Above the law?

UPDATE: 2:30 PM Now my sources are telling me that they switched back their Homestead to Amherst after this matter became public last week. Hmmm...But they still have to explain the matter of the mortgage with Florence Savings Bank that clearly states they will reside in the home in South Hadley by June 10. Or maybe the will remortgage by then.

Request to remove Amherst Town Official for residency violation
To: ago@state.ma.us

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
May 20, 2008

Dear Attorney General Coakley,

According to the Amherst Town Government Act,
“A town meeting member ex officio or elected town meeting member who removes from the town shall cease to be a town meeting member.”

On April 10’Th, after winning election to Amherst Town Meeting on April 1’st, Robie Hubley signed a Declaration of Homestead on a house located at 4 Jewett Lane, South Hadley.

The notarized legal document clearly states: “I own and am possessed and occupy said premises as a residence and homestead under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 188.”

According to the Secretary of State’s office: “A Homestead can be declared only on an applicant’s ‘principal residence’. A person can have more than one residence but the statute only allows the protection on one’s legal domicile.”

On Monday, May 12 a Town Meeting member made a “point of order” over this residency issue and after a very brief discussion Moderator Harrison Gregg squelched debate with the terse statement “That’s all we’ll deal with that at this meeting.”

Last night (May 19’th) Mr. Hubley again attended Amherst Town Meeting, sat in the member’s section and participated in a Tally Vote on a Warrant Article.

Please consider this a formal application for the Office of the Attorney General to initiate a ‘quo warranto procedure’ to remove Mr. Hubley from Amherst public office due to this residency violation.

Amherst voters in Precinct Nine have been and continue to be deprived of a representative who resides in their own District, one who shares the same experiences and possess a vested interest in that neighborhood.

The public interest requires a prompt resolution of this matter.

Sincerely Yours,


Larry Kelley
460 West St
Amherst, Ma 01002
Amherst Town Meeting Precinct 5
Amherst Redevelopment Authority

A matter of respect

You may not want to click to enlarge

Child pornography laws strictly forbid the publishing of sexual explicit photos (or even suggestions thereof) but it’s perfectly fine for the Daily Hampshire Gazette to publish this stark Front Page photo showing the remains of a child who suffered a violent death?

There were other--less shocking--ways to illustrate this terrible tragedy in China.

Books or Balls (as in golf)? Only in Amherst!

Amherst Bully (for them) article

Sent: Mon, 19 May 2008 11:11 am
Subject: A chance to keep the Jones Library open on Mondays!

Town Meeting members have demonstrated how important the Jones Library is for our community. That doesn't mean we always agree about the right method for funding the library or the right venue for making changes to the budget.Here is an opportunity for all of you who love the Jones Library to keep the library open on Mondays. An anonymous donor has offered to match any $20 dollar gift with a $10 match. For any of you can afford it, please show your support for the Jones Library, and stop by the library with your donation!

Thanks,

Julia R

Almost Gone

Get out of Dodge

So Ms. Awad told a reporter she was going on vacation to Cape Cod. But why would you leave on a Wednesday and be photographed (by a crazy stalker blogger sitting comfortably in his car rather than hiding in the bushes) on early Friday afternoon at your new estate in South Hadley?

Morning in America

Yeah, I know...

Aftershock. It registered 5.5 on the Richter scale as opposed to the original 7.9 monster that has left 5 million Chinese homeless and perhaps 50,000 dead--all too many of them children.

I talked to my adoption agency guru late this afternoon (based in Manhattan) and she reported that they have a small office in Nanjing, located on the 16'th floor of a highriser, 700 miles from the epicenter of the original quake . The building actually swayed. Kind of like our World Trade Center North or South Tower absorbing the initial blow of an incoming commercial aircraft.

Jada, located only about 150 miles from ground zero, is fine. But: so very, very many are not.

Guess who?

Click to enlarge (looks like Ms. Awad to me)

Okay, if you had purchased a new home in South Hadley strictly as an investment to rent out, would you be doing gardening in the rain on a Friday afternoon during lunch hour?
Gazette Reporters take from a long time ago
So how sagacious is Mary Carey????: “I could even envision Awad leaving the board before her term is up in 2009” A-freaken-Men!

A smoking gun

Click to read

Soooooo…According the notarized Homestead Declaration he willingly signed, Mr. Hubley is now and has been a citizen of South Hadley since April 10’th AND according to the Mortgage covenant with Florence Savings Bank his spouse, Anne Awad, WILL BE or HAS TO BE (see Clause 6: Occupancy) a citizen of South Hadley two months after the signing date (note initials at bottom of each page) or by this coming June 10’th…just in time for the Amherst Select Board to add her open seat to the September 16 primary election.

Just Go! (I like my headline better)

You know the drill: click to enlarge (yeah, pretty wimpy--but better than nothing)

Good Omen?

Click to enlarge
9:35 PM Amherst Town Meeting. Note empty chair (all night) behind "Anne Awad" name tag. Yeah I was tempted to sneak up and add "Former Czar" in magic marker, but I like to be subtle. (Note pensive Rodan pose of Town Manager on far left.)
UPDATE: 11:00 AM: Two Select-persons report they have no idea why Ms. Awad was MIA last night (but then, she never tells them anything.)

Home is where the heart is...

Click to enlarge

Or where you sign a legal document saying it is (notarized no less). At the very least, as far as being an Amherst town official is concerned, Mr. Hubley is toast.

And when the Amherst Bulletin editorial comes out later today, Ms. Awad will be scrambled eggs.

Suffering knows no bounds

We’re confident Jada is fine as her orphanage is in South West China, about 150 miles from ground zero. But the reports coming out are simply devastating. An entire Middle School (not much smaller than Amherst’s--and I will be thinking that as I enter it tonight for Town Meeting) instantly collapses entombing 900 kids.

The People’s Republic of China can mobilize government employees en mass like no nation on earth. And yet, confronted with nature’s wrath, they are powerless.

Note to terrorists: no mater what your diabolical depraved minds conjure up, you are no match for Mother Nature.

