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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2008 : 09:30:06 AM
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Pay-as-you throw has Malden outraged
4,000 residents sign petition calling to rescind 'the trash bag tax'
By Brenda J. Buote
Globe Correspondent / October 19, 2008
The economic turmoil that is devastating families across the region is playing havoc with municipal spending plans. In Malden, the mayor's plan to close a budget gap by imposing a trash collection fee has residents up in arms.
Residents are voicing their distress not with protests or marches, but with reams of paper. To date, about 4,000 taxpayers have signed a petition calling on city leaders to rescind the residential trash fee. Of those, 343 signatures have been certified by City Hall; the remainder await the city's seal.
"A lot of people feel that this is a thinly veiled override of Proposition 2 1/2, and they're outraged because they didn't get to vote on it," said Baker Street resident Robert Miller, who in July founded Malden Taxpayers for Accountability to organize opposition to what he calls "the trash bag tax."
The Pay As You Throw program, passed by the City Council with a 7 to 4 vote on June 26, requires residents to dispose of their trash in bags approved by the city. Each 33-gallon bag costs $2; a 15-gallon bag, which won't be available until January, will cost $1.
Similar trash initiatives have been adopted by more than 125 communities across the state; another 92 Massachusetts municipalities charge a flat-rate fee for curbside trash removal.
Mayor Richard C. Howard vigorously defends Malden's adoption of the residential trash fee, which went into effect Oct. 6, calling it a "fair thing to ask for" given the financial bind the city was in at the onset of the current fiscal year, which began July 1.
The city's balance sheet for fiscal 2009 showed a $5 million shortfall, Howard said. Local leaders expect the trash fees to bring in about $2.4 million in new revenue, and save taxpayers an additional $600,000 as residents boost their recycling efforts and send less of their household trash to the landfill.
City projections show that the remaining revenue shortfall will be closed as a result of changes to the healthcare plan for municipal employees and the use of $1 million left over from fiscal 2008.
"If you look at my budget message, you'll see that, in essence, we cut everything except for personnel," said Howard, noting that municipal employees have been working without pay increases for the past two years, even though they have been asked in each of those years to shoulder more responsibilities and a greater share of their health insurance costs.
The mayor was also quick to point out that "of the 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth, Malden's average tax bill is ranked 230th; in most communities, homeowners pay more in property taxes - and if you look only at the state's urban communities, there is only one city with a lower average tax bill."
Howard continued, "For some, those comparisons don't mean anything because the bottom line is that they have to come up with more money to dispose of their trash, but asking the City Council to implement a [pay as you throw] program when our staffing levels are where they should be at, and our tax burden is fair, I think was a fair thing to ask for."
Organizers of the petition drive say the mayor is missing the point.
"We put faith in our elected officials not to take money out of our pockets and to do the right thing," said Miller, 43, who is chairman of the taxpayers' group. "They violated that trust. Rather than come before the taxpayers and say, 'Help us solve this financial dilemma,' they mandated this trash fee. The ends do not justify the means."
The grass-roots effort to eliminate the trash fee started with six people. In recent months, the movement has grown to include 175 volunteers who are canvassing Malden neighborhoods, going door to door to collect signatures.
If the taxpayers' group obtains at least 2,400 certified signatures, voters will be given the opportunity to decide the trash fee's fate at the ballot box in November 2009. However, the group is hoping the number of signatures certified tops 5,800, or 20 percent of the city's estimated 29,000 registered voters. With that number of petitioners, the City Council would have the option of rescinding the program or scheduling a special election on the issue within 30 to 45 days.
"People are looking at the stock market, checking their bank account balances, and worrying about their jobs, and they don't want to pay for these bags," said Miller. "The trash fee is being used to levy a tax shortfall - even though the state Department of Environmental Protection guidelines for this kind of program clearly state that it's not supposed to be a tax, or have the perception of a tax.
"That's why so many people are outraged. They want their voices heard."
Brenda J. Buote may be reached at bbuote@comcast.net.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company. |
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charm
Senior Member
264 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2008 : 11:15:49 AM
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On the chopping block
Some of Governor Deval Patrick's targeted cuts in the North region
October 19, 2008
Email| Print| Single Page| Yahoo! Buzz| ShareThisText size – + Some of Governor Deval Patrick's targeted cuts in the North region:
Discuss
COMMENTS (1)
Community/program Original appropriation Cut
CHELSEA
Centro Latino de Chelsea $200,000 $100,000
EVERETT
Child safety program $50,000 $37,500
Small business program $100,000 $75,000
After-school program $150,000 $112,500
GLOUCESTER
Historic Port Initiative $50,000 $50,000
Maritime Heritage Center $100,000 $75,000
HAVERHILL
Hale Hospital Reserve Fund $2,420,000 $1,000,000
Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce Haverhill Means Business program $100,000 $75,000
YWCA of Haverhill $50,000 $25,000
IPSWICH
Shuttle bus service to Crane Beach $40,000 $40,000
LYNN
E-Team Machinists Training Program $105,000 $105,000
Girls Inc. after-school grant $100,000 $37,500
Grand Army of The Republic Museum $100,000
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2008 : 11:41:14 AM
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With $37,500 cut from the child safety grant, I wonder how the city is going to pay for this (from an article in the Herald thread):
One earmark targeted for child safety is actually being used by Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. to buy a new pothole-patching machine.
