Left In Lowell

Less than a week after the Attorney General’s office ruled that the University of Massachusetts, Lowell “violated public bidding laws” when it awarded a $20 million residential hall construction contract to a group of local developers, the University has decided to terminate the lease with Brasi Development.

The Sun has a front-page, headline article written by Matt Murphy which covers the details. There are no winners here.

The “strongly worded” criticism of AG’s office and Coakley herself by University officials and others is not going to help Brasi, who have already spent a considerable amount of money in construction or the students who are badly in need of campus housing.

I am still surprised that the University did not do its homework and take every precaution that this process was flawless. Was John Kendrick, President and CEO of Academic Village, (the group whose bid was not considered) taken seriously when he publically announced, in early July, that he was taking his challenge to the AG’s office.

As for the AG, according to the Globe, she issued a statement which reads in part “public construction bidding laws … require public agencies to follow a fair and open process and to meet certain requirements for the construction of public buildings. We urge all public agencies to contact the Attorney General’s Office for advice before they enter into agreements that might implicate the public construction bidding laws.”

Well there you have it. Why didn’t the University seek the AG’s office advice?

It is still not clear what’s and if the bidding process will be reopened. That would seem the logical step. So the housing shortage will not get resolved by August 2009 as originally planned by the University but now it is postponed another semester and maybe even another academic year.

A good friend of mine brought to my attention the contrast in the coverage in the Globe and the Sun on a recent announcement from the Naval Department.

In case you were not paying attention, last month the Navy told Congress that it will not order another Zumwalt-class destroyer and instead order a different class of ships. Now why should you care? Well for one thing, the Zumwat-class destroyers cost anywhere from $2 – 5 billion to built and maintain. Yes, I wrote billions.

And why did the Navy change their mind; because “under intense pressure from New England lawmakers concerned about jobs” at Bath Iron Works (a General Dynamics Co.) in Maine and Mass-based Raytheon and by extension profit for those two major defense contractors.

According to the papers, there are about 7,000 workers that could be affected by this contract. So at, let’s say at the cost of $3 billion, that comes out to about $400,00/person.

The Sun focused on the impact on the Navy’s decision process and the Globe focused on “how troubled weapon systems almost always survive if they have powerful lawmakers on their side.” One thing is clear from both stories, the Navy lets Congress push it around.

Hopefully my voice holds out…anyway, our special guest tomorrow is Suzz Cromwell, who is working on the Massachusetts Poetry Festival being held in Lowell from October 10 through 12. I am really looking forward to learning more about this upcoming event, and I hope you join us! You can listen from 10-11am on WUML 91.5FM, or stream it live.

It can’t be coincidence that I posted a brainstorm thread on what business people think downtown could use, and City Manager Bernie Lynch posts one talking about Downtown revitalization, can it?

In any case, you should go read the post, and if so inclined, continue the discussion there too!

Because I am lazy, and Blue Mass Group always gets there first. Heh.

So the Patrick administration pressured Grabauskas to back down on the raises for MBTA managers. Though on surface this is a good thing (and it appears to be a 9% raise, though it’s really a 3% raise over three years), I wonder.

I mean, the MBTA has been royally screwing up lately, partly due to mismanagement. The service is degrading. It’s in the red (thanks in part to its becoming “autonomous” from the state in that convoluted way). It’s struggling to pay its bills and its debt, and there’s talk of fare increases (though, who can blame anyone with gas prices, even with recent trends?). So, asking for the managers of the MBTA to get raises seems a bit much.

But if you think moral is dismal at the T these days, wait til this sinks in. In the private sector, a 3% raise (which appears to barely, if ever, keep up with inflation) is pretty standard. These are people who, Ryan says, have not gotten a raise in three years.

Oh yes, service is only going to get worse before it gets better - and there will be few smiles left now from employees for subway and bus passengers. The T needs a structural overhaul, and it starts with finally admitting that the best T is a subsidized T. Once upon a time, our fares were so affordable (the best in the nation) that lots of people swore by the T. It is in our best interests to get people to use public transit, reducing congestion (and therefore road repair costs), pollution (health care costs) and increasing the amount of business which can be done in our very crowded metro Boston area. Not to mention affordablity (can you afford to park daily in downtown Boston?)

Let’s just hope this move is followed by the drastic steps needed to control the downward spiral that is the MBTA. And if Grabauskas’s to blame, let’s remove him, but if we’re scapegoating and ignoring the hard truths, then we need a better direction. Governor Patrick? Let’s hear your alternative!

Edit: Remember “forward funding“? It ain’t working, folks. It was obvious from the start that it wouldn’t.

I was meandering downtown this morning as I am now wont to do for various errands, and wound up on Middle Street on my way back to my studio. As it happened the doors of that new bar and grill, still in the process of being redecorated, were open and I poked my nosy head inside, curious. It looks like it’s coming along and then we will have yet another restaurant of yet another type (the variety of food we have now is amazing) in downtown Lowell.

It got me to thinking, all right, it looks like we’ve really reached the saturation point of restaurants downtown. Any more, and it’s likely that the competition for diners will start to slow down the revenue streams for everyone (especially with that pesky not-open-on-Sunday problem - ug). Enough restaurants already! Not that I don’t gastronomically appreciate all the great choice downtown (though my wallet and I have had several disagreements) but too much of a good thing is, well, obesity. In more ways than one.

This afternoon, Mr. Lynne and I ended up in Frankie’s new clothing store Humanity (gads, I wish I hadn’t had those disputes with my wallet! because the wallet won) and chatting with her for a bit. It’s a classy sort of store with great clothing in several price ranges. Me likey. Even if Wallet said no for right now. Wallet is the boss, what Wallet says goes. But I digress…

Anyway, the purpose of this post, and really, your contribution to this post, is to brainstorm WWYSD. No, not Where Would Yoda Seek Dagobah. But… Where Would You Shop Downtown?

