Alfonso Robinson

Political activist, online journalist

Archive for September, 2011

ConnCAN drop-out rate analysis provides mixed news for schools in Greater Danbury

Friday, September 30, 2011 by:Alfonso Robinson

Today, the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now released their annual report on the comparison of the official high school graduation rate by the CT Department of Education versus the more accurate rates calculated by Education Week’s Diplomas Count project…and the report provides a mixed bag of news for schools in Greater Danbury.

Press release:

Today, ConnCAN released a new issue brief, “Connecticut Graduation Rates.” Using data from the Class of 2008 (the most recent year for which numbers are available), the brief analyzes graduation rates by race and gender, in Connecticut and nationally. The brief also discusses the economic and social impact of not graduating from high school prepared for college and careers.

Key points include:

The statewide graduation rate has not improved since 2003: every year, 9,000 Connecticut high schoolers do not graduate – nearly enough students to fill UConn’s Gampel Pavilion.

The graduation rate gap between Hispanic and white (non-Hispanic) students is 31.8 points; the gap between African-American and white students is 22.5 points.

Dropouts from the Class of 2008 will lose more than $2.5 billion in lifetime earnings because they lack a high school diploma.

The State of Connecticut spends $84 million a year on college remediation in basic subjects because 65-72 percent of state college and university students enter college ill-prepared for the work.

As in previous years, this analysis also draws attention to the differences in graduation rates calculated by the Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE) and Education Week’s Diplomas Count report, which uses a much more accurate “cohort-based” methodology for calculating graduation rates. Last year, the State Department of Education announced that it will begin to use the same methodology to generate more accurate graduation rates beginning with data from the Class of 2009.

“This brief emphasizes yet again the need for fundamental change in Connecticut’s public education system,” said Alex Johnston, ConnCAN’s CEO. “We cannot afford to lose 9,000 students every year. We cannot continue to spend so much time and money in remediation classes for the students who enter college unprepared for post-secondary work. Only by pursuing structural reforms, including policies to guarantee all public school students fair funding for their education and a great teacher every year, will Connecticut be able to graduate all its students equipped for the challenges of college and careers.”

Using last year’s drop-out analysis by ConnCAN that I posted on the site last June, here’s a comparison of the rates from 2007 and 2008 using the numbers from SDE and the more accurate figures from Education Week’s Diplomas Count.

District Name: Danbury School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 92.4 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 72.6 percent
Gap: 19.8 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 89.0 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 73.8 percent
Gap: 15.2 percent

District Name: Bethel School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 100 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 84.1 percent
Gap: 15.9 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.6 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 86.1 percent
Gap: 13.5 percent

District Name: Ridgefield School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 98.8 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 91.3 percent
Gap: 7.5 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.1 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 98.6 percent
Gap: 0.5 percent

District Name: Brookfield School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.1 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 87.9 percent
Gap: 11.1 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.2 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 93.4 percent
Gap: 5.8 percent

District Name: Newtown School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 97.5 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 95.5 percent
Gap: 2.0 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 96.5 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 96.4 percent
Gap: 0.1 percent

District Name: New Fairfield School District
2007 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 97.4 percent
2007 Education Week Graduation Rate: 88.9 percent
Gap: 8.5 percent

2008 CT-SDE Graduation Rate: 99.1 percent
2008 Education Week Graduation Rate: 92.7 percent
Gap: 6.4 percent

In short, the analysis shows a marginal improvement for the Danbury school system for the time between 2007 and 2008 although there is still plenty of room for improvement. With Mark Boughton and the city council drastically decreasing the education budget from 2009 to present, it will be interesting to see the drop-out analysis for 09-11 when they become available.

Full analysis is below…

BREAKING NEWS (video): Racial violence breaks out at Danbury High School?!?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 by:Alfonso Robinson

Cross post from HatCityBLOG

UPDATE 12:00 PM The following comment from a student at DHS in response to several racist and offensive comments made by others regarding the incident could shed light on the underlying issue at the school.

no one cant judge dhs now if they dont know the whole story…. were not idiotic ethnic groups either. we stand up for our race and what we beleive in. no one told the dominicans to try and bum rush blacks, no body was thinking about the spanish boys until they decided to come after us. i know the whole story so what some of you people need to do is actually figure out the story in order to understand the meaning of the fights. DHS is now segregated !!! all do to dominicans and blacks!!! we standing up for our pride and we are also defending our lives. if a group of people were planning to fight you then yes, you would do the same everybody else did yesterday!!!

