High Cost Of Blarney Blowout

Crowds on North Pleasant Street (note white pepper ball shot residue in road)

Besides the untold damage to the reputation of UMass Amherst, the flagship of higher education in Massachusetts, the Blarney Blowout also had real implications for hard pressed taxpayers who fund both town first responder services and UMass Amherst.

The recently announced "comprehensive review" contract awarded to former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis has a budget "up to $160,000," so we kind of know what that final bill will be.

I asked a grumpy UMass source how that much money could be so quickly consigned without a somewhat time consuming bid proposal and she replied, "By policy the University can sole source a contract."

Okay, fair enough, but that looks like it's limited to between $5,000 and $25,000 which $160,000 would seem to top that by a bit.

But at least the University did not ask the town to contribute half,  as they did recently with a  "town/gown consultant" to help map a strategy of mutual growth over the foreseeable future.  That contract has a top end limit of $60,000 with each entity paying half and was bid out in the normal somewhat time consuming Request For Proposals manner.

 

Chief Livingstone (white cap) assists officer with arrest

APD "one under, liquor law violation."  #BlarneyBlowout pic.twitter.com/Z9uCTHD02X
— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) March 8, 2014

APD Chief Scott Livingstone had to muster all hands on deck to deal with crowd control starting well before noon, with the first arrest clocking in at 10:18 a.m .  At an over time cost to his department of $12,500 plus another $1,300 for indispensable Dispatch.

Plus the $160,000 "review" will tie up more of his time and that of his top brass.

And since the finished report -- which will not result in any formal charges of police brutality -- isn't due until graduation time, the Amherst Police Department will be operating these next few months under a dark cloud.

And that's bad for all of us.

New York Times picks up the sad story

FinCom Votes NO To $15/hr Minimum Wage

 

Minimum wage to $15/hr would cost add $220K to town budget for employees!

Current minimum wage in Mass is $8/hr (proposed to go up  $11 by 2016)

Saying pretty much the town of Amherst should not go it alone, the Finance Committee, trusted advisers to Amherst Town Meeting, voted 5-0 last night to oppose the only article on the March 19 Special Town Meeting warrant which would allow Amherst to raise the minimum wage from $8/hr to $15/hr.

When Town Meeting votes down the article, labor activist Matthew Cunningham-Cook has threatened to obtain the 880 registered voters signatures required to place the question on a town general election ballot to overturn the Town Meeting vote.

That would then require an insurmountable 18% of the current 17,596 registered voters (3,167) to agree to overturn Town Meeting and approve the measure, otherwise the endeavor fails.

Since a stand alone election costs the taxpayers $12,000, I will make a "Motion to Dismiss" the article on March 19 and when that passes (by simple majority vote) there is nothing an election can do to change the outcome.

Although I did offer Matthew Cunningham-Cook, who moved to Amherst less than six months ago to join SLAP -- the Student Labor Action Project at UMass -- a deal:  If he and his group submit a check to the town for $12,000 I will stand down with my motion.

And if the article miraculously passes, so no election will be called, I would simply give them back their money.

It's one thing when a grade school teacher suggests school children write a Letter To The Editor as a civic exercise, since that doesn't cost taxpayers a dime.  It's quite another when an academic project will cost taxpayers $12,000 and a large group of volunteer citizens an entire night stuck in the Middle School Auditorium.

Let's hope Town Meeting passes my motion, and slaps down SLAP.

Cost to another prominent Amherst business

More Blarney: From UMass President Caret

Police clad in riot gear make an arrest on Fearing Street near Frat

UPDATE:  UMass announces "comprehensive review" of police/town/university response to Blarney Blowout.  No BIG surprise (sarcasm).

#####

Bowing to pressure brought to bear by 100 kids holding a good old fashioned "protest march" and snippets of video posted on the web, UMass President Caret is calling for a full investigation of the Blarney Blowout including how heavily outnumbered police handled the sordid situation.

 Objects were throw from 3rd floor roof of Frat

He also complained to a Springfield Republican reporter about the Amherst bars being allowed to open early that day, and that those businesses bear some responsibility.  Except of course the bars were NOT open early that day, as the Select Board stopped allowing that a few years back because of the problems it caused. 

Perhaps the President just wants to look like he's doing something -- since the Blarney Blowout is receiving such blowout national media attention -- but he picked the wrong people to cast aspersions upon.

Interestingly President Caret hyped a "performance review" issued today that gave the highest rating ("Excellent)" for the goal:  "Admit high-quality students, striving to increase the academic profiles across all campuses."  Not the greatest timing in light of Blarney Blowout BS.

Amherst Firefighters just released a statement strongly supporting the actions of the Amherst, UMass and State police who had to rein in the largest out-of-control crowds this town has ever seen.  Firefighters reportedly faced "repeated aggressive and assaultive behavior."

Crowds THAT large, under the influence of copious amounts of alcohol, are a danger to themselves as well as innocent bystanders.  By many, many accounts (mine included) bottles and cans were hurled at police officers before the pepper balls started flying.

If President Caret wants to call for a full investigation, how about looking at discipline meted out these past few years for the hundreds of students arrested for rowdy off campus behavior?  Or why UMass doesn't provide on campus social events to preoccupy kids?

