43 comments

  1. Here we have Tom Coble, earning over $80,000 annually, marching in this event. His job relates to blight, therefore I would like to know was this march held on a weekday during work hours?

    I had a meeting at Frankie’s Diner scheduled for 8:15 am on Tuesday. I pull up at 9:17 am and who is walking into the diner? None other than Tom Coble.

    He was joining Dennis Bradley, Ralph Ford, and Lonnie Blackwell.

    At approximately 9:00 am, Fred Gee joined them. He resides at the same address as Reverend McBride Lee and is also employed by the City.

    They did not leave until 9:53 am.

    Can someone please explain how these two city employees are having breakfast during their scheduled work hours participating in a meeting that clearly had nothing to do with their job responsibilities?

    In addition, Michele Lyons daughter Heather served a relative of mine at 11:00 am earlier this week. He showed me the video to confirm it was Heather and the video was time stamped.

    Since I last posted about Heather failing to work the required hours in her city position with assisting the elderly; she has been reduced to 19 hours per week, however her salary was INCREASED to offset the reduction in hours.

    We have Danny Roach working on “special Projects” in Public Facilities earning $120,000 annually, however he is a “no-Show”.

    Yet the Mayor and the City Council only appropriated an additional $387,000 for our 21,199 public school children.

    0
    1. Maria, I am glad you found another diner to have your meetings. Who were you meeting with? What was it about? What did you order? did you receive any texts from anyone? Where were you just prior to pulling up t 8:15? Do we need to ask Dennis Bradley? Was Tom Coble on a leave? Was he requested to attend with the Mayor? Your relative that was served papers by my councilwomans daughter, What was the nature of the papers? Who served her? Was Heather working or on Her time? Do you realize how outrageous it is to put peoples personal business on this blog?
      I am applying for Danny Roaches job. Are you certain he is a no show? Does his position require him to be a desk at a certain time? Now I respect everyones opinion and contributions to this blog but it seems yours posts have become meaner and more personal.

      The day Heather served your relative with court papers was probably on her birthday. You of course know she is a Gemini like myself. If you were friends with her on Facebook you may have known she took time off.

      BTW if you are at Frankies you must try their Blueberry Blintzes . Delicious. Almost as good as mine.

      0
  2. Why the hell are you worried about Tom Coble? You don’t know if he had the day off, took comp time or used vacation time to go to the diner. You need to worry about taking care of the school children of Bridgeport and stay out of grown men business. May I suggest that you take the next six months to mind your business and six months to stay out of other people’s business and that should take care of the next year.

    0
    1. Listen you sexist and racist non-Bridgeport jerk, I am a “grown” woman who will use my time as I see fit.

      My recommendation to you as a suburbanite would be to mind your business when it comes to Bridgeport

      0
      1. Maria, Maria, Maria never in my post did I allude to race or say anything sexist, but you should be concerned that Andy agreed with you. With all due respect, I would never take a recommendation from you as I’ve never let my self esteem fall that low as you would ever be the voice of reason.

        Why does it bother you that I moved to the suburbs, I’ve done what you have never done in Bridgeport, I’ve owned two homes and paid taxes to the city on both. Try doing that once in your life and then only then can you fill my joy about living in the city.

        0
        1. I owned a condominium in Bridgeport and sold it in 2012 you pontificating blowhard.

          You are a sexist and a racist. Your living in a suburb does not “bother” me at all.

          0
          1. Where was the condo? Did you make a profit? How long did you own it? what were the taxes? Do We have to go to the tax collector to get the answers ?

            0
        2. Don, Maria is another one like Bill Maher and JML when she called Jamilha Prince Stewart a uncle Tom. Who the hell does she think she is in calling a black woman by that name. I know those black members on the BOE need to put her ass in check.

          0
          1. Nobody puts me in “check”. I was having a conversation with two black administrator’s about Jamilah Prince and why I describe her as an “Uncle Tom”. Neither pushed back or defended her.

            0
          2. Maria, please, because you spoke to two black administrators and they didn’t get in your ass because you were kissing their ass as you gave them your bullshit excuse. I hope you don’t think because you spoke to two blacks that everything is ok with blacks in Bridgeport and what did Sauda say to you about your uncle Tom comment?

            0
    2. Donald, in your own words to Maria:
      “You need to worry about taking care of the school children of Bridgeport and stay out of grown men business.”
      What is this ‘GMB’ that you want Maria to stay away from? In a poor urban community are the children the responsibility of only females? (That was not the sense I felt in attending the Batalla School gathering about the future of young men of color.)
      And Maria gets more facts into the public square about education finances, programs, and problems than most folks, so she is doing that but people need to become informed before change can occur.

