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OuttaHere
Member
58 Posts |
 Posted - 12/03/2012 : 12:19:49 PM
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Old News!....
Read every last detail above on this in the three local fish wraps!..................NOT!
At least we get SOME news out of the Globe!.... WHO KNEW before last weeks "Public Comments"! :)
On the other hand look how far Mr. Owens and his group got accomplished in last spring's "Public Comment"......ZIP!
Same ole, Same ole, :o
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 12/03/2012 : 2:05:13 PM
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| Coercing...Bypassing the Union on Oct. 12th ..."threatening to terminate"....total lack of respect.....his conduct at the bargaining table does not surprise me. Mind-boggling the things he thinks he can get away with. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 12/04/2012 : 08:48:41 AM
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4 Dec 2012
Boston Globe
PAUL MCMORROW
Everett site has better use than a casino
Assembly Square and the old riverfront Monsanto plant in Everett are, in many ways, two sides of the same coin.
THE MYSTIC River and a pair of rail lines are all that separate Assembly Square in Somerville from the wasteland in Everett that casino magnate Steve Wynn wants to transform into a resort casino. The two properties are so close that a decent golfer could tee off on one and hit the other. They share a common industrial heritage. Until work crews began clearing Assembly Square for construction, the land on the Somerville side of the Mystic looked just as forlorn as it does now in Everett.
Assembly Square and the old riverfront Monsanto plant in Everett are, in many ways, two sides of the same coin. Now, however, they’re on sharply divergent development paths. One builds a new economy, and the other builds an elaborate structure for siphoning cash into the hands of one wealthy corporation. Somerville is creating a new neighborhood, while Everett’s mayor is parading Steve Wynn through City Hall. Everett’s is a considerably less ambitious and less constructive endeavor, and it’s one the city doesn’t have to settle for. Somerville could have had what Everett now has (a less than certain shot at one of three state casino licenses), and turned that offer down. That alone should give Everett pause — especially because the city could easily replicate what is happening at Assembly Square.
Steel beams are now rising — forming space for new shops, and for hundreds of apartments. The four new city blocks currently under construction will eventually mushroom into a mixed-use neighborhood with 2,100 new residences and well over 2 million square feet of office and retail space, all sitting on a new Orange Line subway stop. And there’s more coming, as the decision by the furniture retailer IKEA to sell its 12 acres in Assembly Square opens the door for a significant expansion of the new neighborhood Federal Realty Investment Trust is currently building.
Assembly Square is booming now, but its success was far from a foregone conclusion. The site was once a forgotten, isolated corner of Somerville, left behind by industry and cut off from the rest of the city by Interstate 93. It was the site of an old auto plant and a failed mall, and not much else. It didn’t look like much, but Assembly Square’s neighbors had vision. They saw the immense potential in a large parcel of open land sitting on the river and on a subway line, and they fought for development that would live up to the site’s unique location.
The 37-acre former Monsanto site Wynn toured last week isn’t quite Assembly Square’s twin — it’s on a commuter rail line, not the subway, and it faces a more intensive environmental cleanup — but it’s a close relative. Both have transit links. Both sit on the water. Both are sizeable open parcels sitting close to Boston. The fundamentals are baked into the real estate. They’re just waiting for the vision to catch up.
Those fundamentals are why Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone told a Globe reporter last week that he’d repeatedly rebuffed developers looking to build in Assembly Square what Wynn wants to build across the river. “Over my dead body would a casino come to Assembly Square or any part of Somerville,” Curtatone said.
Somerville activists pushed for a mix of offices, retail, and new homes laid out in city blocks — because this mix will allow Assembly Square to become a building block in a broader economic development strategy. The neighborhood’s builders are hoping to capture development overflow from red-hot Cambridge. The Orange Line links the neighborhood to Boston, and to the Station Landing development near Wellington station in Medford. The new residences, new office space, and new restaurants are additive. They grow the economy organically.
