The campaign season is getting festive and feisty, just in time for the Fourth of July. Crank up those fireworks. Check this out from columnist Kevin Rennie:
A film crew appeared on the street in front of Democrat Dan Malloy’s house this week. His campaign didn’t send it. The videographers set up, rolled ’em, and left. It wasn’t subtle, though they could have waited until Thursday and used an iPhone 4 and never left their car.
Prime suspect: the Lamont campaign. Malloy is on the air with a soft bio ad that features the house he grew up in. The one he lives in now is rather grander. Of course, there was also that investigation four years ago of renovations to his house by a contractor who also did work for the city of Stamford, which Malloy led as mayor at the time. Malloy cooperated and was found to have done nothing wrong. To his credit, Malloy seemed eager to provide investigators with reams of information. The Lamont campaign will be waiting to launch if they feel a Malloy breakout coming on.
The Lamont campaign hasn’t responded to an inquiry on whether that was its crew at Malloy’s house. We’ll update if it does.
In the meantime, candidates might want to keep their lawn mowed and gardens weeded. Blooming flowers and a trimmed lawn can keep an opponent from making it look like you live at the Bates’ house.
Statement from Roy Occhiogrosso, senior adviser for Malloy campaign:
“Two pretty simple questions for Ned Lamont: did your campaign pay to have someone film and take photographs of Dan Malloy’s house? If so, why?”
And check out this Courant piece on GOP-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley:
www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-foley-0625-20100624,0,2024547.story
Statement from Foley:
Tom Foley’s Statement on Today’s Hartford Courant Article
Stamford, Conn. – Tom Foley today released the following statement in response to Jon Lender’s Hartford Courant article:
“Jon Lender of the Hartford Courant published an article this morning about two motor vehicle related infractions I was involved in a number of years ago. One was in 1981 and the other in 1993. The one in 1981, when I was 29, involved a minor car accident in which the occupants of the other car filed a complaint resulting in my arrest. The case was later dismissed. The one in 1993 involved my former wife and we were both arrested. The charges were dropped in that case, too. I was candid with Jon Lender and he wrote a straight and fair article.
“These were unfortunate incidents and ones that I wish hadn’t happened. Both of these incidents came to light as a result of a letter my former wife wrote to the Governor’s office in 2002 at a time when our relationship was particularly strained. I first heard about the letter yesterday afternoon after it was leaked to the Hartford Courant. The circumstances of how a confidential document from the Governor’s office was leaked to the press and by whom raise serious questions.
“My opponents have already tried to exaggerate these long-ago incidents to gain advantage in the race. Their over-the-top attacks and mischaracterizations include that I was imprisoned, that I have not been candid about these events, that there are still unanswered questions, and that these incidents involved domestic violence. My opponents should be ashamed of their false and intemperate remarks which raise serious questions about their truthfulness and personal characters. In the 1981 incident I was retained in a police cell overnight until an attorney could arrive from New York City. Characterizing this as imprisonment is misleading and mischievous. I was frank and forthcoming with Jon Lender and there are no unanswered questions or discrepancies in my story. There was no suggestion in Jon Lender’s article that domestic violence was involved in either of these incidents and I categorically deny that any domestic violence occurred between me and my former wife at any time before, during, or after our marriage. To raise that specter publicly without any evidence is a shameful lack of fair play in the public domain.
“In 2006, I was fully investigated for a Top Secret clearance and for confirmation by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. If these incidents were cause for concern about my temperament or character, I would not have received a clearance or been confirmed as a United States Ambassador.
“I hope my opponents will soon see that the citizens of Connecticut are interested in a dialogue about the serious issues facing Connecticut and not events from long ago that have no bearing on who should be Connecticut’s next governor. I call on them to engage in a substantive dialogue about the issues and stop embarrassing our state with cheap attack politics.”
Jenny Lind On Sunday
The Jenny Lind Concert rescheduled to Sunday June 27 at 7 p.m. in Bridgeport!
The Barnum Festival just announced plans to reschedule the 62nd annual Jenny Lind Concert of sopranos which was planned for Thursday, June 24, until the storm hit in Bridgeport. The American and Swedish 2010 Jenny Lind award winners will now perform on Sunday, June 27 at 7 p.m. at Playhouse on the Green. Featured will be the American winner Jennifer Caraluzzi of Bethel CT and the winner of the Swedish competition Ashley Robillard. They will be accompanied by Andrew Gordon and Henrik Berg respectfully.
