There is nothing more frustrating for a public official or a political gadfly than to get into a discussion with a friend, coworker or constituent who is angry about local, state or national events and finding that person to be ignorant of the most basic facts of an issue. Even worse is to go and check the voting record and find that not only does this person have no interest in studying the facts but also has no interest in voting either.
Perhaps this is a year that might mark a change in overall trends in voter apathy. Certainly on the local level we have seen a marked difference as we have a vacant seat on the board of Selectman with one incumbent and 5 challengers vying for the two seats. In addition we have a contested school committee race to go along with the special election referendum that will attempt to override town meeting's decision in passing the town center overlay district. Of course, underlying all of the activity will be the over all mood of the electorate after getting a 24% residential tax increase. If I were to hazard a guess I would say that this might be the heaviest turn out that we have seen in recent memory.
This will extend to the state and national elections as well. With Governor Romney bowing out, there will be a very contentious race to replace him. The Democratic primary looked to be a lock for Attorney General Thomas Reilly, however a series of blunders may have wounded him mortally. Deval Patrick has been gaining ground with a pretty impressive showing in the Democratic Party caucuses. With Reilly looking like a very vulnerable favorite and after having snubbed Chris Gabrielli in the lieutenant governor sweepstakes it might bring Gabrielli into the race for the top spot. He should not be underestimated since it is rumored he spent 4 million of his own money the last time around.
The November general election should be a donny brook as well since Lt. Governor Healey is not likely to be the pushover that we Democrats think she is. She seems to have built a credible resume as number 2 with local officials statewide and there has been an inclination by Massachusetts voters to deny the democrats complete dominance in the legislative and executive branches.
The mid terms on the national scene are definitely going to increase interests for a variety of reasons. Iraq,immigration, the economy, energy prices and host of other pressing issues may bring more people into the political arena if not as candidates at least as knowledgable participants.
Another factor that may contribute to increased voter awareness is the aging of the population. The older we get the more insecure we become about everything from A to Z. Inevitably this leads to the need to find things out for oneself.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
The Massachusetts housing scam
How can a state that is the only one in the nation that is losing population have a housing problem? The answer out of Boston from the state house and the Globe is that it is an affordability issue that is the real problem. That answer of course does not hold up under scrutiny because there are a number of older urban areas across the state that have inventories of much older housing and commercial space that could be converted to new housing at very affordable prices. There are a number of reasons why people involved in this issue don't care about that fact.
From the development perspective lower housing costs and less desirable locations mean less profits. Why develop in Springfield, New Bedford and Lawrence when you can try to enter the Burlington, Woburn, Reading, Canton, Needham and Tewksbury markets and get substantially higher prices? Opposition by suburban communities have been over come with the onerous chapter 40B "snob zoning" legislation but they may become more difficult in the future as these communities finally wise up to that developer and Boston led scam.
From Boston's perspective, money spent and state resources allocated to other parts of the state means less money for Boston. How does money spent in Springfield, Pittsfield and New Bedford benefit Boston they ask?
The real issue here is found in the smoke screen of "Smart Growth". Smart growth is a euphemism for this disturbing thought. Boston as a city is simply a failing model. It is dominated by free loading institutions that pay few if any taxes and continue to gobble up prime tax revenue producing property in the city. In order for Boston to sustain itself it needs to develop ever more densely on the remaining commercial property in order to generate sufficient revenues to sustain its municipal infrastructure.
This point is no secret to the mayor of Boston and he has recently responded to the problem with a proposal such as this http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/18/mayor_urges_1000_foot_skyscraper/. A thousand foot sky scraper proposed for a city in which it is already nearly impossible to make a reasonable commuter trip into and out of the city on a daily basis?
I live North of the city and work in a building 11.6 miles from my house and five miles out side of Boston. If I take route 93 to work in the morning it turns an 11.6 mile ride into a 55 minute bumper to bumper comedy. From what my co-workers tell me, it is even worse trying to get to work from the South side of the city.
The media did a nice piece the other day on how the trip through the tunnel had been reduced from 19 minutes to less than three minutes as a result of the "Big Dig". I guess it is comforting to know that 14 billion dollars was spent on the project for this type of imrovement, however forgive me if I point out that the project only resulted in moving faster to another bottleneck that keeps you waiting endlessly. In American public works history the "Big Dig" will stand as a testament to pork barrel waste on a monumental scale.
How does "Smart Growth" figure in this? Well it is very simple. The power structure in Boston wants the surrounding communities to be built up more densely in housing along major rail lines and traffic routes so that Boston can continue to grow without any alteration to its current makeup. That build up in density means that the outlying communities will be responsible for more population, more school and public safety costs so that Boston can have more workers.
From Boston's perspective, the surrounding communities should be glad and be willing to do this to support a cosmopolitan city that is a mecca for education, science and medicine. The suburban point of view is that if we are such a mecca for these things why are we the most expensive area in the world to send a child to college or God forbid if we get sick is it the most expensive place in the world to get health care?
How bad is Boston's revenue problem? The city itself laid out the problem in a report that can be found here http://www.ci.boston.ma.us/bra/PDF/Publications//pdr_562.pdf
Currently, more than 50% of Boston's property is held by entities that are not required to pay taxes. In fairness to the institutional community it is also the state that contributes to the problem with the huge amount of tax exempt land it holds.
The bottom line is this, Boston as currently constituted is not going to be able to grow it's commercial base in order to sustain itself financially over the long run. Instead of following a strategy of building thousand foot office buildings, the city would be better served adopting a program of stability and slow growth. Revenue generation should be vigorously pursued from those who are not contributing their fare share. If housing is to be required it should be built within the city at higher density and affordable rates. Why not several nice high rise apartment buildings from which, people can walk to work?
Think what might have been accomplished had 14 billion dollars been invested more wisely in addressing the core problems of Boston.
From the development perspective lower housing costs and less desirable locations mean less profits. Why develop in Springfield, New Bedford and Lawrence when you can try to enter the Burlington, Woburn, Reading, Canton, Needham and Tewksbury markets and get substantially higher prices? Opposition by suburban communities have been over come with the onerous chapter 40B "snob zoning" legislation but they may become more difficult in the future as these communities finally wise up to that developer and Boston led scam.
