A brief, Labor Day, American, NY adventure

Twins for sure, but not quite the same.
Brazil Day on the Avenue of the Americas
Radio City Music Hall
"There's a place for us." Apparently not in the People's Republic of Amherst
Carnegie Hall. Gotta wonder about the cop smoking a cigarette.
Central Park. An Oasis among the concrete.

So my academic wife is involved with a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Project that monitors worldwide business activity; and since most members are non-Americans, the Labor Day holiday means nothing. Thus she ended up having to attend an Executive Board Meeting this weekend in Manhattan, NY--our most beloved city.

And we enjoyed a $400 room...in the very heart of the greatest city in the greatest country on the greatest planet of the universe.

The London Hotel (Very nice--if you can afford it!)

Justice delayed...

So Northwestern District Attorney Betsy Scheibel, finally, got around to issuing a report concerning the horrific bus accident that claimed the life of two-year-old Abraham Espinoza almost one year ago.

Amherst PD quickly came to the conclusion it was a terrible, terrible accident and the State Police Reconstruction Team back in May concluded the same. I guess with the high-profile controversial cases like Pottygate and Justice For Jason still gnawing at her, the DA wanted to be ultra conservative with her findings on this tragic event.

Not that anybody will sleep better now.

The Blogger reported

Behold the power (and treat it with respect)

Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Public Records Division
McCormack Building, Room 1719
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
9/4/09

I wish to file a complaint and request a formal ruling over Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer deleting/destroying my electronic comment to his blog, hosted on the official Amherst town taxpayer funded website (http://www.amherstma.gov/), concerning a controversial town owned golf course and the economic impact of recent operations.

‘A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law’ clearly states: “The statutory definition of “public records” does not distinguish between traditional paper records and records stored in the computer medium. Rather, it provides that all information made or received by a public entity, regardless of the manner in which it exists, constitutes “public records.”

My (attempted) Comment to Mr. Shaffer’s blog post was neither obscene nor factually incorrect; therefore he as a "custodian of a public record" had no right to delete/destroy it to prevent public disclosure.

Town Manager Shaffer's disingenuous closing paragraph declared:

“Cherry Hill Golf Course financial report for Fiscal Year 2009 is complete. Cherry Hill revenue for the period is $253, 725. and expenses for the same period are $210,611. Cherry Hill's operation has generated a surplus of close to $100,000. over the last two years. Much credit goes to Linda Chalfant and Barb Bilz for their work at Cherry Hill.”

My attempted response/rebuttal (automatically time/date stamped by Blogger software):

Blogger LarryK4 said...

“Yes Larry, but the purported "profit" does not include hidden costs like employee benefits, insurance, and capital improvements (underground storage tank, security fencing and greens mower) which combined come to over $100-K.”
August 27, 2009 9:46 PM

And while LarryK4 could appear to be an Anonymous source, if you click on the nickname/hotlink it brings you to my blogger Profile Page that clearly spells out my identity. Besides, Mr. Shaffer has previously published comments from me (under the nickname LarryK4) on his blog.

Mr. Shaffer did upload another post on August 29 and at that time would have discovered my Comment concerning his August 7 upload. His blog has “Moderation enabled” so that the blog owner gets to approve comments before publication. In this case he did not.

Since my tax dollars are involved I find that exceedingly unfair.

Over the past ten years the Internet has evolved from the Wild Wild West to standard operating procedure. Blogs are perhaps the most powerful tool for communication/activism spawned by this 21’st Century medium. And for the Town Manager (a public official) to abuse the town website for unfair advantage in Public Relations/Spin is blatantly unfair.

Larry Kelley (AKA: LarryK4)
Amherst Town Meeting Member
Amherst Redevelopment Authority
5th Generation Amherst resident
http://www.onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.com/

The other Larry's Blog (note frequent updates and comments...not!)

Morning Mist

Don't raise the bridge, lower the water.

Gotta love His Lordship Gerry Weiss's response to the high rate of negative feedback for Amherst's (not so) beloved leader, Town Manager Larry Shaffer, from town employees--you know the troops that he leads--printed in today's Gazette:

The board expressed worry about negative feedback from the 45 employees, about 16 percent of the municipal work force, who returned questionnaires. About half of these had negative comments about Shaffer's performance. O'Keeffe wrote that that could mean losing competent employees.

