DoingItLocal

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12:27am–Fairfield– Cleaning lady shows up to clean the office building at 69 Sherman Street to find the basement filled with water.  Sounds like dentist Dr. Demartin will be a little down mouth tomorrow, Googlemaps says that is his office.

11:22pm–#Bridgeport–Fire department is on scene at 25 Durango Place for high carbon monoxide levels in the house.  All residents were out of the house when they arrived.  Firefighters received levels of 90ppm (parts per million) in the kitchen, 110 in the basement and 100 in the bedroom.  There are no pilot lights out and the continue investigating with air packs on.

Is there a fire bug in Bridgeport’s East Side?
1:49am–Bridgeport-Fire fighters are on the scene of an abandoned factory at 89 Hastings Street.  The receiving bay is showing heavy fire as well as the roof area.  This site has had numerous fires in the past.  Fire department has already requested an arson team to the scene.  2:05amUPDATE–Additional ladder truck called to the scene.  2:17amUPDATE–Fire department reports bulk of the fire knocked down, looking for additional extensions in the building.  This is Bridgeport’s  third suspicious fire on the  east side in two days.  Earlier Friday firefighters fought a blaze at a foreclosed abandoned home on Arctic Street and again at an abandoned home on Shelton Street.  2:47am UPDATE–Alarm of fire recalled at Hastings Street.

6:56pm–#Fairfield–EMTs on the way to Flip Side Burger 1125 Post Road for a man passed out.

1:48pm–#Bridgeport–Car strikes 28 year old man in wheelchair crossing the street at Main and Hillhouse Avenue.  Victim is being stabilized by the fire department awaiting EMTs arrival.  UPDATE–  Happy to report the victim in the wheelchair is fine, EMTs  treated him, he refused to go to the hospital said he would take himself.   Hero EMTs rewired his wheelchair and got him on his way.   Sounds as if he hit the car, minor damage to both.  His age has now been updated to 46.

 3:17pm– #vibes #dehydratedhippie — Another call for a dehydrated hippie, this time by the arches at the entrances. Please don’t forget to water your hippie!  Third call in one hour.  4th at 3:55pm now.

 Norwalk–Johnson arrested for exposing himself/masturbating in front of Norwalk DCF.  Sometimes the headlines write themselves….Read more….

BRIDGEPORT — Police said a young man was pumping gas at Massey gas station on Hollister Avenue Thursday night when a man approached and shot him dead.  Read more…..

Shortly after 9:30 Thursday night Fairfield Police discovered a number of cars with broken windows at the Dogwood Green Condos on Fairfield Woods Road, near Stratfield Road. An investigation lead to a foot pursuit and police chased the suspect for about a block, tackling and handcuffing him at the doorstep of the Mobil Gas Station at 1271 Stratfield Road. This area has been plagued with a number of car break ins in recent weeks. Police have just begun their investigation and do not know if the suspect is solely responsible. Residents town wide have been warned not to leave valuables in plain site, especially electronics and GPS devices.

A report from a citizen and quick action from fire fighters contained the fire to the basement area of an abandoned factory on Railroad Avenue near Hancock Avenue.

Mayor Bill Finch and Police Chief Joseph Gaudett will discuss the City’s public safety initiatives, and kickoff of the return of “Take Back the Neighborhood” walks promoting community engagement, during a press conference
“Our ‘Take Back the Neighborhood’ walks have proven to be a successful approach to building better relationships between our residents and police officers,” said Mayor Finch. “It is but one way that the Bridgeport police department has made community engagement and involvement a priority in order to help reduce crime.”

The first of several “Take Back the Neighborhood” walks is scheduled for Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. in the Hollow neighborhood of the City. Participants should meet at the corner of Highland and Washington Avenues.

Take Back The Streets in Bridgeport from DoingItLocal.com on Vimeo.

The grand opening of the Westport Shake Shack at 1849 Post Road East in Westport. The chain also have outlets in New York City, as well as restaurants in Washington, D.C., Miami, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait City, Kuwait.

Open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

 

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) – The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) will have to shut down 18 residential sites, 10 respite centers and lay off hundreds of workers as part of the Malloy’s budget following the failed concession deal with the unions……The state agency has been providing services for people with disabilities since 1917. But with sweeping cuts from the state capital, DDS’s workforce is being reduced by more than 670 employees. Read more….

Budget cuts hit DDS hard: wtnh.com

Robert Bellitto Jr. wins GOP caucus for First Selectman.
Totals: Bellitto-493 Becker-376 Dolan-68

A fire that appears to have started inside a van parked in front of Kingsway Motors on Kings Highway in Fairfield extended outside the building causing damage to the building’s siding and lighting fixture. The blaze was quickly contained by the fire department.

Borders, which employs about 10,700 people, scrapped a bankruptcy-court auction scheduled for Tuesday amid the dearth of bids. It said it would ask a judge Thursday to approve a sale to liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group.  Read more….

We have confirmed from various sources that America Online’s Fairfield Patch has fired Editor Andrew Brophy via e-mail Thursday night.  We did briefly speak to Brophy , he confirmed his termination but he would not elaborate or go into detail.  A few of our sources who did not want to be identified told me it was a conflict over content and that Brophy felt the Patch was getting too generic,

American Online’s  Patch site has changed quite a few times over the year.  Initially they were emphasizing online “hyper local” news specific to each town.  A year ago the regional editor directed Patch editors to have at least 2 videos on the site and to emphasize breaking news.   All this came to a halt after AOL purchased The Huffington Post for $315 million, apparently tying up much of the AOL’s cash flow.    Today the Patch’s intro is: “Hi there, we’re Patch, your source for local knowledge you can’t live without.”    In an internal memo titled “Platform for Growth” acquired by the website All Things D (click here to see the memo) shows big changes in store for the Patch, Huffington Post and AOL.

We did contact Michael Dinan, a regional manager now the temporary editor for the Fairfield Patch to confirm or elaborate on Brophy’s termination and he said “We can’t comment on personnel matters”.   Andrew Brophy has been a reporter at the Connecticut Post, Fairfield Minuteman and the Norwalk Hour.  He has a Bachelor of Science degree in  Journalism from Ohio University.  All of the sources agreed that Brophy is a talented writer and will quickly land on his feet.  We wish him well.