From Boston's perspective, money spent and state resources allocated to other parts of the state means less money for Boston. How does money spent in Springfield, Pittsfield and New Bedford benefit Boston they ask?
The real issue here is found in the smoke screen of "Smart Growth". Smart growth is a euphemism for this disturbing thought. Boston as a city is simply a failing model. It is dominated by free loading institutions that pay few if any taxes and continue to gobble up prime tax revenue producing property in the city. In order for Boston to sustain itself it needs to develop ever more densely on the remaining commercial property in order to generate sufficient revenues to sustain its municipal infrastructure.
This point is no secret to the mayor of Boston and he has recently responded to the problem with a proposal such as this http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/18/mayor_urges_1000_foot_skyscraper/. A thousand foot sky scraper proposed for a city in which it is already nearly impossible to make a reasonable commuter trip into and out of the city on a daily basis?
I live North of the city and work in a building 11.6 miles from my house and five miles out side of Boston. If I take route 93 to work in the morning it turns an 11.6 mile ride into a 55 minute bumper to bumper comedy. From what my co-workers tell me, it is even worse trying to get to work from the South side of the city.
The media did a nice piece the other day on how the trip through the tunnel had been reduced from 19 minutes to less than three minutes as a result of the "Big Dig". I guess it is comforting to know that 14 billion dollars was spent on the project for this type of imrovement, however forgive me if I point out that the project only resulted in moving faster to another bottleneck that keeps you waiting endlessly. In American public works history the "Big Dig" will stand as a testament to pork barrel waste on a monumental scale.
How does "Smart Growth" figure in this? Well it is very simple. The power structure in Boston wants the surrounding communities to be built up more densely in housing along major rail lines and traffic routes so that Boston can continue to grow without any alteration to its current makeup. That build up in density means that the outlying communities will be responsible for more population, more school and public safety costs so that Boston can have more workers.
From Boston's perspective, the surrounding communities should be glad and be willing to do this to support a cosmopolitan city that is a mecca for education, science and medicine. The suburban point of view is that if we are such a mecca for these things why are we the most expensive area in the world to send a child to college or God forbid if we get sick is it the most expensive place in the world to get health care?
How bad is Boston's revenue problem? The city itself laid out the problem in a report that can be found here http://www.ci.boston.ma.us/bra/PDF/Publications//pdr_562.pdf
Currently, more than 50% of Boston's property is held by entities that are not required to pay taxes. In fairness to the institutional community it is also the state that contributes to the problem with the huge amount of tax exempt land it holds.
The bottom line is this, Boston as currently constituted is not going to be able to grow it's commercial base in order to sustain itself financially over the long run. Instead of following a strategy of building thousand foot office buildings, the city would be better served adopting a program of stability and slow growth. Revenue generation should be vigorously pursued from those who are not contributing their fare share. If housing is to be required it should be built within the city at higher density and affordable rates. Why not several nice high rise apartment buildings from which, people can walk to work?
Think what might have been accomplished had 14 billion dollars been invested more wisely in addressing the core problems of Boston.
Friday, February 17, 2006
William Felton Russell
I attended a business expo function last night at which various local businesses had booths set up displaying their services and wares. It was the typical event with networking and general schmoozing going on.
I was nosing around looking for someone to talk to and maybe scaring up some business when I happened upon this fellow who had a rather unique display. It caught my attention because he had a number of very nice sports memorabilia pieces. On display were such things an autographed Red Sox shirt from the championship season, a Ray Bourque sweater and a very nice Ted Williams autographed Moxie sign.
I thought perhaps he was in the sports memorabilia business but it turned out to be office furniture of all things. I was in the market for a sports item but unfortunately not for furniture. In any event I got to talking with this fellow and he unveiled his prized possession which was a diamond encrusted replica of a Michael Jordan NBA championship ring. I was admiring it when he made the statement that "Jordan was the greatest basketball player that ever lived". Huh?
While there is no denying the grace, beauty and accomplishment of Jordan's game he comes in third in my mind as the all time greatest player. Second of course is Wilt Chamberlain, who if you saw him at any time during his playing days you could not deny that he was the single most dominant force of his time. Unfortunately for Wilt, basketball is a team game and within that concept there is no greater team player in any sport than William Felton Russell.
I must admit my bias up front having grown up watching Russell and the Boston Celtics. I even once hid in the bushes of a family in my home town who I knew that Russell was going to visit just so that I could get a look at him.
For those of you who don't know or for some reason have forgotten Russell's qualifications as the greatest basketball player that ever lived, let's take a look at his resume.
Playing for the University of San Francisco, the Russell led team won back to back NCAA championships in two straight undefeated seasons going 55 and 0. In 1955 he was named NCAA most outstanding player.
This was immediately followed up by winning an Olympic gold medal for the United States in the 1956 Olympics.
In the shrewdest trade of his career, Red Auerbach acquired Russell for the Boston Celtics from the St. Louis Hawks. After completing his Olympic duties Russell joined the Celtics while the 56-57 season was already underway. In a thrilling double over time game seven victory 125 to 123, Russell remarkably added an NBA championship to his collection. Let's recap, in a little more than three years Russell won 2 NCAA championships, an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship. Do you think that will ever be duplicated?
Of course that really was only the beginning of Russell's remarkable legacy. He went on to win 10 more NBA championships out of a total of 13 seasons that he played. Just for good measure he was also the coach of two of those championship teams. Russell's greatest attribute of course was that he was a team player. He preferred backstopping his teammates on defense and dominating the boards as opposed to the glamour of ball hogging. There were a number of individual honors given to Mr. Russell but I doubt that he would care if they were recounted here.
Everywhere Russell went, everything he did and everything he said was about excellence for himself and contributing to the excellence of others. I treasure the memories of watching him.
I was nosing around looking for someone to talk to and maybe scaring up some business when I happened upon this fellow who had a rather unique display. It caught my attention because he had a number of very nice sports memorabilia pieces. On display were such things an autographed Red Sox shirt from the championship season, a Ray Bourque sweater and a very nice Ted Williams autographed Moxie sign.