And now, the end is near...

And she better get used to it. Anybody with an issue they feel strongly about (and in Amherst that about describes EVERYBODY) where the Select board votes 3-2 and Anne Awad is the deciding vote, will be sorely tempted to take the matter to court.
UPDATE: Wednesday morning:

In a message dated 5/13/08 10:01:01 PM, Amherst AC writes:
To: Town Manager, Larry Shaffer
From: Larry Kelley, Amherst Town Meeting
5/13/08
Could I please get the written opinion of the town attorney (as mentioned on the floor of Town Meeting on Monday night) concerning Select board member Anne Awad buying a home in South Hadley with her husband declaring it a Homestead Estate and the legality of them staying on as Amherst town officials?

Thanks,
Larry Kelley

In a message dated 5/14/08 8:43:03 AM, ShafferL@amherstma.gov writes:
Larry,
There is no written opinion on that topic. I asked for the Town Counsel’s opinion on residency verbally and received the reply verbally.

Larry Shaffer


In a message dated 5/14/08 8:53:31 AM, Amherst AC writes:
Hey Larry,
Thanks, I kinda figured that.
Larry

One too many lemons

In typical Amherst Town Meeting penny wise pound foolish mode last night the ageing-into-senility legislative body voted down $11,000 allow the Jones Library to open on Monday’s next year—you know the institution with a great Kids Room and extensive Special Collections with anything and everything pertaining to Miss Emily, the Belle of Amherst.

That argument took about an hour. But when the $1.2 million Capital Equipment article quickly followed with the $22,000 buried in it for a lawn mower at our expensive White Elephant Golf Course, hardly a fiscal conservative could be found.

If the Town Mangler had taken the privatization offer from Niblick Management last year the town would be guaranteed a check for $30,000 without any worries about the weather or expensive landscaping equipment, two-thirds of which is beyond its rated lifespan.

Thus, instead of investing an extra $22,000 now into a lawnmower, that money would be available for something like THE LIBRARY, with enough left for The People’s Republic to finance its Protest Parade next July 4’th.

Only in Amherst (or perhaps South Hadley).

Behold...

If you live in the circulation area of the weekly Amherst Bulletin and also peruse the Daily Hampshire Gazette, obviously you know that Amherst news appearing in the Monday or Tuesday Gazette is simply reprinted word-for-word (except maybe the headline) in the end of the week Amherst Bulletin.

About a year or two ago, however, that started to improve. The Bulletin follow-up article would have a tad more detail. The most recent edition the changes and additions were nothing if not extraordinary: the headline, lead, closing and almost everything in between.

I am of course referring to the news story about Select board member—and former Czar-- Anne Awad, once the most powerful politician in Amherst, buying an expensive new home in neighboring South Hadley, where our former Town Manager and School Superintendent have also found employment.

Actually I had the tidbit a few days before the Gazette, but was so preoccupied with the 7/4 Parade issues that I did not get around to publishing it. The Gazette exposed it with decent placement (considering they relied on legal notices that appeared in their publication it is not the kind of thing that should win them a Pulitzer).

But of course they only did the who, what, when, where, why routine. I, on the other hand, reminded readers of Ms. Awad’s deception when courting and marrying fellow board member Robie Hubley or her continual disrespect towards anything patriotic—especially the flag or 4’Th of July (A vendetta that garnered her citation from the District Attorney’s office for Open Meeting Law violations).

A couple of my readers jumped in with additional revelations noting her condo is listed for sale, and that her husband had filed a Homestead Act that essentially guarantees they are moving from Amherst (state law dictates if one person in the marriage files such a motion they do it in the names of both).

The front page Bulletin article published the end of the week incorporated all those deliciously devastating details with a sub-headline highlighting their importance.

Now if only the Bully can summon the chutzpa to publish an editorial demanding Awad step down from her Select Board position…

Bully article

Happy Mothers Day

To women (or womyn) all over the world—especially those who have sons or daughters currently crouching in harms way.

Evening in America

Afternoon in America

To protect the mission

It is with deepest regret that I must resign my position with the Amherst July 4’Th Parade Committee effective immediately.

Working with fellow volunteers these past seven years has been an honor and a pleasure. I have decided however that my, perhaps overly, protective nature simply will not allow me to cease and desist defending our dream: A celebration to make Rockwell proud.

I will of course attend this year’s event and I’m confident from all indications that it will be our (I mean your) best one yet.

And I’m particularly proud that my new baby daughter, Jada, will—just in time--have arrived from The People’s Republic of China; and one of her first experiences will be a good-old-fashioned American July 4’th Parade!

May you continue for many, many years to come.

Sincerely Yours,

Larry J Kelley

cc: Amherst July 4’Th Parade Committee, Media


################################################
Umass Daily Collegian Front Page May 8, 2008 (only 2 weeks later):

Town Manager Laurence Shaffer says the organization can still get a permit for its own parade on that day, or even collaborate with the town.

"They have put in a request, and there is more than one street," he said. "This is not about preventing their parade, it's about allowing ours. If they have a different street in town or a different time, we will be happy to look at it."

http://amherstjuly4thparade.com/

Note to viewers: No desks or chairs were injured in the making of this film (well, maybe slightly). Since somebody asked the "I'm going to get killed," comment at the very beginning was not Shaffer or Weiss anticipating a pissed off patriot it was me anticipating my wife who expected me home a half-hour earlier.

Flushing!

Something that needs to happen to Amherst's current antiquated form of government.

And speaking of the unelected Town Manager who thinks he’s Boss Hogg, Mayor Daley circa 1968: Last week at a ceremonial tree planting to honor former Assistant Town Manger, and forever DPW chief Stan Ziomek, when called upon to turn a ceremonial space or two of earth the Town Mangler announced he would do it like the DPW. So he made one stab at the ground, dropped the shovel while announcing, “break time!”

Gotta love the cartoon (And if any of them thought it libel they should flunk)
UPDATE: 8:30 AM Mary Carey (acting as Professor) reports that none of the kids thought it libel. There's hope for them kids.

