07/17/08 Rwanda Is Like Greenwich ???

Fundraising show benefits Congo's people

Connecticut Post, CT

BRIDGEPORT — He can laugh about it now, but seven years ago the daily torture and looming threat of execution in a Congolese prison was no laughing matter for Alexis Tshimbalanga.

He's safe in Bridgeport as a political refugee after an escape from jail he credits to a miracle from God, but he can't forget the plight of his impoverished and suffering countrymen and women in the Democratic Republic of Congo....

..."Rwanda is like Greenwich and the Congo is like Bridgeport, except to a much further extreme," Economy said, recalling his eye-opening trip in March to the ...

...

Halley Davis, World Relief partnership officer, said the August home-building project is also relationship-building that involves members of a church in Indiana as well as Congolese churches and pastors, who identify the neediest in their communities.

"You have a lot of orphans and vulnerable children as parents are lost, whether to disease or conflict," she said.

The International Rescue Committee estimates that some 425,000 people have been displaced and hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped in Congo since fighting broke out in 1998.

Saturday's show will start at 9 p.m. It will be open to all ages for a donation until 11 p.m., when it will be only for those 21 and over.

For more information about World Relief or to help the Congolese people, call 685-5740.

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07/17/08 The rod was sharpened by a machine on the end and it hadn’t gotten there by accident. Nor were the other 38 “spikes”, 2-3 ft. long

"Sharpened steel spikes, hidden in pits and water, have begun turning up in parks and lakes on two continents."

Why is someone putting sharp spikes in park ponds?

Boing Boing

Posted by Mark Frauenfelder

...This reminds me of something that happened to me about 10 years ago on a train from Greenwich, CT to NYC. When I sat down in my seat, I felt a sharp sting in my butt. I inspected the plastic upholstery and discovered several small slits had been cut into it. Each slit was hiding an X-Acto knife blade pointing upward....

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07/17/08 When asked if anyone in the court room appeared to be the person Patricia Solari described to police, she said no.

Attorney challenges ID of "dinnertime bandit"

NewsTimesLive.com

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN Associated Press Writer

Article Last Updated: 07/17/2008 06:19:20 PM EDT

STAMFORD, Conn.—An attorney for the man accused of being the "dinnertime bandit" argued Thursday that police mishandled a photo lineup of possible suspects, leading a witness to finger his client.

Patricia Solari identified Alan Golder a decade ago from an array of eight photos as the intruder who robbed her home in 1997. She said she only saw him for a few seconds and that he wore a ski mask and gloves.

"We have a photo array here that really does not meet the standard," said Howard Ehring, a public defender representing Golder.

Ehring said Golder's photo had a background distinctive from the other seven photos and that police presented Solari with all the photos at once, allowing her to quickly eliminate all but two based on eye color. Ehring also said the lead investigator should not have shown her the photos because of the potential for bias.

Solari only saw the intruder for a few seconds and was not certain of his eye color, Ehring said. He also said she felt badgered to make an identification.

But prosecutor Joseph Valdes said the photo lineup met standards set by court rulings. He said the number of photos was standard and that police used the best photo they had of Golder.

Solari was not led to believe the suspect was in the photo lineup, Valdes said. Solari doesn't say the photo she picked was the intruder, only that his mouth and eyes closely resembled the robber, Valdes noted.

Solari said last week she eliminated...

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07/17/08 Surprise!!!!! Greenwich Is Number 14

Darien Ranks Among Rich Towns

Darien News-Review

Darien has been identified as the second highest-earning town in the country, with a median family income of $218,130, coming in just behind New Canaan....

... New Canaan was identified as the No. 1 highest-earning town, with a median family income of $231,138. Based on a population of 19,690, the median cost to buy a home in New Canaan is $1,465,000....

... Two other Fairfield County towns made the top 25 list: Westport and Greenwich. At No. 5, Westport was described as being in habited by "culture vultures," as it has always been known as an artists' ...

... The population of 26,218 in Westport has a median family income of $193,540, and the median cost for a home there is $1,200,000...

Perhaps surprising to some, Greenwich was ranked as No. 14 on the list, marking the fourth of the Fairfield County towns in the top 25.

"Greenwich is one of New York City's most exclusive suburbs, but its roots go far beyond being just a bedroom community," according to the study.

The town has a long and distinguished history, dating back to 1640, but now it is better known as the home-base for hedge funds. The study also described Green­wich's climate as "tax-friendly."

To see the entire top 25 list, visit

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0807/gallery.bplive_topearners.moneymag/jump.html

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07/17/08 The Greenwich Citizen Surprises Everyone In Greenwich They Actually Updated Their Website And It's Not Even Friday Afternoon

Old Greenwich native Tom Banca, owner of Longford's Ice Cream, serves a scoop of the "own-made" ice cream.
(GREENWICH CITIZEN photo / Amy Mortensen)

Longford's Looking to Become Local Favorite

By Christine Chagaris
Article Last Updated: 07/17/2008 05:20:14 PM EDT

July has the distinction of being National Ice Cream Month. Walk into Longford's Ice Cream in Old Greenwich and one is greeted by an assortment of flavors that does this distinction proud.

