Stay Classy

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I was, briefly, surprised, by the way, to see on various social media postings last month on the one-year anniversary of the Trump assassination attempt that many leftists are still in denial and still insisting that it was faked. I have no doubt that their denial is rooted in an understanding that the attempt, and the iconic photograph of Trump’s defiance sealed the election for him, and they've never gotten over the shock.

Here’s an example from a year ago that set the tone: it’s never subsided:

Tell that to Corey Comperatore, David Dutch, and James Copenhaver; Copenhaver is dead, Dutch and Copenhaver are still suffering from their “fake” injuries.

Breitbart 7/15/24

Actress Amanda Seales took to social media to advance the wild-eyed conspiracy theory that Donald Trump staged the assassination attempt on his life last weekend. Seales, probably best known for her role in the early 1990s Nickelodeon series My Brother and Me and her role in the 2016-2021 series Insecure, insisted that Trump used fake stage blood and sound effects to stage his assassination attempt.

“That sh** was more staged than a Tyler Perry production of Madea Runs for President,” the actress proclaimed, wholly ignoring the death of local fireman Corey Comperatore, who’s last act was to shield his wife and daughter as bullets pierced him. She added that the gunshot sounds she heard on video seemed faked to her, the Daily Mail reported.

“I lived in Harlem long enough to know that gunshots do not sound like making popcorn on the stove,” she exclaimed. “Where did the blood come from? So in theater, in movies they have what’s called blood pellets. People use them for Halloween,” Seales hypothicized. “It’s basically a pellet of fake blood that’s in your mouth and when you crush it the blood comes out,” she attempted to explain. “To be frank, ssmall hands Trump would not respond by raising his fist in the air triumphantly were an actual attempt made on his life,” she said, adding, “This was, I believe done to try to show his strength counter to Biden’s fragility.”

Seales is far from the only left-winger pushing false stories about the shooting at the Butler County, Pennsylvania, rally. A top advisor to Democrat mega donor Reid Hoffman, for one, urged “sympathetic journalists” to consider that the shooting was “staged.” Hoffman himself was heard saying he wished he could have made Donald Trump an “actual Martyr” with his death, not just political wounding.

(I’m probably the only person in the world who’s never heard of this gunshot expert, but I looked her up on Wikipedia, and in case there’a someone else out there who hasn’t followed her career, here’s her bio. I’m delighted to learn, by the way, that Columbia University offers a Masters degree in African-American History with a concentration in hip hop: That certainly doesn’t diminish my respect for the University — zero is zero, after all — but it does give me a warm glow to know that any student loan debt this daughter of the oppressed may have incurred while earning that degree was propbably repaid, if at all, with my tax dollars.)

Amanda Ingrid Seales was born in Inglewood, California, on July 1, 1981. Her mother was born and raised in Mt. Moritz, Grenada. As a result, both she and her mother are dual citizens of the US and Grenada. Her father is a Black American from Roxbury, Boston.[5] Seales moved to Orlando, Florida, in 1989, where she later attended Dr. Phillips High School. She graduated from SUNY-Purchase, then earned a master's degree in African American studies with a concentration in hip-hop from Columbia University.[6][7][8]

A million here, a million there, pretty soon you're talking real price cuts

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724 North Street has shaved another million from its asking price and what yesterday would have cost you $11.3 million can now be yours for just $10.3 million. 16,487 sq. ft. of 1984 construction, it sits on 8-acres. Began at $12 million last December 2nd.

537 North Street has also cut its price, from $14.98 million to $13,950,000. It was originally listed at $15.495 a year ago September. Built in 2005, 15,171 sq. ft., 2.97 acres.

Small victory in relation to the trillions being wasted, but let's take it anyway

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jumpin’ bureaucrats!

D.C. Appeals Court Lifts Injunction Barring Trump From Cutting Climate Funds

Stop filing claims lawsuits in district courts. Go to the Court of Federal Claims, whose purpose is *literally* in its name.

