February 29, 2008
Why wait for the worst to happen?
Lowell needs a police surge downtown. The city needs more feet on the street and working the beat.
Violent crime might be down statistically, but disturbing, brazen, daylight violence is up in the public's mind. And that's all that matters.
Cars windshields are being smashed in broad daylight, and packs of teens are horsing around on sidewalks, giving the impression that there's a fight waiting to break out.
In one instance last week, a group of teens, including a female, either smashed a restaurant-front window on Merrimack Street or pushed someone through it. A visitor from Pennsylvannia, eating dinner at 6 p.m., was sprayed with glass and injured. He needed 34 stitches to close his head wounds.
No one has been arrested and likely never will be. The business owner faces a $1,000 loss to replace the window and the very distinct possibility of a lawsuit that could threaten the restaurant's future.
Several days earlier, a bank and two convenience stores were robbed near the city proper, during business hours. The bank in question was robbed for the second time in less than a month.
What's disturbing is that the crime trend is continuing less than two weeks after Police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee predicted a "lull" in the surge in robberies. At least he didn't declare "mission accomplished," as President Bush did.
For the record, there have been eight bank robberies in Lowell since Sept. 20, 2007, and 12 others involving restaurants and stores.
Granted, there are factors that drive urban crime: drugs, the economic downturn, joblessness, etc.
Still, the city can't tolerate lawlessness on any level, especially with the delicate economic highwire Lowell is already riding on in its effort to attract new businesses, residents and visitors.
It doesn't help that on any given day when school gets out, emboldened youths jaywalk the city streets, daring the oncoming traffic to strike them. It's as if the punks are toying with the public. It's as if they command the downtown streets.
These punks might represent a minority, but they are a pretty visible and intimidating minority. The impression is a bad one for Lowell and anyone entertaining the notion of investing here.
Lowell police don't only need more of a working presence in the downtown -- they need a presence with a purpose. And that's got to come from the top. When police see citizens being being disrespected and property being threatened with damage and abuse, they should act decisively and set down the law. Saturate the downtown. Take back the streets.
This is sensitive stuff. We're sure we'll hear from the great defenders of Lowell's public image that we're overreacting. Well, we'd rather overreact than wait for the worst to happen before we weigh in. Consider this an ounce of preventive advice.
Lowell needs a police surge downtown.
Posted by Admin at 3:32 PM | Comments (1)
February 26, 2008
Food for thought on casinos
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The second line of type made it clearer: "The new casino at Foxwoods expects to hire 2,000 workers, including many from Rhode Island, for its May opening."
The article had my attention, but I couldn't read on. My mother said the chicken cacciatore was on the table and the Brunello di Montalcino uncorked.
I put the newspaper down, walked exactly six steps from the living room to the kitchen and sat down to a Sunday dinner that was a tradition at our home when I was growing up years ago.
My mother is 88 and will turn 89 on the Ides of March.
She critiques Emeril, Rachael Ray and Anna Esposito nearly every day from a blue-cloth lounge chair, making notes on looseleaf paper she keeps on a small table nearby. In a cookoff of all three against Mrs. Campanini, mia madre would razzle-dazzle 'em before they could say linguini con scungili nero (linguini with black squid, a Sicilian delicacy).
My mother has never been to a casino and has no desire to visit Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. However, she has many friends from her small church, St. Agnes, who go there weekly. They "play a little," she says, "little" being the slots and blackjack, and then "they eat a good lunch and come home" on the bus.
My mother says her cacciatore and la sua cucina (her kitchen) would suffer
if suddenly she were to join the casino club. I could see her point. On the
table before me were such savory smells that when I closed my eyes, I thought
I was 14 years old again. The tender chicken cutlets were slightly floured and
pan simmered in a special brodo (broth) of crushed tomatoes, oil, peppers, onions
and mushrooms. They flaked at the touch of a fork. Gingerly, I transported each
delicate morsel into my mouth. I truly can't say what divine taste is but, mio
Dio, this gives me something to shoot for in the afterlife.
A sip of Brunello and the conversazione was casinos and jobs.
I told my mother that I couldn't remember the last time a Massachusetts newspaper ran a headline announcing the creation of 2,000 jobs.
I filled her in on Gov. Deval Patrick's plan to build three resort casinos in Massachusetts but how House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi is resisting. I told her Massachusetts could use the jobs.
"Twin River (Rhode Island's slots casino) keeps adding something new every week," she said, dipping her crusty bread in the cacciatore. "People have jobs who never had jobs. Even the priest goes up there. He says he's looking for his parishioners, but I think he plays a little, too."
Oh, mamma mia, don't let me write that. But I just did. And that's the point. Casinos are a destination for nearly everyone.
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Massachusetts has to make a decision and soon. Government spending is killing us at all levels. People with and without college degrees can't find good jobs here, can't afford to live here and are leaving the state for better opportunities elsewhere. The economy is the issue, and expanded gaming, let's face it, must become a part of the fiscal picture because government spending isn't going away.
Basically, Patrick's plan would raise $400 million to $600 million in licensing fees immediately. In addition, the state would receive annual payments based on total casino revenues. From my perspective, however, jobs are the key.
Building three casinos would create hundreds of high-paying, temporary construction jobs. The permanent jobs would come from casino management and services. Let's look at what the MGM Grand hotel is offering those willing to work:
According to the Journal article, the new jobs will include 350 supervisor/ managerial positions and 277 dealers, along with security officers, cashiers, food and beverage servers, housekeeping personnel, maintenance workers and facility engineers.
In addition to the 2,000 jobs at the MGM Grand (2 million square feet with 825 hotel rooms and a 4,000-seat theater), there will be 1,000 jobs available at five new restaurants that hire separately. Foxwoods now employs 10,000 people, according to Steve Heise, the resort's VP of human resources.
At present, Rhode Island and Connecticut casinos are making hundreds of millions of dollars on Massachusetts residents who enjoy gambling and the entertainment offered. Jobs are also piling up south of the border while Massachusetts sits on the sidelines.
How long must this go on?
The answer must wait another day. My mother has just placed a dish of homemade tiramisu on the table. My nostrils are flaring: creamy ciccolata and baked lady fingers have overtaken my senses.
Jim Campanini is The Sun's editor. E-mail him at jcampanini@lowellsun.com.
Posted by Admin at 8:42 AM | Comments (1)
February 20, 2008
When driving pay attention to roads, avoid risks
I read an article in The Sun written by Matt Murphy on Feb. 9 concerning some Beacon Hill lawmakers requiring elderly drivers to pass a vision and road test before a license renewal. The senator who refiled this bill is Sen. Brian Joyce. Then Gov. Deval Patrick interjects with: "No disrespect to seniors, but public safety has to come first."
