UN flag to be retired

The faded tattered United Nations flag that has flown in front of Amherst Town Hall since the very early 1970's (soooooo long ago that even Vince O'Connor was not around) will be permanently retired into the new landfill at the former Cherry Hill Golf Course.

Since town officials are squeamish about the American flag, the Committee to Abolish Imperialistic Banners (co-sponsored by the Amherst League of Women Voters) decided to alternate the Puerto Rican flag, Rainbow flag, People's Republic of Iran and North Korea at that flagpole over the next generation.

Cherry Hill Golf Course: sunk in a sandtrap

After costing $2.2 million to acquire by eminent domain (in 1987 dollars) and another $1 million in tax dollars for operational losses over the past 22 years on the glamorous game of golf, the Town Mangler today announced he's throwing in the sweat towel.

Amherst's white elephant is closed, and will soon become a landfill.

"Garbage pays more than golf" said Laurence Shaffer. And he should know!

Heading South

Yeah, I'm still mad as Hell but I just can't take it anymore. You win, my spouse wins, maybe even my young kids win. We're packing up the bikes, computers and kitties and heading for South Hadley.

Hell, they have all the really easy targets anyway (not counting Anne Awad since she seems to have gone into private hibernation.) Barry Del Castilho and Gus Sayer--the two highest paid town employees and previous long-time Amherst trough suckers, a municipal golf course that generates more red ink than a Chinese flag factory and my abolute favorite lame FAT duck target, Representative Town Meeting.

They even have TWO Fire Departments in a town half the size of the People's Republic (our little abode is exactly half-way between them so in an emergency maybe they will both come) and good old Skinner Mountain where I can train once again to bike up Mt. Washington. And their High School even has a marching band!

Besides, they could use a slight increase in their Asian population.

Breaking "news" (9:30 PM)

Soooooo with four Precincts (out of 10) reporting we can conclude: T=P (Turnout is Pathetic)

Precinct 4: 7.9%
Precinct 5: 13%
Precinct 7: 13%
Precinct 10: 7.7%

Looks like Rhodes and Rivkin are our next two new School Committee members.

Scary race at the moment is for Amherst Redevelopment Authority with anti-development, tree hugger Rob Kusner leading former business owner, former Chamber of Commerce Director (and most importantly, Dad to Princess Stephanie)John Coull in a squeaker: 261 to 258.

UPDATE: 10:15 PM: Whew! According to the Springfield Republican John Coull pulled it out for ARA 909 to Rob Kusner's 832.

And naturally Gazettenet is reporting the School Committee race ass backwards showing Rivkin #1 with 1,454 votes and Rhodes #2 with 1,153 votes when those numbers should be about reversed:
Irvin E. Rhodes 1,564 , Steven G. Rivkin 1,240

Freudian slip?

Click to enlarge

So notice how Mr. Kusner ties his name more closely with "authority." Yes, this from the guy who as a cycling Selectman slammed his hand on a car he thought cut him off and shouted for them to pull over under his authority as "Select Man". Maybe we should issue them badges and guns; after all, we only pay them $300 annually.

Of course aligning his name with Redevelopment is a big stretch. This from the guy who received a -24 as a Town Meeting member (the lowest score in his Precinct) from 'Sustainable Amherst', those middle-of-the-road, sensible center types who want to have their cake and eat it to.

Yeah, I scored a +17, second highest in my Precinct, but then I was not in Town Meeting in 2004 and 2005 (showing support for the Charter Commission Mayor/Council initiative) so just for fun I looked up the 8 votes they rated back then and found I would have scored another 7 out of 8 in agreeing with them.

But the one where I would have been penalized is a tad troubling. The Town Meeting vote supporting the "recommendation" to the Select Board to roll back the Town Manager's sudden mid-year pay raise in order to keep up with the new Superintendent's pay jump over the previous one.

The real budget buster in this town is the pay scale and all the associated costs of employees. Just a tiny giveback from the unions can save millions (in fact completely solve the current crisis).

But when it goes public that the new Superintendent is coming in at almost 20% over the previous SUPERSTAR and another 10% over with housing/auto allowance, the union give backs are dead in the water.

So if the Select Board forces the Town Manager to take his COLA this year (which in an unusually statesman like move he decided to forgo) and Town Meeting hears a advisory article this Fall against it, 'Sustainable Amherst' would support spending more?

Doesn't sound very sustainable to me.

What if they gave an election...

Crocker Farm Elementary School/Voting Precinct 8:00 AM

(Yes, I violated my Trespass Order)

So it's going to be a beautiful day in the neighborhood--should help voter turnout, eh? Nah! The excuse will be that it was such a nice day we would rather spend it playing ultimate Frisbee, hacky sack or contra dancing on the town common.

Vote early, vote often.

So once again activist Amherst will turn out a pathetic 15 to 20% of the vote to cast ballots in the annual town election. Last November it was closer to 80%. And it’s not like the President of the United States has a big impact on little old Amherst.

The Schools spend the vast majority of our $60+ million budget so the School Committee race will be telling. Rhodes is a shoe in, as he will most likely be almost everybody’s second vote (providing they don’t “bullet vote”.) So the only question is will reformer Rivkin or maintain the status quo Rosa get in.

The Amherst Redevelopment Authority race between tree hugger Rob Kusner and former Chamber of Commerce director John Coull should also be interesting. With the power of eminent domain the ARA can be a formidable tool for development not just in the downtown but also in the North and South Amherst Village Centers.

In the League of Women Voters insert in the Amherst Bulletin Mr. Kusner highlights his experience as committee chair for the Norwottuck Rail Trail, but fails to mention his recent three year stint on the Amherst Select Board (not that they were all that distinguished.)

And as usual, nobody cares about Town Meeting as no contests exist for 3-year-seats in eight out of ten precincts, meaning 64 do-gooders (over one-quarter of the body) are guaranteed election.

Let’s hope none of these folks get to serve out their full term. Charter change for accountable government. Coming soon.