May 17, 2007

Ed Walsh on the record

Jim Campanini posts from Denver, where he is attending a MediaNews Group conference of editors and publishers:

On Monday afternoon I spoke to DPW Commissioner Ed Walsh. He said he was never fired by City Manager Bernie Lynch. Instead, Walsh said the manager called him Friday afternoon and told him he had to make a difficult budget decision. According to Walsh, Lynch said the manager wanted Walsh to consider retirement.
Walsh said he took the demand to mean immediately because when he protested, Lynch said, “Well, I need the resignation because you’re not in the budget that I’m presenting to the Council Tuesday night.”
Walsh said he responded to Lynch, “That’s your problem.”
What happened over the weekend is anybody’s guess, but it’s obvious that something was worked out because Walsh was kept in the budget.

Posted by jimcamp at 10:39 AM | Comments (1)

May 15, 2007

Time to separate fact from fiction

As the City Council prepares to receive and digest City Manager Bernie Lynch's first municipal budget tonight, rumors continue to fly that last Friday Lynch demanded the resignation of DPW Commissioner Ed Walsh, an iconic-like figure and everyone's best friend.
"I know for a fact that's just what the manager did at about 3:20 last Friday afternoon," charged state Rep. Dave Nangle. "He didn't even have the decency to do it person. This guy, Ed Walsh, has forgotten more things about Lowell than Lynch will know in a lifetime"
Lynch, speaking from his City Hall office last Saturday afternoon where he was preparing the budget, said he didn't ask for Walsh's resignation.
And Lynch said today that Nangle's understanding of what happened couldn't be further from the truth.
When pressed to explain how he knows the details of what presumably was a private conversation between Walsh and Lynch, Nangle — who doesn't have the best of relationships with Lynch to begin with — was mum.
"I'm not going to get into that," said Nangle. "But you probably know where I'm coming from," said Nangle.
Walsh has said to many people across the city, including folks here at The Sun, that he was planning to work until he was 81, which would be this December.
In normal circumstances, that would be okay. But Lynch is facing a serious budget crisis and layoffs.
He asked Walsh last Friday if Walsh would consider leaving earlier than planned. Walsh, Lynch said, was amenable to the idea. "He said he'd have to check with the retirement board," Lynch said.
The two haven't spoken since — but the rumors and innuendo continue to fly
As is always the case, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
Walsh probably understood what Lynch said. But when he told his friends and supporters at the Mt. Pleasant Golf Club what happened — many of the same people who want to see Lynch fail — those folks interpreted it as Lynch trying to force out their beloved Ed.
Think about it, Lynch kept Assistant City Manager T.J. McCarthy — who was and probably still is attached to former manager John Cox's hip — on the city payroll all this time.
He had no reason to jettison Walsh six months early other than for budgetary concerns.
The other big rumor making the rounds is that Lynch was going to withdraw all city accounts from city's two big banks, Lowell Five and Enterprise.
He's not doing that either.
The state Department of Revenue, in its recent evaluation of city finances triggered by the mess Lynch inherited, suggested that the city consolidate more than 30 accounts currently held in more than a dozen banks.
"There were some preliminary discussions," said Lynch. "You tell me what business wouldn't consider doing such a thing."
But Lynch determined that Enterprise and Lowell Five contribute to the city in so many other ways, it would be misguided to let any possible consolidation impact those respected institutions.

Posted by Christopher Scott

Posted by jimcamp at 3:08 PM | Comments (4)

May 14, 2007

CITY SAVES $1.2 M ON TEACHERS INSURANCE, HIRES

AH, IT'S LIKE MUSIC TO MY EARS. Superintendent Karla Brooks Baehr announced that with the city's new health insurance plans, HMOs and PPOs, now offered to union teachers, the Lowell School Deparatment will save about $1.2 million next year. This will allow Baehr to hire two custodians and two police resource officers, while also funding other objectives.
This is a good starand the main reason why Lowell's taxpayers should back the School Committee to the hilt on this issue. It's the only way the city can start rebuilding the public school system without depending on state aid. The city has to do all it can on its own to make savings. Unfortunately, Paul Georges, the teachers' union boss, views Lowell's chance to save money as a reason to ask for more for his members. Taxpayers should make concessions to the union, says Georges, in orderr for the teachers to have more cost-savings options on health care. Georges, who lives in Newbury, is one of 800 teachers who don't live in Lowell. That's a fact. Under his union leadership, Lowell teachers have increased their salaries by 50 percent while the number of schools listed as failing have continued to climb. There are now 22 failing schools in Lowell. That's another fact that you won't see in the teachers' union literature.
Last year, the teachers' union rejected a call for an extended school day in Lowell. This came after the state offered seed money for the pilot program. That's another fact. The teachers said they were "tired" in rejecting the plan.