“We have a lot of potholes around the schools, and residents walk their kids to school all the time. We don’t want to see them get hurt,” DeMaria said. When pressed, he admitted the machine isn’t reserved for schools alone. “What do you want me to say? ‘It’s not going to be used anywhere else?’ It’s going to help every resident and, more importantly, it’s going to help children.”
While the $50,000 earmark barely registers in a $28.2 billion budget, outraged taxpayer advocates scolded lawmakers for hiding their lard behind noble causes such as child protection. |
Edited by - tetris on 10/19/2008 11:42:38 AM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
 Posted - 10/19/2008 : 12:33:58 PM
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| Although the streets are a mess, I was never in favor of receiving money for child safety, for pot holes. We just received 3.5 million from the sale of the city yards. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 8:14:10 PM
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and Everett's Mayor wants to allow a "dump" on it's waterfront!
A water taxi for the Mystic?
Posted by David Beard, Boston.com Staff October 16, 2008 09:28 AM
By Brad Kane, Globe Correspondent
The next mode of mass public transportation in Medford may be by boat on the Mystic River.
The city government is using $706,000 in federal grant money to develop a Mystic water taxi as part of a larger plan to increase the city's interaction with the meandering waterway by linking existing and future developments.
The water taxi will also be an alternative form of transportation and could link the city's 55,565 residents to riverfront developments in Somerville, Malden, and Everett, said Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn. There is also the possibility of the boat taking people into Boston.
"There is so much development taking place along the river in all neighboring communities that there is potential to create a whole new economy," McGlynn said. "They know what we want to do and that there is a lot of potential there."
The federal money, which comes from the Ferry Boat Discretionary Program, will be used to plan the taxi route of three or four Mystic sites in Medford and then develop a dock at Medford Square. The grant was originally $825,000, but Congress rescinded a portion of it, leaving $706,000.
"The value of it is what it can bring in the future, not necessarily what it is going to do right now," said Lauren DiLorenzo, director of Medford community development. "Even if there is a downturn in economic activity, now is the right time to get the infrastructure in place. It may not affect every citizen today, but it will go toward helping people in the future."
A large part of Medford's economy once was shipbuilding, particularly clipper ships, and the Mystic River played a large role in their construction. While the same Mystic cuts through today's Medford, the city is not taking full advantage of what the waterway offers, McGlynn said. To increase its use of the waterway, the city has developed more parkland on the riverfront and helped developers with projects like Station Landing, a 16-acre mixed-use facility on the river.
"Lots of people would like to be able to enjoy the river more, but people can't get to it very easily," said Penny Antonoglou, a Cambridge resident who works five days a week in Medford. "Some stretches are really nice, but there is some discontinuation between those areas."
The water taxi will service these locations, as well as a few others underway, and introduce residents and visitors to the many ways of using the Mystic, which could bring about more development.
"It is a major piece to the revitalization of Medford puzzle," said Cheryl White, executive director of the Medford Chamber of Commerce. "It takes advantage of the nicest, most beautiful resource our community has to offer."
Medford's government already has received $5 million in linkage and permit fees from Station Landing and River's Edge, another mixed-use development aimed at revitalizing 200 acres on both sides of the nearby Malden River.
In order to use the ferry boat grant money, which is being administered through the Massachusetts State Transportation Improvement Program, the city must first realign Clipper Ship Drive, which runs along the Mystic River and will be the site of the first water taxi dock. A hearing on the realignment will be held Nov. 5.
The city will have the planning for the water taxi underway by next summer with the construction of the Medford Square dock to follow. And soon after, with the water taxi, the Mystic River could play a whole new role in Medford.
