Sunshine or Mushroom Farming?

It is understandable that a reporter for the Brockton Enterprise might not be familiar with the protests about Middleboro's PTWS (Pathetic Town Web Site) that has gone on for more years than one remembers.

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In 2007, the Middleboro IT Director, Roger Brunelle, husband of a computer inept Selectwoman Marsha Brunelle, announced that he would include a CALENDAR of public meetings in the PTWS.

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Not done!

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At a recent BOS meeting, Selectwoman Marsha Brunelle used the terms "blog" and "email address" interchangeably, refusing to publish her personal blog address for the public to send comments to her. Someone needs to explain that a second email account can be established. The same can be said of Selectman Steven Spataro, currently running for re-election.

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Lest anyone believe the CALENDAR is a trivial matter, take a look at where public meetings are posted and the disarray on the current bulletin board.

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The Public Meetings are posted in the lobby of the Bank Building. That lobby is locked in off hours. So, let's say, you're sauntering down the street on the weekend and want to review posted meetings. You best remember to bring your binoculars because you can't view the posted meetings otherwise!

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The Middleboro Gazette does an admirable job of listing meetings that are posted in their edition that is published on Thursday. But, let's just say a meeting is posted after the Gazette goes to press. It's posted nowhere else other than the cluttered and inaccessible bulletin board.

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Maybe that complies with the Open Meeting Law, but it sure doesn't make it convenient, nor very public.

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Until voters protested the failure of the Middleboro Board of Selectmen to make Executive Meeting Minutes available, as provided in the Public Records Statute, it was never done. Compliance with that statute was accomplished over the protests and whines of the BOS who initially suggested passing along the cost of Town Counsel's review made sense.

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Executive Meeting Minutes were released and posted once. We're still waiting for the regular reviews specified in the law.

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Previous attempts to motivate the BOS to create a new and improved replacement for the PTWS have been met with resistance.

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Town residents have offered to create one for FREE. Those offers have been ignored.

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Town Meeting Warrants have been posted on the Library web site, to the credit of the Library Director, in the past because they haven't been posted on the PTWS.

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Transparency?

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In fairness to one of the departments that has worked to post forms and information on the PTWS, I must correct the following comment ---

Middleboro, West Bridgewater and Whitman do not make property assessments available on the Web.
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On the PTWS that goes beyond user unfriendly toward user hostile, the Assessing Department has posted the information. You just can't easily find it unless you know it's there.

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Middleboro voters have elected dinosaurs who resist change and modernization.
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Clearly, Kyle Alspach is unfamiliar with Middleboro Mushroom Farming.

Beacon Hill & Plastic Grocery Bags: About Time! #2

It really wasn't that long ago that I wrote Beacon Hill & Plastic Grocery Bags: About Time!
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Americans use 84 billion plastic bags annually
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and this was announced --

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State Environmental Officials Announce Partnership with Supermarkets
to Cut Down on Disposable Bag Use
Initiative Encourages Disposable Bag Recycling, Supports Reusable Bag Trend

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) launched a joint initiative today with the supermarket industry to cut the number of disposable paper and plastic grocery bags distributed in Massachusetts by 2013.

MassDEP officials signed a memorandum of understanding with the Massachusetts Food Association (MFA), an industry group representing more than 500 grocery stores, to kick off the statewide waste-reduction effort.

Each year, the typical Massachusetts grocery store distributes more than 1.5 billion paper and plastic bags. In many cases, these bags are used only once. A small percentage is recycled. But too often, bags become unsightly litter in communities and add to soaring waste disposal costs.

“The reduction, recycling and reuse of materials by residents and businesses is a top priority for MassDEP, as we work to minimize the waste stream,” MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt said. “ Massachusetts supermarkets are partnering with us to significantly reduce waste and litter, and help consumers conserve natural resources. Cutting down on the number of grocery bags we use and throw away is something all of us can easily do.”

Under the agreement, MFA members will use a variety of methods to reduce the demand for disposable bags, such as offering reusable bags, providing customer incentives for reusing bags, improving customer access to in-store plastic bag recycling, and training staff to reduce wasteful distribution of bags.

“Reducing paper and plastic bag use in our state is not only good for the environment, but good for business,” said MFA President Christopher Flynn. “We expect this incentive-based, voluntary approach to maintain a balance between environmental stewardship and consumer choice.”

Flynn also noted that in tight economic times, stores can realize and pass along to customers a cost savings by distributing fewer disposable bags. Flynn said that a number of MFA members have already instituted aggressive programs to promote reduction of disposable bag waste, including locating on-site plastic bags recycling receptacles near store entrances or bottle and can redemption areas.

Nearly all Massachusetts supermarkets now offer recycling programs that collect plastic shopping bags, shrink wrap, and other plastic wrapping materials. Most of the plastic is recycled into consumer products such as plastic decking and lawn furniture.

Through its agreement with the state, MFA will provide new technical assistance materials and services to expand existing recycling efforts and help additional supermarkets get started. Previous voluntary initiatives between MassDEP and the trade group have resulted in innovative and nationally recognized methods for helping supermarkets recycle cardboard and shrink wrap and compost the food wastes they generate.

