Suicide is Painless

Last night as the economic summit between the Select Board, School, Library, and Finance Committees met next door (they got the bigger room) the Amherst Redevelopment Authority voted 3-1 not to commit suicide by passing my motion to oppose Town Meeting Warrant Article #32, calling for our “abolishment.”

Vince O’Connor, who crafted our death sentence, showed up fashionably late and insisted he had no personal feelings one way or the other about the ARA. But, of course, he also insists he did not know anything about acquiring 18 write-in votes in the March 28 election where I knowingly ran a successful last minute campaign with 67 write-in votes.

Mr. O’Connor thinks the ARA (4 elected and 1 governor appointee) has “too much power for folks to get elected by write in." I pointed out that the two most recent examples (going back a decade) consist of Curt Shumway, who was originally elected with over 1,000 votes but then forgot to get his nomination papers in on time for reelection; and little old me who was the governor's appointee for over 10 years.

Mr. O’Connor also thinks that since the ARA has not met in two years to exercise all that “power” we should be put out to pasture.

Let’s hope for consistency sake Mr. O’Connor’s next target for extermination is the Cherry Hill Advisory Committee, who have not met in THREE years (when the ailing Golf Course is critically in need of “advisory” help) and currently has SIX vacant positions out of seven.

Interestingly the town provided legal council for the meeting and we were informed that the ARA powers likely extend beyond only the downtown. So we could get involved in Village Centers in North or South Amherst or that somewhat run down area coming in to Amherst from the east.

But even is we simply stick to town center, there’s lots to be done. And with the Town Commercial Relations Committee now revived we could make a potent one two combo for commercial development—something Amherst desperately needs.

Where have all the flowers gone?

Darkness descended on our contented neighborhood. Ann, affectionately known as Annie, John Gedmin’s wife of 57 years, and somewhat lesser years in other roles: Mark’s mother for 52, Amherst Farmers Supply bookkeeper for 44 and my neighbor for 16, is gone.

No longer will she perch on that seasonally enclosed front porch in her rocking chair and watch the world go by, or shout her unmistakably warm greeting to me as I cycle past returning home after another tour of our Happy Valley.

And at age 81, having lived her entire life in that house, she witnessed so many changes…some good some not so good.

Originally our house in back was the storage barn for the 19’th century Trolley that connected Amherst to Sunderland, Northampton and Holyoke. Currently the brick building is occupied by Amherst’s Department of Public Works. Just after the War (WW11)Ann’s brother converted the barn to a residence. We are only the third family to call it home.

John Gedmin spent his working career as an Amherst Police officer. Between the wake and funeral almost the entire Amherst police department turned out to pay their respects. Former Chief Don Maia and current Chief Charlie Scherpa acted as pallbearers, and as the motorcade crossed the intersection on the Hadley border officers directing traffic stood at attention and snapped off a salute.

Yes, Amherst has grown and changed dramatically since Annie commenced and concluded her life nurtured within those comfortable, safe surroundings--now left so hollow by her departure.

But the lilacs she so loved were in bloom, as their radiant lifecycle continues…

A road runs through it...

The most expensive lawsuit in the history of the town is, finally, finished. Last week the Supreme Judicial Court denied the application of Leigh F. Andrews for Further Appellate Review of the Appeals Court overturning his expensive, longshot victory against Amherst in Boston Land Court for Spot Zoning.

The good news for Amherst taxpayers is Mr. Andrews separate million-dollar damages lawsuit in Hampshire Superior Court is now moot. The bad news for Amherst taxpayers is that NO property owner is now safe.

If the part-time, do-gooder, too-much-time-on-their-hands Amherst Town Meeting can rezone land that floods after once-in-a-lifetime Hurricane Floyd, they can now “protect from development” almost anything.

With costs like this nobody came out a winner: Amherst taxpayers lost $125,000 in legal bills and Mr. Andrews’s tab, astonishingly, topped $500,000.

This even longer shot of taking it all the way to the Supreme Court (they agreed to review only 2 of 57 cases recently) cost a couple thousand more. But, after you hit the half-million mark, you have nothing to lose.

And Mr. Andrews had powerful allies--known as “Amicus Briefs”-- in this attempt: The Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and Attorney William Hovey who literally wrote the encyclopedia of Massachusetts Real Estate Law.

With the legalization of FPC Zoning (Flood Prone Conservancy) NIMBY’s now possess the ultimate WMD. Somebody call in the Marines!

Great Lawn Sign Caper: Robin Hood Excuse

The kid says it was nothing but mischief but he still justifies it by suggesting he was doing the schools a favor. And if it was just mischief why go to the trouble of cutting out the “No” on the signs?

Of course he did the schools the ultimate disservice because some pundits would argue the resulting PR could have cost Overriders the margin of difference in the election.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Teenager linked to Amherst theft of override signs
By SCOTT MERZBACH staff Writer
AMHERST - Police have brought charges against an Amherst teenager they say may have been responsible for the theft of dozens of political signs last month.

A 17-year-old Amherst teen will be summoned to court on a charge of larceny under $250 as the result of his being identified in the theft of at least one "No More Overrides" sign from a West Street home on the night of April 21.

Because he is being summoned, his name has not yet been made public.

