LOWELL — Police are asking the public to help find those who assaulted two men on Middle Street downtown early Saturday morning, sending one of them to a Boston hospital with serious injuries.

About 2:14 a.m., officers patrolling downtown Lowell found two Westminster men assaulted in front of 172 Middle St., according to Lowell Police Superintendent Ken Lavallee. The victims, who are in their early 20s, had just left Village Smokehouse on Middle Street and were walking toward their car parked on the street when they became involved with an altercation with another man, Lavallee said.

One victim was injured so seriously that he was flown to Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston by medical helicopter. He remains in serious condition but is expected to survive, Lavallee said.

The other victim was transported to a local hospital. Lavallee did not know if he has been released from the hospital. Lavallee did not know the victim’s identities Saturday night.
-snip

Now, let’s talk about this guy:

Folks, if you don’t know, the gentleman in the picture is Walter Bayliss, Jr and he is a member of the License Commission.

License Commission

The License Commission adopts rules and regulations for licenses and license activity that address matters of local interst in compliance with the laws of the Commonwealth, and is the local authority for licenses effecting alcoholic beverages, public amusements, common victualler (food), second hand motor vehicles and entertainment. Three (3) members are appointed to a six (6) year term. Diverse political party representation is required. (MGL Ch. 4 s.12) Two (2) year prior residency also required. City Council Confirmation is required. Statute Reference: MGL C.428 Acts 1894; MGL C.138 s.10 .

Let me be clear, it is NOT the fault of Mr. Bayliss that things are getting out of hand, Downtown. However, if you opt to watch the 11 minute segment of the embedded video, below, I think you will begin to wonder aloud, if Mr. Bayliss and his two compatriots are trying hard to be part of the solution.

(1:23:50 - 1:34:40)

The squabble is over a push from the City Manager, or King Bernie to his close pals, to get the License Commission to meet in the evening. At this point, and if Mr. Bayliss has his way, the LC meets at 3 pm. Mr. Bayliss is convinced that he is being treated poorly by the CM and Mayor Murphy. Further, if concerned citizens really want to participate in civics, they will make it a priority. If they can find time to save a tree, they can find time to meet when Mr. Bayliss likes. Mr. Bayliss likes to meet when it is convenient for the bar owners. Which, apparently, is 3 pm.

Why is Mr. Bayliss so firm? From a previous diary:

Commission of Drama Queens, Maybe

“The last people government thinks about is the taxpayer,” Commission Chairman Walter Bayliss said, adding the business owners pay a higher tax rate and should be accommodated.

The commission voted to hold its next meeting Thursday, Jan. 12. Bayliss said if Lynch does not make the Council Chamber available to them, they will meet somewhere else.

“If it’s locked, it’s locked and we’ll hold it in the hallway,” he said. “If the manager wants to put us in the basement, God bless him, it’s his building, we can meet in the broom closet.”

Government sucks! So, intrusive and uncaring about the local businesses. They pay a higher tax rate, y’know! … Isn’t Bayliss part of “government?”?

To get more of a feel for what’s going on Downtown, read these:
What The Hell Is Going On Downtown??
Why the City - and License Commission - Need to Listen

A “Ghost Map” for downtown Lowell?
Video Surveillance for Downtown? (Follow the embedded links on Dick’s blog over to Kad Barma’s site. Kad has a bunch of coverage on what’s going on Downtown.)

It may all be a bit dizzying. So, I’ll attempt to condense it. Businesses that sell booze, make money by the drink. Thus, there is an incentive to overserve patrons. Free flowing liquor to immature patrons is the heart of the problem. Guess who has the juice to get the barkeeps to tighten up their serving discipline? Did you guess the License Commission? I knew you would.

Now, take some time to digest all of this. And, if you are feeling queasy by Friday, take comfort in knowing you can have a nice hot cocoa during the Winterfest. If you are still worried, just ask the polite folks in the big, cozy tent. Y’know what they’ll say?:

Everything is fine. Go shopping!

In the first six months of its existence, the CFPB fielded 13,210 complaints from consumers via its phone line and online submission forms, as well as referrals from other regulators, the report said. Of those complaints, 9,307 were tied to credit cards, with another 2,326 pertaining to mortgages.

On credit cards, billing disputes were the most common complaint, totaling 13.7 percent of responses for that financial product. Under the mortgages category, 38.2 percent of complaints deal with a situation where someone is unable to make their mortgage payment.
…
The team at the CFPB devoted to responding to consumer concerns processes the complaints, and then sends them along to the company that is the subject of the complaint to offer a chance to respond.

So far, a little over half of the complaints received have been settled between the company and the consumer “with relief.” Another 30.6 percent have been settled without a mutually agreed upon remedy, while companies are still reviewing another 11.9 percent.

Remember, this is an agency hobbled by Republicans who prevented Obama from appointing a director until he out of frustration did a recess appointment (arguably, despite the “open session” the Republicans “kept” during the holiday break). It’s an agency which is already somewhat underfunded and under severe attack by Republicans who’d love to totally starve it, if they stay in any sort of power.
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Here’s a personal account of a woman who needed the CFPB’s help, with rave reviews.
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And here is a front-page dkos post outlining how fast Scott Brown is running from his nearly-lockstep Republican voting record. Because, you know, a moment talking to Obama and agreeing with him on politician “insider trading” makes him a total independent/liberal/moderate.

