Bridgeport, CT – This evening, Mayor Ganim and Chief Porter welcomed fourteen new officers into the police force during a graduation ceremony held at University of Bridgeport’s Arnold Berhnard Center. The ceremony follows a six-month long program that took place at the Bridgeport Police Training Academy where the former recruits participated in a variety of training sessions and skill building, led by Lieutenant Angelo Collazo.
Mayor Ganim stated, “I want to congratulate all of the officers that completed their training and can now serve our communities in the best way possible. I commend them for their persistence towards wanting to keep our city safe and protect our residents.”
“It’s my honor and pleasure to welcome these new officers into the profession of Law Enforcement; particularly, those that are joining the Bridgeport Police Department. Those who join Law Enforcement accept and take on a call to serve their communities and fellow citizens. Such an act should be met with extreme gratitude and appreciation,” Chief Porter stated.
Lieutenant Collazo stated, “We appreciate Class 44 for choosing this noble profession, as we all know it’s not easy being a police officer. I know these officers will serve the community with the principles and values that this academy has instilled in them. I wish Class 44 much success and hope they remember this phrase: ‘If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.’”
The graduates that completed the academy are as follows:
With an upcoming mayoral election quickly approaching, the executive leadership of our city is showing that they will stop at nothing to ensure they continue to remain in office. The recent termination of Maria Pires is nothing more than an attempt to bully city employees from exercising their civil rights to be involved in the political process.
According to the CT Post, city officials claimed Pires was fired last month due to an unspecified “reorganization” which led Pires to seek legal representation and challenge the firing. As a result, she was reinstated by the Civil Service Commission. This week, city officials are now claiming “budget constraints” that have led to the termination of Pires. If the city was truly under clear “budget constraints,” shouldn’t that have been the initial reasoning provided by city officials the first time she was terminated?
The current administration has not been able to give a clear reason as to the termination. With job openings posted on the city website and no announced hiring freeze, it is apparent that budget constraints may not be the case. It is common practice in many other organizations when “restructuring” to utilize employees with the most applicable skills to fill necessary vacancies which would have been the case for Maria Pires. This leaves many Bridgeporters to truly question the motive of this termination. If there was a clear budgetary constraint would this not impact the entire city? Further, the Tax Assessors office has been understaffed, including the Department Head position which has been vacant for more than five years. How can that department possibly be facing budgetary constraints with these existing vacancies? Is there an actual budget constraint or is the current administration having a difficult time with managing the City, necessary staffing needs, and it’s budgets?
As a mayoral candidate for Bridgeport, I am calling on state oversight officials to look into this matter. Can a mayoral appointed ethics commission, all with expired terms, fairly adjudicate this without bias? We urge Pires to take this matter to the state judicial branch to send a clear signal that the mayor of Bridgeport greatly overextends his authority. Citizens of our city should not feel that their job is on the line when they decide to support a candidate on their personal and private time. It is evident that the current Bridgeport administration will utilize every executive authority possible to progress their self-serving agenda even if it comes at the cost of providing the services needed to the residents of Bridgeport.
This administration has made it clear in its actions that it does not concern itself with the needs of the residents of our city. By blatantly finding a way to terminate a hard working civil servant in a way that violates the oath of the Charter is just deplorable. We do not need these practices dictating the decisions made at the executive level in our city.
This cannot continue to be “business as usual” in our great city, and as mayor, I will bring clear direction and protections to everyone in our city regardless of their employer or zip code. A Gomes administration will ensure that there is a team of risk assessment professionals that will ensure there are no conflicts of interest and the city leadership is held accountable in partnership with the Civil Service Commission.
EValuateCT is a comprehensive dashboard providing insights into the current state of vehicle electrification in Connecticut—including where public EV chargers are located throughout the state, what EV makes and models are most popular, in which communities EVs are registered, and more.
“This new, innovative dashboard makes the data of Connecticut’s electric vehicle infrastructure accessible and serves as a valuable tool for residents, travelers, policymakers, and other stakeholders,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto. “I want to thank our partners at CTDMV and CTDEEP for their partnership on this project. We are proud to say we have the most current data visualization for vehicle electrification and the locations for public EV chargers—a valued convenience for travelers with electric vehicles.”
“DEEP is pleased to support the EValuateCT dashboard through our ongoing data analysis efforts,” said Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes. “Data metrics are critical to informing our efforts to expand the Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) program to be more equitable in how we include low to moderate income EV purchasers, as well as including more EVs, public and private fleets, medium-heavy duty vehicles, school buses and even electric bicycles! This dashboard will be a valuable tool to help consumers navigate the growing EV landscape in Connecticut and the exciting options available.”