Mary Chastain, LegalInsurrection:

A three-judge panel of the D.C. District Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to lift an injunction stopping President Donald Trump’s administration from slashing $16 billion in climate funds.

Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, who authored the opinion, voted in favor of the administration.

Rao wrote (emphasis added):

We conclude the district court abused its discretion in issuing the injunction. The grantees are not likely to succeed on the merits because their claims are essentially contractual, and therefore jurisdiction lies exclusively in the Court of Federal Claims. And while the district court had jurisdiction over the grantees’ constitutional claim, that claim is meritless. Moreover, the equities strongly favor the government, which on behalf of the public must ensure the proper oversight and management of this multi-billion-dollar fund. Accordingly, we vacate the injunction.

Background

The case revolved around the grants awarded by the EPA under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in August 2024:

In August 2024, EPA awarded $20 billion to eight nonprofits pursuant to two of the grant programs it created: the National Clean Investment Fund and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator. Five of those grantees are plaintiffs in this case: Climate United Fund ($6.97 billion), Coalition for Green Capital ($5 billion), Power Forward Communities, Inc. ($2 billion), Inclusiv, Inc. ($1.87 billion), and Justice Climate Fund, Inc. ($940 million).

Instead of taking the usual route through the Treasury Department, Biden’s EPA used a middleman as a “financial agent” to hold the funds:

Treasury entered a Financial Agency Agreement (“FAA”) with Citibank. As set forth in the grant agreements, the funds were to be transferred from Treasury to Citibank in a “two-step transaction” involving a “drawdown” by the grantee and a subsequent “disbursement” to the appropriate Citibank account. J.A. 566. The disbursement by the grantee is deemed “an allowable cost” under “the EPA award.”

Then Biden’s EPA changed the rules of grant agreements when Trump won in November, making it harder for the department to terminate the grants.

It started crashing down after Trump took over. The FBI told Citibank to freeze the accounts associated with the grants.

Citibank complied. The EPA canceled the grants.

We then learned that Biden’s climate czar, John Podesta, funneled around $20 billion to recently founded environmental groups in 2022.

Litigation

The Republican controlled Congress repealed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund during litigation.

The panel ruled that the regulatory, arbitrary, and capricious claims can only be heard in the Court of Federal Claims.

“Because the substance of the grantees’ notice claim sounds in federal contract law, the claim is essentially contractual and can be heard only in the Court of Federal Claims,” explained Rao. “The grantees cannot avoid the Tucker Act’s jurisdictional channeling by disguising a breach of contract claim as a claim that the government violated the regulations governing grantmaking.”

Second, the Court of Federal Claims has exclusive jurisdiction because the remedy the grantees seek is contractual in nature. The grantees requested an injunction barring EPA from terminating the grants, “except as permitted in accordance with the ACA, the grant award, and applicable law,” and ordering Citibank to resume disbursements “in accordance with the ACA.” The grantees maintain they own the funds and seek an injunction barring unlawful interference, rather than an order for specific performance. But the grantees’ “ownership” of the funds goes only as far as the grant agreements and the ACAs permit. And the funds are held by Citibank, which acts as a fiduciary of the government. Despite their characterization, in substance, the grantees are seeking specific performance of their agreements with the government. As then-Judge Scalia explained, “[t]he waiver of sovereign immunity in the [APA] does not run to actions seeking declaratory relief or specific performance in contract cases.” “[A] complaint involving a request for specific performance must be resolved by the [Court of Federal] Claims.”

Nobody's gonna steal MY house!

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897 Lake Avenue’s listing has been renewed once again, still firmly lodged at the $5.2 million price it adopted last February after beginning in June ‘24 at $5.995. Whatever.

I include some interior shots taken from the House of Regrettable Design catalogue, just for the fun of it. Is it my imagination, or do many of the double-paned window seals appear to be broken?

