Not Inclusive Enough?

The Vagina Monologues 1996 (left) vs later edition

Well I guess I don't have to worry about Amherst Regional High School ever doing another sanctioned performance of the Vagina Monologues on public school property now that the bastion of PC feminism Mount Holyoke College has mothballed VM because it's not "inclusive" enough to include transsexuals.

As some of you may sadly remember ARHS was the only high school in the nation to allow VM back in 2004, only five years after being the only entity in history to ban a performance of West Side Story.

After Principal Mark Jackson was soooooo impressed with an off campus production put on by the kids in 2007 he allowed VM back at the ARHS in 2008, but not since then. 

My main complaint with the work of "art" is the repeated use of the C-word (rhymes with bunt).

Ensler claims she wanted to "reclaim" the word.  And we see how well that has worked out over the past two decades.  Right up there with reclaiming the N-word, although the hipper 5-letter version does actually gets used way more often than it should these days.

And the monologue, ‘The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could’ glories sex between an adult and underage girl after the minor had consumed vodka.

In the original version published, in 1998, the girl is only 13 and the monologue closes with her gushing:

“Now people thought that it was a kind of rape. I was only thirteen and she was twenty-four. Well, I say, if it was a rape, it was a good rape then, a rape that turned my sorry-ass coochi snorcher into a kind of heaven.”

Yikes! Can you imagine if a white, middle aged, Republican had authored that?

Yes I did attend the 2004 showing at the high school because Fox News paid for my ticket and requested I attend.  And no, I did not try to record it.

Obviously it's not a First Amendment violation for the public schools to ban taking pictures of minors on school property (although you have to question the wisdom of the schools allowing those minors to perform R rated material).

 Calvin Terrell, Amherst Regional Middle School last week

And the schools fulfilled the requirement of copyright law by posting public notice a week before the event that VM was off limits to recording.  Also, unlike Calvin Terrell's "performance" at the Middle School last week, a fee was charged at the door.

Maybe when Terrell returns to perform next academic year he can dress up as a vagina, just for old time sake.

Higher Education Subsidy?

Ladder 1 at UMass HVAC malfunction fire 12/2/14

Undoubtedly the presence of Amherst College (our #1 land owner), Hampshire College (#3 landowner) and UMass/Amherst (#2 landowner) provide the #1 opportunity for employment in town while also providing boatloads of "college aged youth" for our anemic business sector.

But do these tax-exempt institutions really pay their fair share, especially considering property taxes are the #1 revenue source for municipal services?

 AFD Engine 1 at Amherst College Crossett Christmas disturbance 12/7/14

A look at the cold hard facts reveals a simple answer:  Hell no!

In his budget presented yesterday to the Select Board and Finance Committee (and almost certainly to be passed this spring by Amherst Town Meeting) Town Manager John Musante allocates to the Amherst Fire Department $4,466,729.

 2014 was busiest year in history for AFD medical runs (2nd busiest overall)

In 2014 AFD had their second busiest year in history with a total of 5,914 runs with 1,566 of those going to our three institutes of higher education, or 26.5%, which works out to $1,182,789 worth.

UMass paid us $350,000 for AFD protection via a "5 Year Strategic Agreement" (that is now 2.5 years past due for renewal) and Amherst College paid $90,000.  Hampshire College paid zero. 

So total intake to the town coffers is $440,000 on a fair share of $1.2 million!  All these monies simply go into the town's General Fund, not directly to AFD.

Based on service provided, UMass (19% of AFD runs) should have paid us $848,678; Amherst College (4.25% of AFD runs) should have paid $189,835; Hampshire College (3.18% of runs) $142,041.

Amherst College is our #1 landowner and #1 taxpayer because of all the houses they own and rent to professors, and some commercial property (Amherst Golf Course and Lord Jeff Inn).

Last year Amherst College paid around  $490,000.  Hampshire College is our #3 largest landowner, but only paid $67,000 in property taxes on all their holdings last year.

 AFD on scene Hampshire College 12/9/14 for minor fire

Amherst College donated $90,000 to the town last year for AFD protection while Hampshire College -- one of the most expensive liberal arts colleges in America -- donated zero.

If the Town Manager could get our Colleges and University to pay their fair share for vital services, we could easily add a few firefighters to that overburdened public safety department.

And have money left over for a downpayment on the forever talked about, new South Amherst Fire Station.

Status Quo + Budget

Town Manager Musante (center) presented his $21.6 million budget in 40 minutes

Unlike the Amherst public schools the town side of the budget is easily living within its means.

The FY16 budget (starts July 1st)  presented today by Town Manager John Musante to the Select Board and Finance Committee is a 2.5% increase over the current year, and even allows for an increase in badly needed police personnel by two officers.

Although APD will still be down three sworn positions from where they were a decade ago, and two grant funded positions dried up over the past few months.

