John Fox presses his complaint yet again while Umass officials (left to rt): Todd Diacon, Eddie Hull, Nancy Buffone, Lisa Queenin and (rear) Dennis Swinford look on, sort of, at ARA meeting in the Bangs Community Center.A hot night for public meetings that is:
The Amherst Redevelopment Authority continuing to press forward with Umass on the Gateway Project, the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in Town Hall, where heavy-hitter, insider (Mother) Mary Streeter does her best to torpedo the plans of country Doctor Kate Atkinson to build a medical building in that neighborhood and a hearing concerning the town leveling the bucolic Hawthorne house and barn it recently purchased to create soccer fields.
And the NIMBYs were out in force at all three meetings.
Dr Kate Atkinson (2nd from rt) looks on as Mary Streeter wields her verbal scalpel at ZBA hearing in Town Hall. The Meeting was continued to 12/22 (Let's hope the ZBA gives Dr. Kate a nice Christmas, err, holiday present. Otherwise she builds in Hadley)
Eddie Hall or Eddie HULL???
ReplyDeleteLarry, you gotta be accurate on this sort of stuff -- although I didn't know that he owned a tie...
Mary Mary Mary, get some sneekers and start on a walking program instead of micromanaging every little thing that goes on in Amherst.
ReplyDeleteLooking at Mary's waistline reminds me I need to check the air in my tires.
ReplyDeleteI always find it intresting that Mr. Fox is so vocal about student behavior in his neighborhood but voted against the Nuisance House Bylaw at TM in 08.....
ReplyDeleteAnd there's no doubt the bylaw is working. I may have to discontinue my "Partyhouse of the weekend" series.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong: but isn't Dr. Atkinson one of the folks who've been lobbing bombs into the Sustainable Amherst coalition on the subject of Catherine Sanderson and Steve Rivkin, essentially pitting pro-development parents against other pro-development parents?
ReplyDeleteThese coalitions, once formed, have to be nurtured carefully, not taken for granted.
You tell me. I'm not on their listserve.
ReplyDeleteJust trying to remember: at one time Sanderson-Rivkin voters were sitting around the same kitchen tables with communitysupportededucation.net folks planning how to promote appropriate, sustainable development in Amherst.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to that?
Reality. Cold and cruel as it is.
ReplyDeleteWhich has yet to dawn on the communitysupportededucation.net folks--and probably NEVER will.
John Fox is not a NIMBY. He is a smart man, with an open mind. The neighborhoods in the area, are understandably,sick of being over run by inconsiderate students. I don't blame him for challenging this project. I would publish my name were it not for the hassle of registering.
ReplyDeleteUmm, all you needed to do was, you know, type in your name at the end of your comment.
ReplyDeleteBecause now, for all we know, you are John Fox.
I am not John Fox for sure. In fact, when I see you next I will tell you this directly.
ReplyDeleteDon't be shy; you can tell me (and the ten people reading this at the moment)right now.
ReplyDeleteDirectly. It's called a declarative sentence.
Check the Town Meeting voting record.
ReplyDeleteJohn Fox votes against all Town Meeting voting articles.
Check it.
Sorry,
ReplyDeleteJohn Fox votes against all Town Meeting zoning articles.
I don't call that having an open mind.
So that's what Streeter does when she's not carrying the floating head?
ReplyDeleteLarry, as to your bylaw, look up what a "backdraft" is and why firefighters so fear it.
ReplyDeleteSooner or later the UM kids are going to realize the concept of "strength in numbers" and then it will be all over...
Wooden buildings burn nicely, and most of Downtown Amherst is wood framed...
I saw that movie.
ReplyDeleteMost of the buildings downtown have sprinklers and the,umm, Police Station is rather close by. Not to mention Fire Department.
Larry, I *LIVED* that movie, but I digress....
ReplyDeleteYou have what - 4 cops on duty at night? Maybe 20 if things get ugly -- you have a grand total of what, 40?
There are 30,000 college students in town. Can you say "badly outnumbered" if they all got together?
It is the same fear that the slaveowners had in the south -- if all the slaves revolted, they would be in serious trouble, so they lived in fear of a slave revolt. Much as Amherst does....
John Fox's town meeting voting record.. who gives a hoot! This isn't congress, as some would like to think. At least he attends and participates, my only expectation of TM members as a resident in town.
ReplyDelete"Don't be shy; you can tell me (and the ten people reading this at the moment)right now."
ReplyDeleteJumping into this conversation late, you should be aware that everything on this blog posts to Google forevermore. I doubt any professional would like their name visible to co-workers, future employers, clients (for business owners) etc.
I fully support Mr. Fox and am very grateful he's taken up this cause. He speaks for many of us in the neighborhood.
So you don't think publicly supporting Mr. Fox would go over well with "co-workers, future employers, clients (for business owners) etc." ???
ReplyDeleteQuite frankly, neither do I.
By signing your name to a Letter to the Editor--which is of course transparency required in any bricks and mortar newspaper--you allow readers to judge your credibility.
If you are a friend and neighbor of Mr. Fox, you have somewhat less credibility, because most people consider that a conflict of interest.