Town to look at the need for tax collector post amid recession - Greenwich TimeA plan to eliminate the job of tax collector and fold the remnants of the office into the town's finance department, a cost-saving measure advocated by former First Selectman Jim Lash, is getting some bites from politicians on both sides of the aisle in the current recession.
"I think the idea has merit," First Selectman Peter Tesei said Wednesday during a Riverside Association debate.
Tesei, a fellow Republican who was elected two years ago to an open seat left by Lash....
...."There's 169 towns in Connecticut and they all have tax collectors. I don't think Greenwich should be any different," said Democrat Louis Caravella, who has held the elected office since 1998 and is retiring at the end of the year.
Caravella said taxpayers need someone local they can go to with problems regarding their accounts or financial situation.
"This is hands on," Caravella said....
...."I think it's typical of Jim Lash. He thinks this is a corporation and not a municipality," Republican Tod Laudonia said. "I think that the town clerk, the assessor and tax collector need to be electors of the town so they have a touch with the average citizen."...
..."I think it's typical Jim Lash. He's never seen a program, a department or employee he didn't want to cut," Novakowski said. "He doesn't see the relevance in a town. He sees life as a spreadsheet."...
Comment?
Candidates for education, finance boards weigh in on school issues - Greenwich Time
Limiting class sizes, expediting the high school's auditorium project and retaining teachers were among the issues that took center stage Thursday night during a public forum for candidates for the town's school and finance boards.
Limiting class sizes, expediting the high school's auditorium project and retaining teachers were among the issues that took center stage Thursday night during a public forum for candidates for the town's school and finance boards.
Republican Theresa Stanton, a petition candidate for school board who was left off the GOP ticket, advocated for placing hard-and-fast caps on class size during the two-hour event at Central Middle School.
"I would like to see a return to caps of class size," said Stanton, a former teacher who co-chairs the PTAC Health and Wellness Committee...
....Others such as Democratic board member Leslie Moriarty, an incumbent who is seeking a second four-year term and is the school board's vice chairman, voiced support for guidelines over mandated caps....
Finance board candidates said they weren't sticking their noses into debates over education policy.
"I don't think anybody wants (the Board of Estimate and Taxation) to get involved in those kinds of issues," said BET Chairman Stephen Walko.....
....BET candidate William Finger, for instance, suggested that the town could do more to create incentives to counter the lack of affordable housing for teachers. Such obstacles, he argued, coupled with what he called "an unbelievable commute" for some teachers threatens to erode Greenwich's ability to lure some of top candidates.
"That's an issue we should be talking about more frequently....
....While contending that there are limits to that solution, school board candidate Leslie Moriarty agreed there was a need to attract and retain the best and brightest educators in the town schools.
Town celebrates a century of service to those in need - Greenwich Time
Teryl Elliott speaks with Carol Cherry and former case worker Bea Emery during a tour she took as part of the Department of Social Services' 100th anniversary celebration Friday morning.
Comment?
Teryl Elliott speaks with Carol Cherry and former case worker Bea Emery during a tour she took as part of the Department of Social Services' 100th anniversary celebration Friday morning.
Comment?
Democrats Criticize GOP Candidate McMahon, Wrestling Videos
Three professional wrestling videos on YouTube were taken down Friday after they were sharply criticized by the state Democratic Party .......
Three professional wrestling videos on YouTube were taken down Friday after they were sharply criticized by the state Democratic Party .......
...... Democrats criticized World Wrestling Entertainment entrepreneur Linda McMahon of Greenwich, who is running in a Republican primary for the right to face U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd in the November 2010 election. ...
More than a year after a Stamford pool company president was charged with manslaughter in the drowning death of a 6-year-old Greenwich boy, the case has been scheduled for trial sometime early next year, officials said.
State's Attorney David Cohen, who is prosecuting the case of David Lionetti, a Stamford resident and Shoreline Pools executive, along with Senior Assistant State's Attorney James Bernardi, confirmed Friday they are preparing for trial.
When asked if there had been talks of resolving the case with a plea agreement over the course of the past year, Cohen said that is true of any case.
"There are always discussions of resolving a case," said Cohen. "Sometimes they are not fruitful."....
Comment?
New Web site promotes Old Greenwich businesses
Like small businesses across the country, merchants in Old Greenwich have been hit hard by the depressed economy, but they are fighting back by joining together for a joint marketing effort to draw potential customers to their neighborhood.
Comment?
Like small businesses across the country, merchants in Old Greenwich have been hit hard by the depressed economy, but they are fighting back by joining together for a joint marketing effort to draw potential customers to their neighborhood.
Comment?
Charges dismissed against Tasered Greenwich teen - Greenwich Time
The controversial case of a Greenwich High School student who was Tasered by town police in 2008 was dismissed Friday in state Superior Court....
The controversial case of a Greenwich High School student who was Tasered by town police in 2008 was dismissed Friday in state Superior Court....
........."You are free to go, Mr. Londono," said Wenzel.
The dismissal means the charges of breach of peace and interfering with an officer are thrown out and Londono is no longer subject to prosecution.
Londono was Tasered three times on May 13, 2008, after police said the high school senior became combative and repeatedly refused to report to the assistant headmaster's office.....
....The incident was caught on video, but the tape was turned over as evidence to prosecutors who have denied prior requests by Greenwich Time to view it.....
Billionaire Among 6 Arrested in Insider Trading Case
Martin Zimmerman
The Associated Press
Federal authorities shook the often secretive world of hedge funds with the arrests Friday of the billionaire founder of a major New York operation and five others on charges they ran an extensive insider-trading scheme that allegedly netted more than $20 million in illicit profits....
