Summer breeze, made me feel fine

Almost Gone

Those darn Professors!

UPDATE: (3:00 PM) So one of the Anon's comments got me thinking and I need to link to a Republican article so it is easier to do as an update rather than in comments:

Well, Anon (and I get the impression you were on the receiving end of that originalemail—so why the Hell did you not tip me?)…I’m a tad bummed that the good chaplain had a SOM (School of Management) email address—but hey, even pro business folks could use salvation.

And the good chaplain teaches about homelessness, eh? I did note another interesting article in today’s Republican (by veteran reporter Mike Plaisance) about getting out the homeless vote. And why do I get the impression that most of them would end up voting the Democratic slate?

Let em eat cake--as long as they vote Democratic

UPDATE: 3:15 PM. So my friends at the Umass Republican Club just joined the party:

From: "UMass Republican Club"
Subject: Obama forces derailed at UMass Amherst
Date: September 23, 2008 2:50:11 PM EDT

Thanks to quick maneuvering and relentless media pressure from the Massachusetts Republican Party and the UMass Amherst Republican Club, UMass Amherst has become one campus where university-sanctioned political bias will not go unanswered.

We direct your attention to the following news story and we encourage you to contact our Chancellor (chancellor@umass.edu) or University President (presidentwilson@umassp.edu) with your inquiries.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_09_23_UMass_chaplain_fails_in_effort_to_boost_Barack_Obama_s_chances/

The story has also received front-page attention from the influential Drudge Report: http://www.drudgereport.com

Thank you,

Brad DeFlumeri

Vice President, UMass Amherst Republican Club

(Original Post 10:00 PM, 9/22/08) So I guess nobody will be shocked by the revelation that an unnamed Umass History professor would reward students with two credits for hustling in New Hampshire for the new messiah, Democrat Barack Obama.

Funny, you never hear these sleazy PC missteps attributed to the Isenberg School of Management or those brainy Polymer Science and Engineering folks.

On Sunday night (so it was not on company time) a bevy of writers with Umass connections—most notably Pulitzer Prize winner Madeleine Blais now teaching in the Journalism Department; and as described in a radio commercial for a local restaurant as the “bad ass Puerto Rican poet” and current professor in the Department of English Martin Espada performed at a fancy wine-and-cheese event at the Hotel Northampton raising $26,000 for Obama.

In Monday’s Daily Hampshire Gazette Ms. Blais, who helped organize the affair, boasted:” We’re going viral," she said. "It's beginning to look like a populist uprising."

Hmmm…if that’s the case--then why are his poll numbers not moving on up?

The Boston Globe Reports (based on AP story)

Speaking of "going viral." Yikes!

An oldy but a goody

And who could forget this display?

Politically active indeed!

Let the sun shine!

So today’s Sunday Republican struck me—journalistically speaking—as a tad schizophrenic. The awesome editorial from Editor in Chief Larry McDermott championed the Open Meeting Law (bureaucratic political nitwits otherwise known as the Boston City Council wants the state legislature to exempt them from OML because they love to do their duty under cover of darkness).

Larry's editorial

Yet in the same edition we also had a story by staff writer Stephanie Barry about a “retreat” of the Springfield School Committee with new Superintendent Alan Ingram and a quorum of that committee.

According to Barry’s article: Member Michael P. Rodgers said after the retreat that the dialogue was long overdue. He also commended Ingram for uniting committee members.

"He has a calming effect," Rodgers said. "A unified School Committee will result in a unified school system."

Sounds to me like a violation of the Open Meeting Law.

Stephanie's story

Chilling effect, indeed. And I thought Amherst officials were whacked.

Down in the Valley

Final loose end

Click to read: note the RETURN ADDRESS 11:45 AM

10:00 AM
I stopped into the Town Clerk's office on the way to the Jones Library where I am at the moment keeping my darling daughters occupied, to inquire if Mr. Hubley resigned his Town Meeting seat yet (I had asked to be informed when it came in--but Public Documents Law does not allow for asking in advance for a document).

Sure enough, Mr. Hubley did indeed resign his seat as of 8/31 (no mention in his resignation letter of stalking, harassment or aliens flying black helicopters).

Going green...or brown

Thursday 10:30 AM

So….Kendrick Park is much too good for the Amherst Pelham Boy Scouts to use for selling Christmas trees—a sixty year tradition—but, the Town Manager allows a patch of weeds, errrr—I mean wheat (maybe he figured they would use it for beer and give him a glass).

Memo to Happy Heads: come harvest your wheat.

And they're off!

Click photo to read

No it doesn’t surprise me that Aaron Hayden would get out the first piece of Select Board campaign literature, arriving at my humble abode yesterday on primary election day that voters seemed not to care about in the least.

