Blarney Blowout Weekend

McMurphy's downtown Amherst.  Party Central

Spring break beating out St Patrick's Day by 24 hours provides a "Luck of the Irish" respite for the town. Thus this past weekend became the last one for Amherst area college students to use the patron saint of Ireland as an excuse to drink early and drink often.  Throw in mild spring like weather and you have perfect ingredients for a pernicious drain on public safety.

Long lines of college students noisily waiting to get into McMurphy's and Stacker's Saturday morning for the "Blarney Blowout" was a perfect barometer indicating a powerful storm was starting to swirl.  In fact, over the course of the morning/afternoon three individuals were cited ($300 each) for "open container" violations as they were drinking beer while waiting in line to drink more beer.

Interestingly, the McMurphy's event used to be called "Kegs & Eggs" but apparently in response to a public chastising by Amherst Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe last year because of the embarrassing aftereffects, this year they simply changed the name (and did not go before the Select Board requesting an early morning opening time).  Same embarrassing aftereffects, however.

One of the first noise warnings was issued at 9:30 AM to an apartment on Hallock Street almost in town center.  The reporting party stated there was extremely loud music coming from location and when asked to turn down the music the perps responded it was "Blarney Blowout today so every house would be like this."

The festivities would indeed peak very late Saturday night into Sunday morning, swamping AFD with ETOH (alcohol poisoning) calls.  Mutual aid ambulances were then required from Belchertown and two from Northampton Fire Department.

So yes with APD also swamped, issuing 14 Noise Bylaw tickets, 12 Noise warnings, 7 Nuisance House violations, and 12 open container infractions it's too hard to pick the one single Party House as overall winner, so I thought I would put up a rogues gallery:

176 Triangle Street

Four women cited each for noise and nuisance house for a party of 200+ just after midnight Friday.

The house is owned by Railroad Street Partners, aka James Cherewatti, aka Eagle Crest Management.  Not surprisingly that corporate entity also owns McMurphy's, Stacker's and the "opening soon" (for over a year now) Olde Town Tavern--all in town center.

Although 176 Triangle Street is slightly unusual for an Eagle Crest properties in that it is only a "one family"  with a maximum capacity of  four tenants.  Usual modus operandi is to convert a one family into two family in order to maximize profits by doubling legal occupancy to eight, with little increased cost of operations (assessor does not double the valuation of the building).

Take 156 Sunset Avenue for instance.  The Zoning Board of Appeals will continue to deliberate next month on providing just such a golden ticket to Mr. Cherewatti, over neighbors objections of course. 

747 Main Street, Amherst

Large Loud Party with taxi's dropping off more and more...

(1:00 AM Saturday) Loud voices from inside both floors of residence.  Approximately 50 guests were cleared with the cooperation of residents.  Residents were cooperative, however one TBL citation was issued to a tenant for the noise violations as we have multiple responses to this address for similar events.

The house is owned by Chad O'Rourke, AKA Pipeline Properties.  He owns or managers a total of 54 properties around town almost all of them rented to students.   Last September at a ZBA hearing for his newest acquisition at 314 Lincoln Avenue where the special permit allowing it to continue to be "two family" (thus 8 legal tenants) required reapproval upon sale of the structure, Hilda Greenbaum (ZBA member, also a large property owner in town) specifically questioned him regarding 747 Main Street pointing out the exterior is "poorly maintained."

28 Carriage Lane, Amherst (residential neighborhood)

1:00AM early Saturday morning (in another part of town)

Loud and unreasonable voices, music, and drumming could be heard coming from the house.  Uncooperative guests that numbered approximately 100.  Residents taken into custody.

Arrested for Noise Bylaw Violations:
Benjamin Monat, 21 Jefferson Ave, Sharon, MA, age 21
Kaivan Charmchi, 8 Bayberry Lane, Millbury, MA, age 21
David Fine, 81 Brackett Rd, Newton, MA, age 22

And yes, I've saved the worst for last or as Steve Jobs used to say "Just one more thing":

RP called to report that at 4:00 PM today (Saturday) a intoxicated college aged male grabbed her 11 year old daughter.

RP advises her 11 year old daughter was walking near Amity and Lincoln when a drunk college age male grabbed her daughter on the arm (no injury).  RP says her daughter and friend ran to friend's house.  RP doesn't want an officer to speak to her daughter.  RP was asked what she thinks the motive was.  She states party was going on and perp appeared drunk.  She says perp was trying to get her daughter to come and party.

