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The town manager recently spoke of having community meetings regarding the police station issue. The TM suggested as a starting point Oak Point with over 900 residents. A member of the Police Station Study Committee objected on the grounds “they were not tax payers.” This myopic vision was soon shot down. OP does pay taxes as do the residents.
The attitude demonstrated by this point of view is distributing. So reminiscent of a candidate’s night a few years back where another business owner, whose wife was running for the BOS, took issue with another candidate for being a rent payer and not a taxpayer.
I am sure both these individuals would be comfortable with a return to colonial times where if you were male, White and owned property you got to vote!
The committee itself is still alive. They should be disbanded and new and fresh faces given the opportunity to move forward on the issue. The renovation of the current station is not happening. Now it is time to actually review the other options that were questionably rejected.
As a trail runner I often come across signs like this: “Government property. Unauthorized access will be prosecuted.” Somewhat paraphrased but you get the idea. I think of that sign with the current and ongoing debate over illegal immigration.
In the recent moonbat beat down a big question on the minds of voters was illegal immigration. I do believe that had some impact on the fact the Republicans took control of both houses and added on some governorships.
The moonbat fringe loves to invent new phrases to lighten the possible negative vibes flowing. One was attempting to re-brand liberal as a progressive. The latest is to classify an illegal as “unauthorized persons.” I never see the wingnuts attempt those type of deceptions. I guess, like Gruber states, they must be “stupid American voters.”
Falling inflation is a worry of the European banks and is also of concern here. The last thing anyone in government wants is cheaper prices. With inflation that debt – 18T and counting in the U.S. – is paid off with cheaper money. Ask the stiff getting a 1% raise if he/she wants lower food costs, fuel costs and trinkets.
Maybe the School Committee should consider what Brockton is doing and returning to neighborhood schools. Many communities still do that but years ago Middleboro decided to consolidate into that Buckland-Goode mess. Too bad. Now most of those schools have found other use, but don’t give up! Maybe the militant preservationist can attempt to resurrect them.
“Technically it is not illegal to be illegal in Massachusetts.” Those words are attached to soon to exit AG, Martha Coakley. Turns out a police office had discovered a novel (and legal) way to spot illegals and hammer away at the main issue – ID Theft. Initial love of idea expressed by minions in the AG’s office eventually led to no emails being answered. I guess ID theft is not important.
And then there is Ms. Divestiture herself – Peg Goldberg. Turns out her family charitable foundation lost 14M to Bernie and now Ms. Divesture will oversee a 55B PRIT pension fund.
I don't know what is worse - the hours after the announcement in Ferguson or Best Buy at 1AM on Black Friday.
Expand the tax base by being business friendly is a message from the new TM. Does that mean a single tax rate?
The Middleboro School Committee is the latest local poster child for lack of transparency. The SC decided to deep six the current superintendent, Roseli Weiss, for the transgression of being honest on MCAS expectations and have the audacity of asking for a raise.
Middleboro has an illustrious history of less than splendid MCAS results so when Weiss appears to lower the bar the SC demands some degree of retribution. Top it off by her requested for a contract extension and a raise and the door was open for the bum’s rush for Weiss.
The raise issue was of particular interest as I was reading a recent article of equal pay. One of the reasons why women sometimes lag behind is a lack of aggressiveness. Seems men are more vocal in seeking out a few pennies more. So Ms. Weiss decides to ask and the SC is stunned. Hey, boys and girls, just say no!
The SC was in full turtle mode and there is certainly no profiles in courage as the information had to be gleaned by the Middleboro Gazette forcing the issue with the club being the Freedom of Information Act. So Weiss gets the gate and we’ll get a new administration who – if they are smart – will certainly say “Middleboro will be Level One in MCAS!” And I will start in left field for the Red Sox in 2015.
I watched the parade of parents on the telly who thanked Weiss and expressed disappointment with the SC. That added some degree of excitement to what is normally one of the most mundane evenings on said telly.
Why does the Middleboro schools do a half-day professional development each month? That counts as a full fay. Would seem to me it would be more productive to have three full day professional days and then have that extra seat time.
In Middleboro if you are a retired teacher from the Middleboro system and substitute you are compensated at $100 per day. Retired from another system and you get $80 a day. Considering our MCAS results maybe it should be flipped.
Maybe the proposed alignment of February – April vacations will help?
Olga Roche, the deposed commish of the DCF, was handed a nice fiscal kiss after being “fired.” Roche was allowed to hang around to fatten her pension and collect some vacation and sick time. This was outed by The Boston Herald and when confronted the latest DCF hack in charge said essentially “No comment as we respect her right to a private retirement.” Translated: If we wait long enough this will go away.
Rising rapidly up my food chain in my “Pantheon of Idiots” is the latest group of those in need of a feeling of moral superiority – the divesture crowd. So if a public pension fund sells off fossil fuel positions that is supposed to hurt the fossil fuel industry?
Here it is in a nutshell. We are a technological society and scientific evidence clearly supports the excessive use of fossil fuels as being a negative. I am sure some wingnuts can find a blog or two that provide contrary evidence. Now for point two. The fossil fuel companies are heavily invested in alternative energy just as tobacco companies started to migrate into other areas. Smart business
Just a drive down picturesque Route 44 will show a small solar farm and in the background wind turbines. On my roof is a solar unit that has been there since 1982 – long before it became “sexy” to use alternative energy. The transition is taking place.
Is there anything more foolish than day trading in stocks? I would consider going to Village Market and buying one each of every scratch ticket a better option. I get on message boards and read their endless whining about the hour by hour fluctuations of a stock. They respond like petulant four year-olds as the daily numbers are posted.
Who says you don’t win at gambling? Turns out our newly formed Gaming Commission lead by Steven Crosby has run up some impressive expense tabs. They far exceeded certain suggested limits imposed by the administration of expense accounts for public employees. Maybe a former member of the G & E Board could land a job there?
Selectman John Knowlton had an excellent opinion piece in the Gazette regarding the recent failure of the police station renovation. It is over! No second try.
Ocean Spray is supposed to be a fairly intelligent company. Or are they? They have a testing lab and you can sign up to be a tester providing you meet certainly qualifications. I can fully comprehend that except for one – age. You have to be between 18-69. I can understand under 18 but over 69? I’m 70! I guess that means that anyone over 70 should not purchase any ocean spray product? That is exactly what I intend to do. I will also go to their corporate headquarters and attempt to find the genius behind this exclusion. Guess when you are over age 69 your taste buds become invalid.
