Category Archives: Politics

Politics, Newburyport, MA, governing and the competition between competing interest groups and individuals for power and leadership

Newburyport Councilor at Large, Election 2009

The election for Newburyport City Councilor at Large. There are 5 seats for Newburyport Councilor at Large and 7 folks are running. All 4 incumbents would get my vote. They are, in no particular order:

Kathleen (Katy) Ives
Thomas (Tom) Jones
Steven Hutcheson
Barry Connell

For me that leaves the seat vacated by Donna Holaday, who is running for mayor of Newburyport. The three people who are also on the ballot would be Michael Ferrick, Ari Herzog and Frances Sullivan. It is just my “take,” but Francis Sullivan might lack a certain “toughness” that in my mind would be a must for anybody on the Newburyport City Council (they don’t call us “Cannibal City” for nothing).

For a Newburyport City Councilor embarking (either chairing or being on a committee) on a “rumble,” in my mind would be no picnic. A “rumble” being a large meeting where folks are very upset about a certain issue, the landfill or the wind turbine would be two examples that come to mind.

One of the things that I found very interesting in the taped interview by PortMedia (see earlier entry on the two videos of the candidates running for mayor of Newburyport MA) is Donna Holaday’s comments that often the neighbors in such instances, like the landfill or the wind turbine, become the “experts,” providing the City of Newburyport with much needed information. And the “neighbor”, “experts” need to become an asset to whatever project might be going forward. (This would be different than NIMBY, “not in my back yard.”)

Anyone who has become involved in a city project on a volunteer basis, knows just how much minute information they know, whether it be traffic, the Fruit Street Historic District, High Street, the Central Waterfront, just to name a few.

So ideally, I think it takes a certain “toughness” along with a certain amount of “wisdom” to know when the neighbors have become the “experts” and not NIMBYs, and to constructively incorporate them into the process and learn from their accumulated knowledge. And one of the things that I like about Donna Holaday, is over the years, and in that interview, she has demonstrated that ability to pay close attention to information which she might not have known about or appreciated before. This would be refreshing in a mayor.

But for Newburyport Councilor at Large, Ari Herzog or Mike Ferrick–to tell you the truth, at this point in time, I just don’t know.

Newburyport Charter Review

On November 3, 2009 we (residents of Newburyport) go to the polls and vote whether or not we would like a discussion about whether we would like to think about changing our current form of government or not. We will be voting only on whether or not to have a “discussion,” that’s it, just a “discussion.”

And we will be voting on who we would like to elect to have that discussion.

Tom Salemi on his blog The Newburyport Posts, has this subject covered. Tom Salemi is also running as a candidate for Charter Review. He has my vote because he would be great (and not because he is a fellow blogger, but because he would be great), and there are a whole lot of other folks who would be terrific as well.

20 candidates are running for 9 spots. And Tom has done a terrific thing. If you go to the side of his blog, you can click on anyone of the candidate’s names, and you will get a page with their picture and bio/statement.

Tom Salemi also has all kinds of terrific information about what exactly a “Charter Review” would be on the side of his blog. And the Newburyport Charter Review also has it’s own website.

Way back when in June 2007, I wrote what is probably one of my more favorite posts on why our current form of government would be so antiquated. And here is an edited version:

“My Dad and I were talking about Newburyport, MA. My father loves politics.

Q. My Dad: What qualifications do you need to be mayor?

A. Me: Pause. Tilting my head. Another pause. You just need to be 18.

Response. my father and I: Pause. Another pause… peals of laughter.

You got to admit, that’s a pretty apt response.

And one of the other things that my Dad thought was pretty wild would be the fact that that the mayoral term is only 2 years.

My Dad: 2 years??

Me: Yup, 2 years.

My Dad: No one could possibly get anything done in 2 years.

Me: Yup, you got it.

My Dad just shook his head in utter amazement.”

Election for Mayor of Newburyport

I think that we have two good candidates for mayor of Newburyport, MA–James Shanley and Donna Holaday, which makes me very happy.

We go to the polls and vote on Tuesday November 3, 2009. You can judge for yourselves which candidate you would vote for.

The two candidates have been video taped, thanks to PortMedia and CEB, and Gillian Swart (of Port Reporter Unlimited) does a really good job of moderating (congratulations to Gillian). So here they are in no particular order. You can also link to the videos of all the candidates–Newburyport City Councilors as well as the two candidates for mayor, at PortMedia here.