Posted by JimC at 9:03 AM | Comments (3)

May 11, 2007

Donoghue: I’ll win on leadership

Fifth District Congressional candidate Eileen Donoghue touted her leadership abilities last night, saying her experience in local government and with regional partners will convince voters to send her to Washington.
Donoghue, a veteran Lowell city councilor who has served two terms as mayor, delivered her comments on NewsTalk Live, The Sun’s weekly call-in show hosted by Editor Jim Campanini.
Donoghue is among five Democratic candidates seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan who is stepping down in July to become chancellor at UMass Lowell.
In the hour long interview, Donoghue said she believes people want someone representing them who will “fight” for their interests on jobs, education, health care, and the environment. She said she’s the most experienced candidate in the race, having dealt with many of those same issues during her 12 years on Lowell’s City Council.
“When people see my record, they see a big difference from the other candidates,” said Donoghue.
She stressed her work on building public-private partnerships that are credited with reviving Lowell’s economic development and contributed to Lowell’s renaissance. “I haven’t done it alone,” she said, “but I’ve been in the fight.”
She added that Lowell’s team approach has become a model for other Massachusetts communities and said she believes a similar approach can work in the nation’s capital.
A practicing attorney, Donoghue was born in Holyoke and has seven siblings. She spoke of her upbringing in a mill town that suffered through financial hardships when the paper mills moved out. Her father, she said, worked three jobs to support his children’s educational pursuits. “I received my work ethic from my parents at a very early age,” she said, “and I’m very proud of that fact.”
She said she values education and understands what it means to give all children the opportunities to succeed. “We must do better (on education) and it is one of my priorities when I go to Washington to get the necessary funding to support the No Child Left Behind Act. All our cities and towns are struggling to meet the obligations of these unfunded mandates.”
Donoghue took several questions from callers, including one from the wife of a U.S. Army veteran concerned about declining funding for medical needs. She said the war in Iraq is draining funds for essential needs across America and she will work to bring the troops home.
Donoghue said she will see to it that veterans of all wars, past and present, get the benefits they deserve. “These are the people paying the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. We can’t forget that.”
A full audio broadcast of the interview can be heard at www.lowellsun.com/suntalk.

Posted by JimC at 9:58 AM

May 9, 2007

Candidate Donoghue on NewsTalk Live Tonight

U.S. Congress candidate Eileen Donoghue joins Sun Editor Jim Campanini on tonight’s (May 10) NewsTalk Live program, beginning at 7 p.m. The veteran city councilor discusses her reasons for seeking Congressman Marty Meehan’s seat and gives her legislative priorities. Callers can participate by dialing 978-364-8255. The show can be viewed at www.lowellsun.com/suntalk but callers must dial in to hear the audio and ask questions.

Donoghue's been picking up support throughout the 5th District from legislative leaders. She has scheduled a press conference for Thursday morning (10:30 a.m.) to announce several major endorsements. Check out Breaking News at www.lowellsun.com for the latest developments.

Posted by JimC at 7:09 PM | Comments (1)

Building Coalitions, MTA Style

For all you Massachusetts Teachers Association fans out there. This is just in from the MTA web site: Here's a class being offered at a summer MTA work shop planned for Tuesday, Aug. 7.

The title: It Takes a Whole Commnity to Build and Sustain Great Public Schools: Community Organizing and Coalition Building for Local Unions.
"Across the Commonwealth and across the country, a lot of people are inserting themselves and their ideas into our classrooms. They scre and divide communities; they belittle and diminish the skills, dedication and professsionalism of educators; and they promote ideas that undermine our economic security and professional autonomy. But there really are a lot of people who appreciate and admire educators. How do we connect with them, educate them and activate them so they can work with us to build and sustain great schools? This interactive workshop will explore a variety of successful organizing and commmunications skills and strategies for identifying friends and allies and building effective coalitions to support us in bargaining and in election and legislative campaigns, creating powerful movements for great public schools."
Target audience: local leaders and activists
Presenters: Nancy DeProsse, consultant, and Richard Sanders, director, MTA Division of Affliate Services.

