Make My Day

I have to admit disappointment that Turtle Boy Sports had never heard of me.  After all, I've been doing this -- whatever this is  -- for almost eight years now, and some folks still think my sole reason for being is to hassle kids having fun.

The digital equivalent of "get off my lawn."

But I don't really live all that close to UMass/Amherst and I can honestly say I have never lost a night's sleep due to a party house next door.

Although I do lose a fair amount of sleep on warm weather weekends cruising around neighborhoods that do have problems with party houses.

Over the past 8 years I've published 3,474 posts, 161 of them "Nuisance House" posts (mainly involving male UMass students) and another 135 "War on Rowdyism" posts pushing Town & UMass officials in the right direction to deal with it.  So all in all, less than 10% of what I do.

I've probably published as many if not more posts championing Amherst public safety departments and my neighbors at the DPW, or respect for country, aka my 9/11 commemorative flag odyssey -- something patriotic Turtle Boy would probably support.

So other than the grumpy-old-man-with-too-much-time-on-his-hands jokes, it will be interesting to see what Turtle Boy comes up with to "bury" me.  Although he may be wondering how I managed to acquire his Twitter Direct Messages.

And if he is a high school history teacher he should know rule number #1 in war:  "Never underestimate your opponent."

No Abatement For You!

Colonial Village South East St (foreground) Belchertown Road to the rear

Last week in Executive Session the Board of Assessors unanimously sided with town Principal Assessor David Burgess and upheld his significant increase in valuation from FY14 to FY15 for four Apartment complexes in town: Presidential Apartments, Brandywine (both in North Amherst) and the two Colonial Village complexes in East Amherst off South East Street and Belchertown Road.

 Presidential Apartments

Click to enlarge/read

The total increase came to almost $7 million in valuation, or with a tax rate of $20.97/$1,000, almost $150,000 in property tax revenue to the town.  Enough to add a couple of firefighters or police officers to our desperately anemic public safety departments.

 Branywine Apartments

Although had they won the appeal it's no skin off the town's nose, because the tax base would remain the same (allowed by law to increase 2.5% per year) and other property owners would simply pick up the tab by having their valuations, or the tax rate, go up ever so slightly.

The apartment complexes can appeal the decision to the Appellate Tax Board in Boston or the Hampshire Council of Governments in Northampton, although since it's a complicated case it would probably have to be the former.

Either way, costly from a legal perspective.

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

The Hangar (right), Amherst Brewing Company (left)

UPDATE: Monday morning

So I had a very nice conversation with The Hangar Pub and Grill owner Harold Tramazzo and he said the "hybrid" model -- where he does food service and Amherst Brewing Company maintains liquor service -- was the original plan he approached ABC owner John Korpita with about 6 months ago.

But now it's morphed into a outright sale of Amherst Brewing Company (not yet completed) because Mr. Tramazzo "doesn't want the name Amherst Brewing Company to go away."  At the moment he has "management and financial responsibility."

He also wants it known that if the numbers work there's no reason he can't run two businesses almost directly across the street from each other, as well as the Wings Over Amherst just down the road near Big Y.

He also denies The Hangar Pub and Grill is a college bar (which I don't think I called it) and pointed out that he interacted with lots of older patrons over the weekend.  

Mr. Tramazzo does own buildings that house his food service business in Westfield and Greenfield but has no plans for buying Newmarket Center, which has a  town valuation of $3,145, 300.

The "kids menu" has not disappeared, he just weeded out the offerings that were not working and simply serves smaller portions of regular items still on the menu. 

Lots of details still need to be worked out (including paperwork with the town), so at the moment you can consider the operation in soft opening/launch mode. 

#####

Original Report: 
The super popular chicken wings at The Hangar Pub and Grill will get even more room for distribution -- not to mention parking -- as the formerly competing business has taken over food service at the expansive Amherst Brewing Company just across the street on University Drive.

Although one of my Facebook buddies was not overly happy that they immediately cut the kids menu at ABC, making it a tad less family friendly.

The demographic for The Hangar is younger than ABC, to quote that often heard line in a college town:  "College aged youth."  While the Amherst Brewing Company seemed to attract an older crowd, as well as families.

So it will be interesting to see how this clash of cultures works out.

 Charles Lane, a neighborhood immediately behind ABC

Neighbors who live on Charles Lane immediately behind Newmarket Center probably will not be pleased, since this will undoubtedly increase the potentially nosier demographic to their side of the street.

About 15 years ago the Zoning Board of Appeals denied a Special Permit to H2O, a sports bar that wished to open in the space occupied by ABC, because of the potential for noise and nuisance.

A Gold's Gym opened a couple years later, changed their name to The Leading Edge to save franchise fees and then went belly up for good.

Former members tried to form a co-op and revive the fitness operation at that site, but like most things born of Internet petitions, never managed to break a sweat.

Blarney: There They Go Again

Frozen tundra?  Nah, Townhouse apartments:  Ground Zero for bad Blarney

Once again my friends at the Gazette do a front page above the fold story on why Blarney Blowout is going to fizzle and neglect to mention the #1 reason, weather.

For the past two years the downtown bars have not played any role whatsoever in Blarney going bad.

If I were the Select Board, however, I would still pull their liquor permits for Saturday, March 7 just as retroactive punishment for creating the monster they unleashed, and now have no control over.

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Boston could be cancelled

Start shoveling kids!

"Dismissed" Doesn't Mean Innocent!