RP also voiced displeasure with bars opening up so early today.

As should we all.

Free Tibet, 9/11 & Kamikazes

Twenty two coffins on Amherst Town Common

Twenty two small coffins comprised one of the more graphic props utilized yesterday for the march from Amherst to Northampton commemorating the start (1959) of the Tibetan struggle for independence from China.  They graphically represent the number of individuals who have committed ritual suicide--many in the past year--by one of the more dramatic means of death:  self immolation.

And just so you could not miss the connection, some of the coffins carried a placard with 22 thumbnail photos of the victims, reminiscent of the first mug shot/bulletin issued by our federal government showing the 19 hijackers who plowed commercial jets into the Twin Towers, Pentagon and a field in Shankesville, Pennsylvania.

All depends on your perspective I guess, or "whose ox is being gored:"  The US military considered Divine Wind kamikaze pilots "fanatics," while Japanese comrades considered them heroes.  The 9/11 hijackers thought they were doing divine service to Allah, while we consider them ruthless killers, dupes of puppet master Osama Bin Laden.

 Free Tibet demonstration  3/10/12 near the spot where Greg Levey immolated himself in 1991

Suicide is self-imposed death, and self-imposed death is suicide.  What's the difference between setting yourself aflame for a political objective or strapping a bomb to your torso and detonating it in a public place for a political objective?  (Well, besides taking out innocent bystanders.)

A flag is a far more benign but still powerful symbol for reaching directly into the hearts of onlookers, and the more rational sides of their mind.  Our Select Board, in addition to issuing a proclamation supporting the Free Tibet struggle, allowed their flag to fly in front of Town Hall and going forward will do so annually on this anniversary.

 Flag of Tibet flies under the UN flag at Amherst Town Hall

Yes, this is the same Select Board that voted to allow 29 commemorative American flags to fly in Amherst downtown to remember the anniversary of 9/11 only once every fifth year. 

Maybe this September when I go before the Select Board to request the flags fly on 9/11 I will call it the "Free the Flags" movement.

Good, Bad & Ugly

BAD: Stacker's Downtown Amherst 3/10/12 10:45 AM

As Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe addressed a crowd of nearly 100 Free Tibet supporters (the good) crowds of college aged students twice that large gathered in line about 100 yards away waiting for Stackers and McMurphy's, two of Amherst's downtown less classy watering holes, to begin serving alcohol (the bad) at the "13th Annual Blarney Blowout."

GOOD: Select Board Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe addresses Free Tibet crowd 10:45 AM

Considering the lines peaked around 10:45 AM, things are going to get ugly before this weekend is done.

BAD: McMurphy's downtown Amherst 3/10/12 10:45 AM

BAD: Meanwhile, across the street...

UPDATE 4:00 PM  ETOH (passed out drunk) male transported by AFD to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

41 Sunset Avenue 4:00 PM

UPDATE 5:15 PM Dressed in riot gear and toting pellet guns that fire pepper balls a half dozen officers broke up a large party of around 200 in the quad area of Townhouse Apartments on Meadow Street, near the location of the September 9 Meadow Street Riot.

 

APD made short work of dispersing the crowd, and these two did not seem to mind

Another cry of wolf

 Ye old landfill (capped and lined)

Last year as part of their PR campaign to dump Amherst Town Meeting article #24, which would allow the town manger free rein to negotiate a deal with BlueWave Capital for electricity generated by the proposed joint public/private solar farm, NIMBYs brought up the issue of an environmental catastrophe from run off oozing from ye old landfill.

Town officials used multiple credible sources to counter their alarmist allegations and Town Meeting went on to overwhelmingly approve article #24.  Not long after, those same NIMBYs filed a lawsuit against the town using everyone's favorite "just-say-no" attorney (unless it's for a library in his hometown of Shutesbury) Michael Pill.

The state legislature, however, will soon enact a bill to make his expensive lawsuit moot by releasing any municipality who accepted Department of Environmental Protection money for capping a landfill from the provision stating it could only then be used for passive recreation. 

Late this afternoon the town manager--via our official town website--issued a "Statement REGARDING SAFETY OF AMHERST'S MUNICIPAL DRINKING WATER" in response to "photographs of a wetland in the vicinity of Hop Brook circulated via email."