How magnanimous of our esteemed governor and some of our state legislators to show this legitimate concern, but aren't we forgetting something that is of equal importance if not more, namely: "drunken drivers"? We all know how some of our liberal judges just issue a reprimand and then release these individuals back on the road again. Some of these drunken drivers have been arrested not once but as much as 10 or more times. And they are still driving on a street where you live.
Why doesn't our governor and the state legislators get together and work to change the law that keeps putting these offenders back on our roads? Isn't this a more serious menace than spending time trying to weed out elderly drivers? And while they are at it, they should also do something about these liberal judges. They are the ones who see these drunken drivers appear before them time and time again and release them with a fine and a slap on the wrist!
Mr. Murphy's article also stated statistics that showed younger drivers had fewer fatalities than elderly drivers. Maybe it is because they killed themselves more than they killed or injured others. Yet, right on the front page of the Tuesday, Feb. 12, Sun, it showed an allegedly drunk 19-year-old speeding down the road at 80 mph and killing a passenger who was standing in the road near a disabled vehicle. What about the young teen who with four or five of her young passengers hit a tree at high speed and all were killed? How about the two young men who were chasing each other on the Connector and caused the death of a young pregnant woman?
So, come on all you seniors, middle-agers and young drivers. Let's use a vehicle for what it was meant to be used and that is getting from point A to point B in the safest manner possible. We must all also remember to have respect for the sanctity of human life. Otherwise we are no better than predators who seek out and destroy their prey. Perhaps the emphasis should be placed on retesting our conscience instead of retesting at the RMV. If we choose not to try to understand this simple but good advice, then I might as well lock myself in at home and throw away the key.
Posted by Admin at 3:38 PM
February 19, 2008
Husband's revenge: Councilors corrupted
IT WAS not a waste of time for nearly 100 members of Lowell's artist community to march on City Hall and back a failed measure to create a new city Division of Cultural Affairs and Special events, "even if certain councilors had already been corrupted by the forces of evil."
Those are the words of a widely circulated e-mail from Lowell attorney Paul Schor, husband of LZ Nunn, director of the Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL), currently the cultural-affairs arm of city government.
The message created a buzz, particularly among councilors who voted against creating the new division: Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield and Councilors Alan Kazanjian, Michael Lenzi and Rita Mercier.
Schor sent it a few days after the council's vote. The measure's opponents were vocally skeptical that Nunn would be promoted to division director -- and oversee the politically connected city Special Events Coordinator Andrew St. Onge, now essentially her equal -- as well as get an $18,000 raise, to $64,000.
Nunn's $46,000 salary comes from the city budget. The additional money involved in her promotion would have been paid by the budget for COOL, which is incorporated as a private, nonprofit agency.
"In the cost-benefit analysis, there's no cost," Schor said in an interview last week. "There's only a benefit."
To get to that point, Nunn will need support from at least one of those councilors whom her husband implied could have been corrupted by the forces of evil -- and City Manager Bernie Lynch is expected to introduce an amended proposal for another vote soon.
Jim Cook, president of the Lowell Plan and one of the most prominent proponents of the measure, was none too pleased by Schor's e-mail.
"I thought it was ridiculous, and foolish and stupid," he said.
Schor said his message intentionally did not specify who may have been corrupted by "evil." He added that his wife had no knowledge of his e-mail, and was embarrassed and upset with him.
"I felt as though she was being raked through the coals," Schor said.
"I don't think anybody in that council chamber wouldn't have spoken up in defense of their spouse."
He said the e-mail also was meant to bolster "people who came out in force that night because of something they cared about. The worst thing that could happen for this city is for people to feel that they don't count," he added. "What I wanted them to know was that it really matters, even if others had made up their mind due to things you can't control."
SCHOR SENT the message to such varied recipients as the city manager, Assistant City Manager Adam Baacke, Lowell Memorial Auditorium General Manager Tom McKay, Cobblestones restaurant owner Scott Plath, Molly Sheehy, dean of the Middlesex Community College Lowell campus, Lowell real-estate developer John DeAngelis and several dozen others.
Tough to keep a secret in that crowd.
Schor said he never had any intention of keeping his message under wraps.
"To me, it is an important message," he said.
COUNCILOR ARMAND Mercier was one of five councilors who supported the manager's ordinance creating the new cultural affairs office. The ordinance needed six votes to gain approval (it failed 5-4).
Mercier was on the fence two weeks before the vote, but came out strongly in favor of the ordinance on the night of decision.
He said he had championed the cause for an arts district years ago and that he was staying true to that cause.
Mercier's vote left several opposing councilors shaking their heads.
They felt the ordinance wasn't properly presented by the manager and that Mercier should have stood ground with them. Also, before the November election, Mercier was in the council minority where he rarely got the time of day.
So was Mercier being true to the arts or did something else move him?
HERE'S AN ad from the city of Cambridge that was posted last Sunday in a Boston newspaper:
"Director of Community Arts: Seeking highly motivated person to oversee the Cambridge Arts Council's Community Arts Program. Includes production of community-oriented events & festivals, facilitating city-wide grant-making opportunities for local organizations and providing overall support and collaboration within the city's arts community. BA with 5 years experience in arts administration, project management, budgeting and fundraising."
The salary range listed in the ad: $40,163 to $51,056.
At the high end of the scale, that's about $13,000 less than what Lowell was offering for a similar position.
SURE, IT'S been almost eight months since Marty Meehan took over as chancellor of UMass Lowell.
But it's never too late for a party.
In early April, Meehan and UMass Lowell will host an inauguration for the new chancellor featuring several days of events on campus showcasing the university.
Meehan says the inauguration will be "one big fundraiser" for scholarships and initiatives to support the school.
And in a sign that Chancellor Meehan still has political pull in Washington, D.C., The Column has learned that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will come to UMass Lowell to join in the celebration.
Pelosi, D-Calif., will be in Lowell on Friday, April 4, to deliver the keynote address at the main inaugural event. UMass Lowell officials are hoping the Democratic leader will be able to arrive the night before to help with a scheduled fundraiser.
SPEAKING OF Meehan, his campaign war chest keeps on growing months after his departure from Congress. In a year-end filing with the Federal Election Commission, The Marty Meehan for Congress Committee reported a cash balance on hand of $4,997,093.08. The total included $15,373 in donations that were contributed from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. Meehan took over as UMass Lowell's chancellor in July.
So how much interest income is Meehan's money generating? How about a solid return of $238,248 for the October-December period and a total of $468,964 for the election cycle.