Donna Holaday for Mayor:

James Shanley for Mayor:

Crazy Health Insurance Rate Hike

My health insurance this year goes up a whopping 37%. It is so high I weirdly feel embarrassed, instead of angry and outraged.

I am one of those people who basically gets to buy their health insurance “retail,” no bargaining power for moi.

Ed Cameron graciously tells me who to email on the Massachusetts State level, and I send Representative Harriett Stanley, the co-chair of the state’s Joint Committee on Health Care Financing an email and Cc it to Representative Mike Costello and State Senator Steven Baddour, my own Massachusetts state representatives. From the article in the
Newburyport Daily News, it is quite evident that Harriett Stanley is well aware of my predicament and others like me, and is doing her dardest to do everything that she can to address the issue. But 37% ??

And, thank goodness one can no longer say that nobody is paying attention to the issue when the top guy, the President of the United States, is all over the place, talking about my exact problem. If President Barack Obama can’t pull this off, I am beyond sunk.

My health insurance sales rep has been great. She and I have worked together for almost a decade to try and get the best possible deal possible. We are now, after all these years, on a first name basis.

Two years ago a “deductible” health insurance plan was the answer. The deductible was high enough, however, that I didn’t go to the doctor (which may be the point of a high deductible??). Could Celiac/gluten free (see earlier entries) have been diagnosed sooner? Who knows. Last (health insurance calendar) year I said “To Hell with it, I’ll pay the stupid deductible,” and it turns out it was a good thing that I did.

This year to bring down the monthly cost, the deductible would be so off the charts that I would basically be paying for everything aside from very large medical bills. And the monthly premiums would not have been that much lower. The health insurance rep could think of nothing else to come up with, so 37%… beyond “Ouch.” And she was embarrassed about not being able to come up with anything except “pretty unacceptable.”

But, as I said to my health insurance rep, when my son will no longer be able to be on my health insurance plan, which is soon, in New York City he would pay roughly two and two-thirds (almost 3 times) more for the same quality of insurance that he is now getting in Massachusetts. My vow to my son is that I would make sure that he would always have health insurance. So, after much research, he will get a lesser product in the state of New York for “only” twice what he would pay in Massachusetts for a much better product. Triple “Ouch.” (This weirdly makes Massachusetts look not so bad.) One could only imagine how badly I would like health insurance reform to pass on the Federal level? Please, please, please.

White Hen Pantry and New England Development

Talk about a bad PR, good grief.

For those who may not have heard yet, Mr. Karp and company are evicting a small, local, neighborhood convenience store up on Pond Street, White Hen Pantry.

And I was afraid that the feisty spirit of Newburyport was dying out, only to be replaced by skim milk vanilla apathy. Not so.

Public outrage reigns and is only mounting.

How about this from Margaret Flaherty, Newburyport Daily News, August 5, 2009:

“The word is out that the store (White Hen Pantry) will soon be gone to the roving octopus of development known as Stephen Karp and the Lagasses of Newburyport. Express Video, a privately owned DVD center located at the Greenleaf side of the building, was forced out a few months ago…nobody I know or talk to was ever asked how we felt about having a giant CVS take over the neighborhood.”

That’s barely the tip of the iceberg. Letters to the Editor are just beginning to appear. A large meeting to stop Mr. Karp and company from evicting White Hen Pantry was held this Monday, August 3rd. A Facebook page has been created, bumper stickers are in the works, a “Save The Hen” website , with all the stuff that’s been written and contact information, with emails and phone numbers for people who want to help, is already up and running. A petition that has way over 3,000 signatures is still being signed.

On March 13, 2009 Mr. Karp came to town and personally “reassured” people that he wanted public input on his development projects. Well, he has got it.

Best case scenario for New England Development and for Newburyport, Mr. Karp listens to the mounting outcry.

Worst case scenario, Newburyport loses a local, neighborhood, community business, which is frequented by young and old, blue collar and white collar, wealthy and not so wealthy, Mr. Karp and New England Development have an ongoing PR nightmare and the complete lack of trust in any future New England Development projects by the population of Newburyport, MA.

Best case scenario, New England Development wakes up and shows that they care about keeping the intrinsic value of Newburyport, MA, some trust, although badly damaged, is restored, and a neighborhood convenience store is allowed to continue to prosper.