QE is essentially gone and the stock markets have not missed a beat. I follow the Standard & Poor index rather than the outdated Dow Jones or the Apple inflated NASDAQ. Even with QE – essentially an 85B a month welfare handout – the markets have been steady. Like a relationship that you can see as crumbling and eventually ending is an analogy I care to use. You know it will soon be over.
One of the huge failures of Bush part deux was his failure to allow some level of private investment with social security – the ultimate Ponzi scheme. Bush backed off that to the usual militant and 100% unfounded babble from the Democrats.
Allow some level off the grid. Reduce any eventual SS payout by what you choose as an alternate investment. Place it under strict guidelines and watch it grow and grow. I have run the numbers on what my contributions – both mine and employers – would be with what we both contributed over the thirty years I was locked in. Just a simple split among the three major indexes I would have had $800,000 at age 62. And the money would be there for heirs – inherited wealth.
Allin Frawley had a recent series of posts on FB regarding hunting. As a trail runner that means disaster time as one cannot take the risk of entering the kill zone. However there are plenty of places where hunting is restricted and that is even here in Middleboro. Pratt Farm and Weston Town Forrest to name two.
I also posted on ATV’s. This is an area I have real mixed emotions about since there is a huge yahoo factor with the four and two wheel mechanical noise machines. There is an upside. I am a trail runner and the monsters can really cut a trail or restore one. Seen it done and been involved in it. Invite a club in for a few days and flag the area and let them go.
Hunting has now progressed to where virtually all respect nature. Back in the day at Freetown State Forest I would watch them wander into restricted areas with beet or plastic solo cup firmly in hand. Far too many with some serious drug and alcohol issues along with a distinct inability to read and comprehend the simple word – POSTED. That has slowly changed over the years
Seems the Superintendent of Schools has become the latest victim of the long and illustrious history of underperforming Middleboro students. The one consistent through all the decades I have lived in Middleboro is the people themselves. What is more important? An Honor Society induction or a football game? Take a look at the demographics of Middleboro. The income level. Poverty rate. Unemployment. College educated parents. Compare it with other communities in the county.
The open store fronts seem to proliferate in downtown.
Pot luck suppers have been rescued from the clutches of the nanny state. H.1997 allows that time honored tradition without the local board of health tossing in any roadblocks.
Speaking is phony stuff. Sandra Fluke (rhymes with flake) lost by 21% in CA.
I can’t wait to hammer away at Charlie Baker.
The beauty of the national swerve to the right is the fabled what goes around. The Democrats were laying into “Blame Bush” for years and the Republicans won by “Blaming Obama.” Then if things are still screwed up in two years they can milk it again.
To me the real big loser was the one pol I simple cannot stand – Elizabeth Warren. She was 4-8 with one undecided (it will be 4-9 after a runoff) in the senate races she campaigned for.
Locally Middleboro supported Baker. The whole county did except for the cities.
Allin Frawley about summed up how I feel about the Oliver House – it’s the land, baby!
If that Oliver House was put where the real representation is – the ballot – it would end up the same way the police station did. The only possible rescue was assuring voters the house would stay put with no funding source from Middleboro – especially CPA.
The Oliver House is another prime example of the need for electronic voting at TM. No public display of standing up. Debate all you want but make it a secret ballot. Of course this would require actually moving from the 19th century and into the 21st.
Recently returned from Texas and their sales tax is amazing! They tax food and clothing at 8.25%.
Texas, like most of the rest of the country, has some bizarre affinity for gated communities. Here in the People’s Republic those are very rare birds indeed. Yankee independence? Deep rooted egalitarianism? Rejection of wealth and class?
The MBTA will purchase some new rail cars and the price tag is 1.3B. The deal goes to a state owned Chinese rail company and several “activist” have pointed out the apparent liberal hypocrisy here in Blue Massachusetts. Imagine if it was a Koch Brothers company.
Some of the rail cars will be headed for the Red Line. How appropriate.
Part of the deal would be assembly of rail cars in Springfield. But the real money flows back to China.
The Obama administration appoints a high profile political hack as Ebola Czar!
I will certainly vote yes to have casinos in Massachusetts.
Nice to see pro casino ads that focus on the environmental clean-up that Steve Wynn will do to get his gin mill in place. Now who will clean-up the casino industry and our own commission?
The Republican alternative to government is less taxes and the Democrat one is more taxes. No wonder I am an independent.
Three and out for the Super. Probably next in line is Paul Branigan.
And with MCAS the Middleboro results were – as usual – tepid.
Liberty, Texas built a nice police station a few years ago for 2.5M for 10,000 SF. Sweetwater will soon have one for 20,000 SF for about 5M. National average is around $240 per SF, but seems like many do it for considerably less. Nice that some places have realist up front and not manic preservationist.
What’s with all the still black and white photos in political ads? Usually with the victim (opponent) with pursed lips or a frown.
Cat Stevens is heading back to the money trough in the United States for a series of concerts. Stevens is now called Yousef Islam and has professed some real man-love to radical (is there any other kind?) Muslims.
When last seen Olga Roche was being sacked as commander of child welfare. Or was she? Turns out in the land of the hacks it is never over until the pension is inflated. Roche took sick leave and was retained as a “consultant” until the magic day arrived – her 60ith birthday and a nice pension bump. Charlie Lincoln would be proud.
The TM search is down to three. I’d always go with the person with the conservation background.
A deposit on water bottles? I’d raise that to a buck on everything including Styrofoam cups.
What is all the buzz about new trash barrels? That has been in the works for quite a bit. ‘Bout time it is out and rolling.
Ghost crap! Are these people serious? All in fun, I guess, unless some actually take it for real.
What is even more bizarre is that triangle swamp garbage in the Bridgewater area. Been running trails in and around that for years and can only recall being chased once by a slime creature.
Caillou is the most vile kids show imaginable. This whiny little brat should be a up in lights example for poor parental skills. This Canadian show should be reason enough for war with our neighbors to the north.
Deb Goldberg is running for state treasurer and has pontificated about divestiture in PRIM on fossil fuel companies. For the uninitiated this is a translation of all the evil associated with “Big Oil.” No doubt her virus would spread to “Big Banks,” “Big Insurance”, and to me – “Big Mouths.” Goldberg represents the worse that liberalism has to offer – a pathetic gentry class totally out of touch.
Ocean Spray Cranberries will no longer shoot commercials in Massachusetts. The new venue is Wisconsin.
Been a long time since Middleboro high school football won anything. Now they have.