“For more than ten years, the supermarket industry has been a leader in demonstrating its commitment to waste reduction, recycling and composting in Massachusetts ,” Commissioner Burt said. “We hope other businesses will follow the lead of this major retail sector and take the initiative to also reduce their use of disposable bags.”

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills, and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.

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The Brockton Enterprise offered consumer comments on -

Local grocery store customers willing to give reusable bags a try

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This is a win-win for us all - we reduce the costs to the supermarkets, reduce the trash we either accumulate and recycle or dispose of [that our tax dollars pay for], or the trash bags that gets blown around by the wind that last forever in the trees.

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It made my day!

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Change your habits, reduce your trash and life is simpler!

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When I spoke with Alice Elwell, I explained that we have organized our grocery shopping to simplify it for ourselves -- shallow boxes (from the supermarket) for refrigerated foods, frozen freezer food goes into the reusable bags, shallow boxes for the pantry items (canned goods, juice, etc.). We buy in larger quantities to reduce store trips (and gas). It takes 10 minutes to put away and there's no "rubbish" of the trash bags to recycle/dispose of. Whatever works for you!

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We tuck several reusable bags between the front seats to take into other stores with us.

Try it! You might just find that it simplifies your life and reduces the volume of trash.

Next, maybe we can tackle JUNK MAIL!

The "...More Happy Than Upset..." Election #2

BIG LEAGUES was the last theme that Steven Spataro invented for his opening comments.

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Tonight's theme was "Are you more happy than upset with me because I did this for you..."
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And he enumerated accomplishments that had little to do with him.
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He claimed he 'saved you a quarter of a million dollars with the Public Safety Director.'

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Has anyone figured out why we're hiring a new police chief?

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What will it cost to buy out the contracts of the Police Chief AND the Fire Chief when and if the Charter change is approved? And how many years will that Charter change take to accomplish? Charter change requires legislative approval, AFTER town meeting has approved it. Steve, that must mean that we're looking at minimum 2 years before we see that $250K, right?

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Maybe your supporters don't pay attention to the details, but some of us do.
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Steve, you just gotta stop quoting figures when you make public comments.
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You said the Town's budget was $50 MILLION. Ooopsie! It's + $60 MILLION, but that must have been the night you were text messaging.

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After Steve's BIG LEAGUES speech, he continued to arrive late to meetings, text message during meetings, eat his supper and arrive unprepared.

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Steve Spataro accepted the position of BOS representative to SRPEDD but after many months, indicated he hadn't attended any meetings and needed to be replaced.

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To the detriment of the Town, Steven Spataro made a commitment to act as rep and ignored his commitment.

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Until recently, he hasn't appeared at any meeting other than the Selectmen's Meetings on Monday nights.

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Mr. Spataro never has the time needed to devote to the other duties of Selectmen, still refuses to have his phone number public -- his response this evening was 'call Jackie (the BOS secretary) and she'll give you my cell phone number.' He refused to make an email address public because of those horrible things sent to others.

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Get a life, Steve!

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All of us get spam emails daily for penis or breast enlargements, Viagra, phony lottery winnings. That's what they make the delete feature for.

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Sometimes people just need to make a quick one line comment or ask a question that doesn't involve writing a letter.

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When you can defend Sick And Tired Of This Crap there's a serious problem in Town Government.

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The BOS was wrong and the meeting minutes are wrong.

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When you received gifts and a free meal from the Town's business partner and believe it's acceptable, you can't continue to defend it.

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When ComCast broadcasts Candidates' Night, it's worth the watch! Even if only to hear Steven Spataro claim credit for things over which he had no control and invested no time.

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PS. Steve, you might want to read Carcieri v Slazar. It's not coming.

The "...More Happy Than Upset..." Election #1

That more people are attending Middleboro town meetings, paying greater attention to the function or dysfunction of town government, and that more people attended Candidates' Night than ever before is to be applauded. We're getting there as a town that is beginning to understand the importance of town government and involvement.

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Hopefully, that also means that voters are paying attention to the details, myths and misstatements of those involved.

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ComCast will post a schedule of when broadcasts of Candidates' Night will be possible and it's worth the watch.

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Allow some dalliances.

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I have long favored Quarterly Tax Billing for a number of reasons, first being that, if you have a mortgage, the escrow account is already there and it allows the payment to simply be forwarded from your bank. Instead of using the G&E cash flow to support the Town pending the receipt of the first real estate tax payments, it allows the Treasurer to invest the G&E funds for that duration.

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When the subject was previously discussed, the Town Assessor, Barbara Erikson stood before the Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting and indicated that she would require additional personnel.

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No other town that has gone to Quarterly Tax Billing has required additional personnel in the Assessors' Department.

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The subsequent excuse was by the IT Director who protested the cost of additional personnel.

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During this evening's Candidates' Night, Barbara Erikson rose to indicate that the Town doesn't have the computer program to run Quarterly Tax Bills.