"The river is really nice, and we should take advantage of it," Antonoglou said. "The taxi is a great idea, and more people are going to be aware of the river and the ways they can use it." |
Edited by - massdee on 10/20/2008 10:04:59 PM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 9:54:41 PM
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| This was plan for lower Broadway, Everett. I remember it very well. The pretty pictures were in the papers during the campaign. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2008 : 09:33:56 AM
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TALATINIAN, Arthur C. Age 63, of Burlington, October 29, 2008. Beloved husband of Eva (Conboy) Talatinian. Devoted father of Leah Talatinian & her husband Eric Green of NY. Dear brother of Arlene Mazmanian of Billerica, Sandra Farrell and her husband Kevin of Billerica, Phyllis Halloun of Waltham and Ara Kouyoumjian of Palmer. Also survived by 18 loving nieces and nephews. Services at St. James Armenian Church, 465 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown on Monday, November 3 at 11:00 a.m. Relatives & friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours in the Mt. Auburn Chapel of the Giragosian Funeral Home, 576 Mt. Auburn St. (Rt. 16), WATERTOWN on Sunday 4-8 p.m. Interment Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge. Expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to St. James Armenian Church or the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01801. Former teacher in the Everett Public Schools and Bunker Hill Community College; Deputy Sheriff of Middlesex County; Veteran U.S. Army. For directions, guest book, & to light a candle in his memory visit giragosianfuneralhome.com. Giragosian Funeral Home 617-924-0606
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2008 : 10:04:47 PM
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Suspect in Chelsea strip club murder found in Mexico
October 31, 2008 03:09 PM
By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff
The suspect in a January shooting inside a Chelsea nightclub that killed one man and wounded two others was arrested Thursday in Mexico City, where he had been tracked by Chelsea, state, and federal investigators, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.
Jesse Camacho allegedly got into an argument inside King Arthur's Lounge Jan. 25 and then pulled out a handgun and fired at least seven rounds. Jeff Santiago, a patron and Everett resident, was struck several times and later died.
A 41-year-old Charlestown man who was working at the club and a 29-year-old friend of Santiago's was also wounded, authorities said.
In a statement released today following a news conference, Conley said that law enforcement traced Camacho first to Los Angeles, where he was born, and then to Mexico and Mexico City. On Thursday night, Camacho was taken into custody as he got off a bus, Conley said.
“For anyone who thinks they can take a life and simply run away, take note: Whoever you are, wherever you run, whatever you do to evade the law, we will find you,'' Conley said in the statement. "And when we do, we will hold you to account.”
Conley said he is working with the federal government and Mexican authorities to bring Camacho back to Suffolk County so he can be tried on first-degree murder and other charges.
Camacho was 19 at the time of the shooting and had already been involved in other acts of gun-related violence.
He admitted to committing a drive-by shooting on Everett Avenue in Chelsea in 2005 when he targeted three teenagers. No one was injured. In January 2006, he pleaded guilty in Boston Juvenile Court to three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm.
He was ordered into the custody of the Department of Youth Services until his 18th birthday, which was in 2006.
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2008 : 08:12:11 AM
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Deal may hasten closing of landfill
Proposal may spur capping of facility
By John Laidler
Globe Correspondent / November 2, 2008
The Newburyport City Council is considering a proposed new legal settlement between the city and the owner of the Crow Lane Landfill that would allow the facility to be capped and closed.
In the past three years, the private landfill has been the subject of numerous legal actions by the city and by state environmental officials about odor and other alleged violations. The settlement would put an end to outstanding litigation between the city and the firm, New Ventures Associates LLC.
Under the agreement, New Ventures would be allowed to double the volume of material it brings to the landfill each day as part of its capping operation, while the company would agree not to pursue any claims against the city under the state's Chapter 21E hazardous waste law.
Mayor John Moak said the settlement, set to be discussed by the council on Nov. 10, offers the city the most practical way to finally put the landfill issue to rest.
"We've spent over $75,000 in legal fees now, and we've won a couple of court cases," Moak said.
But with those victories, he said, the city is no closer to its ultimate goal of seeing the landfill closed. He said the settlement would allow closing of the facility to move forward and let the city focus on monitoring the effort, rather than pursuing further legal action.
As part of the settlement, the company would provide an easement for construction of a platform on the site to hold an alternative energy facility and $50,000 to help design it. The city would maintain and carry out environmental monitoring of the site for 30 years after closing, which Moak estimates would cost about $10,000 a year.
Last June, the council rejected a prior settlement proposal, in large part because it provided only partial protection to the city from Chapter 21E claims.
Last year, the state named the landfill a Chapter 21E site, and New Ventures has notified Newburyport it plans to legally contend that the city is primarily responsible for any costs related to complying with the law, because the city formerly dumped sewage sludge at the site, said Jack Morris, the city's public health director.
Councilor Brian P. Derrivan - who represents Ward 5, where the landfill is located - said he supports "a negotiated agreement right now with New Ventures," because the alternative is more costly litigation and no progress toward closing the landfill.
But Derrivan said he wants to hear feedback from neighbors and the mayor's ad hoc committee on the landfill, prior to taking a position on the proposed settlement.
