That's Entertainment

Amherst Brewing Company hosted a catered meet-and-greet "Open House" last night at their proposed new location: Newmarket Center on University Drive, a busy direct artery leading to the heart of our economy, Umass.

The new-and-improved location would essentially double their footprint, double their seating capacity and provide bountiful parking--all for roughly the same rent they now pay in Amherst center where parking is hardly plentiful.

And since Amherst enacted a local option meals tax, what's good for a restaurant is good for the taxbase.

The previous tenant, The Leading Edge (formerly Gold's Gym), expired last fall after falling behind in rent so by now the vacant tomb has cost the landlord over $100,000 in lost revenue. No wonder the property manager did not hesitate to allow a viable prospective tenant to throw a party.

The three member Zoning Board of Appeals will hear their case February 10 and, unfortunately, the Special Permit requires a unanimous vote. Neighbors will be out in force to rail against increased noise and traffic.

And so it goes.
Looks like former owner Peter Earle did not put back ALL the equipment he snatched on Christmas day


A commercial location (for many years now)

Amherst School Super $earch: The drama continues...

UPDATE: Saturday 1:25 PM

The Springfield Republican reports


UPDATE 1/20/11 8:00 PM

So the venerable Amherst Bulletin went to bed late this week trying to keep up with this fast moving story, and at the very least they conjured up an adequate above-the-fold headline "...as controversy swirls around the search process." Indeed.

Center-of-the-storm Amherst School Committee member (and fellow blogger) Catherine Sanderson recently posted why these new developments make her "Disappointed in our community."

And I could not agree more. For almost 30 years I have watched the well organized "insiders" take advantage of voter apathy in our local elections and use fear and intimidation to squelch dissent.

Fortunately for us, Ms. Sanderson is not a wuss.

The Bulletin Reports
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ORIGINAL POST 1/19/11 12:15 PM

From: Julia Rueschemeyer
To: Amherst Regional School Committee
Sent: Wed, Jan 19, 2011 11:44 am
Subject: Concerning campaign to undermine the search process

I am writing to inform the Committee of how disappointed I was to receive the following bulk email encouraging me to support Maria Geryk for superintendent. Please note that I received this email before the outside candidates have even had the chance to meet and speak to the community. This email calls into question the candidate’s willingness to relocate to Amherst. Certainly not something to be assessed simply from their resumes. It indicates to me that there is a well-orchestrated, deliberate campaign to subvert the selection process and keep Maria Geryk in control of the schools at all costs.

I am concerned that Jennifer Welborn, a District teacher, appears to be leading the charge to promote her current boss (who impacts her evaluations, work policy, promotion, etc.) This seems to be an extreme conflict of interest. Further, promoting her agenda to parents who might have students in her class, and might fear retaliation for a differing viewpoint, is also tremendously problematic. It would be one thing to write a letter expressing her personal opinion directly to the School Committee, but it is highly inappropriate to participate in an organized effort to recruit others to write on Maria’s behalf.

This campaign is being conducted by email blast, largely by, and directed at, affluent, white parents. Therefore the letters received by the school committee about candidates will be dominated by this socioeconomic group, disenfranchising other segments. It is also an effort to specifically thwart two outside candidates with significant expertise and experience with students of color, and is directly in conflict our critical District goal of social justice, our desire to have all segments of the community participate equally in the process.

The public opinion process had already been damaged by Maria’s releasing her name in the newspaper before the Search Committee announced the finalists, creating more press coverage for her than for any of the others. This campaign further corrupts the community responses.

If Maria were to be selected by the School Committee these actions will forever taint her appointment. People will always assume that she was hired not because she was the best candidate, but because she had the backing of the Amherst political machine.

I hope that the School Committee can rise above these political tactics, and make the right decision on the individual merits of each candidate, and what is best for the children in the school system.