Back on the market in Riverside

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After failing to find a buyer in 2023 at $4.950 and $4.495, 177 Indian Head Road (all the way down at the bottom) will try again in this improved market at $4.995. Original 1960 construction with all that implies in way of design, but renovated since, the house sits in a low-lying patch of ground below Cathlow Drive, damp enough to preclude a basement.

Prior to those renovations, the previous owners tried for $5.925 million in 2007 before giving up and selling to the present owners for $4.250 in 2008. It will probably fare better this time.

seasonal water glimpses

And all these years I've assumed that "Guinea Road" referred to a historic gathering spot for our local masons; not so, apparently.

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21 Guinea Road, 1938 house on 5+ acres, is new to the market at $12.450 million.

But if it didn’t involve the Italians, what is the explanation for such a fowl name?

AI Overview

It is not known with certainty where the name "Guinea Road" in Greenwich, CT, came from

. The most probable explanation is that the road's name is derived from one of the historical meanings of the word "guinea," which include a British gold coin and a colonial-era term for the west coast of Africa. 

Possible origins of the name include:

  • The British guinea coin: It's possible the road was named after the gold guinea coin, a historical British currency worth 21 shillings. The name could have been given to reflect prosperity or to commemorate a transaction or person of British descent.

  • A colonial-era geographical reference: The term "Guinea" was historically used as a European geographical term for the west coast of Africa. Early settlers may have named the road after this region, which was a source of gold and other trade goods, including enslaved people.

  • The guinea hen: The name may also be an old reference to the guinea fowl, a domestic bird that was originally imported from Africa. 

The derogatory meaning is unlikely to be the origin

It is highly unlikely that the name is connected to the modern use of "guinea" as a derogatory slur for people of Italian descent. 

  • The slur postdates the road's likely founding: This pejorative use of the word did not emerge in the United States until the late 19th century, well after the area was settled. It originated from the older term "Guinea Negro" and was applied to Italians because of their dark complexions relative to Northern Europeans.

  • The slur's origin does not connect to Greenwich history: There is no evidence suggesting a link between this ethnic slur and the naming of this specific road in Greenwich. 

But dig a little deeper, and we find this:

Guinea road greenwich ct name origin and meaning

Based on local history and the context of other historical place names, the name "Guinea Road" in Greenwich, CT likely refers to a historical connection to the Guinea Coast of West Africa, a region from which enslaved people were taken. The term "guinea" was sometimes used in colonial times to refer to Black people, regardless of their specific origin, or to an area with a Black population. 

Key details that support this origin include:

  • Greenwich's history with slavery: Greenwich had a significant enslaved population in the 1700s and early 1800s. The Greenwich Historical Society and other researchers have documented the presence of approximately 300 enslaved individuals in the town.

  • The "Hangroot" community: Local researcher Teresa Vega has identified a historic integrated community of Black, Native American, and white people in the Round Hill Road area of Greenwich, which was once known as "Hangroot". This community was home to enslaved and freed people of color and included notable Greenwich families.

  • Parallel place names: In the historic town of Ipswich, MA, a similarly named "Guinea Road" is explicitly identified as an area once home to Black people. This parallel suggests a common naming convention for areas with Black populations in colonial New England.

  • No alternative historical explanation: Local historical sources and online records do not point to an alternative, non-racial origin for the name, such as a connection to the guinea fowl or guinea hogs, whose naming is unrelated to the history of this specific road. 

The saga Continues: Cos Cob’s Chimblo Crime Family builds on tradition

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Fortunately, thanks to CT’s tough gun laws, these weapons and large-capacity magazines don’t even exist, and felons like mr. chimblo wouldn’t have them in his possession if they did

I first wrote about the bad-seed branch of the Chimblos of Cos Cob in 2017*; — there’s a good branch, local, multi-generational, well-respected contractors — and eight years on, its third generation of imbeciles is still at it, so it’s probably time for an update.

January 23, 1975 marked the familes’ debut on the national stage.

