To her disappointment, very few shops carried such items, so she decided to open a business importing American goods.

For seven years, a little square LLC successfully imported goods, mainly from the United States, and particularly the Southern states, to fulfill the demand.

Alexandra Wallace-Currie with some of the craft items available at her new store, which will have its grand opening on April 26 in Southport. (Contributed photo)

After eight long years of living in London, Wallace-Currie decided to move a little square LLC to the United States and fulfill her dream of opening her very own retail store in Southport, Connecticut.

Before moving back, Wallace-Currie was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2010 and underwent chemotherapy as well as radiotherapy to eradicate the disease.

She received a tremendous amount of support from The Haven, a breast cancer support center, and Macmillan Cancer Support Center, a nationalized cancer support organization, funded mostly by private donations and fundraising events. She is grateful to be 14 months out now and expects to have a full recovery and live a long, prosperous life.

Wallace-Currie moved back mainly because she missed her friends and her family and wanted to give back and support cancer centers as they had done while undergoing treatment in the U.K.

During chemotherapy treatments, Wallace-Currie founded a nonprofit called the Pink Pom-Pom Project. Having connected with and coordinated more than 100 volunteers through The Haven, Macmillan Cancer Support, The Kensington Women’s Club and many friends, the Pink Pom-Pom Project managed to hand-make more than 500 hats, scarves, quilts and pillows for breast cancer survivors all over London.

“I still hear what an impact all of our efforts have made for breast cancer survivors,” said Wallace-Currie.

The Pink Pom-Pom Project has also established successful programs within the community such as the Volunteer of the Year Quilt — a quilt designed and made by the community to recognise a Volunteer of the Year in a cancer support center. Another is Commission Possible — a program where the Pink Pom-Pom Project commissions local artists to design and create art to be auctioned off to raise money and awareness at cancer fundraisers.

“For children, we have The Pink Pom-Pom Project Party Boxes, which are boxes filled with age-appropriate crafts for children ages 5 to 7, 8 to 10, and 11 to 13 years. We bring these boxes to impoverished areas to help children learn crafting techniques and skills,” she said.

The Pink Pom-Pom Project is a crafting for cancer therapy group that will support local cancer centers by hosting fundraising events, teach classes to cancer victims and their friends and families as well as reach out to the community offering additional classes in impoverished areas of Connecticut.

The Pink Pom-Pom Project will be located in a separate area of the store specifically laid out with beautiful seating and crafting areas. “It is the star of the show and we hope you will support the cause and watch our blog space for reports on events, people we meet and what we are doing,” Wallace-Currie said.

Her blog is www.stayabreast.co.uk (It may change to .org shortly.)

The grand opening is scheduled for April 26 at 363 Pequot Ave., in the Southport area of Fairfield. A little square LLC will offer original gifts, accessories, and clothing made for the entire family.

In all honesty, we would have preferred to see at least one person representing the hard core community from the East Side or East End — for example, a business owner who generally, when it comes to taxes, is more affected than the other sectors of the population. Since it’s a process that most likely will not end within a few months, the mayor still has that option.

If the mayor truly wants to see real changes in the City Charter, a very important step must be part of that process: to forbid City Council members from working for the city. There is no negotiation about that step. We are aware that state statutes grant any resident the right to work for the city, and council members are certainly city residents. But we also understand that for years, the fact that some Council members are employed by the city has hindered a fair process in the decision making of that legislative body.

Every year the mayor has to submit a budget proposal to the Council. Every year the members working for the city face a dilemma: Do I vote to approve the budget as it is? Or do I oppose my boss and risk losing my job?

Of course, the honorable decision for those Council members who work for the city would be to step aside and abstain from voting. But by doing so, are they honestly representing their constituency? No, they aren’t, because they were elected to make decisions that correspond to the best interests of the electorate.

We must even go further and call to ban spouses and other close relatives of Council members from working for the city. It’s imperative we take serious and drastic measures to improve how municipal government functions. We are convinced the decisions taken by Council members affect taxes, potential investment, education, crime, residents’ morale and other areas related to the city’s welfare.

That should be only the beginning of ending the ongoing relationship between elected and appointed officials and city jobs. That interaction has kept our city from reaching its full potential.