UPDATE 11:00: Here’s Mark Langlois take on the incident (Danbury Patch):

A series of fights broke out Wednesday, and the school suspended 10 students who were involved.

“The individuals involved were disciplined or suspended,” said Schools Superintendent Sal Pascarella, Ed.D. “We’ll look into any other things that went on, but we already identified the main people involved.”

Pascarella said it all started with a stupid comment, followed by more words, which turned into a fight.

“We don’t think it was gang-related,” Pascarella said. Once it started, staff patrolled the halls, as did members of the Danbury Police Department. “We want a unified front to stop this nonsense.”

Pascarella said it isn’t as though the school system is alone working on this fight. He said Ingrid Alvarez-DiMarzo, executive director of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury is working on it, as is Rev. Ivan Pitts of the New Hope Baptist Church. He said the Danbury Police Department patroled the parking lots to make sure nothing started up again there.

“There were no weapons, no injuries,” Pascarella said. “We really all work together on this.”

Danbury Hispanic Center Executive Director asked students to remain calm and un-involved.

UPDATE (Sept 29) 10:00 AM: Here’s the latest from Eileen FitzGerald at the News-Times.

Danbury High School Principal Gary Bocaccio said 10 students were suspended Wednesday after a fight broke out in the morning, the day after a Hispanic freshman and a black freshman reportedly swapped racial epithets.

Bocaccio said more students would be questioned Friday, since school is closed Thursday for Rosh Hashana.

The students were suspended for varying amounts of time based on their involvement in the incident, but there were no weapons, no criminal charges and no offenses that could lead to expulsion, Bocaccio said Wednesday night.

He said there was an altercation Tuesday between two freshmen, a Dominican student and a black student.

Some other students told school officials that there might be some trouble, based on the incident, and staff asked to speak with some students Wednesday morning at the main office, Bocaccio said.

It was near the office that the fight broke out between the group of Latino and black students, Bocaccio said.

“The fight was broken up quickly. There were some scratches that nurses attended to immediately,” he said. “We determined who was the instigator.”

UPDATE 11:45 PM: From what little I learned so far late tonight, multiple sources informed me that the fight seems to be between the Dominicans and African-Americans. With Thursday being a teacher in-service day, people are concerned that the fights that occurred at school could spill out into the streets…the most important thing now is for students to CALM DOWN!

I’ll have more soon…

Just received some very disturbing news regarding racial violence at Danbury High School today.

Here’s the video of two of several incidents that occurred at the High School today that’s gone viral.

The Hispanic Center posted the following message to students at DHS on Facebook:

This post goes out to my Danbury High School youth! I want to talk to you, but more than talk I need you to listen to what I will ask of you. To the members of Trinidad I will say Dominicana Soy! But I will not excuse nor tolerate the use of ethnic pride for violence. I recognize your need for acknowledgement and respect. I am saddened by the incidents at DHS today. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with some of you this afternoon. Thank you for listening and thank you for taking the shirts off. For those that I haven’t seen today-hear me out. Trinidad you have an open invitation to see me, talk to me and meet with me. I’m putting the ball in your court. My doors are open for conflict resolution. Use me as your vehicle. Allow me to hear and better understand what you are going through. No reprimands no accusations. But I need you to put weapons down-I need you to not use violence and gang intimidation tactics. Allow me to help you resolve this conflict. I will hear and not judge your side of the story. But I will ask of you this-no violence-call the fight off-do not allow one more friend to get hurt. To all other friends, please if you have access to DHS student community at home, in the community or any place else or even if you don’t let’s lead by example. Please share this post and help me reach every DHS student today.
Peace.
Ingrid
Executive Director
Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury
Centro Hispano (203) 798-2855

I don’t have all the details on what happened today but one thing is for certain…physical violence is NOT the answer. Danbury High has seen it’s fair share of racial incidents in the past and the last thing this city needs is violence based on race spreading at the school.