With the upcoming JAM and Hamilton districts being planned and downtown destined to expand into a wider, woollier world, it occurs to me that in order to be successful, downtown has got to be more than restaurants and coffee shops. Again, not that I don’t love our epicurious selection, but a thriving downtown needs to keep customers there long after the Saturday lunch break to shop at its probably unique and diverse businesses.

We have some clothing stores…a couple of classy ones (like Humanity) and plenty of bling-sort of teen stores. We have one great formal dress shop. There are a couple of nice gift stores, and plenty of medical offices. A travel office and probably too many wireless stores. So what are we missing? Where would you, loyal readers, want to spend your cash once you fight it out with your boss Wallet?

David lays it out - though the supporters of both US Senate primary candidates, O’Reilly and Kerry, have not been without ridiculous commentary in the debate about debates on Blue Mass Group, enough is freaking enough.

Kerry must debate his legitimate primary opponent or else be labeled a political “chicken.”

Now, I know strategically, it often behooves an incumbent not to acknowledge or give their opponent a platform to gain any points with voters. I get that. However, that doesn’t make it right, or very little-d democratic. Senator Kerry will score more points for having a fair debate than he would lose if O’Reilly cleans his clock (an unlikely scenario as Kerry is not an unseasoned or poor debater). However, Kerry is, rightly or wrongly, very much perceived as out of touch and not very responsive to constituents. By refusing to debate, he only enforces that image.

I am officially an undecided voter in this primary. I like O’Reilly personally, but with the missteps in his campaign I’m not sure he’s necessarily ready for prime time. I also like Kerry, I think he is intelligent, and on most issues, most of the time, on the right track. However, I also think he has spent too long without coming back to the voters and asking us for our vote, and telling us why he deserves it.

If Kerry does not debate O’Reilly, I will be forced to choose, and the incumbent will not like what I have to say about that.

Two Lowell stories of interest in the Sun today (is the Sun updating their site earlier than they used to? I know the Stoklosa story is on today’s front page, I saw the paper when I went into Brew’d for breakfast).

The first is that Lowell and the architect for the Stoklosa School, Drummey Rosane Anderson, settled on payment regarding the mismanagement.

By the way, the story is by Matt Murphy, who tells us that the audit report that the city had prepared for its potential legal needs, about which the Sun roared for the last year needed to be released (which would have jeopardized our legal case), will be released once it has been reviewed to be sure it doesn’t hurt the new settlement. Murphy: “The Sun has been seeking a copy of that report for months, but the document has been withheld by city officials because of the ongoing legal dispute.” Thanks, Matt, for that fair and balanced factual sentence regarding the report. Certainly, we can see Murphy is more reasonable than some of his bosses at the Sun who all but called for Lynch’s head (oh wait, they did), and who wasted our time suing (and losing at the state Supreme Court) to get it made public. Despite many people (including this blog) trying to point out the facts to said mistaken people.

And lest we forget, the all-but-admitted alleged reason for the shrill tones from certain editors is that they believed the report exonerated a former CM they are BBFs (Best Best Friends) with.

But we all know why Campanini wants this report public…he even says so right in his editorial in a roundabout way: “According to sources, the report says there was a lack of oversight on the city’s part but no financial hanky-panky.” (As if “lack of oversight” was a good thing?)

And how would they have known what was in that report, since it was only discussed in executive session and it’s illegal for the Councilors to talk about it, to the media or anyone else? Your guess is as good as mine.

Another story talks about the Bridge St shopping center rebuild, which passed the Planning Board unanimously. Any time we can see reinvestment and updating of our tired areas of town, it’s a good thing. Not sure how much we need more big chain stores, but we certainly could use the expanded Market Basket in my opinion anyway.

The project entails razing the 133,100-square-foot Market Basket-owned plaza, which currently includes a 46,000-square-foot grocery store and the long-vacant Ames Department store, to be replaced by a 110,500-square-foot, three-building shopping center.

The main building will be 91,062 square-feet and house an expanded Market Basket, expected to include a bakery and space for three additional commercial tenants. On the front north corner of the 8.9 acre site, on the Dracut border, a 5,200-square-foot retail building will be constructed and on the south front corner of the lot, Walgreens will construct a pharmacy with a drive-through window.

The only reservations expressed by the neighborhood are regards to the green space.

“We like the DeMoulas plan, but we have some reservations,” said Conrad Gauthier of the Centralville Neighborhood Action Group. “We think there could be more green space.”

Gauthier said that 1,600 square feet of grass will be eliminated and replaced by bark mulch.

“We are increasing green space by half an acre,” Lamp said. “Any perception that we are increasing impervious surface is not reality.”

Those details can be worked out. Since this space is already a commercial strip, and currently an “eyesore” as one Planning Board member put it at that, I think this is a good step in the right direction.

Now, where are the plans for the Plain St shopping center? That’s the one that I’m interested in the most! (All politics is local, I guess…)

PS: Still annoyed by the autoplaying video crap on the Sun’s Home page. Can we please, please stop that??

Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts has been invited by our new superintendent to come to this Wednesday’s School Committee meeting to discuss their views on what is good sex ed in our schools. They invite any and all to come and listen to an overview of the middle school program PPLM is offering around the state.

This is a good opportunity to express your support for comprehensive sex ed in Lowell, so if you are interested, the meeting will take place this Wednesday, August 20 at 7pm in the City Council chambers.

Unbelievable. Anyone who says George W. Bush is the Security President ought to have their head examined. Just more proof that it matters who you elect, folks.

(Again, tip o’ the hat to my husband.)