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Now, which is it, Ms. Erikson?

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Maybe she meant that the Town doesn't have a competent IT Director to figure out how to run the Quarterly Tax Bills because every other town seems to have figured out how to accomplish it. Would the be the same IT Director who defended the PTWS (Pathetic Town Web Site) for years?

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This is an issue that should be discussed based on its merit and voted on at Town Meeting. It shouldn't be an issue that is determined by various excuses that are tossed out without foundation.

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Can we begin running Middleboro based on facts and not excuses by some who seem unwilling?

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For the sake of full disclosure, I appealed Ms. Erikson's decision of property valuation to the Appellate Tax Board twice and won both times. Both of those times, Ms. Erikson wasted my tax dollars by employing the services of Town Counsel, even though the law seemed clear to me.

Middleboro Town Elections 4-4-09 Candidates' Night

Largest crowd at Candidates' Night that has ever been seen!
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Many new faces. Many great questions!
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There were still plenty of Cheap Seats available for those who missed it to consider attending next year.
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On the ballot --
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Selectman 3 year term:
Steven P. Spataro
Stephen James McKinnon
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Selectman 1 year term (to fill the unexpired term of Adam Bond):
Alfred P. Rullo, Jr.
Gregory S. Stevens
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G&E Commissioner 3 year term:
Donald Richard Triner
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School Committee 3 year term:
Roger Haber
Jeannie Martin
Gregory Thomas
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Board of Assessors 3 year term:
Paula Burdick
Charles Barry Shea
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Town Moderator 3 year term:
Wayne C. Perkins
Edward J. Beaulieu, Jr.
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Finance Committee 3 year term:
Glenn S. MacPherson
Anastas Velantzas
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Planning Board 5 year term:
William B. Garceau
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Park Commissioner 3 year term:
David K. Thomas
Garrett D. Perry
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Park Commissioner 2 year term:
Glenn W. Lydon
Lois K. MacPherson
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Housing Authority 5 year term:
Arlene Dickens
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The schedule for broadcast by ComCast should be posted tomorrow. Keep an eye out because it's worth viewing to make an informed decision.

Dirty Coal: Time To Kick Ash!

After the avoidable coal ash spill buried Harriman, Tennessee, Grist reports that the new EPA Administrator will begin the task of regulating DIRTY COAL ASH.

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Take a look at the TVA Board.

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Included in Environmental Terrorism, are the MASSACHUSETTS DIRTY COAL PLANTS listed below. I guess we can't believe we're exempt from having a comparable COAL ASH accident with this much ash hanging around.

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BRAYTON POINT 190,000,000 POUNDS

SOMERSET 60,100,000 POUNDS

SALEM HARBOR 140,800,00 POUNDS

WEST SPRINGFIELD 40,000,000 POUNDS

MOUNT TOM 75,200,000 POUNDS


Ash and ye shall receive
Coal-ash impoundments like the Kingston pond are not currently subject to federal regulation, and oversight rules vary by state [with 23 states unable to have regulations that are more strict than federal regulations]. The agency's regulatory plan begins by gathering information on the structural integrity of coal-ash impoundments from electrical utilities, and conducting on-site assessments of the impoundments. These are intended to locate the impoundments that require cleanup and repairs, and the information requests are "legally enforceable and must be responded to fully," according to the EPA. Administrator Lisa Jackson issued a letter to containment facilities and the corporations responsible for them directing them to provide the agency with specific information about the structure and safety of impoundments.
"The agency will require appropriate remedial action at any facility that is found to pose a risk for potential failure," according to the agency's press release on the plan. After the initial assessments, the EPA said it intends to develop new regulations for future safety of the estimated 300 impoundments around the country.

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Watching your waste
Congress takes a step toward regulating coal waste, but what about the EPA?
A bill aimed at reining in mountaintop-removal coal mining has been reintroduced in the House. The Clean Water Protection Act, sponsored by Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), and John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), would outlaw the dumping of mining waste into streams, which would make it significantly more difficult for mining companies to blast off the tops of mountains.

The legislation, which was first introduced in 2007, now has 117 cosponsors. It would reverse regulatory changes by the Bush administration that made it legal for mining companies to dump waste in waterways. Since those changes were made in 2002, 2,000 miles of Appalachian streams have been buried by massive amounts of mine waste from mountaintop removal in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

"The dangerous precedent set by the Bush administration's rule change undermines the Clean Water Act," said Pallone in announcing the bill.

LCV: .....with us or with Rush?

From LCV --

Have you heard Republican leaders in Washington attacking President Obama's plan to build a clean energy economy and solve global warming?

They sound a lot like Rush Limbaugh. Watch this tongue-in-cheek video we made and you'll see when Republican leaders in Washington open their mouths on these critical issues, all you hear is Rush.

www.withusorwithrush.org

Some Republican Governors like Charlie Crist and Arnold Schwarzenegger are leading the way on renewable energy and global warming. But Republican leaders in Washington are just recycling old ideas and outdated critiques—just like Rush spews out on the radio every day.