Stratford News

STRATFORD -- Nothing appeared out of the ordinary as Officer Justin LoSchiavo pulled his police cruiser to a stop behind Josie Cicerale's car for a red light. The intersection of Stratford and Beardsley avenues was getting busy that Saturday morning. Seconds later, LoSchiavo's Ford Crown Victoria slammed into the back of Cicerale's lime-green Honda Element.

The light was still red.

What had happened? Cicerale, a former nurse with 16 years experience, said LoSchiavo was in the throes of a seizure, convulsing, with saliva dripping from his mouth. His eyes were rolled back in his head, said John Valentino, a garage owner and the first person to aid the Stratford officer after his cruiser went on to hit several other vehicles.

What began as a minor traffic accident at 9 a.m. June 6 now embroils Mayor James R. Miron and the Stratford Police Department in controversy: How did LoSchiavo, a man with a history of seizure disorders, get hired in 2006 ...

by Joseph C. DeCaro

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have."

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson's warning was sounded as 200-plus people waving yellow "Don't Tread on Me" flags attended Tea Party 2009 at Stratford's Boothe Memorial Park, fittingly on the Fourth of July.

Scattered among the yellow flags were signs that read, "Who will bail-out America" and "Socialism is trickle-up Poverty" ...

This Shakespearean drama seems to have no end. For 20 years the stage at the Shakespeare Theater here has been dark, with one failed attempt after another to revive the once-legendary Elm Street showcase after its final performance in 1989 ...

A motorcyclist was injured when his Harley-Davidson collided with a car Monday on Route 110 near Oronoque Place, backing traffic up more than a half-mile to the Merritt Parkway for hours.

Ever wonder why the studio audience for TV's "Rachael Ray" talk show applauds thunderously at the mere mention of Parmesan cheese? It's because of RC Smith.

Full disclosure: I am a 14-year resident of the great Town of Stratford and therefore am open to charges of harboring conscious and/or unconscious bias on the subject of the town's political climate.

Connecticut police say they caught a 26-year-old Stratford woman in bed with a 15-year-old boy at her home, and she admitted having sex with him.

STRATFORD -- For the second consecutive year, the Town Council wants to give the mayor a raise.

And for a second year, Mayor James R. Miron vows he will veto the measure.

The council voted 8-1 Monday night to increase the mayor's salary from $90,000 to $98,000 starting in December after the chief elected official picked in November takes office. It has scheduled a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Town Hall for a final vote on the proposed raise ...

A 26-year-old woman and mother of two faces a sex-assault charge after police caught her in bed with a 15-year-old boy.

Kristen Blanco, of Freeman Avenue, admitted she had sex with the teen, but claimed she loves him, police said.

Blanco was charged Tuesday with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. She was released after posting $2,500 bond ...

STRATFORD -- More than 20 years after the stage went dark, the curtain will rise again at the long-shuttered Shakespeare Theater. The Town Council on Monday approved entering into a 40-year contract with Rhode Island theater developer William Hanney to renovate and operate the once-legendary Elm Street showcase.

Or is it, yet again, "Much Ado About Nothing."

The council voted 7-2 vote during a special meeting in Town Hall after hours of heated debate and despite the strong opposition of Mayor James R. Miron and Town Attorney Richard Buturla ...

On the front lawn of Town Hall is the Stratford Honor Board, a sign that displays the names of all of the military personnel from town serving overseas.

The trouble is, some of those listed have since returned home, and the committee overseeing the project wants the Honor Board to be kept up to date ...

STRATFORD -- Two men described as being in their early 20s, wearing T-shirts and displaying a handgun, robbed the Getty gas station at 265 Boston Ave. late Saturday night, police reported.

The incident occurred at about 10:30 and town police said the duo, one wearing a white T-shirt and the other wearing a black T-shirt, fled the scene on foot after taking an undetermined amount of cash ...

STRATFORD -- Think of an abandoned child in foster care having to move as many as seven times over the course of a few years without even having a suitcase to carry his or her few belongings.

It happens to children of all ages every day in Connecticut, throughout the United States and around the world.

But thanks to Haley Dunning, a 14-year-old Stratford Girl Scout and Wooster Middle School eighth-grader, more than 125 foster kids in Connecticut will soon have suitcases, backpacks and duffel bags to cart their clothes, books, toys and other belongings when they have to move to a new foster home ...

Bishop Anthony Kopka and many of his parishioners at St. Joseph's Polish National Catholic Church still recall his first sermon on Father's Day in 1982, when the congregation was in Bridgeport and the 26-year-old priest came strolling into the church carrying his clergy shirt and collar on a hangar, with a few dozen people in attendance.

It will be far different for Kopka when he delivers his final sermon Sunday at 4 p.m. in front of an expected crowd of 400 people at St. Joseph's parish, 1300 Stratford Road, before departing for his new job in Chicago on Tuesday.

He won't be carrying his clothing on a hanger this time, and there will be plenty of tears from those who eagerly awaited his arrival 27 years ago after being without a priest for more than a year.

Kopka will be adorned in the full black Bishop's Cassock and floor-length robes, with red trim, and a brass headdress of miter and crosier -- centuries-old symbols of regalia for bishops ...

Full disclosure: I am a 14-year resident of the great Town (officially a city) of Stratford and therefore am open to charges of harboring conscious and/or unconscious bias on the subject of the town's political climate.

I can, however, assure the reader that this is not the case. I love Stratford's politics with my whole heart and soul. Not only that, I think we all should feel privileged to live in a city where such bizarre political vendettas are aired in plain view. I mean we could have settled in a boring town like Westport where nothing at all happens.

Pardon the grammar, but Stratford: it don't get no better than this ...

I want to applaud the Connecticut Post's staff writer, Richard Weizel, for his investigative reporting on the Mayor James R. Miron's hiring of Officer Joseph LoSchiavo.

Mr. Miron displayed poor judgment hiring a man with a medical condition that placed himself, his coworkers and the public at risk for injury, not to mention opening up the town to potential litigation as a result of that risk.

Imprudent decisions like this make me question Mr. Miron's ability to lead ...

STRATFORD -- A 14-year-old boy recruited teens on the Internet to fight a school rival Wednesday, police said.

The teen, who was not identified because of his age, was charged with breach of peace and third-degree assault. He was turned over to his parents' custody, pending a hearing in state juvenile court.

A 16-year-old boy, who police said was recruited to fight the 14-year-old rival of the recruiter, was charged with risk of injury to a minor, third-degree assault and breach of peace. He was released after posting $2,500 bond ...

STRATFORD -- A Bridgeport man, recently released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence for attempting to murder a Bridgeport police officer, was in custody Wednesday after police said he robbed a local gas station at gunpoint.

Jorge Ruiz, 32, of Coleman Street, was arrested early Wednesday by Milford police following a chase into Orange.

He was charged with first-degree robbery, third-degree larceny, weapons in a motor vehicle, carrying a pistol without a permit and criminal possession of a pistol ...