Of course if any of them were a fan of Poe's 'The Purloined letter’ they would realize Mary would not have published the cartoon on her blog if it was libel. Duh!

Hustler (not that I ever read it) got away with publishing a cartoon of a (drunken) Reverend Falwell having sex with his mother in an outhouse. Although former Amherst resident Max Karson was arrested for comments in a classroom a day after the Virginia Tech massacre and recently caused a stir with a satirical column about declaring war on Asians.

Only in Amherst (forum)

Umass Daily Collegian covers the Parade controversy
Typical brain-dead, knee-jerk, uber-liberal response on Masslive.com Amherst forum to the pernicious parade soap opera that keeps marching on and on.

Townie ‘Anne12’ (probably not Anne Awad although I heard that rumor once) started a string by saying Memorial Day is approaching and it’s too bad the Memorial Day parade is not getting the same press as the 7/4 parade, echoing a point I made when hammering the Bulletin editorial that suggests Memorial Day or Veterans Day are less “cherished” than the 4’th of July.

Ryan Willey, who selflessly started “Operation Going Home” where he will honor any local war veteran with a free formal funeral sendoff via his skilled bagpiping, responded:

The worry here is if it ever became an event that was attended then the protesters would want to march. Then the Memorial Day parade would end up just like the 4th of July parade a political pinata hung up for a beating. No thanks keep it small and attended by those who honor and remember.

LloydLoar, detonated an IUD:
So, now do YOU support the War for Lies?

Another frequent female townie ‘Cavemansgirl’ (hey, it’s the internet) responded:

How do you read someone's wish to keep a Memorial Day parade on topic about remembering the fallen, and get out of it that they support the war in Iraq? Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for soldiers of wars stretching back to the dawn of our country. Wanting to keep it protestor-free does not mean that someone is gung-ho about Iraq. Calm down and keep your head about you.

LloydLoar, supposedly a peacenik, countered with the combative: “Having trouble answering the question? Having trouble with things all over the place these days, eh?”

Normally you would brand LloydLoar the quintessential ultra-left wing whacko, who gives liberalism a bad name. But then, look at current Select board Chair, His Lordship Gerry Weiss (or better yet look at the bumper stickers on the back of his car): pushing a town bylaw to handcuff police from enforcing immigration law or pressuring a local chapter of the Boy Scouts to publicly repudiate their national organization's stand on gay scoutmasters in order to use public land to sell Christmas Trees?

And of course encouraging Larry Shaffer, the unelected Boss Hogg Town Mangler, to nationalize the July 4’th Parade without the full Select board input.

Yeah, “normally” is a word not often heard in reference to the People’s Republic of Amherst.
###############################################################
UPDATE: 10:00 PM (yeah I know it ‘s only been 20 minutes since I uploaded but loquacious Loyd just posted a doozy):

5.1.1.2.1. You raise an excellent question.
by LloydLoar, 5/7/08 21:27 ET
Re: Memorial Day Parade... by Anne12, 5/7/08
I'm always ambivalent when facing this issue. Here's a detail or two that troubles me. When I see men my age marching in their Vietnam era uniforms, tears come into my eyes for them and for us all- I'm sad, torn when it comes to celebrating their service because I think we ALL let them down for allowing that action to be so deeply politicized and wrongly prolonged. I'd say that everybody in my age has complex and deeply troubled felings when we see them marching.

Then along comes a Vietnam era jeep with an anti-aircraft gun mounted on the real and I'm reminded how many non-combatant women and children were killed indiscriminately by these weapons.

It's THEN I begin to wonder HOW can we "Support the Troops" when the effort was WRONG, ILLEGAL, DEEPLY DAMAGING TO ALL INVOLVED and the US Crime of our Lifetimes up until the IraqAttack/War for Lies/Endless Occupation.

Lastly, when faced with the Gulf War and returning from Iraq and Afghanistan vets, all I can think of is the HUGE numbers deeply injured by PTSD,the VA debacle unfolding before us,.....

What's to "celebrate"?

A (war) story worth telling

Click to enlarge

How far the mighty have fallen

South Hadley seems to be collecting Amherst’s castoffs: Former School Superintendent Gus Sayer, Town Manager Barry Del Castilho and now Select person (former Czar) Anne Awad.

I find it hard to believe you would spend $310,000 on a new house and then rent it out.

As to whether she legally changes her address and steps down as an Amherst town official because of this relocation, Ms Awad tells the Gazette that she will “let them know.” In other words, none of your damn business!

Ms. Awad carried on a long-standing relationship with Robie Hubley then married him before telling voters--including the time leading up to his election on the Select board she chaired. Hubley paid for it last year when Alisa Brewer trounced him by a two-to-one margin.

So it’s a pretty safe bet she stall for a year, the time remaining in her Select board term, before publicly announcing this important decision.

The Amherst Select board is already struggling with image problems after allowing the Boss Hogg Town Manager to make policy: kicking the Boy Scouts Christmas tree sales off town land, or nationalizing the July 4’th Parade—something Awad tried to do a few years back when she was at the peak of her power.

The Select board, if they wish to remain relevant over the next year, need to call a Special Election and bring aboard a new member vested in the community.

The $12,000 cost of that Special Election is money well spent.

Bully strikes out

Journalism’s #1 cardinal rule is FACTCHECK! The Amherst Bulletin failed miserably that basic concept (yet again) with their editorial Sieg Heiling the People’s Republic of Amherst arrogantly nationalizing the July 4th Parade in 2009.

First and foremost, the ELECTED Amherst Select Board NEVER voted to “back Shaffer on the question” (asserted not once, but twice).

The Boss Hogg, unelected Town Mangler deliberately dictated to the Select Board (like banning Boy Scouts from selling Christmas trees at Kendrick Park next year) his decision: Kill the private committee’s 7/4 Parade and “take over” a prime patriotic holiday Amherst discarded in 1976.

And how dare the Bulletin suggest we “find a better home on a holiday that is not so closely aligned with the cherished principles of free speech and independence.”

