Successful Mooooooove

Hope is designed to hold four football players (linemen no less)

Hope the cow crossed North Pleasant Street safely and has now taken up residence between Realignment (pocket) Park and (expansive) Kendrick Park.

Hope is part fundraiser for the homeless, part pubic art and mostly fun for kids (and adults) to hop aboard for a photo shoot.  The move was necessitated by the impending construction of One East Pleasant Street.

 Jada wishes Hope could fly

There They Go Again

North end of downtown, finally, getting infrastructure improvements

As usual the Town Meeting warrant article that made the most common sense for quick passage -- deemed a "no brainer" by one member --  created the longest discussion of the night, although it did easily attain more than a two thirds vote, 119 to 32. 

As "keepers of the public way" the Amherst Select Board has already unanimously approved a roundabout for the important East Pleasant/Triangle Street intersection, a main gateway to UMass.

 Bank of America ATM (red roof)

Land required in yellow

In order to make it safer for pedestrians via a sidewalk the town needs a sliver of land from Bank of America, who is willing to donate it in exchange for some help fixing a water pipe connection to their brightly colored ATM.

But naturally, fuddy-duddies in Town Meeting who prefer the old fashioned signalized intersection continue to engage in guerrilla warfare, trying to stop progress.

Fortunately a couple years from now they will figure it out -- after easily negotiating the roundabout on their horse and buggy.

DUI Dishonor Roll

Should marijuana be legalized in our progressive state these kinds of dangerous driving incidents will no doubt increase.  Interesting that a Breathalyzer is used to rule out alcohol as a factor for impaired driving.

 Lenno Carter, age 40, stands before Judge Thomas Estes

Click to enlarge/read

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday the Commonwealth requested $2,000 bail for Mr. Carter but it was denied by Judge Estes.  He was released on his own personal recognizance and will return next month for a pre-trial hearing. 

Charter Commission: All Ears

Amherst Town Meeting is 258 years old (and showing its age)

Charter Commissioners have an astonishingly powerful potential:  To help change our local form of governance, to declare our independence from an unwieldy, inefficient, unrepresentative legislative body otherwise know as "Representative" Town Meeting.

But of course the blueprint they craft over the next year will be subject to voter approval.  And this time I have a feeling they will get it right -- both the Charter Commission and the voters.

Click to enlarge/read (and then show up for the meeting)

I hope the state mandated 1st public forum of our 9 member Charter Commission gets better results than their predecessors did 15 years ago, when only a dozen citizens took the initiative to speak truth to power.

   Amherst Charter Hearing 5/15/01

Party House of the Weekend

902 East Pleasant Street

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Let's hope this is the last Party House incident until our beloved college aged youth return in late August, but I doubt it.  High School graduations are coming up ...

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday all four perps had their criminal cases converted to civil and paid the $300 Noise By-Law fine.

The four were arraigned individually before Judge Thomas Estes (minus the kegs on their heads)

Fallout Continues

Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee last night

The Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee went into executive session at the start of their regularly scheduled 6:00 PM meeting last night, presumably to discuss the situation surrounding embattled School Superintendent Maria Geryk who was present, as was an attorney from Gini Tate's law firm, Tom Colomb.

 Former Select Board member and retired teacher Judy Brooks asks about bullying programs

The agenda called for only one hour but the committee stayed in seclusion for twice that, coming back into open session at 8:14 PM.

The agenda also called for a discussion of "stay away orders" but that was put off to a later date.

 Patient audience who waited out the 2 hour executive session

The current controversy started when Maria Geryk issued a stay away order to single mom Aisha Hiza, banning her from all Regional school property for advocating on behalf of her bullied child who attends Pelham Elementary School.

The Pelham School Committee also went into executive session last week to discuss the matter.

Fool Me Three times?

Townehouse Apartments, Mid April

Third time was the charm for couch burning out at everybody's favorite outdoor play area, the west quad of Townehouse Apartments on Meadow Street in North Amherst. 

Last month, with a couple thousand college aged youth crammed into the quad, the firebugs escaped capture.

As did a couch torching this past Friday night.  But Sunday was a different story.  Private security caught the perp, who was charged with burning personal property. 

He was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday before Judge Thomas Estes, and had his case continued until 5/31/16 for pre-trial.

Click to enlarge/read