Category: Bridgeport

Bridgeport Is A HeartSafe Community

Bridgeport, CT – Mayor Joe Ganim today announced that the Connecticut State Department of Public Health has declared Bridgeport a ‘HEARTSafe’ community recognizing the number of citizens that have been trained in life saving measures such as Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the strategic placement of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in the community to improve the survival chances of anyone suffering sudden cardiac arrest.   Bridgeport becomes the 118thmunicipality in Connecticut to carry the ‘HEARTSafe’ Community designation.

 

“I am very proud that Bridgeport has achieved this designation because it means that anyone who has sudden heart problems has a much better chance of survival in our city,” said Mayor Ganim.  “The more residents of Bridgeport that can be trained in CPR and know how to use a defibrillator, the more immediate care can be given to anyone who has a heart attack even before the ambulance arrives.  Immediate CPR and defibrillation can more than double a person’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest.  We salute the many Bridgeport citizens who have taken the training to be part of health care emergency response that is saving lives every day.”

 

Michele Connelly, with the Connecticut Department of Health Office of Emergency Services, said “The Connecticut Department of Public Health would like to congratulate the city of Bridgeport for becoming a HEARTSafe community.  Designation as a HEARTSafe Community represents a true community effort.  Most importantly, it recognizes the citizens throughout the community that took the time and effort to become CPR and AED certified.  Bridgeport has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring that its residents and visitors receive the early lifesaving response proven to increase the chances of survival for heart attack victims.  We look forward to working with Bridgeport to help educate all adults in Connecticut about cardiac health.”

 

Mayor Ganim officially announced Bridgeport’s HEARTSafe Community designation on Thursday April 7, 2016 during National Public Health Week.  Joining him to make the announcement were officials with the Connecticut Department of Public Health as well as the Bridgeport Police and Fire Departments, Office of Emergency Management, and emergency responders with American Medical Response.  Mayor Ganim made the announcement at Ralph n Rich’s restaurant in downtown Bridgeport in order to salute the heroic efforts of bartender Saayied Halabi of Bridgeport.

 

In December of 2015, Halabi came to the aid of restaurant patron John Simon, who suddenly suffered massive cardiac arrest.  Mr. Halabi’s emergency intervention to apply CPR and use the defibrillator available on premises was critical to stabilizing Mr. Simon enough by the time Emergency Medical Technicians arrived  that he survived the ordeal.  Mayor Ganim presented a mayoral proclamation to Mr. Halabi in recognition of his life-saving efforts, and was joined in presenting that proclamation by John Simon and his wife Linda, as well as AMR EMTs Patrick Bridge and Carter DeMarco, who treated Mr. Simon at the restaurant and transported him to Bridgeport Hospital.

 

Bridgeport News: Shots Fired During Robbery

8:24pm–#Bridgeport Connecticut–A man was robbed in the 600 block of Colorado Avenue.  Shots were fired, shell casings found but the victim was not hit.  His leg was injured during the incident but he was not shot.   The suspect ran through backyards towards Clinton Avenue.

 

This report is made possible by:

Bridgeport News: 2 Injured In Construction Accident

3:09pm–#Bridgeport News:   Two men were injured after falling five and a half feet off scaffolding at the Crescent Crossing Apartments under construction at the intersection of Hallet and Martin Luther King Drive this afternoon.  Both men were transported to the hospital with non life threatening injuries.  A representative from OSHA was quickly on scene and began investigating.   In Darien this afternoon a construction worker died after falling from scaffolding at Nearwater Lane.

Crescent Crossing Apartments has received a $5 million grant from the State of Connecticut to build the 93 affordable housing units.

 

Video: Lennie Grimaldi Guest Speaker At University of Bridgeport

Veteran journalist and public relations consultant Lennie Grimaldi was at the  Discovery Pavilion in the Wahlstrom Library at the University of Bridgeport last week.

“I’ll be reaching back to share 40 years of stories as a working journalist and public relations consultant.” Hear about Donald Trump, Exorcist star Linda Blair, mob infiltrator Billy Chase, wise guys, Hells Angels and the FBI. And there will be colorful tales about Connecticut characters who add spice to the Nutmeg State.

“We’re excited to bring the real-world experience of Mr. Grimaldi to campus,” said CPIA Dean Thomas Ward.  Lennie Grimaldi blogging returns on Only in Bridgeport during the 2016 Bridgeport mayoral race. The event was organized by CPIA Mass Communications Professor Susan Katz, who has worked closely with Mr. Grimaldi for over 25 years on commercial and political campaigns.

