Click to enlargeOkay that's it. Governor Deval Patrick is definitely not invited to our 500'th anniversary birthday bash. Sheeshh. I mean, you only turn 250 once! And you don't get more liberal, Clinton-like left of center than the People's Republic of Amherst. Maybe the Gov figures he's doing such a great job that he does not need the outreach.
Top photo: Stephanie O'Keeffe behind podium using semi-prepared remarks (only looked down 2 or 3 times.) Armed elf behind Stephanie is Harrison Gregg Amherst Town Meeting moderator (running unopposed this year.) Far right: Hadley Select Board Chair Gerry Devine (who I'm sure was tempted to say Hadley was glad to be rid of us 250 years ago.) On Queen Stephanie's immediate right townie developer and 250'th Chair Barry Roberts, guy in front right of him Vice President of Hampshire College Aaron Berman (who did a one minute commercial for all the wonderful things the college does for the town...of course he knows we are going to hit them up soon for a payment in lieu of taxes for all the services taxpayers currently provide them).
Non-New England native standing in front of American flag: Rober Holub, Umass Chancellor (with two children in the public schools costing Amherst taxpayers $25-k per year) , to his right appropriately dressed Amherst College President Tony Marx; and you gotta love the way the venerable Amherst Select Board lined up in descending order from most seniority to least: Gerry Weiss, Diana Stein, Alisa Brewer (nice shoes), ultra-rookie Aaron Heyden, also running unopposed for reelection. And at the very bottom (no metaphor intended) Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer.
Even when I still thought the Governor of Taxachusetts was going to make an appearance, I was not concerned with security as both Amherst Police Chief Charlie Scherpa (left) and Captain Mike Kent (right) were on duty.
Stan told me the governor had to make a speech in Holyoke. And they aren't even having a birthday today.
ReplyDeleteYou should have come inside. There was this fantastic birthday cake -- and Stephen Puffer did the cutting. Mary will have photos on her blog.
Terry F.
Yeah but I beat Mary to the punch...errrr, I mean posting.
ReplyDeleteI had Daddy duties to perform (not too mention blogging) but the cake sounds good: doesn't get any better than Atkins Farms Country Market.
Holyoke? Hmmm...Well they do have a much higher Hispanic demographic.
And their High School did 'West Side Story' a few years back, proudly, with NO controversy.
"Non-New England native standing in front of American flag: Rober Holub, Umass Chancellor (with two children in the public schools costing Amherst taxpayers $25-k per year)"
ReplyDeleteSo, you would feel better if the head of a public university sent his kids to private school? He lives in Amherst now and it doesn't matter if you have lived here 5 generations or 5 minutes you are entitled to the same benefits of residency.
The difference between 5 minutes and 5 generations is a freaking core.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you don't realize that, you are a nitwit bureaucrat who puts out 75% effort 75% of the time simply to get by (and you, of course, will not be working on Monday).
I will not even talk about prominent Amherst Public School Cheerleadera: Principal's, Crusty Bully Columnist's who send their precious cargo to private schools.
People move to this community all the time to take jobs and they don't deserve to be accused of being freeloaders for sending their children to public schools.
ReplyDeleteYour kids are costing Amherst taxpayers too so knock it off.
ReplyDeleteYes...my CHILD (singular)--the older one, cost the taxpayers. But then, you freakin nitwit, I’m an Amherst taxpayer (for 5 generations now).
ReplyDeleteAnd Charter Schools ARE like the private sector: more efficient than "I'm-here-to-help-you" government /public run operations.
Although, truth to be said, they are taking off next week--as are all PUBLIC SCHOOLS in Massachusetts.
In defense of Holub, he made a point the other day that he is here for the long haul and intends to have his children graduate from the local high school.
ReplyDeleteI think he is doing this to make a point in support of the town and not to be a burden on the town.
Yeah, he looks and sounds like a stand up guy to me.
ReplyDeleteNow if we could just get some nitwit from the town to approach him with the Balls--or Vaginas as the case may be--to freaken help us out in this current economic meltdown...
Long haul or short haul, how long does the Mighty Larry rule that you have to live here before you can send your kids to public schools?
ReplyDeleteMy kid (singular, and some people prefer the term "child") DOES go to a PUBLIC SCHOOL (you freakin nitwit!)
ReplyDeleteUmass relies on Amherst taxpayers to subsidize their basic overhead (mainly fire protection).
And a day or so ago the AP reported that the highest paid STATE WORKERS in Taxachusetts resided at Umass (most of whom will not be working this coming Monday)
Actually I have two children--but only one is currently old enough(7) to go to public schools; and the Pioneer Valley Chinese Charter Immersion School IS a public school.
ReplyDeleteTaxachusetts No Longer:
ReplyDeleteYou need to catch up with the times Larry. It may be popular to cry "overtaxed" but it's no longer accurate for us here in Massachusetts, at least in comparison to about half of the rest of the country. We now rank 23rd nationally for personal tax burden.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/sr163.pdf
But I guess keeping the myth alive has it's purpose.
I was thinking the proposed gas tax hike
ReplyDelete:And a day or so ago the AP reported that the highest paid STATE WORKERS in Taxachusetts resided at Umass (most of whom will not be working this coming Monday)"
ReplyDeleteDid it ever occur to you that some of these highest paid state workers bring in far more money than they make in salary? They bring in millions of dollars of grant money in areas such as polymer science and robotics. It's not so simplistic to just complain that some state workers at UMass have big salaries. Dr. Craig Mello won the Nobel Prize. I think he's worth compensating.
Yeah, it did occur to me.
ReplyDeleteHim I'm not worried about. Or Jack Wilson for that matter.
It's about time someone said it. If Umass, Amherst college & Hampshire college each contributed the proper portion of money to the town, then Amherst would be rolling in it. Then again, if Amherst wasn't so anti-buisness they might not be in this situation either. As someone who does buisness in and with the town, I only have this to say, Amherst is sitting on BILLIONS of dollars that is owed to them. They just need to grow a pair and go get it.
ReplyDelete