By Greenwich "Associated Press" Time
NEW YORK - Stocks plunged in the final minutes of trading Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrials down more than 600 points to their lowest level in five years after a major credit ratings agency said it was considering cutting its rating on General Motors Corp.
By Greenwich "Associated Press" Time
WASHINGTON - Federal officials are pushing ahead with an experiment to reduce rampant flight delays around the nation by auctioning off takeoff and landing times at New York City-area airports, where most delays begin.
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced final rules to begin auctioning takeoff and landing "slots" at the three major New York-area airports: John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark-Liberty. Roughly two-thirds of flight delays around the country are caused by backups at those airports, which have flight patterns that include parts of Connecticut.
By Greenwich "Associated Press" Time
NEW YORK - Wall Street headed for a strong open Thursday after IBM Corp. reaffirmed its profit outlook and investors hoped the government might take ownership stakes in banks to help stabilize the financial industry.
Investors looked to recover from near-panic selling that cascaded through global markets in the past week. Stocks around the world moved mostly higher one day after the Federal Reserve and other leading central banks cut interest rates to help unclog the credit markets and stimulate the global economy.
By Greenweich "Associated Press" Time
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is considering taking ownership stakes in certain U.S. banks as an option for dealing with a severe global credit crisis.
An administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decision has been made, said the $700 billion rescue package passed by Congress last week allows the Treasury Department to inject fresh capital into financial institutions and get ownership shares in return.
This official said all the new powers granted in the legislation were being considered as the administration seeks to deal with a serious credit crisis that has caused the biggest upheavals on Wall Street in seven decades and continues to roil global markets.
By Greenwich "Associated Press" Time
LONDON - European markets on Thursday recovered some of Wednesday's hefty losses after a relatively steady performance in Asia overnight, with British banking stocks in particular enjoying a strong rally in the wake of the government's 500 billion pound ($865 billion) rescue plan.
European jitters appear to have been calmed by Wednesday's simultaneous interest rate cuts from the world's key central banks, even though lending between financial institutions remains limited.
"European equity markets have bounced back this morning, and in that regard there is some sense of normality returning but money markets remain frozen," said Neil Mackinnon, chief economist at ECU Group.
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/09/2008 07:17:22 AM EDT
Following a 2006 surgery with Dr. Ian Rubins, the Greenwich plastic surgeon who died of a heroin overdose in January, Stamford resident Robin Lyons' breast swelled up to her collar bone.
A breast cancer survivor, Lyons, 54, had to undergo another mastectomy and three additional surgeries to correct it, she said.
So when she received news that Rubins had been removed from the hospital for drug problems in 2007, and that the hospital knew about since 1997, she was shocked.
"I find it incredible that Greenwich Hospital would allow this surgeon to perform surgeries on me or any woman, knowing he has a drug problem," she said....
....Greenwich Hospital spokesperson, George Pawlush said hospital officials do not discuss pending litigation.
"However, it is our belief that this claim lacks merit," he said.
"Greenwich Hospital is committed to the highest quality patient care. We continually rank among the top hospitals in the nation in patient satisfaction," he said.
Lyons said she has seen many doctors at Greenwich Hospital and has never had an experience like this before.
"I still go to many doctors at Greenwich Hospital and have received wonderful care. I didn't think anything like this would happen," she said.
To proceed as a class action, the lawsuit must first be certified by a judge.
By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/09/2008 02:36:07 AM EDT
STAMFORD - Bitter disagreements in President Bush's inner circle and Bush's failure to heed warnings that the occupation of Iraq was failing muddled the management of the war, investigative journalist Bob Woodward said yesterday.
Internal squabbling and Bush's hard-headedness led to catastrophic dithering over the strategy for Iraq, said Woodward, who addressed an audience of about 150 people at the Rich Forum. The Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The Washington Post is promoting his fourth book about the Bush administration, "The War Within," published last month, which analyzes how the Bush administration made the decisions that led to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
While interviewing the president for "The War Within," Woodward said, he noticed that Bush played down news that insurgents had stepped up attacks on U.S. troops and other setbacks, leading Woodward to conclude that Bush had lost sight of what was happening in Iraq.
