A Worse Chance

Amherst A Better Chance 

Social service agencies in Amherst must be on a bad karma list, as nothing but negative news seems to come this way.

Last week the town announced a $900,000 federal dollar hit as annual Community Development Block Grant funding is about to vaporize because Amherst no longer meets the minimum qualifications for mini-entitlement status.

A maxi problem for agencies such as the newly expanded homeless shelter, Craig's Doors, or the Amherst Survival Center.

Now via her Facebook page, AABC board member Julie Marcus sounded the alarm about the iconic, ever-so-Amherst program where the name says it all: "A Better Chance".

The Juggernaut of charities, the United Way of Hampshire County, has axed all funding to this longtime Amherst institution.

Ms. Marcus reports AABC has received UW funding for at least the past 15 years that she has been involved, although a few years back they did reduce annual revenues from $25,000 to $13,000.

The total annual budget for the 44-year-old Amherst program is only $100,000, so 13% is a pretty big hit to absorb all at once. And it's not like the agency doesn't work at fundraising:  October 20 will mark the 41st "Fall Foliage Walk," a major fundraiser for the program and a popular, fun, family outing.

One has to wonder how all the participants in that heartwarming event are going to feel about this cold hearted decision?  Perhaps -- as donors -- they will tell the United Way of Hampshire County to take a hike.

While others rush out ...

National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service

Scandinavian Nicknacks to Chinese Food

25 South Pleasant Street (rt)

Oriental Flavor LLC will appear before the Amherst Planning Board on 10/17 to Request Site Plan approval for a change of use from a retail store (former Scandihoovians) to a Class I Restaurant, including renovations to the interior space and exterior renovations.

Amherst is becoming has become a destination spot for dining, like Northampton did many years ago.  Restaurants, however, have the highest mortality rate for business start ups and the downtown currently has  a few spaces that play musical chairs with food service businesses.

The current high profile problems the owners of iconic Main Street restaurant, Amherst Chinese, are experiencing may of course help a new competing enterprise, but when all is said and done -- quality of food, service and price will play the dominant role.

I just say No

 Don't Drink and Drive: especially in Amherst!

From: XXX@student.umass.edu
To: amherstac@aol.com
Sent: Fri, Oct 5, 2012 5:16 pm
Subject: Your blog

Hello,

My name is Ms. XXX.

I have noticed that my name, address, age, and arrest information are all on your blog. I am asking that you take that information down, as you are not a police blog for the public, and I do not want employers or anyone being able to google my name and knowing that personal information. If you do not comply, I am willing to go to the Amherst Police and advise them of the situation.

Thanks,
XXX

From: Larry Kelley  
To: XXX student.umass.edu
Sent: Fri, Oct 5, 2012 5:34 pm 
Subject: Your blog

Actually it is not "personal information", it is "public information." And the Amherst Police Department is very respectful when it comes to the First Amendment.

Too Much Information?

Anybody who has covered the rowdy student party scene over the past year should know how weather related the problem is:  the better the weather the larger and more pernicious the parties.

Amherst Town Center 12:00 Noon

Tonight promises to be a summer-like warm and clear -- probably the best Friday night weather since the semester started.  And the weekends have certainly been nothing if not calamitous since the semester began.

Thus I question whether the local newspapers should have mentioned prominently that UMPD and APD beefed up, joint patrols specifically targeting rowdy party houses will start next weekend. 

It does however give me an idea for a twitter hashtag tonight: #LastchanceFriday

Wield a Big Stick

Even the diffident Amherst Bulletin has, after all these years, finally gotten it!

About the only thing missing in today's scorching editorial is an illustration borrowed from Vlad the Impaler with students heads on display at the former Frat Row -- the main gateway to UMass, and with streets like Fearing, Phillips and Lincoln Avenue, Ground Zero for rowdy, unsocial, dangerous out-of-control partying (like it's 1999).

As we discovered on 9/11 with the horrific destruction of the Twin Towers or the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi 4 days in to a grueling 31 day battle, symbols are vitally important in war.

The bucolic -- some would say bumpkin -- college town of Amherst, named after a British general, and the flagship of higher education in a state renowned for academia, UMass/Amherst, need to declare war on rowdy student parties.

And they both need to stop taking prisoners!

Achilles Heel

 New Cisco emitters await being installed on streetlights in the town center

The public WiFi overhaul bringing downtown Amherst a stronger more reliable system has potentially one minor problem with reliability (actually kind of major):  a power failure like the one we experienced almost a year ago on Halloween weekend will take out most of the system, as the vast majority of the 24 new emitters are still tied into the street lights for power.

Note huge spike in traffic to town website seeking info immediately after storm 

Last year, because the main router is located in Town Hall and the municipal seat of government had no generator, the entire system went down lock, stock and bandwidth.  Although the town website did stay up the entire time since the servers for our presence on the Web are located in Holyoke in one of the few areas unaffected by the storm. 

A new $85,000 generator is being installed soon, but will only cover the building itself and not any of the adjacent street lights.   

The Police station and Central Fire Station have generators and are being outfitted with the new Cisco emitters, as will Town Hall.   So if we do experience another major prolonged power outage, those three buildings will attract us smart phones and tablets addicts like insects to a bright light on a hot summer night.