Connecticut Postings

DERBY— The person who died in an early morning fire today on Derby Avenue has been identified as David Kostrey, 57.
Kostrey’s body was found in a room in the rear portion of his apartment on the second floor of a two-family house at 196 Derby Ave.
He died of smoke inhalation, according to a spokeswoman at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s office. The death was ruled accidental, she said.
A female, believed to be Kostrey’s sister, who also resided on the second floor, sustained minor burns and smoke inhalation and was taken to Griffin Hospital.
She has not been identified.
The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m., according to police and fire personnel.
Dave Kostrey was a member of the Greater Bridgeport Amateur Radio Club. A posting on the club’s Web site said he died after returning to the burning building to rescue his sister, Joann, and his dog. The dog also perished in the blaze.
The posting said he was an active member of the club and worked “hard for the Derby OEM” (Office of Emergency Management).
Frank E. Lazowski, who lives right next door, said he woke up to his daughter telling him she heard what appeared to be a “car crash” or an “explosion.” After his daughter woke him, Lazowski said he heard screaming and yelling coming from outside his home.
“I went into my daughter’s room, looked out her window, and saw flames coming from the attic window of the house,” said Lazowski.
Lazowski said a woman, her spouse, and a child living on the first floor of the engulfed home made it out just fine. He said he invited them into his home for safety.
Lazowski said the woman living on the second floor was able to make it out safely, but was frantic because she could not get to her brother, who lives on the second floor with her.
“I saw the firemen pull her brother out,” said Lazowski. “They immediately put him on a stretcher and rushed him into the ambulance.”

HARTFORD – Dannel P. Malloy, the former Stamford mayor who lost the 2006 Democratic primary for governor, made it official Tuesday afternoon, filing candidacy papers with state officials.
Emerging to cheers from about 150 people gathered on the sidewalk in front of the State Elections Enforcement Commission, Malloy pointed across the street at the Capitol and declared he’s ready to change state government.
“In so many issues, time and time again, we have failed the people of Connecticut,” he said, likening Connecticut government to running a major city. “It’s time that we have that kind of leadership in that building over there. It’s time for change.”
——By Ken Dixon

Bridgeport is preparing to sell 13 properties. The properties, most of which are vacant or considered blighted by city officials, are being put up for sale in hopes of both rehabbing the sites and adding to the city’s tax base.

The proposed sales have been referred to the City Council’s Economic and Community Development and Environment Committee. Full council approval is required to authorize the property sale.

Though a date for the sale has not been set, here’s what is expected to be on the block:

115 Dodd Ave., a lot
90 Gilmore St., a lot
216 Cloverhill St., a lot
329 Hollister Ave., two-family house
33 Lee Ave., a lot
311 Pitt St., a lot
129 Washington Terr., a lot
156 Beach St., a lot
267 James St., a lot
145 Andover St., a lot
117 Andover St., a lot
308 Albion St., a lot
202 Hewitt St., a lot

 What is billed as a “Peaceful Rally for Bridgeport Education” will take place on the steps of city hall, from noon to 2 p.m., Monday, March 22, organizers said.

 Prophetess Gerry Claytor said everyone is invited. The group is hoping to draw at least 100 participants. Details to follow.

The Town Council has joined with community activists after waiting nearly two decades, and is demanding  the federal Environmental Protection Agency clean up most, or all, of the remaining Raymark toxic waste from Stratford.

 Tom Smith, a co-founder and president of the SaveStratford grass-roots group that has fought against consolidating Raymark waste — which includes asbestos, lead and PCB’s — at a single Stratford site, said residnets are getting ”very impatient” with any clean-up plans now at a virtual standstill. 

Smith made an impassioned plea Monday night to the council that it try and convince the EPA to come up with some kind of new remediation plan.

“This toxic waste is a serious health hazard and stigma that keeps families from moving here, and impacts property values,” Smith told the council. “We need your help in getting the federal government moving on a final (clean-up) plan.”

Later, the council voted unanimously to demand the EPA establish a fully-funded clean-up effort to remove most of the remaining Raymark waste from more that 20 private and commercial Stratford properties.

Laura Hoydick got the royal treatment when she was sworn in Monday as the General Assembly’s newest member.

The Stratford Republican, winner of a special election last week to fill the vacant seat in the 120th District of the state House of Representatives, took the oath of office at the Capitol as three of the state’s highest office holders looked on. The seat became vacant when its previous occupant, John Harkins, resigned to serve as Stratford’s mayor, a job he won last November.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, herself formerly a state representative from Brookfield, and Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, both fellow Republicans, were on hand to congratulate Hoydick, as Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz formally administered the oath.

Also on hand for the ceremony were Hoydick’s husband, Paul, and daughters Brooke and Paige.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has announced that $5 million, which will allow the state to add hundreds of acres of working farmland to ongoing preservation efforts, is expected to be approved when the state Bond Commission meets March 16.
Today, she will be at the 62-acre Bomba Farm, a former dairy operation, in Seymour where owners are in the process of selling its development rights to the state for $865,000 or $13,956 an acre, according to information supplied by the governor’s office.
It is one of eight farms preserved in New Haven County and the first in the Town of Seymour. The farm currently raises beef cattle and hogs. Owned by siblings, Edward, Eugene and Anne Bomba, the farm has been a family operation since the early 1900s. The farm grows hay, flowers, herbs and a variety of vegetables including corn and gourds, according to information supplied by the governor’s office.
Connecticut has the second oldest farmland preservation program in the country, preserving development rights of its first farm in 1979. Rell said the state’s goal is to preserve 130,000 acres of farmland with 85,000 acres dedicated to growing crops. To date, about 268 farms totaling 35,518 acres have been preserved or approved for preservation.
“The farmland preservation program offers families, such as the Bombas, an opportunity to preserve their legacy as well as their land,” Rell said in a press release. “The lure of development has been all too keen over the past several decades especially for farmers struggling with high production costs. Sadly, that the trade-off has turned pastures into parking lots. That will not happen under this program.”

Members of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Black & Puerto Rican Caucus, including State Rep. Don Clemons, D-Bridgeport and State Sen. Edwin Gomes, D-Bridgeport, will tour Harding High School in Bridgeport Tuesday afternoon to view  “a normal day of activity.” The tour starts at 1:30, about an hour before school lets out for the day.

 The tour is meant to shape lawmaker debate as they work on legislation to close the achievement gap between white and minority students.  After the tour, lawmakers will host a round table discussion at the school with students and parents.

  Harding High School is located at 1734 Central Avenue, Bridgeport, CT