Meehan keeps healthy campaign deposits in four Lowell banks: Enterprise Bank & Trust, The Lowell Five, Butler Bank and Sovereign Bank.
GOV. DEVAL Patrick has found support for casinos in the unlikeliest of places -- on emphatic casino opponent Salvatore DiMasi's home turf.
During a night out in Boston's North End, the House speaker introduced Patrick to many of the locals, including one woman who was eager to support for legalized gambling.
"The older ladies are so physical. You always get a hug and a kiss. People run up and throw their arms around me and they whisper in my ear, 'When am I going to get my casino?'" Patrick said during an editorial board meeting at The Sun on Wednesday.
Patrick added he quickly points to DiMasi.
"I just say, 'Ask him.' It's like this running gag we have," Patrick said.
Some of the women DiMasi has known since he was a kid.
"They'll say, 'The governor's right. Give me my casino,'" Patrick said in a mock falsetto. "I ask him, 'Why don't you listen to your people? These are your constituents.'"
JUST AS Patrick scored his first political touchdown of the year, he also encountered a verbal tackle.
Meehan welcomed Patrick to Lowell one day after DiMasi, a Boston Democrat, supported several corporate tax reforms long championed by the governor.
Meehan accepted a $4 million grant from Patrick and promised to build a new headquarters for the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center within a year.
"I looked up when I promised to have it done in a year and saw an extra camera. It must be the governor's," Meehan joked. "(Patriots' coach Bill) Belichick isn't the only one taping things."
The crowd, perhaps still tender from the Patriots' Super Bowl loss, groaned.
"That was a low blow," Patrick said.
LIFE IS sweet for the Senate Ways and Means Chairman throughout the year, but it becomes even sweeter during budget season.
Patrick got in on the act Wednesday, cozying up to state Sen. Steve Panagiotakos, D-Lowell, as the senator begins work on the final version of the state budget.
"He is a great friend every day, but he's a special friend during budget time," Patrick said.
Panagiotakos, who is a proponent of expanded gaming, says the governor has made great strides since the initial days of his administration which were filled with controversy over office purchases and the creation of several new staff jobs. "He's settled down into governing and he's showing that he is a quick learner and a good leader. I look forward to working with the governor on many important issues facing our state," said Lowell's leading Democrat on Beacon Hill.
EVER WONDER why veteran incumbents are so tough to beat in an election?
Here's an example from the Lowell School Committee.
Regina Faticanti, first elected in 1985, is the longest-serving member of Lowell's school board.
Faticanti also is the board's most prolific requester of moments of silence to recognize deceased current or former school employees, their relatives, or others who have been involved with the Mill City's public-education system.
Other school board members are free to request them as well, of course.
Afterward, a nice letter is sent to the decedent's loved ones noting who requested the moment of silence.
The default name that goes on those nice letters to potential voters if no one else specifically requests it from the district's central office? Faticanti.
Faticanti said she inherited that role from the previous School Committee dean, the late Kay Stoklosa.
"It became my responsibility now. I don't look at it as a perk," Faticanti said.
"I look at it as we're saying something good and holding a moment of silence about someone who's passed away."
DON'T BLAME her. It is no wonder that Billerica C.A.R.E.S. Committee member Sandi Wilson nearly neglected to recognize state Sen. Jim Marzilli's presence last week at a kick-off event for the cause.
Before Marzilli took office in January, the good people of Billerica were not accustomed to seeing their state senator, Bob Havern, at community events, and probably could not pick him out of a lineup.
The running joke around town was that Havern could not find Billerica with a map and a guide dog.
COULD IT be only a coincidence?
Just as he is preparing to run for reelection, Wilmington Selectman Michael McCoy is going after the Planning Board for what he says was a sloppy job on handling the arrival of a Registry of Motor Vehicles branch in town.
McCoy knows that the timing has not gone unnoticed and made a point last week of assuring his fellow board members that he is "not playing politics."
"I could probably have filled this room with 50 people to lobby (for my position) if I had wanted, but I didn't," he said, pointing at the selectmen's meeting room. "I don't need an issue to win an election."
McCoy is taking the Planning Board to task for its unwillingness to conduct a traffic study as part of its review of the Registry's plans.
He is arguing that Planning Board members should be elected, so that it can be held accountable by the voters.
Town Meeting will consider the matter in May. McCoy had originally requested that the issue be put on the ballot for the town's annual election in April, but that plan was shot down by selectmen last week.
McCoy will be listed on that same April ballot, seeking a seventh term.
A pair of residents have also signed up for the race to challenge McCoy and fellow incumbent Selectman Raymond Lepore.
LOWELL POLICE Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee can't seem to get any respect.
After having an underage drinker from Billerica give him the finger in traffic on Dutton Street a year ago, Lavallee helped arrest an accused drunken driver earlier this month and got spit upon.
Lavallee saw a car barreling at him, straddling the center line of Broadway Street last Friday.
The chief trailed the car and called for backup, which got the car stopped a short time later.
"Annihilated" is how Lavallee described the driver.
"As he's in handcuffs he spit all over my jacket," Lavallee said. "I didn't even see it coming because I had my head turned talking to the officer."
The superintendent said the same man later spit on another officer, too.
The good news for Lavallee?
The motorist received an extra count of assault and battery on a police officer, besides being charged with drunken driving.
THE RANKS below the superintendent will soon see some shuffling.
Acting Capt. James McPadden topped the Civil Service exam for the permanent promotion, but the second-place finisher was Detective Lt. Kelly Richardson, who will likely be moved out of his longtime home in the criminal bureau for his performance.
Lavallee made Edward Dowling an acting captain as he made interim promotions in the wake of his advancement and other moves last year.
The scores mean Dowling will likely return to the rank of lieutenant this spring.
Richardson, who has spent years as a detective, will be low man in terms of seniority among captains, so Capt. Jonathan Webb will retain command of the city's sleuths, while Richardson faces a less-choice assignment.
A similar switch will be made a rank down. Acting Lt. Thomas Lombard had a lower score than Acting Lt. Timothy Crowley, who topped that test, and Sgt. Timothy Kilbride.
Lombard, who will stay in the crime-analysis section, will go back to sergeant while Kilbride gets the permanent promotion.
Sergeants Thomas Siopes and Michael Kilmartin tied for third, meaning they will both be in line for promotion if more vacancies occur in the next two or three years.
That could come in handy if Acting Deputy Superintendent Robert DeMoura gets the chief's job in Fitchburg, where he is one of two finalists.
Captains and acting deputies will take a Civil Service exam for the permanent deputy jobs in May.
