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The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is in charge of the state parks but it appears they also have another duty that recently surfaced with the “Storm of the century” - they also are in charge of clearing the snow from the State House. The DCR doesn’t do it but contracts the work out with the requirement it must be removed - yes, removed - within 12 hours. A spokesperson was not able to tag a dollar figure but my assumption is this is not exactly a low end deal.
I go to state parks quite frequently since I am a trail runner. Franklin is a great one but it has been deserted for years - funding. Massasoit is bare bones. Ames Nowell is essentially closed. Borderland is maintained rather well as is Myles Standish but both still have minimal services. But the snow gets plowed for the State House - no - gets REMOVED! So the politicians get a spiffy reserved and clean space while the Hoi Polloi get a stripped down state park.
My wife - The Lovely Cynthia - and I travel quite frequently. Local day trips, a few night getaways and longer trips of extended stays but we have never been on a cruise. Every time we think about it something in the news convinces us to stay away and Carnival has managed to do just that. Probably the only thing we’d try is an elegant river cruise in Europe. Elegant means too expensive
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The first day of spring training and two Red Sox players already have a slight physical problem and another (Felix Doubront) shows up looking like a blimp.
According to The Herald the number of state employees receiving a six figure salary has gone up 12% in one year….and Patrick wants 1.9B in new taxes?
As Howie Carr calls it “The Boring Broadsheet” is now for sale at about 10% of what the NY Times bought it for. The Globe use to be the paper of record but it is now a shell of its former self - a larger version of The Brockton Enterprise.
Tesla Motors may finally be turning the fiscal corner on profitability. Their electric is amazing - especially the price. The roadster can easily (and quietly) go 0-60 in under four seconds but the price tag is north of $100,000.
When I start up trail running after the defrosting takes place I’ll probably need a chain saw. A real mess in the woods.
My daughter just returned from a trip to the Azores and loved it.
The Chinese are hacking into our computer systems but the bust to do is to spam them to death.
The authorities closed down a “massage parlor” in West Bridgewater since it was a front for prostitution. There were local and state police, Homeland Security and ICE involved in this operation. Amazing use of resources.
Returning home Monday AM there was multiple wrecks on I-495. The State Police were siphoning off traffic onto R105 to connect to the rotary for a bypass but didn’t have anyone at the lights directing traffic. Not sure whose responsibility it was but the smart thing would be having someone at the junction of R28 and R105 to get that push on since virtually all were taking a left hand turn. Fortunately I was going to the right and had a clear lane. Just another example of the simple things not being done.
Middleboro seems to be at the focal point of “Middle Earth” all too often. The latest is a machete wielding significant other of an arson suspect.
In Brockton - the garden spot of Southeastern Massachusetts - a pig has been sent to a gulag in Halifax thanks to its propensity to escape and wander the streets. On its last venture it was propositioned three times before animal control captured it.
Now that Xmas trees no longer represent a significant collection issue maybe Mr. Bagas can sent the trucks over to Auburn Street for a clean up? I would suggest several very, very large trucks.
The Republicans continue to froth over Obamacare and rightfully so. The program is growing exponentially and will create several new battalions of lawyers to deal with this soon to me most layered of bureaucracies. However I would say look in a mirror boys and girls of the GOP since this hydra is the end result of your own decades of stonewalling. That so many Americans have limited or no insurance access has long been a blight.
Some dissipation of that junk yard (AKA - Storage) depot n the corner of Jackson and Lincoln streets has taken place. Is it a sudden desire on the part of the owners to beautify or the high price of scrap?
Is the economy improving? I’d say “yes” but what exactly does improving mean? Like seeing your blood pressure at 148/88 and it goes down to 140/82.
Gas prices have taken another surge and some of the blame is not on supply but the ability to refine product. The United States needs updated refineries or new ones and just maybe “The Big Zero” can issue some Executive Orders to make it happen.
Unemployment benefits are taxable but welfare is not. Another reason it may pay not to work.
Once again the rotary - not the ones holding an auction - has reared up with the state doing a song and dance that would make the staff at Burt Wood jealous. I could see this being a problem for a few years but it has been one for decades. I guess that round and round means little but a multi-billon dollar train to the southern hinterlands does.
About that train. The cost estimate is around 2B but in state dollars that will soon expand to 4B and maybe 6B? Why not just provide chauffer service?