What does surprise me—but only a little—is the Registrar of Voters predicting a 90% turnout on November 4! Amherst has always turned out in droves every 4 years for the Presidential election, even though Massachusetts is never in doubt and the highest federal office in the land has no impact on the town.

But come spring, for the annual local election that has everything to do with running our $60+ million operation, we get a 15% turnout. Only in Amherst.

Mixed message

So I’ve given up being concerned that an X-President (or current one) has suddenly died when I spot Amherst College’s majestic flag on Chapel Hill at half-staff.

Last night, coming home from those pesky uptown public meetings with a full moon as a direct backdrop, a steady breeze and powerful illumination from below, Old Glory was a stirring sight indeed—especially in THAT mournful position.

Yet last week on 9/11 Amherst's most prominently placed flag was not at half-staff as ordered by the President of the United States--as opposed to President of the College. Nor was it properly displayed on Memorial Day, December 7, or Peace Officers’ Day (May 15).

I just assumed it was to mark the passing of literary genius David Foster Wallace, an Amherst College graduate and former visiting professor. But according to their Intranet Announcements:

In Memoriam: Stephen L. Clark '75
The Johnson Chapel flag has been lowered to half-staff in memory of Stephen L. Clark '75. Clark, who passed away Thursday, Sept. 11

David Foster Wallace would probably love the irony: Amherst College forgets to fly the flag at half-staff last week on 9/11 to mourn 3,000 Americans; but remembers to do it now in honor of an employee who just passed away…on 9/11.

With all the best intentions

Even in Massachusetts

Preaching to the unconverted

The Amherst Select Board sponsoring an ‘Open Meeting Law’ forum is kind of like allowing the fox to teach hens how to lay eggs. At her reelection victory speech on ACTV in 2006 Anne Awad bragged that her regime is into open government as evidenced by the Select Board sponsorship of the Open Meeting Law seminar. Of course she neglected to mention her violation of that very law less than a year after that seminar.

Let’s hope the Regional School Committee takes notes (the 8 of 9 who voted in favor) concerning a “retreat” where presumably they will go off in the woods somewhere --out of the public eye--and perform a giant joint treehug while singing Kumbaya.

Unfortunately I have an Amherst Redevelopment Meeting (although it does not show up on the town website) tonight at 7:15 so I’m pretty tied up.

I would also love to start attending more Select Board meetings, as my name seems to keep popping up during Question Period and in the middle of public discussions. And what the heck is this untimed item presented by Chairman Weiss: Agents of the Select Board???

Do they get a badge and uniform?

Fire in the hole!

What you don’t hear on this Saturday morning AFD training scene is the beep, beep, beeping of oxygen tanks signally their precious commodity is almost gone, or the awful crackling of fire consuming everything in its path. But the smell was almost the same –somehow different from a campfire or burning brush or even an old backyard chicken coop.

Perhaps it’s simply the rugs, curtains, paneling, books and all those everyday essentials that make a home a home, suddenly vaporized. Call it the essence of those who lived there--or God forbid--are still there when the beast comes calling.

Thank God for trained firefighters.

He looks familiar...

Yeah, Senator Kerry must be getting a tad spooked by his first primary challenge ever as a US Senator as he managed to find The Big E last night (his aides probably used Map Quest)

Why I don't show off

Not that he was showing off of course:

Bully the blogger

Bully version of bet (pretty clear to me)

My original version: even clearer

So retired professor Ackerman, obviously with lots of time on his hands, must have been one of those professors who let the grad students do all the research. If he had bothered d to read two paragraphs beyond the lead of Scott’s Merzbach's article from LAST YEAR he would have discovered the $10,000 challenge was in the form of a bet. One the town manager did not have the chutzpa to take.

And if he just stayed at the Select Board meeting for another half-hour he could have asked me directly about it since I was on the agenda for the 9/11 flag issue at 7:05 PM.

That would be the 5’th time I have attempted to make that kind of wager with a town official. The other times it related to Cherry Hill revenue prediction and if any of the officials taken those bet I would have won—or I should say local charities would have been enriched.

In fact if Mr. Ackerman, also an Amherst Bulletin columnists--so you would think he knows how to research and corroborate material--had read the online Amherst Bulletin version of the story, I added a comment where I would give the Town Manager two-to-one odds, or $20,000.

I guess maybe His Lordship the Select Board Chair set a strange precedent by publicly whipping and trying to silence my blog (so I must be doing something right). So now we get social activists trying to get the Select Board to collect on bets that were never taken. Only in Amherst.

By the dawns early light: 9/11...Remembered

Amherst Town Center 6:35 AM

CH. 3 TV covers the People's Republic on 9/11

Amherst Fire Dept 10:00 AM
Note what pilots refer to as "severe clear" blue sky.