By Debra Friedman
Greenwioch Time Crime Writer
Article Launched: 10/09/2008 02:36:05 AM EDT
Members of the police union will vote next week whether to accept a contract offering moderate pay increases following the expiration of the previous four-year contract, officials said.
The Silver Shield Association represents 149 police officers up to the rank of lieutenant.
The Oct. 17 vote comes after nearly a year of negotiations between town officials and representatives of the Silver Shield Association, according to Alfred Cava, the town's labor relations director. The previous contract expired in June, officials said.
"I think both parties had their differences, but we acted professionally and I think we reached an agreement that is in the best interest of police officers, the town and the taxpayers," said Cava.
Sgt. James Bonney, president of the union, said the two-year package isn't a home run for the Silver Shield, but it is progress.
"Some people will vote against it, but hopefully enough people think it's reasonable," said Bonney....
....According to Bonney, two officers who were on the force for several years recently left to go to other departments in Meriden and the state police as a result of these high costs.
"I want to keep the guys we have because it's a huge expense to train new people," said Bonney.....
....."The town started to pick up some slack they were missing," said Bonney. "We get along very well with the town and with the selectman. I think it's night and day from what it used to be," said Bonney.
Police Chief David Ridberg also felt the package is fair.
"My sense is they were not adversarial in any way," said Ridberg. "I am happy for my officers to get what they deserve and it still falls within the town's needs within the financial perspective."
If the union votes to approve the contract, it will go before the Representative Town Meetingon Oct. 27, according to Cava. If not, Cava said the town will have to sit back down with union members to determine the next step.
GA, CSH enjoy new rivalryThe much-anticipated Greenwich Academy-Convent of the Sacred Heart field hockey and lacrosse games always features large crowds and plenty of excitement.
There was one catch: She had to spend five years writing a book about the world's wealthiest man and chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., parent company of Stamford-based General Re Corp., GEICO Auto Insurance and Dairy Queen.
Her task included years of interviews with Buffett, both in person and on the phone, sitting in his office and traveling with him for weeks at a time....
....Amid a slumping economy, the book's release is well-timed, said Michael Norris, a senior analyst with Stamford-based SIMBA Information, a market research firm for the media and publishing industries.
"The stars seem to be pretty well-aligned for this book," Norris said. "Folks are really looking for leadership and guidance and for a lot of them, Buffett is going to be their guy."
Buffett was mentioned as a candidate for secretary of the Treasury in Tuesday's presidential debate.
"It's an important book," said Deborah Weir of Greenwich, past president of the Stamford Chartered Financial Analyst Society.
"At a time like this, when the markets are in disarray, the character of the (potential) next secretary of the Treasury will be important."
It's been six months since a group of University of Connecticut journalism students, using public databases, discovered that more than 8,500 dead people remained on Connecticut voting rolls whose names could have been fraudulently used to cast votes in elections.
To the editor:
With regard to the discussions about allowing nonresidents to use Island Beach, it seems to me that the current concerns about allowing use of the ferry boat are incorrect.
As I understand it, a court ruling forcing Greenwich to open its parks had to do with "places for gathering and meeting, free discussions," etc.
Evidently, town parks are felt by the court to be places where such activities should be allowed to happen for anyone, regardless of residency.
But while this interpretation says we cannot prevent nonresidents from using Island Beach itself, i.e. "the place for gathering," it does not say anything about how the people get to "the place for gathering," and certainly in my mind does not require that the town provide transportation to nonresidents. We don't provide free bus service to the parks, do we?
Therefore, I think we should change the policy to allow nonresident access to Island Beach - provided they get there themselves. This is no different than with the other parks. They need to drive to Greenwich Point, Byram Beach or any of the other parks in town. The ferry boats would be restricted to town residents and guests only.
Is there anything wrong with this thinking? How about it, town attorney: Let's see you earn your keep and get this done.
John Ehlers
Riverside
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