      Does Maria’s competency (if not her uncompromising stance) about education issues prevent her from learning or commenting on ‘grown men business’ however you may wish to describe that?
      Donald, do you have a serious issue about “male privilege” that you need to review? When will you tell all of us more about “grown men business”? I, for one, cannot wait for your words, though I know: Time will tell.

      0
  3. As the district leader I would like to let you know that former council person Paoletta is back as a city employee as a sewer inspector. Don’t pay attention to day if these were white city workers he would be hollering to fire them Day is a one trick pony. Back to Paoletta and his third strike. How many times do you have to be found guilty before the city does not hire you again They are going to say working for the sewer authority is not like working for the city.. Ganim is a fucking creep who should never been able to run again. To the people of Bridgeport are you happy you elected this asshole.

    0
  4. Omg, Maria you have the temerity, the unmitigated guile to call someone a blowhard, are you kidding me. I looked up the meaning of blowhard and it shows a picture of you.

    Maria, you always talk about what you’ve done for the children of Bridgeport, but I can’t see anything you’ve done. Have you gotten the BBOE more money from the state or the city, NO. Have you gotten more books and resources in the children’s classrooms, No. Isn’t the Bridgeport school system still one of the worst in the state even though you’ve claimed to have done so much, Yes. When the principle at Dunbar stole the children’s money what did you do to replace said money, Nothing. Did you fight to close the Lighthouse program even though it has helped thousands of Bridgeport youth, Yes. Are you fighting to close the charter schools even though the have been proven to give children a far better education than public schools to the detriment of those students and parents that want quality education, Yes. Have you burned every bridge to success from the judge to Sauda while alienating everyone you’ve come in contact with, Yes. It like I said before, you’re a great meal served on a garbage can top, not very appetizing.

    0
    1. Donald, you have no knowledge of that which you speak.

      1) I have spent more time lobbying in Hartford than the other eight BOE members combined.

      2)I have obtained more resources for our students by identifying reductions in staffing, services and goods that does not directly impact student achievement. I have identified more revenue or savings opportunities than all other eight BOE members combined.

      3) I was not on the board when the principal of Dunbar stole finds from the student activity fund, however I knew full restitution was being pursued. The principal did make full restitution.

      4) I have never advocated for closure of the Lighthouse Program. The BOE cannot “close” the Lighthouse Program because it is not our program to close. It is a city program which burdens the BOE with significant increases in custodial, utilities, refuse and supply costs. The $500,000 assessed covers THEIR costs in our schools.

      5) I would like to see every charter school in Bridgeport, CT and this country closed. Every reputable study conducted shows that charter school students perform no better than true public schools, however many minority students perform worse. The most segregated schools in this country and CT are charter schools. These factors contributed to the NAACP to issue a resolution just this year calling for a moratorium on ANY new charter schools and an investment in our public schools.

      In closing, I just had a nice chat with Judge Lopez in the City Council Chambers a few weeks ago where she commended me on my efforts while offering me some advice which I welcomed.

      I am not interested in having relationships with unethical, dishonest, immoral, unprincipled and corrupt individuals who only care about what’s in it for them.

      You are a suburbanites, therefore your opinion really doesn’t matter.

      0
  5. JML,you make reference of Ron and myself as the guardians of Colored Issues so may I ask just what colored issues are we guardians of, Red issues, Green issues or maybe Blue issues?

    Now I’ll know you’ll try to clean up this response with some Ivy League white jargon, but the fact is your comment reeked of bigotry and was demeaning to every black person who reads its content. As much as you think you know about black people and our condition you still haven’t learned the basics, that which is offensive to us a people and what white people can’t say under any circumstances. Joking or otherwise JML, your characterization of Ron and myself as arbiters of Colored (Black) issues offends a large segment of Black America that fought long and hard not to be called Colored and now you are a white member of the NAACP in 21st century America still referring to two black males as Colored.

    Times change and terms change. Racial designations go through phases; at one time Negro was accepted, at an earlier time colored and so on. This organization has been in existence for 80 years and the initials NAACP are part of the American vocabulary, firmly embedded in the national consciousness, and they feel it would not be to their benefit to change their name. But it’s also regarded as a highly offensive racial slur which recalls a time when casual racism was a part of everyday life.

    In the US, because of the country’s recent era of racial segregation, it is among the most offensive words for describing a black person.

    0
    1. Don, Joh Marshall Lee has gotten to comfortable being around blacks and he feels like Bill Maher that he can say anything without realizing he has cross over to the wrong side that will cause blacks to turn their back on him among other things.

      0
      1. Ron,
        What do you have to say about the MALES OF COLOR community forum on Thursday afternoon? Were you present? A followup will occur in the last week of June at Room 305 of City Hall. Perhaps you will be interested in contributing or hearing what others define as issues? Time will tell.