This is a tipping point for the relationship between Newburyport residents and New England Development–Stephen Karp. And the buck stops with Mr. Stephen Karp, and I’m sure that he knows it.

Newburyport Sculpture and Art

peaceoffering_sculThe photo to the left is a sculpture by Michael Alfano, “Peace Offering,” that is currently in the Somerby’s Landing Sculpture Park in Newburyport, MA. If the ticket booth is moved by the Newburyport Waterfront Trust to the Somerby’s Landing Sculpture Park, this is location where it would go (we hope this does not happen).

This is the corner of the sculpture park where so many people come and sit, talk, wonder, gaze at the mighty Merrimac River, as well as watch their children play in the incredibly sculptural and climbable tree at that corner, which is pictured in the previous post.

To quote from the Sculpture Park’s website: “On exhibit for another year is a nearly six foot wide resin bench, “Peace Offering” by Michael Alfano that graces one corner of the park. The dove conveys the hope for peace, its tail transforms into a hawk, representing hostility. The dove’s wings become open hands, which might be ours, in an asking, a weighing, or an offering pose. Or they might belong to a larger force that welcomes two people to sit down and discuss their differences. This sculpture represents some of the many aspects of attaining peace. It is a expression of Michael’s Soka Gakkai Buddhist practice, with the intention of contributing to peace and culture.

Following this year’s extended stay at Somerby’s Landing Sculpture Park, “Peace Offering” will be purchased for installation on the Clipper City Rail Trail.”

(Just as a note–for those people complaining about the money that has been given to the Clipper City Rail Trail, instead of going to a myriad of other things that Newburyport desperately needs, grant money for the Clipper City Rail Trail for things like “art,” etc. comes from a completely separate gene pool than money allocated for the myriad of other needed stuff.)

I’d hate to think that moving the ticket booth to that reasonably “sacred” space would be anything than the slightest and most passing notion by the Newburyport Waterfront Trust, one that would pass as fast as a sea breeze whisking past Somerby’s Landing Sculpture Park in Newburyport, MA.

(The photo of the sculpture by Michael Alfano, “Peace Offering” is copyrighted by Artfluence, and is used with permission.)

Newburyport Original Art

I’ve written a lot about why original art work is so important to people’s daily lives and our culture at large (disclaimer: I am an artist). Original art enlivens an environment and enriches lives. A more crass reason is that the very wealthy may often buy original art because it is a “status symbol,” it indicates that whoever it may be, has “class.”

To steal from myself: Having a Ferrari (yes, I know, tough to have such an item in a lousy economic times) may be a status symbol, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the person has “class.”

“Having art is unique in imparting to others that you are of value. Art is something that people pass on from generation to generation. Art defines civilizations. Art tells people that you are not only educated, but also that you appreciate history and beauty. It is why when the early American tycoons built their fortunes, they went out and bought art, because it gave them “class.” Thank goodness they did, because today we can see Van Goghs, Monets, Renoirs in the great art museums all over the world.” (Quoting from myself.)

In Newburyport, MA we have original art on our waterfront at the Newburyport’s Sculpture Park at Somerby’s Landing near the Black Cow restaurant. Ergo, this makes us “classy.”

There is some chit chat, that hopefully would go nowhere, that the little ticket booth (which again I love right where it is) could be put in the sculpture park.

My recollection is that when the sculpture park was being discussed, one of the absolute musts (and quite rightly so) was that it would not block the view of the water. The little ticket booth would ironically block the view to the water (much less destroying the actual sculpture park).. a demonstration.

motes_sculptureThis sculpture by Robert Motes, “An Imagined Place” (which is now a permanent installation at Somerby’s Landing Sculpture Park, made possible in 2006 by the generous donation of the Newburyport Art Association) has a window with a “view” that is Newburyport’s waterfront– the corner of the sculpture park where the ticket booth would go. So if the ticket booth went there, the window would be looking at the side of the ticket booth.

At the moment the “view” from the window is of the granite corner where all kinds of folks come to sit under the shade of the delightful tree that is pictured, to read, to contemplate, to talk to one another, or to watch their children climb on that delightful tree and listen to their laughter as they enjoy this unique experience. That’s pretty much gone if the ticket booth goes in that particular community space.

And that’s only one example. And again, it is this blogger’s hope that it is merely chit chat that the ticket booth could be moved to this gem like community space, that is part of a jeweled environment in Newburyport, MA.

