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By Kerri Provost, March 9, 2010 6:28 am

Other than the military personnel who are armed to the teeth with coffee and junkfood from Dunkin Donuts, I rarely see significant foot traffic near the Legislative Office Building. Mostly, people drive to the parking garage and enter the building through the pedestrian entrance, never needing to come into contact with sunlight. Yet, there are large, well-marked warnings painted on the driveway, warning motorists to slow down. There are stop signs posted in places that make them more noticeable. There are even neon yellow signs telling motorists to stop for pedestrians — the signs are posted right in the crosswalks. I do appreciate this, as I use the area as a safer passage to downtown, given that the alternative of continuing along Capitol Avenue means having to cross the I-84 on/off ramp. Even with the stoplights all working and with the pedestrian walk signal on, the cars do not stop. Last week I saw a noticeably pregnant woman pushing a stroller across and the cars were not even obeying the law for her. It seems strange that few such safety features exist along a major street, but within a parking lot, traffic is managed quite well.

Sunday morning, when I read about the volunteer crossing guard who was threatened with arrest for keeping children safe, my heart sank. I read the article a few more times, trying to find a hidden clue that would make this story make sense. In a nutshell, a grandfather, who happens to be a disabled Vietnam Vet, decided to contribute to society by helping children safely get across the street to the Achievement First Academy in the Blue Hills neighborhood. He began this back in September. He had been honored by the school in the school newsletter and by being given a vest and stop sign. That sounds like his actions had been more than merely approved of by those he was interacting with directly.

Why threaten a man with arrest for helping society? Continue reading 'Whose Interests Are We Guarding?'»

Comments (5)

By Kerri Provost, January 30, 2010 7:34 am

Recently, the Courant reported that both Mad Dawg’s and Room 960 have been shut down for liquor license violations (i.e. serving minors and not having a license, respectively), but it seems they have stripped their website of all evidence that this article was ever published. It’s enough to make one wonder if this story was real, or just some shady, splotchy pseudo memory accompanying a bad hangover. Neither of the two bars have any mention of an hour change or temporary closing on their websites.

This demands the question of why.

Was the story incorrect or inaccurate? If so, providing corrections would have been more helpful and professional than simply removing the information from the newspaper’s online presence, as if pretending like it never happened would resolve the situation. I understand the practice of removing older publications, but when something is still fresh news, it seems more logical to update the information. Having just checked, I do not see any reference to the article in the Corrections section of the site.

Certain stories on the newspaper’s site allow comments and others do not. Sometimes, an article begins one way and is later changed. Do articles disappear for the same reason — pressure?

If anyone at the Courant has an answer regarding why entire stories disappear from their site, I would love to hear from them.

Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, January 12, 2010 8:37 am

Here is the 2009 Safe City Overview document provided by the Hartford Police Department. The final page of the report shows crime statistics over a 29 year period. You decide if crime has increased or decreased — the data is all there.

Comments (1)

By Kerri Provost, January 7, 2010 9:00 am

Two individuals were arrested yesterday in Barry Square and South End for “BICYCLE LIGHTS,REFLECTORS,BRAKES,WH.” It’s safe to assume that means the cyclists lacked these accessories, had insufficient ones, or were doing it wrong. In both cases, the arrested men had other charges tacked on later, like possession and sale of narcotics, and violation probation. Since the average cyclist in Hartford does not use lights on his bike, I think it’s safe to assume that unless one is looking sketchy for one reason or another, he probably is not going to get arrested simply for lacking appropriate safety gear. On the other hand, the bond was listed as $150, so it’s cheaper to just get the lights, whistles, sirens, etc., and skip the tour of Jennings Road.

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By Kerri Provost, January 4, 2010 7:45 pm

Police are offering residents “The Club” for free:

Police Offering “The Club” At No Charge!

Protect your car today! Contact Community Service Officer Jim Barrett at either 860-777-7533 or at barrj002@hartford.gov to get your club at NO CHARGE!

This information is from the Asylum Hill - West End Community e-Newsletter.