Springfield Republican 9/11 editorial. Very well done!

9/11 Deja vu

Sorry this is a tad long and slightly rambling, but I knew acting Select Board Chair Alisa Brewer would allow me pretty much free reign. Had 'His Lordship' been there I would have honed it down to only three minutes.

The People's Republic WILL remember

The original page one story 9/11/01 was below the fold, but prominent enough to get the A.P.'s attention as it went out over the national wire around dawn. Here we are seven years later and it's above the fold. Go figure.


UPDATE: 10:30 Am: Love the photo the Republican website is now using. It's funny because this same photographer took a photo of my daughter Kira a couple weeks back at the Westfield fair that made the Front page of the Republican. And I instantly remembered him from this photo shoot from 4 or 5 years ago (but he did not remember me)

Today (7 years later) Front Page Spfld Republican article

9:45 PM

So with relatively little discussion the Select Board voted 2-1 with 1 absent (and 1 relocated to South Hadley) to allow the 29 commemorative flags to fly on 9/11 for the first time in five years.

Ms. Brewer sort of tried to make a deal with me (what the Hell am I the official flag spokesperson?) to accept His Lordship’s compromise allowing the flags to fly once every three years but I made no promises. My main goal was to get them up every 9/11, so at least they are guaranteed to fly this Thursday.

As expected Alisa Brewer and Stephanie O’Keeffe voted “yes” and Diana Stein voted “no”.

From Stephanie’s blog illuminating their Select Board packet for this evening:
• A written statement submitted by Gerry Weiss (who will not be present at the meeting) about the commemorative flag issue, recommending that they be displayed on September 11th every three years beginning this year, as a compromise measure reflecting the one-third of Town Meeting members (and the assumption that they represent one-third of the community) who voted to support urging the Select Board to display the flags annually on that date

Details of the Amherst Fire Department’s September 11th ceremony plans at Central Fire Station, involving assembling at 9:55 a.m., ringing a bell, lowering the flag to half staff, a minute of silence, prayer by a chaplain, “Amazing Grace” played by a piper, ringing a bell and raising the flag

an unprecedented historical tragedy

Hope springs eternal...even in Amherst

 Commemorative flags in town center

Yeah, they too remember (lousy bastards)

9/10/01: The Eve of Destruction

So now it turns out 'His Lordship' Select Board Chair Gerry Weiss will not even be present on Monday night for the 9/11 flag issue (7:05 pm). Fair enough. But to go one stunningly further he actually supports flying the flags this year, and again three years from now (the 10’th anniversary) because Town Meeting voted by a two-thirds majority AGAINST flying the 29 flags on 9/11. Thus leaving a small plurality of one-third in favor of doing the right thing. So to honor the wishes of that one-third he will allow them to fly once every three years.

Hmmm. Why not fly one-third of them every year? Or should John Kerry have become Co-President in 2004 because he garnered half the vote?

Most stupid political reasoning I have ever heard! But what the Hell—this is The 'People’s Republic of Amherst'--where the American flag never wins, so I will take it.


Monday's upcoming SB meeting courtesy of Select Person O'keeffe (who will be there)

http://stephanietownmeeting.blogspot.com
Thursday, May 17, 2007
With apologies to the Bard

This session was much ado about nothing.

Article 39: Commemorative Flags. Petitioner Larry Kelley made – let’s face it – a stunningly thoughtful and moderate presentation about the first and nearly-final casualties of September 11th, and how they were both gay men, and how broad the diversity was of innocent lives lost on that day. He said that that is what the flag stands for – not militarism or the war in Iraq, but the people of the U.S. He noted the contrast of the Select Board’s unanimous vote to fly the rainbow flag for the anniversary of the gay marriage decision, and how they then unanimously voted to take no position on this proposal to fly the commemorative flags at half-staff every 9/11, and said that the two people he had previously referenced might have found that ironic.

Gerry Weiss said the Select Board would let Town Meeting decide. Anne Awad talked about being on the Board when 9/11 occurred, and all the various flag flying requests the board gets, and all the various tragedies that could be marked. She said that the main Town flag is lowered to half-staff on 9/11 and that it is a somber event. She said the commemorative flags seem more celebratory, and more suitable for Fourth of July. She urged members to oppose the article.

A couple of members spoke to the multitude of tragedies all over the world and throughout history, including those perpetuated by town namesake Lord Jeffery Amherst. One suggested voting against the article in favor of establishing a committee to more broadly honor all such events, and another just wanted it defeated.

A member speaking in support said the red flag stripes denote American blood shed for this country’s freedom. Another suggested that dates for commemorating other tragedies be brought forth as well. Another said that he regarded the article as a call for a day of reflection for a tragic event that affected all of us. Another said that we shouldn’t do what our government has done and link that event to the war.

