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By Kerri Provost, January 3, 2012 9:45 am

If your New Year’s resolutions included increasing your level of civic engagement, then you can take a step toward fulfilling that goal tonight. The swearing in ceremony will take place in the atrium of City Hall. This is free and open to the public, but about forty seats will already be reserved for the families and friends of Mayor Segarra and the incoming City Council.

Mayor Segarra, who was appointed and sworn in during the Perez scandal in June 2010, has been elected by the people and will begin his first full term as Hartford’s 66th mayor.

City Councilpersons being sworn in include eight men and one woman: Alex Aponte (Democrat), Kyle Anderson (D), Luis Cotto (Working Families), Raul DeJesus (D), Larry Deutsch (WF), Cynthia Jennings (WF), Ken Kennedy (D), David MacDonald (D), and Shawn Wooden (D).

Adam Cloud, who was appointed to the position of Treasurer in February 2011, will be sworn in as well. Continue reading 'Swearing at Seven'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 31, 2011 2:54 pm

photo courtesy of Afonso Lima

Click here to read about how a student in Hartford opted out of the Connecticut Mastery Test.

The Connecticut State Department of Education website makes the No Child Left Behind threats both clear and obscure at the same time:

Schools will be responsible for improving the academic performance of all students, and there will be real consequences for districts and schools that fail to make progress.

The phrase “academic performance” is Continue reading 'Back to School Guide: Reclaiming Your Child’s Education (2/2)'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 9, 2011 10:23 am

Last month, 6,600 prisoners in California participated in a protest against indefinite solitary confinement. It began at the Pelican Bay State Prison; eventually, inmates at a total of thirteen prisons participated. On the twentieth day of action, the state government agreed to reassess the use of solitary confinement (in which prisoners might be kept for years) in its prisons. The protests — which also included lawyers, family members, and community members –  involved marching, petitioning, chanting, and fasting. There have been conflicting reports about when the prisoner hunger strike ended, partly because the media had been refused permission to interview prisoners participating in the action.

Now, locals are fasting in solidarity to keep the pressure on the State of California. Connecticut in Solidarity with California Prisoners has organized this action. So far, thirteen people have committed to participating, three of whom will be fasting twice. One activist — a diabetic — will be fasting on the same day as another person. Continue reading 'Rolling Fast'»

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By Kerri Provost, May 13, 2011 1:57 pm

Kraus (left) and Roberts (right)

To frame anything in terms of war is to approach the situation with a failing strategy. We see this with actual wars, where the outcome is destruction, injury, rape, and death; the economy might get a temporary boost and the “winners” gain results through coercion. Look at the “War on Terrorism.” People and places are being destroyed, but is anything being done to address ideologies of terrorism? Has LBJ’s “War on Poverty” done anything to change the conditions in this country which create poverty? As with all the others, the “War on Drugs” resembles actual wars — lots of casualties, with only a handful of people experiencing real gains.

So, as leadership is stepping away from the decades’ old approach, why are decriminalization discussions still using the outmoded terminology? How we frame any issue is going to color our preconceived notions walking into a discussion;  when I first saw the title of Friday morning’s community dialogue — “The Drug War: Is it time to change strategies?” — at the Mark Twain House and Museum, I had to wonder why this language was still being used, as a shift in strategies has already begun. A quick look at national policy shows a hierarchy of prevention, intervention, and recovery above incarceration. That’s on the  federal level, though. Is any of this trickling down to local efforts to deal with a very real drug problem?

I’m not alone. During the question and response period of the Key Issues Forum, an audience member said that the “terminology is wrong,” citing the same examples as provided above. This man spoke about his experience growing up in a neighborhood where much of the drug trade sprang out of  “middle class values with welfare money.” He said that selling drugs was not about being broke, but due to “self-esteem,” and wanting a certain type of lifestyle. If we talk about this in terms of war, then we would essentially need to declare war  on the culture of conspicuous consumption which has become synonymous with “American lifestyle.” Anyone about to do that is going to get slapped with the label of “socialist.”

Another member of the audience spoke about her child’s addiction. This woman said she was from suburbia. Her child was raised by two parents and was taught to not use drugs, yet the adult child is recovering. How is some declaration of war going to look in this case? Are we going to fight middle class, suburban families?

The terminology is ludicrous.

