Smooth Sailing (So Far)

258th Annual Town Meeting

In spite of the enthusiasm exhibited by Moderator Jim Pistrang the new $26,000 electronic voting devices did not see official use last night other than a 20 minute practice session with only a minor glitch or two.

At one point it looked like they would be fired up for official use, but a member made a "point of order" to remind Mr. Pistrang that a voice vote will always go first.  That vote was so overwhelmingly one sided he decided not to waste another minute or two to confirm it via the clickers.

 Town Moderator Jim Pistrang demonstrating new electronic voting devices

At this rate the batteries should last quite a while.

But it certainly indicates Town Meeting members were all on the same page with the votes thus far.  Even the $10 million Pubic Safety Budget was approved unanimously without any naysayers questioning authority, something this town seems to specialize in.

Of course the long winded advisory articles that have nothing to do with operating our $80+ million enterprise have yet to come up, although a procedural motion moved article 45 to tomorrow night first thing.

Amherst College students want their $2 billion institution to divest from fossil fuels and apparently don't want to get arrested via sit ins like UMass students recently did. 

And since they will be gone in a week,  it's far more convenient to have the article come up sooner rather than dead last.

Town Meeting, at your service.

Taking Responsibility

Panda East will remain open but cannot serve alcohol 5/4 through 6/27

Panda East restaurant will NOT appeal the decision of the Amherst Select Board who, acting as the town's Liquor Commissioners, voted unanimously to suspend their all alcohol permit from May 4th through June 27 for the second offense this year of serving alcohol to underage patrons.  

   Panda Garden East Liquor Suspension

According to Panda East's attorney Kristi Bodin, "The decision (not to appeal) is based on consideration of what is best for the business and what is best for the community."

Don't Do The Crime ...

Three perps arrested for UMass incident await arraignment in Courtroom 1

UMass has had a few somewhat dramatic incidents over the past year, all of them involving weapons (and most likely drugs or alcohol).

In this most recent early morning incident the three masked suspects, armed with knives, tried to break into dorm rooms at the Washington tower at 4:45 AM early Sunday morning.

UMPD arrested them, but not before they put up a fight.

Safe to say the two who are UMass students -- Damien Earp and Garrett Johnston -- will never graduate (from UMass/Amherst).

Click to enlarge/read

Bright Lights, Small Town

May is one of the most exciting months of all in our little college town.  The weather becomes more user friendly, our institutes of higher education go on hiatus, and -- best of all -- a 50+ year tradition returns to our bucolic Town Common.

The Amherst Rotary Town Fair is coming to town! 

Click to enlarge/read

Almost Gone

UMass Amherst about to become Tranquility Base

The final weekend before graduation at our Goliath institute of higher education went well, with only one usual hot spot (okay, maybe one-and-a-half) for a large outdoor gathering, Hobart Lane.

 Hobart Lane 3:30 PM Saturday

Fortunately it did not turn into a Hobart Hoedown.

 Hobart Lane Sunday morning

Amherst police monitored the festivities all day, made a few arrests for "liquor law violations" (underage drinking, open container) but pretty much let the steam blow off.  Safely.

 Meadow Street, Saturday afternoon

Extravaganja last year

Of course both APD and AFD would have been a whole lot busier if Extravaganja had not moved over to Northampton where it attracted a crowd of 12,000 -- twice the size of last year's overcrowded event on the Town Common.

 Meadow Street Sunday morning

Fearing Street Sunday morning

Where Have All The People Gone?

Amherst Town Common last year with Extravaganja

 Amherst Town Common this year without Extravaganja

The High Cost Of Education

Wildwood Elementary School, built 1972, 108,000 square feet

The first of four major building projects will come up for a vote this fall where a debt exclusion override will require a two-thirds vote of support from Town Meeting and then ballot approval by town voters at the  November 8th Presidential election, which always has a huge turnout.

School officials and concerned parents will get a preliminary glimpse, however, of how those votes will go by watching the fate of Article 38 coming up on the Annual Town Meeting that starts May 2nd.

 Click to enlarge/read

Fort River School, built 1973, 108,000 square feet

If Town Meeting approves the $40,000 to go back and restudy the costs of renovating Fort River and Wildwood Elementary schools rather than simply supporting the new $66 million mega school it will certainly send a message of distrust about the way the building project has been handled thus far.

 Crocker Farm School, built 1974 but renovated 2002 to a total of 90,800 square feet

And if you don't trust officials trying to sell you a $33 million building Override by raising your taxes for the next 30 years, that alone becomes reason to vote no.

   Amherst School Renovations Costs?