“We were sorry to disappoint the advance ticket holders who had counted on seeing and more importantly hearing the concert yesterday,” explained Jeff Zeleny, Executive Director of the Barnum Festival. “City officials made a smart decision to create a curfew, but it did not allow us enough time to get word out to our loyal and faithful classical music lovers that the concert was canceled.”
“We are lucky these talented young women were already scheduled to be in the Great Street Parade and perform at the Norden Club on Sunday,” continued Zeleny. “The concert will now take place at Playhouse on the Green, allowing for a larger audience and in a venue designed to compliment their glorious voices.”
Advance tickets sold for the Thursday performance will be honored on Sunday. Anyone desiring a refund should contact The Barnum Festival office, during regular hours. Tickets are $25 per person and will be available at the door. Tickets include a post concert reception with the opportunity to meet the singers and their accompanists. Tasty deserts and coffee will be served by Luigi’s Italian Pastry Shop.
In 1949, a competition was started to find vocal artists in both Sweden and America who were most representative of P.T. Barnum’s Jenny Lind. Each year this concert marks the only time that the two winners perform, with their talented accompanists, at the same location. This Barnum Festival event has also received support from The Norden Club.
What: Jenny Lind Musical Evening Concert – Hear two Swedish Nightingales
Jennifer Caraluzzi from Bethel CT and Astrid Robillard from Sweden
Where: Playhouse on the Green, 177 State Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604
For directions to the theater please call 203-345-4800 or visit www.playhouseonthegreen.org
When: NEW DATE – Sunday, June 27, 2010 at 7 p.m.
Who: Anyone interested in vocal music and supporting The Barnum Festival
Cost: $25 per person, available at the door. For questions, contact the Barnum Festival office, 1070 Main Street, Bridgeport CT 06604, 203-367-8495 or toll free 866-867-8495 or visit www.barnumfestival.com
From Mayor Finch:
Weather Service: Tornado Touched Down on East Main Street
Cleanup Continues After Severe Storm Wreaks Havoc in City
A line of severe thunderstorms wreaked havoc in the City on Thursday causing widespread damage in the East Side, East End and the downtown area within a short period of time around 2:20 p.m. Late Friday morning, the National Weather declared a small section in the area of East Main Street between Cedar and Nichols Streets as an EF-1 tornado site, according to Gary Conte, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service. An EF-1 tornado clocks winds at 100 miles per hour. The rest of the damage was classified as straight-line wind damage, with measured wind gusts up to 78 miles per hour.
“I’ve never seen a storm do so much damage in such a short period of time,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “Most of the damage was concentrated in the East Side and East End of the City. We’re working with the Governor and with our legislative delegation to seek federal disaster aid.” Governor Rell visited the City on Thursday and toured the storm-damaged areas with the Mayor and public safety officials. On Friday, Sen. Joe Lieberman and Cong. Jim Himes toured the area as well.
“Our public facilities, police, fire and emergency responders responded quickly and effectively as soon as the storm hit to secure streets, damaged buildings and the more than 3,000 emergency calls that were logged in the hours after the storm hit.”
Cleanup continued throughout today with City police, fire, public works crews working to clear streets of downed trees and wires. Private contractors as well as crews from United Illuminating and Northeast Utilities were out on City streets working with crews to clear tree limbs away from power lines.
The City opened two shelters on Thursday evening – at Barnum-Waltersville and at Cesar Batalla Schools to provide a place for residents to stay who were without power or housing. About 100 people availed themselves of the shelters on Thursday evening, with only about nine staying overnight. At 3 p.m. Thursday, the City announced it would close Barnum-Waltersville and transfer everyone to Cesar Batalla School. Residents in need of shelter can call 203.579.3820 for help in securing a place to stay.
The Mayor declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew about an hour after the storm hit due to the large amount of downed wires and trees and damage to buildings that was suffered in the East Side, East End and the downtown area. The state of emergency and the curfew were lifted as of Friday morning.
“As the cleanup continues, I urge everyone to stay away from downed power lines and high damage areas as our crews work to clear the streets and restore traffic patterns,” said Mayor Finch.
“We’ll be working ’round the clock to provide emergency housing for the many people who have been displaced from their homes or apartments, due to power outages or damage to the building,” said Mayor Finch. Beardsley and Seaside Parks remain open and suffered
City building officials determined that both the Arena and the Ballpark at Harbor Yard suffered no damage during the storm. Regularly scheduled activities at both venues would continue, including the Bridgeport Bluefish home stand against arch-rival Long Island Ducks this weekend.