Thomas C. Donovan arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court (3/10/14).  Your humble reporter standing in background.  MassLive photo by Dave Roback

So the hotshot Boston attorney for Mr. Thomas C. Donovan was being a tad coy when he told my friends at MassLive that the reason he took so long to file a lawsuit against Amherst police is because he wanted to wait until the Blarney Blowout criminal case was concluded against his choir boy client.

Thus giving the impression that the criminal case was "dismissed" and his client was totally innocent.

As any of you who have followed my Eastern Hampshire District Court reports over the past year or so know, the usual method of dealing with UMass students arrested for rowdy behavior is a "diversion" from criminal to civil and the dropping of at least one of the charges.

In the case of Mr. Donovan, who was charged with "failure to disperse" and "disorderly conduct", the Judge, as part of his plea deal, dismissed outright the "disorderly conduct" charge but DID NOT DISMISS the "failure to disperse" charge.

Instead he was put on probation for four months, ordered to pay $200 in restitution and write a letter of apology to APD ... only THEN was the charge of "failure to disperse" dismissed.

Click to enlarge/read

And yes, I have confirmed Donovan wrote the letter of apology to APD, but since this now involves a lawsuit the letter is not a public document.  I also assume he paid the $200 and did the 20 hours of community service.

If he's so innocent, why write a "letter of apology"?

The fact he was recording on his phone at the time he failed to heed a lawfully given order to disperse is irrelevant.  If he were playing a violin, the cops would have told him to stop playing the violin and leave.  

"Not talking to reporters now".  Gee, I wonder why?

To Serve & Protect

APD Captain Chris Pronovost (left) Chief Scott Livingstone (right) 

 
Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingston and Captain Chris Pronovost appeared before the Joint Capital Planning Committee this morning to present their FY16 equipment needs, which were pretty modest considering their $4.5 million operational budget.

Joint Capital Planning Committee preparing to discuss PD equipment this morning

The usual replacement of three front line patrol vehicles, with an excess of 100,000 miles usage, takes up the bulk of the total request at $105,000.  Next year it will be a tad more expensive as the request will be for one additional vehicle.  The department orders four vehicles on a rotating basis every 4th year.

Front line cruisers are used 24/7, 365 days a year

One of the things you don't want to have happen when you call 911 for a life or death emergency is to have help delayed because of a vehicle breakdown.

 Click to enlarge/read.  FY16 starts July 1st

Amherst police department was one of the first public safety agencies in the state to adopt  "in car video systems" aka dash cams.  Such a system protects both the officer making an arrest or just interacting with citizens and the person being arrested or just interacting with the officer. 

$12,000 will purchase two complete systems, to replace older systems in two cruisers.

Naturally as the Chief was leaving the meeting I asked him about body cams.  He responded that within two years it will probably be standard equipment for his department.

The current crop of cameras somewhat rushed to market are still a tad expensive (decent reliable units around $1,000 each) and like any new technology the cameras will get better and cheaper just within the next two years.

He did point out that officers are in favor of wearing the cameras, so it's not a labor union issue  holding things up.  Obviously body cameras would have come in handy last year at the Blarney Blowout.

Also coming in handy when things reach riotous proportions are "Crowd management tools, Protective Gear" aka riot gear.

The Chief told the JCPC that he was dropping the $9,500 request -- not because they are unneeded -- but because he found leftover money in another account to fund them.

The current generation of riot gear (both bulky and hot in the summer) was purchased back in the mid-1980s before anybody ever heard of Blarney Blowout and the excuse to day-drink and get riotous was called "Hobart Hoedown".

Officers only recently were fitted for the equipment so it will not be available this coming March 7.

Do I think they will need riot gear that day?  Well the weather is forecast to be sunny/clear but COLD so that's a BIG help.

Free Mullins Center Concert March 7 to keep students on campus

Plus the quad area of Townhouse Apartments -- ground zero for the gestation of riotous behavior -- is currently buried in snow, so that's a BIG help.

And even the recent regrettable publicity about an alleged "First Amendment" violation last year resulting in a federal lawsuit against APD will at least serve to remind everyone of what a lousy day Blarney was ... for EVERYBODY.

Although I do find it fascinating that Cowardly Anon Nitwits post drivel on the mobile app FADE publicly threatening my First Amendment rights:

At least I'm filed under "hot"

Photo is from an "event" I covered at Townhouse back on September 20

United Once More

UN Flag flies above Black Liberation flag this morning

The pretty blue United Nations flag has returned to its perch directly in front of Town Hall after the previous one was stolen during a storm and briefly replaced with a pirate flag.

I'm told the last remaining member of the original committee who brought the request to Amherst Town Meeting in 1972 donated the new flag. 

The Amherst town flag has been missing from the turret on Town Hall for about as long as the UN flag was missing.

The staff broke so it needs to be replaced before it goes back up alongside the state flag and one of the original 29 commemorative American flags (originally installed during that glorious summer of 2001) that have caused such controversy whenever the anniversary of 9/11 comes calling.

Interestingly Town Meeting this spring will no doubt unanimously support a  "citizens petition" to declare June 14 "Race Amity Day".    Of course June 14 is also "Flag Day".  Which I find exceedingly appropriate.

The American flag represents the diversity -- aka "melting pot"  -- of all the immigrants, all the races, creeds, colors, religions or sexual persuasions that built this great country.

And she represents the freedom so many of us take for granted. 

Precisely why the 29 commemorative flags should fly in the downtown this coming 9/11.