I thought perhaps he was in the sports memorabilia business but it turned out to be office furniture of all things. I was in the market for a sports item but unfortunately not for furniture. In any event I got to talking with this fellow and he unveiled his prized possession which was a diamond encrusted replica of a Michael Jordan NBA championship ring. I was admiring it when he made the statement that "Jordan was the greatest basketball player that ever lived". Huh?
While there is no denying the grace, beauty and accomplishment of Jordan's game he comes in third in my mind as the all time greatest player. Second of course is Wilt Chamberlain, who if you saw him at any time during his playing days you could not deny that he was the single most dominant force of his time. Unfortunately for Wilt, basketball is a team game and within that concept there is no greater team player in any sport than William Felton Russell.
I must admit my bias up front having grown up watching Russell and the Boston Celtics. I even once hid in the bushes of a family in my home town who I knew that Russell was going to visit just so that I could get a look at him.
For those of you who don't know or for some reason have forgotten Russell's qualifications as the greatest basketball player that ever lived, let's take a look at his resume.
Playing for the University of San Francisco, the Russell led team won back to back NCAA championships in two straight undefeated seasons going 55 and 0. In 1955 he was named NCAA most outstanding player.
This was immediately followed up by winning an Olympic gold medal for the United States in the 1956 Olympics.
In the shrewdest trade of his career, Red Auerbach acquired Russell for the Boston Celtics from the St. Louis Hawks. After completing his Olympic duties Russell joined the Celtics while the 56-57 season was already underway. In a thrilling double over time game seven victory 125 to 123, Russell remarkably added an NBA championship to his collection. Let's recap, in a little more than three years Russell won 2 NCAA championships, an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship. Do you think that will ever be duplicated?
Of course that really was only the beginning of Russell's remarkable legacy. He went on to win 10 more NBA championships out of a total of 13 seasons that he played. Just for good measure he was also the coach of two of those championship teams. Russell's greatest attribute of course was that he was a team player. He preferred backstopping his teammates on defense and dominating the boards as opposed to the glamour of ball hogging. There were a number of individual honors given to Mr. Russell but I doubt that he would care if they were recounted here.
Everywhere Russell went, everything he did and everything he said was about excellence for himself and contributing to the excellence of others. I treasure the memories of watching him.
Monday, February 13, 2006
The van left today
The equipment van left today for the Red Sox training facility in Fort Myers, Florida. As of this moment that means in 4 days 13 hours and 23 minutes, pitchers and catchers will report for spring training.
It is an annual event that a Red Sox fan in New England looks forward to with great anticipation. In this case, like many in years gone by, it means that the 20 inches of snow that we got yesterday is just a brief set back to what we know is the annual return of good weather and baseball.
It is a welcome break from cabin fever, snow shoveling and freezing one's behind off getting from the car to some shelter somewhere. It is also a welcome mental respite in the middle of the winter doldrums that stretch from the end of Christmas until March 31st. It is this period of time that makes me wonder why I live here. Since I have never lived anywhere else I always arrive at the conclusion that I don't know any better.
Why dwell on the weather when we can think baseball!. The olde town team has reloaded for the upcoming assault on the evil empire and hopefully a return to the World Series. It has been an off season full of surprises beginning with Theo's rather strange departure and return. In between the club actually seems to have improved.
Gone is Billy Mueller at third replaced by gold glover Mike Lowell. Lowell is coming off a dismal year at the plate but if he returns to anywhere near his norm the club will have added defense and power at the hot corner.
Shortstop is bound to improve defensively with the subtraction of Edgar Renteria and the addition of Alex Gonzalez. John Olerude has retired at first and Kevin Millar has moved to the Orioles but the tandem of J.T. Snow and Kevin Youkilis will provide an upgrade in defense and offensive production over last year's numbers.
Second base looks solid with the addition of an ideal number 2 hitter at second base in Mark Loretta with both Alex Cora and possibly Dustin Pedroia as back ups. Tony Graffanino is also in the mix as an infield back up.
Jason Varitek is the catcher, that is all that needs to be said on that subject.
The outfield has had quite a change with Johnny Damon headed off to the empire for the big money. Johnny earned his money here and his chance to cash in so I hold no animosity in his leaving. The kind of money the Yankees were willing to pay would simply have been foolish money for the Sox. Steinbrenner can afford to waste that kind of dough but the Sox can't and shouldn't. CoCo Crisp is quite a bit younger than Damon and has almost identical numbers in average and on base percentage and actually surpasses him in power numbers. He will be an ideal fit in Boston and has more potential upside than Damon at the moment.
What ever happens with Damon he will be forever etched in Sox lore for his grand slam against the Yanks in the stadium. I can still remember the looks on the fans when that ball landed in the right field stands. It was a forlorn look, a realization that the Yanks were about to complete the greatest choke in baseball history. How delicious!!
The rest of the outfield looks like Trot Nixon and Manny Ramirez. Manny's numbers will be Manny like and Nixon is in a contract year. In between all of these good hitters will be the DH, Big Papi, David Ortiz. David is maturing and still has his biggest production ahead of him. I look for a monster year from him.
In all likelihood this team will lead the majors in run production but like very other year in major league baseball it will be the pitching that wins. The Sox have an abundance of pitching this year. The starters look like Schilling, Beckett, Papelbon, Clement and Wakefield. Should any of them falter there is additional help on the bench with Bronson Arroyo and David Wells if he hasn't been dealt by then.
The real question mark is in the bull pen where it has yet to be determined if Keith Foulke is fully healthy after an injury plagued year last year. Should the sSx come up with a reliable closer look for them to be facing off against the world champion Chicago White Sox in the American League finals.
It is an annual event that a Red Sox fan in New England looks forward to with great anticipation. In this case, like many in years gone by, it means that the 20 inches of snow that we got yesterday is just a brief set back to what we know is the annual return of good weather and baseball.
It is a welcome break from cabin fever, snow shoveling and freezing one's behind off getting from the car to some shelter somewhere. It is also a welcome mental respite in the middle of the winter doldrums that stretch from the end of Christmas until March 31st. It is this period of time that makes me wonder why I live here. Since I have never lived anywhere else I always arrive at the conclusion that I don't know any better.
