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By Kerri Provost, June 19, 2013 7:42 am

As expected, the Board of Ed voted against Dr. Kishimoto’s contract extension request, 7-0.

One board member abstained and the other was absent.

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By Kerri Provost, June 18, 2013 10:55 am

Last week, Dr. Kishimoto sent a letter to Mayor Pedro Segarra and to Matt Poland, Chair of the Board of Education, requesting her contract with the Hartford Public Schools be extended through the end of school year 2015-2016.

Letter to the Mayor and BOE Chair

Kishimoto has asked that the Board of Education vote on this tonight. Sources say she has no votes in her favor. In 2012, she received low marks on her evaluation.

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By Kerri Provost, June 9, 2013 9:13 am

In a message sent today from Hartford 2000, Connecticut voters were reminded that tomorrow is the last day they can change party affiliation if they wish to vote in a party’s primary election this September:

Connecticut State statutes only allow major political parties to hold primary elections.  Also under Connecticut State Statutes, political parties set their own rules regarding primary participation.  Currently, the major parties in Connecticut, Democratic and Republican, only allow enrolled party members to vote in a primary.  Should candidates petition for a primary in either of the major parties, a primary election will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Continue reading 'Want to Vote in the Primary? Monday Deadline for Party Change'»

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By Kerri Provost, June 7, 2013 10:41 am

(left-to-right) Richard Nelson, Chris Gavreau, and Stephen Durham

Stephen Durham, the Freedom Socialist Party nominee for President in the 2012 general election, drove up from New York for the Thursday rush hour rally calling for Bradley Manning’s freedom. Continue reading 'Blowing Whistles for a Whistleblower'»

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By Kerri Provost, May 31, 2013 10:26 am

Last night the Connecticut State Senate passed SB 191, the Vulnerable User bill. This bill makes it possible for motorists to be fined for endangering, injuring, or killing vulnerable users, which are defined as pedestrians, cyclists, highway workers, skateboarders/skaters, and those operating tractors. Vulnerable users are also those riding/driving animals, those using wheelchairs, and the blind, as well as their service animals. Violators would be able to be fined up to $1000.

It’s now up to the House to take action.

The legislative session ends on June 5th.

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By Kerri Provost, May 22, 2013 11:01 pm

(L-to-R) Charles R. Venator-Santiago, Olga Delarosa Moya, Victor Quinones, Ana-Maria Garcia, Madelyn Colon, y Evelyn Mantilla

The gymnasium of St. Anne / Immaculate Conception Church on Park Street was the venue for a true community dialogue about the history and current state of the Latino vote in Hartford. The dialogue did not dwell in the past, nor did it center on the panelists’ contributions, as audience members readily joined in.

Evelyn Mantilla, who served as the event’s moderator, explained that of the approximately 54,000 individuals registered to vote in the city, 38% are Latinos. Of the small number who voted in the 2012 primary, only 13% of those voters were Latino.

“Why don’t more Latinos vote in Hartford?” was the question that held this conversation together. Everyone had theories.

Panelist Victor Quinones said, “we are not educated politically.” People will vote all Democrat instead of thinking about the individual candidates.

“There is also the hours,” he said. Very few people stop by the polls between 6-9am, and then people work all day. He said the polls should open and close later. Continue reading '¿Ausente? Indeed.'»

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By Kerri Provost, May 9, 2013 12:03 am

Van Norden, making an appearance to read a letter

Following the latest hearing at the Connecticut Department of Transportation, one community member asked, “How much does Hartford’s Deputy Corporation Counsel Van Norden get paid to do nothing more than show up and read straight from a letter the Mayor wrote?”

The same could be asked of all ConnDOT representatives, aside from Judith Almeida, the Department of Transportation’s staff attorney and only employee appearing prepared for Wednesday evening’s first of two Flower Street Closing reconsideration hearings.

How could anyone have been prepared to respond to the City of Hartford’s 180° pulled minutes before the beginning of the hearing? This reversal, issued by Mayor Segarra, has been viewed by some in the community as a betrayal to residents and businesses, as a show of spinelessness, and one more poor decision in a stream of recent questionable choices.

In late April, officials from the City met with residents and stakeholders to discuss how to best move forward with the situation. The majority view was to keep pushing back against the DOT and not settle. This is what was supposed to be relayed back to Mayor Segarra: the neighborhood won’t settle. It wants to fight.

The few who did think having some settlement between the City and the DOT was a practical option insisted on having everything drawn up in writing to give it teeth. If it were to settle, the City, as of April, was going to include in its demands having the DOT commit to spend $30 million on Capitol Avenue improvements, look at making Sigourney Street safer for cyclists, alter State policies regarding affordable housing in Hartford, and more.

Throughout that meeting, the consensus was that nobody wanted a $6 million ramp built over the busway that would likely need to be removed in a few years when the viaduct is removed.