The Barnum Festival fireworks and the Skyblast party scheduled for this Friday evening have been canceled and have been rescheduled to later in July. The Barnum Festival’s Champions on Parade on Saturday and the Great Street Parade on Sunday will continue as planned.
Shelter hotline: 203.579.3820
Who gives a shit what kind of house either Malloy or Lamont live in? Do we expect them to live in a tenement in the inner city?
Let’s get to the meat and potatoes. Who is going to do more for the State of Connecticut and who is going to do the most for Bridgeport?
Which one is going to get the state back on track? Who is going to tell the state unions it’s time to give back and the gravy train is over?
We are the highest-taxed state in the country and we have nothing to show for it as citizens. We get no property tax relief, we get no income tax relief. People and businesses are leaving the state and we can’t balance our budget.
Which one of these two are going to help us and get the state moving?
Riddle me this …
Why is it Bridgeport never had a tornado when anyone else was Mayor???
Come on countdown, what do you think of that???
Off topic but interesting nonetheless. If the outside attorneys fail to get any union concessions, do they still get paid $250 per hour? Doesn’t that increase the budget deficit?
Can’t help commenting one last time on Pete Finch. If he were 16 or 17 I could excuse his immature behavior. However he is 28, a grown man and should know better. I don’t fault the cops. They were doing their jobs.
“Can’t help commenting one last time …” The smoke has gotten in your eyes. The cops hate Finch, you hate Finch.
Anna, hate is a strong word. I “strongly dislike” Finch and think he’s a boob as a mayor. Now picture the scene: downtown is a mess of fallen tress, damaged cars, blown-out windows, ripped-off roofs, etc. In the middle of the cleanup here comes Pete sauntering down the street past the devastation and the many cleanup crews. Does he offer to help? Hey guys, can I get you a case of water or something? No, he decides it would be fun to steal the Broad Street street sign and go have a drink. This is just really bad behavior especially for the mayor’s son who should know the repercussions. C’mon Anna don’t make excuses for him.
It isn’t working. Finch would rather be in Hartford with Lamont, and could care less about pleasing the people of Bridgeport. He wants to please his masters and get his cushy spot so he takes care of Testa’s people and not the people of Bpt.
The boys in blue proved how they feel about Birdman, I just hope he never has a fire as I could see the firetrucks never reaching his street.
Doesn’t matter who wins out of Malloy and Lamont as Fowler is going to destroy either one.
Many new rumors about the Bpt boe growing tired of its leadership and a few of the board members getting ready to sack its top management. It hasn’t been working and the poop flows downhill, changes need to be made.
The Vibes are coming soon, sure hope it goes smooth as we do not need another black eye, we’ve had enough.
Between Ganim, Fabrizi, and the total bust Finch reign of terror, now a tornado, how about some good news in CT’s largest city for once?
I’m not a firefighter or police officer Jeet 2, but your comment about letting Finch’s house burn is way out of line. I have no doubt Bridgeport’s Bravest would rush to the call regardless of whose home it is. Same holds true for Bridgeport’s Finest. There may be issues in both departments we could argue about or agree upon, but I disagree with that statement.
Is Fowler the Chicken in Every Pot Candidate???
You are right flubadub, of course the police and firemen would never allow their anger for the man to get in the way of their duties. I should have stated it in a better way.
But you get my meaning, the gentleman is not on the extremely popular list.
Just a few more things to cleanse my soul and reset my blood pressure.
Passing a budget expecting union concessions is pure lunacy.
Whoever pushed the Bodine building as a landing spot for the boe needs to have their head examined and then be put out to pasture. A disaster of titanic proportions for the taxpayers. No wonder the board is looking to sack management, they are either unqualified or plain have no clues.
When will a Republican step up in BPT and give the Dems a run for the money? Never.
Is STEAL point any closer to reality? Darn sure hope so, when was it passed? 30 years ago, seems like it.
Still would love a casino in BPT, another pipe dream that belongs in the stash of a Vibes goer.
Off to work people so I can afford my taxes to pay for unqualified people to make terrible decisions that destroy MY city and MY city’s children’s dreams. I’m afraid to ever have kids living here as their education and dreams would be as worthless as the people who make the decisions.
The mayor is not only to blame, the city council. Curwen, Sherwood etc. have passed an unbalanced budget for years. We the residents of this City should demand explanations and resignations. Let’s remember next 11/11.