Why dwell on the weather when we can think baseball!. The olde town team has reloaded for the upcoming assault on the evil empire and hopefully a return to the World Series. It has been an off season full of surprises beginning with Theo's rather strange departure and return. In between the club actually seems to have improved.
Gone is Billy Mueller at third replaced by gold glover Mike Lowell. Lowell is coming off a dismal year at the plate but if he returns to anywhere near his norm the club will have added defense and power at the hot corner.
Shortstop is bound to improve defensively with the subtraction of Edgar Renteria and the addition of Alex Gonzalez. John Olerude has retired at first and Kevin Millar has moved to the Orioles but the tandem of J.T. Snow and Kevin Youkilis will provide an upgrade in defense and offensive production over last year's numbers.
Second base looks solid with the addition of an ideal number 2 hitter at second base in Mark Loretta with both Alex Cora and possibly Dustin Pedroia as back ups. Tony Graffanino is also in the mix as an infield back up.
Jason Varitek is the catcher, that is all that needs to be said on that subject.
The outfield has had quite a change with Johnny Damon headed off to the empire for the big money. Johnny earned his money here and his chance to cash in so I hold no animosity in his leaving. The kind of money the Yankees were willing to pay would simply have been foolish money for the Sox. Steinbrenner can afford to waste that kind of dough but the Sox can't and shouldn't. CoCo Crisp is quite a bit younger than Damon and has almost identical numbers in average and on base percentage and actually surpasses him in power numbers. He will be an ideal fit in Boston and has more potential upside than Damon at the moment.
What ever happens with Damon he will be forever etched in Sox lore for his grand slam against the Yanks in the stadium. I can still remember the looks on the fans when that ball landed in the right field stands. It was a forlorn look, a realization that the Yanks were about to complete the greatest choke in baseball history. How delicious!!
The rest of the outfield looks like Trot Nixon and Manny Ramirez. Manny's numbers will be Manny like and Nixon is in a contract year. In between all of these good hitters will be the DH, Big Papi, David Ortiz. David is maturing and still has his biggest production ahead of him. I look for a monster year from him.
In all likelihood this team will lead the majors in run production but like very other year in major league baseball it will be the pitching that wins. The Sox have an abundance of pitching this year. The starters look like Schilling, Beckett, Papelbon, Clement and Wakefield. Should any of them falter there is additional help on the bench with Bronson Arroyo and David Wells if he hasn't been dealt by then.
The real question mark is in the bull pen where it has yet to be determined if Keith Foulke is fully healthy after an injury plagued year last year. Should the sSx come up with a reliable closer look for them to be facing off against the world champion Chicago White Sox in the American League finals.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Fear hinders the formerly creative
In a piece by the Boston Globe's Ombudsman, titled Questionable Cartoons, Richard Chacon justifies the Globe's refusal to publish the Danish Muslim cartoons. Through all the nonsense about "painful images" and "necessary restraint" and "editing for taste", he fails to mention the one major reason that they have not appeared. When the Globe published "Piss Christ" 3 times, the Globe employees could be pretty sure they wouldn't get a knife stuck in their chest. That can't be said for sure this time around when deciding whether or not to print these images.
It is fear that prevents the print media establishment and Hollywood from ridiculing and satirizing elements of a religion that espouses martyrdom, murdering their women for "honor", taxing the dhimmi as well as hiding their women in bags.
It is fear that prevents those courageous creative types from practicing their craft. After all, John Stewart, Gary Trudeau, George Clooney, Derrick Jackson and Michael Moore all know what happened to Theo Van Gogh.
For Chacon to do a piece on the cartoons without discussing the fear rampant in all camps in the media business was a joke.
It is fear that prevents the print media establishment and Hollywood from ridiculing and satirizing elements of a religion that espouses martyrdom, murdering their women for "honor", taxing the dhimmi as well as hiding their women in bags.
It is fear that prevents those courageous creative types from practicing their craft. After all, John Stewart, Gary Trudeau, George Clooney, Derrick Jackson and Michael Moore all know what happened to Theo Van Gogh.
For Chacon to do a piece on the cartoons without discussing the fear rampant in all camps in the media business was a joke.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Referendum on the town center overlay district
I wrote the accompanying piece in July of 2004 suggesting that the time was ripe to move forward on the general subject of the upgrading of the town center as well as a specific project that had been worked on by former town planner Terry Szold. The resulting piece was a discussion of why something should be done and was not then, nor is it now an endorsement of the subsequent zoning article presented, and that I presided over as the moderator at town meeting.
For a variety of reasons a number of town officials have taken up the issue of revamping the center which, culminated in the winter town meeting being presented with a warrant article called “the town center overlay district.”
The warrant article was quite complex and came in three over 30 page iterations, the first being printed in the warrant, a second a week later and then on the night of the meeting there were several small changes to the text in a third version.
The debate that followed was not unusual from a procedural stand point as the committee reports were read, the presentation was made, a substitute motion entered to postpone it and after another failed amendment attempt and a good deal of spirited debate the article was subsequently voted on at around 11:30 p.m.
After a standing vote it was determined that the article had reached the necessary threshold of a two thirds vote 54 to 27. With only a razor thin one vote deciding the issue I decided as the presiding officer to call for a roll call vote. My feeling was that whatever the outcome that it should not be clouded by any kind of controversy over the recording of the votes. In reality I was only pre-empting what certainly would have been seven standing members requesting it anyway. At the conclusion of the roll call the two thirds majority still held by one vote.
As with any article passed by representative town meeting, this article was subject to a referendum process. If within a 14 day period residents gather 5% of the registered voter’s signatures on a petition then the question as posed to town meeting can be placed on the ballot and posed to the voters of the entire town. As of Monday those signatures have been gathered and certified by the town clerk.
This is not the first time this has occurred in Burlington and hopefully it will not be the last. When an issue of significant import creates enough voter awareness that it ends up being placed on the ballot for a town wide decision, then in my view that is a good thing for the community. The campaign will generate additional interest and in the end it will stand or fall based on its merits.
Some in town government, who have worked hard and supported this article, are somewhat resentful over the fact that some of the opponents of the overlay district and in the vanguard of the petition are also the same people who have argued that zoning issues of this magnitude should be brought to town meeting for the decision. In addition this went through a long public hearing process and through a number of boards and committees who have all endorsed the initiative. The question asked most commonly is where were these opponents during this long public process?