The Everett casino, on the other hand, would be an end unto itself. And worse, it would squander the location that’s enabling Assembly Square’s transformation. Casinos, like IKEA furniture stores, come in pre-cut boxes. These boxes are designed to maximize profit wherever they’re plunked down. They are indifferent, if not hostile, to their surroundings. They can go anywhere, which means they’re awful fits for waterfront, transit-adjacent real estate, of which there’s a limited supply. A site like Assembly Square, or like the Monsanto site, needs to live up to its full potential.
There are too few of them to waste.
bostonglobe.com
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2012 : 08:34:00 AM
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Not all in Everett willing to gamble on casino
By John Laidler
Globe Correspondent / December 6, 2012
As Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn looks at Everett for a possible resort-style gambling complex, the potential development is stirring a mostly cautious response from city leaders.
Reacting to the surprise news that plunged Everett into the thick of the high-stakes drama of casino development in the state, the city’s elected officials voiced excitement but also concerns about what it would mean for Everett to host one of the gambling venues.
To begin public dialogue on the issue, the city is inviting residents to an open forum on the proposed development at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Connolly Center, 90 Chelsea St.
Wynn is considering the former Monsanto Chemical Co. property on the Mystic River, a 37-acre site on Lower Broadway, as the possible location.
At the ground level of those who represent Everett residents, especially in that neighborhood, the reaction has been measured.
Common Councilor Cynthia Sarnie, whose Ward 6 includes the site, said at least for now, she opposes the development.
“As much as I like a casino, I don’t like it in my backyard, and this is literally at my back door,” Sarnie said. “I do understand that it does bring in jobs and taxes . . . but I’m looking at the quality of life we have to deal with and what is going to happen to that.”
She said if city voters passed a referendum in favor of the casino and the plan had the backing of her ward, she would reconsider.
Common Councilor Michael J. McLaughlin, who also represents Ward 6, called the plan a “great opportunity” for the community to reactivate a long dormant site, and generate jobs and infrastructure improvements. But he said more details are needed.
“I think we need to reserve judgment until we see the plan,” said McLaughlin, who has heard mixed feelings voiced by residents about the project. “There are a lot of positives but also concerns about the traffic impact.”
Ward 6 Alderman Sal Sachetta said he loves going to casinos and “I believe a casino would be good for the city of Everett because it would lower our taxes.”
But Sachetta is skeptical a casino will get built in Everett, citing the enormous cost of needed infrastructure work and the prominent support that the rival Suffolk Downs casino plan enjoys, notably from Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston.
Ward 4 Alderman L. Charles DiPerri thinks the casino plan is worth exploring, but “right now, we don’t have enough information to determine if it would be right or wrong here.” In particular, he wants to see how developers would address the “massive overhaul” of local roadways he said would be needed to accommodate the project.
Ward 5 Alderman Robert Van Campen also isn’t ready to take a stand on the plan “because at this stage it is entirely conceptual.
“In a community that in the last 5½ to 6 years has seen virtually no substantial economic development, anything at this point is worth pursuing,” he said. “I think at the end of the day, a casino as a job creator is a positive.”
But “on the flip side of it are all the social ills that are well documented about the impact of casinos,” Van Campen added. “So I think at this point we should . . . reserve judgment till we see the proposal itself.”
Everett Common Council president Daniel J. Napolitano said his initial reaction to the potential casino in Everett is positive.
“I think it potentially could bring great things to the city of Everett,” he said, pointing in particular to jobs and the potential boost to local businesses. “The people who approach me on the street seem to have a favorable disposition” toward the project, he said.
Napolitano said he wants to see more details before he is ready to embrace the idea.
“I want to see what the building looks like; I want to see what the traffic studies say, how they are going to improve the infrastructure in the area,” he said.
Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. accompanied Wynn on a tour of the Everett site last Wednesday.