 

Grimaldi is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, TV Guide, Yankee Magazine and Connecticut Magazine. He is the founder and host of the webzine Only In Bridgeport, devoted to government and politics in Connecticut’s largest city. Grimaldi is the author of Bow Tie Banker (Kolumns), a biography of David Carson, the retired CEO of Peoples Bank, and Chased (New Horizon), the life of mob infiltrator Billy Chase. He is also the author of Connecticut Whistle Stops: Greenwich to New Haven (Arcadia) and Only In Bridgeport (first edition Windsor Publications, second edition Harbor Communications, third edition Momentum Communications).

 

He brings a wide array of corporate communications and public relations experience. His clients have included Wal-Mart Stores and Donald Trump. For Wal-Mart Grimaldi directed a community and media relations campaign for the conversion of an EPA cleanup site in Stratford, CT into a new Wal-Mart retail outlet. For Trump, he handled communications during the hotly debated casino expansion issue before the Connecticut Legislature. Grimaldi directed a crisis management campaign on behalf of the City of Bridgeport in the aftermath of the L’Ambiance building collapse that took 28 lives. He served as senior campaign adviser to Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim in the 1990s.

He has won awards for journalistic excellence from the Society of Professional Journalists, Connecticut Chapter and United Press International. Grimaldi has also written dozens of radio campaigns and corporate-crafted history programs for companies such as Louis Rich, HBO, Tropicana, Excedrin, Nivea, SNET, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Campbell Soup and Apple.

 

A fascinating talk, here it is in it’s entirety:

Mayor Ganim Appoints Interim Director of Bridgeport Office of Planning and Economic Development

Bridgeport, CT – Mayor Joe Ganim today announced the appointment of Edward P. Lavernoich as interim director of the Bridgeport Officer of Planning and Economic Development (OPED).  Lavernoich takes over the position from David Kooris, who is departing to take a position with the State of Connecticut after four years with the city.  Lavernoich is taking a leave from his position as President of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation (BEDCO) to take over as interim director of Bridgeport OPED.

 

“I am very happy that Ed was available to serve in this critical capacity for the growth of the city of Bridgeport on an interim basis,” said Mayor Ganim.  “At the same time, I am also grateful for the dedication and vision of David Kooris, who was also able to make some amazing things happen in his relatively short time with us.  We are very glad that in his new capacity David will still be working closely with us to help bring the south end of Bridgeport to its full potential.  As interim OPED Director, Ed Lavernoich is fantastically suited to step into the role and move forward on several key economic development projects.  He is both seasoned and visionary and we have history of working together on some tremendous accomplishments for Bridgeport.”

Lavernoich said, “I am happy to be in a position to help Bridgeport move forward and become a place of innovation, a place of new ideas, and a place that people talk about in a visionary way, which is so important for the future of this great city.  I thank the mayor for this opportunity and I am very happy to work again with people with whom I have had such a great relationship over the years.  What David Kooris has done here in his short period of time is really nothing short of extraordinary.  I am eager to continue this legacy and get started again!”

 

Outgoing OPED Director David Kooris, who is leaving his position to manage a federal coastal resiliency grant of $54 million for the State of Connecticut, said, “I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to work with and for the city of Bridgeport, a place where I was born and raised.  I am very happy to have had the opportunity to give back to this community to a small degree.  Bridgeport has a team here that is really dedicated to the city and dedicated to the future of our community.  In my new capacity I look forward to working with the city to help develop the south end of Bridgeport and I look forward to working with Mayor Ganim, Ed and his team in that role.”

 

Edward Lavernoich in years past was a 26 year employee of Bridgeport OPED, promoted five times under four different Mayoral administrations.  He served as Interim Director of OPED on two separate occasions during Mayoral administration transitions, including unuder Mayor Ganim’s previous administration.  Lavernoich also served as the Town of Trumbull’s Director of Economic & Community Development for three years prior to coming to BEDCO as President.  He has been a BEDCO Board member for more than 20 years. He is a former Board Member of the Steel Point Infrastructure Improvement District, current Treasurer and former Loan Committee Chairman of the Community Capital Fund, and former Executive Director of the Bridgeport Redevelopment Agency.  Lavernoich has provided testimony before the Connecticut State Legislature on urban development, property tax, and environmental issues.

 

Lavernoich received a BA from the University of Connecticut, a Masters of City Planning (M.C.P.) from the University of Rhode Island, and a Masters of Science (M.S.) in Financial Management from the Graduate School of Business at Fairfield University. He received certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council in 1988.

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