There are two issues here. One is that Scott Brown is running scared from Elizabeth Warren. This is not how it was supposed to play out for Senator 41, the hot new Republican celebrity of the big Republican year of 2010. Massachusetts Democrats were not supposed to be able to find a candidate with a compelling biography, a strong voice on economic issues, exceptional media skills and enormous fundraising ability… But then Elizabeth Warren emerged, and Scott Brown had to start fighting for his political future—and if that means cozying up to Obama, he’ll do it.

Of course, as the post says, the lazy media will probably try to let him get away with that. So we can’t let them do it.

Please, if you can spare some change, donate to Elizabeth Warren via our Lowell for Warren page!!

But this Gin and Tacos blog post (via the dkos “backlash” link above) goes further in dissecting Komen and why you should be boycotting its races and fundraisers, and its products (including this gun):

But you should not have a low opinion of Komen^tm because of their announcement on Wednesday. You should have a low opinion of them because they’re a fake charity run like any other company with a product to sell. In this case the product is a combination of guilt, pity, and hope dissolved in a weak acid and dyed a nauseating pink.

…

And that’s all Komen is – a consulting firm that helps large corporate clients sell more of their products through pinkwashing campaigns. By slathering everything from pasta to baseball bats to perfume to fast food with the Pink Imprimatur, consumers are led to believe that their purchases are making meaningful contributions to breast cancer research. Somewhere down the line a few cents per purchase may trickle into those bloated coffers, but the immediate and motivating effect of that pink packaging is to get you to buy things. In short, Komen^tm is a group of salespeople selling image. Whatever money benefits the sick, researchers, or recovering patients is ancillary. Getting those big, fat tax-exempt checks from their Partners for the Cure^tm is what drives their business model.

The Gin and Tacos post also links to a Marie Claire expose (I know, right?) as background information. Both the post I quoted above, and the Marie Claire article, are well worth a full read. There is a paucity of articles and reporters questioning the very concept of “cause marketing” in general and the breast cancer “pink” campaigns specifically. Like “greenwashing,” “pinkwashing” is a marketing ploy first, a way to make a customer feel good about their purchase and therefore, encourage more buying. The Marie Claire article writes about outfits which provide “pink” branded merchandise that have nothing to do with donating to cancer research, and it’s questionable how much of your purchase of a “good” pink-bedecked item really goes to research. What’s clear is that the proliferation of charities and foundations around the breast cancer awareness and research “movement” have done a lot of enriching of themselves, however, and have become big business.

So next time you are in a store or asked to donate towards or participate in a fundraiser like a race, think before you pink!

Just to add, the last page of the Marie Claire article does outline how to truly support breast cancer research and how to watch out for scam charities. (Sorry, fixed the link!)

The Blog of Record gives two clues:

“This visit confirmed that the LHA and the City will achieve the desired outcome of assuring public safety, compliance of the State Building Code and the issuance of valid Certificates of Occupancy for the renovated units if the plan is followed going forward,” Sullivan wrote.

Oh, there is also this clue:

.

You can read the entire LHA article, written by Lyle Moran, and not find a single quote by C.Elliott. What are the odds?

Note: Some mild swearing.

Awesome.

City Manager Cleans Up Dodge

I’m not sure if Deluca even realizes how correct he is. The City Manager has purged the under the table economy that linked City Hall to less than scrupulous business owners perpetrating bribery, ect. Wake up, folks. You think “cash transaction” management in the Clerk’s office is Lynch’s BIGGEST problem?

There is a reason that the ‘gang that can’t shoot straight’ is falling all over themselves to rid Lowell of Bernie Lynch.

Does this clue you in?:

Feel free to fly over to Never Never Land to discuss this matter. Though, you may come back here to swirl the bowl with me when your pushback to pablum like, “I think Councilor Elliot will place his confidence squarely with City Manager Lynch if he proves its deserved.” gets, …. um …. er …. ah! … recycled. Yes. When your brisk comment gets “recycled,” you can opt to redeem it here.

Even anonymous sockpuppets can troll this Open Thread.

For now….

joe from Lowell Says:
Bud Caulfield is playing with fire. The LPD has spent a decade and a half building up solid relationships with the Cambodian community, as part of its innovative and successful community policing strategy. What’s despicable here is an effort to polarize the city between supporters of Nuon and supporters of the police for cheap political reasons.

So, I’m listening to the replay of City Life, this afternoon, when I heard former Mayor Caulfield describe current Councilor Vesna Nuon, as “despicable.” Maybe he meant that C.Nuon’s actions, standing up for his civil rights, was despicable. I can’t parse that closely, the word was shocking.

I texted a buddy of mine: “Bud called Vesna despicable on City Life” The answer was one word, “Par”

Ensure you watch the whole thing. It’s 5:36 of civic trainwreck.

It amazes me how a former Mayor can speak with such faux authority on a subject that he clearly knows so little about. He speaks with utter disregard for the office from which he came. It was sad to watch. You have to consider this mindset was voting on our City’s business, just over a month ago. *exhale*

As it would happen, Councilor Nuon appeared last week on City Life. His approach to the issue was very conciliatory, looking forward with respect for Lowell’s Police. Don’t believe me. See for yourself, here.

Caulfield finished by summizing that C.Nuon was, “suing the taxpayer.” It just blows my mind that Caulfield could have it so wrong!

Worse yet, he speaks, somehow, for a “raw nerve” that is throbbing in Lowell. Clearly, the remedy is Preparation H.

When three women want to sign on for life with a man who is now running for president, I worry more about whether we’ll be clamoring for a third Gingrich term, not whether we’ll want to let him go after one.

Yes, this author is totally serious. Link via dkos.