But board member Gerry Weiss, in his comments, noted that it is possible most negativity came from firefighters because of their lack of a contract.

Weiss suggested the board should find another vehicle to get feedback next year. O'Keeffe agreed that the board needs to improve the participation.

Yeah, readers of this blog know full well I'm not a fan of critical Cowardly Anon Comments and have to agree--and this does not happen often--with NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who recently closed her piece thusly:

"As Hugo Black wrote in 1960, “It is plain that anonymity has sometimes been assumed for the most constructive purposes.”

But on the Internet, it’s often less about being constructive and more about being cowardly."

But anonymous surveys of a target audience--in this case town employees--is a tad different. And anonymity is certainly required, as I do know of a Information Technology worker fired (or let go with a payoff) for criticizing his boss in an email to the Town Manager copied to the entire Select Board.

Apparently in the People's Republic of Amherst, if you don't like the message--kill the messenger.

Banned again.

Monday, 9:10 AM

Since he only uploads about once a month, I don’t visit Town Manager Larry Shaffer’s blog very often but checked it out late last week for the first time in a while. I left a comment on his August 7 disingenuous post cheering Cherry Hill:

Town Manager's post


Blogger LarryK4 said...

Yes Larry, but the purported "profit" does not include hidden costs like employee benefits, insurance, and capital improvements (underground storage tank, security fencing and greens mower) which combined come to over $100-K.

August 27, 2009 9:46 PM

Amazingly he posted again (wow twice in a month) on the rainy afternoon of August 29 (a Saturday no less) hyping the “grand opening “ of the Plum Brook Soccer fields. So obviously he saw my Comment from two days before, and decided to censor it (he has "moderation" enabled so Comments must be approved before they get posted.)

Now if the Town Manager simply had a privately-owned personal blog he could do anything he wants with comments, but since his blog is hosted on the town web page paid for with tax dollars he should respect the First Amendment.

After all, I thought the People’s Republic of Amherst was the town “where only the H is silent.”

Drowning in quicksand.

Blogger's annual fight for flags fails
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Staff Writer

Friday, August 28, 2009

AMHERST - Commemorative American flags are not expected to fly over Amherst's streets Sept. 11, despite an appeal from an Amherst blogger who wants the Select Board to change its policy governing their use.

Larry Kelley, a Town Meeting member from South Pleasant Street, told the Select Board this week that it should have the 29 flags fly every Sept. 11.

"History will always remember what happened on 9/11, and I think the town should remember it," Kelley said.

Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie O'Keeffe told Kelley that the issue could be considered at the board's next meeting, on Monday, but only if another board member asked for a new vote. This did not happen.

"I had asked Select Board members to let me know by 9 this morning if they wanted to have this issue put on Monday's agenda," O'Keeffe said in an email Thursday. "None did."

Kelley's request came even though the Select Board last year approved a policy that will allow the commemorative flags to fly every three years, meaning the next time they will be up is in 2011, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. This compromise idea was offered by former Chairman Gerry Weiss.

O'Keeffe has said she personally supports having flags fly every year Sept. 11, but understands this is not a sentiment shared by everyone.

"Last year we made a multi-year decision supported by a majority of the Select Board," O'Keeffe said.

Kelley pointed out that Aaron Hayden, who joined the board in November, has not been able to vote on the topic. On Kelley's blog, he refers to O'Keeffe's decision to leave the matter off the next agenda as a pocket veto.

During the public comment period, Ernie Dalkas, of East Hadley Road, talked about the recent injury suffered by Joshua Bouchard, an Amherst Regional High School graduate, who lost a leg in Afghanistan. Dalkas said this illustrates how Sept. 11 is still being felt.

Kelley said the date that 3,000 Americans were killed in new York, Washington and Pennsylvania remains important.

"Now you can't look down at a nine and an 11 without it striking at your soul," Kelley said.

O'Keeffe said the town annually commemorates the day by having a ceremony at the downtown fire station, which board members and others attend to reflect on the loss of lives.

On Sept. 10, 2001, the board set Patriots' Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day through Bunker Hill Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, and, every four years Inauguration Day, as the only days the commemorative flags can go up.