A group of affluent white, middle-aged men declare independence from a stodgy monarchy; but it was the ultimate sacrifice of the fledgling military—honored on Veterans Day and Memorial Day—that made it happen.

In addition to retracting the erroneous Select Board vote that NEVER OCCURRED, the Bulletin owes all Veterans an apology for pronouncing July 4’th more “cherished” than Memorial Day or Veterans Day.

Yes indeed, Shaffer’s “stance creates a hundred and one headaches for himself and other town officials before Independence Day rolls around in 2009.”

Amherst is a $65 Million enterprise that is a $1 million or so in the red. Perhaps our highly paid, appointed Town Manager could find better ways of spending his valuable time?

And if Gazette/Bulletin editors can’t find the time to properly research their viewpoints, then perhaps they should spike these editorials altogether.

Why is Northampton different?

Click photos to enlarge.

So I went to the Gay Pride Parade yesterday in Hamp—their 27’Th year. No I’m not Gay--not that there's anything wrong with that, I just love a Parade (and support Gay Rights).

Could not help but notice the lack of anti-war signs, or homophobic signs from some Religious fundamentalist group. And even the 'Raging Grannies' left their anti-war placards home. Also noticed almost a dozen police officers doing traffic detail and I bet the city picked up that cost.
But when one of the 'Raging Granny' spokespersons called me last month inquiring about the Amherst July 4’Th Parade she was ever so quick to announce she was in a wheelchair (Yes, we allow wheelchairs) and equally quick to ask if we allow anti-war signs:

No, you can carry a banner designating your group and sing all the anti-war signs you like (did not even ask if they know the Star Spangled Banner) but no extra signs dealing with politics-be it war, abortion or gay rights.

http://amherstjuly4thparade.com/

After the Pride Parade I took my darling daughter Kira to the Amherst Common School Carnival, where I also noted a lack of anti-war protesters or politics of any kind.

And last year Kira proudly participated in the other July 4’Th Amherst (Bike) Parade in South Amherst for kids that has been happening for over 100 years: also no war protestors.

Jada

So when I wrote that teaser yesterday about a major breaking story coming up later in the afternoon I had no idea it would be purely personal:

After waiting almost three years for the phone to ring heralding good news from China, the call, unexpectedly, came.

On Wednesday I made the mistake of going to The Rumor Queen, a blog for waiting parents and read reports/rumors suggesting our call would not come for another three months.
http://chinaadopttalk.com/

Then I made the BIG mistake of reading the anguished comments (she had 83 that day) from parents in the same slow boat as me. Heartbreaking. And yeah, I had Town Meeting—the ultimate torture--later that night.

But somehow we managed to make this month’s cutoff; just how I have no idea, and--for once in my life—I’m sure not going to ask questions. We will travel in June before the Olympics rush, stay two weeks, and then return home--thus increasing the population of Amherst by one (from one People's Republic to another).
######################################################

Oh yeah, the major breaking news event I had in mind did occur but I can’t talk about it just yet. Suffice it to say, it will bring a swift conclusion to Amherst’s embarrassing Parade fiasco
Amherst July 4'th Parade page
UPDATE: 11:30 AM
Somebody just called on his cell as he was driving through Hamp and wondered if the Gay Pride Parade would allow protesters to march with anti-gay sentiment? Hmm...
1'st Amendment Tolerance in NoHo

You can run but you can't hide

The Town Mangler should really consider a medical checkup…he is hard of hearing. In today’s Gazette he’s quoted: “Excluding certain signage is inherently political.” Shafter said.

Hmmm…what we’ve been saying since Day One is that ALL political signage is relegated to the sidelines on that day, for that brief hour. Meaning NOT JUST ANTI-WAR SIGNS. Also Gay Rights, Immigration (note Gazette photo next to 7/4 article today) Gun Control, Abortion, Baby Seals, etc

Meanwhile over at inamherst.com the rats are abandoning ship. His Lordship just posted saying it was not his decision:

The only thing the SB has decided is to hold a longer conversation with the public after Town Meeting ends.And I believe that the entire SB agreed to do this. Despite what appears to be a Weiss/Shaffer decision for the Town to hold a parade, it was entirely a Shaffer decision. The SB has not voted on this matter.

Let's not forget that we got to this point because of an impasse. The path is not permanently closed; it is still under reconstruction. Dialogue can lead to a satisfactory resolution. I'm willing to wade through these postings to look for suggestions that lead to an unblocking of the path... Posted by: Gerry Weiss | May 2, 2008 08:31 AM

Sometimes, you gotta use dynamite for "unblocking the path."
Posted by: Larry Kelley | May 2, 2008 08:48 AM

I will have a MAJOR breaking update later this afternoon.
And yeah, I plan to respond to the Amherst Bulletin editorial in good time. They may want to read Weiss comment above and plan a correction for next week (if, of course, they have any journalistic integrity--which at this point is suspect)

"Gave proof through the night..."

So last night at venerable, archaic, always boring Amherst Town Meeting I asked--now that the town has decided to “take over” the July 4’Th Parade—thus violating that age old adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it," where exactly is our cash strapped municipality going to find the $10,000 required to launch their extravagant Protest Parade?

Actually I think my figures ran anywhere from $10,000 to $90,000 as I pointed out our privately run event at one hour in duration will cost $10,000 this year (and the Committee is all-volunteer) but the People's Republic is planning a nine-hour marathon Parade on July 4, 2009--so that could easily cost nine times more.

The Boss Hogg Town Mangler responded as though I were some pimple-faced Jr. High School student daring to challenge his supreme authority: “All the money will be raised privately,” he said dismissively.

Hmm…Kind of sets the stage for the 250’Th Anniversary Committee coming before Town Meeting later this month to request $25,000 in tax monies for the Anniversary Parade scheduled for September, 2009.

If it’s that easy to privately raise money for a Parade then why not have the LSSE empire raise the $25,000 for the Anniversary Parade; after all, unlike the July 4’Th Parade it only happens once every 250 years!