Musante on adding police

Of course this budget falls terribly short by not also increasing Fire Department personnel, the other -- equally important -- half of Public Safety.  

Other staff additions includes an Economic Development Director, who presumably will work hand in hand with the Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement District to increase business activity in a town still suffering from an anti-business reputation.

The DPW department will also get an "Administrative Analyst Position" to provide better customer service by being proactive with information.  Seems any time the DPW does a major road project, like the recent Pine Street reconstruction, tempers flare over the pace of the project. 

Interestingly the Town Manager did not follow up on his memo to the Select Board last summer suggesting it was time to relook at leasing out the Cherry Hill Golf Course, which annually costs as much as hiring two new firefighters.

The public schools make up more than a majority of the overall Amherst budget and at the moment they are looking at almost a $1 million in red ink, possibly requiring the axing of 17 employees.

The schools are separate from the town budget presented today although both require Town Meeting approval in the spring.  The only direct crossover is the one-third funding the town does provide for Amherst Together

The Select Board will now work with the Town Manager's budget (hopefully finding a way to add a couple of firefighters) and the Amherst and Regional School Committees will work with School Superintendent Maria Geryk once her sure-to-be-controversial budget is finally presented later next month.

A rant on why a bleeding-heart liberal advertises on a more right-leaning publication in a left leaning community.

 Mike Seward

Editors note:  This is only the 2nd "guest post" I have published over the past 8 years.  Self serving perhaps, but considering all the nasty  comments I've published directed at me over the years from Cowardly Anon Nitwits ...

There was an item in the news recently that caught my attention.  Masslive.com reported that Only in the Republic of Amherst blogger Larry Kelley complained about not being allowed to film an event at a public building, thereby violating his First Amendment right.

The article didn’t mention anything about what school officials had to say about it, however.

As is often case on Masslive, anonymous posters chimed in on the topic.  One caught my eye because it characterized the author of this blog as an “insane agitator and provocateur” who is hated by the public and public officials for his “confrontational manner”.

It went on to characterize this blog as an “anti-democracy screed” and relegated it to the “right wing paranoid luny (sic) bin”.

I don’t always agree with Larry, but I proudly advertise on this blog regardless.  Allow me to explain why I advertise, why others should advertise, and why those who don’t agree with him should read his blog.
  
While I can appreciate why liberal-minded folks like myself may disagree with Larry’s opinions, it is undeniable that his blog provides a service and fills a void.  It would be a mistake to compare what he does to Fox News, a so-called “news organization” that I would characterize as an actual right wing paranoid loony bin. 

Larry has broken stories that were later picked up by more mainstream publications like The Republican/Masslive.com and Daily Hampshire Gazette.  He also reports items that aren’t covered by either organization that should be covered. 

The press is supposed to challenge public officials, even if it requires a confrontational style to get the answers. 

The Masslive/The Republican reporter should have “confronted” school administrators about Larry not being allowed to film a public event in a public building and included their response in the article.

The framers of the U.S. Constitution enumerated free press protections in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights because they knew that an informed electorate was essential to democracy.

They knew that voters need to know the who, the what, the why, the how, and the when of what their public officials are doing in order for a democracy to function.

Today’s press is failing voters miserably in more ways than one, and what follows are just a couple of the many reasons why―and why the citizens of Amherst should be happy to have another source of information.

Today’s press is too reliant on “official” sources and press releases.  They don’t investigate the facts independently as the Fourth Estate should.

I published a news site of my own in Belchertown. It was called Belchertown-News.com.  I know it is a lot of work to cover and promote the news. (My appreciation for what Larry does is another reason I support this blog with advertising.)

While I was unable to make it sufficiently profitable to quit my day job, I still get press releases all the time.   Because I receive press releases, I can tell you that too many of them are simply paraphrased and published by mainstream news agencies.

Sometimes they just get their information from a police agency’s Facebook status. They don’t investigate the facts for themselves.  They don’t try to find out if there is more to the story.  This includes press releases from organizations, town officials, businesses, and everyone else.

They just take it for granted that what they received was true and distribute it to the masses for consumption.  How is that good for democracy? 

I post Belchertown-related stories from other news agencies at Facebook.com/BelchertownNews.  As such, I contribute to the problem I just discussed by distributing said stories further.   I still post my own scoops on occasion, as well.

Another way our press fails us is through media consolidation.  There is  too much synergy and not enough energy in news reporting.  Most of our press, both locally and nationally, is owned by just a few media conglomerates.

These media conglomerates have their own interests that sometimes conflicts with that of the public they are supposed to serve―whether it is their own interests or the interests of their advertisers.

Just look at Comcast-owned NBC News and their lack of coverage of net neutrality, a topic that could potentially have a very significant impact on our democracy.