Since January 1, 2020, the number of registered EVs in Connecticut has increased by 158%. As of December 2022, there were 30,124 EVs registered with CTDMV (including battery and plug-in hybrid EVs). With over 360 available public EV charging stations in the state and additional chargers being planned in the coming years, EV drivers living in or visiting Connecticut can access vehicle charging at many convenient locations. The new EValuateCT tool will make these trends easier for everyone to see as more Connecticut drivers are discovering that EVs are fun to drive, and offer increasing ranges along with lower operating costs.
In September, Connecticut’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) plan was approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). NEVI was established and funded by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, allowing states to receive federal funding to build a convenient, reliable, and affordable electric vehicle charging network across the country. CTDOT will receive $52.5 million in federal funding over the next five years to deploy the state’s plan.
EValuateCT is made possible through a collaboration between CTDOT, CTDMV, CTDEEP, and Atlas Public Policy to provide analytics regarding the state of transportation electrification in Connecticut. CTDEEP provides aggregate vehicle registration data to Atlas Public Policy twice a year. All other data sources , such as demographic data, retail electricity prices, and charging data , are obtained through federal government databases.
EValuateCT was created with the support of and funding from the U.S. Climate Alliance and is powered by Microsoft Power BI.
Bridgeport, CT – Yesterday, Governor Ned Lamont and Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno announced the Eviction Prevention Fund that will assist renters who are on the verge of eviction because of past due rent. UniteCT and the Rent Bank have provided $12.5 million for the fund and plans to allot households up to $5,000 to cover the cost of rent that may be past due.
To inquire for eligibility, renters must call the UniteCT Call Center at 1-844-864-8328 where they will be directed to speak with a local UniteCT Resource Center. Tenants will be able to complete the application and will also be granted access to mediators at Quinnipiac University’s Center on Dispute Resolution if a tenant requires but does not have legal representation.
State Representative Antonio Felipe stated, “Protecting our most vulnerable populations, especially those at risk of eviction and homelessness, is essential to supporting our communities as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-existing challenges. I thank Governor Lamont for extending this important protection and look forward to continuing to find tangible ways to ensure that we are providing opportunities for all communities to recover and thrive.”
“Everyone deserves a place they call home and the financial implications due to unforeseen circumstances should not constitute those who are struggling financially to be evicted,” said State Senator Herron Gaston. “I am thankful to Governor Lamont and the Connecticut Department of Housing for this new funding that is set to assist those in need.”
Mayor Ganim stated, “I would like to thank Governor Lamont and Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno for initiating the Eviction Prevention Fund. The fund will serve as a crutch for a lot of renters in our city that may need extra assistance during their time of need. I’m hopeful this will allow renters to remain in their homes and not fall victim to displacement from their communities.”
On January 25, 2023 The Norwalk Police Department Combined Dispatch Center received several complaints throughout the day of catalytic converters thefts from parked vehicles. All thefts, except for one, occurred in the East Norwalk area of the City, with one reported at Norwalk Hospital.
Witnesses and video reported and showed a tan colored older Lexus with a sunroof and a black colored trunk, bearing Connecticut registration 404FDJ as parking next to vehicles, and its occupants exiting and removing the catalytic converters from under the vehicles. The suspects were reported to be wearing face masks and appear to have concentrated their efforts in east Norwalk.
One of the witnesses reported that the tan Lexus vehicle attempted to strike her while she was on foot in the parking lot, as it was fleeing the scene. The witness at the Norwalk Hospital incident reported a black colored BMW sedan bearing Connecticut
registration BB47451, arrive and park next to a vehicle. Two occupants wearing face masks exited the BMW and stole the catalytic converter from the vehicle by using jacks and a portable power tool.
The suspects stole the catalytic converters from three Toyota vehicles and five Hondas.
This is an ongoing investigation, and we are asking for the public’s help. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Norwalk police Department at (203)854-3000. Anonymous information can be provided via the methods listed below.
Norwalk Police Tip Line: 203-854-3111
Anonymous Internet tips can be sent to Norwalk Police website at: www.norwalkpd.com
Anonymous text tips can be submitted by typing “NORWALKPD” into the text field,
followed by the message, and sending it to TIP411 (847411)
2023-01-26@7:13pm–#Bridgeport CT– Police are investigating a 2-car crash on East Main at Putnam Street. Everyone made it out of the car safely. There were no reported injuries.