The locals McDonald’s has finished making their drive thru resemble the rotary and the next project is a rebuilt of the store. IMO they should make a land purchase on Clark Street and have three lanes so that one lane could be dedicated to a right turn only. Nightmare pulling out into traffic.
Streets seem to be plowed rather well around town.
There is hardly a limit on what our local Community Preservation Committee can spend of CPA funds on a project. It is up to their collective discretion and in my opinion that is a serious flaw that needs to be addressed. Already there is talk of tapping into CPA funds for the police station and that could mean some serious outflow. The CPC could easily spend 60% of their funds on this project or none at all. My suggestion would be for the CPC to impose a cap on what a project can receive in a year based on a percentage of total CPA funds available. Say a limit of 15% or 20%? This would be a built in protection so that disasters such as the one in Bridgewater could be avoided. Also an applicant could always return the following year and make a request. Big ticket projects can turn into a money pit.
The reliance is upon the CPC to judiciously examine all proposals and recommend them to Town Meeting. Rarely does a CPC reject a proposal and rarely does a TM reject a CPA funded project. In fact very few projects actually turn into boondoggles That is what I have discovered in by usual diligent research. The Middleboro CPC appears cautious in the vetting process and hopefully that will continue and continue especially when the town comes forward in begging mode. But I have not found a CPC that has any self imposed limits or cap.
Deval Patrick has decided in his infinite wisdom that Massachusetts residents can pay even more in taxes. Already our road costs per mile are a notch away from being the highest in the nation while New Hampshire among the lowest. The primary factor being “administrative costs.” So that means a possible sales tax and gas tax increase to address transportation issues and - of course - the billions that the governor wants to spend on commuter rail to New Bedford and Fall River and - naturally - a line from Pittsfield (yes - it is part of Massachusetts) to New York City. I doubt if the famed Middleboro Rotary is on his agenda.
The proposed tax increases also have their usual “For the children” component meaning more for education. This is the poorly veiled attempt at emotional blackmail since the last thing we need is some rag covered tikes sitting in a classroom of eighty other rag covered tikes without heat, computers, pencils and no other potential services.
Fees are the other area that politicians love to exploit. I’m all for a fee to serve in the legislature. You are elected to office you pay a fee. You are elected to office you have to pay for a bond (not Adam) incase any skullduggery takes place on your watch - a remote possibility. So I doubt that will happen but your auto inspection may be doubled. Why do repair shops continue to do it if it is time consuming and those machines so expensive? Well the usual takes place: “You are going to need new ball joints!” “You need new wipers!” “You have a light out!” Amazing how much is discovered wrong or in need of repair.
Is Auburn Street finally settled? A court order was issued for the mess to be handled and the way the courts have operated with some of this crap I hope the Judge is Roy Bean. Just maybe this will be the start of public usage for the area and not to run a junk yard.
Obama in his inauguration speech had a line in the sand drawn for Republicans and even some of the more conservative elements in his own party. His focus for the bully pulpit appeared to be on his social agenda with no real specific on how to pay the bills.
Tom Brady is a very good quarterback but no longer a great one. He has morphed into a combination Brett Farve and Peyton Manning with spectacular numbers and then pedestrian ones in the playoffs. His performance against Baltimore was dreadful.
U.S. Attorney General Carmen Cruz plans on continuing the efforts of her department to grab a Tewksbury motel despite a rebuke of a judge that dismissed the case. Another example of prosecutorial reach or more clearly a money grab in which the feds can share the bounty with the locals.
Regionalization - I hope I have that big word right - is now in the news as the governor is targeting local housing authorities in an attempt to consolidate and save 10M. The real motivation is Chelsea. Chelsea has managed to corrupt the process in a sting of well documented and highly published mis-doings with the end result is everyone suffers.
There are 200 housing authorities in the state and with the consolidation that brings the number down to six. I’m sure the concern is over local control which should be somewhat extinguished by the new plan. I doubt if it will pass.
The local CPC has moved forward on the acrimonious UU pipe organ issue. On to TM for that one when some ire over the representative of the applicant will surface.
While in New York City I came upon a rotary that smaller than the Middleboro Rotary but obviously far more congested. Both Central Park West and North funneled into it but the rotary had three marked lanes and a light system that allowed for actually some fairly controlled madness. I have also seen a similar design in Hilton Head and used it several times. Works well. Maybe the answer here?