A member made a motion to refer the article to the Human Rights Commission, not as a way of defeating it, she said, but as a way of reshaping the article in a way that would be less inclined to divide the meeting.

There was a standing vote on the motion to refer. It failed, and I apparently didn’t write down the totals. I voted against referral.

Someone asked what the six holidays are for which the commemorative flags are flown, and if any of those had them at half-staff. The answer to the latter was no, and to the former was: Patriots Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, July 4th, Labor Day and Veterans Day.

There was a tally vote on the article – 41 Yes and 96 No. I voted Yes.

This was the third issue of the night that made my brain hurt, and all for different reasons.

First of all, I love the flag, and I have none of the compunctions about it that many do. My personal patriotism isn’t contingent on who occupies the White House or the state of our foreign policy. I recognize that many don’t feel that way.

You get an article like this, and no matter how thoughtfully it was presented, and how thoughtfully it was both supported and objected to, it becomes bigger than the specific issue at hand. It becomes an issue of all the various ways people feel about the flag and the country. It becomes a mutual provocation. It becomes a test. Its significance gets blown out of all proportion by those on both sides of the vote.

I didn’t really like the article. To me, it felt vaguely like using the 9/11 tragedy to provoke an expected reaction. So for a while, I thought I might oppose it. But I also think that people are terribly intolerant of more traditional and optimistic opinions of the flag, and I’m tired of that. How come being progressive and open-minded only applies to that with which you agree?

So I went back to logic similar to that which I used in supporting the resident alien voting article: it is important to some, and should be of little consequence to others. I don’t need to have commemorative flags at half-staff downtown to mark my 9/11 remembrance, but it doesn’t hurt. If you strip away all the overwrought Amherst stuff that becomes part and parcel of this article, it is really saying, “Should we fly flags downtown every year on 9/11?” And to that, I say – “Sure! Why not?” To me, answers to “why not” were not compelling, but of course, I was in the minority.

Keystone School Committee (Only in Amherst)

Stiletto-like fingernails slowly descending a large old style blackboard, a formal Catholic “High Mass” all in Latin, or a speech by Al Gore on Global Warming. Hmmm, I’m trying to think of what could be worse than attending a “retreat” of the Amherst Regional School Committee???

It would of course be 'Saturday Night Live' skit material if not for the fact that these duly elected regional officials consume the vast majority of Amherst’s $60+ million budget.

But not a single one of them came to office in an election that drew over 50% of the voters (at least in the case of Amherst School Committee members).

Kathleen Anderson definitely has a racial Great Oak log on her shoulder--but she wears it ever so prominently. So it was not big surprise she would boycott a retreat run by a white male. Of course you have to wonder if she ever requires emergency medical care or the services of the police does the responding public servant have to be a black female?

Dr. Merzbach, the most famous baby doctor in Amherst, delivered most of the townies I know. He was a white male--and I’m sure he gave boys, girls, Jews, Gentiles and People of Color the same equal, professional care.

When I call 911 with an emergency I don’t want the dispatcher to ask what race, creed, or color I am. Just do your damn job.

Even the crusty Gazette published an editorial today suggesting the retreat was a bad idea. Maybe they recognized themselves where a committee member said the local media looked the other way regarding retreats even though they are a clear violation of the Open Meeting Law.

So yeah, if they have this "retreat" I will be there. And I only hope the facility has wireless Internet and plenty of aspirin.

The Bully does its job

A (tax-exempt) house with a view

So in addition to a $375,000 annual salary and company car Dr. Holub, the new Umass Chancellor, gets to live in this fine house with what he described as having a great view. Indeed.

Chancellor Holub also told the 400 folks attending the Community Breakfast that his wife could not attend because she was busy enrolling their two young daughters into the fine Amherst school system.

This year Amherst taxpayers will expend $14,410 per child to finance the public schools. Dr. Holub’s two children will be joining the estimated (by our Finance Committee) 50-60 other children coming from Umass tax-exempt housing (probably not nearly as nice as the Chancellor’s House), or an impact of almost $1 million dollars.

Amherst taxpayers also fund ($4.8 million) the busiest Fire/EMT department in the state with the Fire Chief estimating Umass accounts for about one-quarter of the their calls, or an impact just over $1 million dollars.

Hey, a million here and a million there—pretty soon you’re talking real money.

Even though Westover Air Force Reserve Base in Chicopee is one of the largest employers in that region (with all those economic spin off benefits) they recently agreed to a $1 million payment-in-lieu-of-taxes to the host city.

Hmmm…

A simple request

From: David Miller
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 8:58 PM


Subject: Fw: 9/11 American Flag


Greetings All..

