Rumor wrong - Doucette NOT running in Ward 6

Well it seems the rumor was wrong and that there was some organized group of posters (or simply one mimicking many) who wished to make it look as if Keith Doucette was running for Ward 6 Councilor. This rumor is and was false.

Here is what I wrote at Keith's Blog:
Note: I am not linking to Keith's blog at his request.

Keith...
I reported a 'rumor,' then it was 'confirmed' by many posters.
Then you pulled your site down.
This all seemed to fit.
Sorry if you feel wronged again.
Unlike many others I will state when I have made a mistake. This obviously is a mistake and I am sorry if I have offended you (yet again.)

That being said... I am not a paid reporter and do not have all the time in the world to check everything myself. I do not, for instance, call the participants in every news article to confirm the reporters veracity.

However... I probably should have been a little more vigilant when it comes to rumor passing by anonymous sources. I will try and do better.

Peabody Patriot has closed shop (again)(again)

UPDATED:
Keith Doucette has NOT pulled papers to run in Ward 6
Please see THIS post for more details

I have made this post too many times now. The Peabody Patriot has closed shop yet again. This is on the heels of Peabody Elections (Keith Doucette's blog) closing the previous day. For better or worse folks... I (again) will be here to host this forum for your comments, commendations and criticisms of the goings on here in the City of Peabody.

Everyone is welcome here to participate in an adult level of discourse concerning the important issues to the City of Peabody, Massachusetts.

At least Keith seems to have a reason for closing that blog - he has pulled papers to run for Ward 6 Councilor. This is a very smart move (closing the blog) in my opinion. As a public official (or someone running for such a post) it is probably not in your best interest to be confronting anonymous people in a public arena.

Now as for the Peabody Patriot... that is another issue altogether. It is really quite a bit of work to run an active blog, and frankly this newest PP was doing a pretty good job. I am sad to see another voice removed from the blog scene.

I also worry at to why..... Now everything I am about to say here-in is PURE CONJECTURE and has little factual information to back it up. It is PURE SPECULATION on my part.

Did you notice that one of the very last things the Patriot posted was that a MOLE in the City Clerk's office had told him that Keith Doucette had pulled papers to run for Ward Councilor...

Now, I DO KNOW a little bit about how City Hall operates - and a little TOO MUCH about how the computer infrastructure works. It is a FACT that ALL computer access is monitored 24 hours a day on City computers. This means EVERYTHING. Emails sent and received. Web sites accessed. Even instant messaging through your computer is recorded and logged... AND CHECKED.

Perhaps the MOLE was 'discovered' and some form of punishment or threats were in the offering? I have no idea BUT I would not put it past the current administration to view these actions as both illegal (using a city computer and city time for personal business) and disloyal.

Like I said... this is (mostly) conjecture. The way City Hall operates its computer system is NOT conjecture though - that is a fact.

Ward Council races starting to get interesting

It has been reported on The Peabody Patriot that two new folks have tossed their hats into the ring. Jeff Grayson (a political new comer - at least to me) has pulled papers to run against Ward 4 Councilor Bob Driscoll and in Ward 6, Keith Doucette has also pulled papers to run against Councilor Barry Sinewitz.

I personally welcome ALL participants into the political fray - as long as they are serious candidates and have the best interests of the people at heart.

I think a vigorous campaign that is well intentioned and focuses on substantial issues in these difficult times is the VERY BEST THING FOR OUR CITY!

I would be proud to sign the nomination papers for these two gentlemen, or anyone else serious about entering the political stage.

A PIG in a poke?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

Romeo and Juliet: Act II, Scene II

What's in a name? That which we call a PIG by any other name would smell so bad?

The bikeway has a new name. The Peabody Independence Greenway. Yes. You read it right. The new bikeway is going to be called THE PIG.


The Salem News: Peabody's new bikepath now has a name

Now, no offense to the middle schooler(s) who entered names into the contest... I am blaming the geniuses who chose this name over, oh say, Tanner Bikepath?

Also... you may enjoy reading some interesting comments at the Salem News site.

Peabody Bikeway: A good idea & getting better

The Peabody Bikeway is a success. It is obvious by the number of people I see on it and the good "buzz" I hear listening to my fellow Peabody people in and around town. It is so good that the City Council voted to extend it to Endicott St.

The Salem News: Council unanimously backs bikeway extension

Heck, even the Salem News seems to find it a good use of the public funds!

The Salem News: Our View: Peabody blazes trail for bikers, walkers

The City has seen that this is such a success that they have initiated the next phase of the project - connecting the North Shore Mall section to Endicott Street. I have not seen a plan of the path, but I have made a good guess at the location and plotted it on my public map of Peabody Sites of Interest on google maps.