Contributing to The Column this week are City Hall reporter Michael Lafleur, Statehouse Bureau Chief Hillary Chabot, Statehouse reporter Matt Murphy, Billerica reporter Jennifer Myers, Wilmington reporter Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl and police reporter Robert Mills.
Posted by Admin at 4:58 PM | Comments (1)
February 11, 2008
Lowell artists dealt a one-two punch
IT'S BEEN a tough two weeks for the artists in Lowell, after city councilors and the Zoning Board of Appeals dealt the community two major blows.
Here's how it went down.
First, on Jan. 28, the ZBA rejected plans to add four dozen artist live/work loft condominiums to the 118 existing artist studios at the Western Avenue Studios.
The ZBA vote was considered a perfunctory matter, but four board members -- Acting Chairman Vesna Nuon and members Corey Belanger, Kevin Cavanaugh and John Knox -- were swayed by criticism of the project lobbied by neighboring business owners and workers.
Some opponents were acting at the behest of new Councilor Alan Kazanjian, the former ZBA chairman. Kazanjian owns numerous industrial/commercial properties abutting the site, including a junkyard. Opponents said the artists' work spaces were fine, but the living spaces could eventually lead to future conflicts when residents complain about the industrial noises and traffic that occur around the clock. The ZBA agreed.
Then, on Tuesday, a split City Council rejected an ordinance proposed by City Manager Bernie Lynch -- and championed by the artists community -- to create a new city Division of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield and councilors Kazanjian, Michael Lenzi and Rita Mercier were able to defeat the ordinance, which needed six votes to pass.
The most vociferously stated pretext for the opposition votes were concerns that the measure would mean an $18,000 raise for LZ Nunn, director of the Cultural Organization of Lowell (COOL). Nunn would have been named head of the new division and seen her annual salary increase from $46,000 to $64,400.
"It boils down to finances," one of the opposition councilors said after the vote.
Opposition councilors expressed concerns about the possibility of declining state local aid to the city and rising property taxes. Rita Mercier said the timing isn't right to "expand government" when the council might be laying off workers in the near future.
Ordinance supporters weren't buying any of it. Lynch said the additional money needed for Nunn's salary this year would come from COOL.
OUTSIDE OF money, however, the opponents' had another concern: a belief that the new ordinance would extend Nunn's control over the operations now run by politically connected insiders: Deb Belanger, executive director of the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau; Tom McKay, general manager of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium; and Andy St. Onge, the city's special events coordinator.
The ordinance clearly stated that St. Onge would report to Nunn. And while the other venues, including the Merrimack Repertory Theater, weren't mentioned, the ordinance's language was vague enough to imply that Nunn would have a say in annual budgetary matters as it impacts those venues.
If anyone believes the 5-4 vote was in opposition to the artists, he or she is politically naïve.
The ordinance vote was aimed squarely at Lynch's handling of the issue. He tried to "shove it down our throats," said one councilor, who said he wasn't given a copy of the Mt. Auburn report suggesting the changes, nor did he receive a phone call from the manager explaining the ordinance's need.
Bottom line: this council is not going to be a rubber stamp for Lynch like the previous one was. Communication is the key to reviving the ordinance; it will be up to Lynch to make it happen.
Before the election, the pro-Lynch council rarely asked the manager a question in which the answer wasn't already known in advance of Tuesday night's council meetings. In this case, Lynch had five votes -- Kevin Broderick, Bill Martin, Jim Milinazzo, Rodney Elliott and Armand Mercier -- but needed one more for it to pass under Lowell's charter. Except for speaking to Mayor Caulfield in advance of Tuesday's vote, Lynch never picked up the phone to engage Rita Mercier, Kazanjian or Lenzi.
Another concern: how does Nunn get to be become a director with a higher salary without going through a competitive search? Lynch has made it a point during his tenure to conduct a nationwide search for all his top appointments. Nunn, however, would have been handed a job that was newly created by ordinance.
"Shouldn't she reapply for the job?," asked one councilor. "Why wasn't the job posted to find the best candidate like every other top position in Lowell?"
The manager said Nunn, who lives in Lowell, has all the credentials, plus has built up valuable relationships in the arts community.
The day after the vote, Caulfield, Lynch and Jim Cook, the Lowell Plan's executive director, met with civic and business leaders at a Lowell Plan meeting in the group's Kearney Square office. According to witnesses, Cook suggested that maybe it wasn't a good day for the mayor to come to the meeting. The comment chilled the room. (The Lowell Plan paid $25,000 for the Mt. Auburn study and endorsed the new ordinance.)
Caulfield was undeterred, however. According to a source, the mayor looked at Cook and the manager, and said, "Put whatever you've got on the table."
What happened? Witnesses said the mayor delivered a "lesson" in how to successfully present an ordinance to the council.
IF FORMER Republican Gov. Mitt Romney needs a shoulder to cry on, he can always turn to former Congressional candidate Jim Ogonowski of Dracut.
Ogonowski, newly into his campaign against Sen. John Kerry, showed his support at Romney's Boston bash on Super Tuesday. You know, the one where Romney said his presidential campaign was going all the way to the White House?
While Ogonowski didn't appear on stage during Romney's speech that night, he chatted beforehand about how impressed he was during his visits with Romney when the Belmont resident was still in the governor's office.
Romney's departure from the presidential race was disappointing for a lot of local Republicans. Possibly even more disappointing for Ogonowski? Those pesky rumors that Romney could run for Kerry's seat.
SEN. BARACK Obama may have lost the Bay State to Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's primary, but there may have been a silver lining for a local legislator and Obama supporter.
State Rep. Jamie Eldridge as he did for Gov. Deval Patrick, took a lead role in helping the Obama campaign in his district.
While Hillary was cleaning up on votes in Greater Lowell, Obama had a strong showing in towns like Acton, Boxboro and Harvard -- all part of Eldridge's uber-liberal district.
"I can't take credit for that," Eldridge told The Column on election night.
"But we did have a strong grass-roots effort in the communities going door-to-door and making the phone calls." The effort was not enough to swing the state for Obama.
But if Eldridge is that good at getting out the vote as a candidate's surrogate, just imagine what he'll be able to do when he launches his own campaign to replace one of his mentors, state Sen. Pamela Resor, who is retiring. Eldridge has not confirmed he will run for Resor's seat, but even Resor said it's all but assured.
Eldridge got only 14 percent of the vote when he ran in the Democratic primary for Congress last fall, but he took the most votes in many communities in Resor's district. He'll still be an unknown to the south end of the district, Marlboro, Northboro and Westboro.
CAULFIELD IS a man with clear priorities.
Faced with the choice of going to a meeting at the Statehouse with Lt. Gov. Tim Murray about casino revenue and a School Committee meeting, Caulfield stayed local.