I had seen in the paper the potential of CPA funds being used on the police station. Is this a back door around what should be standard maintenance, overrides or debt exclusion?
The drive thru and the local McDonald’s makes the rotary look sane. Why they designed it like that is beyond my limited comprehension. At least I can still get a large soda for a buck.
Some strides have been made to make scenic downtown Middleboro presentable - most notably our “theater district” - but there is a long way to go. Too many store fronts look like 70s design gone bad.
Truchhi’s bakery has great cup cakes and they are only a $1.49.
I’m sure the BOS will make some sort of determination on stores selling pot. My suggestion is to make it as restrictive as liquor and lottery sales.
When did the History Channel become the Pawn Channel?
In New Hampshire a charity event sponsored by the Chief Police Association is offering a variety of guns as prizes. I guess sensitivity training is not taught at the academy.
Mark Pacheco has announced a run at another term. Guess the Probation Department hearings have stalled.
1/14 was Blue Monday or the most depressing day of the year. Seems that it is the day in which seasonal disorder is most pronounced. I really think it is all the Xmas credit card statements arrive.
Apple stock is on another downward trend. A real “bargain” at $500 a share.
The Patriots managed to win a playoff game with the vastly overrated Tom Brady so now Baltimore comes to town. Of course the pronouncement is Baltimore is “Old and slow” so as an “Old and slow” person I will have a bit of sympathy for them.
The Ravens got their nickname thanks to Edgar Allen Poe’s connection to the city.
The Boston Braves were once known as “The Beaneaters.” I imagine the clubhouse resembled that famed campfire scene from “Blazing Saddles.”
Nature areas in other towns have occasional bridges and boardwalks in areas that are difficult to muddle your way through. In Middleboro we have none. I’ll let BB start a grass roots efforts since I am far too lazy.
Be interesting to see how Obama applies executive orders in his second term. I believe Harrison was the only president not to issue one. Of course this will infringe upon Congress (in their view) and the occasional turf war will ensue.
Will be interesting since the debt ceiling is designed to provide money Congress has already authorized to spent or has spent. No bills get paid. I'm sure SS folks will appreciate that. Wait until Congress discovers there is no office help, free cafeteria and the trash is not being picked up. I'll probably miss the Smithsonian and National Parks the most.
Why is housing rehab grants limited to downtown?
The Second Amendment used as a vehicle for illogical thought. The NRA - I hope - has a class action suit filed against it for the slaughter they help perpetuate. Now if the defenders of “The Second” wish to use that as a basis for their arguments I’m all for a return to the glory days of the late 1700s. Back to the flintlocks. Keep yer powder dry, boys! You want the Second then live with it under the parameters it was written.
Arm the custodians! Barney Fife lives! Pick up the trash, kid, or get pistol whipped!
How bad was in for the gun nuts? Even the NY Post and NY News - two conservative papers had NRA flack Presser on the front page with the headline “Gun Nut” followed by “NRA Loon In Bizarre Rant On Newtown.” I guess to the NRA the gun is just an innocent victim.
The idiots who run the increasingly insane National Rifle Association are so wrapped up in protecting widespread ownership of guns at any costs that they defy logic, promote stupidity and offer ridiculous solutions to the increase of violence in schools.
I took at informal poll via the internet of teachers and former teachers regarding their having to lock and load in the classroom. I also asked to have it sent to other teachers and at this point it is 17-0 AGAINST arming teachers.
We can have guns for self defense - thank you SCOTUS - but what happens when they get loose? Get stolen? I’ve seen stricter control getting on a plane than getting a gun. They are everywhere. Owners are careless and a four year old ends up with it. Family disputes are easily settled. Forget Death With Dignity just take the quick way out. High capacity magazines are only for one purpose - annihilation
A clever mass murderer can use many options to bring havoc but one option we can eliminate from the equation is guns.
How many armed robberies occur in Japan? Germany? Canada? How many schools in those countries have armed guards?
During our recent 3” blizzard I saw folks shoving snow into the street and clearing their cars in the street. My understanding is this is some type of violation of a newly minted ordinance. Maybe they should make a pilgrimage to Auburn Street to dispose of snow - after all it is not a street.
Are the BOS meeting every Monday in January? I have a Xmas tree to get rid of.
