Floating over Springfield

The Big Guy got time off from Yankee Candle to attend
Sheriff Michael Ash. Scandal? What Corrections scandal?
Always dapper Mayor Sarno.
Cute kid watching big penguin
This one made me hungry
Raggedy Ann looking, well, raggedy--especially compared to the Mayor.
Hometown hero. The Cat in the Hat (after a breakfast of green eggs and ham).
Garfield striking a ta-da pose

We were located at the end of the parade route and by then Dora The Explorer had evidently gotten lost. But I assured my daughters that Yankee Candle would give Santa Claus December 3rd off, so he can attend the Merry Maple lighting ceremony (otherwise known as a Christmas Tree)in the People's Republic.

Reteaching an old dog...

For my new feature "Party house of the weekend," I attend the press briefing at Amherst Police Station around 9:00 AM on Monday morning, which until now pretty much consisted of only one reporter, Scott Merzbach from the Daily Hampshire Gazette; convenient enough for me, as I drop off my 3-year-old at the Spring Street Preschool 100 yards away at 8:45 AM.

Thus I had the story of the $3,900 scam suffered by the greatest little pizza shop on the planet, Antonio's, at the same time as Mr. Merzbach.

And like a lot of things concerning Amherst, I have a bit of a personal connection. Out of all the business owners I have known and called friend over the past 30 years none were better than original founder Bruno Matarazzo, may he rest in peace.

And of course I can beat the Gazette by a few hours--even on a really bad day. But I also had what I was looking for: a "party house" with 500 "guests", three tenants arrested for bad behavior and ticketed for violating the newly-escalated-in-price Noise and Nuisance town bylaws to the tune of $1,800 total.

The overwhelming plus side of a blog is the speed of publishing, downside is you only have a Front Page. What's a news blogger to do?

I drove from the Police Station to the party house about a mile down the road for a quick photo. Antonio's would have been closer by half. The loss to Antonio's was $3,900--a hell of a lot for sure, but their markup has got to be at least 50% so it was really less than $2,000. Thus roughly the same economic impact as the $1,800 in fines handed out to three denizens of the party/nuisance house.

So I went with the party house story. The Gazette online went with both a few hours later and the next day's print edition carried a slightly more fleshed out article about the pizza rip off (with better placement than the party house article), including an interview with the owner.

The Daily Collegian had followed up quickly online (getting an important fact wrong), then the Springfield Republican, local TV stations and then the motherload: the AP National wire.

Even this morning my friends at the Springfield Republican published an editorial about the affair. As of now over 200 news outlets have picked up the story. Yikes!

So don't worry too much about Antonio's losing $3,900. This amount of press is priceless in an advertising sort of way.

And for me, I relearned an old lesson from my 'News Reporting and Writing' class almost exactly 25 years ago: "Dog bites man, not a story; man bite dog, now that's a story."

Only in Amherst would an out-of-control, alcohol-fueled party of 500 collage-aged kids packed in a one-bedroom house resulting in 3 arrests (one charged with possession of a stun gun) and $1,800 in fines be considered routine.

Thankful to be here, in my hometown

So I can always tell when something bad is brewing in Korea as I get a ton of visitors to Heart & Seoul, my tour of the DMZ a year-and-a-half ago. Google analytics reveals it to be far and away the most viewed post out of all 1,350 put up over the past three-and-a-half years.

I first noticed it on my sitemeter 8 months ago when the South Korean warship mysteriously exploded and sank in disputed waters; it just started again a few days ago with the stunning announcement of North Korea's new uranium processing plant, and then escalated after the North pounded an island with artillery killing two South Korean soldiers and two civilians.

So yes, once again I fear for my friends in Seoul. Because if the North Koreans decide (or I should say the new kid in charge) on all-out war, the carnage on Day One will be incomprehensible.

Thus I am thankful to be here in my hometown, with family and friends, safe and warm . And it makes me even more thankful then ever for the men and women in our military who lay their lives on the line to make it so--especially those in far off places under imminent threat of death.

As well as police, fire and public safety folks right here at home.

If I had to pick my favorite post out of all 1,350 it would be A Thanksgiving Story, also about war. And I'm so thankful to have know Dick Hagelberg--a poster boy for the "Greatest Generation".

Don't bother the Juggernaut!

Trailer for sale or rent. Mark's Meadow abandoned classrooms.

So as I've mentioned many times before, Umass generates over 50 school-age children from their tax-exempt housing (including Chancellor Holub's ornate house) impacting the Amherst Public School System at a per head cost of over $16,000 with zero remuneration.

Yet, according to the 5-year Town/Gown "strategic agreement" signed four years ago:

“If, in the future, the Town builds a new elementary school and vacates the Mark’s Meadow facility, the Town, AES, ARPS and the University will negotiate a new agreement in which the University may reimburse the Town for a portion of the net costs of educating students living in University tax-exempt housing. "

Well, last I looked not only has Mark's Meadow been vacated and returned to Umass, but we also left behind never-really-been-used modular classrooms that cost Amherst taxpayers $215,000 only a few years ago.

Furthermore, last week our School Superintendent informed (after the fact) the School Committee that she had authorized donating $96,000 to Umass for a "training partnership." I'm still trying to find out what we are actually getting for our money?
###############################
amherstac@aol.com> 11/19/2010 1:44 PM >>>
Hey Rob,
Could I please get the document showing how/where Umass spent the $96,000 for a training partnership using ARRA funds given to them by Amherst schools?

Thanks,
Larry Kelley

From: Rob Detweiler
To: amherstac@aol.com
Cc: Maria Geryk
Sent: Mon, Nov 22, 2010 7:54 am

Hello Larry,I have forwarded your request to the attention of the Superintendent. Hope you enjoy your day.

