Yet another shake up in the schools?

So our School Committees are rethinking expensive legal services for the four-town Regional High School (Amherst, Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury) and Amherst Schools (comprising over 75% of the Regional) and, you know, wish to seek proposals for their lucrative "business" which state law requires for any supplies or service over $5,000--except of course for attorneys or superintendents who coincidentally all seem to cost taxpayers well over $100,000 annually.

The current firm, who has been handling legal advice forever, balked at the idea of entering a competition to maintain their lucrative contract; attorney Regina Tate sent (12/4/09) an "I object!" insubordinate letter to at the time newbie Region Chair Farshid Hajir, who apparently rolled over like a beaten puppy.

"I received your emails dated November 19,2009 in which you indicated that the school Committees are engaged in the periodic review of the services and costs of legal counsel, and you asked for the submission of materials. In view of the fact that none of the School Committees has ever engaged in a "periodic review" of legal counsel services and costs during the entire time this firm has represented the school districts, I have assumed that the School Committees are actually searching for new counsel.

On behalf of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane, I wish to inform the School Committees that the firm will not be applying to continue as counsel."

She goes on (and you gotta hope she did not bill us for her time producing this insubordinate missive): "It is clear to me that the positive relationship which I have enjoyed in the past, and which enabled me to produce excellent results for the Committees, is probably not possible."

A small business owner would not have gotten beyond the first paragraph before picking up the phone and bellowing Donald Trump's patented line, "You're fired!"

2nd Time's The Charm?

 
 Former location 25 South Pleasant Street town center

Scandihoovians, a Northampton men's and woman's jewelry store, will make another attempt at carving out a successful niche in the vibrant -- but some would argue expensive -- downtown Amherst commercial district.

This time they are going to occupy the only commercial space in the sparkling new Boltwood Place five-story mixed use building with a great view, sandwiched between the Boldwood Parking Garage and Judie's Restaurant. The dozen luxury apartments are already fully occupied.

Scandihoovians briefly occupied the space next to Bank of America owned by artist and author Rich Michelson, who consolidated his Amherst gallery into the Northampton location five years ago.  

Last summer Silverscape Designs, an iconic Amherst jewelry store also consolidated by closing its longtime Amherst operation and merging with their downtown Northampton location.



New location coming soon to Amherst's coolest new downtown building