Normally I don’t send emails asking you to forward them to other people - but this message is an exception to the rule ! This message makes good sense and is a very special tribute to people who remember the tragic 9/11 incident at the Trade Center in New York - however, if you disagree to forward this email - this is your God given privilege - but I hope you will read the info below!

Many of us across the country are receiving a request to join a FLY THE FLAG campaign - and we are asking you to pass this message on to your family and all those others you may have listed in your address book. We further ask you to forward this message IMMEDIATELY - We only have little more than one week and counting to get this word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America. If you forward this email to your friends, your friends will send it on to their friends and we will have passed this request to thousands and thousands of people ! Get the idea ??

THE PROGRAM: On Thursday, September 11th, 2008, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States . Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this seventh anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms. In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly enough, many of those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.

Action Plan:

So, here's what we would like you to do ..

(1) Forward this email to everyone you know (unlimited number - your choice). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.

(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.

Very simple request, but very important to remember those who endured the pain of 9/11. If you decide to participate, please accept the appreciation of many people who have received this message from others before you. Thank you for your participation and may God Bless You and may God continue to bless our United States of America!

Dave Miller from Niceville, Florida

They're Baaaaack.

Only in Russia

President Bush is not the only cowboy!

Sunday in America

In search of prey...

The Alamo

UPDATE: 5:02 PM. Just received my emergency phone call from the Town Manager saying all is fine with Amherst water. Hey, the system works. I'll drink to that!


UPDATE: 4:50 PM. It's all good. Drink the water! Of course now students will have to come up with another excuse for consuming only beer over the next 48 hours.

UPDATE: 4:25 PM. Still no word. This is not good. Could we maybe have offered the test lab pizza and beer if they got us the test results by noon? Everybody--Town Manager, DPW chief, water/sewer chief and a bevy of underlings are still hunkered down in the DPW office.


1:25 PM (Still no word).

Trolley Station, turned DPW, turned War Room.

Water update 12:51

No, we don't have the results yet. Town Manager Larry Shaffer just arrived at the DPW office and they are hunkered down awaiting the results. The emergency phone system will kick in either way to spread the news: good or bad. Let's hope it's good.

Houston, we have a problem...

Friday 4:00 PM Click to enlarge

Smoking zone

Well, actually I think it's just steam from testing of the new Power Plant; sure makes enough of the white stuff. And they are still using Amherst effluent water in the production process, so you may not want to breath in those clouds directly. Last year Umass paid the water/sewer fund $38,000 for the superdiscounted effluent. This year they used roughly the same amount but paid zero. Side benefit of the 'Strategic Agreement'.

We are the world

My esteemed fellow Amherst Town Meeting members will love this:

Yesterday morning my overworked wife performed an international live lecture presentation over the Internet to about 100 academics concerning research techniques used in entrepreneurship from our little home nestled in the People’s Republic of Amherst.

The GEM Project (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), a joint collaboration between Babson College, the London Business School and "teams" from numerous other countries, collects economic data worldwide and uses it to measure the role entrepreneurship plays in a country’s economic growth.

And like the recent sports spectacle in China, this academic pursuit transcends political bounds—as indeed it should.

Donna’s enthusiastic audience was located at the University of Tehran, in the People’s Republic of Iran. (Yeah, I half jokingly asked if she had cleared this with the State Department or Homeland Security.)

University of Tehran website reports

Some of you may remember one of the more recent “Only in Amherst “ episodes where our Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved a resolution declaring the US should never attack Iran. In response we received a “thank you” from their ambassador.

I’m so glad this Boston TV Channel 4 has bandwidth to burn, so you can still see this upload from January 2007. Kind of ironic to see then Selectman Robie Hubley (now absconded to South Hadley) use the term “Democratic Republic of Amherst”. Yikes!

Channel 4 reports

Perhaps even more ironic, the “thank you” is dated December 7 and has the subheading “In the Name of the Almighty.” Double Yikes!

EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN
INTERESTS SECTION OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
2209 Wisconsin Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007
Tel: (202) 965-4990 Fax (202) 965-1073 www.daftar.org

In the Name of the Almighty

December 7, 2006

Ms. Sandra J. Burgess
Amherst Town Clerk
4 Boltwood Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002

Dear Ms. Burgess:

We would like to express our appreciation for the courageous stance of the participants of the Amherst Town Meeting in urging diplomacy with Iran and expressing opposition to any U.S. military action against our country. Your letter along with the attachments was submitted to the office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Upon receipt of any response, this office will notify you accordingly. The staff of this office would be more than happy to respond to any questions you might have.

Sincerely,

A. Mohzabadi
for Mostafa Rahmani
Director

The Amherst Bulletin Reports

International Media reports this "weird" story

Can government compete fairly?