Now we know how the MTA brainwashes its drones. By the way, who are these people infiltrating classrooms with these anti-union messages? If there are any in Lowell, maybe they should get a raise and all three health insurance packages.

Posted by JimC at 6:43 PM | Comments (1)

May 8, 2007

Be Prepared: Lowell Teachers Strike is Coming

Just think of all the wasted energy from Monday night's union teachers' rally in Lowell.
The poor things had to drive BACK into the city after a leaving school at 2:20 p.m. on a beautiful afternoon.

You could hear them complaining about gas prices, now three bucks a gallon, at the Subway sandwich shop, located across the way from union headquarterson Merrimack Street.

This is the same group of teachers who refused to launch an extended school-day program in Lowell a year ago to give extra instruction to inner-city kids in need. They complained they were too tired. The city lost several million dollars in seed money from the state, as the union turned an educational victory for the kids into a black eye for the superintendent and Lowell.
But union members weren't tired Monday night!

For a majority of the teachers, it was the first time in their lives seeing Lowell after 6 p.m.
That in itself was a cause of celebration.

Too bad the Chamber of Commerce wasn't alerted. It could have told shop owners to stay open for some extra business. Then again, why bother. All these teachers know of Lowell is what they see in their rear-view mirrors on the way out of town each day.

If they spend any money at all in Lowell it's to have their car windows tinted so students can't see them driving out of Dodge. God forbid if a kid stops them in the street to say hello. They'd probably call 911.

It was amusing to watch the mob of teachers mass with their colorful T-shirts and signs. The best part — for me anyway — was watching a union boss try to park his Lincoln Continental Town Car in a space devoid of a parking meter. Of course, he could have parked much easier in a metered spot, but why go against profile. Take what you can and leave the rest.That's the union motto.

In this case, Paul Georges is prepping the United Teachers of Lowell to strike in September. He's already forced the 1,200 union members to sign a solidarity agreement saying they refuse to back down in bargaining talks with the Lowell School Committee.

Even though a teachers' strike is illegal in Massachusetts, Georges knows that court fines are no match for the havoc he can cause when 14,600 kids are running wild in the streets, and at home, instead of sitting in classrooms. Parents will long forget the principle at stake - the union wants more in a time of less - and hammer the school board to give teachers what they want. And the school board will eventually cave in.
Georges can't lose.

The issue is over salary increases and health insurance. The city is offering the union 7 percent over three years; the union wants 9 percent.
Also, the city is offering an expanded choice of health insurance plans, including a Blue Cross/Blue Shield HMO option that could likely save $1.2 million if all teachers were to use it.
Georges is demanding that the city keep the Master Medical plan - the highest cost option in the industry - and pay the difference in cost when teachers flee it for the lower-cost options. This is to ensure that veteran teachers don't pay a higher, fairer share of the cost as younger teachers, who get paid less, pick up the cheaper HMO.

Instead of a fairness issue, where taxpayers get a break and teachers get more options, Georges is painting this issue as a seizure of teachers' rights. He wants concessions - more money - for the city's right to provide equal insurance for all and to save tax dollars that could go to other needed resources.

Does Georges care about the kids caught in the middle if teachers strike over this issue?
Hardly. He just cares about building the pensions of the oldest teachers in the union.

If a strike does occur, it would be a great opportunity for the school board to break this non-Lowell union. At least 800 members live outside of Lowell and could care less if the city goes bankrupt. They'vbe proven it time and again under Georges, who drives Mercedes to work each day from Newbury.

The board should do what former city manager Bill Taupier proposed during a prior strike threat. Get every teacher's name, put it on a piece of paper and place them in a revolving drum. Each day of the strike, pull 10 names out of the drum, and fire the teachers.

The school board should immediately begin to recruit new teachers. The strike is coming, and Lowell should be prepared to replace these militants with a fresh breed of energized educators who want to live and work in Lowell for a fair wage and great insurance options.

