Left In Lowell

The Sun Editor, Jim Campanini, has once again failed to disclose a conflict of interest with regards to his role as editor of the Lowell Sun. Par for the course, I suppose, but this one’s a doozy.

A week ago, an editorial appeared in the Sun (we wrote a rebuttal) telling the legislature to consider Gov. Patrick’s plan for casinos in Massachusetts (saying, “Frankly, we see no way out of the state’s fiscal dilemma without engaging in a serious debate on legalized gambling.”). While there’s no evidence Campanini wrote the piece (in fact, it’s too well-reasoned and well-written to be his alone), the Sun’s editor gets the final say about what’s in the paper and the editorial page. So why does the public not know that Mr. Campanini appears to have a major stake in a stable of racers that frequent Suffolk Downs? (We found out thanks to a tip from an alert reader.)

This does, in fact, explain why we give a shit about horse racing at all in the pages of the Lowell Sun. Which could also be a conflict of interest, using the paper to drum up interest in a sport that the lead editor wants to promote for monetary gain, don’t you think? I mean, does the Lawrence Eagle-Trib spend as much time on horse race coverage?

Why does this matter for casinos? Well, Suffolk Downs is having some serious trouble staying open. Suffolk’s answer? They want to add the lucrative lure of slots, and they want it something awful. They can’t do that without Class III gambling made legal by the Governor’s proposal.

There’s just some lovely juicy tidbits showing how involved Mr. Campanini is with the G-Biscuit racing stable on the About part of their website. He is listed as a General Partner on the contact page. Then there is the Part 1 and Part 2 of the “About” page. Let me quote some…(bold mind)

The idea for G-Biscuit Stables didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it began with the “what if” daydreams of three friends, Matt Spencer, Nick Caraganis and Jim Campanini.
[…]
Barry said Delaware would be the place to set up shop for two reasons. It featured larger purses because it had slot machines and there were several other tracks within a 100-mile radius that offered racing.
[…]
The money was now flowing in from Frank’s family and friends, and Jim’s brother and his friends, Nick Narducci and Pat DiMasi, who goy in under the deadline. We had $45 grand in the bank.

Quite an investment.

Most partners have become friends. We plan dinners together, go to Saratoga together, and even play golf together when the weather suits us.

Frank Catapano, Joe Gazzola, Nick Caraganis and myself, Jim Campanini, can often be found in a foursome somewhere at either Orzo Trattoria on Route One in Saugus or in the Carousel, in season, at Saratoga.

Other members, living in Rhode Island, Puerto Rico and New York, remain connected in spirit if not in person. They share in this remarkable story for their unconditional support to the directors, trainer and horse agent.

The group’s initial investment of $43,000 has grown substantially under the auspices of John Rigattieri, our patient and expert trainer, and Barry Roos, our level-headed horse agent, partner and friend.

In using the first person occasionally, it’s obvious that this story of the stable was written by Mr. Campanini himself. Does that sound like the actions of a disinterested and objective journalist? No. It is, however, just one more example of how this editor is ruining his paper with conflicts of interest, whether it’s in politics and protecting his buddies, or in protecting his stake in horse racing.

I do not understand why this man is still leading the editorial team at the Lowell Sun. He’s so plainly not good at the job, and is using the paper for his personal gain besides. To the corporate owners of the Sun, if you’re reading this, you are limiting the profitability of your paper by keeping people like him. I can’t count the number of residents I know who have canceled their Sun subscription in the last two years. I myself refuse to pay for the Sun, and believe me, I would be the first to sign up were Campanini no longer its editor. There are great journalists at the Sun and their talents are being wasted. Mr. Campanini should be let go, and better, more able leadership brought in. Preferably from outside of the Merrimack Valley, if you’re asking for advice.

Amateur alert! So, once again, the Lowell Sun’s website appears to have encountered a major redesign (no doubt an initiative of its parent company). Two seconds into perusing it, I already note two stupid things.

First, if you have Firefox, try hovering over the Job/Cars/Homes/Classifies menu. On my computer, the dropdown menus disappear behind the advertisement below. Come on people, test your damn websites on all the common browsers before going live. (Edit: I think it depends on the ad below. Perhaps it’s doing it to Flash ads only…some refreshes and I can see the menu.) (Edit II: It’s either from a specific ad, or else the first time you load the page…happened in IE6 as well.)

Second, I was looking for the Contact page, with all the info about how to contact people at the Sun, and it (the link to it) appears to be missing, or at least hiding real good.

OK, make it three stupid things. The site still loads slower than molasses in January. I suspect you could really speed things up if you got rid of that totally ridiculous Flash peel-and-puke advertising. Usually, there’s no one even advertising in it (this time, I actually see one, from UMass Lowell Hockey). Ug. Totally lame.

I’ve been given information about a local training for anyone wanting to run as a delegate to the national Democratic convention in Denver in August.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party is hosting Democratic National Convention delegate trainings in conjunction with the Democratic State Committee’s Affirmative Action Outreach committee to explain how to run as a national delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention to be held in Denver, August 25th-28th. All registered Democrats are welcome to attend. This initiative is a part of the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s continued efforts to support diversity and promote opportunities for all members of the Party.

The local training will be held on Saturday, February 23rd, 1:00 to 3:00 P.M. at the Lowell High School Cafeteria.

Those erstwhile Progressive Dems of MA, Chelmsford chapter are holding their monthly meeting on Thursday, February 21, 7PM at the Panera Bread, Drum Hill, Chelmsford.

