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Friday, July 30, 2010

07/30/10 STAMFORD BRIEFING: Mirkin responds to fire union's call for his resignation

This Just In To The Stamford Roundup Newsroom .....
The city's professional firefighters' union is asking for a city lawmaker to resign following comments he made comparing the union's frequent criticism of the city's volunteer fire service to the way " Hamas lobs rockets into Israel." Scott Mirkin, R-13, co-chairman of the Board of Representatives' Public Safety Committee , made the comments ...
Connecticut authorities say a Norwalk man wanted on allegations he stole identities and illegally used credit cards has been returned to the state after being caught in Las Vegas.
The hefty bags of soiled war laundry currently being paraded for inspection all over the internet may have topped the military's list of woes in the past few days, but WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is not the only person giving the armed forces the collywobbles right now.
Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont says he's considering doing a head-to-head debate with fellow Democrat Dan Malloy before the Aug.
STAMFORD NEWS FLASH BACK:
FROM THE STAMFORD ROUNDUP NEWS ARCHIVES
THE CONTROVERSY OVER TAXPAYER FUNDED NO BID CONTRACTS IN STAMFORD ----- THE PAY FOR PLAY DEALS THAT LEAD TO HIGHER PROPERTY TAX RATES IN STAMFORD

in 2004 two City of Stamford contractors - Gunzy Electric and Shapter Construction - performed work on then Mayor Dan Malloy's house and had also received no-bid city contracts.city. The Gunzy and Shapter firms received very profitable and lucrative city deals.

Stamford residents were shocked when these no-bid contracts were disclosed, because Dan Malloy had went on a local cable television news station said that none of the contractors that worked on his house had received no-bid contracts. Malloy further lied and said that any contractor that worked on his house only got city jobs after responded to a request for proposals or issued sealed bids in a competitive bidding process.

COMMENT:

It's sad that politics in Connecticut have reached such a low point that the standard by which politicians are judged is whether or not their abuses of the public trust land them in jail.

The facts are the facts. Dan Malloy handed out no-bid contracts to companies that held fundraisers for his previous failed gubernatorial campaigns or performed renovations on his home.

Dan Malloy has said repeatedly that his questionable actions were not found to be illegal, but does he think they were right?' Connecticut Democrats have a choice on August 10th. If they think it's right for a Mayor or Governor to award no-bid contracts to campaign contributors and people who performed renovations on his house, then they should vote for Dan Malloy.

But if voters are tired of the scandals, the fraud the waste, the abuse and the high taxes, then Dan is NOT their man.

Voters that want government that puts the taxpayer first, they should elect a governor like Ned Lamont, who will head to Hartford with no strings attached.

It Is Time To Put Connecticut Taxpayers First

It Is Time To Put An End To Pay For Play

Klaffa s is partnering with three U.S. manufacturers who have the automated equipment to produce high-quality, custom cabinetry that the company can sell at a low to middle price point while offering the same level of customer service.
Related articles:

07/30/10 New Comment On 07/27/10 Ned Lamont Fires Back At Dan Malloy Over Discrimination....

hoists has left a new comment on your post "07/27/10 Ned Lamont Fires Back At Dan Malloy Over Discrimination ......":

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

07/29/10 We Report You Decide: Did Stamford Fire and Rescue Chief Robert McGrath Get His Promotion After Working On Dan Malloy's House?

Robert McGrath was a Stamford firefighter working three days on, three days off.

On Robert's days off he operated a small heating and air-conditioning business to make ends meet.

Then this Stamford fireman got his big break....

Robert got the chance to do heating and air-conditioning duct work on the120-year-old barn that Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy was transforming into a house.

Robert also did many jobs for several of Dan Malloy's brothers.

Dan Malloy chose to use Richard who was on the Stamford City payroll to work on his future home even though there are hundreds of Heating And Air- Conditioning contractors with in a 30 minute drive of his home.

A short time after that Richard was promoted to Assistant Stamford Fire And Rescue Chief and then soon after that was appointed as the Stamford Fire and Rescue Chief.

Stamford Fire and Rescue Chief Robert McGrath later told Stamford Advocate reporter Louis Porter that the work on Dan Malloy's home did not have anything to do with his advancement to Assistant Fire Chief and later Fire Chief.

Another contractors who did work on Dan Malloy's Ocean Drive East house was Rick Sharper.

Rick told The Associated Press he got the job and dealt with Marc Lyons, a friend of Malloy who was involved in hiring city employees and contractors to work on then Mayor Dan Malloy's house.

Rick said after he did work on the mayor’s house Marc Lyons later arranged a lot of work for him at city high schools.