Conversely the opposing positions are that a 1 vote victory is hardly a mandate and that our system of government allows for this process as the next step in an orderly decision making protocol.
In any event, what will follow is a complete airing of the issue in a town wide campaign effort. Each side can make their presentations on BCAT and campaign as vigorously as they choose.
The cost associated with a special election maybe some thousands of dollars but if in the end it results in a consensus being built one way or the other and it stimulates public awareness and citizen involvement, then isn’t it money well spent?
What follows is the piece I submitted to the Daily Times Chronicle 7/27/04.
A window of opportunity
In the fall of 1999 former Burlington town planner Terry S. Szold and now Adjunct Associate professor in the M.I.T. DEPARTMENT OF URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING included a student project in her course on Community growth and land planning use. That project was described as follows:
Town Center Vision Plan will be prepared for the Town of Burlington as a "guidance document" to be used by the Town as an instrument to help create a more positive physical evolution of this important area. The plan should help facilitate a "sense of place," and sharpen the area's identity as a vibrant, coherent, district.
The American Planning Association, Massachusetts Chapter gave its 1999 Outstanding Planning Award–Student Project Category–Honorable Mention to members of Professor Szold's class–Eryn Deeming, Kristen Harol, Adair Smith, and Margaret Super–for the "Burlington Town Center Vision Plan".
One of the problems with both the plan and the surrounding discussions continued by the town since its creation has been that the entire process has excluded the person that both owns the property and has the resources to bring about its transformation. Robert Murray owns the bulk of the East side of Route 3A from Dunkin Donuts all the way down almost to the wallpaper store. I am sure you agree that Mr. Murray's involvement is paramount to any hope of success of this type of initiative
Why should the town become actively involved in a joint strategy with Mr. Murray? I will quote comments made by Ms. Szold after the conclusion of an MIT symposium at the MIT faculty club of which she was one of the program planners. "Effective translation of smart growth strategies is a highly complex exercise -- requiring a thoughtful array of land use and design interventions, all of which must be carefully filtered through a lens of environmental and social ethics." It also requires a lot of consensus building between Mr. Murray, town officials and most importantly town meeting.
In the not to distant future Mr. Murray will be presenting to the town, a development for the corner of Skilton Lane that will include the former Paolini's delicatessen and the complete reconstruction of the end of Skilton Lane. Although this will be a welcome event in the town center, it is only a piecemeal approach to an over all solution when so much more can be accomplished.
Now is the time to move forward on a joint collaboration between Mr. Murray and the town in planning for the entire redevelopment of the town center. How that can be accomplished is with a joint feasibility and preliminary development study being funded by both Mr. Murray and the town.
A development of this size and complexity and community impact cannot follow the usual development process. It must be comprehensive, well funded and most of all must have a consensus built in the decision-making bodies before it is implemented. The way to do that is to include those factions in the study process. The town can do that by funding its own involvement with Mr. Murray in developing a joint plan. Why should the town put any money into the design and feasibility? The most important reason is that if you expect Mr. Murray to front the actual redevelopment costs of an entire area, which is essentially a cash cow for him, then the least we can do is to let him know what the community would view as a consensus proposal. A well-considered well-funded inclusive process that recognizes this as an historic opportunity to shape our center can do that. The recent outpouring of interest in the restoration of the Grandview Farm demonstrates that the people of Burlington have a deep interest in establishing, improving and preserving the aesthetic value of the community.
Mr. Murray is a member of a family that has deep historical roots in the town and has had a great deal to do with the economic success of Burlington over the past 50 years. To say that Mr. Murray is a local boy who made good would be an understatement. Keeping in mind the history of the family and Mr. Murray's own accomplishments, it would not be unreasonable to think he might be mindful of his own development legacy in his hometown. Can the recent redevelopment of the Escadrille be any more an indication of Mr. Murray's desire to leave his design fingerprint on the town? No one should doubt Mr. Murray's motivation or history in dealing with the town. We need only go back to donation of the Kelly Murray wing of the senior center to see that commitment. Bob deliberated 10 minutes before committing to funding the project along with Dick Kelly. This is only one instance of many where Mr. Murray has supported civic endeavors with his resources.
The study deal might take shape this way, a joint agreement which includes funding of 200,000 dollars each from both the town and Mr. Murray with a goal of developing a "town center district zone" to present to town meeting. That article would include the actual build out design of the entire center in a concept plan. The firm chosen to do the design could be a joint selection by the town and Mr. Murray. The team representing the town could include the town administrator, town planner, town meeting and the historical society to name a few.
Some might argue that the town should not be involved in the development business or that we can't afford to fund such an endeavor. We can't afford not to! The payback in increased values of and tax revenue from a redeveloped town center would more than justify the investment.
This is essentially a once in a lifetime opportunity for the town. Although still a reasonably young man by today's standards Mr. Murray, like the rest of us is not getting any younger! It is an enormous benefit to the town to be able to conclude a development design and implementation schedule with a single decision maker who can speak solely for such a vital area of the town. The impact of such a plan would be an aesthetically pleasing and financially viable town center, which would be the envy of suburban communities for the next 100 years.
For a variety of reasons a number of town officials have taken up the issue of revamping the center which, culminated in the winter town meeting being presented with a warrant article called “the town center overlay district.”
The warrant article was quite complex and came in three over 30 page iterations, the first being printed in the warrant, a second a week later and then on the night of the meeting there were several small changes to the text in a third version.
The debate that followed was not unusual from a procedural stand point as the committee reports were read, the presentation was made, a substitute motion entered to postpone it and after another failed amendment attempt and a good deal of spirited debate the article was subsequently voted on at around 11:30 p.m.
After a standing vote it was determined that the article had reached the necessary threshold of a two thirds vote 54 to 27. With only a razor thin one vote deciding the issue I decided as the presiding officer to call for a roll call vote. My feeling was that whatever the outcome that it should not be clouded by any kind of controversy over the recording of the votes. In reality I was only pre-empting what certainly would have been seven standing members requesting it anyway. At the conclusion of the roll call the two thirds majority still held by one vote.