I’ll update everyone once I get more info…if any students have information on what happened or have video of any fights that broke out today, please feel free to contact me at hatcityblog@yahoo.com or @hatcityblog on Twitter.

If your a student and are pissed off over what happened, PLEASE PLEASE take a DEEP breath and think things through before acting on your impulse. With tomorrow being a teacher in-service day, we don’t want what happened at DHS to spill into the streets on Thursday.

The Hispanic Center is on high alert attempting to reach out to any DHS student who were effected by today’s events. Contact them at 203.798.2855, You can also reach the Center on Facebook by clicking here.

PLEASE think b4 you act!

Danbury Chamber of Commerce opts out of mayoral luncheon?!?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 by:Alfonso Robinson

Cross post from HatCityBLOG

Several sources have informed me that there is a strong possibility that the Danbury Chamber of Commerce WILL NOT host a mayoral luncheon. Viewed as a long tradition in Danbury, the event has served as a debate setting for candidates seeking the office of mayor.

With residents being forced to shell out cash to see the candidates debate (complete with Boughton stacking the crowd with his cheerleaders at City Hall), personally, I always thought the event is nothing more than a joke. Unfortunately, in recent years, due to Mark Boughton’s adamant refusal to attend FREE AND OPEN debates with his opponents, the chamber event served as the only place where you can see the mayoral candidates go head to head with each other.

UPDATE: Democratic mayoral candidate and Danbury DTC chairwoman Lynn Taborsak sent the following letter to Chamber President Steve Bull:

September 26, 2011

Stephen Bull
Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce
39 West Street
Danbury, CT 06810

Dear Steve:

I contacted you on Thursday, September 22, to ask you about the Chamber’s plan to sponsor a mayoral debate this year as has been your custom for as long as I can remember. I left my name and phone number with the receptionist who said you were on another phone call at the time.

I have spoken to the three previous Democratic Town Committee chairs – Joe DaSilva Jr., Bernie Gallo and Joe Walkovich – to see if there was any previous election where a Chamber debate was not held because of lack of interest on the part of the local party organizations. No one can recall any requirement that the local party organizations must request that the Chamber sponsor a debate.

Please let me know definitively if a Chamber Mayoral debate will be held and when and where it will take place. I am enclosing a business card with my contact information.

Sincerely yours,

Lynn Taborsak
DDTC Chair

FLASHBACK: Why is the media allowing Boughton a free pass on his Danbury 11 lies?!?

Friday, September 23, 2011 by:Alfonso Robinson

In honor of the highly disappointing Danbury 11 feature on Sunday’s News-Times, here’s my first in many posts highlighting how the News-Times failed in reporting on the numerous inaccuracies Boguhton made to the public regarding the day laborer lawsuit.

Originally posted on 06.11.11

THE MISLEADER

This is unreal…

In a story this week about the federal Secure Communities or S-Comm program, I referred to a 2007 case involving the arrest of undocumented immigrants in Danbury. The city of Danbury earlier this year paid $400,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of those immigrants.

But I mistakenly attributed the arrest to the Danbury police. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton informed me via email about the error, saying that two different immigration courts “have ruled that the ‘Danbury 11’ were not arrested by Danbury Police Department, they were arrested by [U.S.] Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

The involvement of the Danbury police was to have one of their officers pose as a contractor looking for day workers. He drove to a location where immigrants often wait hoping for work, picked up 11 people and, instead of taking them to a job site, delivered them to ICE agents and it was the feds who made the arrest.

For a paper like the Fairfield Weekly to allow Boughton to get away with this statement is remarkable because the mayor was signing a different tune about Danbury’s role in the immigration raid at Kennedy Park to The Weekly (as well as the Hartford Courant, WTNH, and WVIT) between 2006-2011.

Mark Spencer, Hartford Courant, 12.14.06:

A group of students at Yale Law School is expected to file suit today in federal court in a bid to find out how Homeland Security put together its sting on Sept. 19. The students want to know what role Danbury played in the operation and if the policies guiding the department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm may be unconstitutional. Their inquiry began with a request under the federal Freedom of Information Act. “We asked nicely,” said Simon Moshenberg, a second-year student from Washington, D.C. “They didn’t answer. We sued.”