Marc Lyons, who was a Malloy family friend was the construction manager at Stamford High School and after the Mayor's house was completed he became manager of all of the city and school facilities in Stamford..

Stamford Board Of Finance Member Joesph Tarzia was quoted in the press saying, "The Malloy administration has reduced controls over city purchasing. Malloy dismantled the internal audit department”

07/29/10 STAMFORD BRIEFING: Fire Departments To Help Bridgeport

This Just In To The Stamford Roundup Newsroom.....

Fire departments from across Connecticut pledge their assistance to Bridgeport as they prepare to say goodbye to two fallen firefighters.
When my stomach is in the mood for enjoyable Mexican food - and those times are plentiful - the first place that usually comes to mind is Mary Ann's Mexican Restaurant on Summer Street in Stamford.
The Town Players of New Canaan's summer show, the concert version of Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies , played last weekend to full houses and continuous rounds of applause at the opening three performances.A The show continues until Saturday, August 7 at the air-conditioned Powerhouse Performing Arts Center in Waveny Park.
A break-up that turned violent left a city man with a gunshot wound in his abdomen Tuesday night, police said.
When Michael Fedele's family arrived on the shores of the United States when he was 3 years old, they had virtually nothing.
Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to StamfordRoundup@gmail.com
Jesse Lee Dinius , 27, of 39 Oak St., Stamford, the hapless bank robber and Fairfield University graduate originally from a wealthy Boston suburb, pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbing a bank last October and trying to rob another one the following month.
STAMFORDBy TOM EVANSHour Staff WriterControversy is again swirling around the Long Ridge Fire Company, after a canceled fire call Saturday night left no apparatus responding to an alarm at 69 Middle Patent Road.In an inter-office memo dated Monday, William J. Smith, deputy chief of Stamford .

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

07/27/10 Connecticut Gubernatorial Democrats Stuck On Stupid As They Ask,'Who Is The Biggest Racist?"

Why In The World Would Dan Malloy
Want To Play The Race Card?


In this day and age it is almost inevitable that a campaign will stray from policy issues to questions of character and conduct.

Greenwich resident Ned Lamont recently became a target of such scrutiny and said the negative attack was planted by a desperate and trailing Dan Malloy.

Mr. Malloy who is trying to benefit from playing the race card, argues that this is a means of assessing an opponent's temperament and morality.

Whether Mr. Malloy's attempt at playing the race card will be decisive in assessing the ability of Ned Lamont to govern is ultimately up to each individual voter.

In the current race to become Connecticut governor front runner Ned Lamont has taken a hard "nonpolicy" hit.

Mr. Malloy is hoping that his race card maneuver will cause the popular Ned Lamont's to have an increase in "negative numbers".

The race card is a proven campaign method of narrowing a race.

In articles and press releases printed below, you will read about Ronald Keene, a former executive vice president of Lamont Digital Systems Inc., who sued Mr. Lamont in 2002.

Mr. Keene alleged his firing and failure to gain stock, bonuses and commissions from sales were the result of racial discrimination. Lamont denied the allegation of bias and the parties settled the case the following year.

Mr. Keene's contention of a racial factor could be accurate, erroneous or the result of a misunderstanding.

Mr. Keene's racial allegation could also have been just a legal tactic to gain the upper hand in an employee termination lawsuit. It would not be the first time that something like this has happened in America.

Businesses often find legal settlements to be the least costly course of action.

There is clearly no pattern of racial lawsuits at Lamont Digital Systems, this was a one time event.

However, Dan Malloy's Administration has been named in over 100 Connecticut Commission on Human Right's And Opportunities's complaints, as well as, scores of Federal lawsuits filed by Stamford employees.

The Republican Gubernatorial Opponents Are Enjoying Every Minute Of Dan Malloy's Attempt To Play The Race Card

If Former Stamford Dan Malloy's Desperate Maneuver Succeeds,
Then The Republican Party Will Probably Use The Race Card On Him In The General Election

Former Lamont Employee Claimed Racial Bias In 2002 Lawsuit


By JON LENDER
Hartford Courant

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont, locked in an Aug. 10 primary battle with former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, was sued in 2002 by a black former executive in his cable television company who claimed that he'd been mistreated on the basis of race, federal court records show.

Ronald Keene — executive vice president in the Delaware corporate office of Lamont Digital Systems Inc. for less than two years ending in mid-2000 — sought at least $1 million in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania. Keene claimed he was "maliciously" fired after being denied stock, bonuses and commissions from sales activity. The mistreatment was "because of plaintiff's race, which is African American," the suit said.

