Issues. People. Events. Waterbury Connecticut's Independent Newspaper
Dust-off the scrapbooks and help the Palace Theater take a stroll down memory lane as the organization begins gathering memorabilia for an historical exhibit scheduled to debut in the Fall of 2014, in honor of the performing art center’s tenth anniversary.
Two running legends cruised around the streets of Waterbury today during the Bob Veillette 5K road race. On the left is American Bill Rodgers who won four Boston Marathons, and four NYC Marathons. On the right is New Zealand's Rod Dixon, a 1972 Olympic medalist in the 1500 meter race, and the winner of the 1983 NYC Marathon. They started at the back of the pack and spent the first half mile chatting. At one point Dixon turned to Rogers and asked him, 'Are we going to start running yet?" When Rogers said no, Dixon said, "If I knew this was how we were going to run I would of had a big lunch first."
Xhevat Limani is an Albanian actor born in Struga, Macedonia, who now lives in Waterbury, Connecticut. During a Labor Day Albanian Festival in Waterbury, Limani opened his heart about his love of Struga. The following is a translation of his speech, which was delivered in Albanian. Photograph by John Murray
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, fellow countrymen..
Good evening and welcome to the Annual Albanian Labor Day Festival, this year celebrating 30 years since the formation of the “Hasan Prishtina” cultural center here in Waterbury, Connecticut. A special thank you is in order for the founding members of the cultural center, and all community members present and past, who worked so hard to maintain and manage the cultural center with such great success.
During my whole career in theatre, film, television, radio, newspapers, and festivals all around the world I have presented myself as an Albanian artist. Tonight, allow me to step aside and present myself at a local level. Given that I was born in Struga, allow me to present myself as a Strugan artist.
Photographs By John Murray
A wide variety of traditional Albanian breads stuffed with cheese and spinach are being baked in ovens and are served hot at the 30th anniversary celebration of the Albanian American Cultural & Islamic Center at 106 Columbia Blvd in the Overlook section of Waterbury. The Albanian Labor Day Festival continues today (Sunday)from 11 am to 11 pm.
The Observer just received this message from one its readers, Reza Farzan...
"I was one of the hundreds of passengers on the 8:30 p.m. train to Waterbury [from Bridgeport] last night. The 3-car train arrived a little late, but it left the station rather promptly. I was sitting the car # 6127 where I noticed that the red light showing the “Toilet Out of Order” sign. Soon after our departure, passengers, both young and old, came to use the toilet and after seeing the sign, they all left disappointed. When one of the passengers inquired about the situation, the ticket agent told her that “there is no toilet on this train, and she had to hold it!”
The Mattatuck Museum will host a special evening event on Wednesday, September 4, 2013 from 5:30 to 7: 30 p.m. to discuss the latest scientific research on the bones of “Fortune,” an African-American man who was enslaved by a Waterbury bone surgeon in the 1700s. The discussion will be led by a panel of faculty members from Quinnipiac University and Central Connecticut State University. Professor Gerald Conlogue, co-director of the Bioanthropology Research Institute at Quinnipiac University, will introduce the discussion.
The Hispanic Coalition of Greater Waterbury is staging its 12th Annual Coqui Scholarships & Awards Banquet on Friday, September 27, at La Bella Vista, 380 Farmwood Road in Waterbury.
Cocktails and registration begin at 7 pm, and dinner and the program begin at 8 pm. Tickets $50 per person and can only be purchased in advance of the event.
For more information, tickets, or sponsorship opportunities please call Angie Medina or Nancy Gonzalez at 203-754-6172
The Waterbury Police Department will host their Fall Citizens Police Academy, September 16th through October 28th. This seven week program will be held on Monday evenings, from 6-8pm, in the department’s Training Division, located at 240 Bank St, across from Diorio’s restaurant.
Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary inspects the rear entrance to Walsh School yesterday with Prinicpal Gina Calabrese, and they both agreed the fence should be locked, and students should arrive at the front entrance where the area was supervised.
Story and Photographs By John Murray
It was the first day of school in Waterbury, and Mayor Neil O'Leary climbed in his black SUV and drove up to Walsh School to see how Principal Gina Calabrese was faring at her her new assignment on Dikeman Street, in the city's North End.
Walsh School has done very poorly on standardized testing, and it's previous principal, Eric Brown, was removed from his position last year after an investigation into his management style inside the building. Brown - who is black, had strong support in segments in the black community, but was replaced.
Alfalfa Bill Murray wrote the constitution for the state of Oklahoma, was elected to Congress, was Governor of Oklahoma, and ran for President of the United States in 1932. He has been described as the most influential politician in Oklahoma history.