It seems that some people though are FIXATED on the fact that the separate bike path sections DO NOT CONNECT in a seamless fashion. Well, we have two little problems... Rt.1/I-95 and Rt.128 So instead of shrugging their shoulders and giving into defeatist attitudes the planners in the community development department struggled for many many years to make the current bikeway a success despite the gaps.

Since someone posted at the Salem News that bike riders are TOO STUPID to figure out a work around... I decided to help everyone out and show one way around the "problem" areas...

Click image to enlarge

Bonfanti budget a slap in the face to the future

Much can be said about this deep financial crisis that the world is facing... we are facing it here in Peabody as well. It is up to the wise people who we citizens have elected to make the difficult decisions that will impact each and every one of us.

What is terribly troubling to me is the very people we have entrusted to make these important choices: Will we fund THIS or THAT? Can this road go another season without repair or will we need to replace it completely later? Should we cancel 20 English classes or serve 27 students who wish to learn Greek? Do we buy a new fire truck or repair/rehab the 25 year old one? Should we dip into our savings safety net to pay for ongoing expenses or maintain our high bond rating which saves us money in the long term?

These are all difficult choices and we rely on these people we elect, and a bevy of professional experts to guide them, to come to the best possible answers for all the citizens of this City of Peabody.

So why does it feel like we just screwed all the children of Peabody in an effort to maintain the bragging rights of having the lowest taxes around?

We have decided to step-by-step dismantle the school system because it is the easiest target in the budget crunch game. And from where I have been sitting and watching it most certainly is a game.

The Mayor blames the economy. Patricia Schafer blames the State. The School Committee blames the Mayor. The City Council blames the School Committee. The Mayor threatens everyone. They all (with great regret and heavy hearts) vote to allow the Peabody Public Schools to become the Peabody Public Dump.

Now, like any good game there will be winners and losers.

The Winners:

The Mayor gets praised by everyone who doesn't have children in the school systems and who see lowest taxes as better than educated children. The Mayor wins re-election all the while claiming in his reelection speech that "...another of [his] priorities is education. He said that while new schools were built and MCAS scores are improving, the overall level of education can be lifted higher and the district needs to retool and deal with declining student enrollment." From: Peabody Lynnfield Weekly News

The City Council wins both ways...
~ If you voted FOR the budget you are seen as a proactive, fiscally prudent protector of the elderly and the middle class, blue collar folks here in Peabody... just like the Mayor (see above)
~ If you voted AGAINST the budget (either time) you are seen as a defender of the parents and children of the City of Peabody! Except... you really didn't do ANYTHING except grandstand about something you can't change in the first place. This was pandering and sticking it to the Mayor (or in some cases the School Committee) in order to look Pro Parent and Pro Student when you have done little if anything to help the situation.

Bottom line: Almost all City Councilors will be reelected no matter which way they voted on this matter because there aren't enough parents to change the voting numbers... and the children simply can't vote.

The School Committee wins as well.
Frankly, it doesn't matter if they all voted for the budget or not... the budget was given to them and they had no choice but to make cuts somewhere to meet the numbers. However they all approved the union wages which it turns out is the main reason that the school department was singled out as the only department that needed to make ANY LAYOFFS... everyone else who works for the City is INDISPENSABLE while 73 people in the school department (don't worry, they say it will be less) ARE COMPLETELY UNNEEDED AND UNNECESSARY.

But the School Committee did get to LOOK GOOD as they were destroying the schools... they saved THIS program and THAT position... usually to the cheers of some very vocal group of parents, teachers, admins, etc. So they too will look like the valiant fighters who went into a losing battle and were able to snatch a few key nuggets of education for our youths. They all get reelected.

Hmmm. Yeah if all these folks win... somebody has to lose, right? Sadly you all know who…

Our children are the losers.
And when they lose, we all lose.

Peabody, your taxes are too low and your priorities are misplaced. And sadly, your leaders are failing you while they leave the next generation of Peabody citizens to fend for themselves.

Mayor's Budget is in and it is 100% Anti Education

I was appalled when I read about the cuts the City of Peabody is planning for the 2010 budget.. 100% of the job cuts will be coming from the school department. 100%!!!

NO CUTS in the public services department. NO CUTS in the fire department. NO CUTS in the police department. NO CUTS in ANY OF THE OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES:

• Assessor's Office
  
• Auditor's Office
  
• Central Switchboard
  
• City Clerk's Office
  
• Collector's Office
  
• Community Development
  
• Custodian
  
• Emergency Management/ Civil Defense
  
• Finance and Administration
  
• Health Department
• Human Resources
• Inspectors' Office
• North Shore Home Consortium
• Office of Information Technology
• Purchasing Department
• Treasurer's Office
  
• Veterans Services Department
• Water Billing Office
• Workers Compensation Office
  
• Brooksby Farm
• Cemetery
  
• Legal Department
  
• Council on Aging
  
• George Peabody House Museum/ Civic Center
• Peabody Library
• McVann-O'keefe Skating Rink
  
• Parks, Recreation and Forestry or
  
• The Meadow of Peabody Golf Course.

