Fat Lady Sings for Miron

15Dec09

Miron's Song

We anticipate severe partying in Town Hall for the next few days followed by winds of change. The long range forecast is for calm winds and moderating politics.

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Just One More While I Can..

12Dec09

Town Budget

Stratford superintendent retiring — but not leaving job
By Richard Weizel
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 12/11/2009 10:56:56 PM EST

STRATFORD — The outgoing Board of Education’s final decision may have been its oddest.

Only time will tell if it ends up being its most controversial.

The board accepted the retirement of Stratford Superintendent of Schools Irene Cornish, effective June 30, after more than six years leading the district.

But the seven-member board also approved giving the 68-year-old Cornish a new three-year pact as “interim superintendent” that begins July 1. The new contract was approved earlier this week, just days before four of the board’s members are to step down when the new panel is sworn in Monday at 8 p.m. at Stratford High School.

“I know it sounds unusual, but we decided doing it this way would be a win-win situation for everyone, because it will enable us to save significant money and keep Irene (Cornish) leading the school system for as many as three more years,” said outgoing school board co-Chairwoman Susan Barksdale, who, with co-Chairman Robert Cody, negotiated the arrangement and new contract with Cornish.

By retiring from her current post as the full-time schools chief but agreeing to sign on to a new contract as “interim” at a reduced salary, the district will save $180,000 over the three-year pact, according to Barksdale and Cody.

Cornish will be paid an annual salary of $90,000, plus an annuity of $50,000, starting July 1 — nearly 30 percent lower than her current salary of $196,413, according to the school board.

Do we really need “Time” to tell us if this is controversial or not? $140,000 plus a pension equals more than $196K. Any bets on how hard the search for a new superintendent will be? Does anyone want to guess if it will take three years?

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Exit Plan

08Dec09

The Miron Method

Not that we want to give anyone ideas, especially those who have already had the idea, but the residents, businesses and employees of the Town of Stratford have waited four very long years for this.

We have been asked if we think Miron will show up at the swearing in of Mayor Harkins. Honestly, what difference would it make? We think it will be extremely unlikely that Miron will ever hold a government position again….especially in Stratford. If he does happen to show up, it will be to utter silence or a chorus of jeers.

There is no doubt that Miron will appear in a government proceeding again, but it will be in the role of “defendant”.

Once again, we hope that the Democratic Town Committee goes through a similar cleansing after their humiliating defeat on Nov 3. It is up to them to learn that Miron’s way didn’t work.

We also hope that the remnants of Miron’s mismanagement can be dealt with swiftly and confidence and pride can be restored to our Emergency Services and Public Works.

Dec 14th can’t come fast enough.

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Miron Sinks Firetruck

05Dec09

Farewell Gesture to Stratford

From an anonymous (mostly) source:

After the unanimous bi-partisan Town Council vote on November 9th to approve funding for appropriation of two new sorely needed Fire Engines for our residents, James R. Miron remains unavailable and unwilling to sign the emergency purchase order.

As seen in on the record testimony at the November 9th council meeting (see live link) http://www.townofstratford.com/content/1296/1376/3133/15757.aspx appropriation of these two demo Engines will save our taxpayers HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS! We trust and pray that members of the Town Council lead by Council Chairman Mike Hendrick will do the right thing and put this tyrant in his place once and for all.

This issue highlights the question on most readers minds: Just how much more damage will James R. Miron do before he leaves office???

Our guess: As much as possible!!!

Update:

Stratford firetruck breaks down on way to call
By Richard Weizel
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 12/04/2009 10:30:15 PM EST

STRATFORD — The town’s busiest firetruck, Engine 1, out of Fire Headquarters on Main Street, broke down — as it has on several recent occasions — on the way to a structure fire call Sunday morning, further fueling a raging debate between fire officials and council leaders with Mayor James R. Miron about whether there is an “emergency” need for new equipment.

Council members and fire officials have strongly asserted the need to obtain two new firetrucks for $805,000 — just more than the usual price of one — directly from national manufacturer Smeal Fire Apparatus Co. in Snyder, Neb.

Meanwhile, the outgoing mayor has steadfastly refused to sign an “emergency order” to bypass the competitive bidding process so the replacement trucks could be ready within 30 days.

Council leaders in both parties and fire officials say that could jeopardize the deal before Mayor-elect John Harkins takes office Dec. 14.

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It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

03Dec09

Ex deputy Chief Loschiavo (left) and Chief John Buturla (right)

We would like to thank a diligent officer (you know who you are) for his persistence in following up this dirty little exercise in power and corruption.

If you will recall, over a year ago (Nov 2, 2008) a picture was published on this site:

Loschiavo Vehicle

If you click on the link below, you will be able to follow the pettiness, vindictiveness and outright abuse of power by Chief John Buturla and his evil henchman, Deputy Thief Chief Loschiavo.

Warning: the material may cause nausea and extreme distaste for Chiefs of Police and their snitches:

Obtained FOI Documents

Update:

Incredible yet false

Just when you think no more can be said, true to his martinet code, Buturla continues to try to justify his persecution of innocent officers. I guess there are some in the PD Administration that read this blog. We have written evidence, after all.

I suppose it’s kinda funny, but no one from the PD or the Western District Major Crime Unit ever once bothered to ask me where the photo came from. Not that I would have told them, but still.

We also assume that Buturla forgot that the vehicle was run three times and three times it came back unregistered. Had it been a civilian’s car that was stopped it would be considered an unregistered vehicle. Even so, the “investigation” has not been closed. It is “suspended” at the WDMCU waiting for more names.

(Psst…John. Just resign, it’ll be easier on everyone.)

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Miron Gratifies Himself in Public

02Dec09

Order Now! Sale Ends Dec 14th!

