Walter Miller, the museum's board chair, took over daily operations two months ago after Bill Hosley, the executive director, left under a cloud of allegations of mismanagement. They included possible diversion of $20,000 of annual Pardee endowment income that should have gone to painting the historic structure, cutting the grass, and more. (There was never a suggestion of criminality or personal misconduct.)

"The place has been painted, the windows fixed," Miller reported in a telephone interview Friday. "Water and electricity have been re-established, the hedges cut, and significant work has been done in the basement area."

The house, which used to be not only a historic destination, but a place where neighbors proudly held social events, has not been open to the public since 2000.

Miller said the museum wanted to respond to neighbors' requests to open the house and to have programs as soon as possible. Further repairs, including enhancing the security system and installing adequate toilet facilities needed to come first.

Nevertheless, the museum had suggested a July 4th event on the grounds, though not inside the house. "But the neighbors," he reported, "told us they didn't want the event because of traffic congestion. We have to respect the neighbors."

Their reviews thus far to the museum's responsiveness, according to East Shore Management Team chair Tina Doyle, have been positive.

"It's 100 percent better there," reported Doyle after an inspection of the house and basement earlier in the week. "The pipes had burst, but they're fixed now, and the crews are doing a very good job."

She said that even the most outspoken critics of the museum's management of the house have calmed down. She attributed the turnaround by the museum to press coverage, to an ongoing investigation of the museum's finances by Attorney General Blumenthal, and to grassroots people who voiced concerns.

"Arlene [DePino, Morris Cove's alderwoman] and I have been working on this for more than a year, and we're very happy it's come to fruition. That's what a management team is all about," Doyle said.

The civil investigation is ongoing; Doyle attributed the fire lit under the museum to DePino's follow up. Certainly the museum's resolve to reengage with the community appears to have already been achieved.

"The main thing for us," said Miller, "is that we're now getting good comments from the community." At the June management team meeting, the comments had been anything but.

He said that when internal systems are ready, "We'll be open to the public."

That, according to Doyle, may be some time in September. "I think it will be a picnic lunch, with musicians on the grounds. By then it will be ready," she said of the house, "for limited tours."

"Officer Abbate left his cruiser and one motorcycle accelerated towards an opening between the cruiser and a parked car. Officer Abbate was at this location and was struck by the motorcycle. The motorcycles then fled the scene," Avery reported. Abbate was treated at St. Raphael's for a leg injury, then released.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, police confiscated an AK-47 and two other long rifles, a couple of handguns, and "a large quantity of ammunition" from a Henry Street home. They also arrested a 61-year-old man on weapons charged. The bust was the result of a probe led by Detectives Ralph Segarra and AnnMarie LaPorta. Pictured: the weapons.

Smith-Bogan and Stewart were among a stream of citizens who showed up Friday morning, a federal holiday, to find the big wooden front doors locked shut.

The city has made an effort to open those doors more this year so that, amid an aggressive policy of chasing deadbeats, citizens who want to pay get the chance. Read about that here.

Annual tax bills came due July 1. Even when doors are shut, citizens have the option to pay by mail or credit card. A grace period, with no late fees, extends until Aug. 3. After that, those who don't pay risk having their cars "booted" or towed, with penalties piling up fast.

Smith-Bogan said she's going to come back when City Hall's open, instead. She wants that receipt. (Given stories like this and this, that's understandable.) As she told Stewart, if he's not careful, he might see his car "driving itself" around New Haven.

The raises come on the heels of dozens of layoffs of city workers amid a declared budget crisis, and wage givebacks by two unions. The mayor and the schools superintendent also took voluntary 3 percent pay cuts.

WTNH's Erin Cox broke the story about the raises. Watch her report here.

"It just seemed like the right time to do something" given the uncertain future budget picture, said mayoral Chief of Staff Sean Matteson.

He said the staffers who got raises "led the way" by example for unionized workers by accepting health givebacks. They've been working for years without raises while doing more work, Matteson added; for instance, the parks department has half the staff it used to.

In a letter to the employees receiving the raises, city labor chief Emmet P. Hibson Jr. Noted that the employees went two years without a pay increase.

He said most of the 41 employees received 3 percent raises; the average among the group was 2.5 percent.

One employee, Assistant Corporation Counsel Stacy Werner, got an approximately 12 percent raise, to $72,000, to bring her more in line with comparable workers' salaries, according to Hibson.