Steve Wynn goes on CNBC and hammers away at Obama calling him “immature” and “cannot believe we elected someone so inexperienced.” Two days later the Feds indict three mooks involved in wire fraud revolving around the land Wynn has purchased for a gin mill in Everett. Revenge? Probably.
The situation with the mooks is just so typical of the gaming industry – I guess it is a rather bizarre term for it – “Industry?” Anyway, the pinky ring fingered set gravitate around it and have ever since gambling started.
In Massachusetts gaming is on the ballot and it most certainly will pass. I’ll vote for it.
The Boston Red Sox will be in the playoffs in 2015. They have already started throwing money at some of their problems.
Aaron Hernandez continues to have charges whittled away as more and more evidence gets tossed. Why are the police so freaking dumb arse when it comes to acquiring evidence? Proper punishment would be to band all involved from any paid details for two years.
This is the description of the Granby, MA public safety complex. Granby is about 1/3rd the size of Middleboro but note that the structure is both fire and police. Cost is 6.5M. The police portion of the building is 17,000 SF.
“Engineering services for a new 23,926 sq. ft. 2 story public safety facility. Project included 1 bay vehicle drive through sally-port, booking and holding facilities, evidence processing and storage, found property storage, mens and womens locker rooms, training facilities, detectives area, chiefs and administration area, patrol offices and report writing spaces, E911 dispatch area, break room, communications equipment room, lobby with toilet and interview spaces and public area community/training room. Project also includes a (10) bay vehicle apparatus bay with adjacent hose storage turnout gear and miscellaneous storage areas, (2) room dorm section, kitchen and day room. Building is energy efficient, modern, tested technologies to comply with the Massachusetts Energy Code. Building was designed around the LEED Certification base approaches for energy conservation, controls, system designs, documentation and installations.”
Tying the police station to a historical building was the death knell for the project. That became obvious with the famed Bumpkin poll and post-election analysis.
I have no issue with a purchase of a “Traitor’s house,” but I do have issue with spending 2M to fix it up. That is not exactly “pristine” as one BOS member has stated. I will also feel quite comfortable stating that is going to be just for starters.
My grandfather’s house in Pennsylvania was a sixteen room brick farm house with several hundred acres of farm land. His neighbor was Dwight Eisenhower. The farm was eventually sold for development with the stipulation the farm house be maintained and any addition work be done before a shovel full of soil was turned over.
In Bridgewater their CPC wasted over a million bucks with the same lofty aspirations for a wreck. It failed. The house cannot be sold and no one is interested in renovation. The positive is the land is protected.
Town meeting is upon us and the usual local characterless will come out to make the whole process as boring as possible. I am sure this quaint ritual does have some significance from a historical perspective, but it has long passed its shelf life. Folks could care even less than they do about the general elections.
Burger King makes a business decision to move to Canada to gain favorable tax status. I have seen the information and the savings would be substantial. So the reaction of the Democrats is an attempt to place restrictions on moves like this – what is termed an inversion. What is contradictory is the fact this same party has no real issues regarding a virtual open door policy for illegal immigrants.
Reedy’s Archery building is now a vacant eyesore. A business has been denied the premises thanks to the archaic foolishness demonstrated by the Middleborough Historic Commission or is it hysteric? Seems that the use of the siding is repulsive to the collection of militant preservationist. So the building will join the multitude of eyesores that are what passes for downtown Middleboro. Maybe a wake-up call is needed to inform the commission that the downtown area is not exactly Deerfield or even East Brookfield.
The gas tax is on the ballot. That means little since the legislature does have a history of ignoring initiatives. The tax was originally passed in the dead of night – no surprise. Then comes the issue of where the money will go? Roads? Really? Ah….the trust that our elected representatives will do the right thing.
According to the nonpartisan Reasoning Foundation Organization the administrative cost per mile in Massachusetts is almost $79,000 while the national average is $10,500. Want to know where that money is going? Feed the machine! No surprise that our costs per mile for construction are three times greater per mile than the national average – only topped by New Jersey
When is the fabled “war on women” going to motivate Democrats to speak out on Sharia Law? Now that really is a well documented war.
The latest hulking wreck to be on the list of projects to avoid is the Oliver House. This could be used as a remake of the movie “Money Pit.” The land is attractive with a nice river access but the building? Does anyone remember the disaster in Bridgewater over a similar project? The only one not wearing rose colored glasses is Steve McKinnon. They land is worth it, but the house?
I listened to a talk my Martha Coakley a few months ago. In five minutes she mentioned Wall Street four times and Koch and Tea Party once each. Thanks for making Charlie Baker look reasonable.
I actually found that George Shultz, a former Sec. of State, supports the concept of Global Warming or climate change or whatever they attempt to stick on it. And all along I thought Republicans were reactionaries on science. Way to go, George!
Glen Marshall is probably more of an Indian than Elizabeth Warren.
Wonder if Steve Wynn will hire on Marshall?
As a trail runner the amount of trash one comes across can be staggering. Certain areas become a focal point for illegal dumping with power lines especially attractive. Then there is the bottles. Why not really put a charge into it? Make it fifty cents and especially on those “nips.”
Wood Street is now navigable thanks to recent paving. Nice job by the DPW.
Now then comes Precinct Street. Blame that all on the anti-casino forces since if the glorified gin mill was built it would be a pristine drive instead of a street that resembles being carpet bombed.
Back to trail running. The drought in this area has allowed access to trails that were not usable for close to thirty years. No longer submerged and in some instances not even muddy. Will show some dividends during hunting season.
Charlie Baker calls a reporter “sweetheart” and out comes the selective outrage. Turns out Obama did the same thing on two occasions, but selective memory and outrage steps in.
How bad is it when I agree with Bumpkin?
Bumpkin nailed it on the police station issue. You want it? Dump the Quinn Bill. Or keep the Quinn Bill and rely on flaggers.
You go anywhere else in the United States and cops are stunned with the largesse that is tossed their way in Massachusetts. You will get paid details, but for road work? Looking in a hole? Gabbing on your cell phone? Last I looked the state was using flaggers. At least they said they were. Try and find one.
IMHO town workers that were not associated with the fire or police department went negative on a new cop shop. Think a clerk gets a 25% boost for attending and passing the rigor presented at Anna Maria College – a noted cop shop gimmie mill.
And how bad is it when I have to agree with Jim Thomas?
Thomas nailed it on the editorial in the Gazette recently supporting our current archaic town meeting system.