The 13 photos were anonymously uploaded by someone using the handle "ForcleanAmherst" on a free photo sharing website they only joined on Feburary 20.  The post is far from popular as most of the pictures have around 50 views.  Although those numbers are sure to go up after the town manager fired off his "newsflash" to all Amherst subscribers.

The nonexistent wolf has been slayed, again.

Red stuff explained

Could be worse

Former Mark's Meadow Elementary School.  Returned to UMass

With the elementary schools once again facing a budget deficit of just over $200,000 and the white elephant modular classrooms at the former Mark's Meadow Elementary School safely refinanced and swept back under the rug, I thought it perhaps timely to look back on the most contentious issue of the past decade:  Closing Mark's Meadow Elementary School.

Three years ago, then interim Superintendent Maria Geryk told the School Committee:  "At this moment in time, given the information we have, given the time-frame we have, I would not personally go down that road."

According to the  3/4/09 Gazette (one of the last articles penned by Mary Carey.  Emphasis added):

Some of 60 or more parents who attended the meeting clapped after hearing that view, and some School Committee members agreed the district should beware of doing anything so decisive prematurely. "I'm delighted we're being so cautious and careful," School Committee member Elaine Brighty said.

Recently, in response to my public info request, Kathy Mazur, ARPS Director of Human Resources, wrote:

"Regarding the closure of MM, we had initial, conservative estimates of about 500K to close the school.  At the time, I was closely involved with the planning, and I was confident the amount would be higher than the 500K.  When we actually closed in preparation for the 10-11 year, the amount of realized savings was a bit over 800K.  However, that year we had just 63 classrooms in the 3 remaining schools.  This year, we have 69 classrooms."

She continues:

"It is difficult now, to make a solid determination of what is being annually saved.  Since we have more classrooms now than we did that first year, you might conclude that those additional 6 classrooms cannot be counted toward annual closure savings.  If you agree with this, then you would have to subtract about 360K from the original savings just for the classrooms.  With the additional classrooms also comes additional support (FTE) in the areas of aesthetics, SE, etc.  What we can state for sure is that we annually save the cost of a building principal, 2 secretaries, a librarian, a nurse, a guidance counselor, custodial staff, and probably some paras.  Roughly, the real $ savings at this point is under $300K."

But here are the figures the administration presented to the School Committee three years ago:

Reduction in district classrooms from 67 (FY10) to 64 (FY11) $162,000
Reduction of principal and 2 secretaries $170,000
2.5 custodians $55,000
1.0 ELL teacher $54,000
1.0 Special Education teacher $54,000
1.0 Intervention teacher $54,000
1.13 paraprofessionals $15,000
1.0 LPN $35,000
1.0 librarian $54,000
1.0 IA paraprofessional $20,000
 

Total Reductions $673,000

Hmm...Just the reduction of the principal, 2 secretaries and 2.5 custodians ($225,000)--when you add in employee benefits--would easily hit $300,000. 

But even if the lower figure is accurate, the huge $200,000 hole the schools are currently in would be a $500,000 canyon.  And that's exactly where we would now find ourselves if not for former School Committee member Catherine Sanderson becoming a Joan of Arc to lead the charge in a unpopular crusade. 

Of course, like her patron saint, Ms Sanderson was roasted at the stake.

Women Rule (Especially in Hamp)

The nifty main street bicycle overpass, immediately adjacent to the truck eating bridge, in Northampton center provides the perfect high ground for protesters to garner maximum attention.  And today around 4:30 PM, a handful of women came to demonstrate on International Women's Day calling for peace and the decommissioning of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant. 

They brought the banners to easily attache to protective fencing and a portable public address system to taut their temporary occupation.

On the way back to Amherst we spotted another handful of women protesters on the busy Calvin Coolidge Bridge packing in their banners.  The brief dual bridge protest was done. 

The war in Afghanistan, however, continues.

Long Distance Learning

 From Shanghai, China to Amherst, MA, USA

This morning my daughter Kira beamed into her 4th grade class at Crocker Farm Elementary School via FaceTime, from her Mom's iPhone to my iPad2.  Her dozen classmates seemed enthralled, perhaps because they have not seen her in three weeks,  although not stunned and amazed by the Star Trek technology that made it all possible.

No surprise I guess, since these kids have known nothing but digital their entire lives.  

Kira has been keeping up with her homework, taking private tutoring lessons four hours daily (half Chinese and half math), keeping a blog (yes, she's a better writer than Dad) and touring businesses with her entrepreneurship professor Mom.

All in all, a great educational experience.