Julia Rueschemeyer
##############################################

From diana@spurginfamily.com
Sent: Mon, January 17, 2:00 PM

Please read the letter below from Jennifer Welborn, a well-respected member of our teaching community, and contact our school committee members to (1) Delay the appointment decision (for at least a couple of days, instead of the currently planned couple of hours) after the last interview to allow for public input and thorough consideration of this extremely important appointment, and 2) indicate your preference for a candidate - and I am endorsing Maria Geryk for the same reasons as Jennifer - she has a proven track record in Amherst, she has roots here, and she has the support of our teachers. Please join Jennifer and me in urging our School Committee to come to the rational decision to not gamble on another potentially transient superintendent!

PS - As I was selecting you to receive this email I got the all-call from the school delaying tomorrow's start of the interviews due to the threatening weather forecast. That renders some of this message moot but it still is a good message to sent to the school committee to take their time, take the time to get public input, and make their time well spent by picking the best candidate. Many thanks for YOUR time!

Here's Ms. Welborn's message:

From: Jennifer Welborn Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 5:30 Here is a copy of the letter I am sending to all members of the school committees. Feel free to copy/use as you wish and/or forward to other people.

I am writing to you with regards to the upcoming school committee vote for the next superintendent of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School system. I am: an Amherst resident; the mother of two children in the public schools and a teacher at the middle school. As a member of the aforementioned 3 different groups of people in town, I believe I have my finger on the pulse of both the community and at the very least, the teaching staff at the middle school.

Both my children are very active in the schools, in sports, and in the community so I am out and about every minute that I am not planning and grading! Everywhere I go, people--even people who do not have children in the public schools- talk about the need for STABILITY, CONTINUITY and COMMITMENT in addition to the skills and experience needed to cope with the challenging job of being a superintendent in our system.

Unfortunately, as you know, the superintendency has been somewhat of a revolving door the past few years. Of the three candidates, I believe that Maria Geryk is the one who shows the most promise of providing the long-term stability, in addition to the requisite skills and experience, (which she has ALREADY DEMONSTRATED) of leadership that we sorely need at this point.

I am sure, after reading the bios of the other two candidates, that they are fine men, with abilities and experience that may well be valuable and helpful to our system. I am not convinced, however, that either one of them, would/could commit to the position over the long haul.

I, and a plethora of other people (parents, community members, other teachers) believe we do not need to appoint someone from the outside, who will take at least 6 months to learn the ropes and get traction.

We need someone who already knows this community, has ALREADY demonstrated skill and expertise (Maria has successfully stepped up to the challenge two times now) and who is committed to staying for awhile and working with all stake holders to improve the schools. Thank you for taking the time to read this email.

Jennifer Welborn

BANANA byproduct

So it comes as no surprise that "new growth" is down fairly dramatically, and if some people had their way the town would see zero growth--as in a BANANA Republic (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone.)

In 2005 a Texas company tried to build 200 units of upscale student housing (50 of them "affordable") just off campus--a project that today would be generating a half million dollars in property taxes.

Town Meeting recently voted down a development modification to the zoning bylaw that would have encouraged smart development--something highly recommended by our expensive Master Plan.

Critics seemed to make it a referendum on the Gateway Project, a mixed-use commercial development that will significantly improve the main approach to Umass, add desperately needed housing stock to a terribly tight market, encourage pedestrian traffic into our downtown, and provide significant tax revenues. A win-win squared.

Patriotic Deja Vu (all over again)

January 2011

So back in 1988 Tae Kwon Do debuted as a "demonstration sport" in Seoul, Korea--a nation that takes Martial Arts deadly serious. My kicking karate buddy Arlene Limas, from the tough town of Chicago, won an Olympic gold medal.

Standing on the elevated podium the exuberant lanky Polish/Mexican lady in her crisp white uniform patiently waits for the sound system to play the "Star Spangled Banner"...and waits, and waits.

Finally, she single-handedly starts singing our national anthem acappella--quickly joined by friends and family in the crowd--and shorty thereafter by almost everybody in the cavernous arena.

And that was 13 years before the world changed. At the normally routine Buckingham Palace changing of the guard, on an extraordinary afternoon just after 9/11, our former enemy for the first and only time in their exceedingly long history struck up "The Star Spangled Banner."



A Brit newspaper reported

Innocent on all counts!