If Mayor Finch demands full accountability and effectiveness from the Charter Reviewing Commission, perhaps that can impact in a positive manner his legacy as mayor of a city that has constantly been abused by its elected officials.

The reason for joining forces is to be able to better serve clients with the additional resources Re/Max provides, said a Nova spokesman.

Re/Max is the largest and most successful real estate company in the world and is located in 86 countries. It has been No. 1 in the United States and Canada during the last 13 years in transactions per agent, and is a leader in Internet marketing and technology.

Nova Realty will still be located at 3885 Main St., Bridgeport, with the same telephone number (203) 372-6996. The agents who will work out of the Bridgeport office are Val Baptista, Domingos Dias, Luisa dias, Arminda Pereira, Jaime Pereira and Maria Vaz. They will be joined by other Re/Max Right Choice agents, Pilar and Nestor Camacho, Angela Morales and Francisco Sandoval.

Joe Almeida, David Almeida and Diane Vieira will be working out of the new Trumbull location at 105 Technology Drive. They can be reached at (203) 268-1118.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Connecticut Supreme Court spoke loudly and clearly in its near unanimous (6-1) decision. Justice Peter Zarella, writing for the majority, went to great pains to demonstrate that the holiday weekend coup of last July was contrary to the relevant statute, contrary to the legislative history that produced that statute, contrary to the rule of law and contrary to our history as a democratic people.

Anyone reading the majority opinion or the passionate concurring opinion penned by Justice Lubbie Harper cannot help but be impressed by the legal and moral outrage that leaps from the pages.

On Feb. 28, the Supreme Court announced its decision, declaring the state board’s authorization to the Interim Commissioner of Education to “reconstitute” the Bridgeport Board of Education to be void and without effect. The only remedy ordered was a remand of the case to the lower court of Judge Agati, with “direction to set a date for a special election for the local board.”

On March 8, John Bohannon, the attorney for the city, claimed in a motion that further “clarification and guidance” regarding the Supreme Court’s order was needed.
On March 23, the Supreme Court obliged. It directed the trial court “to order a special election for the local Board of Education pursuant to General Statutes Section 9-164 (b).

The trial court shall set all applicable dates under the statute but shall schedule the special election no later than 150 days from the date of its order,” the Supreme Court declared.
Because a local board must continue to function until a new board is elected, the court suspended the effect of its order until final certification of the special election results by the town clerk.

On April 13, Agati will preside over a hearing in Waterbury Superior Court. While most of the disenfranchised voters in Bridgeport might expect him to follow the direction of the Supreme Court and set a date for the special election, we may be disappointed.

Agati has already had “in camera” or non-public, discussions with representatives of the secretary of the state. He has received the secretary’s extensive documentation regarding four proposed special election dates. However, he has now given the parties an opportunity to present evidence regarding their views on the best dates on which to hold a special election.

Count on the city of Bridgeport to use this as an opportunity for further delay.
By allowing the lawyers the opportunity to file motions by April 11, Agati is needlessly complicating a simple case in order to sustain the illusion of complexity. He is allowing the city’s legal team, steeped in the mystique of grandiosity and terminal condescension, to further obstruct the democratic process.

Despite its presence on the complex litigation docket, this case is really very simple. The Supreme Court has said that the voters of Bridgeport have a right to vote for their board of education members and the court has been asked to preserve that right.

By calling the basis of this historic decision a “technicality” Finch, Gov. Dannel Malloy, Paul Timpanelli and their cadre of backroom bullies hope to make us forget that they plotted this coup in secret and cared nothing for the people’s right to vote in a democratic society.

We must see their spin as a pathetic attempt to justify that which cannot be justified and to defend the indefensible.

They are trying to tell us, “It wasn’t all that bad,” hoping that we will forget their clandestine and antidemocratic cabal. They cower behind public relations gimmicks and have even resorted to the nauseating “but we did it for the children,” which in this instance is the last refuge for these scoundrels.

The Supreme Court said a board elected by the people cannot be reconstituted without due process and transparency. Nor can the clear commands of a statute be avoided simply because Finch can produce a 6-3 majority composed of rubber-stamp board members who agreed to “waive” requirements of law on the advice of the Bridgeport city attorney.

