Left In Lowell

One of Lowell’s premier painters and my neighbor at Market Mill on Market St (across from The Brush, near the Lowell Historic Visitor’s Center), Kathleen Cammarata of X/O Studios, is having a big open studio event entitled “Celebrating 26 Years of Painting.” The event is happening on Saturday, June 19th, 4 to 7pm. Light refreshments will be served.

Kathleen’s work can be seen at her website here.

I’m a huge fan of her work, which has extensive references to nature while also existing in a very fictional abstract world. Her pieces are textural and many evoke a vast sense of space. I’m fortunate to pass by some of her pieces every day going to my studio, but at this event she will be putting out much of her work for display and sale.

If you are looking for highly collectible work that you can really love, or just want to see this informal retrospective of Kathleen’s work, please consider attending this event!

A pretty hilarious website about divorce, readjustment, and leftover wedding dresses.

Hey, wicked. Excerpts of the official press release:

PATRICK-MURRAY ADMINISTRATION DESIGNATES COMMONWEALTH’S FIRST OFFICIAL “GREEN COMMUNITIES”
35 cities and towns across the state are ranked as clean energy leaders, eligible for municipal renewable power and energy efficiency grants

HOPKINTON – Tuesday, May 25, 2010 – Governor Deval Patrick today designated 35 cities and towns from the Berkshires to Cape Cod as the Commonwealth’s first official “Green Communities” - a status that makes them eligible for $8.1 million in grants for local renewable power and energy efficiency projects. The projects promise to create green jobs and advance both municipal and state clean energy goals.
[…]
The signature program of the landmark Green Communities Act of 2008, the Department of Energy Resources’ (DOER) Green Communities Grant Program uses funding from auctions of carbon emissions permits under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to reward communities that win Green Communities designation by meeting five clean energy benchmarks:

• Adopting local zoning bylaw or ordinance that allows “as-of-right-siting” of renewable energy projects;
• Adopting an expedited permitting process related to the as-of-right facilities;
• Establishing a municipal energy use baseline and a program designed to reduce use by 20 percent within five years;
• Purchasing only fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use, whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable; and
• Requiring all new residential construction over 3,000 square feet and all new commercial and industrial real estate construction to reduce lifecycle energy costs (i.e., adoption of an energy-saving building “stretch code”).

May 14 was the deadline for municipalities to apply for Green Community designation in order to qualify for the first round of $8.1 million in Green Communities grants. Today’s Green Communities designees - Acton, Arlington, Athol, Andover, Becket, Belchertown, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Easthampton, Greenfield, Hamilton, Hanover, Holyoke, Hopkinton, Kingston, Lancaster, Lenox, Lexington, Lincoln, Lowell, Mashpee, Medford, Melrose, Montague, Natick, Newton, Northampton, Palmer, Pittsfield, Salem, Springfield, Sudbury, Tyngsboro, Wenham, and Worcester - have until June 4 to submit applications for grants that will be awarded in late June.

Also pretty knifty:

In addition to grant eligibility, each Green Community designated today will receive a Big Belly solar waste compactor, to be delivered by June 30 in time for the summer parks and beaches season. Purchased with DOER energy efficiency funding, Big Belly compactors can hold several times more trash and litter than similarly sized regular trash receptacles - thereby reducing the number of garbage truck trips required to empty them. Each municipality will also receive a certificate from the Commonwealth congratulating it on becoming an official Green Community.

Congrats Lowell and other upper Merrimack Valley communities for getting the win!

Being a busy week, I thought I’d post a roundup of things I’ve read or heard on statewide races in the last week, since there seems to be plenty of fodder.

No Nice Guy

First up, the despicable personality of Guy Glodis, who is running in the Dem primary for State Auditor. In 2003, he sent around a disgusting, racist (and also, false) screed about Muslims (via BMG):

(Bold mine) Glodis is generating controversy over his decision to distribute what Muslim activists charge was a racist flier to his 39 Senate colleagues. On June 25 [2003], the pol sent out an e-mail with the message, “Thought this might be of interest to you.” To it, he attached a leaflet purporting to tell the story of General “Black Jack” Pershing, a US military man stationed in the Philippines. In 1913, so the story goes, Pershing was combating his own brand of terrorism: “Muslim extremists.” He executed 49 of them with bullets soaked in pig’s blood because Muslims believe, the flier states, “touching a pig … is to be instantly barred from paradise (and those virgins) and doomed to hell.” Then, he buried their bodies in pig entrails — an act that supposedly deterred terrorism for 42 years. The flier closes with this final sentiment: “Maybe it is time for this segment of history to repeat itself, maybe in Iraq? The question, where do we find another Black Jack Pershing?”