As with any article passed by representative town meeting, this article was subject to a referendum process. If within a 14 day period residents gather 5% of the registered voter’s signatures on a petition then the question as posed to town meeting can be placed on the ballot and posed to the voters of the entire town. As of Monday those signatures have been gathered and certified by the town clerk.
This is not the first time this has occurred in Burlington and hopefully it will not be the last. When an issue of significant import creates enough voter awareness that it ends up being placed on the ballot for a town wide decision, then in my view that is a good thing for the community. The campaign will generate additional interest and in the end it will stand or fall based on its merits.
Some in town government, who have worked hard and supported this article, are somewhat resentful over the fact that some of the opponents of the overlay district and in the vanguard of the petition are also the same people who have argued that zoning issues of this magnitude should be brought to town meeting for the decision. In addition this went through a long public hearing process and through a number of boards and committees who have all endorsed the initiative. The question asked most commonly is where were these opponents during this long public process?
Conversely the opposing positions are that a 1 vote victory is hardly a mandate and that our system of government allows for this process as the next step in an orderly decision making protocol.
In any event, what will follow is a complete airing of the issue in a town wide campaign effort. Each side can make their presentations on BCAT and campaign as vigorously as they choose.
The cost associated with a special election maybe some thousands of dollars but if in the end it results in a consensus being built one way or the other and it stimulates public awareness and citizen involvement, then isn’t it money well spent?
What follows is the piece I submitted to the Daily Times Chronicle 7/27/04.
A window of opportunity
In the fall of 1999 former Burlington town planner Terry S. Szold and now Adjunct Associate professor in the M.I.T. DEPARTMENT OF URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING included a student project in her course on Community growth and land planning use. That project was described as follows:
Town Center Vision Plan will be prepared for the Town of Burlington as a "guidance document" to be used by the Town as an instrument to help create a more positive physical evolution of this important area. The plan should help facilitate a "sense of place," and sharpen the area's identity as a vibrant, coherent, district.
The American Planning Association, Massachusetts Chapter gave its 1999 Outstanding Planning Award–Student Project Category–Honorable Mention to members of Professor Szold's class–Eryn Deeming, Kristen Harol, Adair Smith, and Margaret Super–for the "Burlington Town Center Vision Plan".
One of the problems with both the plan and the surrounding discussions continued by the town since its creation has been that the entire process has excluded the person that both owns the property and has the resources to bring about its transformation. Robert Murray owns the bulk of the East side of Route 3A from Dunkin Donuts all the way down almost to the wallpaper store. I am sure you agree that Mr. Murray's involvement is paramount to any hope of success of this type of initiative
Why should the town become actively involved in a joint strategy with Mr. Murray? I will quote comments made by Ms. Szold after the conclusion of an MIT symposium at the MIT faculty club of which she was one of the program planners. "Effective translation of smart growth strategies is a highly complex exercise -- requiring a thoughtful array of land use and design interventions, all of which must be carefully filtered through a lens of environmental and social ethics." It also requires a lot of consensus building between Mr. Murray, town officials and most importantly town meeting.
In the not to distant future Mr. Murray will be presenting to the town, a development for the corner of Skilton Lane that will include the former Paolini's delicatessen and the complete reconstruction of the end of Skilton Lane. Although this will be a welcome event in the town center, it is only a piecemeal approach to an over all solution when so much more can be accomplished.
Now is the time to move forward on a joint collaboration between Mr. Murray and the town in planning for the entire redevelopment of the town center. How that can be accomplished is with a joint feasibility and preliminary development study being funded by both Mr. Murray and the town.
A development of this size and complexity and community impact cannot follow the usual development process. It must be comprehensive, well funded and most of all must have a consensus built in the decision-making bodies before it is implemented. The way to do that is to include those factions in the study process. The town can do that by funding its own involvement with Mr. Murray in developing a joint plan. Why should the town put any money into the design and feasibility? The most important reason is that if you expect Mr. Murray to front the actual redevelopment costs of an entire area, which is essentially a cash cow for him, then the least we can do is to let him know what the community would view as a consensus proposal. A well-considered well-funded inclusive process that recognizes this as an historic opportunity to shape our center can do that. The recent outpouring of interest in the restoration of the Grandview Farm demonstrates that the people of Burlington have a deep interest in establishing, improving and preserving the aesthetic value of the community.
Mr. Murray is a member of a family that has deep historical roots in the town and has had a great deal to do with the economic success of Burlington over the past 50 years. To say that Mr. Murray is a local boy who made good would be an understatement. Keeping in mind the history of the family and Mr. Murray's own accomplishments, it would not be unreasonable to think he might be mindful of his own development legacy in his hometown. Can the recent redevelopment of the Escadrille be any more an indication of Mr. Murray's desire to leave his design fingerprint on the town? No one should doubt Mr. Murray's motivation or history in dealing with the town. We need only go back to donation of the Kelly Murray wing of the senior center to see that commitment. Bob deliberated 10 minutes before committing to funding the project along with Dick Kelly. This is only one instance of many where Mr. Murray has supported civic endeavors with his resources.
The study deal might take shape this way, a joint agreement which includes funding of 200,000 dollars each from both the town and Mr. Murray with a goal of developing a "town center district zone" to present to town meeting. That article would include the actual build out design of the entire center in a concept plan. The firm chosen to do the design could be a joint selection by the town and Mr. Murray. The team representing the town could include the town administrator, town planner, town meeting and the historical society to name a few.
Some might argue that the town should not be involved in the development business or that we can't afford to fund such an endeavor. We can't afford not to! The payback in increased values of and tax revenue from a redeveloped town center would more than justify the investment.
This is essentially a once in a lifetime opportunity for the town. Although still a reasonably young man by today's standards Mr. Murray, like the rest of us is not getting any younger! It is an enormous benefit to the town to be able to conclude a development design and implementation schedule with a single decision maker who can speak solely for such a vital area of the town. The impact of such a plan would be an aesthetically pleasing and financially viable town center, which would be the envy of suburban communities for the next 100 years.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
More clashes to come
I once attended a business function at which the leader of the largest medical facility in the region began his speech with a joke about Bill Clinton and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Needless to say the joke was the product of a man with very poor judgment and a complete lack of religious sensitivity. Interestingly enough the crowd gave him a few nervous laughs and a tepid dose of applause when he concluded his remarks. The after dinner talk was mostly about how anyone that stupid could be the leader of a large institution. No one however talked about burning down his buildings or murdering him in the street.