We had debated whether or not to post this since it is already on the Town owned website.

Miron’s way of thinking

It starts off with “From the first day I took the oath of office as Stratford’s first Mayor in 2005,” and then the lies simply multiply after that. (Mayor Moron didn’t even show up on his first day in office. He finally showed up at the crack of 11 AM on his second day.)

In the end, we have decided not to republish it. We can see no reason to give it a pemanent home on the internet. You may click on the above link if you wish to read it. Suffice it to say that almost everyone that stood up to Miron comes under attack. From Jim Feehan to Rich Weizel to the Firefighters union and Jay Cybart. (No mention of the PD Local 407?)

We are fairly certain that the Town’s website will not be used for Mayor’s Harkins ego and that most of the spam left by Miron will be removed.

But please, feel free to copy, paste and comment on those sections that you may find particularly offensive.

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Wish Upon a Star

01Dec09

Dogstar to light Stratford factory
Investors hope to turn former Exxon plant into production facility
By Rob Varnon
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 12/01/2009 12:15:21 AM EST

STRATFORD — Play it again, Sam, or in this case, Allen.

Like that misquoted classic movie line, a New Haven investor is once again playing a hopeful tune people just love to hear in a community where manufacturing has taken a hit.

The tune promises to chase away the silence and darkness of a shuttered factory with the lights, cameras and action of the movie business.

This time, Allen Christopher and a group of investors have taken their show a few miles down the road to Exxon’s old chemical plant at 495 Lordship Blvd., where they plan to open Dogstar Studios next year.

We have our fingers crossed and hope Mr. Christopher succeeds with this venture and that is wildly profitable. This time he has two major advantages; he is not dealing with Miron nor the Nateras. That alone should give him ample opportunity to succeed.

In the meantime, we are still stuck with the Nateras, a huge amount of toxic waste and the City of Bridgeport. Thanks, Jim.

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Chronic Mironitis

25Nov09

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even after December 12th the residents and taxpayers of Stratford will be burdened by the symptoms of James R. Miron’s disastrous administration. These particular examples have violated the public trust on multiple occasions by lying to the public, lying to their own staff, participating in character assassination, favoritism and persecution of political enemies.

Not only do these actions undermine the morale of two critical departments, they put the general welfare of the public in danger. In addition, these two examples have created divisions within their departments that have no business in the performance of their duties.

Let us remember that these are merely two of the most egregious examples. There are others that are less glaring. For example, there is the use of the Public Works department to reward and punish political allies and foes.

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When Your House Burns Down

20Nov09

Winners of Lying Contest

If you will recall, just prior to his humiliating loss, Mayor Moron had claimed that he was providing the FD with the day to day equipment they required:

100 eye shields
new radios and microphones
12 sets of turnout gear
62 air tanks
100 noise reduction earplugs
100 pairs of safety glasses
15 pairs of boots

The material wasn’t ordered until after Miron had his “press conference” on public safety. In fact the purchase order only included the 100 sets of plastic eye shields.

The portable radios and 12 sets of turnout gear still weren’t ordered when Cavanaugh wrote his “letter to the editor” and said they were (he lied). The order, in fact, was forwarded to the Purchasing Department last week (after the election and after Cavanuagh’s testimony to the Council).

The status of the 62 airtanks is still unknown and no one is aware of any order for boots (no one has even been sized yet).

The only equipment to arrive at the FD that Miron and Cavanaugh had promised are the earplugs and plastic safety glasses. At least we know that, if necessary, the Firefighters can use weed whackers safely.

All of which leads us to ask why “Chief” Cavanaugh finds it so necessary to lie to his own firefighters and to the public he is supposed to protect? Or is it because that’s the way he was trained in Waterbury?

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Tags: James Cavanaugh, Stratford FD

Hey! Who’s in Charge Here?

16Nov09

Stratford Resident

We were struck by this article appearing in the Post:

Term limits don’t stop Stratford political game of musical chairs
By Richard Weizel
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 11/15/2009 10:52:59 PM EST

STRATFORD — Like Major League baseball players who these days shuffle from team to team every year or so, after a municipal election in Stratford it takes a scorecard to keep track of which officials are serving on which boards and commissions.

While a new mayor, Republican John Harkins, as well as nine neophytes on the incoming 10-member Town Council will be sworn-in Dec. 14, plenty of familiar faces will be there to take the oath of office on the council, Board of Education and three land use boards.

That’s because in Stratford — despite town charter-imposed term limits — members of those panels don’t go away. Instead, a political game of musical chairs ensues every local election cycle, and incumbents barred from seeking election often shift to another panel….

While the rest of the article goes on to describe various positions held by various “repeat” politicians, it neglects one very important point. These people are willing to serve on boards, commissions and councils for free.

Let us take just a couple of examples.

Stephanie Phillips comes to mind. Not one single resident could be found in the second district to oppose her. Not one. Ms. Phillips is a fine person who has dedicated hundreds of hours to her community and Stratford. But not a single resident even bothered to express a different view.

Dick Kennedy comes to mind as well. You simply can’t find a nicer guy than Mr. Kennedy. But running for Council was something he was clearly not prepared for and freely admitted that he was doing a favor the the DTC because Susan Collier was merely a place holder in order to avoid a primary.

Jason Santi…Honestly…you have got to be kidding.

The point is that it is nearly impossible to find citizens willing to step up and go through the aggravation and tedium of sitting on these boards and commissions.

Make no mistake, both the RTC & DTC have done next to nothing in terms of outreach and making the committees little more than, well, gangs. If we are tired of seeing the same faces year in and year out, it is time for good people to stand up and say “I want in”.

We are not hopeful.

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