Posted by JimC at 3:35 PM | Comments (46)

May 7, 2007

SAVING THE ARENA

There were several interesting developments over the weekend concerning the "crisis" at Tsongas Arena.
Through City Manager Bernie Lynch, we've found out that taxpayers might be able to avoid a $1.6 million expense to fix the ice-making equipment. Whew!, councilors are breathing a sigh of relief over this higher-than-expected expense.
Give credit to Lynch, former City Manager Brian Martin and Craig Gates of the arena's management team for looking at alternative options to the high cost and getting expert consultants to study the ice issue. If it weren't for the high bids for repairing the arena, this expensive and unnecessary project might have taken place.
My question: Where was the Arena Commission on this issue? It looks like they had a four-year-old report in its hands and never vetted it. I hope that's not true, but it sure seems like someone dropped the ball.
Also, what ever happened to the arena ice manager? It used to be Don Lampron, a great guy who now works as a facilities director at UMass Lowell. Evidently, his position was never replaced at Tsongas.
Finally, Chancellor-Select Mary Meehan's proposal to work closer with the city to revive the Tsongas Arena, and make UMass Lowell hockey the premier tenant, makes a lot of sense. It would save the Division I program, raise its visibility and improve the schools' fund-raising opportunities. Moreso, it would free up valuable dates for the arena to attract other entertainment options, like concerts and family events.
Of course, Meehan's plan would eliminate the Lowell Devils, sending the New Jersey-owned club back to their home state. The Devils now use 41 of the 58 hockey dates at the arena. Flagging attendance and support are a major issue. Plus, the Devils' rental lease is so one-sided the city can't make up the difference. For several years now, the arena has been running a $1 million operating deficit.
Meehan believes a new city-UMass Lowell partnership could wipe out the deficit and revive the arena's prospects.
What do you thinK? (For more information, read today's editorial in The Sun:" Partnership can save Tsongas Arena").

Posted by JimC at 1:22 PM | Comments (4)

May 3, 2007

Ex-President gives Meehan advice

Marty Meehan’s whirlwind tour as congressman-chancellor has been exhilarating and wearying over the past two weeks.
The double duty has seen Meehan rack up air miles shuttling from Lowell to Washington, D.C., with a side trip to New York City.
Take Saturday, April 26, for instance.
Meehan traveled from Lowell to the Big Apple to breakfast with Roy Zuckerberg, a top UMass Lowell donor, and then traveled crosstown to Harlem for a chat with former President Bill Clinton.
Later, Meehan flew to Boston to receive an award from the state’s Democratic Party, before returning to the nation’s capital at 8:30 p.m.
“I love what I’m doing but I’m exhausted from all the travel,” said Meehan, who takes over as UMass Lowell chancellor on July 1.
The two New York meetings were important.
Meehan met Zuckerberg at a small, popular Park Avenue restaurant. Popular? Sens. John F. Kerry, Chuck Schumer of New York and Dick Durbin of Illinois were seated at nearby tables.
Zuckerberg is the son of a fomer Lowell mill owner. He graduated Lowell Tech and has donated more than $1 million to UMass Lowell through the years. Meehan said he gave Zuckerberg an update on the nanotechnology center and other future prijects. He said Zuckerberg is “psyched.”
For lunch, Meehan met with Bill Clinton at his luxurious high-rise Harlem office. Meehan spent 90 minutes with the two-term Democratic president.
He said Clinton was supportive of Meehan’s career transformation from Congress to academia. According to Meehan, Clinton said, “You can do a lot more good in that job for your area than you could as a member of Congress.”
“He was sharp as a tack,” said Meehan. “He gave me a thousand ideas” to enhance the biotechnology center and raise money for it. Clinton told Meehan to "go green," meaning develop clean, environmentally safe bio-tech projects that will be in great demand in the near future.
He also told Meehan about dozens of federal and corporate funding programs that are available.
Meehan said Clinton appeared fresh and upbeat. They talked only briefly about the war in Iraq. “(Clinton) said the original resolution (to go to war) was good for the country but the (Bush) administration hasn't played it right.”
Meehan and the former president have a good relationship, dating back to when Meehan stood strongly against impeachment proceedings during the Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. Don’t be surprised if Clinton doesn’t become an occasional visitor to the UMass Lowell campus in the future.