[...]

In an interview Wednesday, Boughton insisted that immigration police acted alone. They notified Danbury police this summer that they’d be making some arrests this fall but offered no other details, he said.

WTNH, Dec. 2006:

Boughton said the city played no part in the September 19th action…

WVIT, Dec. 2006:

He [Boughton] said the city was not involved in the planing of the raid…

Fairfield Weekly Oct 2007 (APROX. TEN MONTHS AFTER BOUGHTON MADE THE DEC 2006 STATEMENTS and after information in court revealed that Danbury PD was directly involved in the raid):

A year ago, eleven Ecuadorian day laborers were sneakily apprehended in Danbury’s Kennedy Park by Immigration and Customs Enforcement with help from some men pretending to be contractors. They had some hard hats, a van and, according to recently uncovered information, a few Danbury police badges.

Why were the local cops assisting in a federal sting? Well, according to remarks from Danbury mayor Mark Boughton last December, they weren’t. He repeatedly said the city played no role in the ICE raid.

[...]

Simon Moshenberg, a Yale Law Student representing the “Danbury 11″ in a federal court case that began Monday, received the booking report for the arrests after placing a FOIA request. Under “arresting officer,” was the name “Lolli,” which turns out to be the name of a Danbury police officer. The Danbury News-Times quotes Chief Al Baker explaining that the arrests were initially made because of complaints about the day laborers’ effects on traffic and that Danbury police did drive the van. The department chose not to further comment on their involvement when approached by the Weekly.

Boughton elaborated in an e-mail that “the city provided logistical support to ICE,” which is “common” and “does not mean that the Danbury PD planned, organized or carried out the raid.” He stands by his comments from December.

Keep in mind that Boughton stated to the Fairfield Weekly that he “stands by his comments from December [2006]” when you read what he said UNDER OATH during his deposition in the Danbury 11 case.

Line 8-12, page 248:

Q. Do you agree that the immigration police acted alone?

A. No. I’ve always said that the Danbury Police Department provided logistical support to the federal law enforcement agency.

Line 20 to line 25 page 249:

Q. As we sit here today, do you agree with the statement that there was no specific planning with the City prior to September 19, 2006?

A Again, I haven’t seen any information either way to wither debunk or to affirm that statement.

Here’s my favorite…line 10 page 252:

Q. These arrests generated quite a bit of controversy, correct?

A. Yes.

Q. And that controversy included disagreements in the press with statements that you were making; is that correct?

(City Attorney) MR. CASAGRANDE: Wait a minute.
Read that back.
(Whereupon, the question was read back)

MR. CASAGRANDE: Object to the form.

A. Disagreements with who?

Q. The press was reporting a different story as to what happened that you were being reported as having said about what happened; is that correct?

A. I don’t know what you are talking — you have to restate that.

Q. Did the press report a different story as to what happened on September 19 than what you said happened on September 19?

[…]

A. There were, I’m going to guess, dozens upon dozens of press accounts of what happened. None of them have been right. Many of them never talked to me. There are press accounts that were written today that are completely inaccurate as to what — from what limited information I know, which I shared with you already happened.

So if you’re going to rely to be the press as the arbiter of the exact sequence of events that day, you’re going to chase your tail all day with that. They’re never accurate. They’re never right, and particularly now, because papers have been decimated with reporting, they don’t do a lot of reporting. So to answer your question, there certainly have been inconsistencies right up until three months ago in terms of the accounts of what happened that day.

A. And were there specifically controversy about whether what you said happened was different from what actually happened?

MR. CASAGRANDE: Objection.

A. I don’t recall any controversy.

So after he stated to the Weekly in 2007 that he “stands by his comments from December [2006]” where he “insisted that immigration police acted alone”, “the city played no part in the September 19th action”, and “the city was not involved in the planing of the raid”, when placed under oath years later, Boughton makes the laughable claim that the media was inaccurate in their reporting OF HIS OWN WORDS…then this week, he gives the Fairfield Weekly a totally different account of Danbury’s role in the Kennedy Park raid.