UPDATE: 3:30 PM: I have only been doing PR for 25 years but does anybody else find it odd that Umass News Info Department (that I believe has three full-time spinmeisters and a Department Manager) only puts out the press release about the $9.2 million renovation project on the very day construction starts?

Hmmm….
What the Umass flacks wrote

(Original Post 6:00 AM) So Umass can spend $9.2 million tax dollars to better hustle for costumers private dollars? Unlike the Campus Center Hotel, those new and modern hotels that have popped up along Route 9, courtesy of Hampshire Hospitality Group, pay property taxes to the host town.

And in the People’s Republic of Amherst, if you simply construct a commercial enterprise valued at $9 million it would pay Amherst $135,000 annually in property tax plus the 4% Local Option Room Occupancy Tax on gross annual revenues.

Simply being owned by a tax-exempt does not necessarily keep the business off the tax rolls. Take Amherst College for instance: they own the apparently only profitable golf business in town, Amherst Golf Course, and pay Amherst the normal $7,000 per year in tax that a private, for-profit owner would pay.

And they own the historic Lord Jeffery Inn that not only pays property taxes ($32,000) but also honors the local room tax. They too are feeling the pressure from new modern hotels along Rout 9--as evidenced by their upcoming $20 million expansion--but at least they compete on a level playing field...well sort of, having over a billion in reserves is a tiny advantage.

Back in 2003 a ‘Special Committee to Recommend Mitigation for Local Aid Cuts’, chaired by State Senator Stan Rosenberg, an indefatigable Umass supporter clearly stated:

“Eliminate UMASS Amherst Campus Center's exemption from hotel motel tax (that tax doesn't cost the state anything, doesn't cost the university anything, shouldn't be an edge in competition against local hotels / motels). This could be a significant ($70,000+) help to Amherst.”

Since the Town Manager was already taken to the cleaners by Umass with their ‘Strategic Agreement’, The Select Board should appoint a “Blue Ribbon Committee” (better yet, an Attack Dog) to pursue this potential pot of tax gold.

Springfield Republican Reports (scooping the Gazette)

So we beat on...

UPDATE: 7:25 PM Okay, this video is a tiny bit raw, I may edit it tomorrow, but wanted to get it up ASAP





(Original Post 6:30 AM) So coincidentally enough—this being the first Select Board meeting since Anne Awad resigned—I will be going before the four she left behind tonight to ask at the getting more and more popular 6:30 Question Period as I have done every late August since the world changed, that the 29 commemorative flags be allowed to fly in the downtown on 9/11.

Or maybe I’ll ask (as an insider suggested) for them to put it on the 9/8 SB agenda for a fuller public discussion.


Can you imagine even having to discuss flying American flags to honor the 3,000 Americans we lost on 9/11? Only in Amherst.

Economic development, eh?

So you will notice the "coming soon" part of the banner is pretty weathered--as in having been up in the New England sun for over three months. I actually took this photo a month ago when I covered Pizza Rama calling it quits after 39 years. And the banner has been down for the past two weeks, although I'm told by a reliable source they will open in September.

You would think going from a Fish Market that served food (Take out and Delivery) to a Latino Market (Take out and Delivery) is a turnkey endeavor. But NOOOoooo, not in Amherst!

Here we have the Planning Board pumping molasses in front of any Good Ship trying to navigate the waters to opening, and building inspection folks delaying reopenings.

Rollin, rollin, rollin...

(11:00 AM)
(5:00 PM)

His Lordship Lies, and Libels

UPDATE: (7:00 PM) Hey they finally went cyber. Here's the link:
Weiss backs down
(9:45 AM) “Surprised to learn” that an educated community like Amherst believes in Free Speech? Just goes to show how clueless Mr. Weiss is with the First Amendment (and we know he has problems with the Open Meeting Law as well.)

“Some members of the press construed”? Hmmm. The Gazette or Bully did not editorially come to my First Amendment defense (as they should have.) . And indeed only two weeks later His Lordship was going after the Bulletin for an editorial about Planning Board slackers.

“Obsessive following”? One time is obsessive? And “contacting”. Again, I called their publicly published number once to see if it was still in service and when Hubley’s voice mail picked up, I hung up. Then Mr. Hubley called me back at my business and after losing his cool and slamming down his phone called me back an hour later at my home (with an unpublished number). So that is two phone calls to my one. Now who’s doing the stalking?

And yes the state does have laws already in place for stalking and harassment or threats of physical violence-- and we do know Ms Awad contacted the police. Since they never, in turn, contacted me in any shape manner of form it goes to show how laughable her case was.

And No Mr. Weiss there is no Chapter 256, Section 43-A you meant Chapter 265 (getting dyslectic in your old age?)