Mischief is afoot in downtown Middleboro with the destruction of hanging plants. I guess having a downtown police station really is not a deterrent to crime?
Goodbye to Charlie and six excellent years of leadership.
The search for a new police chief is all in-house. That certainly culls the herd of potential candidates.
The flow of children to Massachusetts has opened up the heart of Deval Patrick who has found housing for them. How about housing for our children and their parents living in motels? Or for those described in a recent tent city article in the Enterprise? Yeah, Deval, “It’s for the children!”
Finally, at least on the surface, Patrick has relented. What goes on under the sheets is another story.
According to this Thomas Jefferson character “A nation without borders is not a nation.” Wonder if the executive and legislative branches are aware of that statement?
Why has it become so chic for the left to support Palestinians? Strange group.
The Beacon Hill Civic Association is an example of the preservationist Nazi’s at their finest. The association is fighting the implementation of handicap accessible sidewalks since it would destroy “The character of the neighborhood.”
How is that casino coming along?
The power of the Good Old Boys was firmly rejected by the Hoi Polli that comprise the base of Middleboro. The local paper had numerous letters of support for the project by former Selectmen, support of the current board, former Town Manager support, a “packed” study committee, the boards of town government, and topped it all off with a Mike Maddigan column on the value of the Peirce Store.
The collective resumes of those with perceived influence in town affairs was solidly rejected. A repudiation of the Good Old Boys? Seems to be.
One certainly respects the collective service of those with that extensive resume, but buy their opinion? On the fire truck? Wrong! Ambulance contract? Wrong! Casino? Wrong! Simple fact is just because you are versed and articulate on the process does not mean you are right or can design a convincing argument.
The linkage to the Peirce Store simply had negative traction. Jim Thomas nailed it with “militant preservationist.” Far too many simply viewed the linkage as a poorly veiled attempt to save a potential money pit. This is the proverbial tossing money down a rabbit hole.
I also get the impression that the subtle attempt to negatively portray every option just didn’t sell. The ones who count – voters – simply felt that the committee, despite ten (that’s 10!) arduous years of study and data compilation ignored other possibilities. You would hear the same locations repeated Ad nauseam and the same reasons to reject it – again, Ad nauseam. Folks just didn’t buy it.
The highest paid list of town employees has numerous members of the police department listed. Resentment? Possibly. A good weekend of details can make your monthly mortgage payment. Resentment? IMO an affirmative.
Taxes. Why should I vote for a tax increase? This, likewise, was a key ingredient, but in down times the CPA passed. Might me more to it than just taxes.
When you listen to those with similar opinions you become insular to the negative. Complacency sets in. You really need to do the ground work and I just didn’t see it with this project. A lot of preaching to the choir.
At one meeting with the public there appeared to be some hostile resentment towards those in “The Cheap Seats” having the audacity to raise legitimate concerns. That will not win any favorable points. Some of the reasoning was from the theater of the absurd.
It will never be cheaper!
Fiscal Nostradamus’ on the loose. Guess what? You said that in 2007 you would be wrong! 2009? Wrong! 2011? Wrong!
Then the safety issue as we await disaster at the police station.
This was the same bogus argument used for a fire truck. Another guess what? You are dealing with volatile situations. That is what all that Anna Maria training is all about. If officers can’t handle the job it is a leadership issue. I doubt you will hear that excuse at a Super Max or even Carver.
One supporter used the “I’m one of the highest taxpayers in town” for justification. Huh? What?
It’s the SMALL taxpayers that are of concern. You know, the ones that can’t write it off as a business expense. Can’t cut hours, benefits, raise prices or raise rents. If anything that type of convoluted thinking would change my mind from yea to nay.
Even Jim Thomas, publicly the harshest critic, supports a new station. Just not this one. I believe this may well be the prevalent attitude.
I have posted on my position on Town Meetings several times so why stop now? Nothing like a revisit, especially after the latest Middleboro sojourn into that antiquated system that has long since passed its shelf life.
TM is a special delight for a few who view it with “Betty Davis Eyes” the way I view the opening of the baseball season. This is their one time to shine and dazzle us with their parliamentary knowledge, oratorical skills and comic interludes. For the uninitiated it is a tedious and boring task at hand to watch a collation of Ms. and Mr. Bluster’s ramble on while the “normal” look for sharp objects to end their misery.
My first exposure in our quaint community was when I first located to Middleboro and observed the house clearing out after their project of note was voted upon. I had witnessed the exercise in previous communities that had the privilege of me locating within their borders. All too often an item would be placed on the warrant, another cute term, and be, eventually debated and voted upon. This usually means racking up as many friends, relatives and those lolling about the Central to show up and vote favorably on your item and promptly leave the house. The finest example of special interest in America!
Debate is central to the system. Fine. Everyone has a chance to speak, but, unfortunately, many do not wish to participate at that level. This can be out of sheer fear or not willing to make a fool of themselves like far too many grandstanding participants do. Then comes the vote.
This is where I most assuredly leave the reservation. Why should the vote be public? Nothing in our General Laws about it. And the beauty is some communities actually – now get this - have moved into the 21st century! You do it electronically! Chelmsford was the first in Massachusetts and many communities have committee’s to study how to actually accomplish this.
Options Technologies and Pagett Communications are two companies that provide equipment for TM’s. You simply get a tablet upon entering the meeting and that is how you vote. When you leave the equipment is returned. There are various options on the tablet and, knowing Middleboro, I am sure – on a temporary basis only – a tech savvy seven year old will have to accompany each adult to “help” them. Good luck with that.
Seems this town is willing to squander CPA monies on a variety of public expenses and now, just maybe, they will actually fund this little adventure in having a ballot where an individual will not be singled out. Worth looking into. I understand the cost is somewhere in the range of $25,000 or about 1/40th of a new fire truck.
Of course, use of electronics does exist in even this humble backwater. A quick text to notify one that their moment has arrived so they may scuttle forward. Yes, it does happen.
What would be the major roadblocks?
The local gentry so embedded in the past would be the most significant stumbling block. Change, to some, is an evil thing to be cast outward, ignored or generally scoffed at. I imagine there are many who still cling to the hope that this “internet thing” is just a fad. Some communities measure change in increments of months and some in increments of decades.
So as other communities drift forward and embrace technology there will stand Middleboro. Alone- and debating the merits of a swearing by-law.