Comments (4)

By Kerri Provost,

The following arrests occurred in the downtown bar area from midnight on January 1, 2010 until late morning on the same day. Because of the holiday, this is a higher number of arrests than usual for the area. Several venues hosted multiple arrests. I am posting this information as a response to the belief that the crime around these clubs is caused exclusively by Hartford residents. Unless noted otherwise, the arrested individuals have stated their home addresses as towns other than Hartford, such as Ellington, Manchester, Southington, Granby, New Britain, Berlin, Glastonbury,  and several from Massachusetts:

187 Allyn Street - four separate arrests on Jan 1st for disorderly conduct (Black Bear Saloon)

188 Allyn Street - one for breach of peace and criminal trespass

188 Allyn Street -one  breach of peace and criminal trespass

188 Allyn — one for disorderly conduct

103 Allyn Street - one for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass (The Pour House)

181 Allyn Street - two separate arrests for disorderly conduct (between Black Bear Saloon and NV)

121 Allyn Street - one arrest for drinking in public, interfering with police, and disorderly conduct (at restaurant that does not serve alcohol, but wedged between several bars)

315 Trumbull Street - two arrests for criminal trespass and interfering with police (Hilton)

50 Union Place - two arrests (one is a Hartford resident) for combined charges of criminal trespass, interfering with police, threatening, breach of peace (Up or On The Rocks)

84 Union Place - Hartford resident arrested for disorderly conduct, assault, and interfering with police (Federal Cafe)

190 Allyn  - one for disorderly conduct

178 Allyn  - one for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass

188 Allyn - one for interfering with police (near Black Bear Saloon)

111 Allyn  - Hartford resident arrested for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass (One Eleven Lounge)

315 Trumbull - Hartford resident arrested for breach of peace and assault (Hilton)

50 Morgan St - two arrested for interfering with police (Bristol Bar & Grill in the Crowne Plaza)

188 Allyn - one for disorderly conduct

315 Trumbull - one for interfering with police and disorderly conduct

188 Allyn - one for assault and disorderly conduct

315 Trumbull - one for disorderly conduct and interfering with police

111 Allyn - a Hartford resident for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass

338 Asylum - disorderly conduct and criminal trespass (parking lot near Pig’s Eye Pub and Black-eyed Sally’s)
Continue reading 'The Alcohol-Aggression Link: No Big Mystery'»

Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, December 30, 2009 8:43 pm

It’s way easier to delegate than to take on every last responsibility, so rather than work on gaining muscle mass or weaning myself off chocolate, I’m creating a list of things I would like to see Hartford work on in the upcoming year. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Make the Riverfront Accessible

After having my heart set on a lovely afternoon bicycle ride along the Connecticut River, my plans were thwarted. Continue reading 'Hartford 2010: Resolutions for the New Year'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 2, 2009 4:02 pm

Crude, a documentary, will finish its run at Real Art Ways tomorrow evening. It’s worth seeing, if for no other reason than that it does not fixate on Iraq, hybrid cars, or George W. Bush. The film documents the long, arduous, and frustrating class action lawsuit against Chevron-Texaco for allegedly contaminating the drinking water of indigenous Ecuadorians.

Comments (8)

By Kerri Provost, November 19, 2009 7:42 am

Two days ago Cityline published a letter that Rich Wareing sent to numerous individuals regarding the plan to house a “no freeze” shelter at the Center Church downtown. He wrote:

Indeed, that Mr. McGovern would seriously consider locating a facilty which the City estimates will be 50% utilized by registered sex offenders across the street from two apartment buildings, three blocks from a magnet high school, and right in the middle of the most signficant business and entertainment district in the city, speaks volumes about  the City’s disregard for the welfare of its voters, taxpayers, visitors, and children.

While keeping sex offenders away from youth sounds like an altruistic goal, I believe this argument is deceptive. Here’s why:

In the past, Hartford has had a no freeze shelter. This is not a brand new creation. The previous one was housed at 255 Washington Street, but a mile — if walking –  from the new one. I even created a map to show this:

View homeless shelters in a larger map

What do you notice about the location of the old shelter on Washington Street? For someone with no familiarity with Hartford, the only two things that really should grab his attention would be that it was located in a very residential area, as one can see a number of houses nearby, and that it was very close to the Connecticut Childrens Medical Center.
Continue reading 'No Homeless: The Special Just-in-time-for-Thanksgiving Edition'»

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By Kerri Provost, October 29, 2009 3:53 pm

There were only a handful of us, but we were affiliated with a much larger, older group. We would wear all black, or at least black shirts. We wore black eyeliner, crimson lipstick, and black boots. Our symbol was written on all of our textbooks and sometimes on bathroom walls. We called ourselves the Bitches Against Rules. Some of us stole liquor from our parents. One brought kittens to school. We argued over who would marry Axl Rose (not me) and who got stuck with Slash (me). At worst, some of us smoked cigarettes or drank underage. At best, we scared the crud out of our too straightlaced suburban peers whose musical tastes were only as developed as New Kids on the Block.

I never considered myself a part of a gang, but using the criteria described in the recent 5 billion 138 gangs in Hartford controversy, I guess I have to now come to terms with knowing that my adolescent and teenage behavior would have had me labeled as a gang member.
Continue reading 'How to Become a Samurai in One Hour* (Or, I Was a Pre-Teen Gangsta)'»