AG makes Fitness Zombie pay up

Letter from AG bearing a check

The New Year started off shockingly well for aerobics instructor extraordinaire Catherine Sanderson--not that she needs extra spring in her double step--as a check arrived from the Attorney General's office for back wages owed when the Leading Edge Gym (Amherst Fitness, Inc) suddenly locked their doors way back on October 20, 2010 with barely a few hours notice to staff and members.

The AG's Fair Labor Division confirmed mailing restitution checks to 37 former employees with a combined value of $14,800. Unfortunately health club members who paid for long term memberships (some of them only days before the closing) are not part of this settlement.

Don't feel bad for the former owners, Peter Earle and Joanne DeLong, as they recently sold the fire damaged small business condo in downtown Amherst for $190,000. Plus Peter (the Duke of) Earle seems to be creeping forward with his woman only fitness center a few doors down from their old "Leading Edge" location.

Although, the only thing accomplished since my previous 9/30 expose was vital window washing. And we are now into January, the number one sales month for the fitness industry nationwide. Not a great way for a new fitness business--especially one saddled with a negative rap sheet--to start the new year.

9/30/11

1/3/12

Cooper Mine tanning salon: never opened for business. Sold 7/1/11 $190,000

Get on your High Horse!

High Horse Brewery and Bistro, downtown Amherst

The High Horse Brewery and Bistro, managed by Jason DiCaprio, has opened for business in the former downtown location of Amherst Brewing Company, who moved a mile down the road into a larger location last August, space formerly occupied by the (less than) Leading Edge Health Club .

Amherst could actually use a few neighborly mature adult drinking establishments like ABC, High Horse, and the other bar Mr. DiCaprio runs in South Amherst, Moan and Dove.

And no, I do not think that's in the least bit hypocritical coming from the guy who has been on an evangelical crusade against "party houses" over the past year. B-I-G difference between businesses run by seasoned individuals concerned with long term stability and immature kids "blowing off steam" every weekend after all those arduous hours of study.

Springfield Republican reports

Hello, hello, hello?

Amherst Police responded to a Summer Street residence on Saturday morning and again Sunday night to referee an ongoing battle between a landlord and a female tenant who rents a room in the house. File this under "cost of doing business" (paid by taxpayers).

10:53 AM Saturday

RP states that her neighbor is banging on her door threatening her.

Spoke to landlord who stated the RP was supposed to be evicted today. Male party stated that he attempted to give the RP an ultimatum to sign an agreement about when she'd be leaving or that the Sheriff's office would be notified.

#######

Sunday 10:40 PM

RP requesting to speak with an officer regarding harassment from her neighbor.

Ongoing landlord/tenant issue. RP states she is being harassed by X, landlord's friend. RP rents a room from the landlord and was walking into common kitchen area, where X said "hello" to RP four times. RP thought this was harassing and threatening. I advised her that she can seek a 258E court order Tuesday at Eastern Hampshire District Court. This officer spoke with X. He states he was only being cordial by saying "hello". He has been advised not to talk with her. He agrees. Ok 95.

Amherst's Political tragedy of the year

10/29 storm: overall story of the year

Since all politics is local and Only In Amherst is a hyper-local news blog, I'm duty bound to do that routine Main Stream Media thing and--in spite of Satchel Paige's cogent advice--reminisce over the past year, as painful as that may be.

The death of the Gateway Corridor Project, a unique coalition between Amherst, UMass and the Amherst Redevelopment Authority to significantly enhance the main entryway to UMass connecting with our downtown, had the potential to add $75 million in mixed use, high end development to our anemic tax base.

Killed by NIMBYs who feared a resurrection of the notorious Frat Row, which ten or twenty years ago could have served as a location set for an "Animal House" remake. And as an outspoken member of the ARA who never missed one of the dozens of meetings we had over the past year, it's hard not to award this debacle the most important local political news event of the year.

If the local spring election has a Prop 2.5 Override or Charter change of government question, that usually is the political story of the year. But this past election we, thankfully, had no Override or, regrettably, no Charter question, no contested races for Select Board (our highest office) or School Committee (our most revered office) so voter turnout was a pathetic 8.5%.

But still, that election is the backdrop for my political story of the year--only because Catherine Sanderson was not on the ballot. She was battered and bullied into not returning her nomination papers--duly signed by over 50 registered voters--simply because she had the temerity to expose the emperor and empress had no clothes, and did not look particularly attractive naked.

Closing Mark's Meadow (boutique) Elementary School, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, alone should nominate her for sainthood.

But her real power to stir the pot like an outboard motor and actually make change (and I'm not even sure she ever realized this) was the power of her blog, that so frightened town officials from Amherst and the surrounding region they actually petitioned the District Attorney to shut it down. My God.

The 10/29 nor'easter starkly reminded us of the awesome power of Mother Nature, and a blog done right is another formidable force of nature. My School Committee Blog was so very right.

Catherine Sanderson

This one's for you

Firefighter James Rice, who answered his "last call."

Governor Patrick has ordered the American and Commonwealth Flags lowered to half-staff on Friday, December 30, 2011 from sunrise to sunset in honor of Firefighter James Rice of the Peabody Fire Department, who died in the line of duty on Friday, December 23, 2011.

The Attorney General cordially demands

So it comes as no b-i-g surprise that Amherst Regional School Committee Chair Rick Hood trampled yet another Open Government rule by failing to forward to the Attorney General an official response to my 11/23 Open Meeting Law complaint.

After all, in July of 2010--only four months into his school committee tenure--the local District Attorney cited him with an Open Meeting Law violation for deliberating with a quorum of committee members via email.

At least back then he could use the "I'm a newbie" excuse.

Now no longer a rookie, he will have to scramble to comply--no doubt enlisting the aid of $220/hour attorney Gini Tate who already advised ARPS Superintendent Maria Geryk and Human Resource Director Kathy Mazur to ignore a demand from the Division of Public Records to release documents concerning payouts totaling $200,000 to 13 former employees over the past five years.

What does it all mean?

Apparently the ARPS Good Ol' Girls network abhors sunshine. And Rick Hood needs to learn the difference between running a $20 million dollar private yacht company and a $50 million public school kept afloat via tax dollars--the lions share consumed in Amherst, the town built on education.

Somewhere...

Florida news helicopter caught in a rainbow

You have to look real close, but about a third of the way up from the treeline, dead center in the rainbow you can see the helicopter hovering. I could tell by it's behavior pattern that it was a news helicopter, and I simply assumed they were getting footage of the rainbow for a colorful puff piece to fill time in the 6:00 PM news hour.

Since I was conveniently taking photos with my wife's nifty new iPhone from the beach, I figured using a helicopter was an expensive waste of resources.

A few minutes later, using the iPhone as a cell phone, we heard from her father that a plane had crashed and burned at the nearby Venice Municipal Airport, killing the pilot. On the short trip back to his house we drove by the police check point keeping out the curious while off in the distance a firetruck had its aerial ladder fully extended at about a 45 degree angle directly above what little remained of the small, twin engine airplane.

The next day I learned the pilot had successfully taken off but developed engine trouble soon after, declared an emergency, and was desperately trying to land. He was a successful 63-year-old eye doctor who leaves behind a wife and a 16-year-old daughter. Six years from now I will be his age and my oldest daughter will be 16. Not that I need a thread of connectivity to remember this tragic occurrence that briefly interrupted my vacation routine.

Venice Municipal Airport is where Mohamed Atta and another of the 9/11 hijackers trained to pilot airplanes...although unlike the good doctor, they cared little about landing.