Arbor Day Dilemma

All trees marked for death have 8.5" by 11" tree hearing notice attached

As usual when a choice has to be made between perfectly placed pavement and living breathing trees, it's the trees that end up taking a fall.

In spite of all the good they do -- sucking up storm water, absorbing carbon dioxide, and providing a shaded respite from summer sun -- the safety needs of pedestrians walking along busy Pine Street comes first.

The Planning Board & Tree Warden will hold a joint "Scenic Road Public Hearing" on May 6  to confirm the removal of ten trees currently standing a tad too close to Pine Street, a renovation project that has dragged on far too long for most area residents.

A new sidewalk is the main cause of the death sentences.  The majority of the trees are past their prime, but a few will no doubt be missed. 

And not just by the Lorax.

Amherst Town Hall:  Promoting Green

Thirsty Thursday DUI

Scott Pascoe arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court this morning

Amherst first responders scrambled to mid-Main Street early last night for reports of a "car vs pedestrian."  Fortunately the cyclist was fine, but Amherst police quickly arrested Scott Pascoe, age 44, for driving under the influence and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

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In Eastern Hampshire District Court this morning Pascoe had a plea of not guilty entered in his behalf and his case was continued until May 21 so he could hire his own attorney.

Right around the time Pascoe was taking the Breathalyzer at APD headquarters, District Attorney Dave Sullivan announced a moratorium on using breathalyzer results in Court due to a small percentage that seem to be problematic -- most likely due to calibration errors.

I have observed dozens and dozens of DUI  24D disposition plea deals and almost 100% of them had breathalyzer results used for evidence. And I've only observed two DUI jury trials, but in both cases the defendants won and each of them had refused the breathalyzer (a fact that cannot be told to the jury).

The state needs to get to the bottom of this breathalyzer problem -- pronto!

Round Two

Amherst Town Hall gets it right

Not since the 'Smoking Ban in Bars War' 15 years ago has the the little college town of Amherst seen such a successful implementation of a new ordinance.

The much needed Rental Permit Bylaw went into effect last year after health & safety problems within the lucrative industry spanning a generation (or two). 

Building Commissioner Rob Morra has issued a heads up email to all 1,353 property owners and managers and is even offering free informational sessions to make the process even easier.

Those who required a "parking plan" in year one will not need one upon renewal as long as the plan remains the same.

 Memo to all rental property owners

And best of all -- with the town getting more and more digitally savvy -- all the paperwork can done online. 

Amherst Building Commissioner Rob Morra (center) at Rental Bylaw Implementation Group 10/28/14

Catfight!

Shirin Mirdamadi-tehrani signs a waiver in front of Judge John Payne

While Hobart Lane has not been ground zero for a large disturbance -- aka Hobart Hoedown -- in many a year (eclipsed by Blarney Blowout) it is still a frequent stopping place for Amherst police on any given late night weekend, especially when the weather is nice.

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In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Tuesday Ms. Mirdamadi-tehrani, age 20, had her case continued until next month so the Commonwealth could confer with Amherst police about an adequate resolution.

DUI Dishonor Roll

Ryan Duffy, age 24, stands before Judge John Payne

While Amherst PD and UMass PD no longer do joint patrols around the periphery of UMass/Amherst on weekends it's still nice when UMPD takes a drunk driver off the road before he gets off campus.

 Either way, on campus or off, a potential killer.

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In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Tuesday morning Ryan Duffy had a plea of not guilty entered in his behalf and his case was continued until May 21.  He is hiring his own attorney.

Party House of the Weekend

266 Stanley Street   

Considering UMass scheduled Spring Concert for Sunday, thus keeping a lot of "college aged youth" in town rather than going home for the long holiday weekend, I'm surprised we only had one Party House.

But it was a big enough bash to resulting in the arrest of the four hosts -- Nathan J Galloway, Elizabeth L Reed, Lily J. Sexton and Chloe D. Swenson -- who were all charged with violating the towns Noise and Nuisance bylaw. 

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Tuesday they all took the standard "diversion" deal offer by the District Attorney's office which negates one of the  $300 tickets, plus they will remain on probation for the next four months.

266 Stanley a little after midnight

Chloe Swenson, age 21, stands before Judge John Payne

Nathan Galloway, age 20

Lily Sexton, age 20

Then There Were 24

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess (standing) distributes ballots with 2 names on them

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess held a special election in Town Hall this evening whereby a 4-4 tie vote from the March 31st election was broken by a vote of current Town Meeting members to elect the 24th member to represent Precinct 5.

Amherst has 10 precincts with 24 members per precinct.

Current Precinct 5 Town Meeting members

Interestingly 13 of the 23 members (54%) showed up for the 5 minute election.  Nina Wishengrad won a narrow decision 7-6 over Mark Kelly.  In the March 31st election a whopping (sarcasm) 7.5% of Amherst voters bothered to turn out. 

