In May the selectmen requested permission from the town meeting to enter into a five year contract for trash pick up. The article passed but the result of that was that they now could exceed the usual three year contracts that state law allows. It did not approve any proposal that was on the table nor did it alter any existing contract or current methodology of how we dispose of trash or recycled materials.
There wasn't exactly a fire storm of criticism but shortly there after, calls started coming into the selectmen as well as town meeting members complaining about the resident not being consulted or involved in such a far reaching change in the current trash policy.
There wasn't a change in policy. I repeat there wasn't a change in the current contract or the way in which we dispose of our trash in town. The reason the board asked to extend the contract was to explore a five year deal that might change the way the town handles trash and recycling.
The five year deal is necessary because of the expense included if the town did adopt a new method. Before entering into a deal that required a commitment in new equipment, a contractor would want a length of time sufficient to amortize the cost of that new investment. The new method that is currently under discussion includes more automation and much more of an effort at recycling.
The automated part of the process is pretty simple. Instead of having your traditional round trash barrels, you would get a standardized 64 gallon container with a rail on either side. This rail or slot on either side would mesh with a fork truck like arm that would extend off the front of the trash compactor truck. The cost savings here is that instead of having two or three men per truck to dump the barrels into the back of the old compactor style truck, the arm would simply lift the container up and dump the container into the top of the new style truck.
The current FYI 2007 trash budget which ends on Monday June 30, was $1,650,000. Fortunately for us tax payers, Burlington is financially sound and does not recover that contract expense through a fee system. The cost of trash pick up is included in the general municipal budget and tax rate.
Let's face it, a million six is a lot of dough and the selectmen should be credited with attempting to find a more efficient and more environmentally friendly way of getting rid of trash. The savings potential under a new plan would be significant. First by reducing the number of people the contractor would need to pick up the trash. The second and third way would involve a more aggressive approach to recycling.
Currently the town is recycling only about 17% of its tonnage. Since roughly 80% of what gets thrown out could be recycled then a hard core effort at increasing our recycling efficiency would result in a higher return on our recycled material as well as a reduced cost in total tipping fees. The tipping fee is the cost per ton that the incinerator charges us when we deliver our trash to them.
Any new way of doing things, particularly one that might take a resident out of a habitual comfort zone will meet some resistance. This is not a radical change. It will only require that instead of mindlessly throwing everything in the trash you throw stuff into another container instead of the trash container. If it is true that we are all more environmentally conscious these days then this should not be much of an inconvenience.
Is there likely to be a few glitches that might have to be worked out in any new system? Will some accomodations have to be made in the number of containers for significantly larger families? Perhaps, but like anything new, those items will be uncovered and fixes made.
Before any of this is implemented, it will go through all the requisite public vetting. There will be hearings and public information meetings as well as mailings and programming on local cable. Inevitably, at the end you will have a few residents that are "appalled" that the town would take these steps without telling anyone.
The bottom line however is that a little inconvenience can result in a significant amount of money being saved in the trash budget. The town's leadership should be applauded for seeking ways to more efficiently use our tax dollars as well as recognizing that our disposable society must make some radical changes.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Obama Goes for the Money
Back in February of 2007 when Barack Obama launched his presidential bid he made a pact with John McCain that if they made the final nominations for their respective parties then they both would stick to the rules and accept public financing. It didn't cost much political capital because I am sure that even in his wildest dreams, Obama couldn't believe he would knock of the presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton.
Well here we are 14 or so months later and Sen. Obama has learned two things. Hillary could be beaten and he is a veritable fund raising monster. Ka-Ching! Once that became apparent then the small issue of the public financing pledge had to be dealt with. So this week in a change that you can definitely believe in, Obama announced that he would break that pledge.
The media enablers helped blunt the damage with such spin as the New York Times exhibited here http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/us/politics/20obama.html?ref=politics . You see it wasn't a lie or hypocrisy it was simply a shift. He had to do it because the system is broken and Republicans are so good "at gaming the system." Of course he was also concerned about outside attacks. If memory serves me correctly those vile Swiftboaters raised about 8 million dollars while the hard core MoveOn.org lefties raised about 80 million dollars with George Soros's backing.