"In announcing this pay increase, the City acknowledges the difficult times of the last fiscal year," Hibson wrote in his letter to the employees, who work under non-union "executive" and "confidential" categories. "The City, however, would like to recognize that most members of this group have gone without a pay increase since February 2007 despite increasing its contributions to the City's health plan and eliminating the defined benefit pension plan as a benefit from this group.

"The pay raise is a testament to the hard work and dedication of executive and confidential employees who have had to endure a long period without a wage adjustment, increased medical contributions, reduction in pension benefits and a reduction in workforce."

Here's the list of who got the raises, with their new salary figures:

Chief of Staff Sean Matteson $111,723
Economic Development Administrator Kelly Murphy $111,723
Controller Mark Pietrosimone $111,723
Budget Director Larry Rusconi $111,723
Chief Administrative Officer Robert Smuts $111,723
Fire Chief Michael Grant $111,723
Engineering Director Richard Miller $107,791
Organizational Development Director Emmet Hibson $104,030
Assistant Fire Chief Ronald Dumas $101,182
Deputy Corporation Counsel Vikki Cooper $100,720
City Librarian James Welbourne $100,148
City Plan Director Karyn Gilvarg $98,921
Parks, Recreation & Trees Director Robert Levine $98,921
Public Works Director John Prokop $98,921
Building Inspector Andrew Rizzo $98,921
Transportation, Traffic & Parking Director Michael Piscitelli $90,775
Public Health Director William Quinn $90,467
Cultural Affairs Director Barbara Lamb $82,629
Assistant Corporation Counsel Carl Amento $82,400
Assistant Corporation Counsel Michael Wolak $82,400
Public Information Officer Jessica Mayorga-Rivera $77,102
Assistant Corporation Counsel Kathleen Foster $72,100
Assistant Corporation Counsel Stacy Werner $72,000
Executive Administrative Assistant to the Mayor Patricia Lawlor $69,082
Executive Administrative Assistant to the Mayor Rosemarie Lemley $69,082
Assistant Corporation Counsel Audrey Kramer $67,843
Assistant Corporation Counsel Judith Sarathy 65,995
Assistant Corporation Counsel Roderick Williams $63,860
Fair Rent Executive Director Otis Johnson $62,968
Labor Relations Executive Assistant Joanne Courtmanche $54,605
Personnel Analyst Karen Amores $52,605
Personnel Analyst Kathleen Williams $52,605
Policy Assistant to the Mayor Emily Byrne $49,465
Executive Administrative Assistant/HR Susan Baldwin $49,987
Research Associate Patricia Dagradi $45,627
Voter Statistician Delores Knight $41,979
Voter Statistician Helen Powell $41,979
Mayor's Office Receptionist Maria Cruz $37,194
Voter Clerk Stenographer Barbara Canali $35,805
Voter Clerk Stenographer Kathleen Delvecchio $35,805
Assistant Corporation Counsel (PT Sr. Counsel) David Greenberg $35,564

At a recent neighborhood meeting, parents pressed school officials to release a list of "in-district" addresses for Hooker and post them publicly, so they can know where their children stand. School officials released the street directory to the Independent this week. Click here to view the master list. (It includes in-district addresses for Hooker as well as other neighborhood schools.)

The information will be prominently displayed on the school system's new website, to debut shortly, school officials said.

The street directory may not end the continuing confusion over how to get into Hooker School.

It also doesn't solve Hong Zheng's predicament.

Zheng lives at the Buckingham Apartments (pictured) at the corner of Canner and Livingston Streets in East Rock. Half the apartment building has a mailing address of 70 Livingston St. The other half is labeled 107 Cottage St.

According to the street directory, only one half is included in the Hooker School district map. The other half, where Zheng lives, is outside the boundaries.

The news came as a surprise to Zheng when she tried to enroll her daughter in kindergarten this spring. Zheng, who works at Yale, has lived at 107 Cottage St. for seven years.

The apartment building is just four blocks away from the school. Her neighbors at the the same address at the Buckingham Apartments got their kids into Hooker without problem last year. She thought she wouldn't have a problem, either.

"I guess I took it for granted," she said this week. But when she spoke with school officials on registration day, she was told that there was no room for her daughter in the kindergarten class. She was told the boundaries have changed and her address is no longer in-district, according to Zheng.