55 APD arrests vs only 3 UMPD arrests underscores the battles were all fought off campus. 

Amherst police will now be seconding guessing their use of any force over the next few months, just when the weather turns warm and partying escalates exponentially.

It's going to be a l-o-n-g spring.

Last year's preparation:  Also didn't work

Downtown bar owners ask for early opening hours in 2011

Police on North Pleasant Street, town jurisdiction, 12:10 p.m.

Blarney Blowout Solution?

 One APD arrest of 55 during Blarney Blowout

Local attorney Peter Vickery has resubmitted his radical proposal to the Amherst Select Board to use their powers as liquor commissioners to shut off all liquor sales in Amherst next year on the day before and day of the Blarney Blowout.

Last year UMass was criticized for not sending out threatening emails to students and their parents about the consequences of turning Blarney Blowout into a day of debauchery.  So this year the emails went out, and the results were even worse.

Last October for the final Red Sox game in the World Series, UMass tried giving the kids something to do by setting up a giant play area with large screen TVs, food and (non alcohol) drinks in the Southwest gathering area. They ended up with a riot anyway, with UMPD arresting 15.

Maybe it's time for the Amherst Select Board to implement Mr. Vickery's suggestion.  At the very least, put it on their March 17 agenda to facilitate a badly needed public discussion.  

   Ban Alcohol for Blarney Blowout

Hey-Hey, Ho-Ho

Plenty of media showed up to cover the protest march (but not a lot of protesters)

Under a picture perfect blue sky with weather warmer than we've seen for many months, about 100 UMass students and a gaggle of media showed up for the rally to protest "police brutality" at Saturday's Blarney Blowout.

 Marching past ye old Chapel

Even though 332 signed up on the Facebook event page saying they were going to attend.

 

Closing in on Whitmore

The protest march kicked off around the advertised 12:30 PM start time, and snaked towards Whitmore at a relatively brisk pace, all the while the crowd chanted "Hey-hey, ho-ho, police brutality has got to go."  Or something like that.

Chancellor Subbaswamy and John Kennedy, VC for University Relations, had wisely opted to be out of town today, so Associate Chancellor Susan Pearson was drafted to hear the demands of the group.  

Their first demand was a public apology from the Amherst Police Department for use of pepper ball guns that delivered OC ("oleoresin capsicum") gas into the unruly crowds when they failed to heed the order to disperse and started throwing objects at police and each other.  

The second demand was to meet with the Chancellor.  One of the statements that received a big round of applause was,  "The University should be defending students in the media not criticizing them."

Ms. Pearson accepted their demands, sort of, and said she would relay them to Chancellor Subbaswamy when he returns to campus.  Satisfied, the group then disbanded.  

All done by 1:15 PM, or around 45 minutes total.   Unlike the Blarney Blowout -- that started in the early morning and went late into the night on Saturday.

Kumbaya

Students on the march

Outraged students will march on Chancellor Subbaswamy's office from the Student Union this after at 12:30 p.m. to protest "police brutality" during the Blarney Blowout.

Egged on by the cherry picked snippets of video posted to that bastion of civic responsibility website Barstool Sports (who thought last year's event was "fun"), the march will most likely get far less participation from students than did the Blarney Blowout.

Unless of course they serve free beer.

 Another bastion of civic responsibility website:

RT if you think #UMASS Amherst #police used excessive force during the #blarney blowout.
— Smack College (@SMACKCOLLEGE) March 10, 2014

Comments posted to  Ch 22 TV story about upcoming protest:

Yes, Your Honor

Full parking lot in Court this morning

This morning it was standing room only in Eastern Hampshire District Court #1 (criminal courtroom) with all the Blarney Blowout perps, their parents, and media -- print, television, and digital.

Judge Payne, who usually handles the Monday morning arraignments, was on vacation so Judge Robert Gordon was presiding. 

Like the Amherst Police Department at the peak of the Blarney Blowout storm, the court system was a tad overwhelmed processing the perps. Most of the college aged youth were dressed up business casual, but had a rather subdued look on their faces.

Or as my Irish mother used to say, "looked like a spanked ass."

The charges ranged from "open container/underaged drinking" to the more serious "assault and battery on a police officer" usually in conjunction with "failure to disperse, rioting" and "resisting arrest."

Since the latter charges carried the potential of one year in the House of Correction the Judge always asked if they were going to hire an attorney or did they wish the court to appoint them one.

Most of the more seriously charged individuals responded they would be hiring an attorney and the court set a pre-trial date for later next month.

The youths charged with minor offenses for the most part opted to settle the matter today by chatting with the District Attorney out in the hallway and will probably end up with a $100 fine and 4 months probation.

This process will continue tomorrow and a bailiff thought maybe even into Wednesday.  And of course many of those arrested will continue to clog up the court system into the next few months, with some of them facing the prospect of a permanent criminal record.

A day of debauchery, a lifetime of regret.

#####

Amherst Police issue another statement 

Note to media:  total APD arrests 55 and UMPD 3, for a total of 58

Boston Globe editorial:  End the Blarney Blowout  (wish it was that easy)

AFD also stressed by Blarney:  20 patients seen, 12 transported to hospital

   AFD Blarney Blowout