Chocolate Cherry Avalanche, anyone? Or, how about a taste of Bear Tracks? For the uninitiated, the former is a sweet crème vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered cherries swirled with a cherry sauce and chocolate cookie batter. The latter, vanilla ice cream with praline pecans, topped off with heath bars, brownie dough and caramel.....

COMMENT:

WOW

The Greenwich Citizen Actually Updated Their Newspaper website 2 out of 7 days!!!!

Keep up the good work.

Maybe you can update 3 out of 7 days next week.

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07/17/08 Lee Whitnum Surprises Jon Kantrowitz At My Left Nutmeg

Lee Whitnum Surprises Me

My Left Nutmeg

It's been quite a day for surprises. I am just going to report the facts on this one without commenting.......

Lee Whitnum 2008
Democratic Candidate for Congress
4th Congressional District of Connecticut
PO Box 7482,
Greenwich, CT 06830 1-888-426-8167

Dear Panel Members,

Pardon the informality of this letter but I wanted to get you the debate details as soon as possible. Thank you for agreeing to be a panel member hosting a question/answer session between the two Democratic candidates for US House of Representatives in the Fourth Congressional district: Lee Whitnum and Jim Himes.

DATE: August 4, 2008
TIME: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
LOCATION: The Concert Hall at Norwalk Town Hall.
Moderator/MC: Andrew Garfunkel, City of Norwalk Town Clerk 203-854-7747
agarfunkel@norwalkct.org

Panel Members:

Jack Condlin, president
Stamford Chamber of Commerce
733 Summer St # 104, Stamford, CT 06901
(203) 359-4761
jcondlin@stamfordchamber.com

James Walker
City Editor
The Hour Newspaper
346 Main Ave, Norwalk, CT 06851
jswalker@thehour.com

Colleen Flaherty
Reporter, New Canaan Advertiser
42 Vitti St
New Canaan, CT 06840
(203) 966-9541
cflaherty@ncadvertiser.com

Rebecca Surran
TV News Anchor, Channel 12
News 12 Connecticut
28 Cross Street
Norwalk, CT 06851
News12ct@news12.com

Jonathan Kantrowitz
Former Democratic Candidate for Congress
1994 and 1998
Fourth congressional District
jdk@queueinc.com

The venue seats 1,000 and is open to the public. Rules, Panel Guidelines and sample questions will be provided to you. Please confirm that you are indeed still available.

Sincerely,

Ed Moran, Campaign Manager
cc: Lee Whitnum, LeeWhitnum2008@yahoo.com, Jim Himes, info@himesforcongress.com, Lee Magri, Lmagri@norwalkct.org.

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07/17/08 Greenwich Post News Links

Kids bring movie character to life at sand sculpture contest

Luke and John Cunningham work diligently on their sand sculpture of Wall-E, the main character of the same-titled Disney-Pixar feature film, during Saturday’s Sandblast! sand sculpture festival at Greenwich Point. The annual event was sponsored by the Greenwich Arts Council.

— David Ames, Greenwich Post photo:

Also From The Greenwich Post:

• First selectman says ball field must find new home

• Witherell misses out on money

• Cos Cob native carpools for a green world

• Parents blast Glenville move option

• Foundation grows from school project to international mission

• New town plan focuses on environment, resources

• Firm extends Green Light, Green Life campaign

• Man gets six years for aiding, abetting Betteridge robbery

• Baity jumps in pool to compete with America’s best

• Guise golden at Sawgrass

• Redbirds set for ‘Slide into Greenwich’

• Fall soccer program to start in Sept.

• You can Download Page One of the Greenwich Post
  

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07/17/08 Jim Himes: "Chris Shays gets queasy about the war in Iraq in even number years,"

Jim Himes addresses a packed house at the Town Hall during a town meeting last night.
(Keelin Daly/ Greenwich Time photo)

Top Story:

Headline:

Himes says that Shays has visited Iraq 20 times since the start of the war and planning his first trip next month to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is where the real war on terrorism is being fought.

Quote:

"Iraq was never the source of the terrorism that affronted the United States," Jim Himes said.

Story:

Himes: Shays wrong on the war with Iraq

By Neil Vigdor
Greenwich Time Staff Writer

Democratic congressional hopeful Jim Himes hammered away last night at U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and the Bush administration, saying that they had failed the nation on everything from the prosecution of the Iraq war to economic policy.