Lamont, a Greenwich multimillioniare entrepreneur, denied Keene's allegation of bias as well as other claims, such as eligibility for sales commissions. The case was settled in September 2003, months after a judge denied Lamont's motion to dismiss the suit and moved it toward trial, documents show.......

Then Dan Malloy Quickly Fired Off This Press Release:......

Responding to a story in today's Hartford Courant in which it was revealed that Ned Lamont was sued for racial discrimination, and that he settled the suit privately with a confidentiality agreement, Dan Malloy, the Democratic Party's endorsed candidate for Governor, released the following statement:

"Since the beginning of this campaign, I've said that my experiences as a prosecutor and Mayor are why I'm confident I can do the job Connecticut's next Governor needs to do. Ned has said time and again that he should be the next Governor because of his business experience. That's why Ned needs to answer the questions raised in today's Hartford Courant story - because they're about his business.

"There's another reason he needs to answer them: the Governor. We just saw Gov. Rell try to fire a commissioner and enter into a confidentiality agreement with the employee. It blew up in her face, and it should've blown up in her face. Government doesn't work when it's secretive. It only works when it functions in the open, in a way that everyone can see.

"Here are the questions he should answer:

· Why is the statement confidential?

· What did he or his company acknowledge doing?

· Were certain employees denied benefits that other employees of similar seniority and status received?

· How much money was the employee paid in order to keep quiet?

· Why does a Connecticut-based company have a corporate headquarters in the State of Delaware?

· Is there a tax benefit to doing so?

· What happened to all of Ned's employees? He's said numerous times that he hired "hundreds and hundreds" of people, yet the company today has only 36 employees, including just 8 in Connecticut.

"I know what Ned will say in response: 'this is an unfair, desperate attack.' That's wrong. He's asked tough questions of me, and I've answered every one of them. Campaigns are tough, and they should be tough - because the job we're seeking is a tough job. You get asked tough questions in a campaign, but you get asked tougher questions when you're Governor. If you can't answer questions in a campaign, how will you answer them as Governor?

"I think Ned should answer these questions, and I'd prefer that he do that in a debate with me. Ch. 3 and CPBN want to have Ned and me debate on August 3 - and if Ned doesn't show up, the debate is going on without him. Most candidates would probably be thrilled. While I'm grateful for their offer, I'm not thrilled to be there alone. I'm more than happy to give up half that time if Ned will show up.

"One more thing: Ned's been saying he doesn't want to debate me because debates are only about '1 minute canned response.' My response to that is, let's not do that. Let's just have a conversation between the two of us. A civil conversation in which we ask each other questions, and challenge each other's responses.

"Back in May I said I wanted this to be a campaign filled with substantive debates where we both answer tough questions. We don't have much time left, but there's still time for that debate to happen.

"I hope Ned will change his mind."

This Caused The Lamont Campaign To Fire Off This Press Release .....

Lamont for Governor campaign manager Joe Abbey released the following statement regarding Dan Malloy's missive from earlier today:

"Dan's long list of questions today betrays an outright ignorance and hostility toward Connecticut small businesses. That press release was clearly written by someone who has never worked in small business or created jobs in the private sector.

"Dan has said time and time again that his years of experience running for political office entitle him to be governor. But throughout the nearly 10 years running that he's been running for governor, serious questions have been raised about his performance as mayor and the manner in which he talks about it. He should answer those questions.

"There's another reason he needs to answer them: Governor John Rowland. As Connecticut continues to try and erase the stain of a pay-to-play scandal in the governor's mansion, transparency and accountability in government are critical to our future. That is why it is so important for Dan to respond to the following:

• How many of the 55 civil rights complaints and 37 federal lawsuits were filed by employees reporting directly to you, or to your senior staff members?(Source: Greenwich Time -- http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Sunday-print-exclusive-Racism-in-Greenwich-508827.php and public records).

• When did you first learn that three of your employees, two of whom you named employee of the month, were embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city on your watch, as reported by the Courant? (Source: Hartford Courant -- http://articles.courant.com/2010-07-23/news/hc-stamford-arrests-fedele-malloy-07220100723_1_stamford-mayor-dannel-malloy-criticizes-michael-fedele)http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Sunday-print-exclusive-Racism-in-Greenwich-508827.php

• Why do you continue to advance claims about your record on jobs that have been fully debunked by the Courant? (Source: Hartford Courant --http://www.courant.com/community/stamford/hc-malloy-jobs-0628-20100628,0,480540.story)

• Is it true that Stamford lost a net of 8,000 jobs during your term as Mayor?