That's right. The only place that had people fired because of budget reasons was THE PEABODY SCHOOL SYSTEM. NOT ONE OTHER DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY NEEDS TO MAKE A SINGLE CUT!

I think that this is the first time I will need to agree with the often repeated comment by visitors to these blogs...

MAYOR BONFANTI IS NOT THE EDUCATION MAYOR.

The Salem News: An Overview of the 2010 Budget
The Salem News: Bonfanti plans to weather another term

This is the systematic disassembling of the Peabody School System. I have no problem with the shrinking enrollments... in that case be SMART and close a school to consolidate students and continue to provide quality education. BUT NO. Instead we will hack away at the very people who provide the educational opportunities to our children that will lay the groundwork for the rest of their lives.

According to the article:

The school department has about 800 full-time employees compared to 457 for the remaining city departments. The school layoffs reflect the district's declining enrollment, Bonfanti said.

"You just can't keep hiring people," Bonfanti said. "There's got to be a point in time when you right-size."

City departments, he said, have done a better job keeping spending in check and leaving positions unfilled. "We've always run lean," Bonfanti said.

This is short sighted and will anger many in the community. However... it is politically saavy as Peabody's median population is over 40... meaning that the majority of voters in the City DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ANY LONGER. Thus the Mayor is promising CUTS to the school system and making the seniors (and others) very happy with only a tiny tax increase.

Now to make matters worse... Bonfanti has now PROMISED to build a new ASSISTED LIVING CENTER on the property at the Torigian Life Center (senior center.) I have no problem with additional assisted living centers as I think it is good for our seniors to have choices for living arrangements. I do not think that the City needs to be the developer for such an enterprise - especially in a market with many opportunites readily available.

There are 8,398 citizens over 65 living in Peabody. And they have a realively new senior center for their use. YET... we have more than 8,800 children aged 5-19 living in the City (according to the 2000 US Census.) This administration (and others) have talked (and talked and talked) about a facility for these children - a teen center or a youth center - BUT NOTHING EVER HAPPENS. Yes, they do have a Skate Park (thank you Vera Kolias), but that is not enough.

Does this not serve as yet another indication that the children of Peabody are MUCH LESS IMPORTANT than everyone else in this City? You can NOT call yourself the EDUCATION MAYOR and do these kinds of things to the youth you pretend to serve.

Moutsoulas will not seek re-election

School Committee member Michael Moutsoulas has decided not to seek re-election to the school committee when his term expires in 2010.

Salem News: Incumbent decides against second term

The article notes that there are 3 members who have not yet pulled papers for re-election: Moutsoulas, Beverley Dunne and Edward Nizwantowski. So far the only new comers to the race are Jarrod Hochman, who ran in 2005, and Neil Papamechail.

This might lead to further speculation concerning Committee member Dunne who is rumored to be considering a run against Mayor Bonfanti.

Summer Reading: School Committee Knows Best!

The Peabody School Committee, for a second year in a row, has decided to throw their learned weight around and yet again blast the PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS who have selected an appropriate range of reading choices for the summer education and enjoyment of Peabody students.

The Lynn Item: Peabody school board questions suggested summer reading book

...and just for old times sake, the same controversy from LAST YEAR...

Salem News: Turf tangle over Peabody students' summer reading list
Salem News Editorial: Think before censoring school reading list
Salem News Editorial: Committee should keep hands off student reading list

First of all... my very favorite thing from this article is the fact that all these adults are yap-yap-yapping about a book that NONE OF THEM HAVE EVEN BOTHERED TO READ! NONE OF THEM. I mean, it's a KIDS BOOK! How long would it actually take to read it before casting it into the book burning pile?

So the book is called Sold by Patricia McCormick, and it centers about some pretty mature themes: prostitution, slavery, child abuse, etc. I do give Assistant Superintendent Joseph Mastrocola credit for defending the work of the school educators who selected this book. "I trust our staff and that's a selection they want to move forward with," he said. "Students do not have to read that book if they don't want to. It's suggested, not mandatory."

This is another wonderful example of what the School Committee does worst... trying to second guess those people who know better than them. Here is a little bit about this book (from the article) "...the rather racy book is both a 2006 National Book Award finalist and a 2007 ALA Best Books for Young Adults [selection]..."