The Law (don’t mess with it!)

Bully for them

UPDATE: (1:30 PM). The Bully is out (print edition anyway). They used a different photo, but still huggy-huggy

(6:30 AM) Hard to believe it's already prediction Thursday; easy to predict what makes the Bully Front Page. Obviously the Select Board was in session Monday with ‘His Lordship’ presiding--so there’s your source for a lead article or two.

But will it be the “Handful of folks say goodbye to X-Czar Awad” story or the “Drop dead Kelley resolution from SB canned?” Hmmm…Since Mr. Weiss also took a public swipe at the Bully for daring to criticize by name those poor overworked Planning Board volunteers, the latter could get higher placement.

Nah, the Bully is too nice. So they will go with the ‘Buy buy Awad’ article with ‘His Lordship backs down’ a close second (but both above the fold)

Chill, Chide, Chump

His Lordship finally figured out that he does not want to make little old me a martyr to the First Amendment (plus I don’t die easily). Hey, at least now I’m thrown in with the venerable Amherst Bulletin. How dare they name names of overworked volunteer members of PUBLIC boards and committees!

The problem with crafting an official resolution thinly directed at one individual is that in this particular case it stands no chance of working. Plus, now that he’s lost his partner in crime Anne Awad (as far as the Open Meeting Law is concerned) he will have a harder time getting fellow board members to act as a rubber stamp.

That should have a “chilling effect” on his ideological nonsense.

End of story

UPDATE: 5:00 PM. So I'm still waiting to get video of the actual Select Board meeting (that I'm told started 10 minutes late because of the festivities) but Mary Carey uploaded video of the 5:30 reception for the outgoing X-Czar. Loved the verybrief snippet of her blaming "blogs" for her downfall. If you look in the mirror one morning and see a wart or juicy zit, don't blame the mirror.

Check out Ms. Carey's video (although it's kind of a delayed lead to get to them) Take note of Rob Kusner saying "I was recruited a year after she was elected to join her on the Select board..."

(original post: early this morning) Yeah, the Gazette sent a photographer to a Select board meeting for the first time in ages, and since they could not get any bang-bang they settled for huggy huggy. Of course the ironic thing is the photo shows long time (although recently mute) activist Alan Root giving Awad a goodbye hug.

Some of you may remember Mr. Root composed a “toxic” personal email to then Select board member Dolly Jolly who—as a result—decided not to seek reelection in 2004, calling the episode “creepy”. And paving the way for Awad pawn, His Lordship Gerry Weiss.

Naturally the speeches were about Amherst becoming more civil--in other words, shut Larry Kelley up. Okay fine I can take a hint. That’s it! I’m moving to South Hadley. They're in line for $2 million in state money for a wading pool and they have a much BIGGER municipal golf course.

Springfield Republican Reports

Going, going...

(8:15 PM)
No, I did not attend Anne Awad's going away party at 5:30 PM (note invite's prime location on the town website) I had to teach karate at 5:00 and a Spin Class at 5:30. Otherwise I probably would have gone, camera and computer in hand, to cover it.

The Gazette probably sent a reporter and photographer hoping I would crash the party and do something, errrr, interesting. Front line journalists call it "bang-bang."

Let's hope somebody asked Mr. Hubley if he tendered his Town Meeting resignation.

A positive outcome

(4:30 PM) My faith in American Health care is only reaffirmed. The two Cooley Dickinson lab techs that drew blood from Jada (five vials for now with perhaps five more on Wednesday) were kind, considerate and caring—as well as efficient with a needle.

The X-ray technician, our next stop, was amazed Jada didn’t freak out when we put her in the plastic restrainer with me dressed in a lead lined gown holding her arms strait up overhead. She told me to call my Doctor’s office before the end of the day for the test results because I had told her earlier about the possibility of TB warranting the photoshoot.

A few moment s later she followed me down the hall and said, “She’s fine, the x-ray is negative. I just wanted you to know.”

Only in America

Cute picture, great caption


Although a city, the annual Westfield Fair (81 years now and counting) has that unmistakable small town feel—the sights, sounds and smells of working America. And when it comes to working hard, they don’t come any more dedicated than our local farmers.

Westfield is still known as the “Whip City” because during the 1800’s it lead the world in manufacturing buggy whips. So a weekend fair with tractor and horse pulls, cows in competition, judged entries of fruits and vegetables, fattening fried food, and aging amusement rides seems perfectly fitting.

Kira rides a raindeer
Jada's first real horseride



Oh yeah, this would be banned in Amherst

What you lookin at

Otherwise a beautiful day

So I knew something was not quite right when the friendly, professional nurse at Northampton Area Pediatrics for a very brief moment telegraphed a look of concern. She picked up the phone and said, “I want the Doctor to look at this.” Hey, it’s Saturday afternoon--so not only am I glad they’re open but even more so they have a doctor available.

