Aldermen By District Empowers Neighborhoods

Submitted by johnmurray on Mon, 10/20/2014 - 07:39

                                   Commentary By John Murray

   In the past four months Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary has been successful in leveraging his influence on the local political scene to help secure $35 million dollars in state and federal aid. This November voters in Waterbury will be asked if they want to elect aldermen by district, or whether to keep the current at-large system in place. The idea of electing aldermen by district has been kicked around since 1994, and while much of the debate has been defined by ethnicity and skin color, it really is an issue of fairness and equal representation.

Rowland Juror Speaks Out About The Verdict

Submitted by johnmurray on Wed, 10/15/2014 - 08:22

                           Story and Photographs By John Murray

   During jury selection for the trial of the United States of America versus John G .Rowland prospective jurors were handed questionnaires and asked to fill them out. Bob McCormack was in a crowd of more than 100 candidates, and when he read the first question he was sure that would be the end of his day in federal court. The question was, “Do you know John Rowland?”

   “Yes,” McCormack wrote. “Rowland was a 1975 classmate of mine at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury.”

"Billy's Law" Reintroduced In U.S. Congress

Submitted by johnmurray on Wed, 09/17/2014 - 16:17

 

Billy Smolinski Jr. and his dog Harley before he vansihed in 2004.

 Today, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), as well as U.S. Congressmen Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) introduced Billy’s Law, also known as the Help Find the Missing Act – legislation that would close loopholes in our national missing persons systems.

$14.4 Million Flows Into The WATER Project

Submitted by johnmurray on Tue, 09/09/2014 - 18:05

An artist rendition of a revitalized Freight Street with a Greenway trail on the right.

   United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that the City of Waterbury has been selected as a recipient of a $14.4 million TIGER VI (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Decade Of Anguish For Smolinskis As They Press For Answers About Their Missing Son, Billy

Submitted by johnmurray on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 10:40

                                                           By John Murray

   Ten years after his 31-year-old son vanished from Waterbury, Bill Smolinski Sr. uncorked a raw emotional speech last night during a Missing Persons Vigil held on the Naugatuck Green. When Billy Smolinski disappeared on August 24th, 2004, his family had trouble getting the Waterbury PD to take the report of a missing adult male seriously. Frustrated, the family had little choice but to search for Billy themselves. The results have been nightmarish.

Waterbury Leaders Iced For ALS

Submitted by johnmurray on Wed, 08/20/2014 - 17:11

    Photographs By John Murray, Chelsea Murray and a GoPro Camera

   Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary reacted as a bucket of ice water was dumped on his head today in Library Park as part of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. O'Leary and 30 department heads and supervisors in city government participated in the event during the annual Back To School Rally in downtown Waterbury. O'Leary was challenged last week by Board of Education commissioner Jason Van Stone, and accepted in honor of his first cousin Carl Carlson, who was diagnosed last month with ALS. It was Van Stone and Carlson who doused O'Leary with the ice and water. 

FBI Probes Role Of Waterbury Police Department In 2011 Municipal Election

Submitted by johnmurray on Thu, 07/17/2014 - 00:34

Neil O’Leary, right, and Michael Gugliotti embraced on Election Day 2011 moments after O’Leary knew he’d ended Michael Jarjura’s 10-year reign as mayor of Waterbury. Gugliotti was the police chief at the time, and a close personal friend of O’Leary’s. The FBI is investigating whether the 200 Waterbury police officers that volunteered on Election Day for the O'Leary campaign were compensated, or used city assets. Both O'Leary and Gugliotti clearly state no city assets were used and the police and firemen who volunteered all took vacation days or used personal days.

                      Story and Photographs By John Murray

    For the past 18 months the FBI has been investigating a complaint about the large number of police involved in the 2011 municipal election in Waterbury. The core questions of the investigation are a) whether city employees were paid for working on Neil O’Leary’s victorious campaign, b) did the police use city vehicles or assets in the campaign, and c) were police compensated at a later date for volunteering on Election Day?

   So far lots of questions, and no answers.

Dramatic Shift In Healthcare in Waterbury

Submitted by johnmurray on Tue, 07/08/2014 - 12:23

   Saint Mary’s Hospital (Saint Mary’s) and Tenet Healthcare Corporation (Tenet) today announced plans for Saint Mary’s to be acquired by a subsidiary of Tenet, a leading healthcare services company which operates 79 acute care hospitals and 189 outpatient centers in 16 states. The transaction, which is subject to the execution of a definitive transaction agreement, state and federal regulatory approvals and other conditions, represents an opportunity to provide continued access to comprehensive healthcare to the Waterbury community by an organization that has been serving the community for over one hundred years.

Dramatic Shift In Healthcare in Waterbury

Submitted by johnmurray on Tue, 07/08/2014 - 12:23

   Saint Mary’s Hospital (Saint Mary’s) and Tenet Healthcare Corporation (Tenet) today announced plans for Saint Mary’s to be acquired by a subsidiary of Tenet, a leading healthcare services company which operates 79 acute care hospitals and 189 outpatient centers in 16 states. The transaction, which is subject to the execution of a definitive transaction agreement, state and federal regulatory approvals and other conditions, represents an opportunity to provide continued access to comprehensive healthcare to the Waterbury community by an organization that has been serving the community for over one hundred years.