But perhaps the best statement was by the original book banner herself... the person rumored to be mulling a run for mayor...
"...Committee member Beverley Dunne said because every child matures at a different age, it's appropriate for the schools to offer a wide range of books to meet their needs..."

Of course this was in contrast to these statements made about The Kite Runner and The Curious Case of the Dog who Barked in the Night, two books from previous years.
"If a book can't be read out loud at [school] committee's meetings, it doesn't belong on the list..." She said that the language in some books, especially Haddon's, couldn't be broadcast at the meeting and therefore shouldn't be imposed on students. "You're forcing them to read this book that, I'll be honest, if my children had brought it home from the library on their own, I would have considered it trash," Dunne said.

It is my opinion that the School Committee is NOT QUALIFIED to be choosing books for our students. Those are NOT the job of the committee and they do a poor enough job of doing what they are SUPPOSED TO BE DOING in the first place.

Some New Life For Downtown?

Two projects were in the news concerning the Downtown area and they both are making me hopeful that we are on a path towards a better, more vibrant, Downtown Peabody. Now these things alone will not save or change anything, and let's face it, a CVS is just another separate parking, 'disconnected' store... but its a start.

The Peabody Lynnfield Weekly News:
Gateway site to city finally sees shovels in the ground
The Peabody Lynnfield Weekly News:
City moves ahead on second grant for Walnut St park
Note: the PLWN only maintains its web new for approximately one week

The Salem News: Legal spat aside, 'gateway CVS is a go


While I really can't imaging the need for an additional big-box drug store in Downtown (I mean we have the Walgreens on Main and the Walgreens just down the road in Salem) I will admit that I am not an expert on retail establishment real estate. So this new store will be just about half way between the two Walgreens.

The architectural rendering is very nice... but they always are. The proof will be in the pudding... will it look this nice when it is done? I certainly hope so. And let's face it, it is replacing a gigantic eye sore that has been looking worse everyday for the last 5 years.

I do hope that the city will be receiving some funding for the Riverwalk project (in land or $$$ - or both) as it will only make the area more attractive and thus better for all the stores in the area. Add this to the new gas station that Stop & Shop is planning and Howley Street will be rather spiffed up.

The Walnut Street Park is also back in the news - perhaps this time more for the fact that it DIDN'T result in yet another fracas at the City Council meeting.

It seem that Councilors Mello and Sinewitz have decided to not try and block the forward momentum towards building the park but, as Councilor Mello said, he is still against it.

“There’s no mistake that I was against this,” Mello said last month, adding that he now supported the plans with “great reservation.”

My guess is that " ...support[ing] the plan with great reservation" is code for I hate this project, but I better get on board because it is going to happen anyway. And I can only surmise that in the future one of two outcomes will happen:

1) The Park will be a failure: Mello will be handing out the blame saying "I TOLD YOU SO!"

2) The Park will be a success: Mello will be in the front of the line accepting the praise for his good work.

But enough about that. I am just happy that the majority of the Council and the administration recognise the wonderful potential this park holds.

Westside Restaurant Updated

It seems to me like the Peabody Weekly News is becoming a better source of good reporting than any other newspaper around. Here is an update from them regarding the Westside Restaurant special permit and the ensuing controversies

The Peabody & Lynnfield Weekly News:
Council postpones vote on alcohol license for Westside
Note: PLWN articles are only available for approximately one week

I sincerely appreciate Councilor Bettencourt informing the public as to the nature of the emergency that led to the recess of the City Council meeting that evening. I am especially glad to hear that everyone is now fine and that his family is safe.

I stand by my previous comments that the meeting should not have been stopped. The fact that one councilor was not able to be present for the meeting (even though he did attend part of it) is irrelevant.

A quorum is the minimum number of meeting members that need to be present in order for official business to take place. For the City Council that number is 6.

Now a special permit needs to have a super majority (in this case 8 votes) in order to be approved. Thus, with Councilor Manning choosing to vote no the die was cast for the special permit to fail.

This is why I called into question the shenanigans that went on with Councilor Bettencourt's emergency call. It was not that he was responding to a family emergency - of course any good parent would have left to take care of his family - it was the closing of the meeting to prevent the special permit from failing.

Aside: I have reviewed all my comments made concerning this matter. I find that I have consistently sought WHY the meeting was postponed instead of continuing and I questioned the legitimacy of such actions. I also stated that IF the entire emergency was a concoction used to postpone the proceedings, that such actions would have been reprehensible. And because of the actions by the Council AFTER the departure of Councilor Bettencout, I felt it was important that it be reported what actually happened.

And while this apparently angered a few readers, it seems Councilor Bettencourt also felt the need to share the reasons for his departure with the press.