Springfield Republican Rides to the Rescue Let's hope the AP is having a slow news day.

Our web cite is UP!

"...the bombs bursting in air."

Click to enlarge

UPDATE: 2:42 PM
Just stole this response off of SelectPerson Stephanie's blog. Note to readers: I have reset my settings to allow for 'Anonymous Comments' so please, be nice.


neil said:

Mr. Shaffer is a public servant who has made new policy, with or without consultation with his boss Mr. Weiss. Why can’t the public obtain a copy of his rationale in writing? What are the moral, legal or political justifications and how does he weigh the competing interests of the Parade Committee, protest advocates and other interested parties such as the parade-going public? I ask these questions not as a rhetorical device but because if Mr. Shaffer would provide the rationale, the policy and whether it is grounded in well-reasoned principles could be tested by public review. Certainly most of the work has already been done, it’s just a matter of committing it to paper. The public - those of us who must submit to the policy - await.

The position held by protest advocates is absolute. They claim an absolute right to protest in the Parade Committee’s Independence Day Parade. Neither Mr. Shaffer nor his boss Mr. Weiss disagree. Neither Mr. Shaffer nor Mr. Weiss have asked protest advocates to consider an alternative form or forum for protest on that day. Both Mr. Shaffer and his boss Mr. Weiss require the Parade Committee to concede their free speech and their right of association to the demands of protest advocates.

Select Board members Ms. O’Keefe and Ms. Brewer want town government to discuss and debate the new policy on its merits, to understand Mr. Shaffer’s policy requirements and the reasons for them, to understand the Parade Committee’s purpose and the merit or lack of merit in excluding protest marchers, to understand protest advocates’ demands and to explore how protest advocates’ demands can reasonably and satisfactorily be met. I think Select Board members O’Keefe and Brewer are on the right track and I endorse the transparency and reasoned analysis they advocate. Please, sign me up for more of their style of government.

I was confused by the Select Board meeting minutes. Should I believe Mr. Larry Shaffer’s press release

TOWN OF AMHERST TO ORGANIZE AND CONDUCT JULY 4TH PARADE IN 2009
and Amherst Leisure Services Parade Application for 4/7/9 9AM-5PM

that make it clear the town of Amherst has decided to disenfranchise the Parade Committee because the Parade Committee chooses to not include protest marchers or what Mr. Shaffer said in the Select Board Meeting?


“Mr. Shaffer said that there is still time before the 2009 parade and that he is happy to discuss with the parade committee how the parade might be run, and suggested that they talk about it. He said that the issues involved are very important but that the corrections for those issues are very small, and that he is happy to talk about it and would welcome a solution.”

What Mr. Shaffer means is that he "is happy to discuss with the parade committee how the parade...[must] be run” as a condition for getting the permit to run it on July 4, 2009. For Mr. Shaffer the “issues [separating the town and the Parade Committee] are very small” but he is being coy and he won’t spell it out. I will: Allow the 7/4/9 parade to be used by protest advocates and the town of Amherst will issue the Parade Committee a permit, otherwise the Parade Committee will be denied. I wonder if this condition as a matter of town policy is compelled speech and as such, misuse of authority.

It is clear Mr. Shaffer and his boss Mr. Weiss believe protest advocates are morally, legally or politically right and the Parade Committee are wrong. Mr. Shaffer and his boss Mr. Weiss cannot wrap their heads around the fact the Parade Committee has free speech rights too and that when balancing “competing interests”, a list of good solutions does not include giving the whole baby to one party.

Convinced of their own rectitude, Mr. Shaffer and his boss Mr. Weiss’ believe a conversation with Mr. Joy would rightly be a one-way street: Concede to protest advocates’ demands or the Parade committee will be denied a Parade permit for 7/4/9. Mr. Joy might consider sending Mr. Shaffer and his boss Mr. Weiss court decisions on freedom of speech and right of association. Mr. Joy did one better. He gave Mr. Shaffer and his boss Mr. Weiss a copy of the Amherst 250th Anniversary celebration parade rules.

The Amherst 250th Anniversary celebration parade rules do not allow protest in the parade. And still, neither Shaffer nor Weiss recognize or agree that a parade celebration does not demand the right to protest. A blue ribbon panel of Amherst citizens produced the rules for the Amherst 250th Anniversary celebration parade, not a group of conservative-minded Amherst citizens like those who constitute the Parade Committee.

Here's my best assessment of Mr. Shaffer and his boss Mr. Wiess' official policy:

The Town of Amherst will not issue the Parade Committee a permit to conduct their Independence Day Parade in 2009 unless it consents to concede its right of association.

The Parade Committee's right of association has no authority when balanced against protest advocates right to exercise free speech including protest in the Parade Committee's Independence Day parade as marchers.


Let’s get Mr. Shaffer's policy rationale in writing and go from there.
April 30, 2008 2:35 PM


SelectPerson Stephanie O'Keeffe's Blog:

