tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post6146201649800501635..comments2023-10-17T22:56:42.784-04:00Comments on Only in The Republic of Amherst: They HAD a SecretLarry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-45507030872820049212011-04-09T19:10:47.006-04:002011-04-09T19:10:47.006-04:00Stephanie must cringe every time she sees that pho...Stephanie must cringe every time she sees that photo.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-80989899376109525402011-04-09T19:07:21.242-04:002011-04-09T19:07:21.242-04:00Well it seems that Amherst and Charlie Sheen do ha...Well it seems that Amherst and Charlie Sheen do have something in common after all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-17922070215339460252011-04-09T06:34:23.303-04:002011-04-09T06:34:23.303-04:00Apart from the rhetoric about why Shaffer left,
...Apart from the rhetoric about why Shaffer left, <br /><br />(which is usually negotiated, and customary so as give the former employee a clean slate in order to help them land employment elsewhere,) <br /><br />it is common in the private sector to offer a former employee whose position is downsized 2 weeks pay, plus 2 weeks for each year served, plus a promise not to challenge their unemployment insurance claim, in return for a liability release (aka cannot sue got damages.) .<br /><br />So in Shaffer's case, 10 weeks pay would be a market rate for golden parachute. <br /><br />Now, that is private sector but public would be roughly similar. <br /><br />Was he dating a subordinate? If not the marital situation likely had no bearing on his job loss.<br /><br />It looks as through the Select Board wanted him to go. Too bad we can't learn the main drivers of their decision, which seems relevant to the public in a democracy. <br /><br />Great bit of journalism research Larry, and fairly written as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-18969362160343495022011-04-08T14:28:21.065-04:002011-04-08T14:28:21.065-04:00I gotta wonder if there was a MCAD sexual harassme...I gotta wonder if there was a MCAD sexual harassment complaint involved? If this was the quiet settlement of that -- and I do believe that MCAD complaint filings are public info -- we at least knew about the Price family's filing against the SHSD....<br /><br />Why would an administrative assistant vanish off the face of the earth? And with the extended unemployment, is she <b><i>still</i></b> collecting it -- remember that the town gets billed for that, too....<br /><br />(Seriously, an employer has to pay part of the unemployment or gets charged a higher rate or something -- it costs the employer.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-43175898686325512212011-04-08T13:11:12.594-04:002011-04-08T13:11:12.594-04:00We've made some expensive mistakes in recent y...We've made some expensive mistakes in recent years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-18642034706135310952011-04-08T12:09:55.795-04:002011-04-08T12:09:55.795-04:00"And the price of a Library Assistant or Park..."And the price of a Library Assistant or Parking Enforcement officer to pay off his administrative assistant." THANK YOU for the perspective!!<br /><br />What was the cost of the three extra personal days given to the professional staff for Shaffer's last hurrah? <br /><br />Larry, where's your public records fees bucket? I'll chip in a buck. <br /><br />You do know that sunlight kills most molds, right?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-75672553896437688682011-04-08T10:05:35.765-04:002011-04-08T10:05:35.765-04:00So speaking of the town manager's office, John...So speaking of the town manager's office, John Musante seems like a good guy, however, there is one thing that has been bothering me about his compensation package ever since he started as town manager. His compensation package included the town paying for his participation in a program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. The cost of this perk was never revealed publicly, at least not that I found. From the language in the articles I read, it wasn't clear if this program was a degree program, a one-day course, or something in-between. Regardless, even short seminar series at the Harvard KSG can run into the thousands of dollars. Tax payers deserve to know what funding Mr. Musante's further education is costing them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-9168704514325095572011-04-08T09:18:25.063-04:002011-04-08T09:18:25.063-04:00Why is this a surprise or a secret? If Shaffer ha...Why is this a surprise or a secret? If Shaffer had not been paid off, he wouldn't have announced his sudden "retirement" on the day of his performance review and then immediately been in the running for other jobs? Wasn't a payoff obvious?<br /><br />Thank you Larry for going beyond to pursue the public records case and actually proving it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-17502096971682192492011-04-08T09:09:12.198-04:002011-04-08T09:09:12.198-04:00Couple hundred grand just in the past five years.