• After you were investigated in 2004 for awarding lucrative no-bid contracts to companies that contributed to your political campaigns, did you continue to accept contributions to your previous or current campaign from companies that either held contracts with the city or aspired to do so? (Source: New York Times --http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/23/nyregion/23stamford.html?scp=3&sq=Stamford&st=nyt)

"I understand why Dan was so defensive in his statement saying, 'I know what Ned will say in response: 'this is an unfair, desperate attack.' That's exactly what it was.

"I hope Dan will address these questions on Thursday when he and Ned appear together in Windham, but in the meantime let's have that civil conversation on the issues Dan's always talking about."


All Of This Reminded Greenwich Roundup About the Incident That Made Him Wonder What Values Dan Malloy Taught The Fruit Of His Loins ......

No I Am Not Talking About The Malloy Boy Arrested For Dealing Drugs

No I Am Talking About The Other Malloy Boy


The lawsuit, filed in May, accused the city of "failing to act in part because one of the callers is the son of Stamford Mayor Daniel Malloy."

The exact amount the Board Of Education paid the family of Candace Owens, now an 18-year-old Stamford High graduate, was made public yesterday after The Advocate filed a Freedom of Information request last week.

The Board of Education spent an additional $25,000 on legal expenses, including representation by a Hartford law firm, Shipman & Goodwin LLP, school board spokeswoman Sarah Arnold said.

The case was terminated two weeks ago at a settlement conference, according to court records. As part of the settlement, the Board of Education denied any wrongdoing and liability.

The school board has 30 days from the settlement date to pay the Owens family by check to their attorney, Norman Pattis. The entire $62,500 tab will come out of a $375,000 legal fund.

"The case was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties," said Patrick Fahey, one of the attorneys who represented the Board of Education.

He declined to comment further.

Neither Pattis nor Robert Owens, the father of Candace Owens, returned phone messages.

The Board of Education attempted to keep the terms of the settlement from being disclosed because of a confidentiality clause. But the Freedom of Information Commission said that any settlement funded by taxpayers is public record unless it is sealed by the court.

The settlement marked the end of a yearlong controversy that stoked racial tensions and political drama.

Last February, at least one of five teenagers sitting in a car left messages threatening to kill Owens, who is black, and repeatedly used a racial epithet. In one of three messages, one of them referred to her as "dirty" and threatened to burn her house down and tar and feather her.

The group included Malloy's youngest son, Sam Malloy, then 14. The mayor released a statement in March saying his son cooperated with police and did not know the alleged ringleader, Evan Kopek, or Owens before the night of the calls. He has declined comment since then.

Kopek, now 18, was a former friend and classmate of Owens. Two days before the phone incident, they had a shouting match during class. School officials suspended Kopek for that but would not discipline him and the other boys for an incident committed off school grounds unless the police made an arrest, which drew criticism from the state National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Owens left school for six weeks, saying it was traumatic to attend with the alleged callers. She returned after Kopek was arrested in late March. Another teen was arrested later that spring. School officials would not say whether they disciplined Kopek after the arrest.

The lawsuit said the decision to delay suspensions amounted to a failure to protect Owens. The suit accused the city of violating the federal Title IX rule banning discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.
The school system has "continued to do nothing to protect Ms. Owens from repeated harassment and intimidation by the young men and their friends," the suit stated.

None of the students involved in the case attends Stamford High any more, Arnold said.

Candace Owens was arrested in an unrelated harassment case in October. In November, Kopek pleaded to being a youthful offender and had his case sealed. He will have no criminal record. He faced charges of first-degree harassment and second-degree intimidation by bigotry or bias.

It is not known whether Malloy's son was charged because he is a juvenile.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

Derogatory Dan Strikes Again


My Left NutMeg


When the media tried to use the arrest of three Stamford city employees on embezzlement charges to start a cat fight between Ned Lamont and Dan Malloy, Lamont chose not to take the bait and declined comment.

Why? Presumably because the allegations, absent any evidence that Malloy was complicit in their alleged crimes, had zero bearing on the governor's race.

But Dan Malloy isn't stupid enough to be gracious.

Today the Courant reported on a 2002 lawsuit against Lamont Digital alleging racial discrimination. ("Hold the presses! Breaking news!!)

In less time than it takes to write $505,000 worth of checks to pay for renovations on your $2-million dollar mansion, Dan Malloy released a statement in which he, a former personal injury lawyer of all things, expressed shock -- SHOCK! -- that lawsuits get settled out of court with confidentiality agreements attached....


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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

07/27/10 Stamford Business Woman Linda McMahon Points Out That The Dems Are In Trouble In Novemberor Democrats


In Case You Missed It: Economy Erodes Election Hope For Democrats

Americans by a large majority believe President Barack Obama has not focused enough on job creation, as economic fears threaten Democrats ahead of November 2 congressional elections, a Reuters-Ipsos poll found on Tuesday.

