Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary
By John Murray
Lugging a dream around in your head for 15 years is tiring. The only path to freedom is to hurl yourself towards the fire and either transform the dream into reality, or fail trying. A dream without effort will never materialize, so it was with a sense of relief that I unchained one of my dreams last Autumn, and set out to create a multi-cultural festival in Waterbury celebrating the extraordinary diversity of the people living and working in the city.
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By John Murray
Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary (second from the right) listened to a consultant yesterday afternoon during a tour of Library Park in downtown Waterbury. City officials are hoping to use nearly $1 million dollars in federal block grant money to overhaul four neglected parks; three in the South End of Waterbury, and one in downtown, Library Park.
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By John Murray
Waterbury Police Chief Vernon Riddick announced the installation of a medication drop box in the lobby of the Waterbury Police Department yesterday afternoon. Riddick said the public can drop unwanted, unused or expired medications in the box 24/7, 365 days a year, with no questions asked. The box was donated by the Bunker Hill Pharmacy, whose owner, William Summa, is second from the left.
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Photographs By John Murray
Patrick "Bob" O'Rourke got a kiss from his wife Carol after he was officially named Irish Mayor for the Day during a cermony inside Waterbury City Hall yesterday morning, St. Patrick's Day. O'Rourke was born in Waterbury and raised in the Abrigador neighborhood of the city.
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Column By Kevin Zak
After the recent blizzard of 2013 the state found itself making an unpleasant decision. They allowed towns and cities in the Naugatuck Valley to dump snow directly into the river to clear the streets.
Before I try to answer the question whether we should be dumping snow in the river, let’s put a few things out on the table. The storm is over. The snow is all but gone, and in the river. This is the literal water under the bridge argument. The Mayors of Waterbury and Naugatuck were reacting to an uncommon weather event, their backs were up against the wall and the state bailed them out. However, it will snow again, and it will pile up to levels that will put the cities and towns back in the same situation in the future.
Now is the time to plan for the next event.
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Daisy Cocco De Filippis is the president of Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, and today became the ceremonial Dominican Mayor for the Day during a ceremony in City Hall. Photographs by John Murray
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Photographs by Saranda Belica
General Eddi Zyko was honored inside Waterbury City Hall yesterday morning as the Kosovo Mayor for the Day. The General is pictured here with his wife Paulette, and the couple have four children, Erin, Eileen, Emily and Eddi Jr..
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By John Murray
Waterbury Alderman Greg Hadley, left, helps raise a Pan-African flag at City Hall yesterday as part of the ceremony honoring him as the African-American Mayor for the Day. His wife Karen is on the right, and two of his grandsons are lending a helping hand.
The nearly six hundred members of Mayor O'Leary's Snow Brigade busted their humps today clearing snow from the following schools; Tinker, Gilmartin, Kingsbury, Walsh, Duggan, Maloney, Chase, Reed, Wilson, Wilby, Crosby, Kennedy, Bucks Hill and WAMS. It wasn't all work, however, as kids being kids, they managed to have a few chuckles along the way.
In this picture Anthony Romero, 16, gives a big smile after being blasted by a shovel of snow from his buddy, Anthony Del Valle. Romero and Del Valle were joined at Reed School by their friend Jonathan Castellar, and they called themselves "The Three Musketeers."
Thank you Musketeers for working hard, being enthusiastic, and reminding Waterbury that work can be fun.
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By John Murray
Day #5 of Nemo and inspirational stories are beginning to emerge from the fog. While some frustrated city residents ranted about the lack of snow plows on their street, other city residents decided to take matters into their own hands. A group of ten men formed a snowblower brigade on Woodcrest Drive in the Bunker Hill neighborhood and cleared their road themselves. One of the men, Anthony Engala, told Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary, "after this, we're going to have a block party this summer."
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