Issues. People. Events. Waterbury Connecticut's Independent Newspaper
A Tragic Anniversary
Column By Vincent R. Vurchio
Four dead in Ohio.
May 4, 1970. Kent State University campus, Kent, Ohio. Four students killed and nine wounded by National Guardsmen.
Let’s back up a bit.
Exploring The Loss Of
The Hartford Whalers
Story By John Murray
Writer Bob Muldoon, a former Whaler employee, writes about loss and redemption in his book, Brass Bonanza Plays Again.
At the heart of any good book is a writer’s passion, It was French cooking for Julia Child, legal thrillers for John Grisham, and big adventure for Ernest Hemingway.
For Bob Muldoon it’s ice hockey, specifically, The Hartford Whalers.
The Calling
Story By John Murray
Donna Palomba continues to fight back.
This time it’s not against a masked rapist, two incompetent Waterbury police officers, or an insensitive newspaper; now Palomba and her Jane Doe No More organization are taking on modern American society, and its response to sexual assault.
Escape Alive
Story By Chelsea Murray
Catherine Rodgers of Naugatuck learns to evade a choke hold. Photos By John Murray
I was robbed my last night in Greece.
After watching the sunset from the Acropolis, myself and two friends took a short cut back to our apartment. On our way through the cobblestone streets we encountered a young Gypsy couple, who stepped out of the shadows looking for a smoke. My friend gave them a cigarette and loaned out his favorite lighter. After small talk about how quiet the streets were, the man pocketed the lighter. My friend calmly protested and asked for his lighter back. Instead of the lighter, the Gypsy pulled out a switchblade and thrust it against my friend’s throat.
Billy’s Law
Re-Introduced In Congress
Congressman Chris Murphy (left) and Texas Congressman Ted Poe (right) have joined forces to co-sponsor “Billy’s Law”. Murphy said the collaboration on missing person legislation is unusual, as the two men, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, rarely agree on any issue. Janice Smolinski is pictured in the middle. Photo by John Murray
Last year’s effort to pass Billy’s Law flew through the House of Representatives, but like hundreds of other bills, was gummed up in the United States Senate. Time expired on the bill when the calendar year changed, forcing legislators to re-introduce it in 2011.
Keeping On
Story By John Murray
State Rep. Vickie Nardello, left, confers with Jan and Bill Smolinski in Hartford.
Jan and Bill Smolinski refuse to stop searching for the body of their son, Billy, who was murdered - and buried - in the lower Naugatuck Valley area six and half years ago. During their quest for truth the Smolinskis have clashed with local, state and federal police who have mishandled critical evidence and lost seven DNA samples in the case.
Into The Future
Story and Photographs By John Murray
It’s exactly the sort of deal that many in Waterbury imagined when John Rowland took an influential post at the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce two years ago, and was declared the “economic czar” of Waterbury. Rowland was a three-term Congressman and had been governor of Connecticut for nine years, so clearly the man had contacts in high places.
Stepping Out
By Bryan Baker
The 2011 election cycle promises to be one of the most interesting campaigns the city of Waterbury has seen in a long time. With 3 Democratic candidates already having declared their intentions to run for Mayor, there is sure to be an intense fight for the Democratic nomination.
The River
Column By John Murray
Colored dyes stained rivers throughout the industrial Northeast. By Lynn Cherry
It was the best day the Naugtauck River has experienced in 100 years. The river received so much attention on February 24th that one could imagine her embarrassed, and blushing red for old time sake. This blush, however, was triggered by admirers gushing at her beauty, not from the red dyes that were pumped into her as industrial waste into a glorified toilet.
Destination...
Downtown
(Editor’s note - The following speech was delivered by Neil O’Leary on February 6th, 2011, inside a delapidated store front on East Main Street in downtown Waterbury)
Let me begin by thanking all of you who have taken time out of your busy schedules to join us today. I want to take this moment to acknowledge my family, my brothers and sisters, their children, my cousins, my brother and sister police officers, firefighters, teachers and all of our friends. I also want to thank and acknowledge all the elected and appointed officials here today. Wow, what an incredible turnout. And, I don’t just mean the size of the crowd, but the diversity of this group as well. We have friends here from all backgrounds, occupations, races and ethnicities. All the folks who make up this great city of Waterbury.
Born Again
Story and Photographs
By John Murray
Back in the 1960s Uniroyal launched an international marketing campaign that asserted Naugahyde was obtained from the skin of an animal called a Nauga. The company, based in Naugatuck, proclaimed that a Nauga shed its skin multiple times a year, so it didn’t have to be slaughtered to collect its hide. The ads stated the Nauga was a squat, horned monster from the jungles of Sumatra, and every customer who purchased a Naugahyde couch from Uniroyal received a small Nauga doll.
It was brilliant marketing - fun, humorous and effective.
Game On
Column By John Murray
Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura is seeking a record sixth consecutive term.
(Editor’s note - the following observations by John Murray were sharpened by dozens of interviews and conversations with political insiders throughout Waterbury)
After serving ten years as mayor of Waterbury one might think that Mike Jarjura had a firm grip on the local Democratic Party - his party - but you’d be wrong. As we careen towards election day 2011 Mayor Jarjura faces a revolution within the Democratic Party - much of it his own creation.
A New Day
Story and Photographs By John Murray
Pearl Harbor
Did FDR Use It AS Bait?
Column By Jim Szynkiewicz
Sixty nine years have passed since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Was this a horrendous failure of the Roosevelt administration, or a brilliant political maneuver? The passage of time has not overcome the mystery of that fateful event. I belong to the smaller category of people who believe that FDR masterfully used Pearl Harbor as bait to draw the Japanese into a military confrontation and justify America’s entry into a war against the Axis Powers. Not everybody in FDR’s administration had been asleep on the dawn of December 7th 1941.
Survivor Leads Way
By Debbie Mitchell McCormack
There is a new Woman’s support group in the Waterbury area called SSING (Sexual Assault and Incest Survivor Support Group). The support group is for women who have been victims of sexual abuse. I’d like to tell you that there are more people out there than you can imagine who have been sexually assaulted as a child. In Waterbury, in Thomaston, Southington, and yes, here in Wolcott too.
Survivor Leads Way
By Debbie Mitchell McCormack
Ciao Waterbury,
Benvenuti Firenze
Story by Erika Giannelli
I’m used to the wild hand gestures, 3 course lunches and loud conversation. Growing up with my Italian family in Waterbury was little Italy in itself. I can still smell the meats from the deli down the street, the mayonnaise slathered on crusty Italian bread, the cookies and pastries that lined the aisles. And I remember home, a building we shared with my beautiful great grandmother who cooked steaks and pork chops, escarole and beans. I can smell it today. My entire extended family lived around us, loud and expressive and loving.
All Aboard?
Story By Chelsea Murray
Like a fresh Vidalia onion the train fiasco in Waterbury reveals a complexity of layers. In Waterbury, as always, there is more to an issue than meets the eye.
Explore Thyself
Column by Chelsea Murray
Elizabeth Gilbert was born in Waterbury and raised in Litchfield.
Who knew?
The Search
Column By John Murray
Billy Smolinski was murdered six years ago. The effort to crack the case involves local, state and federal police. The Smolinski Family is now working closely with private investigator Todd Lovejoy, pictured above, tracking down leads.
Six years is a long time to hold your breath.