You can’t make this stuff up folks! When will the media get serious and stop giving Boughton a free pass on the numerous misleading statements he made regarding the Danbury 11 case?

…more later.

CT 05(video): Maloney endorses Donovan

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 by:Alfonso Robinson

Yesterday, former Congressman Jim Maloney officially threw his support behind Chris Donovan’s campaign for his old congressional seat.

Donovan for Congress Press Release:

MERIDEN, CT – Former Fifth District Congressman Jim Maloney today announced his endorsement of Chris Donovan for the Fifth district Congressional seat.

“Chris Donovan has proven himself as a leader who fights on behalf of the families of Connecticut – and wins,” said Maloney. “We need his leadership in Congress now more than ever. I trust Chris to stand up for Connecticut’s families, to support investment in our cities and towns, and to fight for every American to have an opportunity for their own piece of the American Dream.”

“I thank Jim for his endorsement and for his work as a Congressman. I am proud to have his support,” said Donovan. “I will value the advice of Fifth District leaders like Jim as I fight to improve access to educational opportunities, increase access to quality, affordable health care, grow sustainable jobs with solid benefits, improve access to affordable housing, and protect Social Security and Medicare.”

THE TROY GRANT CASE: An inside look at what happned at Grant’s plea hearing

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 by:Alfonso Robinson

Cross post from HatCityBLOG

WARNING: Elements of this case are somewhat graphic in nature. After much consideration, I decided to detail the case against Grant because this is a situation where a person in a position of authority as a mentor for troubled youth for several well-known organizations in Greater Danbury abused his power. Adults trusted this individual with children and unfortunately, Grant’s acts probably resulted in some of the most vulnerable young members of our community being scarred for the rest of their lives. As a community, we need to fully understand what happened to these minors so we can make sure that cases like Grant’s will never happen again. The following post is a combination of notes taken at today’s hearing, extracts from the police warrant, and information obtained from the state’s judicial website.

Okay, here’s a inside look at what happened at today’s hearing. This is my nest recount of what transpired today…

Around 11:30AM Troy Grant is brought from lockup to the courtroom. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit and the hearing begins with list of counts involved in plea margin being read by State Attorney prosecutor Sharmese Hodge.

COUNTS:

1. Statue 53a-71(a)(10); 53a-71(a)(10): SEX 2-ACTR IN POWER>19,VCTM<18 (crime committed in Danbury on aprox. 10.01.09)

7. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 10.11.09)

8. Statue 30-86*: ILL DELIVER LIQUOR TO MINOR (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 10.11.09)

9. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 11.01.09)

12. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 11.01.09)

13. Statue 53a-71(a)(4): SEX 2-VCTM<18Y,ACTOR=GUARDIAN (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 05.01.09)

18. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 10.01.09)

20. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 06.01.09)

21. Statue 53-21(a)(1): RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD (crime committed in
Danbury on aprox. 06.01.09)

23. Statue 53-21(a)(2)*: ATTEMPT TO COMMIT ILL SEXUAL CONTACT-VCTM (MINOR) (crime committed in Danbury on aprox. 06.01.09)

TOTAL:
2 counts sexual assault, 2 deg
1 count giving liquor to a minor
6 counts risk of injury to minor
1 count attempt sexual assault, 2nd degree

After counts are read, court clerk reads the docket number (DBD -CR10-0137755-S), goes through each count mentioned by the prosecutor, and ask Grant for his plea. With his attorney Angelica Papastavros by his side, in a clear voice Grant responded with “guilty” to each of the counts.

After pleading guilty to each of the charges, prosecutor Hodge goes through the history of the case. This is the best transcript I could do from my notes…I also used Grant’s police warrant report as background in order to fill in any blanks I missed since most of the prosecution’s presentation can be found in the report (WARNING: VERY graphic details).

The investigation started on 01.19.10 with Danbury PD receiving a 737 (notification of suspected abuse). An anonymous call was made to the DCF hotline regarding sexual abuse by Troy Grant committed with two boys who he had in his custody. Another call was made by an individual who also stated that also stated that Grant was having inappropriate sexual relations with the two minors.