The stark differences between other world cultures and the culture of Islam is rapidly coming to a boiling point. Unfortunately we are far away from the ultimate turning point that will ease tensions. September 11th, Afghanistan, Iraq and the cartoon affair are only harbingers of things to come.
In an article and subsequent book titled The Clash of Civilizations http://www.alamut.com/subj/economics/misc/clash.html by Samuel P. Huntington, the Eaton Professor of the Science of Government and Director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University argues the following;
"It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural." Written in 1993, the article views the future in a post Cold War, post Soviet Union break up environment.
"This is not to advocate the desirability of conflicts between civilizations. It is to set forth descriptive hypotheses as to what the future may be like. If these are plausible hypotheses, however, it is necessary to consider their implications for Western policy. These implications should be divided between short-term advantage and long- term accommodation. In the short term it is clearly in the interest of the West to promote greater cooperation and unity within its own civilization, particularly between its European and North American components; to incorporate into the West societies in Eastern Europe and Latin America whose cultures are close to those of the West; to promote and maintain cooperative relations with Russia and Japan; to prevent escalation of local inter-civilization conflicts into major inter-civilization wars; to limit the expansion of the military strength of Confucian and Islamic states; to moderate the reduction of Western military capabilities and maintain military superiority in East and Southwest Asia; to exploit differences and conflicts among Confucian and Islamic states; to support in other civilizations groups sympathetic to Western values and interests; to strengthen international institutions that reflect and legitimate Western interests and values and to promote the involvement of non-Western states in those institutions."
Professor Huntington it seems was prescient in terms of identifying the boundaries of conflict now and in the future and has laid out a strategy for the West to deal with it. Up until this point it has mainly been the United States leading the way in trying to buffer rising Islamic militancy. This has resulted in much outrage at home and abroad regarding the American neo conservatives policies against Afghanistan, Iraq and Al Qaeda. It is increasingly apparent however that this militancy exists along all the borders of the civilizations that Islam shares.
Europe which has long been loath to confront the issue and is now faced with it in its full fury. It began with a solitary murder of the Van Gogh, spread to the French riots, the election of Hamas in Palestine, the Danish cartoon riots and will soon culminate in the Iranian nuclear crisis. With Jacques Chirac recently threatening a French nuclear response to any threat of attack, you know that Europe is beginning to take these matters seriously. India and Russia have long been involved in deadly conflict with Islam along its cultural fault line.
None of this will be lost on the American voting public. With Europe now beginning to tow a much harder line, will the Democratic party shift as well? One indication of a reluctance on the part of the Left to confront Islam in any way is the near complete embargo on support for the Danish press in the U.S. All over Europe newspapers printed the offending cartoon's in a show of support for free speech. So far in the U.S. the cartoons have been printed in one major daily. If the Democrats do not move to the center on the issue of confronting militant Islam then there is going to be further damage to the party in the mid terms.
The stark differences between other world cultures and the culture of Islam is rapidly coming to a boiling point. Unfortunately we are far away from the ultimate turning point that will ease tensions. September 11th, Afghanistan, Iraq and the cartoon affair are only harbingers of things to come.
In an article and subsequent book titled The Clash of Civilizations http://www.alamut.com/subj/economics/misc/clash.html by Samuel P. Huntington, the Eaton Professor of the Science of Government and Director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University argues the following;
"It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural." Written in 1993, the article views the future in a post Cold War, post Soviet Union break up environment.
"This is not to advocate the desirability of conflicts between civilizations. It is to set forth descriptive hypotheses as to what the future may be like. If these are plausible hypotheses, however, it is necessary to consider their implications for Western policy. These implications should be divided between short-term advantage and long- term accommodation. In the short term it is clearly in the interest of the West to promote greater cooperation and unity within its own civilization, particularly between its European and North American components; to incorporate into the West societies in Eastern Europe and Latin America whose cultures are close to those of the West; to promote and maintain cooperative relations with Russia and Japan; to prevent escalation of local inter-civilization conflicts into major inter-civilization wars; to limit the expansion of the military strength of Confucian and Islamic states; to moderate the reduction of Western military capabilities and maintain military superiority in East and Southwest Asia; to exploit differences and conflicts among Confucian and Islamic states; to support in other civilizations groups sympathetic to Western values and interests; to strengthen international institutions that reflect and legitimate Western interests and values and to promote the involvement of non-Western states in those institutions."
Professor Huntington it seems was prescient in terms of identifying the boundaries of conflict now and in the future and has laid out a strategy for the West to deal with it. Up until this point it has mainly been the United States leading the way in trying to buffer rising Islamic militancy. This has resulted in much outrage at home and abroad regarding the American neo conservatives policies against Afghanistan, Iraq and Al Qaeda. It is increasingly apparent however that this militancy exists along all the borders of the civilizations that Islam shares.
Europe which has long been loath to confront the issue and is now faced with it in its full fury. It began with a solitary murder of the Van Gogh, spread to the French riots, the election of Hamas in Palestine, the Danish cartoon riots and will soon culminate in the Iranian nuclear crisis. With Jacques Chirac recently threatening a French nuclear response to any threat of attack, you know that Europe is beginning to take these matters seriously. India and Russia have long been involved in deadly conflict with Islam along its cultural fault line.
None of this will be lost on the American voting public. With Europe now beginning to tow a much harder line, will the Democratic party shift as well? One indication of a reluctance on the part of the Left to confront Islam in any way is the near complete embargo on support for the Danish press in the U.S. All over Europe newspapers printed the offending cartoon's in a show of support for free speech. So far in the U.S. the cartoons have been printed in one major daily. If the Democrats do not move to the center on the issue of confronting militant Islam then there is going to be further damage to the party in the mid terms.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Intrepid reporting
On the same day that the Boston Globe accidently released personal credit card information on half of its subscribers and on the same day that the prohibitive Democratic Party gubernatorial favorite was humiliated by his would be running mate, Steve Bailey of the business section of the Globe found a real issue to report on. In this incisive and hard hitting report Bailey checks in from Florida on a junket taken by the Middlesex retirement board trustees to a conference on investment strategies. A conference that they paid for themselves and apparently took vacation time of their own as well. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/02/01/key_west_academy/
The second paragraph includes this line "Three years ago the system lost $37 million, or 7 percent of the fund, betting wrong in the risky world of currency trading." Unfortunately the truth suffers here a bit as he fails to mention that this loss appears to be the subject of an on going law suit against the firm responsible for custody of those funds.