What also emerged in that meeting was the deep distrust everyone at the table — including City of Hartford employees — have regarding the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Thomas Deller, the Director of Hartf’ord’s Department of Development Services said he was “appalled” by how CTfastrak has done its planning, categorizing it as “haphazard.” A resident said, “the City has been victimized by the DOT for decades.”

By all accounts, it seemed that the City was going to fight the best it could for its residents and business owners.

Instead, Mayor Segarra effectively threw Hartford under the busway. Continue reading 'Constituents Sold Out in “Agreement” on Flower Street'»

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By Kerri Provost, April 18, 2013 9:13 am

It’s almost time for another chapter in the ongoing fight for transparency and respect from the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

The State entity has been striving to close Flower Street — a quiet side street that serves as a safe connection between Asylum and Capitol for cyclists and pedestrians — to all traffic. Once construction on CTfastrak began, the road was sealed off to motorized vehicles. Though claiming that the desire to close the street is for safety reasons, the CT DOT, in various conversations, has straight out said that there is no data to back these claims. Activists seeking to keep the road open have speculated that there are other reasons and that this fight has nothing to do with the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.

Closing this street entirely would go against the stated goals of Hartford’s One City, One Plan — Plan of Conservation and Development.

Residents, stakeholders, and neighborhood organizations have not given silent consent. There have been attempts to be heard at a DOT hearing, and when voices seemed ignored there, wherever the DOT would show up. The next step was to be fighting it out, again, at a Reconsideration Hearing requested by the DOT.

The DOT was petitioning itself to spread out the Reconsideration Hearing (with itself) over several days in early April. This was stalled, pushing the new Reconsideration Hearing into May.

None of these hearings –the outcomes of which most directly impact Hartford’s Asylum Hill and Frog Hollow neighborhoods — have been held in Hartford, where residents and stakeholders could more easily attend. Opponents of the Flower Street closure have viewed this entire process as being filled with attempts to suppress public engagement, from the Newington-based hearings, to multiple hearings, to refusing to grant “intervenor” status at these hearings.

Now, we have learned that the DOT has been meeting with the City of Hartford about the Flower Street matter. The City had been challenging the DOT during this process, but those closely involved in this ordeal have seemed less optimistic about the nature of these closed door meetings. The expectation from those fighting the closure is that some “agreement” has been reached between the City and the State that would render moot the Reconsideration Hearing in May.

On Thursday, April 25 at 5pm the DOT and City of Hartford will be having a public meeting at the Studio at Billings Forge to discuss the latest on the Flower Street closure(s). Because it is public, anybody can show up.

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By Kerri Provost, April 10, 2013 10:44 pm

On the National Day of Action for immigration reform, Hartford joined cities across the United States as people took to the streets downtown during evening rush hour.

The Connecticut Immigrant Rights Alliance (CIRA) organized the event, with rallies at both the Old State House and State Capitol, and a march in between.

CIRA is comprised of many organizations including the ACLU of CT, African American Affairs Commission, AFT Connecticut, Apostle Immigrant Services, Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Brazilian Immigrant Center, Center for Latino Progress, Comunidad Inmigrante de East Haven, Connecticut AFL-CIO, Connecticut Center for New Economy, Connecticut Coalition to Stop Indefinite Detention, Connecticut Students for a Dream, Immigration Rights Task Force of the Unitarian Society of New Haven, Immigration Task Force of New York Annual Conference of United Methodist Church, International Institute of Connecticut, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), Junta for Progressive Action, Latino Advocacy Foundation, MECha de Yale, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), New Haven Peoples Center, Oficina Católica de Justicia Social de La Arquidiócesis de Hartford, Seminarians for a Democratic Society, SEIU-32BJ, SEIU-State Council, Somos CT, Unidad Latina en Acción, UNITE HERE, and United Action Connecticut.

Continue reading 'Hartford March for Immigration Reform'»

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By Kerri Provost, March 20, 2013 10:47 pm

Marilyn Rossetti, Evelyn Mantilla, Susan Bysiewicz, and Beth Bye

To encourage younger generations of women to embrace feminism, Susan Bysiewicz suggested adults “be an example and not afraid to speak up when you see inequalities.”

That’s some real talk right there.

Last week, during Boob B-Rollgate, there was such an opportunity, but according to State Senator Beth Bye, the media squandered this chance to take a strong stance. Not a shocker, given how Bysiewicz described the appearance of the Capitol press room: almost all white, middle-aged men, and, Christine Stuart. Bye, herself, does a daily count while watching Morning Joe– how many male vs. female guests. The results are too predictable to bother typing up.

Here in Hartford, opportunities seem to have presented themselves in local politics Continue reading 'Current and Former Politicians Want More Women in Power'»