Reuters

By Steve Holland


In a sign of trouble ahead for the Democrats, the poll found evidence of a sizable enthusiasm gap with Republicans more energized about voting in the elections.


Americans expressed deep unhappiness with the direction of the economy, which in the poll they identified overwhelmingly as the country's top problem.


The U.S. unemployment rate is at a stubbornly high 9.5 percent and Obama has spent much of the year on issues like Wall Street reform and healthcare in addition to jobs.


People were more negative about Obama's performance on the economy than on any other question surveyed. Satisfaction was dropping more sharply on the issue than on any other question.


Only 34 percent approved of Obama's handling of the economy and jobs compared to 46 percent who deemed it unsatisfactory. This is a sharp decline from early 2009, shortly after he took office, when more than half of those surveyed approved of Obama's handling of the worst financial crisis in decades.


Overall, the July 22-25 national poll of 1,075 adults gave Obama an approval rating of 48 percent, a small decline from a June survey that had him at 50 percent approval.


This is in line with other polls showing his approval rating under 50 percent and evidence that for all the country's problems, Obama remains generally well-liked.


"People still feel insecure about their future," said Ipsos pollster Cliff Young. "They are spending less and saving more. They're not buying a larger house or car or other luxuries because they're worried -- and that worry also manifests itself on the political side."


U.S. presidents often lose support in midterm elections.


The Republicans are hoping to win control of the House of Representatives in November and pick up seats in the Senate. That could prevent Obama from winning any more major successes in Congress in the second half of this term.


'COMMON GROUND'


Obama pushed the Senate on Tuesday to pass legislation intended to benefit small businesses and generate jobs.


"I hope that in the coming days, we'll once again find common ground and get this legislation passed. We shouldn't let America's small businesses be held hostage to partisan politics and certainly not at this critical time," Obama said.


The poll provided evidence that Americans are unhappy that Obama and the Democrats chose to devote their energies to overhauling the U.S. healthcare system and financial regulations instead of dwelling exclusively on job creation.


It found that 67 percent of poll respondents said Obama has not focused enough on job creation compared to healthcare and regulation of banks. Obama has argued that those reforms are vital building blocks to a strong economic recovery.


"They think he should've focused much more on the economy rather than healthcare and financial regulation," said pollster Young. "From a voter perspective, they don't see the economy improving. They don't think the administration has given due attention to that problem."


The Reuters-Ipsos poll was dismal news for Democrats as they seek to hold off Republicans in November elections in which Americans will elect 435 members of the House of Representatives and 37 of the 100-seat U.S. Senate.


Republicans hold a 46-44 percent lead over Democrats when participants were asked which party they planned to support in November. And 72 percent of Republicans said they are certain to vote on November 2, compared to 49 percent of Democrats.


"Republicans are charged up because they think they have a chance," Young said.

The economy is still recovering too slowly to improve Obama's political fortunes. U.S. consumer confidence sank in July to its lowest since February.


Figures to be released on Friday are likely to show that growth in the U.S. economy slowed in the second quarter amid a cooling in consumer spending and a wider trade deficit -- but they will mark four straight quarters of expansion.


INDEPENDENT VOTERS


Not all was dire for Obama as 52 percent of independent voters approved of his job performance. Independents are closely watched because they often make the difference in close elections.

Obama, when accused by Republicans of driving up government spending and debt with an $862 billion stimulus plan, has made the point that he inherited a $1.3 trillion U.S. budget deficit from his unpopular predecessor, Republican George W. Bush.


But the poll suggested there are limits to this argument. It said 70 percent of Americans think the deficit has increased under Obama, and 75 percent said it grew under Bush.


Although U.S. troops are on their way out of Iraq, only 34 percent approved of Obama's handling of the Iraq war, down from 51 percent early in his term.


With casualties rising in Afghanistan, 33 percent approved of Obama's handling of the Afghan war, down from 47 percent shortly after he took office.


More Americans approved than disapproved of Obama's efforts toward energy independence, 39 percent to 32 percent. But, again, the approval rating is down from the 56 percent approval he received on this subject in February 2009.


This comes as Obama grapples with BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico oil spill and pushes the need for more clean-energy jobs.


The poll had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and the data weighted to ensure that the sample's composition reflected that of the actual U.S. population according to U.S. Census figures.


LINK


For more information, contact the

Linda McMahon for Senate Press Office, 860-244-2010.


Linda McMahon for Senate 2010

973 Farmington Avenue | West Hartford, CT 06107

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