There is nothing wrong or illegal about Mr. Obama's change of heart. The truth of the matter is that he wants to be president and he doesn't care how he wins. He is likely to benefit from a large advantage in fund raising and I don't see any reason why he shouldn't exploit that.
Make no mistake about it however, if you think this guy is going to exhibit some new level of moral or idealistic behaviour in politics you are sadly mistaken. The change Obama believes in is jingling in his pocket.
Well here we are 14 or so months later and Sen. Obama has learned two things. Hillary could be beaten and he is a veritable fund raising monster. Ka-Ching! Once that became apparent then the small issue of the public financing pledge had to be dealt with. So this week in a change that you can definitely believe in, Obama announced that he would break that pledge.
The media enablers helped blunt the damage with such spin as the New York Times exhibited here http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/us/politics/20obama.html?ref=politics . You see it wasn't a lie or hypocrisy it was simply a shift. He had to do it because the system is broken and Republicans are so good "at gaming the system." Of course he was also concerned about outside attacks. If memory serves me correctly those vile Swiftboaters raised about 8 million dollars while the hard core MoveOn.org lefties raised about 80 million dollars with George Soros's backing.
There is nothing wrong or illegal about Mr. Obama's change of heart. The truth of the matter is that he wants to be president and he doesn't care how he wins. He is likely to benefit from a large advantage in fund raising and I don't see any reason why he shouldn't exploit that.
Make no mistake about it however, if you think this guy is going to exhibit some new level of moral or idealistic behaviour in politics you are sadly mistaken. The change Obama believes in is jingling in his pocket.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Sports Heaven
It has almost become an embarrassment of riches. Over the last several years, Boston sports fans have been treated to 3 Super Bowl victories, with in two minutes of a fourth, a 16 and 0 NFL regular season, the Sox winning two World Series, B.C winning the NCAA hockey championship, two no hitters and now as improbable as it may seem, the Boston Celtics are on the verge of winning a 17th NBA Championship.
After finishing the greatest turn around in NBA history, going from 24 wins to 66 wins in a single season, we had reason to be optimistic. The first year of the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen filled the garden every night with raucous fans and great basketball but dare we think of a championship banner?
Certainly the pundits didn't think so after the club struggled by beating Atlanta and Cleveland in seven games. Things started to look up when the Celtics dispatched a very tough Detroit team in six.
In the mean time the prohibitive favorite, Lakers, had knocked off the defending champion Spurs and were waiting to unleash the highest scoring offense in the league on our guys. The pundits started to get a bit nervous when we held the home court advantage by winning the first two games of the series. The Lakers began to swing the edge back their way with a nice effort in game 3.
I was sitting in the living room Thursday in the exact same spot that I had occupied in the afore mentioned big wins in Boston sports history. Call it what you will, superstition or OCB, I never change my spot or my routine when a big game is on the line. The idiotic 9 o'clock starts have affected me this year however.
After watching the Celtics play the worst half of basketball they have submitted all year and trailing by 18 at half time I threw in the towel and headed for the sack. Certainly they would lose, the series would be tied and with the 2-3-2 home away format, the Lakers would be huge favorites in game 5. In game four they were 7 point favorites with the money line at 270 to make 100. Big MO was on their side and the dreams of banner 17 were fading.
Oh me of so little faith! Around 12:30 A.M the phone rings waking me out of a sound sleep. My wife handed me the phone and said it was our son. I knew it could only mean one thing. When I took the phone I simply said, "your kidding me"? No, he said, it was true, they had come all the way back and won the game.
Out of bed I flew to soak up every bit of video highlights and printed word available on the tube and on the net. For the next two hours sleep was impossible, I went over every possession in the game log and the blogs to try and understand how on earth the Los Angeles Lakers could blow a 24 point lead at home in the NBA finals?
Of course there were many reasons, and my top ones are as follows. Paul Pierce is a better player in all facets of the game than we thought. For ten years he has been a great player here trying to carry a not so good team on his back. Given the chance, with a cast around him he is showing even better. He refused to give up.
