Sound & Fury

 Demonstrators in favor of article 42 (taking Echo Village Apartments) outside auditorium

Amherst Town Meeting dodged a bullet this evening -- actually two -- by voting to refer article 42, the expensive eminent domain taking of Echo Village Apartments (minimum of $2.6 million) back to the Housing and Sheltering Committee for further study, but by only one vote, 95-94.

Echo Village Apartments now managed by Eagle Crest Management aka Jamie Cherewatti

Then Town Meeting voted to adjourn ten minutes before the 10:00 p.m. deadline rather than taking up article 43, the other eminent domain article that could prove many times more expensive than the previous one.

The Finance Committee voted 6-0 against both the controversial articles and that sobering vote tally clearly convinced Town Meeting to be wary of using eminent domain. 

Earlier in the evening Town Meeting voted to spend $60,000 to help buy the 5 acre Rock Farm on South East Street. The four Select Board members in attendance all voted against the deal but it still narrowly acquired the necessary two thirds vote, 125-57.

Total cost of the public/private deal is $500,000.  A benefit to Greenfield Savings Bank, who holds the mortgage, and immediate neighbors living on South East Street.

4 standing no votes from Amherst Select Boad

As part of the deal two lots were pre auctioned at just over $130,000 each.  One will go to a private builder who will construct an expensive house and the other to a social service agency that will build a group home for developmentally disabled individuals, thus tax exempt. 

Over half of Amherst is currently owned by tax exempt institutions leading to one of the highest property tax rates in the region for the other half of property owners who are on the tax rolls.

Pig In A Poke?

 Rock Farm, 650 South East Street

Tonight Amherst Town Meeting will be asked to tap Community Preservation Act funds -- that reserve of money that falls from the heavens -- to the tune of $125,000 to complete a public/private land deal that essentially only benefits neighbors living along South East Street.

I was surprised to learn no environmental study of the land had been completed, as a even a cursory examination of the property reveals potential environmental hazards:  three rusting 55 gallon oil drums.

Just one of the downsides brought on by using Other People's Money:  a lack of due diligence.  

55 gallon oil drum near collapsed structure

Another 55 gallon drum under debris

Rock Farm, South East Street Amherst. with 55 gallon drum hiding in plain sight

More good reasons to vote NO on Article 24C

And Another One Gone

Four mighty oaks line west end of Kellogg Avenue last year

 

Kellogg Avenue looking barren with two pin oaks gone

While it took 114 years to grow from tiny acorn to a towering shade tree, it took less than four hours today to reduce the majestic pin oak on Kellogg Avenue into a tidy jigsaw puzzle of logs loaded on the back of a big truck.

The tree stood on Kellogg Avenue, town land, but unfortunately its roots trespassed on church property.  The Unitarian Universalist Society Church is in the midst of a major expansion, so cutting the roots in their way would have inevitably led to the death of the tree anyway.  Ah, the price of progress.

 

The diminished view from Rao's Coffee

Last week Amherst Town Meeting voted to grant the church $106,000 in public money  to restore a stained glass Tiffany window, Angel of the Lilies.

The cost to the general public for this expansion seems to keep going up.

By Any Other Name

Roadside memorial for Livingston "Liv" Pangburn, age 22

A heartfelt tribute has appeared on the site of the terrible truck vs bicycle accident that took the life of a promising 22 year old on Sunday late afternoon just off the entry to Amherst College on always busy Rt 9, probably made more so by Amherst College commencement functions that same day. 

I could tell by the original response of the first Amherst police officer on the scene that it was bad ... really bad.

So I continued to send out live updates as I heard them over the scanner and got to the scene less than an hour after the incident to (carefully) photograph the intensive investigation.

By 7:42 p. m. when I was first to publish (beyond simple updates on Twitter) the awful news, I could not get two reliable sources to confirm the accident was indeed fatal, so I held off on that ever so final piece of information.  Even though I was convinced of the awful truth.

Much later that night MassLive.com covered the story and early next morning the Memorial Day print edition of the Daily Hampshire Gazette had it on the front page.   But both of them had used the wrong name and gender for the victim based on information supplied by the District Attorney's office, normally what you consider a "reliable source."

Since the DAs office is considered ultra reliable and since the information they were providing was after hours "breaking news," safe to say neither of the established mainstream media outlets bothered to corroborate the name of the victim with a second source.  

