How Do You Like Your Port? Plus: Dough For Health Centers

Hey, you want to be executive director of the Bridgeport Port Authority?

If all goes according to plan, as of today Joe Riccio is no longer serving in that role. I’m betting with Riccio out the port authority lives. Another question: will Mayor Bill Finch seek to overhaul the five-member commission? The mayor has a couple of picks on that board that must be approved by the City Council, in addition to whoever is city development director.

Riccio earned $119k a year, so the job pays enough to attract representative experience.

Former Director of Economic Development Nancy Hadley (under John Fabrizi) has both her supporters and detractors on OIB. She’s well regarded in the city’s business community, not so in the political community. Nancy, as they say, breaks a lot of china, but that’s not such a bad thing. Finch replaced her with Don Eversley who spent a few years as a development official in Providence, among other places.

Finch is close with Mike Freimuth, development director under Joe Ganim. Freimuth has held that role in Stamford for several years. Would Mikey come back to play? That prehistoric noise you just heard was Freimuth saying, Lennie, leave me alone. But Freimuth is honest and smart, knows the territory and also knows how to navigate the political process.

John Bucky Marsilio, one of the most effective department heads in the history of the city when he served as director of Public Facilities under Joe Ganim, would add a lot to the job. The city got cleaned up under Bucky’s leadership, he understands infrastructure and he understands development. And the thing about Marsilio that makes him so valuable is his ability to maximize revenues.

Do you know why the city now receives millions more a year in taxes from the regional garbage plant in the West End? It was Marsilio who came up with the idea to lobby state legislation to make the plant pay full taxes when it had paid a fraction of the total for the prior 25 years. Not Joe Ganim, not John Fabrizi, not Bill Finch and not anyone in the city’s legislative delegation came up with the idea. It was Marsilio.

Whether Hadley, Freimuth or Marsilio, lots of brain power out there to help the city. Hopefully, the mayor will start using it.

With the current budget crunch, Finch has few discretionary appointments to fill. I cannot imagine the mayor and Chief of Staff Adam Wood not running the selection process for a new executive director, be it a pol or a professional.

So, who’s on your list to take over?

If you want to know just what an executive director of the BPA does, see areas of responsibilities and interests from the Bridgeport Port Authority website:

Created in 1993 by City ordinance and State Statute, the Bridgeport Port Authority’s mission is to promote trade and commerce, develop and promote port facilities within the Port District. Its main functions are to:

Provide secure docks, terminals and structures for passengers, customers, workers and users of Bridgeport Port Authority owned facilities, in accordance with the standards of the Coast Guard Maritime Security (“MARSEC”) guidelines.

Promote global trade and transportation to and from the Port of Bridgeport.

Provide Foreign Trade Zone Opportunities. The BPA is the grantee for Foreign Trade Zone number 76.

Oversee, stimulate and encourage new development initiatives for the Ports of Bridgeport which stimulate job growth and tax revenues.

Connecticut’s Port of Bridgeport, located in the heart of the most densely populated region in the United States, provides an accessible and non-congested gateway to the entire Northeast. The BPA through its management initiatives is committed to serving the needs of the global business community and to passengers seeking alternative means of transportation from Connecticut to other points along the east coast.

BPA Activities:

Bridgeport Port Authority

Is committed to the vision that the Bridgeport Harbor is an important economic development asset for the City, the Region and the State.

Develops projects and practices that will help reduce congestion and exhaust emissions along Interstate-95 in Connecticut

Incorporates green technologies and practices in its port activities

Is expanding ferry services to provide a High-Speed Ferry for commuters

Keeps the Port secure, directly impacting the safety of the power plant, railroad lines and Interstate 95

Pursued dredging of Bridgeport Harbor to restore Federal Channel to its authorized depth

Is a Quasi-Public entity with a long term vision for Bridgeport’s ports and facilities

Oversee redevelopment of Union Square Dock and Ferry Terminal (now know as an as the Water Street Dock and Ferry Terminal)
Remove the operation of a Port from day-to-day City operations and politics [Don’t ya just love that one?]