"This is an exciting prospect, bringing with it the possibility of infrastructure improvements, tax money, building permit fees, school funding, and most importantly, jobs for our residents,” DeMaria said in a written statement.
“However, before we get to that point, there are conversations that need to be had and work to be done,” DeMaria said. “My staff and I have already begun to meet with local leaders, community members, and officials from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to discuss both the benefits and potential challenges of any development on our waterfront.”
Wynn tried unsuccessfully earlier this year to win support in Foxborough for a $1 billion casino on land across from Gillette Stadium. A proposed casino in Everett would put the developer in direct competition with Suffolk Downs in Revere and East Boston — which has partnered with Caesars Entertainment — for the single casino license available for Greater Boston.
State Representative Stephen Smith, an Everett Democrat, said a casino could help the city’s tax base and the proposed site is in a good location and “is a piece of property that we have been waiting for many years to develop.
“I want to see what people have to say, what the residents feel about it,” he said, adding that so far “what I’m hearing is that they are all in favor of it.”
In a statement, state Senator Sal DiDomenico, an Everett Democrat, said, “A large-scale development in this area has economic, traffic, and environmental impacts that would affect a majority of my district. If and when a proposal is submitted, I will review it, and I will work to ensure all parties involved, most importantly our residents, have equal opportunity to weigh in on this project.”
John Laidler can be reached at laidler@globe.com.
© Copyright 2012 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Edited by - tetris on 12/07/2012 08:37:10 AM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2012 : 11:03:05 AM
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10 Dec 2012 Boston Globe
casino proposal presents a good opportunity for the area
I WISH columnist Paul McMorrow had been in for the last five years as we toured developers through the former Monsanto site (“site has better use than a casino,” Op-ed, Dec. 4). We would love to have residences, offices, hotels, or retail. We courted developers who proposed these options. Unfortunately, nothing worked out.
The 37-acre parcel once occupied by Monsanto Chemical Co. is being considered as a site for a casino in .
That was not for lack of trying on the city’s part. We worked with current and previous site owners. We rejected plans that I thought did not fit a waterfront area, such as a bioenergy facility or a big-box store, the latter a decision with which McMorrow apparently agrees.
The proposal from casino developer Steve Wynn not only would potentially revitalize a barren area on ’s edge, but could bring good jobs, a diverse development with a casino, hotel, retail,
entertainment, and restaurants, and the highest caliber of resort. It not only would transform 37 acres, but could positively affect the entire community.
Given that Medford has Station Landing and Somerville boasts Assembly Square, there is a surplus of such mixed-use development nearby. The Wynn plan could bring something altogether different to the people of and the surrounding area. I hope that McMorrow and others will keep an open mind until they see the proposal’s details.
CARLO DeMARIA JR. Mayor of Everett
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2012 : 08:20:22 AM
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Everett mayor says he misspoke about lease agreement between Steve Wynn and land owners for casino site
The mayor of Everett said Thursday that he misspoke when he claimed that casino mogul Steve Wynn had entered into a lease to buy property in the city where a casino could be located.
In a written statement, Mayor Carlo DeMaria said Thursday that discussions over a lease between Wynn and the owners of a former Monsanto plant in Everett are ongoing.
"During the well attended and positive community meeting this past Tuesday, I referenced a lease that was entered into by Wynn Resorts and the private property owners of the former Monsanto site in the City of Everett,'' DeMaria said in the statement. "To clarify my remarks, it is my understanding that there are ongoing, exclusive discussions between the parties and a right of first refusal for the site. Developments continue to progress daily and I'm excited by these prospects.''
The Globe reported Thursday that DeMaria had assured residents at the meeting that Wynn had secured a lease for the property and would submit a casino application with the state of Massachusetts.
"We believe Wynn will put in an application," DeMaria told about 300 residents, who gathered Tuesday night for a community meeting to discuss the proposal. "What we do now is negotiate a host agreement" outlining community benefits.
