Blue Hills News

When Hartford changed its charter and adopted a strong mayor system in 2002, it also created an Independent Audit Commission to provide objective reviews and assessments of the city's operations and finances.

A Superior Court lawsuit filed by neighborhood residents seeking to halt the closing of two city branch libraries has been withdrawn.

Someone should direct Hartford city council president Calixto Torres to the city charter.

During a packed public hearing at Hartford's city hall Monday concerning the closing of the Hartford Public Library's Mark Twain and Blue Hills branches, a young woman told the city council about her dreams for ...

The closing of the Mark Twain and Blue Hills Hartford Public Library branches [Op-Ed, July 7, 'Closing Library Branches Was Painful, Necessary'] is another example of how the lack of opportunities in ...

A Bloomfield bank was robbed, Hartford Public LIbrary employees agreed to roll back recent raises and St.

Nearly three years after Mayor Eddie Perez promised with fanfare to provide free wireless Internet access citywide by 2009, city officials have quietly tabled the plan.

Full- and part-time unionized employees of the Hartford Public Library voted overwhelmingly to roll back pay increases and hours that they had agreed to work during fiscal 2008-09 in an attempt to eliminate ...

By News Channel 8's Jamie Muro Posted July 03, 2008 7:30 PM Hartford _ When two libraries opened Thursday morning, staff thought it was for the last time.

An Asylum Hill neighborhood group demonstrated Monday outside Mark Twain branch of the Hartford Public Library and plans a 'read-in' today to protest a budget-cutting proposal to shut it down.

The closure of the Farmington Avenue branch and a second library branch in the Blue Hills neighborhood has been recommended by the library board to save a good chunk of the $870,000 gap looming in the library's $8.2 million budget for 2008-09.

Some critics, including the library's union representative, say the threat of branch closures is a ploy by library officials to extract more money from city hall. Board President Geraldine Sullivan, in a letter to Mayor Eddie A. Perez and the members of the city council last week, argued that without additional support, the Hartford Public Library system can't operate at current levels.

Destiny Asberry walked up to the Mark Twain library branch on Farmington Avenue Tuesday, eyeing signs that read 'Keep Our Library OPEN' and 'Mark Twain would not approve!!' The 19-year-old works at the Taco Bell across the street and saw protesters, but figured they were clamoring about the fate of a nearby business.

'Not the library!' Asberry said.

She lives around the corner, attends Hartford Public High School and uses the library branch to study and pick out random books to read. 'I didn't think they would do that to the kids. ... Because the kids, they need this here. This was the encouragement for the kids in this community to read books.'

By News Channel 8's Jamie Muro Posted June 30, 2008 9:35 PM Hartford _ Budget cuts are forcing the library's board to make some extreme cuts.

Hartford Public Library has a gap of $868,986 between the city appropriation and what is required to maintain library services and keep all neighborhood branches open, library officials said Friday.

Volunteer Fireman from Bloomfield Blue Hills Fire Dept. Worked hard to knock down this fire at 41 Harding Ave.

The Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce held its annual Awards Night and installation of new officers and Board of Directors on May 21 at Foodshare's administrative office and distribution center on Woodland Avenue.

A three-car accident with potential for a disastrous fire was seen in North Bloomfield on May 5. Quick action by a host of volunteer Bloomfield emergency services personnel reacted with skill and dedication to ...

“The police are doing their job and will continue to do so”

Fran Reale, a south Hartford community leader, has lived with fear for weeks because of a recent citywide surge in gun violence, and she says she's glad the city has a plan to address it.

'Are we freaking out? Yeah we are,' said Reale, a businesswoman and former interim director of the South Hartford Community Alliance. The Alliance includes the Barry Square neighborhood, which has reported about 20 gun-related incidents over the past two months.

'After a certain hour, we don't stop for red lights,' Reale said Friday. 'What are we going to do, wait at the light for them to blow our brains out?' Read more

Stuck in traffic? Make sure the foot is on the brake and look up: A turkey vulture may be in view. via Boston Globe

“So I guess what I'm asking is: Can we all get along? Can we come together for one day and detest this man with one voice, putting aside our individual differences?”

Malaria Awareness Day in Hartford was bright and sunny by mid-morning, and I, with my dog Malcolm, betook myself to Hartford's Blue Hills section to watch my fellow citizens exercise their right of free ... via Hartford Courant

President Bush will visit the Boys and Girls Club today, in Hartford Northend, Blue Hills neighborhood. via Inquiring News