(The photo of the sculpture by Robert Motes, “An Imagined Place” is copyrighted by Artfluence, and is used with permission.)

Newburyport’s Sculpture Park

Elk sculptureOne of my favorite walks in my beloved hometown of Newburyport, MA is to walk to downtown Newburyport, go to Market Square, cross Merrimac Street at the Firehouse Center for the Arts, walk down the grassy area towards the board walk that runs along the mouth of the mighty Merrimac River.

There I take a left and walk around the indent of the boardwalk, go past the ticket booth, which I love (such sentiment of enjoying the ticket booth on Newburyport’s boardwalk I gather is now a sentiment of abomination, maybe something on that later, but I still love it, for a myriad of reasons) to the little gem, right before the restaurant, the Black Cow–Newburyport’s Sculpture Park, or more correctly, Somerby’s Landing Sculpture Park, Newburyport, Massachusetts.

A picture framer (disclaimer: I am an artist) once told me that a good frame on a painting was like jewelry on a beautiful woman. And I have the same sentiment about Newburyport’s Sculpture Park–jewelry on a beautiful woman.

I remember going to Newburyport Sculpture Park’s “inauguration” in 2003. The City of Newburyport and the Newburyport Waterfront Trust had such pride and such delight at creating this gem on an already jeweled setting. And low and behold it has managed to have its own curator all these years with a roughly yearly exhibition, for all and sundry to enjoy, 24/7, 365 days out of the year, for those who are blessed to find and enjoy it.

And one of the things that I found out years ago, was that way back when, one of the kids that hung out on Inn Street, when so many people were worried about the kids on Inn Street, would go down to the sculpture park for inspiration, because she loved art, and here was art in Newburyport, MA. She later went on to work on Christo’s blockbuster exhibition, in New York City’s Central Park, The Gates–not bad for inspiration, as inspiration goes.

And now I hear about a whole lot of local political taffy–the Newburyport’s sculpture park is slightly being considered as a destination for the poor ticket booth by the Newburyport Waterfront Trust (email discussion can be read here). This blogger hopes that this might only be conjecture on the part of the current Newburyport Waterfront Trust, and this gem in the middle of the jewels that they are in trust of, will remain in its gem-like and inspiring state.

(The photo of the sculpture by Wendy Klemperer, “Elk” is copyrighted by Artfluence, and is used with permission. “Elk” is a now a permanent installation at Somerby’s Landing Sculpture Park. Funding was raised in 2005 by Jesse Vining (age 7) to purchase the Elk sculpture for the general public. Thanks for principal donations goes to the Lilliput Foundation, Five Cents Savings Bank, Institution for Savings, Newburyport Rotary Club, Hall & Moskow, the Newburyport Elks Lodge, and many other individuals, friends and family, children and adults.)

Newburyport is not Pleasantville

If anyone thinks that Newburyport, MA has gradually turned into a bland and happy version of Pleasantville, they are most decidedly wrong.

One of the things that I detect in the upcoming Newburyport 2009 election is still a strong and virulent backlash against the “Yes for Newburyport” campaign in the spring of 2007.

Dan Sweeney, aka “Pedro” of the Around the North Shore who has taken out papers for mayor of Newburyport, MA is probably the most “to the point,” vocal candidate so far, that would give voice to this point of view. “Pedro” has had a great deal to say on the matter, all of which is public record on Around the North Shore, and all of which I imagine he still stands by, otherwise Mr. Sweeney would not be running for mayor of Newburyport, Massachusetts.

But in taking a gander at some of the various folks who have taken out papers to run for Newburyport City Council, there is a strong undercurrent of sentiment aligned with Dan Sweeney’s, although I imagine when it comes down to it, the tone could be more nuanced. In checking out the story on Clete Kijek (see earlier entry), who is running against Ed Cameron in the Ward 4 race, the date on the story about his giant truck urging people to vote on the override is May 16, 2007. It is stated that Mr. Kijek is a member of the anti-override group Know Newburyport.

So one of the spoken or unspoken issues of the local Newburyport 2009 race would be whether or not our local taxes would be raised, especially for the young children in our Newburyport school system. And my guess would also be that another undercurrent would be that old feisty Newburyport spirit–“Newcomers,” however that may be defined, aren’t going to take over our town, no way, no how.