Posted by JimC at 4:09 PM

Prayer issue could sink council

It's old news how the City Council voted to end a 40 year tradition, dumping the Lord's Prayer for a secular verse of dubious distinction. But old news or not, this issue isn't going to wrap the fish and end up in the garbage.
People most upset by the council's decision are Lowell's aging population who still attend church and value the structure and message that religion brings. These people see a steady assault on those values and they are fighting back.
The biggest problem the council faces is that these older people are the most dependable voters in Lowell elections.
"They won't forget, let me tell you that." The words are from Rev. Nick Sannella, the pastor at Immaculate Conception Church on East Merrimack Street in Lowell.
Sannella defended the Lord's Prayer as a universal, if not Christian, prayer for all people. The council, relying on an opinion from City Solictor Christine O'Connor, felt the prayer was unconstitutional in that it could be offensive to non-Christians and non-Catholics.
Sannella said many of his parishioners are planning to weigh in on the issue in the citywide election. He said he is not orchestrating any political movement on his own. "But these people have made it clear to me that they will vote their conscience, strictly on this issue. That is their right."
Sannella is opposed to a non-sectarian prayer, adopted by the council to start each Tuesday night meeting. "They should have done away with the prayer entirely. Now they have made a choice and that choice means they've taken another prayer over the Lord's Prayer."
Some people say the council was caught in a no-win situation. If so, members could have minimized the fallout by educating the public about the issue. Instead they dumped it in a subcommittee, kicked it around among themselves, and waited for O'Connor's opinion that lined up with the politically correct crowd.
Also, the council failed to realize the emotional - not political - tug the Lord's Prayer has on the voting crowd.
The way things are going in Lowell's elections, with fewer and fewer voters, a 100-vote swing could cost someone a seat. It's possible the Lord's Prayer might get the final say in November.

Posted by JimC at 3:31 PM | Comments (1)

Shake up has UMass staff on the run

Congressman-Chancellor Marty Meehan took issue with media reports that he fired popular UMass Lowell Provost John Wooding. He said Wooding stepped down of his own volition. It came following a Meehan-Wooding phone call in which the provost was told that the chancellor-select wanted an educator with a science and research background to fill the post. Wooding’s expertise is in political science and economics.
Meehan told The Sun he asked Wooding to remain interim provost for “up to 12 months” while an official nationwide search is conducted and completed. Wooding declined, however, and sent out an email outlining his termination. Interestingly, the email barely cleared cyberspace when Wooding descended on the office of Acting Chancellor David McKenzie to begin negotiations on a deal that would return the provost to the classroom. As a tenured professor, Wooding is guaranteed a slot that could pay him up to 80 percent of his $194,000 provost’s salary - or $155,000.
Wooding’s rush to make a deal has spread like wildfire. The Sun has learned that two other top-ranking administrators have petitioned McKenzie for similar Ivory corridor-to-classroom deals.
Meehan is fuming. “I think I should be negotiating who goes back to the classroom and who doesn’t,” he said.
The bottom line? It’s apparent that Meehan’s work ethic — and what he demands from his staff - is starting to penetrate the deep UMass Lowell organizational chart. As one college employee put it, “On 3 p.m. on a Friday afternoon you could shoot a cannon in the administration building and no one would be around to hear it, let alone be hit by it.”
Meehan is notorious for working his congressional staff to the limit. Most move on to excel in other quarters and have credited the congressman for their professional development.
Of course, Meehan faces a major hurdle at UMass Lowell in instituting the same determined drive. Nearly 85 percent of all faculty and staff are union members. On the other hand, congressional staffers aren’t allowed to unionize under federal law.

Posted by JimC at 3:17 PM | Comments (1)

May 1, 2007

Panagiotakos Puts on the Budget Brakes

Last week the House of Representatives filed a bloated state budget that included an additional $170 million in new spending. House leaders, including Speaker Sal DiMasi, said the increases were based on a string of positive revenue reports for February and March. So instead of trying to save some money, the reps went on a feeding frenzy, packing in more earmarks and lard into a state budget that is a record $26.7 billion. Of course, DiMasi didn't say anything about the two-month decline in state Lottery receipts which afffect local aid payments to cities and towns.
Now comes the lastest news, that state revenues for April were off $115 million from anticipated projections. Panagiotakos said the decline is enough to put the brakes on the new spending. "We've committed to increased spending for education and we'll likely keep our promises. But the other spending has go to be addressed. I don't see how we can meet those spending levels with declining revenue projections," said the Senate's Ways and Means Committee chairman.
The Lowell Democrat has been working 14-hour days in his new role as budget chief. A fiscal conservative, Panagiotakos does not want to see history repeat itself where the Legislature spends more than it takes in. He does not want to tap cash reserves - the state's rainy day fund - to make up for spending shortfalls. The House's proposed budget already uses $155 million from the rainy day fund to supplement the increases spending.
Massachusetts can't afford to make unwise spending decisions. It's up to the Senate to rein in the House's largesse and Panagiotakos is taking the lead to head off the spending stampede.