Appearing at a Town Hall meeting in Greenwich, Himes accused Shays of ignoring his constituents' warnings against invading Iraq and said the longtime incumbent's decision to go to war was a colossal mistake.

"If Chris Shays had listened to his constituents, we might be in a better place right now," Himes said. "We've sacrificed the moral high ground on this planet."

About 85 people came out to hear Himes, who was five days into a 17-town "Listening and Leading" tour of the 4th District, which includes most of Fairfield County and a sliver of New Haven County.

"We need new leadership. That's why I'm standing before you," said Himes, a married father of two from Cos Cob.

A Rhodes Scholar who was educated at Harvard, Himes, former Democratic Town Committee chairman of Greenwich, was endorsed by his party in May to run against Shays.

Before that can happen, Himes faces an Aug. 12 primary against fellow Greenwich resident Lee Whitnum, who passed out campaign materials last night to audience members and sat in the back of the room during the meeting.

The overwhelmingly pro-Himes audience lobbed the candidate questions on a host of issues, from tariffs on imported ethanol fuel and....

Please Read The Full Greenwich Time Story


More News Stories From

The Greenwich Time:


State police make pot bust at weigh station

State police seized 50 pounds of marijuana in a tractor-trailer rig they chased down when it drove past a mandatory weigh station stop in Greenwich...

The dog days of summer are here
The hot and humid weather hanging over Greenwich is here to stay...

Town releases 10-year plan
A town with bike-friendly paths, green buildings, better access to waterways and less traffic could be where Greenwich is headed in the future...

Shays, Himes post fundraising gains

Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Jim Himes, the Democratic Party-endorsed candidate in the 4th District, ran neck-and-neck in fundraising during the second quarter, according to campaign filings released yesterday by the Federal Election Commission...

Italian Club wraps up a solid year of bocce
Nearly 100 kids cheered as John Agostino rolled his glossy green ball down the gravel alleyway of the bocce court at Greenwich High School for the last game of the school year...

Tesei shuts Wiffle ball field over liability worries

First Selectman Peter Tesei yesterday ordered a Wiffle ball field built by teens on town land in Riverside to be shut down because of liability concerns...

Greenwich All-Stars eliminated from Senior Babe Ruth tournament
STAMFORD - Life in the losers' bracket is all about fighting for the right to play on. No teams exemplified that better than the Stamford West and Greenwich All-Stars last night in the 2008 16-18 year-old Babe Ruth Connecticut State Tournament....

A failed treatment for another dysfunction

Some time back, in an effort to recapture the elections of my youth, I took a pill. I expected that the election would be held, passions dissipate and everything would be over.

Handicap space violations cause serious problems

To the editor:

I am a disabled person who has a ramped van and mobility scooter. I was glad to read your editorial concerning stiffer penalties for illegally parking in a handicap space or using someone else's permit ("Being tough on handicap violations," July 7).

CAPT scores: Parents criticize curriculum, commitment

For Erica Holmes-Purnell, a decline in science and reading scores by Greenwich High School sophomores raises questions about the current curriculum and how to help students do better next year on the state-administered proficiency tests.

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07/17/08 Homes under $600,000 In Greenwich Suffered an 8 percent price drop

Rich Are Different

New York Post

By PAUL THARP

Last updated: 7:30 am
July 17, 2008

Posted: 3:17 am
July 17, 2008

Home values in the very rich enclaves like the Hamptons and Greenwich, Conn., are soaring in the double-digits, even as prices of less tony homes in those areas are crashing....

...Meanwhile, in Greenwich, home to hedge-fund billionaires and powerful CEOs, values are up 24 percent for the most expensive of the town's palatial digs, or those with prices starting at $5 million. That group's median price soared 24 percent to a median $9.03 million.

Elsewhere in Greenwich, the least expensive homes, or those under $600,000, suffered an 8 percent drop to a median of $498,393....

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07/17/08 Connecticut Natural Gas Under Inestigation. Greenwich Customers Could Be Affected

Southern Connecticut Gas Co. Under DPUC Investigation

Hartford Courant

State regulators said they began an investigation Wednesday into the finances of Southern Connecticut Gas Co., which earned $12.1 million more than authorized by the state over a 12-month period.

The investigation comes a month after the state Department of Public Utility Control opened a similar investigation into Connecticut Natural Gas Corp., a sister company to Southern Connecticut Gas. That probe is looking into CNG's earning at least $14 million more than authorized.

Both companies are owned by Energy East Corp., a regional utility based in New Gloucester, Maine. Southern Connecticut Gas serves 165,000 residents mostly along the shore from Westport to Old Saybrook, and Connecticut Natural Gas has about 155,000 customers in the Hartford, New Britain and Greenwich areas.

Robert Brennan, a spokesman for the companies, said Wednesday that they could not comment on open investigations. "But we'll be fully cooperating with them every step of the way," he said.

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