Ray Allen is a certified stud. At 31 years old, he goes the full 48 minutes in the biggest game of his life, drops in 19, grabs 9 boards and does yeoman defensive work on Kobe.
Kevin Garnett is the consummate team player. In the NBA, a player of Garnett's caliber could demand the ball every time down the floor, take his shots and loaf back on defense and make 17 million dollars a year. He won't do it, his effort on every play on offense or defense is made like his life depends on it.
The game balls have to go to Doc Rivers, James Posey and of all people Eddie House. With 6 minutes to go in the third quarter and Rajon Rondo limping and Kendrick Perkins with an injured shoulder, Doc substituted James and Eddie. According to Doc he wanted to "space the floor and prevent the Lakers from doubling Garnett."
Pat Riley said that when we got Posey we would "enjoy seeing him knock down threes in the playoffs." Sure enough, James knocked down four and finished the night with 18 points.
Then there is Eddie House. Eddie is with is 8th team in his 8 years in the NBA. In 2005 he played for 3 teams in one year. Eddie is a shooting guard in a point guards body. At 6 feet 1 inch tall , it is amazing that Eddie is even in the NBA. He put in a solid year for the Celtics as a bench player averaging 19 minutes and 7.5 point per game. However, when the Celtics acquired Sam Cassell as point guard insurance late in the season, Eddie's role diminished to the point where in the playoffs he has had some did not plays. Well, there should be no doubt that Eddie is a pros pro.
He has been quoted as saying what ever the circumstances he would be ready if called and Thursday he was ready. Eddie played 24 minutes and dropped in 11 points all of which came when needed. Of all the big stars on the court, Eddie had the best plus minus ratio finishing at plus 18.
It is not over as Coach Jackson has said but it should be noted that a club has never blown a 3 to 1 lead in the NBA finals. That being said, it is difficult to imagine that this club, with this kind of desire could be the first to lose three in a row. We are very close to number 17. Go Celtics, and you can bet I won't be going to bed early.
After finishing the greatest turn around in NBA history, going from 24 wins to 66 wins in a single season, we had reason to be optimistic. The first year of the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen filled the garden every night with raucous fans and great basketball but dare we think of a championship banner?
Certainly the pundits didn't think so after the club struggled by beating Atlanta and Cleveland in seven games. Things started to look up when the Celtics dispatched a very tough Detroit team in six.
In the mean time the prohibitive favorite, Lakers, had knocked off the defending champion Spurs and were waiting to unleash the highest scoring offense in the league on our guys. The pundits started to get a bit nervous when we held the home court advantage by winning the first two games of the series. The Lakers began to swing the edge back their way with a nice effort in game 3.
I was sitting in the living room Thursday in the exact same spot that I had occupied in the afore mentioned big wins in Boston sports history. Call it what you will, superstition or OCB, I never change my spot or my routine when a big game is on the line. The idiotic 9 o'clock starts have affected me this year however.
After watching the Celtics play the worst half of basketball they have submitted all year and trailing by 18 at half time I threw in the towel and headed for the sack. Certainly they would lose, the series would be tied and with the 2-3-2 home away format, the Lakers would be huge favorites in game 5. In game four they were 7 point favorites with the money line at 270 to make 100. Big MO was on their side and the dreams of banner 17 were fading.
Oh me of so little faith! Around 12:30 A.M the phone rings waking me out of a sound sleep. My wife handed me the phone and said it was our son. I knew it could only mean one thing. When I took the phone I simply said, "your kidding me"? No, he said, it was true, they had come all the way back and won the game.
Out of bed I flew to soak up every bit of video highlights and printed word available on the tube and on the net. For the next two hours sleep was impossible, I went over every possession in the game log and the blogs to try and understand how on earth the Los Angeles Lakers could blow a 24 point lead at home in the NBA finals?
Of course there were many reasons, and my top ones are as follows. Paul Pierce is a better player in all facets of the game than we thought. For ten years he has been a great player here trying to carry a not so good team on his back. Given the chance, with a cast around him he is showing even better. He refused to give up.
Ray Allen is a certified stud. At 31 years old, he goes the full 48 minutes in the biggest game of his life, drops in 19, grabs 9 boards and does yeoman defensive work on Kobe.
