"This is a call to action for Connecticut Citizens," the flyer breathlessly read. "Our goal will be to 'Enact immediate cuts in carbon emissions, and pledge an 80% reduction by 2050.'"

 

Saturday afternoon, about 200 hardy souls dedicated to that goal of planetary preservation gathered at the northeast corner of Bushnell Park for a Step It Up rally, one of almost a dozen across Connecticut and one of 1,400 across the country.

 

Considering that there were Step It Up events in Enfield, New Hartford, and Portland, the turnout for Hartford was good. Participants could learn about biodiesel, clean energy, or buy compact flourescent lightbulbs for $1 apiece.

 

As I watched the woman sell the lightbulbs seemingly by the case, I pondered the theory of diffusion of innovation, which posits that social movements occur in five phases: innovators (2.5%), early adopters (13.5%), early majority (34%), late majority (34%) and laggards (16%).

 

And I wondered, with regards to clean energy and global warming, where are we on the chart?

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Christine Stuart over at CTNewsjunkie proves why she needs to keep on hammering away at her reporting (and why we need to support her financially wherever possible).

 

Yesterday, she and Colin Poitras of the Hartford Courant attended the same Judiciary Committee hearing of the CT State Legislature. She had the bill about me. He didn't.

 

Together, they covered the hearing from top to bottom, and that is the role of a free press. This is a valuable lesson as to why we need more than one main newsgathering organization, because one reporter will never create the whole picture.

 

Christine reported this:

The Judiciary Committee voted 32 to 9 in favor of a bill that would give a legislative committee oversight of law enforcement activities and lists like the one Ken Krayeske showed up on before his arrest at Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s inaugural parade.

Judiciary Committee Co-Chairman Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, said law enforcement must articulate why they think a person is going to commit a crime. In Krayeske’s situation one of the criteria state police used for considering him a threat to the governor was the fact that he was “campaign manager for the Green Party,” Lawlor said quoting the two-page color brochure state police distributed to local police.

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If black workers at a prison sue because of a racially hostile atmosphere, how bad is it for the black inmates?

 

Unfortunately, that's not a rhetorical question. A lawsuit filed by four African-American employees of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School in federal court in Hartford April 2 alleges a long-standing pattern and practice of discrimination based on skin color, and it names the current Deputy Secretary of the State as a defendant.

 

Lesley Mara, who currently serves as Deputy Secretary of the State under Susan Bysiewicz, was formerly the superintendent of the troubled prison for almost 100 teenaged boys, mostly African-American and Latino.

 

The plaintiffs - Trinene Davis, Shirley Weaver, Regina Moore and Michael Ayers - claim that defendant state officers Mara, Lisa Flowers-Murphy, Jeannette Perez, Brett Rayford and Jeane Gavey promoted an atmosphere of racial intolerance and harsh punishment against black workers.

 

While Governor M. Jodi Rell has said she wants the Department of Children and Families to close Middletown's CJTS by 2008, problems have always plagued the facility.

 

But the complaint of racial employment discrimination is not unique to DCF. This is the second lawsuit in three months to allege a racially hostile environment in a state agency. In February, several black women filed a suit painting a similar picture in the Department of Transportation.

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Kurt Vonnegut gave the commencement address to the class of 1994 at Syracuse University. I was stoned and hungover in the audience (as a proper graduate should be). Luckily, Syracuse sent us all a register of graduates with the text of the speech.

 

He died yesterday. So, in honor of the passing of his great imagination, I will offer snippets of his speech.

 

It begins: "Four score and seven years ago," Woops. Wrong speech. Seriously, he said to us bright eyed graduates:

 

"There are three things that I very much want to say to the Class of 1994 in this brief hail and farewell. They are things which haven't been said enough to you freshly minted graduates nor to your parents or guardians, nor to me, nor to your teachers. I will say these things in the body of my speech. I'm just setting you up for this.

 

"First, I will say thank you. Second, I will say I am truly sorry - now that is the striking novelty among the three. We live in a time when nobody ever seems to apologize for anything; they just weep and raise hell on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The third thing I want to say to you at some point - probably close to the end - is, 'We love you.' Now if I fail to say any of those three things in the body of this great speech, hold up your hands and I will remedy the deficiency."

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OKAY, anyone who visits this website today absolutely, positively must, 100 percent go to Current.tv and greenlight the "To Be Green" documentary. If we can maintain our number one ranking, we get on national tv.

 

You have to register to vote on the site. Like in real life. It's no big deal. But please, do this one for Cliff. And me. And the struggle. It only takes a minute.

