Author: admin

12:22am–Fairfield–Fire at Sacred Heart University.  The foam insulation on a building under construction at the university closest to the Jewish Nursing Home on Jefferson Street.  Fire department on scene trying  access the blaze. UPDATE- Fire is confined to the exterior foundation.  UPDATE–12:48–Fire extinguished, overhaul complete.

BRIDGEPORT, CT – (March 1, 2011) – Mayor Bill Finch today announced the completion of the 2010 Grand List, which shows an increase in net taxable property of $2.9 million from the 2009 Net Grand List.   The total 2010 Net Grand List is $7,022,705,240 billion.

 

By category, the increases are as follows: $11.2 million in net personal property, and $20.6 million in motor vehicles; net real property went down $29 million, due to an increase in real property exemptions.  The overall Gross Grand List (prior to deductions of all Exemptions and Exempt Property) grew by nearly $112.5 million.  Exempt real estate now composes $3 billion in assessed value, or approximately 33.63% of the Total Real Property component of $8.95 billion.

“Despite this respectable news, Connecticut continues to be held back by its over-reliance on property taxes to fund local government and schools,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “Though Bridgeport continues to hold its own in a very difficult economy, the Park City suffers from Connecticut’s dysfunctional tax system. Three of the United States’ smallest cities, Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford, all with modest amounts of taxable property, suffer the loss of at least one-third of all real property value because they are not taxable.”

 

Acting Tax Assessor Elaine Carvalho, CCMA, said she was pleased with the modest growth in the 2010 Grand List noting that, “The City’s real estate economy continues to hold its own; however, we have a greater number of exemptions than our neighboring towns.”

In accordance with Connecticut General Statutes, the 2010 Grand List reflects a 70% assessment ratio. 

The Top Ten Taxpayers – Real Estate / Personal Property Combined for 2010 are as follows:

 

Rank	Owner	Assessment
1	CRRA/US Bank National Association/James Mogavera*	$       320,948,352
2	United Illuminating	$       211,997,036
3	PSEG Power Connecticut LLC	$       152,689,120
4	People’s United Bank	$         58,727,604
5	Connecticut Light & Power	$         55,423,829
6	Bridgeport Energy LLC	$         36,166,277
7	Southern Connecticut Gas	$         34,364,683
8	AT&T Mobility	$         30,809,473
9	Watermark 3030 Park	$         29,736,500
10	Success Village Apartments	$         24,269,140
	Total	$        955,132,014

 

*dba Wheelabrator

Employees there called authorities after the business filled with a mist after an employee opened a gas tank…..

African bees — also known as killer bees —

Oman deployed troops north of the capital Muscat and near the border with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday…

15:59–Bridgeport–Shooting at Berkshire and Pembroke Street with a large crow forming.  Police are looking for a young black male in a red hoodie and black jacket.
Update–Police have hands full with crowd control, requesting addition units to the scene.  Apparently family members fighting amongst each other.
Update–One shooting victim and one dog bite victim on the scene.
Update–Police have scene under control, starting to release a couple of cars for other calls.
Update–Gun shot victim sent to Bridgeport Hospital.

Fairfield–If you are in Faifield and hear sirens all over town it has all been medical calls keeping authorities busy…

2:55am–Norwalk–Norwalk Police have located the Volvo and has made an arrest.1:52am–Norwalk/Fairfield–Norwalk Police are looking for a 1999 blue Volvo station wagon that was involved in an armed robbery.  The Volvo has CT Plates 478 UTP and comes back to a Reef Road address in Fairfield.

First time in 26 years Geoff Fox has not worked for WTNH.  Here is what he has to say

Malloy: Wisconsin plan ‘un-American’

5:50pm–Bridgeport–Police on scene, a pit bull is eating a Beers St. resident’s Yorkshire Terrier.  Police call their sergeant uncertain what to do.

1:38–Bridgeport–Small paper fire on the 4th floor at 205 Washington Avenue quickly extinguished by fire department.

IBM Watson vs. Members of Congress
Coming off the heels of its recent Jeopardy! win, Watson is visiting Washington today for some nonpartisan sparring with congressional members. Politics and fun aside, the match is more than game playing. The technology behind Watson represents a major advancement in enabling computers to more precisely respond to information needs, finding the critical knowledge buried in huge volumes of natural language content people face every day. So in the data intensive environment of government, this type of technology can help organizations make better decisions and improve how government helps its citizens.