Public Comment

Kevin Joy of the Amherst July Fourth Parade Committee said that the committee had sought a permit last week to conduct the 2009 July Fourth parade, and were told that the Town had filed a permit to hold a parade on that day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mr. Joy said that the filing of the Town’s permit and the hours therein appeared to be a definitive determination by the Town Manager that the Town would take over that parade and that no other parade would be allowed on that day. He asked that the Town Manager state for the record that the current parade committee would no longer be running the July Fourth parade in 2009.
Mr. Shaffer said that there is still time before the 2009 parade and that he is happy to discuss with the parade committee how the parade might be run, and suggested that they talk about it. He said that the issues involved are very important but that the corrections for those issues are very small, and that he is happy to talk about it and would welcome a solution.
Mr. Joy said that the permit had already been taken out by the Town, and read the last paragraph of the Town Manager’s press release regarding parade plans, and called that “pretty definitive.” Mr. Joy spoke of how long it takes to plan such a parade, suggesting a year to a year and a half.
Mr. Joy showed a document containing three paragraphs of expectations and regulations for parade participants. He said that he had been asked to consult on the Town’s 250th Anniversary celebration parade, and had reluctantly agreed. He said that he received a 13-page document f that parade’s regulations, and read from part of it about marching units being able to carry a banner with only the group’s name and without any corporate sponsorship, that only the parade-approved banner would be allowed and that no additional signs, placards, literature or other messages would be allowed to be shown, distributed or shouted, and so forth. He said there were many pages of such regulations and said that he believed that they were more restrictive on people’s rights than the regulations put forth by the July Fourth parade committee.
Mr. Weiss said that the Select Board would need to determine what role if any it had in the issue, and that it would need to schedule time to do that, probably in June after the conclusion of Town Meeting, if we were to opt to address it as a Select Board.
I said that I thought we should do that and that an open and televised discussion of the issue would be helpful for the public to participate in and watch. Ms. Brewer said that the rules for 250th parade need to be addressed, and that they may have been put together by that committee without knowledge of the July Fourth parade issues.
Mr. Shaffer agreed that the 250th parade rules need to be looked at, and said that as keepers of the public way, that the Select Board certainly has a role in the parade discussion and that it is in the Select Board’s authority to be involved with this issue if it so chooses.
Ms. Awad said that while the Select Board controls the public ways, the Town Manager controls parade permits, and that the Select Board doesn’t control what takes place on the public ways once a permit for their use has been issued. She said she completely supports the Town Manager’s filing for a permit for the 2009 parade. She said she isn’t sure that the Select Board should engage in a public discussion on the issue, unless it does so as a public forum that invites people from both sides to present their concerns and arguments. She said she didn’t think the Select Board should vote or express opinions when receiving those comments.
Ms. Brewer said she wanted consideration of whether or not the Select Board would officially participate in the parade to be part of a future discussion.

Amherst Town Center Saturday night

10:00 pm (still early).
Nahhh, nothing major. A lot of police waiting for something bad to happen can get bored and gravitate towards the least little thing. Next two weekends, they will be more than busy enough...

Dueling Parades

Click to enlarge.

You can tell LSSE Director Linda Chalfant was really enthused about running a July 4'th Parade a few years back:
From: Chalfant, Linda
Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2005 4:45 PM
To: Del Castilho, Barry; Musante, John
Subject: The Parade

I just received two phone calls from Harry Brooks asking if LSSE would
handle the July 4th parade next year. Since he called twice - I told
him:

- my knowledge of parades is nil

- this is an extremely busy time for the department and we struggle to
handle all of the special events that we currently have in addition to
the summer programs

- it is unlikely that we could handle this additional assignment without
adding staff

Linda Chalfant, Director
Amherst Leisure Services and Supplemental Education


Considering the town has not put on a July 4’th Parade in 32 years they are either overly confident, overly ambitious or overly naive.

The Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the largest most famous parades in America and it is all of three to three-and-a-half hours.

But little old Amherst is having their Parade from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm? And how much as that going to cost in hidden police labor? (We currently pay $1,200 for our less than two-hour parade). And note they check off “town crews” for cleanup…just another hidden cost.

A very exclusive Parade

click to enlarge.

So the Amherst 250’th Parade Committee has a 13-page list of rules and regulations concerning the town parade coming up in September 2009 compared to the Amherst July 4 Parade with only one page. They actually asked us not to have a July 4’th Parade that year because they were worried about fund raising and did not want the competition for private donations. Naturally we told them to make like Ben Franklin and go fly a kite.

“Participating Units must have an entertainment value to the viewer consisting of music, drill, choreography, uniforms or dress, floats or giant parade balloons or serve the purpose of being honored by the Parade Committee, or of honoring the objectives of the Parade Committee in presenting the Parade.”

Hmm, I guess the war protesters had better start practicing their act!

“Marching units are to be identified by a sign which contains only the name of the marching unit. Marching units may have no signs (other than their Parade Committee approved identification sigh), banners, placards or handouts, or other messages of any form in the line-of-march, nor may they distribute flyers, handouts or other materials or items. Marching units may not shout slogans or partisan messages, expressing support for any subject not reflecting the stated them of the Parade Committee.”

Hmm, anti-war folks will have to learn how to mime.

“The Amherst 250’th Celebration Parade Committee is trying to present the best quality event possible for the viewers. These Rules are intended to serve that purpose. That is the only reason for them and should be considered—as they are named—“standards”. We seek a quality event in its entirety.”

So I guess it’s okay to restrict folks First Amendment rights--as long as you are striving for a “quality event.”
Liberal Bloggers funny take

To sign or not to sign, THAT is the quesiton

Click to enlarge


Chief Scherpa will sign our application Monday morning, and then it will be up to the Town Mangler...

The 7/4 Parade Committee Strikes Back!

April 24, 2008

Statements made at last night’s Selecboard meeting with town manager Larry Shaffer regarding meeting with the Parade Committee were grossly inaccurate. The entire Parade Committee is shocked that our First Amendment rights apparently are not in equal balance with the other private organizations who put on privately run events in out town such as the Amherst Town Fair, the Taste of Amherst, Extravanganja, etc. The 2008 July 4’th Parade Committee appreciates the outpouring of support following last night’s Selectboard meeting.

The current July 4’th Parade Committee which is made up of private citizens who revived the parade after 26 years, will continue to run the Amherst July 4’th Parade just as other private groups are granted the right to run their own private event on town properties and roadways.

Sincerely,

Amherst July 4 Parade Committee
Springfield Republican Reports

Declaration of War!

UPDATE: 2:45 PM
So yeah, you sagacious types may have noticed the hilarious political cartoon of the Boss Hogg town manager suddenly disappeared for three and a half hours.

Creative artist Kevin Joy received a call on his cell phone with a threatening message suggesting liability because the town manager is “appointed” rather than “elected”.

My attorney just confirmed Shaffer is a “public official” PERIOD—and it doesn’t matter if he’s elected or appointed.