Murray asked a group of mayors to come into Boston to discuss the administration's proposal to allow three resort casinos in Massachusetts, with a chunk of the proceeds going to local aid.
But an icy storm was forecast the evening of the meeting, Caulfield said, and he didn't want to miss the introduction of the new superintendent's screening committee while sitting in traffic.
For the record, Caulfield supports casino gambling, particularly because the money it would bring to schools and cities. He also called the governor's office to apologize for the no-show.
LOWELL SCHOOL Committee member Jackie Doherty last week narrowly won her battle to continue to have the committee's Lowell High School subcommittee meetings videotaped for broadcast on educational-access cable, despite the fervent objections of fellow subcommittee members Regina Faticanti and Dave Conway.
Last September, before Conway joined the school board, committee members voted to tape and broadcast the subcommittee meetings for at least one year.
The idea was to attract students to an after-school communications club and as a way to better communicate with parents and increase transparency.
The Oct. 29 subcommittee meeting -- the only one since the vote -- was televised. But last month, Doherty received an unexpected call from an administrative assistant in the superintendent's office, relaying a message from Faticanti: if Doherty held the next meeting at the high school's TV studio, she and Conway would not attend.
Faticanti and Conway cited cost: about $300 per meeting, translating to about $2,000 per year.
"I'd rather put that money into the reading program or the math program," Conway said.
Doherty said $2,000 out of a $139 million budget is a minimal price to pay for transparency in government.
Her wish was granted on a 4-3 vote, with Conway, Faticanti and Caulfield voting against.
WHO'S THE rat? That's what Tyngsboro School Committee member Burt Buchman demanded to know when the name of a losing candidate for schools superintendent was made public last week.
At a School Committee meeting, Tyngsboro High School teachers Anne-Marie Roy and Mike Woodlock complained that high-school Principal Don Ciampa wasn't picked as a finalist.
Buchman, who chaired the superintendent screening committee, beseeched Roy to tell him how she found out Ciampa had applied. The names of the nine semifinalists had not been released.
Turns out Ciampa told Roy himself. But Buchman was convinced that a screening committee member was leaking information.
Apparently, Buchman heard that someone on the committee had told Ciampa that he would be a finalist. Buchman also said that "false" rumors were surfacing that several screening committee members met in private to ensure that Ciampa wouldn't advance to the final round.
"Someone breached the confidentiality of that screening committee," said Buchman.
BUCHMAN'S INTERROGATION of Roy did not sit well with fellow committee member Barry Dick.
Dick criticized Buchman for treating Roy rudely when he asked her to divulge her source. Later in the meeting, Dick told Buchman that he, as chairman of the screening committee, should have called Ciampa to tell him he wasn't a finalist. A consultant made the call instead.
Buchman bristled at the comment and blasted Dick's performance on the board, criticizing him for not volunteering to be on the screening committee, missing meetings and not doing enough work in general.
"I take offense to being attacked like I was on TV," responded Dick.
Dick later said that although he isn't running for re-election this year, he plans to run against Buchman when his seat is up in 2010.
THE BILLERICA selectmen are taking their political sniping on the road -- all the way to Marshfield.
In an article in a Marshfield weekly newspaper, Chairman Mike Rosa blames colleagues Bob Correnti and Jim O'Donnell for running Town Manager Rocco Longo out of town and into the Marshfield town administrator's office.
In comments echoing those given to The Sun last month, Rosa told the newspaper that when Correnti returned to the board last April, "He started riding Rocco pretty hard." Rosa also pointed to the failures of Correnti and O'Donnell to submit their evaluations of Longo on time last November, which led to both men storming out of a board meeting, as well as Correnti's public dispute with Longo during a meeting regarding the time it took to receive a response to an inquiry.
"It's these constant actions by these two individuals that sent Longo elsewhere," Rosa said.
Correnti said the reporter called him for a response. Correnti turned the blame back on Rosa.
"Maybe Mr. Longo was tired of all the petty politics with the chairman," said Correnti.
After reading the story, the people of Marshfield might be congratulating Longo for fleeing Billerica.
Not a great way to market the town, gentlemen.
TO THOSE critical of The Column's characterization of Billerica Selectman Marc Lombardo's hour-long rant in opposition to the proposed North Billerica power plant last month as election-season grandstanding, consider this: On Feb. 1, Lombardo (e-mail handle, "marcinator"), posted a plea on the Internet forum hosted by the Billerica Watchers, the group of citizens fighting against the power plant, seeking campaign volunteers to hand out push cards for him at the polls on Super Tuesday.
"This is a perfect opportunity to spend a few hours handing out push cards and getting my name out for the public," he wrote. "I truly appreciate your help, this will give us a jump on the competition!"
DRACUT TOWN Manager Dennis Piendak hobbled into Town Hall Wednesday on crutches. "Those Selectmen's meetings can get a little rough," he joked.
Later, he was heard saying, "I told (DPW Director) Mike Buxton to fix that pothole."
Piendak had surgery to remove bone spurs on his left foot. He was out of work for a week. "The tough part is you can't carry a cup of coffee" while on crutches, he said. "But it's mending nicely."
We'll know if the surgery is successful in the spring when Piendak gets on the golf course and no longer pushes his drives to the right.
DRACUT FINANCE Committee Chairman Gary Marsella said he thought he was back in third grade after being scolded by School Superintendent Elaine Espindle last week during a forum on plans for a new high school.
After listening to Espindle's grand vision and hearing residents and other officials talk about a price tag in the $50 million range, Marsella asked, "How are we going to pay for this?"
Espindle firmly told him, "My job is to advocate for the schools, Mr. Marsella. Your job is to sharpen your pencil."
GROTON-DUNSTABLE Regional School Committee member Paul Funch wasn't impressed to hear High School Principal Shelley Marcus Cohen referred to the student who left a swastika graffiti in a school bathroom last month an "idiot."
During the Student-Parent Forum that Cohen hosted Thursday night to discuss solutions to hate crimes in school, Funch urged Cohen to set an example by showing sensitivity to all minority groups. As a father of a special-education student, Funch said there is stigma attached to the word "idiot."
Funch's comment angered parent Lisa Towle because she wanted people to stay focused on the topic at hand.
"How dare you to divert the attention from that?" Towle scolded.
Contributing to The Column this week are Editor Jim Campanini, City Hall reporter Michael Lafleur, Statehouse Bureau Chief Hillary Chabot, Statehouse reporter Matt Murphy, Lowell schools and Billerica reporter Jennifer Amy Myers, Tyngsboro reporter Chris Camire, Dracut reporter Dennis Shaughnessey and Groton reporter Hiroko Sato.