Town Meeting starts April 27 and drones on until all 30 articles are acted upon.

A Third Chance

Liberty Lynn stands before Judge John Payne with Attorney Chamberland

It's certainly not a good sign when your own defense counselor calls a case "extremely alarming."  

But Attorney Chamberland then quickly told Judge Payne that his client heard loud and clear a "wake up call" and she has since "turned her life around."

Liberty Lynn was arrested by Amherst police 5/18/14 for Driving Under the Influence 2nd offense with her 8-year-old son in the vehicle, drug possession, and resisting arrest.

She has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings since that incident almost one year ago, and volunteered to use a "sobrietor" which has verified her abstinence from alcohol. 

She now has a part-time job and the Department of Children & Families returned custody of her son.

Judge Payne dismissed three of the four charges and placed her on probation for two years (with drug/alcohol screenings) and imposed fines of $650 for the 2nd offense DUI charge. 

Fowl Holiday Weekend?

"Smartie" was bird napped from Swartz Family Farm on Meadow Street Saturday afternoon

With the long holiday weekend providing the best spring weather thus far this year, two concerts and a car show at the Mullins Center, Extravaganja on the Town Common, Spring Football at UMass with tailgating, the stage was certainly set for an epic (bad) newsworthy weekend.

 Empty UMass McGuirk Stadium Friday 7:00 PM

Packed tailgating outside the Stadium 6:15 PM

 Extravaganja Saturday afternoon:  6,000 people, zero problems

And yes APD was busy handling noise complaints all over town.   And AFD had their usual share of substance abuse runs -- mostly alcohol related.

But the story that seemed to resonate the most via my Twitter and Facebook live coverage was that of "Smartie" the stolen chicken.

Around 3:30 PM Saturday afternoon with the western quad area of Townhouse Apartments filling to capacity, a college aged blond woman grabbed Smartie while walking past Swartz Family Farm heading west.

Townhouse eastern quad Sunday the following day, not nearly as packed with party goers

Another concerned young woman alerted Sarah Swartz to the theft, who then marched over to Townhouse Apartments in search of Smartie.

The kids she talked to expressed genuine concern and took her to see the "Godfather" of Townhouse, a well-dressed, articulate, tall young man who asked her a bevy of questions, while texting on his smartphone, and then assured her Smartie would be returned.

Sure enough, three hours later, Smartie was back on the farm.  Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

 Fade

 So yes, I'm having one of my genius friends fabricate a protective Kevlar skin for my baby

His Way

Chick Delano  1945-2015

The shortlist of dynamic characters who helped forge the idyllic Amherst we revere today just got a little shorter with the sudden, unexpected passing of (Harry Arthur) Chick Delano -- a true entrepreneur, back before most people knew the meaning of the word.

Delano's, founded 1977, was a downtown fixture for 30 years, or the Amherst version of Cheers (at least in the early hours of the day).

I only went there once I'm almost ashamed to say, but it was one of the most memorable days of my life after my South Amherst apartment pretty much burned to the ground on a Friday-the-13th, November, 1987.

My wife and I needed to chill, and Delano's quaint laid back atmosphere and ice cold draft beer was exactly what we needed most.

A dozen years later (1999) Chick and I went head-to-head on the infamous 'Smoking Ban in Bars War', to this day the most arduous political battle I have ever fought.

Unlike a certain Select Board member who aligned himself with the renegade bar owners I respected that Chick was fighting for the rights of his clientele to smoke and not just out of self interest, as he had by then given up the habit.

Three years later we served together on the Amherst July 4th Parade Committee, restarted in the tragic wake of 9/11 after a 30 year hiatus. Kevin Joy formed the committee in mid-April of 2002, giving us little time before the BIG event.

Chick and I headed up fundraising, and in only ten weeks raised a little over $7,000. He had a natural charm that people from all walks of life could easily trust.

Yesterday afternoon at the Lord Jeffery Inn in downtown Amherst over 250 family and friends -- some of them former competitors -- gathered in the Dickinson Room to pay their final respects to a man everyone knew as "Chick."

Fighting back tears family members spoke briefly, reminding us all of the indelible power of love.  And the ceremony concluded, aptly enough, with Ol' Blues Eyes belting out "My Way."

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way!

Extravaganja 2015

Downtown Amherst 2:00 PM

The 24th running of the pot rally on the Amherst Town Common went off without a hitch, other than the normal traffic congestion you would expect for such a sizable crowd -- the likes of which Amherst all too seldom sees. 

Like last year's disastrous Blarney Blowout, great weather was a major contributing factor.

To compare the two public events is nothing short of astounding:  Blarney Blowout 2014, with 4,000 participants, had 58 arrests and many thousands of dollars in property damage.