....At the center was Rajaratnam, one of the world's wealthiest men. He is worth $1.3 billion and is the world's 559th richest person, according to Forbes magazine. His allegedly illegal trading earned $12.7 million for Galleon, authorities said....
....The other defendants are Danielle Chiesi and Mark Kurland of hedge fund NewCastle Partners in Greenwich, Conn., and Robert Moffat, a senior vice president in charge of server business for International Business Machines Corp. in Armonk, N.Y. Attorneys for Chiesi, Kurland and Moffat couldn't be reached.....
"You don't see wiretaps used frequently in securities investigations," said Steve Peikin, the former head of the securities fraud unit at the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office. "The use of wiretaps reflects that the government thinks this is serious conduct involving a significant amount of money."
Among the conversations recorded was a July 2008 phone call in which Chiesi told Rajaratnam that Akamai Technologies Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., was going to lower its earnings projections.
"They're gonna guide down," Chiesi allegedly said. "I just got a call from my guy."
In a call a month later, Chiesi pressed Moffat to keep quiet about the information they were sharing about a reorganization at Advanced Micro.
"You put me in jail if you talk," Chiesi said. She added: "I'm dead if this leaks. I really am ... and my career is over. I'll be like Martha (expletive) Stewart."....
Comment?
CORRECTION POSTED AT TOPIX:
J Lowden Writes.....
It has been reported that two of the co-conspirators in the current insider trading scandal worked for Greenwich based NewCastle Partners LLC. This is incorrect. NewCastle Partners LLC is a private merchant banking firm here in Greenwich and is not involved whatsoever in this scandal- we are not a hedge trading firm. We are not affiliated with Bear Stearns- the correct name of the Bear Stearns affiliate is Newcastle Partners LP base in White Plains, NY. This inaccuracy has resulted in many threatening emails and telephone calls. If you can make a correction as to the confusion this would be much appreciated. Similar corrections have been requested of the Associated Press, WSJ, etc.
Deer hunting in full swing in Conn.
... projects that the DEP largely credits for the recoveries of many animal species. Nearly five years ago, Greenwich hired sharpshooters to cull its deer herds, and last month, Stamford's Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens announced that it would hold a ...
Comment?
... projects that the DEP largely credits for the recoveries of many animal species. Nearly five years ago, Greenwich hired sharpshooters to cull its deer herds, and last month, Stamford's Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens announced that it would hold a ...
Comment?
Neighborhood event retains 'small-town' feel - Greenwich Time
Few things remind Marie Blue of growing up in Old Greenwich quite as vividly as the annual Pumpkin Patch at the elementary school.
Comment?
Few things remind Marie Blue of growing up in Old Greenwich quite as vividly as the annual Pumpkin Patch at the elementary school.
Comment?
Riverside pair to represent region - Greenwich Time
For the third consecutive year, Frances and Bernard Schneider, of Riverside, will represent New England in the finals of the North American Open Pairs in Reno prior to the spring national championships next year.
Comment?
For the third consecutive year, Frances and Bernard Schneider, of Riverside, will represent New England in the finals of the North American Open Pairs in Reno prior to the spring national championships next year.
Comment?
You Can Also Comment On:
OMG just posted .....
This woman's candidacy is a joke. To think that anyone takes it seriously is too depressing to even consider.
BPT Bridgeport just posted .....
Gave someone directions there the other day. They are fairly well known, just hidden as the article states.
Scarry Larry just posted .....
Worked for a very wealthy family business in danbury for a long time and they were very good to me...treated me like family and when ever I needed something they were always there for me....kind of wish I could have those days back again....so before you judge the people who have it..why dont you get off of your butt and go work for some of it like they do
Bill just posted .....
interesting how you assume he is guilty
Duh just posted ......
When did Byram become "funky"?
Donna Borchers just posted .....
With all the media hype about people dying from the H1N1 virus, you'd think that we'd all have been vaccinated by now. What gives? It's on the news every single day and in all the papers but still no vaccines? I don't know one person in either NY or CT who has been vaccinated and that includes children. What's going on?
Trollinginconnecticut just posted.....
No sh*t
Republican NO more just posted .....
Tesei is an embarass to us all, he fails to make decisions and let's others do it for him. Time for a change.
Vox Pop responds....
Noting ensuing comments on his decisiveness, I have another observation.He likes to float trial baloons and see what happens.Case in point - the town owned land at the end of the road past the old Manero's. When the story emerged, it looked like he was going to sell it to someone. The flak went up, and he denied any intent at all. A denial I did not find credible.
Concerned resident just posted....
I see they dropped the charges. And Betty Sternberg has found herself out of a job. It could have happened soon enough. The young man never should have been arrested in the first place. It was a harmless senior prank by a young man of modest means whose family lives in an elitist place. The Greenwich police (and their apparently racist attitudes) are the ones who need to be investigated. In the meantime, high school students in Greenwich need to have a zero-tolerance policy for anyone, who does not have weapons, getting zapped by trigger fingers!
Trollinginconnecticut just posted.....
David McCumber is an a**hole
Resident just posted.....
What a stupid article!
==================================
No comments:
Post a Comment
Useful criticism, helpful links and corrections and general comments are always welcome at Greenwich Roundup. Generally only spam ads and posts with very foul language get censored.
Contact me directly at GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com if you have a suggestion or comment you don't want publicized (but tell me so in your email).
I look forward to publishing your opinions.
COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in the Greenwich community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines. Basically, be civil, smart, on-topic and free from profanity. Don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read!