Jack Cole

For 2011, as of publication, over $15 billion in federal and state dollars have been spent on the so-called drug war; in the past forty years, the expenditure has been over $1.5 trillion. As consumers, we expect something in return when we spend money. According to Jack Cole, a retired officer who spent much of his career undercover in narcotics, the national drug policy has purchased no positive results. Cole — on whom one of the main characters of Flipside is based –  gave a presentation this morning in which he noted that the only statistic to remain the same before drugs were illegal, at the start of the “drug war,” and now, is that of addiction: 1.3% of the population. The percentage of those struggling with addiction may not have changed, but how addiction is being managed is not entirely positive. Mark Friedlander,M.D., Aetna’s Senior Medical Director, said that there is a divide in how people respond to substance abuse treatment; those over 25 have more success, where those under 25 do not respond as well to traditional treatments. Panelist Mark L. Kraus, M.D., described addiction as a “biopsychosocial disease” which is “progressive” and “in most cases will cause premature death.” Cole, of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), echoed this, saying that the organization wants “to treat this as a health problem.”

So, if locking up thousands of people every year has not done anything to reduce the amount of people whose lives are destroyed by addiction, what is there to do? Continue reading 'We’re Still Calling it a War?'»

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By Kerri Provost, April 23, 2011 8:53 am

On Tuesday evening (April 26) there will be a public hearing for the fiscal year 2011-2012 budget. It begins at 6pm in the Bulkeley High School auditorium. If you want to speak, you need to get there early to sign up. These hearings typically last for hours, and at them, someone inevitably gripes about how his/her kids are with a babysitter who was only supposed to be there until eight. Don’t be that person. Budget for the sitter to stay longer or bring the kids with you.

The video below is Councilor Cotto talking about some of the budget basics — where the money comes from and where it goes.

You can also read the City of Hartford recommended budget here. If you’re going to complain about government spending (or cuts) at least take some time to educate yourself first.

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By Kerri Provost, April 18, 2011 5:28 pm

The City of Hartford really wants you to pay up. Through the end of June, if you owe motor vehicle or property taxes, you can pay without getting hit with the regular collection fee. Here are the details, compliments of the City:

The City of Hartford announces a ‘Fee-Relief’ program commencing April 18, 2011 and ending July 31, 2011.  During the term of the program, taxpayers with delinquent motor vehicle and/or personal property taxes who make voluntary payments to the Office of the Tax Collector will not be subject to the collection fees normally assessed by the City’s outside collection agent, TaxServ Capital Services HD-CT, LLC (”TaxServ”).

From April 18, 2011 through June 30, 2011 - Taxpayers who have delinquent motor vehicle or personal property taxes which were previously serviced by Taxserv, the City’s outside collection agent, may make payment directly to the Office of the City Tax Collector. Voluntary payments made during this period will not be subject to the normal 13.5% collection fee that is assessed to accounts referred for collection. Non-voluntary payments collected through any of the various legal enforcement processes will remain subject to all costs of collection pursuant to C.G.S. 12-166 and C.G.S. 36(a)-800 et. seq.

From July 1, 2011 through July 31, 2011 - Taxpayers who have delinquent motor vehicle or personal property taxes which have been referred for collection to Taxserv, the City’s outside collection agent, will be assessed a reduced collection fee of 7.5% of the delinquent amount due.

On and after August 1, 2011, delinquent motor vehicle taxes and personal property taxes that have been referred for collection, will be subject to regular collection fees of 13.5% of the total delinquent tax (including interest and costs), or 15% of the total delinquent tax (including interest and costs) if the delinquency period exceeds two years, pursuant to C.G.S. 12-166 and C.G.S. 36(a)-800 et. seq.

Payment of all delinquent motor vehicle or personal property tax bills may be made by mail or in person to the City tax office located at 550 Main St, Room 106, Hartford, CT 06103.  Taxpayers may also make credit card payments on the Tax Collector website at www.taxcollector.hartford.gov and click Pay/View Taxes Online.  No refunds will be made on any collection fees paid prior to April 18, 2011.

At the conclusion of this Fee Relief Program, the City of Hartford and TaxServ will resume a vigorous effort to collect remaining outstanding delinquent motor vehicle and personal property taxes.   For more information, please contact the Tax Collector’s Office at (860) 757-9630.