Some confusion appears to be created by a discrepancy between a map and a directory. Zheng's address appears on a map of the Hooker district that school officials released last year to the Independent, but it doesn't appear on the list of in-district addresses released Monday.

Reached by email this week, William Clark, the school system's chief operating officer, said there have been no recent changes to the Hooker district.

The map, he said, is "unofficial" and is not used by the registrar's office.

Clark said the list released this week is the "official directory" the school system uses to place students in schools. Parents should refer to the list of addresses in the street directory, not the ones penciled into the bottom corner of that map, he said. (Click here to view the map, taking into account that caveat.)

What About Yale?

The street directory includes two aberrations: 505 College St., home to Yale's Silliman College, and a street named Prospect Court.

Silliman College is one of Yale's 12 residential colleges, where undergraduate students live. Clark didn't have an explanation as to why the College Street address -- a discrete point far from the East Rock neighborhood -- is included in the Hooker district.

Mike Morand, vice president of Yale's Office of New Haven and State Affairs, said no school-aged children live at that address. He said 505 College St. is home to Silliman College and its dean, whose children are grown. His office has no knowledge of why the address is included in the Hooker district, he said.

Prospect Court is the name of a short residential road off Prospect Street across the Hamden border. Asked if the inclusion was in error, Clark surmised it might be an old name used for an apartment complex.

Other differences between the map and the directory don't appear to affect any residential properties, except for Zheng's home.

Perseverence

Determined to get some answers on the admission process, Zheng was given some advice at a meeting with school officials on June 15. She asked Debbie Breland, who runs the registration office, if she could increase her chances of admission by planning a sneak attack. The sneak attack would include walking down to the registration office hand in hand with a parent who intends to withdraw his or her child, then signing up for the open spot.

Breland told Zheng that admissions are first come, first served -- but she may get the spot if she tries that method.

After the meeting, Zheng did just that.

She walked down to the registration office with a friend whose child got into kindergarten, but no longer plans to attend. The sneak attack was foiled.

School officials rejected the move on two counts, according to Zheng: First, they said parents couldn't automatically make the switch, in case there is another parent "ahead of" Zheng in line to get into Hooker. (There's no waiting list, however, so no parent knows if there's anyone ahead in line.)

Second, they told her the woman couldn't withdraw her child from Kindergarten registration, because school was still in session. They were told to come back to later.

Zheng and her friend tried a second time. Again, they were told to come back after the school year ended.

Zheng said staff have been helpful, and she's feeling optimistic about the process now that she knows the rules. She learned that bilingual students like her daughter are given some preference in admissions. She resolved to come back to the Board of Education and try a third time.

"No matter what, I will try my best to let my daughter go to that school," she said.

In the meantime, Zheng said she's learned a lesson she intends to share with newcomers to the area: "If they choose Hooker, they have to be careful of
the boundary."

"Don't look for an apartment around the boundaries, because they could change."

This week the Chatham Square Community Greenspace Project planted what hard core gardeners estimated to be its nearly 100th tree. The white oak, supplied by Urban Resources Initiative, was dropped into a hole on the western lawn of the eponymous park by a half-dozen longtime volunteers. They stake a claim to being the city's oldest continually functioning Greenspace project.

"Every street within two or three blocks of the park," said one of the founders, David Zakur, "from Lombard to Grand, from Atwater to Front, has had some trees, plantings, mulchings, or improvement over the 15 years we've been functioning."

Zakur (pictured with Barbara Melloto) expressed some disappointment that their ranks have thinned since the mid-1990s, when they rescued the park from dereliction and drug addicts. Still, he said, "what we do is a kind of grassroots philanthropy. You want to make a difference, but we do it because we love getting our hands dirty. We can't force people to join us."

The Municipal Landscapers

Meanwhile, over on Blatchley Avenue, the block between Chapel and River got neater and greener thanks to the ongoing implementation of the city's River Street Municipal Development Plan.

Recent street improvements on Blatchley, in front of Fair Haven Furniture, show a nifty new bump-out, freshly minted sidewalks, and a green lawn rapidly thickening into its own.