The Supreme Court unambiguously told our local lackeys: This issue is not about you. The issue is about the right of the people to vote, to have that vote counted, and to be governed by those chosen through the democratic process.

The Supreme Court never referred to the training mandate as a “technicality.” Instead Zarella declared: “We conclude that the legislature intended the training provision to serve the following proposes.

First, requiring training prior to authorizing reconstitution provides notice to a local board of education — and theoretically, to the electors of that local board — that the state board is considering authorizing reconstitution.

Second and related to the first, the training itself serves a substantive and remedial purpose, by providing the local board of education with an opportunity to prevent its reconstitution by successfully completing training and thereby demonstrating to the state board that it can operate effectively and that extreme measure of reconstitution is unnecessary.

Viewed this way, the training provision is premised on the importance of maintaining the continued local operations of a democratically elected board of education, as well as on providing certain due process protections. Third and most importantly, the state board does not have the authority to authorize the reconstitution until it first requires the local board to undergo and complete training in accordance with section 10-223e© (2) (M).”

Not only was the Supreme Court outraged by what was done, it was clearly incensed about the way that this coup was accomplished.

In an unequivocal condemnation of the tactics employed by the conspirators, the court said, “The training provision represents the legislature’s intent that, in the rare event that a local board of education should be reconstituted, reconstitution would occur in a methodical, deliberate and transparent manner. This provides the local electors, the local board and other citizens of the state with notice of the process and the timeframe in which reconstitution potentially could occur.”

It is only in the minds of politicians, drunk with their power and seeking to drown out the voices of the people, that their delusionary drivel has any credence. The significance of the Supreme Court decision lies not only in what was said, but to whom it was said. Six Supreme Court justices, sworn to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution of the state of Connecticut, (the Constitution State) told billionaire hedge fund mogul Steve Mandel, Teach for America, ConnCan, Excel, the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and their well-heeled conspirators, that there are certain things no amount of money can buy in a free society.

Among those commodities is the fundamental right to vote for a government that operates with the consent of the governed. The right of the people, even in a poor city like Bridgeport, to chart their own destiny and that of their children, is paramount. The Supreme Court declared that the right of self-determination cannot be bought.

Notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s affirmation of self-government, Finch, his legal team and his regional business council backers are still determined to prevail.
Robert Trefy, of Fairfield, who continues to usurp the office of board president, publically congratulates himself and applauds each time the special election is delayed.

One might ask Mr. Trefy, Timpanelli and the out-of-town reformers the following question: “If a board of education appointed by the state Board of Education is superior to one elected by the voters of a municipality, why have you not sought to impose this model on the people of Fairfield, Trumbull, Easton and Westport?”

The answer to that question is obvious. These elitists will never impose on themselves that which they seek to dictate to the people of Bridgeport.

As Abraham Lincoln once famously said, “When I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”

On April 13, once again, expect the mayor’s legal team to attempt to delay the special election in order to keep their business council allies in power.

By being chosen, the 2012 ringmaster has also helped make history. For the first time since the inaugural event in 1948, three brothers have served as ringmaster. Billy Carroll held the reins in 1988, and Charlie Carroll served in the position in 1999.

Frank Carroll is the ringmaster of the 64th annual Barnum Festival. (Contributed photo)

Frank Carroll is the international vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and is no stranger to festival hoopla, having served as grand marshal of the 2011 Bridgeport St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Now a resident of Shelton, this year’s ringmaster plans to embrace the Barnum Festival by celebrating his Bridgeport roots.
“Anybody that had the pleasure and the opportunity to grow up in Bridgeport should make an effort to become fully involved in the 2012 Barnum Festival,” Frank Carroll stressed. “Those who grow up in this city in the 1950s and ’60s know how special it was.”

Carroll believes the Barnum Festival is one of the major yearly cultural events in the state and he intends to promote the extravaganza in just that fashion.

“There are those who come back from New York and Philadelphia every year to participate in the festival,” he said. “This is more than a parade, although this year’s parade is going to be great. The festival provides amazing culture through many events and brings tremendous excitement to the entire region.”