The Republicans, a party on the Massachusetts endangered species list, are making waves on Beacon Hill for the Patrick administration to be accountable for information regarding the failed Health Connector web site. The cost for this latest administration boondoggle is somewhere in the range of 500M and counting. I have taught dogs to roll over and that is exactly what the fraudulent and self-proclaimed “Party of The People,” otherwise known as Democrats have done.
You closely examine three states in particular that are overwhelming one party – Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Michigan and the level of patronage, overbearing taxes, excessive welfare handouts and decades of mis-management become uncontested. All three are Democrat strongholds. Connect the dots.
I am truly amazed at the lack of determination by the national media to hold Elizabeth Warren’s toes to the verbal flames after her use of a faux Native American background to move up into the very visible public limelight. That she used the race card to her advantage is one issue, but who, without a fraudulent race card to play, lost out to Warren in advancement? Warren can cure cancer, balance the budget and give us all internal life and I have more respect for a cockroach I find skittering around my domicile.
Cruz and Rubio have made some headlines for the Republicans in their own quixotic search for a viable “minority” candidate. In this case the ever shifting Hispanic vote is the key target. Cruz, in particular, has the blessings on the Tea Party – or is it not a party? Strange group that managed to get off a message of fiduciary sensibilities and into the political melting pot of the far right
.
At one time the Republicans were the party that attracted the burgeoning Black political forces in this country. Blacks have now shifted from “The Party of Lincoln” to the “Party of Free Stuff.” That comment, no doubt, is considered “racist” by that cesspool of PC loonies that have so infiltrated the Democrats and, to avoid negativity, have pronounced themselves, in extraordinary hubris fashion – “Progressives.”
Middleboro continues to shift in the political winds as more and more folks have ventured further south seeking cheaper home prices. My wife – The Lovely Cynthia – and I were such folks over forty years ago. The house we looked at in Hingham was $58,000 and the same one in Middleboro -exactly the same – came in at $29,500. But back to politics.
George Wallace – a true and unreconstructed racist – made his first New England campaign stop in Middleboro. I know since I was there to see the little troll in person. Ross Perot carried Middleboro. Even Romney did. There is significant southern connections to Middleboro from migration patterns that occurred a hundred or so years ago. Those and a smattering of Yankee types cry out “Self-reliant conservatives.” That is changing.
Politically Middleboro is a non-participatory community. A Little League baseball game will attract a higher turnout than a town meeting. IMO the town still has a well-entrenched “Good old boy” network that, depending on point of view, is either a blessing or a disaster. Nothing wrong with experienced hands at the tiller as long as the first mate (John Q) keeps a watching eye
.
In Middleboro the GOB (Good Old Boys) are not a mirror image of the state of city brand. Few of the GOB’s will be in that well known area of “Hacks,” that breed that is totally and 100% depended upon the legacy of patronage. In Middleboro, and a surprising number of similar communities, the GOB’s actually are employed in the DPS (Dreaded Private Sector) which gives them a unique vantage point where institutional entitlement is removed from the equation.
What I have noticed about the GOB factor is sometimes entry – do they have a Skull and Crossbones type ceremony? – is having a long bloodline locally. A real generational thing where my great-grandpappe knew your great grandpappe, similar to what separated the nouveau rich from the long entrenched money class back about 100 years ago. Since, from my experience here and elsewhere, some GOB’s consider themselves local royalty, maybe a better comparison would be newly minted European faux royalty versus the thousand year old brand.
No matter what I certainly have no entry status nor would I ever desire it. I will keep my paternalistic instincts to family.
I have often viewed Middleboro as a cultural desert. In the past the occasional bright light has surfaced such as “That’s Entertainment” and a local theater group. Now even that little piece of Hooterville that my non-Middleboro friends poke me about is disappearing. Alley Theater has brought high quality entertainment to the masses – if the masses care to reach out. Few towns have such a venue.
What has caught my ever critical attention is, to me, the still somewhat floundering downtown area. Middleboro has no real strip mall blight to speak of. No Old Colony Place. That should result in a more prosperous downtown. Why is that missing?
One of the key factors downtown is accessibility. Seems that a healthy 500 foot walk is out of the question for most. I actually will go to the post office and stroll downtown to the Bank Building – will it be the Bakery Building? From there I will cross the street and continue up to Benny’s. There are a few stores with resale items and/or antiques that will get my attention. A café for a late morning snack. It isn’t much, but it has improved and has what I never really used in life – P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L.
What is the factor for supporting downtown?
The feel good attempts such as Crazy Days or Daze or whatever are synthetic. They may bring in the occasional out of town drifter, but I don’t see it. What I do see is personal purchasing commitment. Can a small business downtown get my business? If it is just price they will not – except for the chain store Benny’s. However comes that word commitment.
Am I willing to spend a few dollars more? If a local can sell it to me for $10 I feel more comfortable buying it that wandering north or south (wasting time and fuel) to get the same item for $8.99. If I need a quick lunch is it the Flatiron or Milano? Certainly as viable an option as going to the pick a chain sprawl on route 44 in Taunton. Even Boston Tavern is a better option.
So, to my insular mind, buying local has a point since the business is invariable operated by a local who will employ a local (hopefully). But that parking!
Now Somerville is under executive order of the mayor not to have cops lock up illegals. Amazing!
Looks like the full court press is on for a new cop shop. The local boards have all fallen in line and the local paper has been running letters from those who either consider themselves "local players" or hope to be. All that blather is enough to almost convince me of a no vote.
Seems political parties are nothing more than social clubs for ideologues.
Some of my predictions come true. When the new firehouse was constructed, you know, the one that later had problems, I felt a new cop house would soon be in the works. Viola!
The probation excuses usually center around the classic line: “Writing letters of recommendation is what I often have to do for constituents.” What they really meant to say is “After I check the donor list.”
The unions and tax fattened pols are getting out all the PR possible on the gas tax ballot issue. A new “study” claims repairing bridges will cost 12.2B. I wonder what happened to all the money through the years that was supposed to be directed towards that very issue.
Tying the gas tax to CPI is just ludicrous. Now no putting your legislative slot in the cross-hairs over a tax vote, and what better way to circumvent the process than to have it bypass public debate. It will become a forever tax so reminiscent of John Volpe and the “temporary” 3% sales tax.
There is absolutely no doubt to this observer that Deval Patrick is the worse governor I have ever witnessed in this state. Chub Peabody is FDR compared to Patrick.
Do police have a right to privacy when doing a public function? Can I film them spending an inordinate amount of detail time on their phones, looking into a hole or in conversation with the real workers? A case has recently surfaced (again) where someone recorded their own arrest. That is now (again) a legal issue for the courts to decide. Courts – the place where common sense falls victim to arcane legal histories.