...Couple hundred grand just in the past five years.<br /><br />This public documents request cost me $54 so to compare us Amherst all the other 350+ municipalities in Massachusetts (and since I"m sure they ALL sweep this kind of things under the rug so it would require a Public Documents request to get the records)would get a tad expensive.<br /><br />Interestingly enough the only question asked of me by the Gazette reporter was along that line: <br /><br />Hey Larry - <br /><br />Interesting commentary related to your public records request. Jane Doe certainly did well for herself. As a community watchdog, do you have<br />concerns about her severance package, or is that standard operating procedure for a community like Amherst? <br /><br />If you do have concerns, could you<br />elaborate. Thanks!<br /><br />Scott<br /><br />Hey Scott,<br /><br />I had great concerns precisely because I do not wish for Amherst to become a community where severance packages like these (hers and Shaffer's) become "standard operating procedure." And the more people who know about these backroom deals, the less likely they are to happen again. Sunlight is the ultimate antiseptic.<br /><br />The Select Board used a lot of taxpayer money (in tight financial times) to sweep a problem under the rug. The people have a right to know. And that of course, is our job.<br />LarryLarry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-40985223125606832672011-04-08T09:03:05.964-04:002011-04-08T09:03:05.964-04:00I hope you're keeping track of all these expen...I hope you're keeping track of all these expense figures, Larry. They need to be publicized widely whenever the next override comes up for a vote.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-29075447205075013852011-04-08T08:47:55.350-04:002011-04-08T08:47:55.350-04:00So just how much taxpayer money have we spent in r...So just how much taxpayer money have we spent in recent years just to be rid of certain employees?<br /><br />And how does that compare with similar expenditures in other towns and cities?<br /><br />Just asking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-30052730303171141362011-04-08T07:08:45.321-04:002011-04-08T07:08:45.321-04:00And the price of a Library Assistant or Parking En...And the price of a Library Assistant or Parking Enforcement officer to pay off his administrative assistant.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-54418971685112284612011-04-08T07:00:58.423-04:002011-04-08T07:00:58.423-04:00Excuse me, there's more. We had to pay extra t...Excuse me, there's more. We had to pay extra to get rid of THIS Town Manager so we could get the qualified, experienced Town Manager that we could have had originally, but we didn't because Anne and Her Friends perceived John as being Barry DelCastilho's guy and since they detested him, he was out. So we had to pay the equivalent of at least one teacher's salary to be rid of LarryS,so he could have his middle age crisis chasing his dream through Michigan. <br /><br />Unless you have the memory of a fruit fly, this is not digging deep.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-41388287313747341202011-04-08T06:56:30.729-04:002011-04-08T06:56:30.729-04:00What do you wanna bet they spend hours talking abo...What do you wanna bet they spend hours talking about backyard chicken coops?Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-65236596677990323672011-04-08T06:51:45.503-04:002011-04-08T06:51:45.503-04:00We don't have to dig deep: we had a horndog To...We don't have to dig deep: we had a horndog Town Manager that we had to pay extra to get rid of, and a dysfunctional system of government that's ready to deal with all the problems of the 19th century. No need to bring the Towers into it.<br /><br />The dysfunctional part will be on display once again this spring.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-67526751770422019732011-04-07T18:22:44.996-04:002011-04-07T18:22:44.996-04:00Yeah, hush money will do that. Too bad it's t...Yeah, hush money will do that. Too bad it's taxpayer money.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-67414815058516342522011-04-07T17:50:14.989-04:002011-04-07T17:50:14.989-04:00..... And George Bush pushed the detonator switch ........ And George Bush pushed the detonator switch to bring the towers down. Or was that Ms. Awad too? You folks really are having to dig deep for anything juicy to talk about these days aren't you? Another sign that town government is chugging along nicely. (Thanks in no part to all those married town meeting members, I'm sure.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-73453781967042059482011-04-07T14:44:02.505-04:002011-04-07T14:44:02.505-04:00Come on Larry. Show them.