To that end, the ringmaster believes this year’s Champions on Parade will be one of the most memorable in Barnum Festival history. The annual event features the top drum corps in the nation and will be held at Kennedy Stadium, Saturday, June 30, at 6 p.m.
Among those who will perform at Champions on Parade are the Minnesota Brass, Reading Buccaneers, Hawthorne Caballeros, Connecticut Hurricanes, Empire Statesmen and the Bushwackers.

“This will be one of the best Champions on Parade ever,” he stressed. “The quality of the drum corps we have coming to Bridgeport is absolutely top notch. This will definitely be a signature event.”

One of the newer events that has become quite popular is the annual Kentucky Derby Party, which will be held on Derby Day, Saturday, May 5, at the Mill River Country Club in Stratford. The party features a country buffet dinner, a Ladies Hat Contest, mint juleps and, of course, the Run for the Roses.

“”It’s just a wonderfully festive event,” said the ringmaster. “The atmosphere is about as close as you can get other than actually being at the Kentucky Derby.”
This year’s Barnum Festival will have a touch of sadness attached to it as Frank Carroll all too well knows. Former Ringmaster Rick Porto passed away on Feb. 29, leaving a void in the Festival family that cannot be filled.

“Rick Porto was what Bridgeport was all about,” said the 2012 ringmaster. “Rick was a city-of- Bridgeport guy; he was what Bridgeport was all about. Rick used to like to say he was from the University of the Street and that degree was more valuable than a master’s degree from the Harvard Business School.”

Porto was a master painter and decorator and owned a business on Brewster Street in the Black Rock section of the city. He was the Republican candidate for mayor in 1987 and was the city’s longtime parks director. Porto served as ringmaster in 2006 and created the annual Jenny Lind at the Swedish Singing Society Norden Club annual event that year.
“Ricky did so much for the Barnum Festival that he never wanted publicized,” said Carroll. “Particularly with Seniors Dance. He wanted to make sure the seniors were an important part of the festival.”

Knowing that the Barnum Festival could not possibly be a success without a solid crew of volunteers, Carroll was quick to sing the praises of the host of area residents who have given their time to this year’s festivities.

“Those people who work behind the scenes have been outstanding,” he said. “They bring a passion to every single event, and along with everyone who attends the Barnum Festival events all I can say about them all is together we make a difference.”

Other events of the 2012 Barnum Festival schedule include: the Jenny Lind Competition for Sopranos, Saturday, April 21, at 1 p.m. at the Bernhard Center at the University of Bridgeport; the Wing Ding Parade, Saturday, June 16, at Beardsley Park; the Ringmaster’s Golf Classic, Thursday, June 21, at 11 a.m. at Fairchild Wheeler; Barnum Sails the Sound, Saturday, June 23, at 5 p.m. at the Port Jefferson Ferry; the Greatest Car Show on Earth, Sunday, June 24, at 8 a.m. at Hillcrest Middle School in Trumbull; Taste of Bridgeport and The Jenny Lind Concert, Thursday, June 28, at 5 p.m. the Bijou Theater; Skyblast Party at Seaside Park, Friday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m.; Jenny Lind at the Swedish Singing Society Norden Club, Saturday, June 30, at 2 p.m.; and the Great Street Parade, which kicks off on Sunday, July 1 at 11 a.m.

The Sound Tigers clinched a playoff berth with a 3-3 win at the Webster Bank Arena against visiting Springfield last Wednesday morning. Heading into the weekend the locals have notched 87 points, three points better than the second place Connecticut Whale.

Bridgeport travels to Providence to play the Bruins Friday night, then stays on the road Saturday night when it visits Wilkes Barre-Scranton. The Penguins return the favor Sunday afternoon when they visit Bridgeport for the Sound Tigers final home game of the season at 3 p.m.

Since the dawn of the New Year, the Sound Tigers are a stellar 25-15 and have become one of the elite squads of the American Hockey League. The Bridgeport icemen were especially strong in February posting an 8-2 record, backboned by AHL Goaltender of the Month Anders Nilsson who was 6-0-1 in the same month. Fellow netminder Kevin Poulin, who has bounced back and for the between Bridgeport and its National Hockey League parent the New York Islanders, has also been outstanding in the crease this season. Overall, the Sound Tigers are now 39-25-3-6 for the year.

