Just another day

Somewhat South Amherst 3:00 PM

Attention to detail

Well since they can't spell my name correctly--just as well they are not heading up the investigation.

Update: 1:45 pm This is the post that really spooked Hubley. Click this link

From: "Tishler, Sarah (AGO)"
RE: quo warranto request (2'nd) to remove Amherst Town official over residency
Date:July 31, 2008 3:57:07 PM EDT
To: amherstac@aol.com

Dear Mr. Kelly,

Thank you for contacting the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley. Your e-mail has been forwarded to me for response. At this time, the Attorney General’s Office is choosing to decline your request for a quo warranto procedure. If you wish to pursue this matter further, you may wish to contact the State Ethics Commission. They can be reached using the following contact information:

State Ethics Commission
One Ashburton Place, Room 619
Boston, MA 02108
Tel: (617) 371-9500
Toll Free: 1-888-485-4766
Fax: (617) 723-5851
www.mass.gov/ethics/

We regret that we cannot be of more assistance to you in this matter.

Sincerely,



Community Information and Education Division

Complaint to Secretary of State (still waiting for response)

From: amherstac@aol.com [mailto:amherstac@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2008 8:44 AM
To: E-MailCorrespondence, Ago (AGO)
Subject: quo warranto request (2'nd) to remove Amherst Town official over residency

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
July 7, 2008

Dear Attorney General Coakley,

On May 20 I requested you undertake a ‘quo warranto procedure’ to remove from office Amherst Town Meeting member Robie Hubley. On April 10 Mr. Hubley signed a ‘Homestead’ declaration for a residency in South Hadley and also signed (with his wife) an FDIC mortgage from Florence Savings Bank that also requires “primary residency” at the South Hadley home.

The Amherst Town Attorney wrote to you and politely suggested you stay out of the matter until the local option occurred, G.L.c. 51, 48—a hearing before the Amherst Board of Registrars.

On Thursday, July 3’rd the Board did meet (as I am currently in China adopting a second daughter, I did not attend) and according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette both Robie Hubley and his wife Anne Awad (who recently resigned her Select Board seat) attended but did not speak, because—amazingly--the Board of Registrars did not ask them any questions!

The issue of the “Homestead” declaration was not discussed and the bank mortgage “primary residency” requirement was dismissed as a “private” matter.

One of the three Registrars, Harry Brooks, is a personal friend of Anne Awad and failed to recuse himself from the proceeding.

The Town Clerk (who moderated the meeting) serves at the whim of the Amherst Town Manager. Anne Awad and Robie Hubley were both Amherst Select Board members two years ago and made the decision to hire him. Town Manager Shaffer has steadfastly defended the couples right to declare Amherst their home no matter the evidence to the contrary.

Since this initial July 3 hearing was simply exploratory to ascertain whether “sufficient grounds for an investigation” exists, it is beyond comprehension the Board of Registrars unanimously decided that no such grounds exist —right up there with the earth is flat, Apollo 11 never landed on the moon and Elvis is alive.

Obviously the proceeding was far from impartial and if allowed to go unchallenged will undermine the confidence of Amherst voters in our system of democracy.

Could you now, please, bring your office into this matter?


Sincerely Yours,

Larry Kelley
Amherst Town Meeting
Amherst Redevelopment Authority
5’Th generation Amherst resident

via email

Why we fight

The British, under a white flag, surrender at Yorktown.

The Gazette refused to publish the following Letter To The Editor because it was “too negative.”

Subject: Fake Iraq War Vets march in Amherst 4th Parade
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 16:28:24

I am an Iraq war veteran who marched in the 4th of July parade in Amherst. It is my duty to inform the general public that there were people who marched with a group called 'Iraq Veterans Against The War' who were not veterans' of any kind. They portrayed themselves to be yet were not. As a decorated Iraq war vet I found it nauseating. It was despicable tasteless and truly pathetic.

Albert N Sanchez (groups leader): you allowed this. I don't know which non-Infantry, non-Airborne unit you were with in Iraq. But if they knew what kind of improper behavior you have shown marching fake vets for your "Band of Quitters" they would surely like to string you up.

Let me also remind the general public that Mr. Sanchez joined the military of his own free will; as I did after the events of 9/11. If he had a problem ridding the world of terrorists he should have stayed in his cubicle. Not joined the military.

As a former Iraq Airborne LLRP who saw action on a regular basis I must say Mr. Sanchez's actions are totally despicable. And they Do Not represent your United States Military in any way.

Sincerely,

Rob McAllister
5th Core, Team 6, Airborne Long-Range Reconnaissance And Surveillance team. RTLW

Blog Editors Note: John Langford was one of the fake vets Mr. McAllister references. And at age 69 he could hardly pass for “recent veterans and active duty servicemen and women from all branches of military service, National Guard members, and reservists who have served in the United States military since September 11, 2001."

Rob McAllister, an Amherst native, joined this elite branch of the military at age 30, after watching the twin towers fall. He parachuted into Iraq two days after the “Shock and Awe” bombing campaign started in March 2003. Rob was wounded in an ambush a year later and he was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor. “His actions on the .50 caliber machine gun saved the lives of his fellow team members and allowed for the medevac of the wounded."