Of course now we’re trying to figure out how this mysterious person got Kevin’s cell phone number. He did call the Town Manager a lot these past few days. Hmmm…
Conservative Canadian Web page picks up the story
Gazette Front Page Article (above the fold no less)
One Town Official's Take

Town of Amherst To Organize And Conduct July 4’th Parade In 2009

A group of local volunteers created the Amherst July Fourth Parade Committee. Since 2002, the private group has done a remarkable job in organizing and conducting a parade to celebrate July 4’th in Amherst. However, there has been controversy over the Committee’s refusal to allow potential parade participants from displaying signs protesting various actions by government. With that in mind, I have repeatedly urged the Parade Committee not to exclude organizations and individuals who wish to use the July 4’th parade as a means to protest certain government action or to advocate for a particular position. I have met frequently with parade organizers to promote the concept that July 4’th is a time that all Americans should celebrate the birth of this nation and the principles of freedom inherent in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill or Rights. In particular, the First Amendment of the Bill or Fights, generally considered to be the most important Article in the Constitution, guarantees freedom of speech with remarkable clarity. How is it that on the nation’s birthday, in Amherst, any American can be denied their constitutional right to freedom of speech on town owned streets during a celebration ostensible devoted to that freedom so denied? I am sorry to report that I have not been able to successfully communicate that irony to the July Fourth Parade Committee.

The Town of Amherst cannot and should not obstruct or prevent a private parade from occurring in Amherst. Consequently, I will not attempt, in any fashion, to prevented the Parade Committee from conduction the July 4’th Parade in 2008. I will continue to encourage communications with the July 4’th Parade Committee in order to achiever the changes that I believer are correctly sought. However, moving forward, I believe the proposed change will correct the problem excluding certain forms of free speech during the July 4’th Parade.

As a result, the Town of Amherst shall sponsor a parade in celebration of Fourth of July, 2009. All groups will be invited to participate, and with the exception of obscenities and hate crimes, freedom of speech will be allowed. The LSSE Department, which is responsible for the fireworks and community events on July 4’th, will be asked to organize and manage the July 4’th Parade, also. A July 4’th Parade Committee shall be formed by the town to assist in managing the many details associated with such an event.

For Questions:
Shafferl@amherstma.gov
413-259-3002

And the answer is...

9:55 pm. In a stunning, despicable, display of Political Correctness (Only in) Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer singlehandedly decided to “Take Over” the July 4’th Parade in 2009.
######################################################
Town Manager Report! 9:17 (only 12 minutes behind schedule):

Shaffer reads a press release about the Parade. Yeah, yeah, yeah we’re “remarkable”--but he quickly gets to “however”...

“First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech." The July 4’th Parade Committee doesn’t get the irony of this free speech situation. I will not mess with them this year (no rescinding their permit or pulling town apparatus). But here come another “however”:

The town will sponsor a July 4’th Parade in 2009. LSSE (the recreation empire) who runs the Fireworks will also run the Parade. And we will exclude competition by refusing a permit for any private group wishing to run an old fashioned non-political Parade.

All individuals should be allowed to carry whatever they want with the exception of hate crimes or obscenity.

Nice try. How the hell are you going to enforce that Mr. Shaffer? If the town runs the Parade then the KKK can march and anti-war zealots can march with a F_CK Bush sign... whatever. As a matter of fact, I may march in their parade with a sign saying “F_CK Shaffer.

Selectperson Alisa Brewer reads our statement sent to the board and Shaffer last week.

9: 30pm Select Person O’Keeffe calls Shaffer on his framing it as a First Amendment issue. It’s not. The Parade Committee has made many attempts at compromise…what has the town done?? Where’s the compromise on the town part?

Select Person Brewer asks about “FUNDING” the town parade???? You know the $15,000 it will cost to put on a professional production with PAID staff doing the organizing.

Ms. Brewer also mentions how Shaffer has come off as "bullying" the Parade Committee with threats. (Shaffer doesn't respond)

Weiss jumps in and says he never saw it as bullying. He also says he sees it as a 'Free Speech' issue. And finds it inappropriate for the town to participate.

The rookie Stein mumbles something about folks should have the right to protest Iraq and Awad talks about the committee yanking folks from the Parade who were carrying signs.

So if it had come to a vote it would have been 3-2 with His Lordship Weiss, former Czar Awad and rookie Stein voting to support Boss Hogg's draconian measure and O'Keeffe and Brewer opposing.

Bad Boy, Bad Boy...what's he gonna do?

So we know the Town Manager has no respect for the sixty year tradition of local Boy Scouts selling Christmas trees in town center; but will he also destroy the tradition of town participation in the most sacred of American holidays—the 4’th of July?

Since the Gazette heavily hyped the “Town Manager Report” to the Select Board tonight at 9:05 pm with a banner headline this morning reading “Shaffer to speak on parade-sign policy tonight”, it’s a safe bet we will know the answer by around 9:20 pm.

For you play-by-play types here are the options:

He plays the ‘Nuclear Option’ and pulls our permit.
He plays the ‘Shock and Awe Option’ and pulls town vehicles.
He plays the ‘Hippocratic Oath Option’ and does nothing.
He plays the ‘Sword of Damocles Option’ and recommends the Select board form a Committee to take over the July 4’th Parade (merging with the Fireworks that the town now runs), either as early as this year or certainly the next.

Tune in tonight as I will attend the meeting not as a July 4’th Parade Committee member but as a Citizen Blogger.

All Hail Purple and White!

So yeah, I suppose when you have $1.7 Billion in reserves--$100 million of that coming in over the past six months from only two donors--you can afford to repaint other peoples property with your school colors.

A graduation tradition, I’m told, for the past thirty years, as this railroad underpass is less than a stone’s throw from Amherst College’s side entrance.

A Moon for the Misbegotten

High School Announcements?

Scheduled for the morning of 4/28 at (Only in) Amherst Regional High School:

"I pretend that because my dad is a minister, I CAN'T be gay. But then I can't keep my boyfriend." Frank Warren's PostSecret project invites people to write a secret on a postcard, decorate it, and return it to him anonymously. To observe this year's LGBT Pride Week, we are doing our own PostSecret project this week at ARHS. Please take an index card during lunch, decorate it, and write a secret about your personal relationship to LGBT issues and queer culture. We'll have details on where you can deposit your card tomorrow.