Posted by Admin at 3:40 PM
February 8, 2008
Culture vote is Lowell's loss
Tuesday night's City Council meeting could not have been more disappointing.
A majority of the City Council voted in support of taking advantage of Lowell's burgeoning cultural economy and encouraging its progress, but four councilors appear to prefer the status quo.
Unfortunately, in this case, the minority ruled because the city solicitor opined that six votes -- a two-thirds majority -- are necessary for the ordinance change to create a Lowell Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
The biggest disappointment was the vote of Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield, who for months campaigned that he would embrace progress and serve as a unifying force for a bitterly divided council. Were those passionate speeches merely campaign rhetoric?
The mayor says no, but Tuesday night's vote certainly makes it look as though they were.
Caulfield had a prime opportunity to support City Manager Bernie Lynch's cultural reorganization, a plan designed to streamline the grant process, improve marketing and entice more artists and visitors to Lowell. All at no additional cost to the city. Had Caulfield supported the plan, it would have passed.
This is the man who helped start the Highland Players and is well-known for his excellent singing voice. He often mentions his strong support of artists and the creative economy, so his vote against upgrading the departments -- at no additional cost to taxpayers -- was troubling.
Last year, seven of the sitting councilors -- Alan Kazanjian and Michael Lenzi had yet to be elected -- praised the cultural plan crafted by Mt. Auburn Associates, unanimously supporting it, yet the first recommendation to come from that plan is rejected. Residents have to wonder why.
Credit goes to Councilors Kevin Broderick, Rodney Elliott, Bill Martin, Armand Mercier and Jim Milinazzo for their affirmative votes. Mercier, in fact, got the ball rolling on this endeavor when he served as mayor and deserves praise for recognizing early on the potential of the creative economy. And for being willing to cross a political divide for the betterment of the city.
Make no mistake, there's more to the council's vote than meets the public eye. There's concern in political circles that this may have an impact on the Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Tsongas Arena and LeLacheur Park, and Special Events Coordinator Andy St. Onge. Needless to say, all of these entities are politically connected.
However, the city manager is on record saying there will be no impact, that in fact this is designed to leverage their activities for greater community benefit.
Also, keep in mind that the four dissenting councilors were none too happy when the prior city manager decided to leave under pressure from a majority of councilors. Lynch, along with many others, applied for the job a month or so after the previous manager announced his resignation, but the fact that he was appointed still seems to anger some.
With this vote, the four dissenting councilors -- Caulfield, Kazanjian, Lenzi and Rita Mercier -- are perceived to have rejected more than the city manager's proposal. The councilors slapped the artistic community in the face as well, and local artists are not pleased by the lack of support.
It doesn't help that this rejection came on the heels of a Zoning Board of Appeals decision against expanding the Western Avenue studios. Artists are starting to wonder if they aren't as welcome in Lowell as they were led to believe. This is the wrong message to send at a time when the city needs the cultural arts as one of several potential economic growth engines.
Concerns about funding have been misstated because it's been made very clear that the additional funding needed to pay for the director's position -- which replaces that of executive director of COOL -- will come from outside sources, not taxpayers.
The City Council had the opportunity to put Lowell's future ahead of its past, to ignore political pettiness and make a decision that would serve the city as a whole, not just a tiny subset of its residents. Five councilors made the right decision; four chose to be short-sighted.
But the opportunity still exists to use this proposal as a vehicle for compromise and unity. The proposal could be modified to address concerns and, if councilors have questions, to request clarification.
This is an excellent opportunity for Lowell's city councilors to show they are moving beyond the divisiveness that has been a distraction during the past few years and are more interested in Lowell's progress than in petty political battles.
Editorial Page Editor Sharon Flaherty can be contacted at sflaherty@lowellsun.com.
Posted by Admin at 3:07 PM
February 4, 2008
Napping is good, just don't get caught on tape
How about that Bill Clinton?
Surely by now you've seen video of the former president nodding off during a Martin Luther King Jr. observance at the Convent Avenue Baptist Church in New York City's Harlem neighborhood. If you haven't, go to YouTube and check it out, or just Google, "Clinton sleeping." You'll get a ton of possibilities.
It's classic Clinton. I call it the "Bill Had a Dream" video.
There is the eye-drooping, head-bobbing former president seated right behind the son of the slain civil-rights leader, who was delivering a fiery speech. Still couldn't keep Bill awake.
He's well-tested and war weary. Don't forget, he's put up with Hillary's voice for years now. He has an automatic mute button built in. He can tune right out.
I've never been a big fan of President Clinton, but watching the video, I almost felt bad for him. The guy is trying so hard to stay awake, or to appear as if he's awake. I especially like the part when his head bobs up and his eyes open and he starts nodding in approval of what the speaker is saying, like he actually knows.
Then he looks at his watch. Classic. He then shifts arms and rests his head on his fist. Bad move, Bill. You're just asking for a ticket to dreamland now.
But I can certainly sympathize with him. I know exactly how he feels.
I've been known to nod off at municipal meetings, especially when the developers come in with all their charts and graphs, and they start talking about variances, culverts, retention basins and wetland boundaries. Toothpicks couldn't keep my eyes open.
How about at staff meetings? I have a method. I usually stand in the back of the room, near a window, just in case, because the last thing I want to do is start sawing logs when my boss is in the front of the room, rattling the saber.
I've fallen asleep at my computer on occasion. One time, the pinky finger on my left hand actually rested on the letter "z." It was a great visual when I woke up. Several rows of "zs" on the written page.
I have a track record of falling asleep in church. Everyone knows it, and it's become a running joke. After the service, people will come up to me and say, "Did you have a nice nap?"
In my weak defense, I point out that Sunday mornings are pretty busy for me. I cook breakfast for the family. I get ready for church. I attend adult Sunday School, after which I run down to the choir room to rehearse for the service. Then the service begins. I sing in the choir. By the time the pastor gets up to preach, I'm done. Lights out.
The average sermon is 45 minutes. Sometimes a little longer. I'm just thankful that the choir doesn't have to sit up there in front of the church for the entire service, like they do in some churches. There is no worse feeling than battling slumber. My son will poke me in the ribs as I doze off. My wife will give me a gentle nudge. Nothing works.
As a joke on my birthday a couple of years ago, my friend John made this contraption to assist me. It's a stiff board that is worn under the shirt. A little chin rest protrudes from just behind the necktie, making the head-bob thing a virtual impossibility. As an added feature he threw in a pair of glasses with eyeballs painted on. He's trying to perfect a little audio device that can offer a loud "Amen," at appropriate intervals.