It was one of those routine test procedures where you just drop in and let somebody have a quick look at the skin test for the results. But the disease in question is far from routine. TB was a frightening killer for my parent and grandparent’s generation, but something I never thought about...until just now.

We sat in a waiting room, my baby daughter and I, and the medical office that was bustling two days ago when they injected Jada with the TB test serum was now all but empty. Another nurse walks by--the one who did the injection on Thursday morning--and she comes in to banter with Jada.

I ask her to look at the reaction site. She does. Another look of concern. “Best to have the Doctor give you an opinion,” she says.

Ten minutes later the doctor enters the room. He gently holds Jada’s forearm as she starts to cry. He takes an ink pen and makes lines at all four side of the rounded injection site that resembles a mosquito bite, so it now resembles a sniper scope. “It’s a bit elevated”, he says “Not enough for a positive result but enough so it is not a negative result.”

In China it’s not uncommon for the government to use a TB inoculation serum on the abandoned babies that is fairly ineffective, but will give false positive results when the individual is tested in the US.

Such is my hope.

What a difference a day makes!

Awad send-off set for Monday
By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer
Published on August 15, 2008

In June, Awad submitted her resignation from the board effective Aug. 31. Though she has purchased a home in South Hadley and put her North East Terrace condominium up for sale, Awad said her retirement and resignation from the board was prompted by stalking and threats from an Amherst resident.

Reception planned Monday for Awad
By THE DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE
Staff Writer
Saturday, August 16, 2008

Awad submitted her retirement and resignation letter in June, citing stalking and threats from an Amherst resident that occurred after she and husband Robie Hubley purchased a home in South Hadley.

Rainbow over The People's Republic

Back in the saddle (about time!)

The Town Manager has made the leap into the blogosphere. Look out folks! Left this comment on his blog (he also uses blogger), but he enabled "moderation" so we will see how long it takes for him to allow or censor it.

UPDATE: 3:45 PM. So the comment was published. Touche! I'm always impressed when a highly paid bureaucrat is in their office on a somewhat nice summer friday afteroon, Although...since he did not respond maybe it was simply one of those low-paid town workers who have to stay at their desks until 4:30 or so. Hmmm...


(comment submitted around 3:00 pm)

Yes, indeed Mr. Shaffer—welcome to the Big Bad Blogosphere! Just remember it ‘s still to a tad like the Wild, Wild West (remember that great TV show?) So brace yourself for a few elbows under the net --to use a basketball metaphor rather than military one. You don’t need to create a hot link to the town web site in the first paragraph since folks have found you via that entry page. And the blogosphere is a 24/7 up to the nanosecond kind of place, so if you are publishing on a Friday August 15 the post probably should not be dated Tuesday August 12. PS: I’m glad your I.T. folks used Blogger. Simple and free—can’t get any better than that!

Inept government with a nice website

Well, it's about time.

So what do you know, Mr. Sanchez understands the concerns of a decorated, legit Iraq war veteran who shed blood for his country.

And what else do you know: the crusty Gazette has been sitting on this story for six weeks.

Would have been a tad more effective if Mr. Sanchez apologized to Rob McAllister in particular and in general the July 4'th Parade Committee. Although I'm glad the Gazette layout editor gave this long overdue mea culpa top billing and relegated Mr. Sanchez's fundraiser this evening on the town common to a less prominent position.

What took them so long?

Calvin's and Hobbes take

Run it up the flag pole and see who salutes

UPDATE: 9:00 PM: Well, the crusty Bully finally went cyber, so here's my Letter:
If you can't take the heat...
So it’s prognostication Thursday morning: What will the Bully reprint this week from the Daily Hampshire Gazette—especially on the Front Page?

Well, this week has been soooooo boring I can’t safely predict the 'Above The Fold' Page One lead story (maybe they will do some original reporting for a change). But I can safely predict my written response to last week’s column. Yeah I know, only Larry Kelley would demand the right to respond to a column that defended him.

Since Mr. Morse is a faithful reader of this blog (although last year he told people to boycott it because it feeds my ego) let me again repeat that I appreciate him taking the time to defend my First Amendment rights in the Awad residency scandal as well as the rights of the July 4’th Parade Committee to limit protest signs.

But he crossed a most sacred line when he brands my public pronouncement seven years ago (and continue to this day) on the infamous ‘Only in Amherst’ flag flap as being a “prior wrong.”

A prosecutor turns public defender

My buddy "Icky" gets off the first column

A story about one of the infamous flags

Jennie Traschen speaks

All these years later, and they still do not get it!