Story By John Murray
On a rolling hill of red dirt, burnt grass and bristles, we arrived at Alfalfa Bill Murray’s grave in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, with a bag of ice, a bottle of blended scotch whiskey, and a sweet potato pie. My daughter and I had sliced our way south from Connecticut through Washington D.C., the Blue Ridge Mountains, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock, and into Oklahoma in two days. We set a blistering pace and stopped to eat, refuel, sleep, and occasionally pose for ridiculous photographs with a ten-inch chalk bust of our deceased ancestor that I had purchased on ebay.
Story and Photographs By John Murray
If he is re-elected in November, Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary has decided he will contact the city’s pension and benefits department on December 1st, and reactivate the $90,000 a year pension he earned during his thirty-year career in the Waterbury Police Department.
“I made a campaign promise in 2011 that I would not collect my pension in my first term,” O’Leary said. “I left $180,000 on the table, and I will not do that again. It was not a wise decision for my family. I could have used that money.”
Waterbury native Rick Mastracchio is a NASA astronaut and is headed back into space in November for a six month stay on the International Space Station. Mastracchio, Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and veteran cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin of the Russian Federal Space Agency, make up space station Expedition 38.
Waterbury's Ryan Gomes, right, played tenacious defense against former UConn star Jerome Dyson last night during the championship game of the Greater Hartford Pro-Am. Gomes was playing for Harte Nissan which won the title with a thrilling 141-140 overtime victory. Gomes, is 6'7" and weighs 250 pounds, and throughout the game he defended the opponents point guard, shooting guard, wing player and center. His defensive prowess and quick hands created several turnovers, and illustrated to the 1200 fans in the Crosby High School gym why Gomes, 30, was recently signed to a contract by the Oklahoma Thunder of the NBA. Photograph by John Murray
The annual “Night of Hope,” the official Connecticut Missing Persons Day, will be held on the Naugatuck Town Green on Sunday, August 25, 2013. A Night of Hope is held each year in honor of William “Billy” Smolinski (pictured here) who went missing from Waterbury on August 24, 2004.
Former Waterbury high school star Julian Allen crushed an attempt by former UConn player Doug Wiggins during the semi-finals of the Greater Hartford Pro-Am League last night at Crosby High School in Waterbury, Connecticut. Allen was comfortable playing in the Crosby gym where he earned Connecticut Player of the Year honors in 2005, and led the 27-0 Bulldogs to the state championship, and the top ranking in the state. Despite Allen's stellar play, his team was defeated by a group of former UConn stars who will begin a best of three championship series Wednesday night at Crosby High School. Photograph by John Murray
Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary announced a new initiative in Waterbury that will use volunteer half-way house residents to clear an abandoned park, and in return, interested residents will be offered free tutoring and an opportunity to enroll in an underutilized manufacturing training program run by the city.
By John Murray
Many people in Waterbury believe manufacturing is dead and is no longer a viable means of economic development in the city. Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary is not one of them.
During a sweep across Waterbury yesterday afternoon in his SUV, O'Leary provided the Observer with a quick peek at an overgrown 38-acre parcel of land in the East End of the city known as Scott Road Park, and how he plans to link the project to an underutilized manufacturing training facility run by Waterbury Adult Education.
FASCIA’S CHOCOLATES closed on the purchase of their ‘new home’, 44 Chase River Road in Waterbury, on July 12th. This permanent new location will offer both ‘behind-the-scenes’ factory tours and the unique opportunity for visitors to make-your-own-chocolate bar. Family-owned since 1964, acquisition of this property is part of the celebration of Fascia’s Chocolates’ 50th successful year in business.
Jason Van Stone announced today that he will seek the Republican Mayoral nomination for the upcoming municipal election in Waterbury November 2013. Van Stone is currently a commissioner on the Waterbury Board of Education and Republican Party Chairman.
Story and Photographs By John Murray
Nana Assibey-Yeboah stood at the edge of the dancing and watched intently as a line of Albanian women moved past her at the Albanian Festival in Waterbury on June 8th. Slowly Nana's head began to move, and her feet began to scrap the pavement beneath her sandals. One week before The Gathering, on May 18th, in downtown Waterbury, Nana had reached out to ask why there were no Africans coming to the festival. When I told her we had been unable to locate any, she announced, “I’m Nana from Ghana, and I’m coming to The Gathering.”
And she did.
During lunch two weeks ago Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary was bursting with a secret that he simply could not contain any longer. O'Leary was having lunch at Paisano's Restaurant with Observer Publisher John Murray and he finally blurted out, "I can't keep this in any longer," he said. "Fritz Blasius and I are buying Holy Land and we're going to restore it."