        0
    2. Nice try Donald, will you please explain “grown men business”? That is the topic of the day, uttered in your own post and on a day that you seem to deny any “sexist” component.
      As to your second attempt (this time with an assist from Ron) to get me to re-visit a comment in the context some time ago, I am carrying on with no need to revisit.
      I am learning daily about Bridgeport urban living from many who do not read OIB, and who are not sitting on the sidelines of major issues as viewers rather than participants. The community in that way becomes a university of lifetime learning and we all become students. Especially when we know our own story and tell it with integrity as well as when we listen to the story from the other person and hold it in high esteem. Time will tell.

      0
  6. Andy, tell ya boy that is very admirable of him now that he is in the apex of his life he needs to find out about daily Bridgeport urban living. Tell him that I have been living the daily urban life for the 50 years I’ve lived here and 17 years prior to coming here. It’s great that he isn’t on the sidelines on major issues NOW, but remind him that he has been doing that for a minute, some of us has been doing that for decades.

    Let ya boy know that he has just started to show a concern about the state of the Black man in Bridgeport, Connecticut and America, while that has been my concern my whole life. Now here’s the capper Andy, he thinks that because he joined the NAACP or go to a conference he now loves cares about the state Black people more than I do because I wasn’t there. The nerve of this fool. Andy, tell ya boy tol just do what he can to make Bridgeport better and don’t concern himself about what Donald Day is doing until he finds out what Donald Day has done. Oh by the way Andy I’m where I need to be, where I want to be and more importantly where life has lead me to be with no regrets. Just tell ya boy.

    0
    1. Donald,
      Just re-read your comments and they miss the mark widely. Until my final breath I have 24/7 to allocate to providing for me, for others, for today and/or for the future. I have chosen many paths that provide me memories of value today. If I have come late to a particular vineyard so be it. Perhaps those working from dawn need help in the harvest? Perhaps the goal sought or the purpose served, in and of itself, welcomes all of the people, all of the time and honor and respect are due for showing up? Happy to discuss the scripture passage, familiar to you, when we do sit down, eventually. Time will tell.

      0
  7. You have the nerve to tell JML not to worry about what you’re doing. Well, take your own advice and don’t worry about what I’m doing, even if that includes involving myself in “grown men’s business” you sexist.

    The scary part is you don’t even recognize how sexist that comment was.

    0
  8. You have the nerve to tell JML not to worry about what you’re doing. Well, take your own advice and don’t worry about what I’m doing, even if that includes involving myself in “grown men’s business” you sexist.

    The scary part is you don’t even recognize how sexist that comment was.

    0
  9. You have the nerve to tell JML not to worry about what you’re doing. Well, take your own advice and don’t worry about what I’m doing, even if that includes involving myself in “grown men’s business” you sexist.

    The scary part is you don’t even recognize how sexist that comment was.

    0
    1. So what does “grown men business” really mean to you? And why is this reference not a “sexist” comment when spoken by an African American man who can look out and see the lack of adult male models available for the young black males in City schools? Still trying to learn. Perhaps you can provide me with instruction in the language you use when you are driving Senator Moore? Just saying…. Time will tell.

      0
  10. Maria, tell us was Sauda Baraka and Howard Gardner ok with you using a racial slur to describe your feeling towards a black woman,  Jamilha Prince Stewart, by you calling her a uncle Tom? By the way I wonder how  Carmen Lopez and Bobby Simmons feel about you using that racist statement? Maria, you feel you have the right to use a racial slur against a black woman because you don’t like her position and support of charter schools, you don’t have to like her position. You don’t have the right to insult and use that racial slur because you are not in our family. JML has the same problem, you both feel to comfortable being around blacks just like Bill Maher and you think that you can say what you want without any fallout, HELL NO. 

    https://youtu.be/OX7YB8DoO8A
    “Ice Cube Confronts Bill Maher About His Use Of The “N” Word”   

    https://youtu.be/mvuqm9miPZQ  
     Kevin Hart on Bill Maher’s N-Word Joke: ‘It’s Not Right…It was Tacky’  

    0
  11. I don’t report to Sauda and/or Howard. Judge Lopez has not said one word about it. Bobby Simmons and I have briefly spoken about my comment while he repeatedly chuckled.

    Really, Ice Cube and Kevin Hart are supposed to serve as my moral compass. P-L-E-A-S-E.

    0
    1. Really Maria, you don’t report to Saudi and/or Howard, well now isn’t that special, nobody said you did. Has the conversation come up about you calling Ms Stewart a uncle Tom. If you didn’t get the meaning of what Ice Cube and Kevin Hart said about white people of your kind feeling comfortable using racial slurs then you shouldn’t be on the BOE dealing with black children.