Rob Detweiler,
Director of Finance and Operations


Thanks Kathy, correction made. Now not to be a complete pain in the butt on a Friday afternoon, but could I also get the number of teachers in the Amherst School System who took advantage of the "free" education courses at Umass School of Education last Fiscal Year? Maria said at the most recent SC meeting the $96,000 we donate annually to Umass School of Ed goes towards grant writing and education/training courses for Amherst public school teachers.
Larry


From: Kathy Mazur
To: amherstac@aol.com
Sent: Fri, Nov 19, 2010 12:54 pm
Subject: Re: Public Document Request

I will ask Maria about the "in kind" services you are referring to. One thing though, this was a one-time payment of 96K for a training partnership using ARRA funds. It's not donated annually.

Kathy


From: amherstac@aol.com
To: cmccormick@educ.umass.edu
Sent: Fri, Nov 19, 2010 1:02 pm
Subject: Public Documents Request

Hi Christine,
Sorry to bother you on a Friday afternoon but could I please get a breakdown (rough is fine) of how the School of Ed spent the $96,000 the Amherst Public Spends expended for the "partnership to support teaching and learning"?

Thanks,

Larry Kelley

From: Christine McCormick
To: amherstac@aol.com
Sent: Mon, Nov 22, 2010 3:01 pm
Dear Mr. Kelley,

Thank you for your interest in our partnership. We are very excited about this collaboration. Last Friday when you sent your email inquiry, the School of Education was focused on ensuring the success of the major event described in the notice below. I am only in today for some key meetings and will be traveling tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with family. In the meantime, I would encourage you to contact Dr. Rebecca Woodland, who will be glad to fill you in on the accomplishments of this partnership.

Christine B. McCormick
Dean, School of Education

Declare victory and go home

Princess Stephanie once again demonstrates her PR flack background (although odd such a true blue Dem would borrow from Tricky Dick Nixon's handbook) as she spins nothing but positives with her postmortem analysis of the just completed Amherst Town Meeting.

She forgets to mention of course that the Select Board was 0-2 on articles that garnered any press attention: A much needed zoning change, championed by the Select Board and Town Manager (and her husband on the Planning Board and her dad, Chair of the Amherst Redevelopment Authority) but panned by town meeting; and the typical anti-war advisory article the Select board had voted 4-1 for "no recommendation," but was overwhelmingly approved by Town Meeting.

Party House of the Weekend (stunning)

While not exactly "One riot, one Texas Ranger" the Amherst Police Department still did an outstanding job quelling in about a half-hour a loud drunken party of 500 individuals all crammed into a one-family house at 51 North East Street.

Officers on the scene issued three "responsible" tenants two $300 bylaw violation tickets each ($1,800 total) one for Nuisance, one for Noise; and just for good measure they arrested all three as well--thus costing the perps a few more bucks for the bail bondsman to make his midnight rounds.

One even had in his possession an illegal stun gun. I guess the shocks on him.
####################################
According to Police Narrative:

Approximately 500 people cleared from residence with loud voices and DJ equipment. Many of the guests refused to leave and hid in various rooms inside the residence while continuing to party. Residence had a large amount of trash (cans/bottles) in the yard and three males were observed actively urinating in the backyard. One individual was identified as being a minor in possession of alcohol. Residents placed under arrest for Unlawful Noise and Nuisance House.

Encore for Jonathan M. Curtis

1:30 PM Sunday afternoon: Note vapor trail from large commercial passenger jet high in the background

So there has to be an honorable balance somewhere between the overreaction of Lt. Calley in Viet Nam's horrific 1968 My Lai massacre and the overly conservative response 15 years later of our military in Beirut where a suicide truck bombing slaughtered 299 American and French soldiers while they slept, and the perimeter sentry forces--in order not to overreact were required to keep ammo clips in their pockets; and one guard reports how as he fumbled to load his weapon he could clearly see the look of rapture on the truck drivers face as he rammed his explosive laden vehicle into the barracks with devastating results.

Perhaps the response of 24 year old Jonathan M Curtis and Private 1st Class Andrew Meari, 21, who both perished foiling an insurgent from getting to 7 of of their comrades with a suicide body bomb is it. They did their job, saved fellow soldiers and the only other casualty was the bad guy, intent on doing way more damage than what actually occurred.

The Boston Herald reports


-----Original Message-----
From: State House Events (BSB)
To: amherstac@aol.com
Sent: Thu, Nov 18, 2010 11:19 am
Subject: Half Staff Notification for Sunday, November 21, 2010

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Governor Patrick is ordering the American and Commonwealth Flags lower to half staff position from sunrise to sunset on Sunday, November 21, 2010 in honor of Spc. Jonathan M. Curtis who was killed in action in Afghanistan.

Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 12:00 PM
To: Events, Sh (BSB)
Subject: Re: Half Staff Notification for Sunday, November 21, 2010

Hey Suzzette,

Not to question your efficiency and that of the Big Guy, but did we not already lower the flags for Spc. Jonathan M. Curtis on 11/9?

(Not that he doesn't deserve another!)

Larry K

To: 'amherstac@aol.com'
Sent: Thu, Nov 18, 2010 12:23 pm
Subject: RE: Half Staff Notification for Sunday, November 21, 2010

Yes, November 9th was his out of state interment. November 21st is his in state memorial service.

I hope that helps.

Suzzette

Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 12:27 PM
To: Events, Sh (BSB)
Subject: Re: Half Staff Notification for Sunday, November 21, 2010

Hey Suzzette,
I figured it was something like that. And as I hinted: nobody is more deserving.
Larry

To: 'amherstac@aol.com'
Sent: Thu, Nov 18, 2010 12:28 pm
Subject: RE: Half Staff Notification for Sunday, November 21, 2010

I totally agree!

Suzzette Waters