The candidates that embody this point of view might not win, but it would be my guess that they would like to make sure that folks in Newburyport, MA know that they are still very much part of the picture.

Newburyport–Go Along to Get Along

The “go along to a get along” thing, I’ve never been good at it. In fact, I suck at it, so much so that it seems sometimes to me to be deep within my genes. It is both oddly one of my major character defects and one of my major strengths.

To succeed in corporate America, “go along to get along” helps a great deal. As an artist, or an activist, not so much.

My father always tried to encourage the “go along” approach in life, economically, socially, on all sorts of levels, it helps immensely. But if I try the “go along to get along” thing for any length of time, it makes me itch.

And it’s one of the reasons I miss Tom Ryan and the Undertoad in Newburyport, MA. If ever there was someone who refused to do the “go along to get along” approach, it was Mr. Ryan.

Now in Newburyport, MA there are a blanket of blogs out there with a “go along to get along” approach. They are probably very smart. It makes me itch.

I was once asked by a local politician to be the blog voice that supported Newburyport/New England Development, to be a part of something really big. To “go along to get along” with the largest owners of downtown Newburyport and the folks that work so closely with them.

I declined, knowing that I probably would break out in a rash, it would be going so much against the grain of my innate nature.

It seemed to me that as a blogger it would be good for me to have a skeptical nature about our largest downtown landowner and the folks that work so closely with him. I doubted that whatever my input might be, the powers with millions of dollars probably had a pretty good idea already of what they felt would be the most expedient use of their resources to develop the property in question–I would most likely not change or mold anyone’s mind.

So in the political landscape that is shaping up for the 2009 local Newburyport election, I may wonder closely about any candidate that contemplates whether they might have the power of persuasion over the multi-million dollar project that will one day take place on the most expensive land in Newburyport, MA, along the mouth of the Merrimac River. Or think that they might be the person that is able to really “go along to get along” and bring all the powers that be, with all the inevitable conflicts of interest, to the table and shape the Newburyport to come. The fascinating and fractious history and spirit of our small New England city is witness to the difficulty of ever achieving this most ambitious point of view.

Newburyport and Why?

I always used to drive my mother nuts by asking “Why?” “Why was ‘Aunt Hilda’ taking a ‘vacation’ by herself for X amount of weeks or months?”

It wasn’t enough to know that the event was happening, I wanted to know the reason behind it, because “Aunt Hilda” never did stuff like that. Was it because of marital problems, illness, midlife crisis? Why? I was never told why in these situations, but I would not have felt judgmental, it just would have explained a puzzling reality, and the world would seem to make more sense (if that ever would be a possibility).

I have a lot of local political questions. It’s not a judgmental thing, it’s a “this isn’t making sense to me” thing.

Why is James Shanley running for mayor of Newburyport, MA when Donna Holaday, a very capable candidate with almost an exact platform, with a lot of name recognition, is also running, and has always made it known that this is something that she would always do. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have James Shanley with his experience and institutional memory to be a major part of the Newburyport City Council next year and work constructively with Donna Holaday?

Why are there 4 people at the moment running for Newburyport City Councilor in Ward 3, James Shanley’s Ward? Not that I’m not for civic enthusiasm, I am, and not that I don’t think it will make it a more interesting race, it will, and I like interesting races.

Who is Clete Kijek (actually that one wasn’t so hard to find out, I remember him most vividly from this story in the Newburyport Daily News) and why is he running against Ed Cameron in Ward 4.. there has to be a story there.

Why did Mayor John Moak really step down, when he seemed pretty enthusiastic about running for mayor of Newburyport, MA for a 3rd term in January of 2009.

And what is happening to “institutional memory,” in Newburyport, MA, it seems to be vanishing. I rarely see it in our newspapers, one of the reasons being it’s hard to keep local reporters, and it’s getting hard to keep any newspaper afloat, and I don’t see it much in our local blogs.

And when is Stephen Karp going to start building on Newburyport’s waterfront?

And just how many folks will come out of the woodworks and end up running in some capacity in the Newburyport, 2009 election? My guess is that we may see a few more yet.

Newburyport’s True Self

One of the things that fascinates me is what really happens in life, and what happens to make things happen, what are the “politics” of the situation, not what is on the surface. Not gossip and innuendo, but the reality behind the veneer.

