Website Winner

Amherst Town Website

The MMA -- that's Mass Municipal Association, not Mixed Martial Arts -- awarded the town of Amherst an Honorable Mention certificate for community websites in the population range of 15 to 50,000.

This is the first year the organization that bills itself as "the voice of cities and towns in Massachusetts" has given an award for municipal websites.

In 2009 Common Cause Massachusetts designated Amherst an e-Government award winner for "transparency in Massachusetts municipal websites."

Like any good website Amherstma.gov is a huge time saver for both town employees and citizens, as well as tree saver.  The always on 24/7 site allows citizens direct access to paperwork, and maintains efficient lines of communication for mundane meetings, or potentially lifesaving bulletins in the case of an emergency.

The site went live w-a-y back in July, 1998 as http://town.amherst.ma.us before assuming the current address in June, 2004.   The site now routinely attracts 1,500 unique visitors daily (but has seen a peak of 4,600) and has thousands of subscribers who get information notifications by email, text message, or RSS feeds.

Amherst is also one of only a hand full of municipalities in the state that offers extensive free WiFi in the downtown.

Drinking To Excess

Amherst Fire Department ambulances

While Amherst Police Department made no arrests over the weekend for rowdy behavior at any of the usual Party Houses, Amherst Fire Department was swamped with ETOH (alcohol poisoning) calls to UMass, the proud flagship of higher education in our state.

In fact, 80% of the EMS calls were alcohol related.  80%!  And one of them was a combination "ETOH and trauma," meaning the young college aged male hurt himself because of the incapacitation brought on by too much alcohol.

Just as a young college aged female died not long ago on Fearing Street, a notorious party pass through path, after collapsing and hitting her head on unforgiving concrete. 

In addition to alcohol sucking up the valuable time of our first responders, AFD also had a false alarm fire call to my friends at Alphs Delta Phi, 778 North Pleasant Street (who recently threatened me with a lawsuit to protect their sterling reputation) for "marijuana smoke" setting off a fire alarm.

Way to go frat boys.  I wish we could send you a bill for the $300 or more it cost the taxpayers of this town.

   AFD weekend responses last weekend January by  

In addition to these babysitting drunk runs to Cooley Dickinson Hospital, AFD was also busy with the medical emergencies we expect them to handle. So much so, that they had to rely on "mutual aid ambulances" four times (see EMS calls marked with *).

And no, oddly enough, none of these reinforcements were required because of the late night/early morning ETOH calls hogging our ambulances.

Just goes to show how routinely stressed the AFD is even without factoring in drunken college kids which, on weekends, is a BIG factor.

DUI Dishonor Roll

Early Friday morning was not a particularly safe time to be driving in Amherst, although APD made it safer by taking two drunk drivers off the road, both of them female UMass students, and both incidents close to the flagship campus jam packed with potential accident victims. 

Stopped originally for speeding and "marked lanes violation" (swerving) at 1:17 AM on North Pleasant Street near infamous Hobart Lane, police arrested 21-year-old Hannah David, 58 Mt Vernon St, Fitchburg, MA, for Driving Under the Influence.

And a couple hours later at 2:58 AM on Phillips Street, the other infamous street in town, police stopped 20-year-old Meghan Fleming, 10 Valentine Road, Hopkinton, MA for "marked lanes violation".  The officer then noticed a "strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot glassy eyes, and slurred speech."

Ms Fleming took the Portable Breathalyzer Test and failed with a PBT of .173% -- more than twice the legal limit.  She was, however, smart enough to refuse the more sophisticated, fixed/stationary breathalyzer back at the station -- the one that provides results that are admissible in court.

So, theoretically, she loses her license for 180 days, unless of course she beats the DUI charge, which is now made harder to prove without the more sophisticated breathalyzer results.  And the fact she refused to take it cannot be used in court as evidence.

Although police also found a marijuana pipe and a small amount of the drug in the vehicle, so that will provide evidence to back up the DUI charge.  

Yeah, great system we have here in Massachusetts.  

Earlier in the week two other young ladies -- both UMass students -- were also taken off the road, handcuffed, and escorted back to APD headquarters under arrest.

Sunday, January 20 at 6:10 PM police stopped 22-year-old Lauren Derouin, 196 Triangle St, Amherst, and arrested her after she failed a Field Sobriety Test.  She did, however,  refuse to take the breathalyzer. 

Wednesday, January 23 at 1:09 AM police stopped 21-year-old Emily Rookwood, 3 Madison Rd, Marblehead, MA, for speeding (estimated 45 in a 30 MPH zone).  She failed the Field Sobriety Test and was transported back to the station, where she refused to take the breathalyzer test.

Sashiburi, Mr. President

The Kennedy Room, Hotel Boston Plaza Kusatsu 

After an entertaining, comfortable, two hour ride on the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto we took another 20 minute ride on a  crowded commuter train to Kusatsu and then walked about 100 yards to the Boston Plaza Hotel.  It was an old world hotel modeled on -- you guessed it -- elegant Boston hotels.

 Commuter Train, Kyoto Station

Apparently the owner is big on Boston, and at one point wanted the entire block around his hotel modeled on a Boston street scape; but even he was not rich enough to pull that off.  And I suppose if you're a big fan of Boston it makes sense to also be captivated by the Kennedy mystique.

The Kennedy Room had wall-to-wall framed photos of our former President (although none of them aboard PT 109 or the Dallas motorcade) and Mrs Kennedy looking like the fashionable First Lady she was.

And just to show how elegant the rooms were: heated toilet seats. 

Toto Washlet

Strategic Withdrawal?

Burned out remains at Rolling Green Apartments, Amherst

Against the tragic backdrop of a deadly fire at Rolling Green Apartments, I'm not surprised Grandonico Properties, LLC -- AKA Lincoln Reality -- is attempting to quit their foolish appeal of Amherst Building Commissioner Rob Morra's December 17, 2012 citation carrying a $100/day fine for violation of the towns 20+ year old zoning bylaw forbidding more than four unrelated housemates in a one-family unit.

But I hope the ZBA does not  allow them (requires a unanimous vote) to simply surrender and slink away under cover of darkness. I hope they take up discussion of this important issue and vote unanimously to reaffirm it.

By taking up this health and safety issue that Grandonico sought to circumvent, and now wish to pull a Roseanne Roseannadanna "never mind",  the ZBA can send a stern message to a minority of unscrupulous landlords who put profits over public safety.

Even more evidence Grandonico knew what they knew

A sad cover up that needs to be told

 

Proud Symbol of Efficiency

Shinkansen, AKA "Bullet Train"

We took the Shinkansen, or Bullet Train, from Tokyo to Kyoto.  The ride was super smooth, wicked fast, and the train looks like something out of a science fiction movie.

The marvelous machine can hit pretty close to 200 MPH when at full throttle, although the tracks usually straddle big open space which mitigates somewhat the feel of high speed, so it's not like the thrill you get from an amusement park roller coaster ride.

The price, however, is expensive.  Our tickets were $240 round trip but Jada, my six year old, was free. 

The inside of the train is clean and spacious, and the seats are comfortable with plenty of leg room (after 14 hours cramped in an economy airplane seat that alone is reason to celebrate).  Uniformed employees bow respectfully whenever they enter or leave a car.

The train seats around 1,300 passengers, runs on schedule and, unlike China, has never had an accident. 

All We Are Saying ...

Rt 9, East Amherst (under a full moon)