This is justice.
...Come on Larry. Show them.<br /><br /><br /><br />This is justice.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />15 grand ?!!?<br /><br /><br /><br />ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????????????Roach Patrolnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-79259646721310956892011-04-07T13:45:41.207-04:002011-04-07T13:45:41.207-04:00Well, if you want to peel the onion, I would look ...Well, if you want to peel the onion, I would look into the NIH grant that Ashby is the PI (Primary Investigator) of -- and see what other names show up on the NIH grantee paperwork that she has to file. <br /><br />Who has been paid out of it -- I genuinely don't know and politically can not inquire, but it would be interesting. <br /><br />And the other question is how UM can have her as the PI of a grant if she is no longer a UM employee...<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow">http://grants.nih.gov/grants/managing_awards.htm</a><br /><br />Larry, this could well be serious journalism on the level of what Matt Drudge did with Clinton.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-17791102084058017972011-04-07T12:34:50.457-04:002011-04-07T12:34:50.457-04:00Well Brian, I am inclined - when in doubt - to see...Well Brian, I am inclined - when in doubt - to see what <b><i>FIRE</i></b> has to say about a college and Central Michigan very much is on their radar. <a rel="nofollow">http://thefire.org/spotlight/schools/785</a><br /><br />Seems that in October of 2001, "students were ordered by university administrators to remove patriotic posters and the American flag from their dormitory. The students were told that these items were “offensive.”"<br /><br />Now where have we heard that before?!?!?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-32597893316790355502011-04-07T12:29:59.539-04:002011-04-07T12:29:59.539-04:00How many layers does this onion have?How many layers does this onion have?Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-33479640361189256572011-04-07T12:24:21.545-04:002011-04-07T12:24:21.545-04:00Call it a hunch, but the word "remains intere...Call it a hunch, but the word "remains interested" implies that she was doing it while here at UMass...<br /><br /><i>"She remains interested in applying this basic research to improve reading instruction in the primary grades and continues to consult with educators and parents interested in preventing early reading failure."</i><br /><br />http://www.cmich.edu/chsbs/x18383.xmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-89056514012186575132011-04-07T12:19:37.132-04:002011-04-07T12:19:37.132-04:00Larry, it gets better - and I am waiting for Maria...Larry, it gets better - and I am waiting for Maria G to get dragged into this because <b><i>Ashby was/is a SPED researcher.</i></b> In particular, apparently still a PI in an EEG study involving brain waves and reading <a rel="nofollow">http://www.psych.umass.edu/eeglab/ongoing_research/</a><br />which is related to children<br /><a rel="nofollow">http://www.psych.umass.edu/eeglab/publications_and_presentations/</a><br /><br /><i>Jane Ashby, "The nature of phonological representation in reading: Evidence from eye movements and event-related potentials" (January 1, 2006). Electronic Doctoral Dissertations for UMass Amherst. Paper AAI3215898.<a rel="nofollow"><br />http://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3215898 </a></i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-60221400478731968742011-04-07T11:41:42.710-04:002011-04-07T11:41:42.710-04:00"The school bus incident was an accident. How..."The school bus incident was an accident. How on earth could the driver see a 2 year old running towards the bus. Shameful that you brought that up. I'm sure the bus driver suffers over that incident every waking moment. Yes, you are a roach."<br /><br /><br />Oh, Bob's not suffering. Trust me. He was asking to drive the day he came back to work. This is a monster we're talking about, fool.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-17071088714950009162011-04-07T08:13:20.725-04:002011-04-07T08:13:20.725-04:00Nothing good I can think of.
Only makes me happie...Nothing good I can think of.<br /><br />Only makes me happier I took her out (metaphorically speaking of course.)Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com