The latest money grab is presented by the TSA. There is enough anecdotal – as the flawed Gov. Patrick would say – evidence showing a level of incompetency that would get you the gate real quick in the DPS (Dreaded Private Sector). Now comes “expedited lines.”
The TSA has had “expedited” lines at Fortress Logan for a few years. You get selected at random, either in person or via your ticket, to go through the security checkpoint with liquids, gels, belt, shoe and laptop. I have, since I appear so harmless, been selected several times. Now several airlines are involved in the program and the TSA is rolling it out for the masses – if you wish to pay $85. I guess that security charge on our tickets does not cover being expedited.
The Cumberland Farms on South Main Street will be a plus for the travelers who bounce off the highway. Hopefully, Cumby’s will continue to use Prime downtown and by Dave’s Diner as the competition to determine prices. That should drive down the price per gallon by fifteen cents and even more with their gas card tie-in
I have not found one agency or reputable scientific organization worldwide that disputes global warming or climate change.
What is difficult on the most sophisticated of word processors is homonyms. Sometimes they are caught and other times they are knot. Oh…it just caught it…not! Thank you, Bill Gates!
I still find proof reading difficult. The human mind has a natural tendency to read the incorrect correctly. Been show on many tests. Part of the higher complex thought patterns in our brains. I do believe that thought pattern is missing from registered Republicans and Democrats.
he Red Sox, as I write this, have managed to go above the .500 mark. Amazing when you consider how dysfunctional the offense has been.
Recently had the opportunity to go to North Brookfield, Massachusetts. This is a quaint community at about the half-way point between Worcester and Springfield with a population a shade under 5,000. Very few open store fronts, a vibrant downtown section and some nice building reuse. Could be a model for other towns. They have managed to eliminate most of the kitsch store fronts that Middleboro has far too many of.
Looking at Middleboro’s store fronts in selected areas if they delay long enough – say fifty years – they will be retro. Problem solved!
The next great wave of immigration influx has begun and this one from Somalia.
Nothing will be more enjoyable than the dysfunctional Republicans taking the Senate this coming season and locking Elizabeth Warren into some political closet where she certainly belongs. Another shining example of why Massachusetts is laughed at.
Millennium Place is the newest tower being constructed in Boston and right on Washington Street next to the old Filene’s. This area had become condo tower central as they have proliferated from Chinatown to the Theater District and into Downtown Crossing. Many are sold out before they are topped out. Who buys them? Six hundred square feet go for a thousand a square foot and condo fees.
A friend I know in Washington state lives in a community where the “Looney Left” has taken root. Now “friend” wishes to build a windmill and the PC crowd has put the kibosh on it. They have totally infiltrated various local boards and, despite their “green” pronouncements, consider the windmill “unsightly.” Friend has no neighbors within a quarter mile.
Friend also noted solar panels. Turns out the community has some rather restrictive measures on that wonderful (I have them) green initiative. They can only be on the roof, point away from the street and comply with a measurement formula based on the square footage of the roof.
I recently had the opportunity to serve on a town commission. I had every intention of doing so and had done diligent research based on my own checklist of strengths and weakness as applied to the position. My initial time invested over a period of a few days was substantial, but it is what the position and the town most deservedly is entitled. I have been on many boards over the years and have resented those who contribute about as much as a bag of rocks.
I greatly appreciate the fact the town manager sought me out and had the confidence I would be a valuable addition. And, of course, meeting with the BOS and their extended kindness is also much appreciated. Then, I turned down a position I had tentatively accepted. Why? Simply put - baseball.
If you examine the sidebar of this worthless blog you will note an extensive list of baseball links. I have used most of them at one time or another, they are just a fraction of what is available. In Middleboro the term “Good old boy network” is bandied about. That exists in baseball sites just as it does in about every other field. You make connections. You establish friendships. In some instances others seek out and respect your opinions. In my case it was the opportunity to be a content editor, style editor or, in reality, just a nexus for distribution of real time information, with a smattering of help desk mentality tossed into the blender labeled “Job Description.” The real driver is simply “Fantasy baseball,” of which I have never participated. Those that do are serious, or can be serious, “seamheads.” The compensation is negligible and the hours are minimal. You are certainly not alone and, as I have now found out, capable of flexibility trade-offs.
I have a running partner who works, on occasion, from home. One sister spends about half her working hours in front of a screen. When I escaped the DPS (Dreaded Private Sector) the rumblings of a mobile office was just surfacing. With information distribution it is simple not necessary to hop into a vehicle and go on an expressway to get you in the 150/90 range for blood pressure.
With me it is time. I love retirement. The freedom of the choice of the day being DD or Honey Dew is exhilarating. I have a box set up, my own compartmentalize zone that says twenty hours per week for my commitments. I even excused myself from the board of the Middleborough Historical Association over the fact that something would have to go. I am a volunteer advocate for parents needing one to go to battle, and a battle it is, with school systems. I limit that significantly. The infringement of that self-proclaimed twenty hours would be, once again, significant. That’s something that would have to go would not be the baseball hours. That was the deal breaker tossed into my decision making process once again. Couple that with other volunteer work and I would be faced with a “Hey, I’m retired!” situation
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I currently write for a baseball site. I do it for the enjoyment as do all of us at that and many other sites. There is no compensation unless you decide to be an editor, which I have adamantly refused to do. That would, in my opinion, commit me to writing about things I simply do not care to write about. I am not willing to toss away my independence. I may get less “reads” and “hits.” but I’m not in it for the numbers.
The Boston Globe at one time had an online baseball chat site that I helped monitor. I established friendships from that long closed site. One such connection will be here to attend the Boston and Cincinnati Red series with me. On Comcast I also was responsible for content on their baseball posting board. Translated, that means if someone does something stupid you edit or delete it. In the three years I did that I never had to lock out a poster. The political site would do that daily. I have also been editing on Wikipedia for years. Whenever I see incorrect information on baseball I edit. Anyone can do it. Hundreds of thousands participate from all walks of life. Go to Wiki and the information for participation is readily available.
I also started or better stated, participated in the start-up of several baseball, meaning Red Sox, web sites. Two still exist and I occasionally post, but the traffic is quite light. On each site advertising has been refused. Then there was the anti-casino site, which I monitored. Creating a site is relatively simple and creating the frameworks for this blog actually took about fifteen minutes. Trust me, there is no heavy lifting.