Kevin Garnett is the consummate team player. In the NBA, a player of Garnett's caliber could demand the ball every time down the floor, take his shots and loaf back on defense and make 17 million dollars a year. He won't do it, his effort on every play on offense or defense is made like his life depends on it.
The game balls have to go to Doc Rivers, James Posey and of all people Eddie House. With 6 minutes to go in the third quarter and Rajon Rondo limping and Kendrick Perkins with an injured shoulder, Doc substituted James and Eddie. According to Doc he wanted to "space the floor and prevent the Lakers from doubling Garnett."
Pat Riley said that when we got Posey we would "enjoy seeing him knock down threes in the playoffs." Sure enough, James knocked down four and finished the night with 18 points.
Then there is Eddie House. Eddie is with is 8th team in his 8 years in the NBA. In 2005 he played for 3 teams in one year. Eddie is a shooting guard in a point guards body. At 6 feet 1 inch tall , it is amazing that Eddie is even in the NBA. He put in a solid year for the Celtics as a bench player averaging 19 minutes and 7.5 point per game. However, when the Celtics acquired Sam Cassell as point guard insurance late in the season, Eddie's role diminished to the point where in the playoffs he has had some did not plays. Well, there should be no doubt that Eddie is a pros pro.
He has been quoted as saying what ever the circumstances he would be ready if called and Thursday he was ready. Eddie played 24 minutes and dropped in 11 points all of which came when needed. Of all the big stars on the court, Eddie had the best plus minus ratio finishing at plus 18.
It is not over as Coach Jackson has said but it should be noted that a club has never blown a 3 to 1 lead in the NBA finals. That being said, it is difficult to imagine that this club, with this kind of desire could be the first to lose three in a row. We are very close to number 17. Go Celtics, and you can bet I won't be going to bed early.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Marzilli Meltdown
The news this week regarding State Senator James Marzilli was bizarre to say the least. If we look back in hind sight however it should come as no surprise and perhaps might have been prevented with a just a bit more diligence on the part of law enforcement.
Marzilli's political career came to an end this week in Lowell when he was seen sexually groping a woman at a bus stop. Onlookers called the cops and when Marzilli was confronted he first gave his name as that of a state house colleague and then bolted. The ensuing chase resulted in Marzilli being cuffed and brought to the Lowell police station.
It wasn't long after the incident hit the news that reports came in that other women were coming forward with similar stories of alleged predator type behavior by Marzilli.
This didn't come as a shock to some people because as you might recall, Marzilli was accused of this type of conduct by a woman in Arlington just last month who came forward to file a complaint. Her allegation was that after being given a ride home from a political event, he exhibited the same type of unwanted sexual attention toward her.
It was reported that when the cops went to Marzilli's home to question him he did not come to the door although it has been rumored that he was home with the lights out. Around the same time that these allegations were made a woman in Boston came forward with the same type of story. Going forward Marzilli refused to comment on the allegations
Despite having the beginnings of a pattern of aberrant behavior Middlesex County D.A. Gerard Leone failed to prosecute saying that "there wasn't evidence beyond a reasonable doubt" to convict Marzilli. Since when is a politically ambitious prosecutor concerned about evidence beyond a reasonable doubt? That is not a standard by which indictments are made. That is the standard that juries use in determining innocence or guilt. Did Senator Marzilli's status impact Leone's decision?
Not only did Marzilli get a pass from the D.A.'s office, we might wonder if his home town chief was some what sympathetic to his plight. In a Boston Globe article http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/05/14/senator_marzilli_wont_face_charges_in_alleged_assault/
it was reported that the victim was contacted by the defendants private investigator. The article says, Attorney Murphy, who represented the woman , said that after the incident, someone acting on behalf of Marzilli contacted the woman and asked her "what she would like to make the case go away." The person offered an apology and whatever else might "make you feel better," which the woman took to mean money, Murphy said.
"The victim, to her credit, rejected the offer and reported it to police," Murphy said.
Arlington's police chief, Frederick Ryan, declined to comment.