So the jury spanked the "Special Prosecutor," recently retired B-I-G city District Attorney William M Bennet, by coming back ever-so-quickly with a slam dunk verdict of not guilty on all four counts in the God awful manslaughter trial of former Pelham police chief Ed Fleury accused (by Mr. Bennet) of negligence in the horrific death of an innocent 8-year-old child.

Not only the most serious charge of "manslaughter" but even the three lesser ones of furnishing a machine gun to minors. The DA got greedy: in trying to make a major statement and a legacy case he ended up looking like a heartless buffoon.

Mr. Fleury was indeed guilty of something--but certainly no more so than the innocent child's father who signed a waiver acknowledging the activity could lead to "death," ignored a repeated suggestion that his youngest son handling the micro-Uzi was not a good idea and then cheered while filming the disaster, until his son disappeared from the viewfinder.

Or the laconic DA himself, who ignored these highly publicized "machine gun shoots" for seven years, or the numerous cops who were at the shoot that day and said nothing, or the Westfield Sportsman’s Club that probably operates with a skeleton part-time staff made up mostly of volunteers. Or calling an "expert witness" who points the machine gun at the jury, while the judge denies Bennet's attempt at a repeat showing of the snuff video.

Indeed it's a cliche to say that someone like Ed has already "suffered enough". But in this "case" it most certainly applies. To all of us as well.

The Springfield Republican reports (and yes, the AP picked it up)

Story goes International

Town Manager presents "No Override budget"

John Musante (center), Andy Steinberg Finance Comm Chair (in red), Stephanie O'Keeffe SB Chair

Rookie Town Manager and still Finance Director John Musante presented his maiden budget to the venerable Select Board and adhered to the watchdog Finance Committee's suggestion of a level funded budget ($18.5 million), in other words a "No Override budget."

And when I asked if the fiefdoms who represent the other two-thirds of our $60+ million overall budget budget (mainly the schools at $33.5 million and the Library at $1.5 million) were also going to follow this precedent he replied:

"No consideration, to my knowledge, of another Override to support Fiscal budget 2012."

From Health Club to Brew Pub?

The long shot attempt by exuberant former members to revive The Leading Edge--aka Gold's Gym--has already sputtered like an endurance athlete hitting the wall; now a game ending scenario looms with the Zoning Board of Appeals "Special Permit" hearing next month as Amherst Brewing Company, a downtown icon, seeks permission to move into the cavernous University Drive location, a snowball's throw from Umass.

The thriving brew pub opened in Amherst center in 1997 as an anchor tenant in the former First National Bank building, just one of Barry Roberts many successful downtown assets, and they have expanded three times since.

In 1998 founder John Korpita made national news by winning a $3,713 lawsuit for damages brought against an underage patron using a fake ID. Mr. Korpita was also one of only two taverns in town to stay out of the 1999 'Smoking Ban in Bars War' when Amherst lead the way in that public health initiative bitterly opposed by a rowdy gang of barowners.

Gold's Gym opened in 2003, jettisoned the franchise name two years ago in favor of The Leading Edge and then finally expired last October. Interestingly in 2002, a year before they originally opened, the Zoning Board of Appeals turned down a 'Special Permit' request for a restaurant/bar in that location due to neighbors concerns about "noise and crowding."

Original founder and now former owner Peter Earle was intercepted by the Amherst Police on Christmas Day attempting to remove tons of exercise equipment (last second Christmas shopping?)

According to Amherst police narrative:

I spoke with Joanne Delong who said the equipment is leased and can not be removed. Peter Earle and his partner have taken approximately 8 loads. Earle was advised that unless he can provide paperwork stating the items are his, nothing else will be moved. The Penske rental truck was observed with multiple weight stands, and loaded with weights in the truck. The truck was secured overnight. Earle will return in the A.M. and place that equipment back inside until proper documentation is retrieved. Peter Earle was also advised he may face criminal charges if he knowingly removed the property illegally.



This clip is actually from the recent January 10 Select Board meeting. Never hurts to have Princess Stephanie as a reference (shown here acting as Liquor Commissioner approving a new ABC stockholder). And these days the ZBA is a tad less cowering to noisy NIMBYs.