Is responsible for the construction of a ferry terminal building at the Water Street Dock that accommodates more than 1 million passengers and visitors annually (approx. cost $3.3 million)

Responsible for reconstruction and improvements to the Water Street Terminal bulkhead and Ferry Dock (approx. $2.85 million)

News release from Jim Himes

Himes Announces Health Center Modernization Funding

Three Southwest CT Community Health Centers to Receive $2.8 million in Recovery Act Grants

Washington, DC – Congressman Jim Himes announced today that three health centers in southwestern Connecticut will receive grants through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. The grants are for construction, repair, and renovation, including modernizing usage of information technology.

“These funds will be used to repair our ailing community health centers and prepare them for the future,” said Congressman Himes. “The hospitals receiving these grants will put people back to work and invest in more efficient responses to health care needs in southwestern Connecticut.

The Norwalk Community Health Center will receive $250,000, Optimus Health Care in Bridgeport will receive $1,763,750, and Southwest Community Center in Bridgeport will receive $801,110.

The Recovery Act’s Capital Investment Program grants will support the construction, repair and renovation of over 1,500 health center sites nationwide. More than 650 centers will use the funds to purchase new equipment or health information technology (HIT) systems, and nearly 400 health centers will adopt and expand the use of electronic health records. For more information on the Recovery Act, see www.recovery.gov or www.ct.gov/recovery.

News release from Mayor Finch

City Begins Demolition of Five Blighted Properties

Fire-damaged 563 Stillman St. first to fall

BRIDGEPORT, CT (June 29, 2009) – Demolition crews hired by the City today began tearing down the first of five blighted properties that are scheduled to come down during the next month.

Mayor Bill Finch and Councilwoman Maria Valle, D-137, joined neighbors of 563 Stillman St. Monday morning to watch as Industrial Wrecking, Inc., began its work. The property has been unoccupied since a fire destroyed the six-family house two years ago.

“Blighted properties take a toll on the neighborhoods and my administration is working on tearing these buildings down and finding new and appropriate uses for them, ” said Mayor Bill Finch. “We want to encourage private developers and nonprofits, such as Habitat for Humanity, to create low and moderate-income, owner-occupied housing to take the place of what we’ve knocked down.”

“The Mayor and the City deserve credit for seeing this project through. It is important to continue this work in our neighborhood,” said Valle.

The City will use approximately $172,000 from its capital bonding funds to pay for the demolition and cleanup work on the five properties listed below, and a sixth, at 480 Clinton Ave, which has been delayed until after a hearing before the Stratfield Historic District on July 7.

Below is a listing of the properties and the scheduled dates for demolition:

Week of June 29 – 563 Stillman St. and 983 Kossuth St.

July 6 – 37 and 45 Revere St.

July 15 – 309 Carroll Ave.

Each demolition is scheduled to take from 4 to 5 days from knockdown to cleanup of the site.

News release from Wholesome Wave Foundation

Wholesome Wave Foundation Launches Park City Harvest Program as Part of “Nourishing Neighborhoods” Campaign

Neighborhood Farm Stand Program, in partnership with the City of Bridgeport Health and Social Services Department, Brings Healthy, Affordable Produce to Underserved Bridgeport Communities

On July 1, Wholesome Wave Foundation, founded to make locally grown, healthy sustainable foods available to all communities, will launch its first Neighborhood Farm Stand Program with the grand opening of its Park City Harvest pilot program at the Bridgeport Health Department, 752 East Main Street in Bridgeport Connecticut’s East Side. The Neighborhood Farm Stand Program is one of three farm-to-community programs under Wholesome Wave Foundation’s “Nourishing Neighborhoods” campaign umbrella, which was created by chef and sustainable food advocate Michel Nischan and Wholesome Wave Chairman Gus Schumacher.