 

University of Hartford grad and current Hartford resident Dave Pond and his company Little Tree Media produced the short documentary, which is on the verge of being aired nationally on Current.tv.

 

Thornton for Governor hired Dave to do the commercials for our campaign. He got an inside look at the campaign, and with this footage, he produced this film after Nov. 7.

 

As of right now, we are ranked #1 on Current.tv. If by Monday, April 16 at 6 pm we maintain our first place ranking, Dave's video gets aired on national TV. Please go vote.

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Mayor Eddie Perez once again is pushing the limits of fair play with his abuse of franking privileges.

 

This time, Mayor Perez and his crack crew of about three dozen executive staffers have sent a magnet advertising the new 3-1-1 phone info service to every Hartford resident. This past Saturday, I received my 5.25" x 8.5" laminated card with a magnet glued onto it. Some residents I know have yet to get them, but we'll talk about the timing issues later.

 

The card features a picture of the Mayor, as does the magnet. I think the idea is that a resident like myself will toss the expensive four-color card in the trash, and stick this magnet on my fridge.

 

First, though, I think they want me to read the card, where Perez is pictured holding a telephone receiver. The text says "Dear Friend, I have always believed that Government Works Best When It Listens!" Funny, his campaign is positioning itself to be a listening tour. The themes are eerily similar.

 

Among my many issues here is that the Mayor's office has a good idea to convince citizens like me to dial 3-1-1 when we see a pothole, when someone dumps trash incorrectly, or when the neighbor hasn't shoveled the snow on his sidewalk. There are plenty of illustrations for these problems that don't involve Eddie's mugshot.

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What makes a good mayor? Leadership? Willingness to take risks and speak out for what's right even though it may subject you to ridicule and criticism? How about just standing against war?

 

The war in Iraq and the war on terror are not a hot-button issue in Hartford's mayoral campaign. But they should be, according to Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson.

 

"I think it is very important for mayors to speak up on this," Anderson said while he waited to address the thousands of anti-war protestors at the Pentagon March 17, 2007.

 

"Too many people think they are not in a position of responsibility when they hold local office," Anderson said. "War impacts our cities. Our federal funding for police has been cut by more than half."

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As if Mayor Eddie Perez needed any more problems to weigh down his leadership of the school system, I just found this gem, which seems to have slipped under the local news radar:

"Schools in Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Conn., are among those lagging in keeping up with safety inspections and cleanliness reporting for student cafeterias, concludes a report issued by a watchdog group Tuesday [Jan. 30, 2007]."

WebMD reported on the study by the Center for Science and Public Interest, in which Hartford received the lowest score, 37, out of a possible 100. Hartford was ranked nine points lower than second-worst Washington, D.C. Top scorer Fort Worth, TX rated an 80.

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To the surprise of virtually no one, former Deputy Mayor I. Charles Mathews has officially declared he is running for Mayor.

 

Hartford residents who are new to the city may not be familiar with I. Charles Mathews, but he was one of the dominant forces in Hartford politics in the late 1980's and early 1990's, serving three terms on City Council. He moved out of Hartford about 10 years ago but returned in 2005. He currently resides on Woodside Circle.

 

Mathews said he understands why Hartford switched to the strong mayor form of government, but feels the recently revised charter must be modified again so that less power is concentrated in the mayor's office.

 

"When I was Deputy Mayor I had to line up the necessary votes on [City] Council to get something through...I used to dream of having a single voice to get things done," he said. "But I think the people who voted for the new charter never imagined that Council would be weakened to the extent of having virtually no authority at all... You've got to have checks and balances."

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Ten years ago, Art Feltman left his job as councilman at Hartford City Hall to take up his new job as state representative at the State Capitol. Now Feltman wants to leave the Capitol and return to Hartford City Hall, this time as mayor.

 

Feltman announced his candidacy Wednesday Jan. 17 at Joe Black's Restaurant in Downtown Hartford.

While Feltman's announcement was expected, some of those who turn out to support him were a bit of a surprise, such as long-time Hartford politicians Eugenio Caro and John O'Connell. Both men served with Feltman on Hartford City Council. State Senators Eric Coleman and John Fonfara were also among the nearly 200 people who attended Feltman's announcement.

 

In a lengthy speech, Feltman criticized the Mayor's current style of government, saying, "We must bring the curtain down on the solo act long playing at 550 Main [City Hall]. It is time, no, it is past time, for seismic, but practical change."

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