And in the reporting business, this is almost an impossible thing to accomplish. Advertisers want their veneer kept in place, so that they can sell their product, so that they can make a living. Who is going to buy anything if they know the “real” story behind a company, no matter if it’s probably the story behind almost every average company. Nobody’s perfect, no company, institution, municipality is perfect. There is always a story, and it’s usually a pretty interesting story because the reality is usually so universal.

And like it or hate it, it is what was at the heart of what Tom Ryan did in his political journal of 11 years, the Undertoad, and whether I agreed with Mr. Ryan or not, I was fascinated that here was someone who was interested in the underbelly of Newburyport, MA, not a fluffy outside. Policy and politics were part of it. But exploring what was really going on, from Mr. Ryan’s point of view, was at the heart of the journal.

And I miss it. I know so much stuff about what is happening and making stuff happen in Newburyport, because people talk and I listen, that keeping it to myself makes me itch. But floating it out there, what good would it do me, except make me feel less itchy.

One of the things that I really enjoy are the emails that I get from people wanting to know what the “true” story is. It’s usually from someone who is thinking of or planning to move here. They could be interested about the landfill, the wind turbine, the parking situation, just to name a few things, and they seem to trust a blogger from Newburyport over the realtor that is selling them the product.

And I always email back, and give them my opinion, just my opinion, and if applicable, who else to talk to get a fuller picture. So thank you all of you out there in Web Land, I am honored and touched that you would think of contacting me, and I have enjoyed our exchanges. I love my home town of Newburyport, MA, but I know that it is not perfect, and I know that knowing the reality about Newburyport helps people make wiser and more informed decisions. Just the way knowing the reality or getting a fuller picture about just about anything helps us make wiser decisions in this lifetime.

Recycling Soldiers

I walk down Federal Street in Newburyport, MA and there they are, all neatly lined up on both sides of the street, like SWAT soldiers, waiting for the order to charge.

64 gallon dark green and black recycling soldier bins.

A couple of weeks earlier I get the notice form Newburyport’s recycling center letting me know that a 64 gallon recycling cart would be delivered to my dwelling in Newburyport, MA.

I think to myself, “64 gallons large??”

I Google 64 gallon to see how big it might be. Yes, very large. I appear only to use 32 gallon garbage cans, so yes, twice as big.

The one I have, the blue 14 gallon Newburyport recycling bin does the trick. When it’s full, I know Newburyport recycling day on my street in Newburyport, MA has arrived. Plus, I have no place for a 64 gallon anything.

I put in a call to Newburyport’s very conscientious recycling center, tell them what I have is just fine. No need for a 64 gallon recycling soldier.

But as I look at the large recycling soldiers lined up on the street leading from High Street in Newburyport, MA all the way to the Merrimac River, the message is clear. Recycle. And no more messy stuff flying around on windy or wet day from smaller open recycling bins. Tidy large retainers with lids meant to remind to recycle everything. We are green, we are responsible and we do it right.

Fear and Politics

A friend of mine said that they were concerned that the Republicans did not fear President Obama. I get what they were saying, we were talking about the difficult job of governing, i.e. getting things done on a political level.

The Bush-Cheney years were certainly governed by fear, not that we as a nation weren’t terrified, after 9/11–we were. But it always felt as if we as a nation were being manipulated by fear into complying with the Bush–Cheney agenda–those terror alerts being raised from yellow to orange on a regular basis, certainly enough to scare yours truly.

And as a Newburyport blogger I stopped blogging about national politics after realizing that Homeland Security visited my small blog on a regular basis, and that certain key words brought more intense scrutiny. I would imagine since some of those key words are used in this blog post, I will get some extra visits (I hope they actually read it).

I figured it was better to blog about local Newburyport politics and local Newburyport events, risking the wrath of local folks and politicians, rather than being confronted by a faceless Bush–Cheney delegation, which sadly turns out not to be the least bit paranoid on my part.

Governing by fear does not even appear to be part of President Obama’s disposition (I hope I’m not being naïve here). It often seems to me that President Obama approaches governing the way one would approach raising a child. First reach out and attempt a reasoned approach. If that doesn’t work on the wayward child, no spanking, but time out, and whatever needs to be done for the good of the family, gets done without drama, hysteria or threats.

This is a new dichotomy, the language of which seems untranslatable to his detractors. Reaching out is seen as weak. Helping the less fortunate is seen as Socialist or worse, Communist (the PBS documentary on Russia and Poland–“Behind Closed Doors–Unlikely Friends,” might be a good reminder of what cruel and mindless Communism was actually like–hardly President Obama’s agenda).

