Yeah, watch that criticism

This from tomorrow's Bulletin (headline 'Select Board discusses town manager evaluation'

This year each of the Select Board members will be writing reviews for Shaffer. This is a change from last year , when Weiss synthesized the comments, taking the other beard members' written comments and merging them into an overall review.

Weiss said he hopes this tactic will make the Select Board members increase the precision in their commentary and be more respectful in their criticism"

Hmmm...So I take it last year some Select Board members were disrespectful in their criticism?

But 'His Lordship' does not want to hear a Minority Report from the Facilitation of Community Choices Committee. I guess he considers that committee plain old pawns rather than Bishops or Rooks.

No voices of dissent?

So this from the October 3 Amherst Bulletin:

Select Board Chairman Gerry Weiss said he has been pleased with the work of the subcommittee (FCCC), which has been meeting regularly since April. Weiss said he and Andy Churchill, who are co-chairmen of the Budget Coordinating Group, deliberately selected the 11 members of the panel to represent diverse viewpoints, with people both in favor of and opposed to tax-cap overrides or deep budget cuts.

"I think the committee has gelled and it's in sync," Weiss said.

This is perhaps best demonstrated, Weiss said, in that he doesn't expect there to be a minority report filed by the committee. Both the Bulletin and Daily Hampshire Gazette will feature coverage of this presentation and public reaction in future editions.

We really don't need a committee that is in lock step--errr, I mean "sync" with each other on a fundamentally critical issue like this. What we need is for folks who have a core to stand up and be counted (and I'm not so sure the Gazette/Bulletin is up to covering that in a fair and balanced way).
State slashes CPA funding to Amherst

Umass takes a hit as well

Be careful what you wish for

UPDATE: 4:00 PM So Amherst Select Person Stephanie kind of proves my point over at her blog as she, finally, updated yesterday; and when talking about the vote to increase the CPA tax from 1.5% to 3% (she co-wrote a column for this week’s Bully with Alisa Brewer opposing the tax increase and His Lordship Gerry Weiss and his water carrier Diana Stein writing one in support) blatantly admits:

“If we are going to ask people to accept higher tax bills, I think it ought to be for funding the essentials of Town government, not just open space, historic preservation, affordable housing and recreation. I worry that making this increase now would jeopardize an override later, if one becomes necessary”

Yeah, “IF” (many people in this town never met an Override they did not want to take out for sushi)

ORIGINAL POST 10:00 AM
Subject: big time...
To: FCCC Committee (all 10 other members)
Date: Monday, October 6, 2008, 11:51 AM

OK...we have now made the "big time" in Amherst...we are featured in Larry Kelley's blog. http://onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com/ I have been monitoring it ever since I emailed him to ask him if he would consider it. I wrote in a comment so that our actual web site address could be immediately accessible...Larry includes a link but the link says "Just Say No!" which might not be what some people want to hear so they might not click. Plus, it never hurts to be able to put a name to a committee. Check it out!

This makes appearances now in Mary Carey's blog, Stephanie's blog, Catherine Sanderson's blog, and Gavin Andresen's blog. But making Larry Kelley's really gives us a lot of visibility. And, at this point, any publicity is good publicity!
Alison Donta


Sooooo, somebody who got this email from somebody forwarded it my way (actually two people). It’s a public document--since it went to the entire Facilitation Of The Community Choices Committee including liaison, Assistant Town Manager John Musante.

Anybody who uses the internet regularly should know that when you send something to a listserve of 10 people (friends and family, committee members, or terrorist cell) chances are pretty good that some of those people will pass it along to one trusted friend, who in turn sends it along to another trusted friend, who….

But of course I’m glad to help publicize their survey--even if I do think it is flawed because of potential ballot stuffing. Over two years ago Select Man Robie Hubley came up with three non-binding questions concerning the beleaguered budget to put before the voters on the April annual election ballot.

One asked if the town should simply implement budget cuts (level funding), another asked if an Override was the way to go and the third asked if a combination of cuts and tax or fee increases (level services) was the solution. A little over 2,500 people showed up at the polls that year and about 1, 800 participated in the survey.

The results were useless to town officials, as the following year a $2.5 million Override went down in flames. Curiously the FCCC’s s three “scenarios” pretty much mimic Mr. Hubley’s previous questions to the voters.

Scenario 1 Level Funding (cuts)

Scenario 2 Level Services (no cuts, no additions) BUT requiring a hefty tax (or fee) increase.

Scenario 3 Priority Restorations/Additions that would require most of the gold in Fort Knox, or a HUGE Override.

The Bully reports

Gerrymandering

And so it begins...

Our entire family attended--and 3 out of 4 of us competed in--the "4'th annual Larch Hill English Style Cross Country Classic Race" directly across the street from our South Amherst abode (with all revenues going to charity)

My almost-two-year old finished last--but hey, at least she finished!

ca-ca-ca-ca colors

And Justice for all?

Click to read
The Gazette did a curious story prominently splashed above the fold on the break page about a controversy created by a column published in the Umass Daily Collegian calling into question the facts in the assault case of former Umass student Jason Vassell a violent incident with, gasp, racial overtones.

Now I say curious because one newspaper—especially a bricks and mortar traditional one--does not usually cover another newspaper creating a controversy via a column. Most news editor’s rate columnist just barely above bloggers.

The Collegian columnist relied on public documents for primary source material (probably more so than a typical reporter would) so I also find it curious the Gazette did not use and quote from the same material.

Thus far the response has included a Letter to the editor by Vassell’s two attorney’s lambasting the column and paper. Usually when contacted by a newspaper about a client in a highly public case most attorneys respond with: “I don’t try my case in the media.”

The President of the Student Government Association, who is Asian, also (over) responds to the column with an overly personal counterattack, and when the Collegian insists on editorial oversight an anonymous donor comes up with the cash to buy ad space so the vitriolic Letter would run without editorial filter.

Curiously the Collegian spiked the follow up effort by the columnist defending her original work by citing her reliable sources. Thus, they abandoned her.

A journalist’s (reporter, columnist or blogger) only weapon is their word. And a source needs to know that they will be protected. Reporters have gone to jail to protect a source that divulged information “off the record” and wanted it to stay that way.

If a newspaper will not stand behind a columnist, then maybe they should rethink their mission.

Original Collegian Column

Click to read

Not getting the concept, continued...

From: amherstac@aol.com [mailto:amherstac@aol.com]
Sent: Wed 10/8/2008 8:17 AM
To: Bob Saul, FCCC Co-Chair
Subject: FCCC questionaire

Hey Bob,

Alison said on my blog that you decided not to implement controls to avoid duplication of results for the survey questions posted on the town web site and hardcopies at the Library. True?

Larry Kelley


From: "Bob Saul"
Subject: RE: FCCC questionaire
Date: October 8, 2008 6:12:25 PM EDT
To: amherstac@aol.com


Its not that we "decided" not to do it. We have no budget so we could not do it cost effectively.

Bob Saul
GMO Renewable Resources


You would think a sub-committee that was formed to act as economic seers to predict the next five years for our $65 million multi-national corporation would be given some spare change to cover certain critical costs—like protecting the integrity of this important poll.

Even the Select board seems to get it as they are numbering the Town Manager evaluation forms distributed to staff and department heads to avoid an overzealous anonymous individual from photocopying the form and stuffing the ballot.

Interestingly, according to Select Person O’Keeffe’s blog: “Mr. Musante (Assistant Town Manager and member of the Facilitation Of The Community Choices Committee) suggested being cautious about drawing broad conclusions from small samples, and it was noted that the same caution must be applied to public submissions.”

Yeah, you gotta watch that damn public.