Extravaganja 2015 had more than half again as many participants with zero arrests and zero property damage.

Almost from the start time of high noon the Town Common was packed to capacity.  The Amherst Farmers Market also debuted today so that too contributed congestion in the morning.

Extravaganja 5:30 PM

Downtown food service businesses and our two local tow truck companies certainly had a field day.

Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone recently announced this would be the last year he would sign off on the (free) permit required for Extravaganja to use the Town Common.

 Town Common Sunday morning.  Looks like they were never even there

So it will be interesting to see what becomes of this annual political rally that, unlike so many other liberal causes, actually made a difference.

Town Common day before Extravaganja

A Little Off The Top

Kendrick Park

The UMass Stockbridge School of Education Urban Community Forest Climbing Lab turned out in force this morning to help the town spruce up Kendrick Park.

Bucket goes up about 60'

Today is one of the two days designated by the Select Board as Arbor Day, with the other one being the Sustainability Festival next week.

Professor Brian Kane, head of the Graduate program, shows how it's done 

Amherst Tree Warden Alan Snow is a graduate of the 4-year program with a degree in Urban Forestry so he invited the dozen students and 2 professors (Brian Kane, Dennis Ryan) to come hone their skills on the urban forest anchoring the north end of town center.

Kendrick Park, which was donated to the town, is one of many major renovation projects awaiting funding with an estimated cost around $3 million. 

No Gas For You!

East Street School: future home to Leisure Services Supplemental Education (aka Rec Dept)

The natural gas moratorium on new hook ups called by Berkshire Gas is not only hurting local businesses, but town government as well.  And that means all of us local taxpayers.

Last month the Joint Capital Planning Committee approved $3 million in building and equipment needs for the fiscal year starting July 1st.  Part of that proposal (which still needs Town Meeting approval) included $20,000 to convert aging expensive oil heating units at the East Street School to natural gas.

But now that Berkshire Gas is playing hardball in support of the new Kinder Morgan Tennessee Gas pipeline, Finance Director Sandy Pooler said the $20,000 request is being put off. 

A More Pleasurable Puffer's Pond

Puffer's Pond:  Amherst's most popular  recreation site

North Amherst is on a roll when it comes to infrastructure improvements with major thoroughfare Pine Street, finally, finishing up this construction season and the most loved recreational hide away -- Puffer's Pond -- getting badly needed modest tweaks even sooner. 

Having already received approval from the Conservation Commission (the higher hurdle) the modest revitalization plans go before the Planning Board next week and after their approval work can start immediately since the $37,000 budgeted is not FY16 money and will be mostly done in house by Conservation Department employees.

   Puffer's Pond Renovations

Conservation Director (and Assistant Town Manager) Dave Ziomek hopes to have everything completed by the start of the upcoming swimming season.

 North side rehab: striping parking lot, ADA walkway, new kiosk

North Beach: Cribbing along waters edge replaced to stabilize beach

The improvements span both sides of the pond, mainly where water meets lands edge.  The wooden "cribbing" on both beaches will be replaced and the North Beach (formerly called the "Dog Beach" until a leash law was enacted) will see more extensive work, including a new ADA Walkway and large kiosk.

 The lure of the cliffs will be mitigated by a new security fence

The plan to add more security fencing along the cliffs near the waterfall -- a popular diving spot -- will prove a lot less popular.  Over the years youthful daredevils have trampled the current chain link fence to where it is no longer functional.

The next step after these modest improvements is already in the works as town officials are getting serious about a major project: dredging the pond.

Open Space Slam Dunk

Owen's Pond top center

The acquisition of open space is a double edged sword, especially in a town more than half-owned by tax exempt entities.

Yes, it's beautiful and adds to the quality of life -- especially for immediate neighbors -- but it does not financially contribute to the General Fund for basic services like police, fire and DPW.

Regarding the 32 acre Hall property purchase for "conservation and public passive recreation purposes" Community Preservation Act Committee Chair Mary Streeter repeated stated that her committee has never seen such public support for a proposal.

 Gull Pond (right) Stavros Center, also a tax exempt, on left

And since the state is financing two-thirds of the $340K purchase price the $105,995 requested from CPA funds will fly through Town Meeting faster than a seagull targeting junk food.

The property near Owen's Pond was approved for a 14-house subdivision 25 years ago but is no particular "danger" at the moment of being developed.  And of course that is the #1 reason why Amherst housing is so damn expensive.

Too much demand and not enough supply.

Yet when a developer comes along and tries to increase density in the Village Centers, so that we can safely preserve outlying open space, the NIMBY machine gears up for war. 

Life is a balance, and Amherst land use is out of whack.

The much maligned 5-story mixed-use Kendrick Place (top center)