An investigation was conducted that indicated the minors came from hardships prior to living with Grant (e.g., one minor was previously in a detention center) and that nature of the relationship centered on Grant was providing the minor room and board as well as other items of assistance in exchange for the minors allowing Grant to perform sexual acts on them.

The individual who called to complain about Grant assisted the Danbury PD by placing a call with one of the minors who admitted to having sexual relations with Grant. Danbury PD asked the minor to come to the police station and offer a statement. The minor was dropped off at the police station by Grant. After a statement was given by the minor, Grant came into the station and also provided a statement to the police in which he detailed the sexual acts he did with the minor. Grant described at least five acts he did with the minor.

Danbury PD interview other minors (Doe 2, 3, 4) who also described Grant’s offers of performing oral sex on them in exchange for goods. In one case, one minor asked Grant for 30 dollars and Grant replied “I’ll give you 30 dollars if you let me perform oral sex on you.”

During the investigation, Danbury PD identified four more victims (Doe 5-9) who also talked about details regarding their relationship with Grant. In one instance, a minor described an incident in which he drank alcohol at Grant house as well as watch pornography. He was also paid by Grant to watch another minor child (15 years old) performed a sex act on himself. Grant also offered to perform a sex act with the child. The minor child also told police that on three occasions, Grant said that he was in a position where he could get the child into the prostitution business and have sex with men and women for money.

Another minor (Doe #7,a member of Pathways) described an incident where he was stripped of his clothing, and placed in a towel short at someplace where Grant was chaperoning and placed into a shower. The minor reported the incident to his father and while at a Superbowl party where Grant was chaperoning he was assaulted by Grant and the minor thought it was in retaliation for him informing his father about the previous incident.

In another incident, another minor from Pathways described to police an incident where Grant inquired into the size of the minor’s penis and propositioned him for oral sex. When the minor stated that he did not know the size of his penis, Grant stated that if he could put his mouth on it, he could make it hard and then you could measure it.

Prosecutor stated that Grant was a executive director of Pathways Danbury, as well as an assistant youth minister at New Hope Baptist Church, a member of Younglife, and a member of the Harambee Center. Each of the organizations are geared towards mentoring and helping troubled youth in the community. These organizations are places in which Grant focused on locating the most disenfranchised minors in the Greater Danbury community and abusing the kids in exchange for offering them help.

The prosecution then detailed the plea offer which involves jail time that will no less than 12 and no more than 20 years in jail with 30 years probation and a life time registration as a sex offender (originally, Grant faced up to 100 years in prison). Afterwards the judge asked Grant a series of questions that centered on him understanding that by accepting the plea deal, he’s withdrawing his right to a trail by how peers. Grant’s most animated moment came when the judge asked him “Are you pleased with the performance of your attorney” at which point Grant responded “very much so” (Grant’s previous attorney Jim Diamond requested to be removed from the case citing that the “attorney-client relationship has broken down irretrievably,” and Grant “failed to honor the retainer agreement” signed when Grant hired him in early February).

After the judge asked Grant a series of questions in order to make sure he understood the requirements of the plea deal, a PSI (pre-sentance investigation) was ordered and that the case would be continued to November 2nd at 9:30 where the prosecution and defense will make their argument regarding the length of Grant’s sentencing. Speaking after the hearing, Grant’s defense attorney Angelica Papastavros had this to say about the plea.

“I don’t think this was an offer my client should have turned away from,” said Papastavros. “Mr. Grant is now in a position to put this behind him and move on with his life. It’s a good deal for my client.”

Seeing that Grant faced 100 years in jail and that he rejected two previous offers, he should consider himself lucky that his attorney was able to get this deal that could have him back in the streets before his 60th birthday.

VIDEO: Bells Lane clear-cutting fisaco update

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 by:Alfonso Robinson

Cross post from HatCityBLOG

During this month’s city council meeting, Republican At-Large Councilman Phil Curran asked Deputy Corporation Counsel Laszlo Pinter for an update on the clear cutting fiasco on Bells Lane.