I've attended Catholic churches in the past. There is less chance of falling asleep there, what with all the standing and sitting and kneeling throughout the entire service. Maybe that's why they do it. Maybe they're onto something. We don't do that at my church.
Yeah, me falling asleep in church is a big joke among the brethren, and highly exaggerated, I might add. My reputation precedes me.
It's not that bad. But when it does happen, as President Clinton can attest, it's the worst.
My only consolation is that there are no video cameras in our church to capture the moment.
Dennis Shaughnessey's e-mail address is
Posted by Admin at 4:58 PM
ZBA vote stuns city artist, biz communities
Article Last Updated: 02/03/2008 10:32:55 AM EST
A Sun Staff Report
LOWELL'S ZONING Board of Appeals stunned the city's business and artist communities last week with a vote that seems to run counter to a major city initiative that everyone thought had widespread support.
Voting against developer Karl Frey's proposal to build nearly 50 artist lofts on three Western Avenue properties were ZBA members Vesna Nuon, Corey Belanger, Jack Knox and Kevin Cavanaugh. The lone vote in support came from Bill Bailey.
Some recent history here:
* The City Council voted unanimously last year to extend special zoning to those properties. The objective? Get artists up there.
* The Planning Board also voted unanimously and for the same objective.
* Even the state Department of Housing and Community Development supported the change.
The vote left Frey's lawyer, Jim Flood, scratching his head.
"Needless to say, I was very surprised and very disappointed," said Flood, who has a strong batting average when presenting development plans to city regulatory boards.
Nuon, who served as chairman on this proposal because full-time Chairman Steve Geary stepped down due to a conflict, said the board's vote reflects what neighboring industrial interests wanted.
"Owners of buildings wanted more business and commercial in that area," said Nuon. "Many expressed their disapproval of this."
Nuon said the city's previous actions on the property didn't matter to the ZBA majority. "The ZBA has to be an independent board," he said.
THE ZBA vote triggered a minor dust-up at the following night's City Council meeting.
Councilor Rodney Elliott, concerned the city is squandering a prime development opportunity of old mill buildings, asked City Manager Bernie Lynch for a report on the vote. In Elliott's view, the ZBA should have voted unanimously in favor.
City Councilor Alan Kazanjian, the former ZBA chairman, said he explained the ZBA process to Elliott. Kazanjian also said the ZBA members are concerned about residents living in an industrial zone.
"That's like oil and water," he said.
IS DRACUT School Superintendent Elaine Espindle really not interested in becoming Lowell's next school chief?
The Column suggested that she might be the right fit to replace Karla Brooks Baehr, to which Espindle replied: "Oh, that's funny."
So we asked her point-blank later in the week. Espindle said, "You can't ask me that, it's personal."
Espindle, who replaced Christos Daoulas in 1998, decided not to renew her contract, which expires in June.
She has been a tireless advocate for the construction of a new high school and talk around town is that she might be asked to stay on as a consultant. She initially refused to comment, but when pressed on Thursday's night's NewsTalk Live with Sun Editor Jim Campanini, Espindle said she would love to see the project through to the end.
But would she be able to work shoulder-to-shoulder with her replacement, W. Spencer Mullin? There are those who don't think so.
ESPINDLE IS credited with getting the state School Building Authority to take a good, hard look at Dracut's situation. Her application was one of 19 selected by the SBA for funding consideration. More than 60 school districts applied. Dracut's high school was built in 1957 and underwent a renovation in 1996. While the facility is functional, Espindle and School Committee members say it is ill-equipped to provide the science and technological learning that will be required in the future. "Globalization has changed everything," Espindle said on NewsTalk Live. "Our kids will need to be better prepared educationally than at any time in our nation's history. They deserve to get the tools they need to compete for highly skilled jobs."
School Committee member Nancy Mendonca-Gagnon also appeared on the show. Asked if she thought Espindle would do a good job as a project consultant, Mendonca-Gagnon answered in the affirmative.
THE DEADLINE for applications for Lowell's superintendent search is tomorrow. Assistant Superintendent Susan Mulligan said 18 applications had been received by the end of business on Friday.
School Committee member Jim Leary says the committee should actively recruit candidates past the deadline, or possibly extend it, depending on the number and quality of candidates who apply.
But committee member Regina Faticanti says recruiting "leaves a bad taste in my mouth that I don't want," casting a political pall over the process and making some candidates appear to be the favorites.
School Committee member Connie Martin said she would not be opposed to extending the deadline if it means finding the best person, but she is not wild about the idea of recruiting candidates.
"I don't have anyone in my back pocket that I have been thinking would make a great superintendent," she said. "People coming into this position need to be prepared, excited and enthusiastic. I'd be concerned about someone who has to be convinced."
Martin pointed out that a job as complex as that of Lowell school superintendent does not draw scores of takers.
"You have to hit people at the exact right point of their careers and we will never have 30 to 40 candidates," she said.
FATICANTI SAYS the rest of the committee should have listened to her in the first place.
Last December, she pushed to delay the entire process, including advertising the position until mid-January. Her colleagues disagreed and voted to begin advertising in late December, to prevent missing out on good candidates.
"Now I'm fine with moving ahead with the applicants we have, and I don't want to delay," Faticanti said. "The people who are now saying delay, delay, all disagreed with me asking to wait to post the position. You can't have it both ways, you should have voted with me in December."
THE NAMES of the 12 unknown voting members of the Superintendent Search Committee will be released by Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield's office tomorrow.
The committee will be chaired by former Mayor Eileen Donoghue, who does not hold a vote. The one known voting member is former Deputy Superintendent of Schools Ted Rurak.
Names expected to show up on the list include: United Teachers of Lowell President Paul Georges, Lowell Plan Chairman James Conway III, Citywide Parent Council Chairman Anita Downs and Cindy McAndrews of the Special Education Parents Advisory Council.
One local person who will not be a candidate for the superintendent's job is Ann Murphy, the deputy superintendent of student services. After giving it some thought, Murphy said she's staying put.
THE COLUMN has learned that city of Lowell lawyers are on the verge of settling a series of controversial and long-standing lawsuits filed against the city nearly a decade ago. The lawsuits, filed by four employees of a high-profile department, eventually found their way to federal court, where the settlement is being ironed out. If everyone does, however, sign on the dotted line and everything gets resolved, it will be great for the city as whole, the department involved and especially the key players.
STATE REP. Dave Nangle jumped on Kazanjian's bandwagon last week, supporting the idea of moving the Lowell Transitional Living Center from Middlesex Street downtown to the grounds of Tewksbury Hospital. But Nangle was careful not to step on the toes of the dean of the Greater Lowell delegation, state Rep. Jim Miceli.