In his statement Thursday afternoon, however, DeMaria said that "Further questions regarding private agreements can be addressed directly by the parties.''
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snoopy1
Member
64 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2012 : 10:02:24 AM
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Why did Dave Rodrigues not correct the mayor at the meeting, if the mayor misspoke? To me it's the same as fibbing to the audience.
When a truth is not given complete freedom, freedom is not complete.
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2012 : 10:45:20 AM
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| Interesting......and I also read that the city solicitor was there. Between the three amigos not one could get it right! Unbelievable. |
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snoopy1
Member
64 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2012 : 11:10:48 AM
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| Steve Wynn has until January 15th to submit a $400,000.00 nonrefundable fee to mass gaming commission to apply for a license in Everett. A couple of people where on broadway yesterday holding signs in favor of casinos and had words with someone that was an opponent. Too early for the nonsense lets reserve judgement until Jan. 15th and see what happens before this whole thing gets out of control. There's only one license and Caesars is also still involved, so there's no done deal here. |
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dadoo
Member
11 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2012 : 3:12:16 PM
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TRUTH!!!!!
This could kill Everett's casino: Part of the Monsanto site is in Boston
Boston Business Journal by Galen Moore, Web Editor
Date: Friday, December 14, 2012, 12:03pm EST - Last Modified: Friday, December 14, 2012, 12:12pm EST
Steve Wynn says he wants to build a casino on 37 acres in Everett, Mass. Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria agrees that a casino would be a great use for 37 acres, formerly owned by Monsanto Chemical, on the Mystic River. But the site they have in mind is only 35 acres – and 5 of them are in Boston.
Believe it or not, Boston's city limit stretches over the Mystic River, encompassing a narrow finger of land on the Everett side, between the former Monsanto site and Route 99. This hadn't been reported until this morning, but it looks like Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) and DeMaria would have to go through that finger – and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino – to pull the first busload of tourists into their planned palace of chance.
Never mind the soil, shot through so thoroughly with chemicals that a utility worker reportedly told a WGBH reporter the groundwater is "like jello." Never mind the checkered past of the real estate development group that owns the land: Two months after the Massachusetts casino law passed, the group scrubbed one partner from its official documents. He had been convicted in 2004 of insurance fraud related to a case of Chelsea arson.
Never mind all that. Looking at the assessors' maps alone, this nascent casino deal is a head-scratcher. It's all laid out in this week's print edition of the Boston Business Journal (premium content).
It's a good thing Boston is a two-daily town. The Boston Globe initially left it to the Boston Herald to correct a story that the Globe ran, in which the Everett mayor reportedly said Wynn had already signed a lease for 37 acres at the former Monsanto site. The mayor's office rowed back that comment on Wednesday, but Globe print readers didn't learn about DeMaria's "clarification" until Friday morning.
Neither paper has reported on the stretch of Boston land that could keep Everett from becoming Greater Boston's Crystal City.
The principals couldn't answer the question either. DeMaria hasn't returned my calls. Wynn's Boston spokeswoman also offered the 37-acre figure, then couldn't explain where the extra 2 acres are coming from. She said Wynn proposes to keep his proposed casino's footprint entirely in Everett, but didn't say how. She was having a hard time reaching the project's real estate lawyer, she said.
Steve Wynn has a great reputation for making money, like the casino he savvily developed in Macau. He's also known for splashy statements, like political, economic and cultural lectures during Wynn Resorts earnings calls.
Will the Everett casino just end up as another splashy statement? Maybe a card counter could guess at Wynn's game, but I can't. His statements in Everett seem to have lit a fire under Menino, who tentatively supports a Suffolk Downs casino. It will be interesting to see what card Wynn leads with next. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 12/20/2012 : 07:35:19 AM
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Medford City Council says no to Everett casino
By Jarret Bencks, Town Correspondent / December 20, 2012
Medford City Councilors voiced their opposition to a potential casino development in neighboring Everett Tuesday, voting by a 5-2 margin to oppose any such development on the old Monsanto Chemical Co. site.
