What so proudly we hailed

The town remembered--having forgotten Patriots Day last month--to put up the flags this morning for Memorial Day, one of the six annual days the 29 commemorative flags are allowed to fly. This year, unlike last year, they will also be allowed to fly on 9/11, the tenth anniversary of the worst attack on American soil since the founding of our great nation.

Construction workers never need to be reminded to show respect for our flag

A very unfortunate "compromise"

A voice for the animals

Amherst Town Meeting closed out the warrant on Wednesday night with over a two-thirds vote to allow raising chickens and rabbits in residential neighborhoods (#33) and then quickly followed up by overwhelmingly passing Article #34, an 'Animal Welfare' bylaw to protect those animals.

On Monday night Amherst Town Meeting voted down back-to-back zoning articles that would have helped to prevent the construction of non-owner occupied, rental property prone to student overcrowding, and a bylaw preventing grassy lawns from serving as a parking lot.

Amherst Town Meeting seems to care more for chickens and rabbits than they do hard working human residents who have invested their life savings to buy their piece of the American dream: a home. With the endless amounts of work required to maintain it, plus the significant annual membership fee to the town in taxes.

Chickens and rabbits in a residential neighborhood will not bring down property values or threaten public safety; a run down slum of a party house most certainly will.

More problems for Chinese Charter School

In a 27-page report dated May 20, a state investigator for the Department of Children and Families found "reasonable cause" to support evidence for the allegation of neglect of an 9-year-old boy attending the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley.

The incident took place on March 25 when a 9-year-old boy in the third grade claims he was being bullied in a bathroom and in order to escape, pushed another child.

The next day school officials implemented "an in-house suspension" by confining him to an extremely small room for the entire school day without benefit of recess or physical education class and without contacting the parents. The boy was also denied access to a school nurse when he reported feeling ill.

Traumatized by the incident; he currently receives in-home instruction (as mandated by state education law). The parents hope this official finding will send a stern enough message so that changes are enacted for the good of all children.
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Previous bad news for PVCICS click link

0 for 2 on anti slum legislation

Amherst Town Meeting tonight gave the new housing code enforcement officer (approved earlier in the budget) one less bylaw to enforce by turning down a zoning change requiring one half of a duplex to be owner occupied or if both units are rented, an on site manager. Article #28 failed to reach a two thirds majority: 81-49.

The follow up zoning article #29 "Residential Parking Requirement" to forbid the unsightly practice of parking cars on lawns by requiring all parking spaces be paved also failed to garner a two thirds majority: 78-42.

These zoning articles were hatched in response to continuous complaints from older established town neighborhoods where single family homes converted to student housing by private "entrepreneurs" can make life miserable when UMass is in session.

Earlier in the meeting the body voted unanimously to pass article #27, "Adoption of Stretch Energy Code," which increases by 20% the energy efficiency requirements set forth in the State Building Code for new construction making Amherst a 'Green Community' with better access to state grants to fund programs such as efficiency initiatives or renewable energy projects.

The meeting started with a standing moment of silence for Bill Field, former Moderator of 20 years, who passed away yesterday. A visibly shaken current Moderator Harrison Gregg cited Field as his inspiration.

Party House of the weekend

219 Amity Street

Yes, now that UMass graduation is done the party house pickings will be pretty slim. And the students who show enough initiative to attend summer classes are probably not of the party demographic that wreaks havoc 7 or 8 months out of the year.

But we do have a (rooming) house of bothersome note that was issued a warning by APD, owned by James Cherewatti of Eagle Crest Management where police are all too often called to babysit. This morning at 5:36 AM for instance, where five males were frolicking in a home made hot tube. Beer for breakfast anyone?

Now I think I know why town officials choose the house next door two years ago to enforce the town bylaw preventing more than four unrelated persons living together. It was not the residents at the 265 Amity Street location (all five young ladies were Mother Teresa types) it was more the owner of neighboring 219 Amity, James Cherewatti, the town was trying to send a stern message.

UPDATE (1:30 PM): Turns out I mixed up Amity with 219 E. Pleasant Street--another party house--in the background article from two years ago. Hard to keep them all straight.

While the weary editors were sleeping

Daily Hampshire Gazette and Springfield Republican editors awoke Sunday morning with collective egg on the face. A small nuclear bomb detonated next door and somehow they managed to sleep through it.

Let's hear it for the distant BIG city bricks-and-mortar institution who still knows how to break a fully fleshed out story, even though they had to rely on unnamed sources "familiar with the evaluation."

But when you are the iconic Boston Globe you can get away with quoting unnamed sources.

Of course now the fun game is to watch closely and see who will first catch up to this Front Page story (and whether they assign a reporter to get a different quote or two from their own sources) on their webpage, since the ink presses will not run again until Monday morning.



UPDATE: 9:10 AM My ultra reliable source at the Gazette just sent me a link showing they just updated their Gazettenet main page with a "breaking story" citing the Boston Globe. OK they win, but still come in second place overall. And in journalism second place might as well be last.

And it may very well have been a tie since my Facebook buddy Scott Coen did put up a blogpost on Masslive--the Springfield Republican website-- with the story at 9:15 AM. Okay, so now we just need to hear from Ch. 22 (Scott Coen also absolves his main employer WGGB Ch 40)

Now I'm told by another Facebook buddy--who works for the Republican--that indeed the Gazette won as he published Scott Coen's blog post around 9:30 AM, about 15 minutes after Mr Coen hit his publish button and a few minutes after the Gazette went cyber.

And he also pointed out that there is no embarrassment being scooped by the likes of the Boston Globe. The young lad has been working less than a year and he's already complacent. Yikes!

Well I guess not that complacent. He responds:


"1.) I work for MassLive.com, a sister company to The Republican.
2.) I didn't say there wasn't any "embarrassment," just that it wasn't an upset i.e. I would expect the Globe to get this story because it's not, per se, a local one. The Holub decision will likely be made in Boston, not Amherst.

Acknowledging the good work of competitors is hardly complacency. You can quote me on that."

And so I did.

APD Open House

My daughter Jada wanted to see where the police keep the "bad robbers"--especially the ones involved with a rash of Breaking & Entering that has plagued the community for almost a year. Even at age four she is savvy enough to remind me at night to lock the doors. Today's open house afforded us the perfect opportunity to tour the station. Unfortunately, the bad people were not handcuffed in a holding cell.

Toilets are practically indestructible

Hobart Hoedown Wagon

No horse patrol but we have (2) Harley's