Nangle said any plan to move the shelter to Tewksbury must have the blessing of the man who has represented Tewksbury since 1977. And considering Miceli's reaction, that is not likely: "I would look askance," he said. "What the city is essentially saying is that we want to pretty up that area, so let's stick this facility in a neighboring town."
NANGLE INTRODUCED House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi at a "Hillary Clinton for President" rally held at Lowell's Shedd Park yesterday morning. Nearly 100 supporters turned out on a sunny, blustery day to hear Mr. Speaker and other legislators back the U.S. senator from New York. DiMasi said leadership is the key, and Hillary has it all over her Democratic rivals. DiMasi joked, "29 years ago, when I was elected to the Statehouse, I said, 'It's time to give a young guy a chance. Twenty-nine years later, I now know 'It's all about experience.' ... Hillary's got the experience to get America back on track." State Reps. Kevin Murphy, Tom Golden, Colleen Garry and Miceli also attended the rally, as did Senate Ways and Means Chairman Steve Panagiotakos.
WAS THAT Hall of Fame Jockey Jerry Bailey in Nangle's Statehouse office Tuesday afternoon? Bailey, who rode the great thoroughbred Cigar to two consecutive Massachusetts Handicap wins, was doing promotional work for Suffolk Downs when he popped in on Nangle for a few words. Saints Medical Center CEO Mike Guley and Saints Foundation President Mike Kuenzler had also stopped by after attending a health-care hearing. Bailey was kind enough to pose for a photo with the Saints executives.
BILLERICA SELECTMEN and their sweethearts now are free to celebrate Valentine's Day. Some members considered holding a special meeting on the Hallmark-generated-day-of-love, to hear a presentation from Dr. Jack Spengler, the town's environmental health consultant on the power-plant project proposed for North Billerica.
"But that's Valentine's Day," echoed Selectman Bob Correnti and Town Manager Rocco Longo (possibly marking the first time they have agreed on anything).
Selectman James O'Donnell did not seem too worried, stating he would celebrate the following night.
"I thought you told me that every day is Valentine's Day at your house," Correnti teased O'Donnell, who warned him not to "go there."
In the end, the romantics won out. Longo was asked by Chairman Mike Rosa to ask Spengler for a Monday night availability.
"I think we are all going to have to go home and explain why we were so quick to sacrifice Valentine's Day," mused Selectman Kathy Matos.
We are sure that O'Donnell's wife, Brenda, left a very comfortable pillow and blanket for him in the doghouse.
WITH LONGO leaving for Marshfield in about a month, selectmen now have to choose an interim manager, who by charter must come from among town officials and employees. The leading contenders are Town Accountant Paul Watson, who held down the fort for five months in 2005 between the tenures of Town Manager Richard Montuori and Longo, and Principal Assessor Rich Scanlon, who unofficially acts as the town's director of economic development. But, don't be surprised if the name of another town department head is thrown into the ring.
But the charter limits the new manager to those with at least five years as a manager elsewhere, precluding anyone in Town Hall from taking the job permanently.
LOWELL NATIVE Kerry Ahern's nearly 14 years as a prosecutor came to end this month when she decided to leave the district attorney's office to stay home with her children. She will be forever be linked in cyberspace with some of the area's biggest criminal cases, including the conviction of Vuthy Seng in the triple murder retrial and suspected serial killer Adam Leroy Lane. Stepping up to fill Ahern's shoes is another Lowell native, Elizabeth Dunigan, daughter of the late Lowell Superior Court Clerk-Magistrate Brian Dunigan.
AYER SELECTMAN Frank Maxant, who has prostate cancer, is taking part in a study for the Veterans Administration.
Instead of a procedure to remove the prostate, the Army veteran is letting them freeze it, a procedure called cryoablation. That way the prostate dies and shrinks, killing the cancer with it. The study is to learn if the body can inoculate itself against cancer by absorbing the dead tissues. He has to travel to a VA hospital in New York City's Bronx for the procedure.
JAY BOOTH'S announcement that he won't run for selectman this year has ripped the Tyngsboro race wide open. So far, Ashley O'Neil appears to be the hungriest candidate.
O'Neil, a 21-year-old senior at Emmanuel College, has already printed bumper stickers, is launching a Web site and has a fundraiser in the works. The political science major is the daughter of Planning Board member Steve O'Neil, a sergeant in the Lowell Police Department and real-estate developer.
The only other confirmed candidate for the town's two, three-year posts is incumbent Rich Lemoine, the board's current chairman. But one possible -- albeit unlikely -- challenger is Fred Perrault, the former selectman and current Finance Committee member, whom Lemoine helped oust from office in 2002.
Perrault said he has been approached by people in town who want him to run although he maintains that the chances he'll actually go for a seat are slim.
THEY MAY be preaching for a united front in the face of a multimillion-dollar deficit, but Tewksbury officials still have some solidifying to do.
During a municipal retreat for selectmen and department heads on Jan. 28, the continuing tensions between some departments were undeniable -- not much of a surprise given that they will be competing for ever-shrinking dollars.
Police Chief Al Donovan was upset that the School Department has submitted a preliminary budget for fiscal 2009 that includes a 10 percent increase. All other departments are cutting from the current budget, he said.
"Every year, it's the same. We get the short end of the stick," Donovan complained.
That drew a testy response from Selectman Anne Marie Stronach.
"Not to sound disrespectful, but that's not what we're here to talk about," she shot back. "We need to get over the 'what they're doing, what we're doing' thing. We as a group have to talk in one voice. If we're not willing to do this, we might just as well go home now."
A CHALLENGER has entered the selectman's race in Chelmsford, but he is remaining somewhat of a mystery.
Boston Road resident Eric Dahlberg has pulled nomination papers to challenge incumbent Selectman Sam Chase for a three-year term. Chase currently serves as board chairman and is the only selectman up for re-election.
The town Web site lists Dahlberg as a member of the Stipend Committee, but few other details about the man were available late last week. The listed phone number and the number he provided to the town clerk's office were out of service on Friday.
To secure a spot on the ballot for the annual election, candidates must gather the signatures of 50 registered voters and return them to the Board of Registrars by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12.
This week's Column was written by City Editor Christopher Scott, Dracut reporter Dennis Shaughnessey, Billerica/Lowell Schools reporter Jennifer Myers, Ayer reporter Jack Minch, Tyngsboro reporter Chris Camire, Tewksbury reporter Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl, Lifestyles reporter Rachel Briere and Court reporter Lisa Redmond.
Posted by Admin at 1:34 PM