Marzilli's attorney, Terrence Kennedy admitted that a private investigator hired by his office contacted the woman twice but did not offer her money. "She absolutely, positively was not offered anything," Kennedy said, calling the suggestion "nothing but a boldface lie. Period."
Marzilli, acting on Kennedy's advice, refused to be interviewed by investigators. Kennedy called the tactic "criminal law 101" and said he tells all his clients not to submit to police interviews.
Although Police Chief Ryan had no comment regarding the complaint that the woman had been contacted by the defendant's investigator he had this to say about Marzilli's sudden tight lips, "It's commonplace for targets of criminal investigation to invoke their rights, and that did not inhibit our ability to conduct a thorough investigation," Ryan said.
The subsequent events and further revelations about Marzilli's predatory behaviour call into question just how thorough Chief Ryan and District Attorney Leone were in the investigation. It is also rather note worthy that Marzilli has been a darling of the most liberal of our friends and neighbors. Was the the senator given a pass by the PC crowd? Where was the outrage over his actions?
Do you think John Q.Public would have gotten the same consideration?
Marzilli's political career came to an end this week in Lowell when he was seen sexually groping a woman at a bus stop. Onlookers called the cops and when Marzilli was confronted he first gave his name as that of a state house colleague and then bolted. The ensuing chase resulted in Marzilli being cuffed and brought to the Lowell police station.
It wasn't long after the incident hit the news that reports came in that other women were coming forward with similar stories of alleged predator type behavior by Marzilli.
This didn't come as a shock to some people because as you might recall, Marzilli was accused of this type of conduct by a woman in Arlington just last month who came forward to file a complaint. Her allegation was that after being given a ride home from a political event, he exhibited the same type of unwanted sexual attention toward her.
It was reported that when the cops went to Marzilli's home to question him he did not come to the door although it has been rumored that he was home with the lights out. Around the same time that these allegations were made a woman in Boston came forward with the same type of story. Going forward Marzilli refused to comment on the allegations
Despite having the beginnings of a pattern of aberrant behavior Middlesex County D.A. Gerard Leone failed to prosecute saying that "there wasn't evidence beyond a reasonable doubt" to convict Marzilli. Since when is a politically ambitious prosecutor concerned about evidence beyond a reasonable doubt? That is not a standard by which indictments are made. That is the standard that juries use in determining innocence or guilt. Did Senator Marzilli's status impact Leone's decision?
Not only did Marzilli get a pass from the D.A.'s office, we might wonder if his home town chief was some what sympathetic to his plight. In a Boston Globe article http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/05/14/senator_marzilli_wont_face_charges_in_alleged_assault/
it was reported that the victim was contacted by the defendants private investigator. The article says, Attorney Murphy, who represented the woman , said that after the incident, someone acting on behalf of Marzilli contacted the woman and asked her "what she would like to make the case go away." The person offered an apology and whatever else might "make you feel better," which the woman took to mean money, Murphy said.
"The victim, to her credit, rejected the offer and reported it to police," Murphy said.
Arlington's police chief, Frederick Ryan, declined to comment.
Marzilli's attorney, Terrence Kennedy admitted that a private investigator hired by his office contacted the woman twice but did not offer her money. "She absolutely, positively was not offered anything," Kennedy said, calling the suggestion "nothing but a boldface lie. Period."
Marzilli, acting on Kennedy's advice, refused to be interviewed by investigators. Kennedy called the tactic "criminal law 101" and said he tells all his clients not to submit to police interviews.
Although Police Chief Ryan had no comment regarding the complaint that the woman had been contacted by the defendant's investigator he had this to say about Marzilli's sudden tight lips, "It's commonplace for targets of criminal investigation to invoke their rights, and that did not inhibit our ability to conduct a thorough investigation," Ryan said.
The subsequent events and further revelations about Marzilli's predatory behaviour call into question just how thorough Chief Ryan and District Attorney Leone were in the investigation. It is also rather note worthy that Marzilli has been a darling of the most liberal of our friends and neighbors. Was the the senator given a pass by the PC crowd? Where was the outrage over his actions?
Do you think John Q.Public would have gotten the same consideration?
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