Rhett Rakhshani and Casey Cizikas are tied for the team lead in points with 44, followed closely by matt Donovan with 42 and Justin DiBeneddto with 41. David Ullstrom holds the team lead in goals scored with 24 and Donovan leads the team in assists with 32.

In the playoff clincher Ullstrom scored the game-winning goal with 4:45 left in regulation and Poulin made 33 saves to propel the locals to the win over the Falcons.

The Sound Tigers opened the scoring 2:36 into the game courtesy of an awkward bounce in the Springfield zone. Steve Oleksy rimmed the puck along the right boards, but as Springfield goaltender Manny Legace came out to play the puck, it shot out towards the slot. Tony Romano got his stick on the puck, and John Persson collected it and sent it into the open net for his third goal in eight games as a pro to put the Sound Tigers up 1-0.

Romano put the Sound Tigers ahead by two with a power play goal midway through the opening frame. Rakhshani held the puck above the left circle and sent a pass to Romano by the left post. Romano spun quickly and fired the puck past Legace for his 10th goal of the season, and the Sound Tigers led 2-0. Bridgeport carried their two-goal lead into the second period, where Poulin stopped all 14 Springfield shots to preserve the Sound Tigers two-goal cushion.

However, a physical period culminated in a power play for Springfield to open the third period, when a scrum involving both sides as the horn sounded resulted in a Falcons man-advantage. Springfield scored on their power play chance just 21 seconds into the third period when Alex Giroux beat Poulin from the right circle to cut the Falcons deficit to one. Springfield evened the score at 6:04 as they forced a turnover in the Bridgeport zone and Wade MacLeod fired past Poulin to tie the score at two.

Ullstrom put the Sound Tigers ahead for good with 4:45 left in regulation. The second-year forward split the Springfield defense to create a brief 2-on-1 opportunity. Ullstrom sent a backhand pass through the crease that deflected off a Falcons skate and past Legace.

The team released its 22-man Clear Day roster in early March. Each team’s clear day roster is made up of 22 players. Only those players listed on a team’s Clear Day roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the AHL regular season and in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension.

Teams may also add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts after Clear Day, but only once their respective junior or college seasons are complete.
Listed below is the Sound Tigers 22-man Clear Day roster, separated by position.

FORWARDS (13)
Sean Backman
Casey Cizikas
Jeremy Colliton
Justin DiBenedetto
Trevor Frischmon
Micheal Haley
Scott Howes
Tomas Marcinko
Tyler McNeely
Kael Mouillierat
Rhett Rakhshani
Blair Riley
David Ullstrom

DEFENSEMEN (7)
Calvin de Haan
Matt Donovan
Mark Katic
Jon Landry
Aaron Ness
Steve Oleksy
Ty Wishart

GOALTENDERS (2)
Anders Nilsson
Kevin Poulin

A player in residence can only be used during the remainder of the regular season or the playoffs if a combination of three members of the 22-man roster are injured, recalled or suspended. The following players in residence are:

IN RESIDENCE (4)
Brett Gallant (LW)
Trevor Gillies (LW)
Tony Romano (C/RW)
Russ Sinkewich (D)

Their names and titles include:
Rosinda Santos, general director; Manny Gomes, president of the executive committee; John Gil, vice president; Jaime Vicencio and John Rodriges, treasurers; Cristina Prestiano, secretary; John Seara, director of bar and feasts; Mike Nunes, John Ramos, Mário Roxo and Paulo Oliveira, collectors of membership dues; Sergio Fernandes, director of adult sports; Mario Dias, director of youth sports; John Rosa, director, and Jose Rodrigues, secretary of the Portuguese School.

Club officials want to emphasize the activity of the new generation of the Portuguese community for becoming members of this club and for taking the initiative of directing it during the last five years. Congratulations to all of them.

The Vasco da Gama Portuguese Club was founded on Dec. 20, 1931. Since May of 1977, this important cultural association has been located at 355 James St., Bridgeport, CT 06604.