Apparently a fellow by the name of Kneafsey was committing fraud or embezzlement in the currency trading and was reporting fraudulent balances to a custodial bank who apparently was verifying the amount of funds by only looking at the statements Kneafsey was preparing. The custodian could be excused for such incompetence if they weren't under contract for the express purpose of independently verifying balances. The custodians conduct bears even more scrutiny when taking into consideration that Kneafsey, sources tell me, was clearing those trades through another division of the custodians company. Since the custodian appears to have been making significant commissions on these currencies trades, they had to know the status of those trades in terms of profit and loss because they would be settling currency trades on a daily basis. If he took a 20 million dollar loss on trades you can bet that the compliance officer on that trading desk knew it. Mr. Kneafsey's untimely death apparently brought the scheme to an end.
Mr Bailey also fails to mention that the MBTA pension fund may have lost lost even MORE than Middlesex in this fraud and from what I understand they are unable to pursue the losses in court because of an agreement they had with their custodian. Why hasn't he pursued a story on Kneafsey's company? Who was he? How did he amass such a large amount of money under management? Who was clearing all his trades and what measures were they taking to assure suitability? What action has the attorney general taken against his estate? Did he embezzle the money or lose it? What is the SEC doing about it?
Junkets are a nice topic for a newspaper column but massive fraud , embezzlement and mis and malfeasance are what good books are made of. Perhaps Mr. Bailey could start looking a little deeper into this story and save the low hanging fruit for one of the cub reporters at the Globe. Or perhaps there is another agenda here relative to who wants ultimate control of these funds or who wants to rise in status at PERAC, the over sight body responsible for state and municipal pension funds?
In fairness to Mr. Bailey he did write on the subject previously but again only to criticize the Middlesex Board. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/01/13/clueless_in_billerica/
The perpetrator of the crime is mentioned in passing but Bailey seems to place the blame for a crime on the victim. No where in this piece or others does Mr. Bailey examine how a crime like this could have been committed against Middlesex and the MBTA nor does he explain how the over sight at the state level might have prevented it.
The second paragraph includes this line "Three years ago the system lost $37 million, or 7 percent of the fund, betting wrong in the risky world of currency trading." Unfortunately the truth suffers here a bit as he fails to mention that this loss appears to be the subject of an on going law suit against the firm responsible for custody of those funds.
Apparently a fellow by the name of Kneafsey was committing fraud or embezzlement in the currency trading and was reporting fraudulent balances to a custodial bank who apparently was verifying the amount of funds by only looking at the statements Kneafsey was preparing. The custodian could be excused for such incompetence if they weren't under contract for the express purpose of independently verifying balances. The custodians conduct bears even more scrutiny when taking into consideration that Kneafsey, sources tell me, was clearing those trades through another division of the custodians company. Since the custodian appears to have been making significant commissions on these currencies trades, they had to know the status of those trades in terms of profit and loss because they would be settling currency trades on a daily basis. If he took a 20 million dollar loss on trades you can bet that the compliance officer on that trading desk knew it. Mr. Kneafsey's untimely death apparently brought the scheme to an end.
Mr Bailey also fails to mention that the MBTA pension fund may have lost lost even MORE than Middlesex in this fraud and from what I understand they are unable to pursue the losses in court because of an agreement they had with their custodian. Why hasn't he pursued a story on Kneafsey's company? Who was he? How did he amass such a large amount of money under management? Who was clearing all his trades and what measures were they taking to assure suitability? What action has the attorney general taken against his estate? Did he embezzle the money or lose it? What is the SEC doing about it?
Junkets are a nice topic for a newspaper column but massive fraud , embezzlement and mis and malfeasance are what good books are made of. Perhaps Mr. Bailey could start looking a little deeper into this story and save the low hanging fruit for one of the cub reporters at the Globe. Or perhaps there is another agenda here relative to who wants ultimate control of these funds or who wants to rise in status at PERAC, the over sight body responsible for state and municipal pension funds?
In fairness to Mr. Bailey he did write on the subject previously but again only to criticize the Middlesex Board. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/01/13/clueless_in_billerica/
The perpetrator of the crime is mentioned in passing but Bailey seems to place the blame for a crime on the victim. No where in this piece or others does Mr. Bailey examine how a crime like this could have been committed against Middlesex and the MBTA nor does he explain how the over sight at the state level might have prevented it.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Buy Danish
No not pastry with your coffee, buy Danish goods. If there are two things Americans love it is the under dog and satire. Both are on display in the case of the Danes. A while back a Danish publication had the temerity to publish several cartoons which were offensive to Muslims. Complete coverage of the controversy can be read herehttp://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5211
Thomas Lifson, editor of the AmericanThinker.com makes an excellent case about Danish courage in history and why we should be supporting an effort to off set any damage being done to their economy as a result of any boycotts in progress over this issue.
Although I find attacks on a persons religious beliefs to be offensive, I find that making anything off limits to satire and humor no matter how poorly conceived to be far more dangerous than hurt feelings. No god or icon or belief of any sort should be shielded from discussion, exploration, criticism or even ridicule. If blasphemy is a really bad thing let God handle it, in the mean time any advocate of free speech should demand protection for those who engage in it.
Thomas Lifson, editor of the AmericanThinker.com makes an excellent case about Danish courage in history and why we should be supporting an effort to off set any damage being done to their economy as a result of any boycotts in progress over this issue.
Although I find attacks on a persons religious beliefs to be offensive, I find that making anything off limits to satire and humor no matter how poorly conceived to be far more dangerous than hurt feelings. No god or icon or belief of any sort should be shielded from discussion, exploration, criticism or even ridicule. If blasphemy is a really bad thing let God handle it, in the mean time any advocate of free speech should demand protection for those who engage in it.
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