Congressional raises. It was stupid. Dumb. Poor decision. The country is a mess and Congress can't get crap done and they get a freaking raise! Obama should have killed this weeks ago. I don't care if it is Bush (choose one), Clinton, Reagan or Obama it was terrible PR and has just ticked people off. A dumb arse move! And while I have the soap box where was the leadership in Congress on this?
Seemed like the fiscal resolve was originating in the Senate. Article I section VII covers this. They are proposing. All the twist of linguistics and parliamentary maneuvering. Not really unusual. House will then look at it and modify it (much will already be decided with a mutual drunk and debauchery) and then the House will magically come up with a bill with a few changes and send it on to the Senate. Eventually it will pass and then the legislature and executive will gut it.
My predictions are notoriously accurate such as a Red Sox pennant in 2012 or BB writing a worthwhile read so look for equities and earnings to sky rocket in 2013.
Kansas now has a law limiting cat ownership to a max of four. Many places have dog limits since at a certain number you must have a kennel license. My wife - The Lovely Cynthia - would have to cull her herd of cats. Little furry vermin - the cats - not Cynthia.
Towns are moving to restrict dope shops. I thought the original intent was to block dopes which would make my blog extinct.
Life use to be Mary Ann or Ginger, Betty or Veronica and now it is Groupon or Living Social.
Auburn Street no longer belongs to anyone but the abutter who now uses in to store old vehicles or is that to just let them sit and rot? The street now has storage sheds, assorted old tools, tires, and other junk that is ready for the landfill or scrape yard. Now to some this is not a street? Who in the world determined that? I can remember running down Auburn Street when it had a bridge. You could run the trails that were behind the old brick yard now resurrected as a recycle plant and cross the bridge and run on the other side of the river. So what happened? How is this now open for discussion as a street? Why is the abutter - who from what I can gather - does not own the property allowed to use it for his business and erect a gate?
I have no idea if the BOS, the town manager and our town legal eagle can actually finally put an end to what amounts to trespass. Why does this issue linger on and on and why isn’t it on constant watch for what appears to be numerous violations? Even the various map sites have it listed as “Auburn Street.”
The Auburn Street side in Bridgewater has houses on it. Look up snow plow records for when it was a Middleboro street on the Middleboro side. Look up newspaper articles for when the bridge burned. What in the world are they looking for regarding proof? In fact just take the land. Grab it! If someone “claims” it let them sue.
While I am on the Auburn Street issue that bridge being completed as a pedestrian bridge would make a wonderful loop trail system of at least eight miles and a trail system of many more if developed and linked correctly. It could be done without a bridge but it would seriously impact the trail structure with a rather elongated system. In fact the Middleboro side of Auburn could be cleared of Mr. Trespass and a small parking lot built since there is already one on the Bridgewater side that is Wildlands Trust area. Well….I assume it is the Bridgewater side since the Taunton River is the divider between Bridgewater and Halifax.
Kathleen Brennan of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservatory has moved on to San Francisco. The Greenway is a joke. A quasi agency with six figure paychecks for managing space that passes as a back yard in many places in Middleboro. The 40% of the public money they received could have kept some state parks such as Franklin open.
There was actually a time in the distant past when the Discovery Channel had some legitimate programming but it has deteriorated faster than a Bumpkin column. Now they have on Zombie Apocalypse that focuses on folks who are prepping for a zombie takeover. I guess they have been watching too much legislative activity on CSPAN.
The Red Sox hired on J.D. Drew’s younger brother for a year. I’d like the deal if his last name was anything but Drew.
The flaws of the Patriots were clearly on display against the 49ers. The 49ers ran up 41 points and then did a rope a dope instead of keeping the pressure on. Almost cost them the game as the Patriots can certainly ring up the points.
“Are you a volunteer or a paid solicitor” is the question to ask any charity calls. According to my legal expert - currently serving a ten year term - they are suppose to answer which.
North Dakota is in an oil boom. Wages at McDonald’s in Minot can start in the mid 20s per hour. Midland Texas was a ghost town a few years ago but recovery technology and new sources have brought it back. Peak oil has now been moved well forward with new sources and technology in the United States and Canada.
The fiscal cliff is government’s answer to Y2K.
Anyways, the sides involved in the cliff BS are making progress with each side giving a little which will eventually resolve (temporarily) the issue. That allows both sides to claim they are conciliatory or they held the line or blame each other - plenty of options.