They invite all area progressives to attend. Though the focus of the group is mostly Chelmsford, that’s largely a product of the makeup of their membership. They will also be discussing local area races, Niki Tsongas, Jamie Eldridge, Katherine Clark and others, as well as their meeting agenda for 2008. You can join Progressive Dems of MA with this form (PDF).

This is very very important, folks! From an email I just got from SaveTheInternet.com:

Comcast, AT&T and Verzion have given us a glimpse of a world without Net Neutrality, and it’s a chilling sight.

In recent months, these cable and phone companies have repeatedly been caught blocking, filtering and spying on your Internet activities. If we let them get away with this, these powerful companies will continue to roll back our freedoms whenever we go online.

Now the Federal Communications Commission is coming to Boston to investigate. Will you attend this important event?

WHAT: A Public Hearing on the Future of the Internet
WHEN: Monday, Feb 25, 2008
TIME: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Harvard Law School, Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall
1515 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
Directions: http://www.law.harvard.edu/about/contact/directions.php/

More information: www.savetheinternet.com/=boston

The question before us is simple: Will we have a closed Internet controlled by a small handful of giant corporations, or an open Internet controlled by the people who use it?

With so much at stake, it’s encouraging that the FCC’s first move is to come to Boston for public feedback about the importance of a free-flowing Internet. Let’s hope this important hearing in Massachusetts is just the beginning of a national conversation that spreads to every town and city across the country.

I’ve gotten a disturbing report of how one of our City Councilors responded to a constituent who expressed to them how upset they were with that councilor regarding their vote against the creation of a city cultural department. And let me tell you, it ain’t pretty.

To the credit of said councilor, they did respond, which is what you’d expect an elected official to do. However, the context of the response can only be described as heavily sarcastic, and almost vaguely threatening (in a political sense, not a dangerous one). The context of the response (which yes, I have seen personally) shows once again the abuse of completely irrelevant information to try and prove an unjustifiable point. It was disturbing to me to read how disconnected this Councilor is from the reality of the choice that was in front of them. Anything and everything is game for use as a justification as to why they voted against it, even if it’s completely off base.

It’s clear that on the cultural office proposal, most of the GOB-bers voted their personal loyalties rather than for what is good for the city. It’s as plain as day; supported by the fact that every other argument against the plan was poorly constructed and easily refuted when brought up in the meeting. The fact they were unwilling to listen to those explanations showed that they had made up their minds to be against the proposal before ever stepping foot into the public hearing or listening to the community. We all know the background, the players, who we’re talking about.

Once, I wrote a piece which I think was a turning point for this blog (I won’t take credit for any turning point in the city but it did coincide). It was the codification of my observations, and those of other people, about this city and how it operates. I still think that to the GOB, there is nothing wrong with how they conduct their business and politics. When you grow up inside a culture, it’s very difficult to see how that culture might be damaging to an open and engaging political process. Or how that exclusivity (government for and by your friends) is a slap in the face of everyone else. However, the biggest hope for this city is that some of them will learn from their mistakes of the past, and that new members of the community will bring a different perspective that can help put up a mirror to the status quo, and eventually even shift that culture.

The alternative is to be stuck in a destructive time warp that will end the progress we’ve so painfully achieved.

Did you know Lowell has a film festival? On April 4th & 5th, there will be a series of documentary and feature films around the subject of globalization and immigration. You can check out what’s going to play on their website, as well as get the details of a film short contest they are holding for local aspiring filmmakers.

Locations vary and a schedule will be forthcoming, but locations vary all over town from the National Park Visitor’s Center, UTEC, the Pollard Library, the Revolving Museum, Boott Mill Museum and the O’Leary Library of UMass Lowell.

I’ve been in touch with a progressive candidate who is running for Jamie’s vacated Rep seat. She is a Lunenburg elected official and I’m looking forward to watching this race. She wanted to send a personal note to the blogs:

I wanted to let the progressive community know early on that I have decided to run for State Representative in the 37th Middlesex District.

I have been a supporter of Jamie Eldridge’s since he first ran in 2002 and I hope to continue his progressive legacy.

I am Chair of the Lunenburg School Committee and have been active in Democratic politics for several years. I have young children in the public schools and I know first hand how hard it has been for cities and towns to continue to provide quality education with dwindling resources. I firmly believe that our children - our future, depends upon high quality education, a clean environment and social equality.

Please get in touch with me at jen@jenbenson.org or check out my website at www.jenbenson.org. I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you,
Jennifer Benson

Her full press release after the flip (more…)

Today LTC’s Personnel Committee meets at 2PM at LTC’s conference room to decide on the job description which will hire the next Director. Why they put it in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day, when this is open to the public and to the membership is beyond me. I have some worries over the behavior of the committee so far. Let’s hope they are actually taking this seriously so as to hire someone who will understand community-building, who will foster the public’s use of LTC, and who will not be a disaster like the previous director.

This meeting is, as mentioned, opened to the public, so if you’re around, and are interested, please come.

Representative Niki Tsongas is hosting her first Town Hall meeting in the district. She will be discussing her recent trip to Iraq, her newly filed withdrawal bill, and other issues that people would like to talk to her about. It will be held on Wednesday, February 20th, 6:30 P.M. at the Acton-Boxborough High School Auditorium.

If you go, you could also ask her about Net Neutrality, or the House’s fight to hold the line against giving big telecom retroactive immunity for illegal spying.