Freedom's Just Another Word

Washington Monument (still feeling the effects of an earthquake)

Screw the NSA!

And Another One Gone

 UMass Football coach  Charley Molnar heads to the unemployment line

In addition to the $6,312,074 UMass FBS gamble is projected to cost this Fiscal Year (on top of the $5,644,099 it cost/lost last year) you can now add another cool $1 million to buy out the remaining three years of coach Molnar's contract and a couple other coaches who were pushed into falling upon their swords.

And yes, remember it also cost a cool $1 million to buy out the previous coach Kevin Morris and staff, when UMass brought in Molnar to make the BIG jump to FBS.  A million here and a million there, pretty soon you're talking real money.

Maybe higher authorities in the food chain should start fearing the thud of an ax.

No coach, staff, or team worked harder to build a championship program than we did. Disappointed in the results but proud of the foundation!
— Charley Molnar (@CharleyMolnar) December 26, 2013

Twitter has the solution





As does Reddit

Then There Were None

12/24/13 Kendrick Park

As always seems to be the case the Boy Scouts sold the last of their Christmas trees, just as we head into the day.

And all is right with the world, even in Amherst.

That Too Is Banned @ ARPS

ARHS

According to the Amherst Regional Public Schools handbook, under Code of Conduct:  

Lockers are the property of the Amherst Regional High School. In a search and seizure situation, the student who has been assigned the locker may be given the opportunity to be present. This will occur only when a student’s personal possessions are being checked and the student’s presence does not present a threat to that student’s safety or to the safety of others. Contraband found in the course of a search of a student’s locker, bag or person will be confiscated and, if appropriate, turned over to the Amherst Police Department. Disposition of contraband turned over to the APD is the responsibility of the police.

Around noon Friday via scanner traffic I heard the familiar voice of an APD detective tell Dispatch he was en route to Amherst Regional High School, 21 Matoon Street, to retrieve drug paraphernalia so it could be destroyed.

General weekly logs posted to town website

When I requested under Public Documents law the (more extensive) "media log"  for that particular incident it was, err, somewhat redacted:


The reason I'm told for such NSA type secrecy is that the incident involves a juvenile; and it's an "open incident." So be it.

Now it's even more open.

Email backstory

APD Cites A Grinch

Amherst Brewing Company

Amherst Police cited a drunk woman for stealing an Amherst Fire Department donation jar at the Amherst Brewing Company late Saturday night. Let's hope tomorrow Santa leaves her nothing but coal.

Sincerest form of flattery?

So maybe the kiddies think this parody account is cute, but it clearly violates Twitter rules.  And yes Twitter is still a tiny bit like the Wild, Wild West -- but there are rules governing "parody accounts," just as there are laws against identity theft.

Even worse, they broke the #1 rule of parody accounts:  Their tweets aren't all that  funny. (Well, except for the one about HS Principal Mark Jackson).

Now this is a (funny) parody account:

Car vs Pedestrian Accident Town Center

 Scene is well lit but wet

Amherst and State Police are still on scene in the heart of downtown Amherst investigating a car vs pedestrian accident that sent two victims to area hospitals the more serious to Bay State Critical Care unit in Springfield and the other minor injury, said to be a female child, taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for an arm injury.

The accident occurred around 6:45 PM in between Brueggers Bagels and Ren's Mobile on North Pleasant Street, just past the intersection with Kellogg Avenue.  There is no crosswalk where the car stopped.

 

Mass State PD accident reconstruction team on scene