Councilor at Large Barry N. Connell said he is withholding judgment on the proposed settlement until he has a chance to see the specifics of the closing plan and learn how the state Department of Environmental Protection plans to enforce it.
New Ventures purchased the landfill in 2000 and about five years ago reached agreement with the state to close it, Morris said.
But the project has been stalled amid legal battles over city and state enforcement efforts, including measures to control hydrogen sulfide released from construction and demolition materials deposited at the site.
Morris said the city and state issued cease-and-desist orders last year halting operations at the site. The city dropped its order in May, but the state's order remains in effect.
He said the state has negotiated a proposed settlement with the firm that spells out a plan for closing the landfill. But Morris said New Ventures has declined to sign that settlement unless the city revises its 2002 host agreement with the firm to allow additional material to be trucked to the site, as provided in the closing plan.
The settlement proposed between the city and New Ventures would allow the firm to bring an additional 35 truckloads of material to the site a day, in addition to the 35 now allowed by the city. The added loads could not include construction and demolition waste.
Morris said the city was recently added to the legal case that is the subject of the proposed court settlement between the state and New Ventures. He said that by removing obstacles to that settlement, the city avoids any potential damages or costs associated with that case.
The city's proposed settlement also spares the city future legal battles over the Chapter 21E case and its outstanding litigation with New Ventures, he said.
William Thibeault, owner of the Crow Lane Landfill, also owns Wood Waste of Boston, an Everett facility that was supplying the construction material used at Crow Lane.
Everett communications director Matt Laidlaw said that because Wood Waste cannot truck it to Newburyport, construction waste is piling up on the company's site off Revere Beach Parkway, prompting concerns from residents about odors and potential health risks.
"We are really hoping that whatever comes out of it helps both cities," Laidlaw said of the settlement discussions in Newburyport.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2008 : 10:08:51 PM
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I am really getting tired of the city blaming Newburyport for the piles of debris down at Wood Waste. The blame lies on Mr Thibeault for not trucking it out as was promised by Attorney Rossi.
Also the cease and desist order in Newburyport is from the state, not from the Town of Newburyport. |
Edited by - massdee on 11/02/2008 10:18:23 PM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2008 : 4:57:52 PM
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Everett plans open house at area schools
EVERETT
VIEW THE SCHOOLS - Residents later this month will have an opportunity to get a firsthand look at the city's public schools. On Nov. 20 from 9 to 11 a.m., the school department is holding open houses at all seven of its schools. Parents and the general public are invited to attend the open houses, which are being held in observance of National Education Week, Nov. 17-22. "We want to show off our faculty, we want to show off our students, and we want to show off the condition of our buildings," said school Superintendent Frederick Foresteire. Four of the city's schools -- the high school, Lafayette, George Keverian, and Madeline English - were built within the last five years. The other schools are Sumner G. Whittier, Webster, and Albert N. Parlin. - John Laidler |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2008 : 10:51:00 AM
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| Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. has launched an effort to reinvigorate neighborhoods with too many abandoned properties and illegal rooming houses. DeMaria recently reestablished the city's Housing Task Force, which consists of representatives from the fire, police, building, code enforcement, health, and city services departments, and the mayor's, city solicitor's, and Community Development offices. According to Matt Laidlaw, DeMaria's communications director, the mayor said he hopes the group will promote collaboration among the offices on code matters. The task force is charged with investigating complaints about blighted property, issuing fines against property owners, and if warranted, seizing property with significant code violations. Through the new task force, the city issued $150,000 in fines for fire, health, and code violations in the last month. The group also delayed the sale of a home until outstanding code-related fines were paid. - John Laidler |
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Cruller DaVille
Senior Member
148 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2008 : 1:02:55 PM
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That's what Code Enforcement does and what the comprehension of the Task Force is. They never disbanned the Task Force. How can you re-establish something that is active? Bull Frogs.
"Cruller DaHville"
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2008 : 1:11:10 PM
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Just how much is the Everett taxpayer paying for these Boston Globe "advertisements"
Is that really such BIG NEWS that had to go in the Boston Globe?? Isn't our three local papers enough, since it concerns Everett? |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2008 : 2:43:57 PM
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I don't think the city pays anything for the Globe articles. It is a press release; an almost, if not, identical piece ran in the Advocate last Friday. I think that the Globe feels an obligation to run something for each community in the North Weekly section area. I'd hazard to guess that the items that run in that column for most, if not all, communities come from a similar process. The paper just gets to choose which of the press releases that they want to run.
Like Cruller, what the article describes was my understanding of how Code Enforcement went about their business. If this is not the case, I think that the articles begs the question of when did the co-operation between the departments in this effort stop and why? |
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BOSTON GLOBE
