we are that Betty Sternberg is coming to Greenwich, but mold test results are gone.
In fact, if a Glenville School parent was to go to the Greenwich Public Schools website and typed the word "mold" in the search box they will now get this page...
The Greenwich Public School's District Site Map:
http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=713
It looks like there was no mold at the Greenwich public schools, those crazy Hamilton Avenue parents must have just imagined things. In fact, Betty "You Can Trust Me" Sternberg and her failed school administrators have been claiming there was no mold hazard since March 12, 2008...
schoolmoldhelp.org - Mold health hazard denied by Greenwich, CT
Mar 12, 2008Mold health hazard denied by Greenwich, CT school district
Health hazards denied for mold-infested school buildings - a typical school district stance that can place the public at risk. The unsuspecting public rarely understands that school mold testing is orchestrated to reassure, in many cases. Media articles, like the one below, simply amplify the reassurances, without delving into whether these are based on sound science. The children and teachers remain ignorant of what they have already been exposed to, while health departments and government health agencies fail to protect the public from the extensive public health menaces found in damp school buildings. The foxes guarding the chickencoop are simply not sufficient.
No mold hazard found at Ham Ave. modulars
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/scn-gt-hamavemar12,0,3105612.story
By Andrew Shaw
Staff Writer
Published March 12 2008
Ism't it strange that the Greenwich Public School test results are yanked off the Board Of Education website once the Hamilton Avenue School parents hired a lawyer and brought in a a professional to do independent tests.Please see:
Parents waiting for tests - Greenwich Time
May 20, 2008The jury is still out on whether officials were correct in saying that mold found at a modular school was not harmful to students and staff, according to a ...
...Board of Education member Leslie Moriarty said a certified environmental hygienist hired by the board trailed Leighton during the testing so that a parallel test could be run to make sure results are accurate. The results of those tests also are likely to be available next week...
Please also see:
05/15/08 - You Won't Read This In The Greenwich's Newspaper The "Yellowich" Time
05/09/09 - Hey Greenwich Time - Glenville School Parents Want To Know Why??????
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Police defend Taser actions Police yesterday defended the tasering of an unruly Greenwich High School student on campus, arguing police couldn't stand by after the teenager kicked cafeteria chairs and resisted arrest. Full Story Greenwich Republicans cemented their party's ticket for General Assembly last night, endorsing Lile Gibbons for a fifth term in 150th House District and newcomer Alfred Camillo in the 151st District during separate nominating conventions at Town Hall. Full Story P&Z rejects Simmons Lane mansion plan At least one opponent of a new mansion proposed for backcountry Greenwich planned to celebrate the project's rejection last night. Full Story A state Superior Court judge yesterday said he will release sealed arrest warrants for two men charged in the April 2006 slaying of Andrew Kissel by early June after deciding on defense requests to keep information they consider prejudicial from the public. Full Story Stamford Democrat vies for the 36th With an open seat beckoning, Stamford Democrat Mark Diamond is answering his party's call to run for state Senate in the 36th District. Full Story =========================================== Please send your comments to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com | |
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