Glodis, for his part, seems untroubled by the matter. … Glodis stresses that he never meant to offend anyone. “If I have,” he says, “I regret it.” He received the “news item” — this is what he calls the leaflet because, he says, “It was news to me when I read it” — from a constituent, and he thought he saw the past event’s relevance to today’s war on terrorism. Do we take a passive approach to terrorism? Or do we fight terrorism by the same means?

Nevermind that this whole story is a myth, so Glodis is an idiot as well as a racist jerk. He sent this to his Senate colleagues, folks. What does this say about his judgment and fitness for statewide office?

Many BMG’ers who live in the Worcester area commented that this is pretty par for the course with Glodis. So I say no thanks. (There are two others in the race for Auditor, Susanne Bump and Mike Lake. Right now I am a leaner for Bump.) Is there any hope of keeping Glodis (who, I believe, has some insider support) off the Democratic ballot at our convention in a couple weeks? He is, at best, an embarrassment to our state and our party.

—-

Cahill Peaked Too Soon

Between our friend Charlie “I know no-ting! I see NO-TING!” Baker (who was the guy with the reigns while the state lege and agencies screwed the funding pooch on the Big Dig) and Tim “I used to be a Dem and now am a teabagger” Cahill, this governor’s race has at a minimum shaped up to be entertaining.

BMG has had a ton of stuff on both candidates, but it was the recent article by the Globe (and special sections like this) tracing the cronyism in the Probation Dept that has Cahill backed up against a wall.

Cahill is friends with Probation Commissioner John O’Brien, and hired his wife and daughter. Ruh Roh!

Independent gubernatorial candidate Timothy Cahill said Monday that patronage is a part of politics…

Let that one sink in for a second. Of course, now he is backing down and says we need to do something about the Probation Dept…since it’s become evident that his friendship with now-suspended O’Brien is a bit, well, toxic. Both Baker and Cahill now say we should bring the Probation Dept under the judiciary, explicitly not the executive.

But that’s not how most states do it. Governor Patrick, back in January, sent a bill to Beacon Hill to put oversight of Probation under the Executive branch. (The lege sat on it and it went nowhere. Wonder why?)

In this great Radio Boston interview, UMass Lowell longtime Professor of Criminal Justice James Byrne went into detail on what’s going on, and how other states do it. Professor Byrne tells the audience that the majority of states are actually overseen by the executive, “so the Deval Patrick recommendation was consistent with what’s considered best practice around the country…which is essentially to consolidate corrections organization…into one agency.” He also mentions that a few states are judicially overseen as well, but are the exception to the rule.

Other great quotes from Professor Byrne:

Well…the basic problem you have is one I heard when I came here to Massachusetts, which is, if you want to become a probation officer, you should get involved in a political campaign.

In Massachusetts we’re the only state I’ve seen that is…I would call it a legislative model, because it essentially cuts the judiciary out of hiring and promotion process. It’s not technically, but in terms of practice.

When asked, have these practices of crony hiring had an impact on public safety, Byrne said:

You could make a strong argument that…we do not know about the performance of the Mass probation system and we haven’t known since the days of Don Cochrain, who was big on transparency, and he found using performance measures and publishing performance measures an important part of the system. …Since O’Brien…you won’t find any statistics [on the website], they won’t be in the state system, and you won’t find them in the national reporting…Massachusetts doesn’t report their basic information on the performance of the system.

So Cahill hires his political bud’s wife and daughter, but claims it had nothing to do with that friendship, and O’Brien is caught in an investigative whirlwind on his bad hiring practices, which at first Cahill tries to excuse and doesn’t want to change, then of course changes his mind.

Oh Timmy, we hardly knew ye…

At last week’s City Council meeting, CC Kevin Broderick introduced a motion that requested that the “City Manager report/recommend on adding alternates to additional City Boards.”

Perhaps the CM can use this motion and the approval of the full CC to enhance the pool of candidates. A couple of months ago, CC F. Descoteaux “Requested the Manager Provide a Comprehensive List of City Boards/Commissions & Details Procedure for Appointing New Members.”

The CM provided that list with a full description. The six page memo is still available on line.

In his reply, the CM writes:

The City of Lowell currently has over twenty Board, Commissions and Advisory Bodies charged with performing the critical role of informing the public and its officials about important and complex issues. These bodies provide citizens a valuable opportunity for civic engagement. In turn, they lend they lend their invaluable expertise, interest and knowledge to the function of government. Board and commission vacancies routinely treated in similar fashion to job openings…

Interested applicants are vetted for appropriate qualifications and appointed by the City Manager and approved by the City Council if necessary, however, not all appointments require City Council approval. The specific statutes are referenced on-line. Residents are also encouraged to send in resumes and letters of interest even when there are no immediate vacancies as seats are always opening. It is the goal of this administration provide opportunity for engagement across the broad spectrum of the community. (my emphasis)

And for the most part, the membership of the Boards and Commissions do reflect the City of Lowell. But IMHO the three major boards, the regulatory ones, certainly could use a sprinkling of the “broad spectrum of the community.” The individuals serving on the ZBA, Planning and Licensing Boards are capable and bring some level of knowledge and talent. I find the three chairs to run professional, civil and respectful meetings. Having said all that, we can always improve. So perhaps in the implementation of the “alternate program” we can also begin a recruitment-mentoring campaign so that we have Lowell’s rich diversity reflected in the membership of those three boards.