      0
  12. To the closet bigot and the loudmouth asshole, back it up cowboy and cowgirl you think I owe you fools any explanation about anything I say. You’ve got to be kidding me. You both have used words to describe Blacks that are demeaning, humiliating and shameful. Now, especially the closet bigot, think that I owe his punk ass and explanation about something I said to the loudmouth asshole when he had yet to be contrite about his characterisation of Blacks as colored?

    The closet bigot thinks that he’s always the smartest person in the room so that feeling of superiority excludes him from ever saying maybe I was wrong or that I apologize if what I said offended you or Black people. I had respect for the closet bigot and I thought he was a decent man, but now I see that he is nothing more than a bigot who is replete with pomposity. As many disagreements and name calling that have been going on with Andy and I over the last 30 plus years he had NEVER stooped to that level to call, suggest or imply a racial epithet like the closet bigot.

    The closet bigot and the loudmouth asshole think that not one had ever done anything in Bridgeport prior to them reaching some elevated social conscience. Wrong! People have been in the fight for and about Bridgeport long before you two bigots ever thought about getting into the game. Here’s what I can provide with closet bigot, if your brain was on fire I wouldn’t piss in your ear.

    0
    1. Don, that loudmouth asshole refuses to answer my question because she’s scare to reply to this question, “Maria, tell us was Sauda Baraka and Howard Gardner ok with you using a racial slur to describe your feeling towards a black woman,  Jamilha Prince Stewart, by you calling her a uncle Tom?”

      0
      1. Donald Day and Ron Mackey, I honestly believe you have no idea how poor each of you look.

        You are both hypocrites, racists, and sexists. Donald, you are an intelligent and articulate individual, therefore you have no excuse. Ron, you look worse because you appear to be Donald Day’s lackey and you are not nearly as intelligent and articulate as Donald Day.

        I have to respect someone to take their advice or criticisms, therefore I don’t appreciate anything either of you have to say regarding me. Judge Lopez gave me some constructive criticism a couple of weeks ago and I listened to her and made the necessary adjustment because I completely respect her on every possible level.

        You two, I have no respect for. I have verified you made contributions as firefighters, but that was some time ago. Now you both just post on OIB and do nothing of significance in the community. Sad.

        0
        1. Maria, stop the spin, what did Sauda Baraka and Howard Gardner have to say about you calling Jamilha Prince Stewart a uncle Tom and what did Judge Lopez say about it?

          0
  13. Maria, I know that you totally understood what you said by saying, “Jamilha Prince Stewart is a uncle Tom.” The term “Uncle Tom” is also used as a derogatory epithet for an excessively subservient person, particularly when that person is aware of their own lower-class status based on race.

    Sauda Baraka and Howard Gardner, I’m asking the both of you guys, do you have a problem with Maria Pereira calling a black woman a “Uncle Tom?”

    0
  14. Maria, because I am intelligent and articulate I’ve never made excuses for anything that I’ve written in this form. I make my posts in a well thought manner and say what I mean and mean what I say and when I said stay out Grown Mens Business I meant it. They are grown, they are men and it was their business why they were meeting.

    There isn’t anyone that knows Ron will ever say that he is unintelligent or inarticulate. Ask Lisa (Honey) who’s known him for over three decades, ask the judge, ask Sauda, ask Chris Caruso, hell ask Lennie and all will tell you that your characterization of him is completely off base and unfounded .

    As far as Ron Mackey being my lackey why don’t you try this foreign concept, friendship. We are friends, good, bad or indifferent we are friends. We are unequivocally and unrelenting friend’s. Our friendship is based on mutual respect and uncompromising loyalty to each other based almost fifty years of same the morals, values and beliefs.
    I feel sorry for you that you’ve never experienced such friendship like that in the song by the great Prince when he said,”I would die for you.” I feel sad that you can’t distinguish being a lackey from being a friend. My hope is that some day someone will like you well enough to call you a friend so that you too can enjoy all that comes along with that determination.

    0
  15. Don, this is the background of the black woman that Maria Pereira calls a “Uncle Tom.”

    Jamilah Prince-Stewart, Executive Director

    Jamilah is a native of New Haven, Connecticut and graduate of Yale University. After graduation, Jamilah worked at Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation as the Placement Manager, where she placed inner-city middle school students into independent secondary schools around the country. Recognizing larger systemic issues facing Connecticut’s education system, Jamilah embarked on a journey to increase the participation of community leaders, parents, and people of color in Connecticut’s education reform movement as the Director of Community Engagement at ConnCAN, a state-level advocacy organization. During her time at ConnCAN, Jamilah began a robust Clergy organizing initiative that garnered major wins for Connecticut’s education reform movement and an important bond with Pastor William McCullough that would lead to the creation of FaithActs for Education.

    0

Leave a Reply