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By Kerri Provost, March 29, 2011 9:36 pm

The next time I hear somebody run his mouth about how people in Hartford don’t care about anything, I’m going to drag him to a City Council meeting. He would then see that even at meetings without a public hearing session, residents are willing to stand — if there are no chairs left, which often is the case– for over an hour to listen to public servants make decisions that will affect them.

Monday night, many residents showed up at City Hall to support designating roughly $50,000 for the Salvation Army’s Marshall House emergency shelter to remain open through the end of June. Because there was no public hearing, they held signs. This agenda item was not debated because its sponsor apparently missed a deadline. Items that were discussed: trees, the impact of war, and whether or not voters were too dumb to know what they were voting for in 2008 when they gave an 80% pay raise to City Council. Continue reading 'Removing Trees, Ending Wars, and Repealing Raises'»

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By Kerri Provost, March 24, 2011 10:15 pm

Few seem to get involved when those in power are seeking feedback, but many do more than their fair share of whining after the fact. Well, there are several upcoming opportunities for civic participation regarding various issues.

On March 29, 2011 there will be a Mayor’s Town Meeting at the Hartford Public Library from 6-7:30pm. Mayor Segarra will be listening to residents’ suggestions about balancing the budget and making “City Government more efficient, more effective, and more transparent.” The Mayor will be presenting his budget to the Council on April 18, 2011, so there is enough time that it is plausible he will take residents’ concerns into account while working on the budget.

Then, on April 26th, there will be a public hearing on the budget. This will be held at the Bulkeley High School auditorium. Budget deliberations will be occurring during May, so again, there is enough time between the hearing and these deliberations for residents to believe that their input will be taken into consideration. If going to this public hearing, prepare to arrive early to sign up to speak, unless sitting through a dog and pony show engineered by various organizations is your idea of a good time.

For those interested in the restoration of Bushnell Park, there will be a workshop on March 30th from 4:30-8:30pm. This will be held at the Hartford Public Library, but is connected to the  iQuilt project. The first half hour will be spent going over project updates. Continue reading 'The Budget and Bushnell Park'»

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By Kerri Provost, March 10, 2011 9:39 pm

Because such thinking has become part of the national rhetoric, nobody bats an eye anymore when words like “unity” and “collective” are shorthand for “conformity” and “the herd.”

Recently, Mayor Segarra was thrown under the bus for the way in which he requested a more just search process for the replacement superintendent. Actually, the request itself was demonized. This all could have easily been turned into an episode of The Simpsons:

Continue reading 'Conform for School Reform'»

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By Kerri Provost, February 12, 2011 12:31 am

The Hartford school system has been no stranger to controversy. There’s the achievement gap, illiteracy and drop out rates, and racial isolation. There were bonuses doled out to teachers and paraprofessionals; these were intended to reward teachers for gains in CAPT scores, but many having nothing to do with that achievement benefited. There have been questions raised about the increase in district test scores; some have asserted that the sharp improvements are not due to mere student achievement, but to the mass exclusion of special education students.

Here’s something new to add to the list of complaints: mandatory minimum grades. Teachers in the Hartford school district are being told they are not permitted to assign a final grade lower than a 55 in any given marking period.

The practice of grade inflation itself is not a new one, though it’s not openly discussed for obvious reasons.

In the past, teachers could enter grades that accurately reflected what the students earned. If a student earned 12 points, the teacher could let the record show that this was the case. Administration could modify the grade, but the teacher would not be forced to lie about a student’s performance.

Now, we’re being informed that teachers are forced to artificially boost student grades. Not all are pleased about this. A group of teachers within the Hartford school system have decided they are sick of cheating students and bilking taxpayers. They have complained about this policy, which forces teachers to break the Connecticut Code of Professional Responsibility for Educators:

(h) The professional educator, in full recognition of the public trust vested in the profession, shall not:

(A) Exploit the educational institution for personal gain;
(B) Be convicted in a court of law of a crime involving moral turpitude or of any crime of such nature that violates such public trust; or
(C) Knowingly misrepresent facts or make false statements.

Beyond the professional code of ethics, some have spoken about how this forces them to break with their own personal codes of ethics. Some teachers are attempting to find ways of coping with this. Continue reading 'Mandatory Minimums for Youth'»