From The New York Times:

3 Volunteer Firemen Held As Connecticut Arsonists

Jan. 23, 1975

GREENWICH, Conn., Jan. 22 (AP)—Three youths identified by authorities as members of the Sound Beach volunteer fire department have been charged in seven recent fires in Greenwich, including a blaze at the Riverside railroad station that caused $30,000 damage.

Steven Chimblo, 16 years old, of Old Greenwich, was charged with seven counts of third‐degree arson, and was released on $15,000 bond. His brother, Thomas Chimblo, 17, was charged with six counts of conspiracy to commit arson.

Albert Pirre, 18, of Old Greenwich, was charged with six counts of third‐degree arson and one count of conspiracy to commit arson.

The three were arrested last night.

Yesterday saw the latest installment; new generation, same old story.

Here’s the latest:

August 29, 2025: Greenwich police seize 4 assault rifles, 2 shotguns, 5 handguns in search of local home

Greenwich police seize 4 rifles, 2 shotguns, 5 handguns in ...

4 hours ago — Kristopher Chimblo, 36, was arrested after Greenwich police found rifles that had been converted into fully automatic weapons at his home, ...

A fond look over the decades reveals that this branch of the family has been keeping the police busy for years. Here’s just a sampling focused on Kristopher, but he’s had plenty of familial company over the years:

  • Mar 5, 2021 — Kristopher Chimblo, 32, of Harold Street in Cos Cob, allegedly threatened two victims causing them a significant amount of anxiety and fear of physical ...

  • Local man arrested twice in one day: cops

Greenwich Time

  • Jun 7, 2017 — Chimblo, 28, of Harold Street, was charged with assault in that case. He was released without .

  • Greenwich brothers accused of robbing masseuse at … Jul 17, 2017 — Frank Chimblo, 44, and Kristopher Chimblo, 28, were each charged with second-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, sixth-degree ... went to the Crowne Plaza Hotel after seeing an online ad for massage services in a hotel room, according to ...

  • Apr 14, 2015 — Shortly after 9 p.m. April 13, the suspect, identified as Kristopher T. Chimblo, of Coe Avenue, Stratford, was found in the neighborhood of his ...

  • Jun 6, 2017 — Disorderly conduct arrest in Cos Cob Kristopher Chimblo, 28, of Harold Street, was charged with disorderly conduct. He was released without bail and ordered to appear in court ...

  • Jan 18, 2018 — A local man, Frank Chimblo Jr., was sentenced to six years in jail in 2008 in connection with a drug sale to a Greenwich High School student ...

Man Familiar to Greenwich Police Faces Drug Charges ...

  • 2008, https://www.thehour.com/norwalk/article/Woman-charged-for-illegal-sale-of-narcotics-8247432.php..

  • Mar 5, 2021 — On March 1 Greenwich Police arrested a Cos Cob man by warrant stemming from an investigation where the suspect, Kristopher Chimblo, 32, ...

* Three generations of bad actors — no, not the Fondas; Henry Fonda was quite good

June 07, 2017 Chris Fountain

circa 2017

Kristopher Chimblo, 28, was arrested twice in one day (not his first arrest, not at all). There's one side of the Chimblo clan that has produced a long line of respectable citizens: builders, contractors, and such, and a 1948 Chimblo home, for instance, is still considered to be a solid, well-built structure.

And then you have their cousins, the Cos Cob Chimblos, who've been decorating the local police blotter for, I think, 3 generations. In, roughly, 1970, one of them burned down the Riverside train station, along with various other structures around Riverside, just for a lark. In the 90s a younger generation: Frank Chimblo Jr. and a sister and possibly other family members, were frequently arrested on various crimes: drug use, theft, etc. Frank ended up serving 6 years for supplying fentanyl and heroin that killed a 19-year-old town boy. Now young Kristopher has stepped up to continue that proud tradition.

There's no particular point to this posting, I suppose, but I find the long chain of criminality interesting: more a story you'd expect from Appalachian moonshiners than a Greenwich family, even if it is a Cos Cob one.