And when the media are making millions on political campaigns, well, the conflict is self-evident and especially egregious. 

Two of our local television media outlets―WGGB (Channel 40) and CBS3 Springfield―are owned by just one corporation: Meredith Corporation.   The Republican/Masslive.com is owned by Advance Publications. Even Daily Hampshire Gazette and its family of newspapers isn’t locally owned.  It is owned by Newspapers of New England.

Media consolidation dilutes the news.

One perspective is portrayed across multiple venues, thereby limiting the number of news items that the people of the cities and towns of the Pioneer Valley actually need to know.

I watched CBS 3 Springfield a few times, and it seemed that too many of their stories began with, “According to our media partners Masslive and The Republican...”  What’s the point of multiple news sources if they all report the exact same thing?

Isn’t the point of a robust press to provide multiple perspectives and allow for more news stories to be reported?  How is media consolidation good for public?
 
As someone who ran his own news website for one town, I also know that there are a ton of stories not being covered that should be covered.  Think about it. Every single town has a regular schedule of selectmen meetings, school committee meetings, planning board meetings, zoning board of appeals meetings, and more.  Each of those meetings has multiple items on their respective agendas.

Think of all the potentially important news stories not being covered because there aren’t enough resources to cover them.

The public can’t do anything about what they may not want their public officials  doing unless they know about it beforehand, and the public not finding out something until it is too late happens more often than you think.
  
Of course, we shouldn’t dismiss the fact that more of the public needs to take an interest in what is happening.  I’ve seen people stand up at Belchertown’s Annual Town Meeting and ask questions about things that were widely reported in the news.

The more people paying for news would go a long way toward improving news coverage.  

The community should embrace Larry’s efforts for all these reasons, at the very least.  He is just one local guy helping to fill a large void to serve the public interest.

You don’t have to agree with everything he writes to do so. The news shouldn’t be consumed to validate one’s worldview.  It should be consumed to help inform it.  That’s why multiple perspectives are essential.

Those perspectives shouldn’t just be limited to the same story, either. Different perspectives are also offered in the types of stories that are covered.

If it is true that the public and public officials hate Larry, as the anonymous Masslive commenter claimed, then it is likely because the public and town officials have forgotten what a free press is all about. 

Box Alarm Station Road

Chicken coop was a total loss

AFD responded to a chicken coop fire this afternoon up a very steep incline on Station Road, bordering on the town of Belchertown.

Originally the box alarm indicated the structure fully engulfed and threatening the nearly residence, but Chief Nelson arrived first on scene to report that it was relatively a safe 30 or 40 feet away.

Chief is not above helping with hose

Just as the hoses were being charged, another fire alarm came in from Amherst College and engaged Engines 2 and 4.  Thus at that moment four engines were engaged with pretty much the entire on duty staffing.

Engine 1 had primary

Engine 3 Student Call Force provided back up further down the hill

Once the water flowed the fire was quickly snuffed out

Too Secretive?

UMass Southwest Towers, built 1963

To no great surprise Chancellor Subbaswamy, head of the flagship of higher education in our education oriented state located in an education oriented town, has decided to end the "confidential informant program" overseen by UMass Police Department to get drug dealers off the streets.

Well, since UMass doesn't really have streets, off the pavement anyway.

Dumb decision.

As some of you may remember I first published the death certificate of Eric Sinacori last spring and caught a boatload of grief for doing so.

And no, I had no idea he was involved as a "witness" (according to the District Attorney's office) or "confidential informant" (according to the Boston Globe).  At the time I just thought people should know such a tragedy can happen in our little "college town."

Because when you cover up a student death by heroin here and a death where alcohol contributed  there, average people fail to get the true picture of the problem and fail to act to address it.

Now when a student dies from a drug overdose -- and they will! -- the University will have even more reason to cover it up.

Because people will rightfully say an informant may have given UMass police the vital information needed to take out the dealer prior to the victim injecting poison in their veins.

Once again UMass is putting their public image over public safety.
 

Click to enlarge/read

UMass Office of News & Media Relations reports

First Amendment Warrior

Calvin Terrell, Social Justice Warrior

Yes I did feel a bit like the school kid squealing to a higher authority about an altercation on the schoolyard that left you fuming, even a couple days later.

The Chair of the Regional School Committee, Trevor Baptiste, did not seem to initially understand my complaint with School Superintendent Maria Geryk.



Obviously she did not pay the woman to snatch my iPhone (last words, "no videotaping" is Maria Geryk) but she did give verbal commands -- before and after the incident -- declaring a ban on videotaping.

And the Superintendent did not seem overly concerned about the physical nature of the altercation brought on by her edict. 

To ban journalists from recording an event should always make you wonder:  what is it they don't want you to know?

Masslive reports (as usual Comments are the best) 

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