Of course this commercial doesn’t quite match the mid-January 'Morning Announcement':

* VAGINA! Vagina. Va. Gi. Na. Get used to saying it, because The Vagina Monologues is coming to the high school stage, Friday, February 15th! Mark your calendars, and get ready to become part of the worldwide phenomenon.

Now if they could just put these to music, we would have “High School Musical 3”. To Hell with Disney!

Patriots Day. (Yeah, even in Amherst)

Even more revelry

1:30 AM. Just another warm Saturday Spring late night in Amherst. About a hundred revelers—most of whom just stumbled out of nearby bars—hang out in front of Antonio’s Pizza by the slice while an Amherst PD Mountain Bike officer keeps a close eye.

An hour earlier I watched three officers shut down a block party at notorious Hobart Lane that collectively included about 500 partygoers.

Captain Scott Livingstone pointed his flashlight with one hand and his trigger finger of the other hand and barked to a group of 25 or so “Go somewhere else!” And they sheepishly slinked away.

"What's in the cup, Missy!" he demanded from another young women gingerly holding a large plastic red cup that she quickly put down on the sidewalk in an upright postion and scampered off, her high heels clickety clicking. Livingstone swiftly closed the distance and swung his locked right leg in a perfect arc catching the cup at the very top, neatly knocking it horizontal (without getting any of the foamy contents on himself.)

Texas Rangers got nothin up on Amherst PD!

Great Example!

Click to enlarge Yeah, that's a lighter in her right hand and a bong in her left, she took a big hit, held it for 10-15 seconds and exhaled a dark cloud of smoke that smelled like--you guessed it--marijuana, then passed the pipe to the girl on her left, who repeated the drill.

So these kids are not old enough to smoke cigarettes, drink beer, see an R-rated movie (without an adult guardian) but yet here they are, in Amherst Town Center, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon--smoking pot. You have to wonder if the Amherst Town Manager would not be surprised--or bother him--that these kiddies are enjoying the herb at an event like 'Extravaganja'. Only in the People's Republic!
He's railing against Lord Jeff Amherst, calling him a "murderer". So we give these folks free use of the Town Common, don't charge them the extra $1,000 in police labor required to handle such a crowd and yet they stack manure on the town name. That's gratitude for ya!

On the road again (just can't wait)

Last night we had the best attended, longest and most contentious Amherst July 4 Parade Committee meeting in our seven year existence.

And in the end we decided to continue doing as we have always done. Put on a July 4’th Parade in the grand tradition extending back over 200 years to celebrate the birth of the greatest nation on earth (warts and all)

So bring your children, bring your flags and bring your good cheer. And leave home the slogans about war, abortion, Tibet, immigration, marijuana, gay marriage, etc.

Whatever the Town Manager decides to do about allowing Amherst police and fire apparatus to participate in the Amherst July 4’th Parade is his decision and he will have to live with it.

UPDATE: 11:22 pm. Just read Stephanie O'Keeffe Select person blog (needed something to help me sleep) and I notice the Select Board agenda for Wednesday (Monday is a Holiday for some folks) has the following

9:05 Town Manager Report – Fourth of July Committee Mr. Shaffer

Blue Whale in Amherst town center

No Wonder he's smiling...

Umass Daily Collegian
4/16/08

Larry Shaffer does think Amherst is more accepting of an event celebrating an illegal substance than other towns would be.

"Amherst does have an independent streak," he said. "We really don't want to be in anyone else's business. I see it as a matter of personal preference."

Shaffer also mentioned that marijuana is nothing new to him, and it wouldn't surprise - or bother - him to see someone enjoying the herb at an event like Extravaganja.


"Young people may find it hard to believe, but there was marijuana a long time ago," he said.

A sad anniversary

Nothing demonstrates the mood of a somber nation like the American flag at half-staff.


My post from one year ago. (Yes, this photo--the BIG flag at Big Y in Amherst--is my signature photo)

Declaration of Independence!

Mr. Laurence Shaffer, Amherst Town Manager
$ Boltwood Ave
Amherst, Ma 01002
April 15, 2008

Dear Mr. Shaffer:

For the past 6 years a loyal, devoted and diverse group of Amherst residents have worked tirelessly on a volunteer basis to conduct the Amherst 4’th of July Parade.

The Parade Committee has raised all the funds (thousand of dollars per year) to bring this event to Amherst citizens while dealing with swords in our side. The Parade Committee never anticipated that such a small but politically vocal group could influence the major policy board of our town in regards to our parade that was initially reborn in 2002 to honor veterans, active duty military, fire, police and other public safety personnel who worked tirelessly in the wake of 9/11.

In good faith, the Parade Committee has held 3 open forums for people to vent their concerns regarding any issues with the parade. In addition we’ve had 3 sit down meeting with you regarding inclusiveness in the parade.

We’ve always been inclusive to all who have wanted to celebrate the birth of our nation. What we never anticipated or wanted was offensive signage that would not be appropriate to be viewed by children or not in the festive spirit of the parade. I’ve said numerous times to Parade Committee members and the media that this is a parade and not a protest.

For the past 2 years the Parade Committee has been held hostage with the threat of pulling police and fire apparatus form our town parade. We the Parade Committee have done a great job and I’m proud to serve with this group of people who have successfully run this event for the town. We fell at this time that we’ve exhausted all resources for conversation and dialogue.

If you wish to pull public safety apparatus out of the parade, that is your prerogative. We have already been notified by public safety personnel for our town that they would march as a union if denied their apparatus.

In addition the Parade Committee has received calls from as far away as New York City that public safety personnel would not be allowed to march that they would augment any public safety contingents.

For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been.”

Respectfully Yours,


Kevin P. Joy
Amherst July 4’th Parade Committee Chair
Cc: Amherst Select Board

Colors of Spring