A Tale of Three Cities

MIDDLETOWN:

-Attention to anyone craving a back massage: Know thy masseuse, or at least make sure he’s not a registered sex offender. Douglas Spingola, owner of Superssage Massage Parlor on Washington St., was arrested at the parlor last Friday after a two-month investigation into alleged inappropriate touching. He is charged with fourth-degree sexual assault in three cases involving different women. Held on $75,000 bond, he is set to appear in court on Dec. 11. (Hartford Courant)

-Holiday spirit and parking may have found a middle ground, so to speak, in downtown Middletown this winter. From Dec. 14 to Christmas Day, holiday shoppers and diners parked illegally on Main and Court Streets will be granted red amnesty warning slips in place of tickets. The slips only apply the first patrol round, however, so make sure to move your car the before the second patrol writes you an actual ticket. (Hartford Courant)

-21-year-old Justin Siwik may have exceeded his age in the number of crimes he has committed, after pleading guilty on Wednesday to committing 28 area burglaries. With co-defendant Ryan Stocking, Siwik broke into homes during the day and stole electronics, jewelry, cash and on two occasions, firearms. In exchange for Siwik’s guilty plea, the court dropped a felony drug possession charge. If convicted, Siwik’s crimes may result in a maximum total of 155 years in jail, according to court officials, though state prosecutors proposed a sentence of 23 years that can be suspended after 18 years served. (Middletown Press)

HARTFORD:

-What do you do with a pre-schooler who would rather run around the playground than pay attention in class? Tie them down with weights of course! This was no joke for Samantha Rodriguez when she learned, after the fact, that her three-year-old son had been forced to wear a weighted vest during circle time after being too “wiggly” at Aiken Elementary School in West Hartford. According to David Medina, the Spokesman for Hartford Public Schools, weighted vests are often used in the school system with parental consent. However, Rodriguez said the school did not ask her permission to use the vest on her son. Finding the disciplinary action inappropriate, she angrily asked the principal, “Why didn’t you just tie him to a tree? It’s the same thing.”
(Hartford Advocate)

-Shoppers tired of driving around in circles will now have signs to guide them towards Hartford’s out-of-the-way commercial centers. On Tuesday morning, business leaders and town officials met to discuss the “way-finding” program — a joint town and Chamber of Commerce project to install 24 signs at 13 intersections, directing motorists to specific business sections of town. The signs will be in place by next week. (Hartford Courant)

NEW HAVEN:

-Liquor and knives have never made a good combination, and at a bar on Crown Street in New Haven, they made a particularly bad one. The Sinergy Bar & Grill, known by three different names in the last decade, was closed after a bar fight on Tuesday resulted in three stabbings. This is not the first incident of brawling at the club, which has been riddled with liquor permit problems, but state officials intend it to be the last. Taking health and safety precautions into utmost concern, the Department of Consumer Protection suspended the club’s license until further notice. (New Haven Register)

-All’s well that ends well in the New Haven firefighter promotion debacle, which you might remember from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s hearings. Fourteen city firefighters finally received their promotion after legal battles that for some have lasted half-decades. The Board of Fire Commissioners unanimously ratified the firefighters’ promotions to captain and lieutenant in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling this past June. The Court ruled that the city had discriminated against the firefighters when it dismissed the test results in 2004 because white firefighters would have dominated the promotional pool. After a hard-fought and embittered five-year struggle, the final fire commission meeting lasted less than 10 minutes. The firefighters will receive their new badges at a ceremony on Dec. 10. (New Haven Register)