More than 75 of these political signs were taken from lawns between April 21 and 22, thefts that came little more than a week before the May 1 Proposition 21/2 debt-exclusion override for $2.5 million was defeated by voters.

Police Lt. Ron Young, head of the detective bureau, said the charges were filed after police recovered a cell phone found by the West Street homeowner.

"The cell phone recovered by a resident at the scene of the larceny produced information that tracked us back to this 17-year-old youth," Young said.

Young said the motivation for the boy's actions appeared to be primarily to cause mischief, though he said the boy attempted to justify the theft by expressing concern about the impact on the schools if the override were defeated.

Many of the signs, of which 150 had been placed on Amherst lawns on April 20, were later located at the high school, where they had been dumped and the word "no" had been cut out.

Young said other people may have been responsible for the thefts, but the boy that is being summoned has not identified any people who may have helped him.

"The investigation is continuing and we will follow any leads," Young said.

Being summoned to court means the boy will face a show cause hearing before a clerk magistrate, who will determine if an arraignment should be held.

Override Rage Continues

Richard Hood wrote:
Mon May 7 14:20:05 EDT 2007
I’m not sure I disagree with Larry on this (see his post and his last
comment):

http://onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com/2007/05/thanks-for-advice.html

I think it may make sense.
Rick

Richard B. Morse wrote back:
Mon May 7 17:14:44 EDT 2007:
It's up to you to assess the ethics of this, but every time you log on
to Larry's blog, you feed a beast in town, that is, Larry's addiction to
attention. He really has no interest in anything other than pissing you off and getting you to respond to him. He absolutely has no interest in solving our fiscal mess. He doesn't give a damn about your kids. He didn't attend ARHS and he has no intention of sending his daughter there. That does not disqualify him from commenting on Amherst matters, but.......

His blog is not about Amherst: it's about him.

Rich

OF course Mr. Morse is being a tad hypocritical. He did not attend Amherst Regional High School either. And he did not take his own advice about starving “a beast in town”. Because he lazily used the link Mr. Hood sent him I was able to get into their cyber war room.

My favorite early morning election dispatch, or “note from the field”, came from Select person Alisa Brewer titled: “Digital cameras are the devil” along with a link to this blog showing the van illegally parked at a polling station.

Another women reported a “heated debate” I was having with Middle Schools kids in town center that early afternoon. Three girls had crossed the intersection in town center towards me yelling to Overriders on the other side of the intersection, and when they got behind me one said in an extra loud tone “He shouldn’t be so f_cking ignorant!”

Yeah, nice talk from a pre-teen. But hey, Amherst was also the only High School in the nation to allow young girls to use the C-word in public.

That little Catholic school my mother had me bused over the river to taught: “As you sow so shall you reap.”

Thanks For The Advice

This morning’s Daily Hampshire Gazette, you know the paper that refused to defend Max Karson’s First Amendment right to say stupid things, is giving advice to Amherst town officials now that the Override (which they didn’t take a stand on but advised voters to vote since it was important) failed and Town Meeting starts tonight.

Of course in Saturday’s Gazette we read where Selectman Rob Kusner called Amherst School Committee chair Andy Churchill and threatened him (leaving a voice mail message; almost as dumb as dropping your cell phone at the scene of a crime) because he didn’t like Mr. Churchill’s frustrated comment immediately after the Override about the town having “no leadership.”

And we recently had Select person Hwei-Ling Greeney ask for Regional School Committee Chair Elaine Brighty to resign after she had spread malicious gossip about a School committee candidate she obviously didn’t want to get appointed (Chrystel Romero was appointed anyway).

Amherst town officials remind me of crabs in a bucket all trying to escape and when one almost makes it to the top the others grab and pull it back down.

Here’s the response I emailed this morning to the Gazette’s editorial writer:

In a message dated 5/7/07 5:59:17 AM, Amherst AC writes:

Yes, Amherst reserves are now at "3 Million" but a few one-time revenues are coming in or already have (Crocker Farm School State reimbursement and employee health contributions) that will elevate reserves to $4.3 million on June 30. So if on July 1 (first day of new Fiscal Year) we spend $1.3 million to help balance the budget then reserves drop back to $3 million. And if Moody's has not penalized us this year so far for only having $3 million in reserves (and I believe Northampton, a "community the size of Amherst" only has $2 million) why would they do it in FY08 for maintaining that very level?

The Amherst Taxpayers for Responsible Change is only suggesting a modest tapping of reserves (probably under $500,000) along with cuts of nonessential services.

Larry K

Amherst's Great Lawn Sign Caper: Busted!

Under Police questioning (yeah, they work on Saturday's) the High School boy admitted that the harvesting of 75 political lawn signs was an orchestrated effort. Having run around South Amherst on election night retrieving signs and having only 25 or 30 to show for a couple hours of work, I figured one delinquent couldn't snatch overnight 75-100 spanning the 26 square miles of the People’s Republic of Amherst.

So tomorrow he will be summoned to court on a charge of larceny. Let’s hope the same judge who sentenced a rowdy Umass student (charged with disturbing the peace) to standing out in front of the Amherst Police Station wearing nothing but a toga hears this case. In addition to paying for the signs ($300) make him stand in town center at high noon for a couple hours on a Saturday holding a “No More Overrides” sign.

And I hope his Dad confiscates his cellphone.