“The City of Bridgeport , through its Health and Social Services Department, is delighted to partner with the Wholesome Wave Foundation to bring fresh, green, and healthy foods to the tables of the residents of Bridgeport especially in these economic times,” said Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. “Making a coupon or voucher double its worth by stretching to feed more Bridgeport families is exactly what we should be doing right now. This one small program will touch thousands of lives.”

Wholesome Wave Foundation is launching its first Neighborhood Farm Stand Program deep within underserved Bridgeport, Connecticut communities. The Park City Harvest farm stand pilot program, supported by the Double Value Coupon Program, will have a multitude of positive effects on the communities it reaches.

Explains Nischan: “This “Nourishing Neighborhoods” program is a five-fold stimulus. First, it creates fresh produce availability in “food deserts”; second, it develops local jobs to manage neighborhood “market” stands; third, it improves well-being by offering healthier food choices to vulnerable families; fourth, it provides income support to the farmers selling in these neighborhoods; and finally it serves as a solid investment in reducing future health care costs by decreasing the growing diabetes and obesity problem.”

The July 1st grand opening of the Park City Harvest program will include demonstrations on how to use the produce bought at the market by Chef Peter Gorman of The Unquowa School in Fairfield , Conn.; a nutritionist commenting on the foods prepared; AmeriChoice by United Healthcare passing out jump ropes, healthy snacks and exercise flyers and much more. Festivities begin at 11:00 a.m.

“Good nutrition is the cornerstone and foundation for tackling all of the major chronic disease conditions and also one of our greatest health disparities,” said Dr. Marian Evans, M.D., Director of Health and Social Services, City of Bridgeport . “We are happy to have the City of Bridgeport named as part of this wonderful program that is reaching people throughout the nation. It is also a part of Mayor Finch’s goals and objectives in ‘greening’ the city, creating employment, and developing healthier lifestyles for our citizens.”

The Park City Harvest program was made possible through the volunteer work of the members of the Healthy Bridgeport Alliance, founded to make healthful, locally grown food available to those in Bridgeport who need it most.

In addition to the Neighboorhood Farm Stand Program, the other farm-to-community “Nourishing Neighborhood” programs are its innovative Double Value Coupon Program and Market Box Nutrition Program. The Double Value Coupon Program doubles hunger relief benefits when recipients use them to purchase healthful, fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets in or near their neighborhoods. The Market Box Nutrition Program was launched at the Norwalk Community Health Center (NCHC) by Wholesome Wave, which purchases surplus fruits and vegetables from farmers and delivers boxes of produce at an affordable and subsidized cost to families that have little access to fresh food.

About Wholesome Wave Foundation:

Michel Nischan, President/CEO of Wholesome Wave Foundation, is chef/author/food advocate and a leader in the sustainable food movement. He founded Wholesome Wave Foundation – with seed funding from the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation – in an effort to make locally grown, sustainable foods available to all. Nischan is a 2008 James Beard Foundation Award winner for his work on the PBS series, Victory Garden and author of two best-selling cookbooks – Taste Pure and Simple; Chronicle Books 2003 (a Beard award winner in 2004) and Homegrown Pure and Simple; Chronicle Books 2005. He serves on the boards of the Amazon Conservation Team, the James Beard Foundation and Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment.

Statement, invitation from union rep

Please join the Bridgeport Community this Wednesday, July 1, 2009 from 11am -3pm as we come together to support the workers at Price Rite, located at 164 Boston Ave. in Bridgeport, as they come together to demand the freedom to choose a union and improve their jobs without company interference.

Many workers have been harassed, threatened, and even demoted when they tried to simply form a union. Price Rite makes millions of dollars in Bridgeport, shouldn’t they at least let the workers decide for themselves if they want a union without interference?

Join us, as we sign a community letter to Price Rite asking them to ensure that workers have the freedom to choose to join a union, do they can bargain for the kind of hours, wages, and benefits that help so many working families in Bridgeport.

See you there!

Sincerely,
Jorge Cabrera
UFCWIU
Region 1, Northeastern
202-674-0760

PS–I encourage you to visit www.wakefernworkersunited.org for more information about this important campaign.