A Reflective Moment In Waterbury

Submitted by johnmurray on Fri, 05/16/2014 - 07:20

An image of Waterbury Fire Chief Dave Martin was reflected on the police and fire monument in front of Waterbury City Hall last night during a ceremony honoring the members of the Waterbury Fire Department and Waterbury Police Department who died in the line of duty. Photograph by John Murray

The Gathering - Let's Do It Again

Submitted by johnmurray on Fri, 05/16/2014 - 03:41

The first inclusive multi-cultural festival in Waterbury history - The Gathering - was held in 2013, and was so successful, that it will now become an annual event, the next one being tomorrow, May 17th, from 11 am to 8 pm in downtown Waterbury. Pictured above are Brazilian samba dancers marching in the 2013 parade.

                                  Column and Photographs By John Murray

    There was one moment during The Gathering last year that will stick in my memory until my last breath. The moment was wrapped in anticipation, anxiety and exhaustion. A small group of volunteers and city employees had been planning the festival for months; recruiting ethnic groups, plotting parade routes, and dealing with insurance, electricity, and details we didn’t even know existed. When May 18th arrived we were unsure of what we had created. There were more than 40 cultural groups signed up to share their music, food and dance, but were they going to show up?

Mario Generali Remembered At Boys and Girls Club Awards And Scholarship Dinner

Submitted by johnmurray on Fri, 04/25/2014 - 08:08

                                              By John Murray

   Mrs. Mario Generali, and her son, Ed Generali, peek over at the Reverand Ronald Ferraro last night during an awards dinner for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Waterbury at La Bella Vista. The late Mario Generali was being honored for his 45 year-dedication to the Boys Club. Ed and his mother were looking at Reverend Ferraro after Ed announced that Ferraro had attended his parent's wedding as an alter boy. 

Flags On City Hall Announce The Gathering

Submitted by johnmurray on Wed, 04/23/2014 - 08:21

                                              By John Murray

   Members of the Crosby High School LifeSmarts team won the Connecticut State Championship and will compete this weekend for the national championship in Florida. Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary acknowledged the accomplishment by treating the kids to a pizza party inside City Hall, and then asked them to participate in a flag raising ceremony to kick-off "The Gathering", a city-wide celebration of cultural heritage which will be held in downtown Waterbury on May 17th. Waterbury residents have found their way to the city from every corner of the globe, and The Gathering is an opportunity for city residents to share the traditions of music, food and dance from their homelands. Last year 40 ethnic groups participated in the festival, and flags from each country was displayed in front of City Hall.

The Troubles

Submitted by johnmurray on Mon, 04/14/2014 - 22:39

                                      Column By John Murray

   One year after being released from federal prison John Rowland walked into my home in Morris to begin a year-long book project. The three-term former governor of Connecticut had once been considered a presidential candidate, and now, humbled by a ten-month “government sponsored sabbatical”, he was a different man. He still possessed his wicked sense of humor, but the entourage was gone, and he limped from an old wrestling injury.

O'Leary Looking For City To Purchase Historic Rose Hill Property In Downtown Waterbury

Submitted by johnmurray on Sat, 04/05/2014 - 11:20

Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary with a portion of the Rose Hill property looming in the background. The property, which O'Leary is interested in having the city purchase, includes several acres overlooking downtown Waterbury, a renovated historic mansion, a school and a gymnasium.

                                              By John Murray

   Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary spent the first 10 months in office focused intensely on trying to help facilitate the merger of St. Mary's Hospital and Waterbury Hospital into a new privately funded $500 million new state-of-the-art hospital built in downtown Waterbury. O'Leary, his economic development team, and Governor Dan Malloy, came within a whisker of pulling off the project, which ultimately collapsed over a clash about women's reproductive rights.

Rod Dixon, Mayor Neil O'Leary Help Launch Kid's Marathon In Waterbury

Submitted by johnmurray on Fri, 03/28/2014 - 08:15

A passionate man, Rod Dixon implored students at North End Middle School in Waterbury to fully participate in the Kid's Marathon program, and to bring the message of activity and health back into their homes.

                                                By John Murray

   Long-distance running legend, Rod Dixon, of New Zealand, was back in Waterbury Thursday morning to help kick-off the second year of his Kid’s Marathon running program in the city. Dixon won the bronze medal in the 1500 meter run at the 1972 Olympics, was a World Champion cross-country runner, and the winner of the 1983 NYC Marathon. Now 63, Dixon has dedicated his life to bringing his passion of running and healthy living to elementary and middle school students in California and Connecticut. In time, Dixon hopes his Kid’s Marathon program spreads across America.

The "Velvet Sky's" The Limit For "Impact Wrestling's" (and Waterbury's own), Jamie Szantyr

Submitted by johnmurray on Thu, 03/27/2014 - 16:35

 

                                     Story by Gerry Strauss

    Remember when women’s pro wrestling was nothing but a sideshow? For many fans growing up, the females of the “squared circle” provided nothing but cheap, campy fun, just a step or two above mud pits and bikini contests. Luckily, things have changed. Pro wrestling now presents women as strong, capable athletes, some of whom just happen to be gorgeous.