Ryan has a rundown of all the lies, damned lies, and Bakerisms that have issued forth out of the mouth of this not-ready-for-primetime candidate.

Looking forward to watching Deval Patrick take him down in the debates, because it’s seriously like shooting fish in a barrel.

Just wow. Baker lives in his own little world, devoid of all facts.

Apparently it’s event-posting day. (As opposed to too-busy-to-post day).

Lowell Cultural Council Community Input Meeting
When: On Thursday, June 3rd from 6:30 - 8:00
Where: Mayor’s Reception Room at City Hall
Why: to determine priorities for the upcoming 2011 grant cycle and
answer questions about the grant-writing process for all interested Lowell-community members.
Open to all and wheelchair accessible.

I got the email alert from the Solid Waste and Recycling office - Spring HHW Day tomorrow, Sat. 5/22 from 9 am - 1 pm, Cawley Stadium Parking Lot, enter from Douglas Rd ONLY.

You can also hit their website, and follow the link to watch their 4 minute YouTube video, the HHW Day PSA, which describes what they will take tomorrow and what they will not.

Considering the number of small businesses in Lowell, this event by the city of Lowell which features workshops and networking sounds particularly useful.

May 24th 2010, 9:30 am- 6:00 pm, UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren Street Lowell

Come join the City of Lowell as we celebrate National Small Business Week by recognizing and showing appreciation to the hardworking small business owners of our community, while also having the opportunity to attend educational workshops that will be helpful in successfully operating a small business. The City of Lowell Small Business Week event will also connect you with hundreds of leaders in the small business community that will allow you to walk away with new contacts, innovative ideas, and the right resources that will be beneficial in starting, maintaining, or expanding your small business today!

So this last Tuesday, the small bump in the local option meals tax passed the City Council and will go into effect July 1.

There are obviously the usual gripes about raising a tax in the middle of a recession, and all of this. That of course ignores the facts about the actual tax increase - .75% will not, as many believe, drive those spending money on restaurants to go elsewhere, in order to save $.35 on their $50 meal. Nor does the entirety of the meals tax increase (from 5 to 7% in total) do much harm either. For one thing, driving somewhere else to save the dollar on that same $50 meal is eaten up with the gas money you’d need to get there.

And there is the fact that a meals tax, at least, is not regressive. If you can afford to eat out, it’s because you have disposable income. Eating out is not a necessity (though I suppose if I had to wrangle three kids and a job, maybe I’d think otherwise!), it is in essence a luxury, and therefore far less regressive than the sales tax or property tax.

Now, I’m as progressive and into income redistribution as the next person - hell, I grew up in a state which abhors it, and poor town in NH had to sue the state for its funding mechanisms, in order to afford giving those kids a decent education - but there needs to be a balance with local control of some funding and budgetary control.

Sure, should the .75% meals tax be made law across the state by the state, and then distributed back to the cities in the form of local aid, Lowell would probably make out well in those formulas, as we do in many others. As a city with many living below the poverty line, we likely (and I’d have to check this) pay less into the state than we get back. Richer communities pay more and get back less. That’s how this state remains as strong and prosperous as we are - we make sure there’s a floor under which a town cannot drop, and that means better economies for all. Imagine if our school system funding reflected the average income of our citizens, say compared to Stoneham?

However, sometimes Massachusetts errs on the side of total state control, and that can be a harm to local municipalities who could find better ways to do things if allowed. The current trend, pushed by Governor Patrick, for a little more leeway for cities and towns, is a good one, and I applaud it. After all, a city or town could opt not to increase the meals tax. And would have to adjust its budget accordingly. A city could opt not to fight the unions for an equivalent but cheaper health benefits package, but then again, they would save a lot of money if they could. Since many of the services we pay for with tax money are delivered on the local level, and we ask for a lot from our municipal government, giving them some headroom on budgetary matters, both saving money and generating revenues, can only help the city do better by its residents.

So of course, as anyone would expect, I applaud the local meals option increase, and I will proudly continue to buy my lunches from downtown establishments. I’m far too lazy (or busy, if you want to be nice) to get around to making my own lunches to save myself $.10 or less a day.