There has been some discussion connecting the Sandy Hook shooter and Autism since he was somewhere on the spectrum. Can someone with Autism be violent? Sure can. My daughter teaches autistic kids and she usually works with those with a pattern of explosive and aggressive behaviors. For years I worked with kids with explosive and aggressive behaviors and they were not Autistic or had Asperger’s. I have also worked extensively with Autistic kids that were as passive as could be found - too passive by our own societal standards.
In Middleboro a retired Middleboro teacher gets $100 a day to substitute while a retired teacher other than Middleboro gets $80 a day. Last year I asked the acting superintendent about this and his reaction was “other towns do it.” I asked “what towns?” The answer I got was “I’ll have to look it up.” I already knew the answer regarding that issue and our neighboring communities. None. I made the simple statement that this was merely a reward and is insulting to those who taught in other towns and those towns have had a superior MCAS performance to Middleboro. Amazing watching him turn beet red and sputter.
Years ago I worked in the DPS (Dreaded Private Sector) for a company located at Braintree Hill Office Park. The lottery had their office in the same complex and our LAN Manager came across an opening for a similar position at the lottery. I encouraged him to apply. He got the job.
Several months later we met for lunch and what he told me sums up all one needs to know about government positions. His new manager told him to not mention politics or politicians since almost everyone was “connected.” The reason both of them had their job is that even hackville could not dredge up anyone remotely competent to handle the technology they were implementing. He did say that more and more non connected were being hired for that specific reason.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are a tough sell. The range is limited, the cost prohibitive and the availability to recharge is minimal. I recently drove a Ford Focus electric and saw no difference between that and the gas powered version and the electric was more peppy. But those batteries! Stuffed in the truck. That cost! $40,000! That range! Seventy-five miles!
I’ve long admired the Tesla Motor Company which has done it far better for years with a near 300 mile range and a cost of a mere $100,000 for the sports version (0-60 in 3.9) and about $85,000 for the sedan. Tesla also has a quick charge that certainly helps the range factor.
So if you wish to “feel good” about the environment - ignoring how the electricity is manufactured - then get an electric but be prepared to pay twice as much as you would for a gas powered version.
My water bill is now approaching my tax bill. Is the water department building a replica of the fountains of Petergof in picturesque downtown Middleboro? Maybe an aqueduct?
Reading some of the handouts that the Obama and Patrick administrations seem to be giving to illegal’s and quasi legals I am reminded of that great line from The Simpson’s when Apu becomes naturalized: “Today I am an American citizen - which way to the welfare office?”
The new socialist government of France has proposed banning homework since it gives an advantage to students whose homes are conducive to study.
Folks making $30,000 a year or less voted for Obama. How many? Seven million more than voted for Romney. Never bite the hand that feeds you.
Probation Department now has missing bracelets - a lot of them. The information was with held from State Auditor Suzanne Bump who probably would have said - like with EBT cards - that it only represent 1%.
Deval Patrick wants to change the rules of the game in case Kerry goes to the administration. Maybe he is concerned the voters would right a wrong and put Brown back in the senate?
The medical device tax is another example of the hidden taxes in Obamacare and it will have a direct impact on Massachusetts which is heavy in that business sector. A 2.3% tax on everything from tongue depressors to sutures
A recent poll showed Americans favor tax increases - 61% were in favor of increases of some type. What would be the result if only those who PAID federal taxes were asked?
Seems like Jeff Stevens got some press on my most worthy blog. Jeff has long advocated a separation of church and state yet that seems to go by the wayside when tax money becomes available for a local church/society of which he is a member. Nothing more consistent than inconsistency.
The Red Sox made some three star and not five star signings but they all show promise in the direction of rebuilding.
The state now has a 500M shortfall. Translation - look for more taxes and fees. Good news for New Hampshire.
I have no idea about the VFW booze license. Seems a simple matter that has become increasingly complicated. No matter what is done I’ll find a way of being critical even if I agree.
Corey Booker is Mayor of Newark and quite a public profile especially with his food stamp challenge. I had the opportunity to “do business” with Newark about six months ago and could not find a less response government this side of Somalia and especially direct contact with the mayor’s office.
The Senate failed to pass a disabilities treaty thanks to some republicans who seemed more concern with their distrust of the U.N. than a piece of rather innocuous legislation. Even Bob Dole showing up in a wheel chair could not provide enough of an emotional lift to get the deal done.