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Politics on display at Amherst parade
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Springfield Republican

Indeed, a group of a dozen people from two antiwar groups, Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War, marched with their banner and T-shirts proclaiming their opposition to the Iraq War.

"It's a private parade. If there are rules, we're going to abide by them," said Albert N. Sanchez, an Iraq War veteran.
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Vince O’Connor, forever anti-war protester, goes out of his way at the July 28 Select Board meeting to champion a Umass student who is an “Iraq war veteran” (so why do you just know he opposes that war) who may want to run for X-Czar Awad’s Select Board seat. And in the discussion, Weiss--who posed in town center with an upside down American flag to protest our Iraq policy—Awad and Stein echoed the cause.

The nomination papers with 50 signatures were due the next day unless the Select Board postponed the election until November and obviously this particular unnamed Umass “Iraq war veteran” was far, far from Amherst.

The Select Board voted 3-2 (the new malevolent majority) to postpone the original election date, thus disenfranchising two experienced candidates who had done the work.

Hmmm…

Mel: Please come to Amherst (any Sunday)

NORTHAMPTON - Are you an aging hippie between 30 and 75 with protesting experience? Or a young punk 18 to 22? Then Boston Casting wants you to be an extra in a new Mel Gibson movie that's being shot in the city. Gazette lead 8/1/08:

So Mr. O’Connor has been protesting in Amherst Town Center every Sunday for over 30 years; just my luck--he was not there today when I shot this “drive by”(Oh My God! A military metaphor…or is it a Hip Hop Gang metaphor?) photo below at exactly 1:00 PM when Pat Church yelled "Okay folks, that's time!" And they quickly started heading off. Yeah, this is the same Pat Church

John Langford, however, was present and accounted for (also—like Vince—hanging around there forever). You can see his bald spot just above the "G" on the banner ‘Global Peace and Justice”

Gotta love the young lady (so Mr. Gibson will not be interested in her…well, at least as far as “aging hippies” goes) flashing the peace sign while looking the other way. Maybe her Spidey senses felt the presence of a paparazzi stalker.

Yeah, these folks have been in Amherst Town Center every Sunday since 1966. Aging Hippies indeed!


This is located (click to enlarge) within feet of the official flag pole in Town Center almost exactly where these folks have exercised their First Amendment rights since 1968. Fair enough. But three or four years ago when a prominent businessman (not me) wanted to donate a granite marker to commemorate the stunning events of 9/11 he was blown off like dried up leaves on a lawn.

Mary Carey's revealing profile

Hail Caesar

Or at least I think it is a bust of Caesar, but with Dave you never know.

Symbolic comment aimed at the Town Manager perhaps?

The perfect solution

See 5:30 update below:

Original Post (very early this morning): So could somebody please buy Dave Keenan's chalet, so that he can afford to buy Awad/Hubley's Amherst condo, so that he can maintain his residency, so that he can run for the Select Board seat vacated by X-Czar Awad?

UPDATE: 5:30 PM. Sorry folks I have not been as attentive as usual (dare I use the term anal?) because my Comcast modem at home died last night and will not be replaced until tomorrow sometime between 11 am and 1:00 pm (damn, they got it down to just a two hour window). But anyway.

Here is the link to the Amherst Bulletin article (expanded from the original Gazette):
Death To Kelley (and his little dog too)

Neil makes a very good point in 'Comments' on yesterday's post that Ms. Awad was most certainly told by police experts what the definition of "stalking" is and "physical threats" and obviously her evidence was laughable, yet she knowingly made the horrendous charge anyway--in a very public forum!

And the winner is...

6:30 AM I love Thursday morning’s—so full of anticipation. What will the venerable weekly Amherst Bulletin, available around 10:30 AM, deem important enough for Front Page treatment—especially that valuable location above the fold?

So we will have "Chinese Charter School wins Federal Grant"--but probably not above the fold as they’re mad I scooped them (and my daughter is a student). Monday night’s Select Board meeting and the entertaining antics of ‘His Lordship’ Gerry Weiss will of course produce another two: "SB caves to ghost of hippy activist and changes election to replace X-Czar Awad" (well maybe that’s a tad wordy) and of course little old me: "His Lordship wants Kelley pilloried in Town Square".

Hmm…the election story should get top billing.
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10:45 AM Okay, I was almost perfect: The Election screw up was the lead story--but they used a “Pull quote” to hype His Lordship’s attempt at censor/silencing me (so in a sense the story still made the Front Page, above the fold). Chinese Charter School story just below the fold.

Of course the other funny thing is, once again, I have scooped the Bully with their own paper. They really need to light a fire under their I.T. person and make the WWW sooner.

Yeah, whenever they publish I will post the link to the "stalker story", carried in yesterday's Gazette. Reporter Scott Merzbach added more, however, which is good. He interviewed a police officer who subtly pointed out the state stalker law is designed for "domestic abuse" situations and also requires a "pattern" of abuse (not one visit to her South Hadley home on a public road located over 100 yards from their front door in the middle of the afternoon). Something Greg Saulman also pointed out in his fine MassLive Local Buzz op-ed piece.