The Massachusetts casino law requires any development to receive referendum approval from the host community. It also requires the developer to negotiate mitigation with neighboring communities. Along with the opposition from the Medford City Council, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone has vowed to do everything in his power to block a casino development if it means building a new Interstate-93 ramp through Somerville.
Medford City Councilor Michael Marks -- who lives in Wellington, a neighborhood about 1 mile from the Everett site -- called for the vote.
"There is no inherent value of having a casino within three-quarters of a mile of a residential neighborhood in our city," Marks said Tuesday, adding he would continue to bring it up at council meetings as long as Everett considered the proposal.
Councilors Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Robert Maiocco, Rick Caraviello, and Robert Penta joined Marks in voting for the resolution.
"You don't have to be a magician to figure this one out," Penta said. "It's just going to have a huge impact."
Traffic on Route 16 in Medford is already a problem and would only be exacerbated by a casino, Penta said.
"It's bad enough now during the holiday season with Kappy's liquors there," Penta said. "Just imagine if there's a casino."
Caraviello said he believed a casino would have a negative impact on Medford businesses.
"A casino sucks the life out of a local economy," he said.
No formal proposal has been submitted for the site in Everett. Councilor Paul Camuso, who voted against the resolution with Fred Dello Russo, said he wanted to wait
until a proposal was on the table before weighing in.
"At this point there's no proposal before us," he said. "I want to reserve judgement until there's an actual proposal."
Jarret Bencks can be reached at bencks.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on twitter @JarretBencks.
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 12/21/2012 : 11:15:28 PM
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Everett state representative to resign, plead guilty to voter fraud
By Travis Andersen
Globe Staff / December 21, 2012
A Democratic state representative from Everett who served on an election law committee is resigning his seat and will plead guilty to voter fraud charges in federal court in Boston, authorities said Thursday.
Representative Stephen “Stat” Smith, 57, faces up to two years in prison, and prosecutors will recommend a 6-month sentence, according to his plea agreement. Smith has also agreed to vacate his seat, effective Jan. 1, and not seek elective office for five years from the date of his sentencing. A plea date has not been set.
Smith did not return messages seeking comment Thursday.
One of his lawyers, Peter C. Horstmann, declined to discuss the case, but said in an e-mail, “Please remember, these are misdemeanors.”
According to prosecutors, Smith, first elected to the Legislature in 2006, submitted fraudulent absentee ballots to support his bids for public office in 2009 and 2010.
He has also served on the Everett Board of Alderman and School Committee.
Smith obtained absentee ballots for ineligible voters, who would unlawfully cast them, or he cast himself, prosecutors said. In some cases, he obtained absentee ballots for registered voters who did not know that he was voting in their names.
Prosecutors wrote in a filing that in those cases, “one or more government officials” helped Smith intercept absentee ballots before they reached unknowing voters.
Court records do not identify those officials, or say how many fraudulent ballots were cast. A spokeswoman for US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz declined to comment beyond the records.
Globe columnist Kevin Cullen raised questions about Smith in September 2010. Cullen reported at the time that in a recent primary election, six absentee ballots were mailed from Smith’s home, even though he was in Everett that day, and more than a dozen were mailed from a hostel that he owned.
Smith told Cullen he voted by absentee ballot because he thought he might have had trouble getting to the polls.
“I had intended to spend the whole day on my knees in Immaculate Conception Church, praying for victory, but after kneeling for 10 minutes I realized I couldn’t do it,” Smith said.
In a brief statement on Thursday, Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, a fellow Democrat, called the charges against Smith disappointing.
“Massachusetts voters have the expectation and right to vote in fair, free and open elections,” DeLeo said.
House Minority Leader Bradley Jones was less restrained.
“Good riddance,” said the North Reading Republican. “He disgraced his city and the institution he served in, and the whole institution of democracy.”