The rapid advancement in electronic media is startling. Just the proliferation of those sites on my sidebar. This is actually big business. Fantasy sports are incredible in scope. In many fantasy league draft day is a holiday from work. It is for one of my sons and a brother-in-law. They still spend hours going over information on football and baseball. The secret is traffic. I have posted articles, not this blog, of course, with twenty comments that had five-hundred page reads and articles with no comments that had thousands of reads. The reads generate the income. That’s why Facebook stock went up the other day. Ad revenues. Some of those sidebar sites started out in someone’s basement with one computer and now have staff in the hundreds, including many that are now professionals receiving a significant compensation package. Nothing new with that - the American dream fulfilled.
When I was a youngster we had exactly one TV channel in 1950. That was it. Today there appears to be thousands. Just examine your cable directory. There are channels covering just about any area of interest. Local cable shows are everywhere. We even have a local one on wrestling.
Anyone can do a podcast. I won’t go into the details, but I have appeared on them. You have a computer or a telephone and now you are a radio star. For baseball they are all over the place. Most are just simple affairs that are recorded and released. Some are more complicated. I have been on some that do live streaming of chat during a contest. Same as a real time posting board. Others are edited and released at specific times. Then you have YouTube. Record it and post it.
I could list some of my favorite baseball writers. Did you know Zane Grey wrote extensively on baseball? So I will leave the name list with Mr. Grey. What I have read electronically is amateur works that are every bit, in my opinion, as some of the most skilled sports writers today. Sites such as the one I write for are gateways for those wishing experience and getting a nice line on a resume. We actually have an editor who is in high school. This brings me to my Kindle.
I love science fiction. Amazon is quite an outlet, among others, for those who do not get their work published via mainstream houses. I have found SF works that are as entertaining and some writers with a Nebula or a Hugo Award attached to their credentials. The online publication offers an incredible outlet for some talented people who would otherwise be unknown. Several I follow diligently awaiting their next publication. Some have flowed into the mainstream thanks to their exposure via electronics.
What electronic media has managed is accessible for everyone. The frustrated writer, poet, movie producer, actor and just about anyone else has an outlet. Create it and post it. Just look at how things go viral on the internet. And this is just the beginning.
Enterprise article sites fast rising real estate taxes. A major contributor? Debt exclusion.
Two hundred sixty one ballots cast. Yes, I was one.
The Brewster contract has been issued for another three years. Despite the machinations of some that has worked out rather well.
The G & E had the greatest number of town employees on the highest paid list. A week later an article in the paper mentions G & E rates will increase.
Massport is proposing a raise in parking fees of $2-$3 depending upon lot used. They raised the fees in 2012 for the same amount and with the same reasoning. The added “expenses” and to - and they are serious - To encourage people to use alternative transportation.
And, this just in! Guess what? Massport payroll has hit 100M - well above budget. Not me. I can’t connect the dots between rising fees and rising payroll.
Massachusetts has been handing out jobs to those that have been guests of the Commonwealth. I have no problem with giving a hand-up (or out) to someone who has paid their debt to society, but to place an embezzler into a position of handling money? Then again, maybe they will be more responsible than or elected representatives?
Mark Pacheco (D- Probation) now is on the bully pulpit for a 50M statewide tree planting project. The last gem Pacheco planted on the unwary was the famed Pacheco Law. No doubt this project, questionable at best, will have a similar outcome on our personal bottom line.
A proposed 1.1B casino at Suffolk Downs had run into some permitting issues. Seems the brainiacs at the Massachusetts Historic Commission have decided that thirty former horse barns are now “historic.” Famed sports entrepreneur, Bill Veeck, once wrote a book “Thirty Tons A Day” describing his experience of operating Suffolk Downs. I know where that thirty tons should be dumped. So now the project may be delayed and further delayed over what can be easily corrected by a CAT D3C XL.
What the Hysterical Commission failed to even remotely comprehend is that they are dealing with some interesting folks from Eastie who look forward to this project. You may remember some of those orange shirts a few years back at a TM. I know as I fully remember a load of trash being dumped near my anti casino sign.
If the Commission really wishes to run interference for horse barns there is a viable option. A few days a week I go right by the Middleborough-Brockton Agricultural Fair grounds in Brockton. Plenty of barns still remain.
Taunton State Hospital has some magnificent buildings that date back to 1854. They are a wreck. Some have burned and most are in desperate need of repair. Where is the Massachusetts Historic Commission on that situation? Oh…right….I forgot. There are two standards in this state: One standard applies to state owned property and the rest to everyone else.
The Middleboro ZBA got it right when they mentioned parking and fuel depot for the new cop shop. But, to me, the most significant comment was the building should be a museum and I agree. The MHA should have had that building years ago.
Middleboro has priorities and we will soon see if building a 12.7M cop shop is one of them. This, of course, comes on the heels of defeating and override of 2 and ½ directed towards education. In Middleboro we throw the book at them since it is more important than reading a book. You examine the profiles of each town in Plymouth County and Middleboro is firmly entrenched at the bottom on most statistical categories - unemployment, college educated, median income…..
Not to be done Middleboro may have a second chance to vote on education. The high school need to be expanded or is it renovated or is it both? That will mean another debt exclusion. The high school is barely 40 years young, so one can fully understand the need to update it.
The TM that will have a shout out on the cop shop will once again clearly demonstrate town meeting is the purest form of special interest. Their vote will be a stuffed ballot with, to no surprise, the local police calling out as much support as possible. And if you wish to speak out? TM should be electronic. Wait! This is Middleboro. Nice to remain in the 19th century.
There is an informational video on the police website to show just how pathetic the structure is. IMHO, that is justification for taking a wrecking ball to the structure rather than piling on money to “restore” it. The video itself is about as objective as a Michael Moore movie.
There is also another video that has a presentation regarding the 12.7M projected project. Now I understand they are going to have a gym. Looking at some of the officers this is a wonderful idea and maybe a nutritionist and diet specialist can be in the mix? Now I understand that the police union is going to pay for the gym. Does that mean they will also be paying a monthly rent for that space? Missed that.
With public safety you can wave the “Bloody Shirt” just so often and then it loses impact.
Next up is the fact that the RMV fees will now go up 20%. Why? Feed the machine, of course. The registry is the proverbial cash cow and the extra dough goes elsewhere. The major target in this latest heist is the MBTA. Of course, lest we forget roads and bridges. That is just another pile of manure. Back years ago when bonding was finally payoff on the Massachusetts Turnpike another little fiscal sleight of hand took place to keep that a toll road. Of course that money was going to (drum roll please) - roads and bridges.