Because friends  and family of Livingston "Liv" Pangburn would most certainly would have told them about how he would wish to be remembered.  

Kind of like the epic mistake made by too many mainstream media outlets covering the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where early widely circulated reports misidentified the brother as the shooter.  

Being first has always been an important motivator for journalists -- especially now with the ability for instant online publication.

Being right, however, trumps it every time.
  

#####

In an email to the entire Hampshire College community yesterday Presdient Jonathan Lash avoided pronouns altogether:

"It is with deep sadness I must let the community know that Hampshire student Livingston Pangburn, 11F, died in a bicycling accident in the town of Amherst on Sunday.  Counseling Services will hold walk in hours tomorrow Tuesday May 28 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. for those needing support.  We will honor Liv's memory in the fall, when students return to campus."

I'm also told by a Hampshire College professor:

"Hampshire academic records now allow students not only to choose their names (e.g. if they prefer a nickname to their full name etc.) but also include a preferred pronoun: that way, the teacher or administrator does not have to guess, or student does not have to assume the burden of correcting them etc."

Long Remembered

 Southwick cemetery a little before noon

Under a picture perfect clear-as-the-eye-can-see blue sky with just enough breeze to bring the flags and pendants and "colors" snapping to life, today was a Memorial Day to remember.  As they all should be.

Counting Hadley's parade yesterday I managed to attend three small town Memorial Day celebrations -- Amherst, Hadley and Southwick -- and if my kids were queried  Hadley would probably win "best in show" but only because of the quantity of candy thrown from the procession.

Kids scramble for candy

Marching bands, police, fire, military, tractors, trucks, antique cars, boy scouts, girl scouts, politicians all marching before crowds of thankful cheering spectators.  The only thing missing -- thanks to the "sequester" -- were those magnificent war birds screaming low and fast in tight formation causing all eyes to instantly snap skyward. 

And instantly make you think, "Thank God they are ours."

Memorial Day without a flyover is kind of like an Irish wake without a toast. 

Amherst

 

Amherst Color Guard

APD

 

AFD

Veteran Agent, Amherst Politicians

Hadley

 

UMPD

 

Boy Scouts

 

Hadley Politicians and Senator Rosenberg

Tractors

Antique Truck

Amherst Fatal Bike Accident

 State Police in yellow center, Amherst College PD left, APD right. Large truck top of hill (with MSP looking under) was involved

A truck vs bicycle accident occurred late Sunday afternoon around 4:15 p.m. at the East Drive entrance to Amherst College off College Street (Rt 9) and Dickinson Street killing the cyclist, Livingston Pangburn from Newton, age 22.

At 7:30 p.m. Massachusetts State Police were still on the scene performing an accident reconstruction investigation.

 

APD photographing the scene (helmet and pool of blood behind cruiser)

The mishap was initially called in by Amherst College Police and the first Amherst Police officer on the scene immediately called for a supervisor, who then requested State Police.  AFD transported the victim to Baystate Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

All The PR Fit To Print

Umass/Amherst, Flagship of Higher Education

According to a blurb in PRWeek "The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is seeking PR support for an outreach effort to grow enrollment at the school."  

More specifically, "the campaign is set to take place after the University completes a year-long project with qualitative and quantitative research to develop messages to improve perceptions of the institution. The university system hopes to increase enrollment by making it students' first choice as they pick schools ..."

Value of said contract?  $450,000.     Okay, nothing wrong with a little promotion I guess -- but $450,000!

I always thought that's why UMass/Amherst has an Office of News & Media Relations with a full time, year-round staff of seven with a combined salary expense this year of $451,628.

And that does not include John Kennedy, Vice Chancellor of University Relations at $222,784;  Nancy Buffone, Public Relations Manager at $89,553; and Lisa Queenin, News Office Director of Community Relations at $69,596 or a total of $833,561.   Including employee benefits and health insurance easily brings the grand total to well over a million per year.

And it's not like any of these folks are knocking themselves out over the summer. 

Proud flagship Umass/Amherst has already made a major leap to "improve perceptions of the institution" by joining the town to combat off campus bad behavior by a tiny minority of their students.  And that is something worth marketing.

But does it have to be so, um, expensive?