In a statement, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. said:
“While we have no indication that these violations extend beyond those instances involving Representative Smith, the residents of the City of Everett can rest assured that any voter fraud uncovered by this investigation will be dealt with decisively by this administration.”
Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
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Edited by - tetris on 12/21/2012 11:17:28 PM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2012 : 11:50:16 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by tetris
In a statement, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. said:
“While we have no indication that these violations extend beyond those instances involving Representative Smith, the residents of the City of Everett can rest assured that any voter fraud uncovered by this investigation will be dealt with decisively by this administration.”
Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
This is a DUMB statement from the mayor. He would have been better off keeping his mouth shut. There is no way anyone could have pulled of a scheme of this magnitude without having "insider" help. He knows, just like everyone else that there's more to come. |
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justme
Advanced Member
1428 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2012 : 12:42:31 AM
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| Do you expect something other than Dumb from him Tails? |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 12/27/2012 : 7:27:48 PM
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US SENATE RACE , CONGRESS
US Rep. Markey to run in Senate special election
12/27/2012 2:32 PM
US Representative Edward Markey, dean of the state’s Washington delegation, will run in 2013 for the US Senate seat expected to open with the nomination of US Senator John Kerry to head the State Department.
Markey, 66, a Malden Democrat elected to the House in 1976, is the first prominent candidate to declare a run for Kerry’s seat, which will be filled through a special election early next summer, probably in June. Kerry, a Democrat and head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to be easily confirmed by the Senate in the coming weeks as the next secretary of state.
The Massachusetts special election is likely to be a closely-watched national race, and a potential harbinger for the 2014 mid-term elections.
“I have decided to run for the US Senate because this fight is too important,” Markey said in a statement to the Globe. “There is so much at stake.”
Two other Bay State congressmen, Michael Capuano of Somerville, and Stephen Lynch of South Boston, both Democrats, have also expressed interest in seeking Kerry’s seat. Running in a special election is a low-risk venture for House incumbents—if they lose they would still be members of Congress and able to run for reelection as favored incumbents in 2014.
Governor Deval Patrick will appoint a temporary senator to fill the seat after Kerry is confirmed to his new job. Patrick has said he favors appointing a “caretaker” who will not seek the seat in the special election, and Markey will not ask for the appointment, according to the person familiar with his decision.
Republican US Senator Scott Brown, who lost his seat to Democrat Elizabeth Warren in November, is a potential GOP candidate in the 2013 special election. Brown, who won his seat in a 2010 special election after Senator Edward M. Kennedy died in office, has not said if he will run again.
Brown would be a battle-tested candidate after two statewide races in the past three years. Markey has won numerous comfortable reelection campaigns for nearly four decades, sometimes running opposed. But in a frisky announcement statement, Markey signaled he is prepared for a hard-swinging campaign for US Senate, defending several traditional liberal positions.
“With Senator Kerry’s departure, Massachusetts voters will decide once again whether we want a Senator who will fight for all our families or one who supports a Republican agenda that benefits only the powerful and well-connected,” Markey said. “I refuse to allow the Tea Party-dominated Republican Party to lead us off the fiscal cliff and into recession. I won’t allow the [National Rifle Association] to obstruct an assault weapons ban yet again. I will not sit back and allow oil and coal industry lobbyists to thwart our clean energy future or extremists to restrict women’s rights and health care.”
Markey said he favors spending money on “innovations and jobs,” protecting Social Security and Medicare, and “a sane approach to guns and violence.” In the US House, Markey has worked extensively on energy issues, and called for “a national policy that makes our country energy independent and curbs the pollution that is causing global warming.”
He is a graduate of Boston College and Boston College Law School, and a veteran of the US Army Reserves.
Markey begins the race with about $3.1 million in his campaign account, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Mark Arsenault can be reached at marsenault@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BostonGlobeMark. |
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Boston Globe 2012
