The special Committee of the Whole meeting of City Council on Thursday offered no surprises.
The motion was divided so that each potential appointee could be voted on separately.
Rich Wareing and Cherita McIntye received yes votes from all present councilmembers. Matt Poland and Dr. Jose Colon-Rivas both received seven votes in favor with Councilperson MacDonald abstaining. Mayor Segarra received seven votes in favor, with only Councilperson Cotto showing objection.
Councilperson Deutsch was absent from the meeting. Continue reading 'Board of Education Votes are In'»
You could spend all winter working on growing out your leg hair while watching reruns of 30 Rock, but why? Here are some alternatives to that scenario: Continue reading 'February Events'»
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Even with nearly 100 vehicles towed and 500 parking tickets issued during last weekend’s snow event, some streets appeared to have not gotten the memo that there was a street parking ban in effect.
Lt. Chris Mefferd, the Police Department’s Traffic Division Commander, said “vehicles parked on the street were issued tickets, announcements were made over the loudspeaker instructing residents to move their vehicles, and vehicles that were not removed were towed. Through this process, we made our best effort to gain voluntary compliance before initiating tow operations to ensure efficient plowing and clearing of city streets.”
This was not the case for every city street. On Tuesday, some were still not plowed to the curb; in Hartford, Saturday’s “storm” left only a few inches of snow, making removal of it far less daunting of a task than what the City dealt with last January. The October 2011 storm, which left about a foot of snow in the city, did not inspire officials to treat on-street parking with the degree of seriousness that a few inches of powder over the weekend apparently warranted. Continue reading 'Snow is Green: Tickets Mean Revenue'»
Tonight, City Council passed the “Resolution Restoring Good Jobs at the Hartford Courant,” on the consent calendar with only Councilperson Wooden abstaining.
Before voting, several members of the City Council explained their motives. Continue reading 'City Council Calls on Courant to Rehire Cleaners'»
Eight office cleaners at the Hartford Courant lost their jobs in December.
There is no hope for recourse for many who suffer job loss. This has not been the case in Hartford, where the community has rallied around the janitors whose pay was deemed too costly at the same company that provided $42 million in bonuses for others at the Tribune.
On January 9, 2012, residents spoke out before a City Council meeting, urging officials to take some kind of action on this matter. Last Saturday, the Hartford Organizing Group held a “comfort food feast” to raise funds for the janitors. They raised nearly $1400, which will be presented to the cleaners today at the “Project the Truth” march and rally slated for 4:30 this afternoon. The protest will begin in front of the Old State House and conclude at the corner of State Street and Columbus Boulevard.
At the next meeting of the City Council, there will be discussion of the following resolution:
During the last meeting, there was talk of the City possibly advertising its job openings in local media sources that are not owned by the Tribune.
UPDATE: edited (20 Jan 2012) to show expanded version of the resolution
Great Path Academy / Photo courtesy of Hartford Public Schools
Beginning on July 1, 2012, Great Path Academy — a “middle college high school” located on the Manchester Community College (MCC) campus — will be managed by the Hartford Public Schools. It is currently managed by the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC).
Students at Great Path Academy follow the college semester calendar, have access to MCC’s resources, and primarily reside in Manchester, Tolland, East Hartford, Glastonbury, Bolton, and Coventry; 29% of Great Path Academy students are Hartford residents. The 2010 enrollment of 283 represented 15 towns in all. Current enrollment is at 247. David Medina, Director of External Communications for the Hartford Public Schools says that now Great Path Academy serves students from only seven other towns in Greater Hartford. No explanation was provided for the drop in enrollment and range of towns represented from 2010 to 2011. Continue reading 'Kishimoto Calls Decision to Manage Another School “Logical”'»
The installment of letter grades on restaurant windows and doors recently has created confusion, even though the ordinance responsible for this was adopted and in effect in June 2011, with an 8-0 vote from City Council.
Restaurants, already requiring inspection, now must display the outcome of these routine checks. The grades are large, on letter-sized paper. Those who attempt to camouflage, deface, or remove the letter grade could have their license suspended or revoked.
Restaurants that receive a grade lower than a ‘B’ (80%) have nothing to display within five feet of the front door or on the drive-thru menu at establishments to which that applies. They would be reinspected after a set amount of time, and the letter grade for the subsequent visit would be assigned, if they pass. If not, they must deal with a failed health inspection as before this ordinance passed, with the only difference being that the public knows something is amiss by the lack of grade affixed to the front entrance.
Not all food vendors must display letter grades. The ordinance explains:
Besides these exemptions, there are some exceptions for the requirement that the grade be displayed within five feet of the front door. For food courts, like the one in State House Square or in El Mercado, each vendor still needs to display its grade, but it can be in any number of places: menu, counter, in the “initial patron contact area,” or in another location deemed acceptable by the Director of Health and Human Services. Continue reading 'Restaurant Ratings'»
Not a corset, but part of a woman's dress that requires a corset. It looks smaller than a size zero.
Back in 2002, when Abercrombie & Fitch sold thong underwear for children, many understandably interpreted this as the beginning of the erosion of America’s moral fabric.
They were wrong.
There’s proof — in the form of a corset designed to be worn by a four-year-old girl — at the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) that this trend of sexualizing young girls did not begin this century.
Starting on January 14th, CHS will be leading two behind-the-scenes tours every second Saturday of the month to give visitors the chance to see other quirky items, such as as a body preserver. This was a type of casket with space for ice, a spigot for draining out melted ice, and horse hair insulation. A lever allowed mourners to adjust the position of the corpse for better viewing. Emily Dunnack, the Head of Education Programs at CHS, said that other strange-to-us death customs from the past included making jewelery out of the deceased person’s hair, and evidence of this is also among items at CHS. Continue reading 'What’s Behind the Mantel?'»
There was a lot of buzz yesterday about the iQuilt project, which many had not heard of despite it being in existence since 2008.
One space this plan focuses on is Bushnell Park.
The photos below were taken on Tuesday, the same day as when Doug Suisman of Suisman Urban Design shared many ambitious ideas about how the iQuilt plan can impact the park. These photos are taken from the perspective of a pedestrian/cyclist commuter, though an effort was made to include some of the park’s attractions. These photographs show the range of conditions and maintenance in Bushnell Park as of January 2012.
Part of the East Coast Greenway runs between the Armory and the Legislative Office Building. This path continues over a highway on-ramp, along the railroad tracks and viaduct, and into Bushnell Park. Sand continuously covers part of this path because of poor maintenance. None of the neighboring entities (Bushnell Park, State of Connecticut, Amtrak, etc.) take consistent responsibility for dealing with the erosion issues.
Continue reading 'Walking Tour of Bushnell Park'»
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Although City Council took its first official action of 2012 last week, Monday evening was its first regular (read: not accompanied by ceremony) meeting.
The public comment session showed two prevailing issues on residents’ and stakeholders’ minds: housing and employment. Continue reading 'On Residents’ Minds'»
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