Flowering pear trees planted by Fair Haven Furniture owner Kerry Triffin 20 years ago had to be taken down for the new sidewalk and lawns. "They're going to replace the pears, which they told me were just giant weeds, with a good biological mix of shade trees and a good canopy," Triffin said. "It'll be just fine."

Triffin said the bumpout had originally decreased the number of parking spots, which he needed for customers, but he was pleased with the way the city restored them on consultation with him. "I think the city likes to point to us and say, 'Here is a successful business in Fair Haven.' So we collaborate very well."

He added that as a businessman he can understand why the city couldn't wait to find another buyer for the riverine lot where Blatchley meets the sea. Colony Hardware is coming there soon. "Still Blatchley is so grand, it would have been better if the avenue itself ran down to the water and became a destination."

Another happy customer just down the block and with its own new green lawn and fresh sidewalks is New Haven Awning. The company is relocating from its rented quarters on James and Chapel into the hangar-like Chapel and Blatchley Street building within months.

"Eighteen months ago I honestly thought we would have to leave New Haven," said Dan Barnick, one of the principals of the 70-year-old family business. They needed a building with high ceilings and specially vaulting spaces to construct and sew their awning products. New Haven had few such spaces.

Then the Chapel Street building became available from its California owner, and the city also sold Barnick the adjacent lot it owned running from Fair Haven Furniture to the corner. That enabled New Haven Awning to make the move, which it hopes to complete in the next month or two.

Barnick said he's excited not just about the building and its barrel ceilings, but also the newly growing grass.

Barnick said his firm is going to landscape the lot and light it and, good neighbor that he is, allow parishioners from nearby St. Rose of Lima to park for free in the lot for Sunday mass. That should relieve the Sunday morning double parking that has irked neighbors.

Greenspace Emeritus?

Over at Chatham Square Park, in the meantime, John Haire had to lug five-gallon cans of water from Barbara Melloto's house kitty korner from the park in order to water the newly planted white oak. Why? Because in the wisdom of the park's re-designer in the 1990s, there is no spigot for water.

So lo for these last 15 years, when water was needed, people shlepped to Mellotto's home. As a handful of young men on the nearby central concrete slab of the park set off firecrackers, Melloto, Haire, and Zucker bemoaned that people didn't join their gardening work in the numbers they hoped.

Melloto said that in weeding and planting the park and the neighborhood she'd ignored her own lawn. Zackur suggested that after this year, the longest running Greenspace program was seriously considering becoming a Greenspace Emeritus.

"We're going to meet on Wednesdays probably and exchange plants and tips," he said, "and tend to our own yards. We'll also help other groups." The group would be more centered on the diehard gardeners and less on continuing to beautify the neighborhood.

"Still," Melloto and the others suggested this emeritus business might be premature or just an expression of temporary dissatisfaction with the firecrackers going off nearby and the fact that the white oak didn't look too happy. "It's not the first time, we've quit," she said.

Lisa Lawrence, the nursing director at Orchard House in Branford, is describing the feeling people have when they enter the adult day care facility which has served the shoreline from New Haven to Westbrook for nearly 30 years.

The time they spend at the center improves their quality of life and allows their family members an opportunity to go to work or have a respite from care giving.

"I enjoy coming here because it's a very friendly place and everybody here is excellent," said Mary, a client who recently celebrated her 76th birthday. "I don't think you could find a better place."

Mary, who lives with her son and his family, attends the center five days a week and participates in a variety of therapeutic and socialization activities. On a recent day, the seniors were singing "Blue Skies" along with professional entertainer Brian Gillie (pictured above) who has been volunteering at Orchard House in the Short Beach section of Branford for about 20 years.

"We all love the music," said Mary. "We have a good time."

Mary is one of about 70 people on the current caseload who attend on a regular or occasional basis. Average attendance is about 35 to 40 people at a time. The program operates 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Many arrive by specially equipped vans that provide door-to-door transportation.

The average age at the center is currently 85, with the eldest being 96. "When I started, the average age was between 70 and 75. With medical science, people are living longer," said Thomas Russell Romano, the gerontologist who founded the center in 1981. "But it's not the quantity of life, it's the quality."

Orchard House, a non-profit facility, is certified by the state as a medical model day program. It receives funding through the Area Agency on Aging and the State Department of Social Services. Clients who exceed the state's income eligibility guidelines are charged on a sliding fee scale, according to ability to pay.