President Obama treats his detractors as unruly children. He is “disappointed” in them. And as a parent and a daughter I always found that a parent’s “disappointment” was far more powerful in the long run than an attitude of “spare the rod and spoil the child,” a phrase that I know many on the conservative religious Right adhere to.

A Nation That Tortured

Torture, descriptions of torture, pictures of torture, pushback that torture isn’t that bad, complete and over the top overreaction by the media to the swine flu, leaving millions anxious and panicked has left me dispirited and somewhat speechless.

I like what Jon Stewart said on the Daily Show, just when he was beginning to feel comfortable about a possibility of an economic turnaround, hysteria by the media about a strain of flu that might not be any worse than any other strain of the flu.

And the animosity towards the efforts by President Obama floor me. After 9/11 the Democrats, however reluctantly, did rally around then President Bush, to show that America was united. Will the whack jobs on the Right (and yes, even on the Left) give our president any credit for tackling the worse economic nightmare since the Great Depression? Anyone who did not back then President Bush was seen as anti-American. In my book, there are a whole lot of anti-American citizens in the year 2009 in the United States of America. Shame on them.

Friends of mine returned from India, helping the poor there. We are darn lucky to live in the United States of America, and sometimes it just feels as if we are a childish, ungrateful people, who love gossip and criticism, and crisis that has no basis in reality. Not to mention we were a nation that tortured.

Train and Economic Health

I know many of us in Newburyport complain about all the new folks that have moved to Newburyport in the last ten years, how much development there has been, and how high real estate prices have gotten in our city. Although real estate prices have come down in Newburyport, they haven’t plummeted the way they have in other cities and towns all across the United States.

Part of the multi layered reason that this has been true is the train to Boston, which had been discontinued in 1976 and arrived once more in October 1998.

An article in The New York Times written in August 22, 1999 talks about how the train was an incredible boost to the economy when it was announced, even before its arrival.

A recent article in The Boston Globe in February 17, 2008 praising Governor Patrick Duval’s potential commuter rail services to Fall River and New Bedford had this to day:

“Experience in other Massachusetts cities where commuter rail service has been restored since 1994 – Brockton, Newburyport, and Worcester – demonstrates that train service to the Hub can be a big shot in the arm economically.”

I remember hearing that the commuter train was finally going coming from Boston in 1997 and thinking that things would really take off in Newburyport, because it would feel like Newburyport was intrinsically linked to Boston. I had no idea how much they would take off, and things have taken off big time–vast understatement.

Could the train to Boston fizzle out completely? Yes, you bet. It’s happened before.

The Newburyport Daily News reports:

“By the early 1970s, only two trains a day ran between Boston and Newburyport, one inbound in the morning and a single one outbound at the end of the workday.

In 1976, the T discontinued service completely. It did not resume until 1998.”

To limit the commuter train from Newburyport to Boston in any way would really hurt Newburyport economically. I would urge everyone to get in touch with the MBTA and protest. Please press here to find out how to do that.

MBTA Train Protest

Probably the largest economic threat at the moment to Newburyport, which would effect everyone in a major way, is the proposal by the MBTA to cutback train services from Boston to Newburyport. (More on why this is true later.)

It is really important for us as a city to let the MBTA know that this would be completely unacceptable.

You can go directly to the MBTA website and leave them a message here.

Also send at least an email to Newburyport’s State Senator Steven Baddour and State Representative Mike Costello letting them know that this is unacceptable.

Email for Steven Baddour is here.

Email for Mike Costello is here.

For a more detailed information on what to do go here. (For some reason I cannot make the link go to the exact post, so you want April 20, 2009 “Let’s Make Some Lead Balloons.”)

Wind Turbine and Living With It

I got this email from a reader of the Newburyport Blog and was given permission to share it:

Mary- I have been very interested in your blogging about the turbine. I am one of the people affected by it and I want you to know not everyone feels the same in the neighborhood. At the moment it can be difficult for people in the neighborhood to listen to each other or be able to hear a differing opinion about it. Right now, it appears it could be difficult to agree to disagree. There are couples where one can hear the turbine and the other cannot. People see and hear things differently.