Posted by JimC at 4:10 PM | Comments (1)

Council Showdown over Center Court

Tonight's City Council meeting has all the ingredients of becoming a server-and-volley show between City Manager Bernie Lynch and Belvidereans upset over the outside usage of the Shedd Park Tennis courts.
Outrage has been brewing since Lynch announced that the city has granted a permit to an outside vendor, Moe Leclerc of Concord, to give tennis lessons during the spring and summer at Shedd Park. Leclerc will have exclusive rights to three of the tennis courts where he will give private lessons. He also vows to give free lessons to underprivileged children. However, there is no mention of the free lessons listed on the City of Lowell's Web Site, which posts a free ad for Leclerc's Concord-based The Next Champions Inc.
Lynch said the deal is good for the city. It will bring in about $8,000 in revenue in payments from Leclerc while providing lessons for low-income kids.
The question remains, however: Who is going to recruit the low-income kids and how many lessons will they receive? Once again, there is no mention of free lessons on the city's web site or the link to Leclerc's web site.
Shedd Park was donated to the city in 1910. It is for the use of city residents and city organizations. All who want to use it must seek a permit through the city. Can outside, private vendors get a permit? That's a good question. The other, more important question is: How did Manager Lynch come up with the idea to give Leclerc a permit without going through a bidding process for outside services? Couldn't other vendors have bid on this service and paid the city more money? Isn't that what Lynch did with the towing contracts - made it a competitive process to raise more money for the city?
It seems inconsistent for the city manager to enter into this agreement with an outside vendor without consulting with the council in a public session. Certainly, it's admirable to raise money for the city and give low-income kids free lessons, but Manager Lynch could have communicated this enterprise better to the public.
For instance, the manager's decision has rankled several longtime Shedd Park tennis court patrons, including Bob Hatem. Hatem was repsonsible for bringing the U.S. Tennis Association's Federation Cup match to Lowell four years ago. The alliance that was forged produced a U.S.T.A. grant to give free summer lessons to low-income kids through the Lowell Boys & Girls Club. The lessons are taught at Shedd Park. However, Manager Lynch's decision has put the program in jeopardy, since the courts are no longer available. Last year, 60 children received lessons through the U.S.T.A. program, which underwrites most of the cost.
The U.S.T.A. also has grants available to repair public tennis courts located in urban centers. In the years ahead, this alliance could have proven more beneficial to the city than having a private teacher from Concord giving lessons on city-owned courts.
Why did this all happen?
Manager Lynch will have a chance to defend his decision tonight. But don't expect him to serve an "ace."
I

Posted by JimC at 2:11 PM | Comments (5)

Meehan's Starts with a Chop: Provost Wooding

Let's hope the way Marty Meehan dispatched UMass Lowell Provost John
Wooding is not indicative of the way the retiring congressman will run the
public university when he takes over July 1.
On the same day Meehan, and his chief spokesman, Patricia McCafferty,
insisted that Wooding can reapply for the $194,000-a-year job once he begins
a "national search" July 1, a Wooding email to friends makes the rounds and
in it, he says Meehan has asked him to "step down."
Despite Meehan's and McCafferty's best efforts to sugarcoat this, it's
apparent Wooding was shown the door.
Meehan said it's standard operating procedure for a new chancellor to
assemble his own team. We're sure that's true. Perhaps Meehan's spin is best
explained by Wooding's popularity in Lowell, particularly with some city
departments with whom he's helped shape partnerships.
The Wooding story also makes us wonder about what the future has in store
for some other high-profile administrators at the university, like Fred
Sperounis, who was basically let go by Interim Chancellor David Mackenzie
and rehired less than a day later at about $230,000 a year.
And whatever happened to the $156,000-a-year-man Lou DiNatale, who
engineered the botched experiment with gabmeister Chris Lydon. Oh yeh, last
time we checked he was still on the payroll.
But Sperounis and DiNatale have something Wooding apparently doesn't:
friends in high places.

Posted by JimC at 1:54 PM | Comments (1)