Romano (pictured) says the state pays $63.55 per day per client, but the actual daily client cost is about $80. "If the state would pay actual costs, we could keep more people out of nursing homes prematurely," he said.

The center also relies on funding from grants, donations and fund-raising events.

Clients participate in cultural programs, music therapy, occupational therapy, exercise sessions, arts and crafts, and reminiscence programs.

"What they're doing keeps their minds active and it keeps their mental status more alert," Romano said. "It makes them feel they're still part of the community. It gives them a sense of worth and it gives them a way to socialize."

The goal of Orchard House is to enhance the quality of life by providing a home-like setting with the addition of medical monitoring. "It's a happy place," Romano said. "We do more laughing than anything else."

In addition to helping the frail elderly, the program benefits the caregivers at home.

Paulette, whose 88-year-old mother has been attending the center four days a week for the past six months, has noticed a big difference. "She looks forward to the interaction. She's a different person when she's here," Paulette said. "It does give me a wonderful feeling to know she is in a safe, happy place and it gives me a few hours for myself."

Janet has been bringing her 66-year-old cousin to the center for almost a year. The cousin suffers from dementia and can't be left alone. "They're very good to her here," Janet said. "It gives me a little break and I feel comfortable with her here."

Paula Connelly, who is the recreation therapist at Orchard House, also knows how the program benefits families since she has a relative who attends the center. "When she comes here, she enjoys life," Connelly said. "She's active physically and mentally."

The heart of Orchard House is Romano, the executive director under whose leadership the program has gained national acclaim.

"The highlight of my day is accepting a new client in the program and making them happy and making families happy," Romano said. "The hardest part of my job is the fund-raising. I have to be an advocate for the elderly because they can't speak out for themselves."

"With the bleak economic times, we know we're not getting an increase from the state," Romano said. "Right now we're losing $5,000 a month. I'm hoping to make it up with begging and pleading for donations."

Romano has a background in the financial field but decided to change careers in the late 1970s when he became the first applicant in a new social gerontology program at the University of New Haven.

"I was always interested in the elderly and the aging process, said Romano, who grew up in a large Irish-Italian family in an Irish neighborhood in Waterbury. At a young age he ran errands for his grandmother and the elderly residents in her apartment building.

After completing his Master's thesis on the feasibility of operating an adult day care center on the shoreline, Romano was able to secure a federal grant to open the program, which was originally known as the East Shore Regional Adult Day Care Center.

The program operated for several months at the First Baptist Church in Branford, before moving to its current location on Route 146 in the Short Beach neighborhood. Romano credits Dan Cosgrove's influence with helping the program find a home and prosper at the former Short Beach School.

Romano is typically at the center seven days a week, talking with clients and families, applying for grants, and overseeing Orchard House. The assistant director, Phil Giuliano, has a master's degree in psychology and works closely with Romano and the clients. "Paul's been a great asset to the center for 28 years. He has a wonderful rapport with the elderly," Romano said.

Lisa Lawrence, a nurse at center for 17 years, said the general public is unaware of the importance of programs like Orchard House. "People don't know about adult day care and the benefits," she said. While the seniors are taking part in activities, they are also being monitored by the staff. The nurses check blood pressures, administer medications, and deal with physical limitations.

"We're always trying to keep them stimulated and involved," Lawrence said. "We're on the alert to give them complete care, including medically, and we're in constant contact with the families." Lawrence said. "The staff is totally unique, very loving, compassionate. ...We have a special window into the insights of these people. They tell us their hopes and sorrows."

A group of dedicated volunteers lend assistance at the center, and another group --- the Friends of Orchard House ---assist with fund-raising.

Diana Anderson, a member of the Friends organization, has been helping with fund-raising events for years. She began volunteering at the center in the early 1980's when her husband was a client there. She recalled how Orchard House helped her and her husband, who was the first Alzheimer's patient at the center. "I was a lost soul when my husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's," she said. "I have a very warm feeling for the day care program. I'll never forget what they did for us."

Romano, Anderson, and the late Ruth deRouchement Dese founded the nation's first Alzheimer's Family Support Group in Branford in 1981.

The dining room (pictured) at Orchard House is dedicated to Diana Anderson and Dan Cosgrove. The gardens behind Orchard House have a memorial to Dese, a long-time volunteer and benefactor who donated funds for the gardens.

###