The Callahan Tunnel project in Boston will come in under budget and ahead of schedule. Maybe that company should build the cop shop?
Then, you have the state reviving the “Taxachusetts” slogan. Something called the Tax Fairness Commission has resuscitated the graduated income tax. How laughable can you get? Fairness? What a pile of BS. The whole idea is, once again, raise revenue. The machine needs money to run. At least the sales tax is not being raised - again.
Money is behind the various exotic gin mills being proposed across the state. Make money for profiteers and, of course, the money to feed the machine. What the Tax man, and woman, does not grab the pinky ringed casino crowd will. And, why stop with the gin mills? Step right up pot shops! As usual the connected get the licenses.
With pot licenses some of the money goes to drug programs. With casino money some will go to gambling programs. Seems rather strange.
Those great words: Pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
William Delahunt, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is now the pot king of Massachusetts. Out of the tenty medical marijuana licenses handed out Delahunt managed to get three or 15%. Not a bad haul. Wonder if political connections had anything to do with it? Naw….not here in Massachusetts.
I recently returned from a trip in which I had the opportunity to talk with several folks from other nations. Really a globe trotting experience. Many were interested in our politics but were cautious about discussing the subject, but I was also curious - especially in regards to the current White House occupant.
There is an incredible about of negativity in regards to his performance. The perception is Obama is well over his head in dealing with his peers in other countries. Most folks have followed the same trajectory in regards to Obama and that is down. The hope and change mantra was actually universal and seems to have really dissipated among our friends (and enemies) overseas and on our borders.
I recently spend some time on a tour of the Little White House, used extensively but not exclusively by Harry Truman. Now when I view Truman there is an ingrained personal prejudice since I consider him one of our top of the line residents of the Oval Office. So we I see his desk with a “Buck stops here” name plate I realize that the current president is in the low minors and HST is a major league super star.
You steal $30,000 and get 50 hours of community service? No restitution? The logic is it is “Difficult to pay under his circumstances.” How about a part time job? So that figures out to $600 an hour pay? Just what gives? From what I could glean from the articles on this situation the money was not exactly spent on articles of need. Nice message, Judge Carpenter. And a great job by his attorney.
There is a proposal to give driver licenses to illegal’s. Yes, just when you expected Massachusetts not to get any more screwy this comes up.
Middleboro will now be a tourism Mecca. I am planning on a tour of closed store fronts, nail salons, abandoned housing and my favorite pothole infested streets.
Scarlett Johansson is certainly easy on the eyes and this young woman has a pair that many males need to adopt. Ms. Johansson is spokesperson for Sodasteam, a company that manufactures at home soda makers. The company actually converted a munitions factory to a production facility, is environmentally sound and green to boot. So what is the issue? Why has Ms. J. been hung out to dry? Well, the company is Israeli. And, of course, to many of the beautiful people that means anti Palestinian. Ms. J. told the whiners to “stuff it.” You go, girl!
Mohegan Sun, a rather expansive gin mill, is feeling the heat for putting lien’s on the homes of those who owe a rather substantial gambling tab. Why did they extend such credit and why did the fools use it? Debts are collectable.
Massachusetts DCF continues to put clients at risk and do a side step, along with the governor, to be as evasive as possible regarding accountability. The head mistress of the agency, one Olga Roche, has been in fine avoidance mode.
A very nice rent is the $1,200 being offered for a ten year lease on the now deserted Eastern Bank in picturesque downtown Middleboro. This is a great bargain for the renter and will probably be negotiated downward in number of years. The goal, of course, is to add a potential business, besides a nail salon, to the downtown. Everything possible should be done to reach an accommodation with the tenant. The risk of a new business venture is well documented as most just fail.
I will watch the Olympics very selectively. With some events, such as the Biathlon, I imagine there are probably only twenty people on the planet that do it. The bobsled is something I will eventually try at Lake Placid.
Massachusetts now need a state climatologist. That’s right! No checking the Weather Channel or the myriad of weather forecasters that appear endlessly during the day on our local news outlets. Nope. Our governor wants our very own climatologist. Forget more funding for a totally mis-managed Department of Children or Families. This is, no doubt, urgent - probably as urgent as nine million bucks to renovate his corner office digs.
Now the administrative logic behind this assignment is global warming or its new euphuism - climate change. The idea is that the state climatologist will somehow “help” on this situation. My guess is Patrick has never heard of NASA and NOAA, which are fairly sharp on that issue.
But, since I am retired, a few extra bucks will help. Here it is, Governor. When a bad storm hits with get beach erosion and flooding. OK….that’ll be $100,000, thank you.
The rotary backup reached new, at least from my previous observations, lengths. Is bigger really better? The line last week at about mid morning went from the famed cross right on down to the rotary. Thankfully I was exiting Burger King and avoided the nightmare.
Now the rotary mess is suppose to be eliminated (ha, ha) with an exotic design that the state has finally decided to fund. My feeling is this with be the Big Dig of Middleboro.
And while discussing Burger King they have a few holes in their menu. Holes are usually a term used to described pricing inconsistencies. This one was obvious. Three French Toast sticks for $1 and five for $2.49. McDonald’s has a few pricing holes of their own. Always good to examine unit pricing at super markets since the occasional large is sometimes more expensive than the small.
The street I live on was plowed several times during the last storm. The street was kept passable until the storm dissipated and then came a few “runs” by the plows and it was clear and wide. Nice job. Not only that, my Christmas tree was picked up. That trash tax of $208 does have some upside.
I have to grudging admire the Patriots. Much adversity and managing to make it to the division finals where I will half-halfheartedly lend my emotional support. Three of the coaches involved in then current NFL dust-up, Belichick, Carroll and Harbaugh and, for me, truly difficult folks to like.
I hate to see a business close but there are exceptions. I am very familiar with Isis. That is a chain of stores that target upscale first time mothers with products and services. I looked up the term Isis and it is the Egyptian Goddess of overpriced products.
Isis also practiced the same policy far too many defunct businesses employ and that is to collect money right up to the day they close their doors. The seedy characters who operate like this need serious jail time and not bankruptcy protection.
The latest debate surrounding trash is the new and improved containers that Middleboro may soon have. I have seen the automation in action for years and it is very efficient. But when a member of the BOS points out aesthetics I get a chuckle. Yes….I often confuse Middleboro with Dover and Manchester By The Sea.
Your tax dollars hard at work will now fund a sex change operation for a convicted murderer.