I am probably one of the longest members of the neighborhood–I remember cows down in the industrial park and the airport out where the cheesecake company is. The neighborhood has always been a more quiet section mostly because of the cemetery and back then it was a majority of old spinsters. Now, it is people with families. Neighborhoods naturally go through changes as people die or move away.

Yes, the turbine is big but how can I want a greener world without supporting it in my own backyard? The flicker lasts an hour at the most right now. For me the noise is minimal–I lived next to the airport in East Boston for awhile so I know what a jet plane sounds like. I find that there are lots of other noises in the neighborhood that can be more distracting–the trains warming up, dogs barking or our kids out running around–these can be louder than the turbine. I am willing to learn how to live with it, but I know that many of my neighbors look at it each new day and get angry all over again.

I look at the turbine as a symbol just like all those white steeple churches on the greens around New England were a long time ago–it is the new model for a “city upon the hill”–for me it is Christian charity. I feel that it can be difficult for some in the neighborhood to stand back and see that it is a global thing where anything that gets us off oil helps in the long run and is good for all.

I guess I want you to understand some of us are learning to live with the turbine and move on. We have trees in our backyard and that is a simple solution to how it looks. Actually, it can sometimes look very cool. I want to see it get painted like the gas tanks in Boston–how cool would that look! Anytime you want to come over and take a gander you are more than welcome. Flicker is at its best as the sun is setting. We are supposed to be most affected during April and then again in July. It will be interesting to see how it goes. Thanks for listening.

Wind Turbines with Less Oomph

What I really have wanted to write about, and have hesitated, very politically incorrect, especially in the midst of “Greater Newburyport Earth Day Celebration,” is my research into wind turbines in Copenhagen, one of the world’s, if not the world’s greenest city, and Costa Rica, one of the world’s, if not the world’s greenest country.

I was told about Copenhagen by a reader of the Newburyport Blog, who also sent me the video of Jay Leno demonstrating his wind turbine (see previous post). And always liking a good learning curve, I was very much interested in reading about how such an old European city would incorporates large wind turbines in a populated area.

Well they don’t.

They have a beautiful arch of large wind turbines out in the bay. Photograph of the turbines here and here.

And I came across this quote:

“There are many advantages in placing these big electricity factories in the ocean where the wind blows at maximal speed. Also, the Danish public seems to approve of wind turbine energy as long as the turbines are not too visible and standing in their back yard!”

From www.copenhagenexclusive.dk here.

Would this makes us in Newburyport rethink our wind turbine ordinance, erecting large wind turbines so close to the population of Newburyport, MA?

And from what I can make out, Costa Rica has their country’s large wind turbines away from populated areas as well.

I get it, the argument is that smaller wind turbines like the one Jay Leno was demonstrating in the previous post, just do not have enough oomph. But my question would be, even Copenhagen, with a claim to the greenest city in the world, doesn’t want large turbines in their back yard. And any large wind turbine in Newburyport’s Industrial Park would be in Newburyport’s back yard, so maybe in Newburyport it would be Ok if we had a wind policy that was in scale to where we as a city live, work and play, and that we might think about having less oomph as a way to go.

Urban and Suburban Wind Turbines

This video (editor’s note: the video is no longer available) was sent to me by a reader of the Newburyport Blog. It is one of the latest (and looks like one of the most effective) new vertical wind turbines (as opposed to the horizontal propeller wind turbines) for urban, suburban and populated areas. Very cool. Jay Leno makes the presentation (a little star power here).

The wind turbine is made by a company called Enviro Energies. I am especially fascinated by “Ed Begley and Jim Rowan talking turbine” on their website.

Ed Begley who at one point I saw all over TV talking about alternative energy has this to say:

“Enviro Energies has re-awakened my excitement of utilizing urban wind power.”

I don’t see why a product like this on could not be installed at industries in Newburyport’s Industrial Park instead of huge industrial size wind turbines. They would both be effective and neighborhood friendly.

Plus, something that I was not aware of–there is a now a federal tax credit for “small wind turbines”:

“Today (October 3, 2008) Congress passed legislation, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, H.R. 1424, that includes a new federal-level investment tax credit to help consumers purchase small wind turbines for home, farm, or business use. A few hours ago, President Bush signed the bill into law. Owners of small wind systems with 100 kilowatts (kW) of capacity and less can receive a credit for 30% of the total installed cost of the system, not to exceed $4,000. The credit will be available for equipment installed from today through December 31, 2016.”

You can read about the tax credit for small wind turbines here.