Fisherman's and a Quarry

Thanks Rep. Ehrlich

2009-07-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

She, sitting on the transportation committee, as a co-sponsor, helped push through this amendment. Makes me glad I volunteered for her campaign.

TODAY, for the first time in more than a decade, drivers coming into Boston on the Mass. Pike or through the Sumner Tunnel have good reason to celebrate when they pay their tolls -- yes, celebrate.

A groundbreaking provision in the transportation reform bill signed into law Friday by Governor Deval Patrick takes a bold step toward solving an obvious inequity on our roadways....
For 11 years, drivers who use the Metropolitan Highway System (the Mass. Pike from Route 128 into Boston) and the Sumner, and Ted Williams tunnels have been subjected to an unfair tax. More than half of every dollar collected has been used not for the tolled services of those roads but to pay for the costs of the construction of the Big Dig.

This tax masquerading as a fee, felt most keenly by North Shore and Metrowest commuters, has cost toll payers nearly half a billion dollars in diverted tolls in the last three years alone. The Legislature and the governor appear to be, at long last, taking bold action meant to change that inequity.

The new law includes a provision that mandates that tolls “shall be applied exclusively to’’ those tolled roads. The plain words of that provision should prohibit any further diversion of tolls to pay the multi-billion-dollar debt service and the onerous operation and maintenance costs of the toll-free sections of the Big Dig, including the I-93 tunnels through Boston from the North and South and the Zakim Bridge.

Hilarious

2009-04-04T10:07:00.001-07:00

Go Town Republicans!

Writing Project I'm Working On

2009-03-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

I've loved to write since I was very, very young. It's taken numerous forms - from stories to poetry to the blogosphere. I find now, more and more, my writing's coming full circle as I'm interested in writing stories again. A book is rather ambitious for me right now (even if there is one or two of them stuck in my head and half written out), but a fun series of short stories is right up my alley.

So, go check out my new site Fictition. There, you can see my latest effort, which I'm calling The Invulnerable Man. In it, not only am I including short and sweet 'episodes,' I'm also doing all of my own art. It's sort of inspired by graphic novels, just not a graphic novel at all.

I'm not going for high art, just fun and excitement. I hope you all enjoy it.

Read parts 1, 2 and 3.

Hunger Drive for Swampscott Pantry

2009-03-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Did anyone know there's a food pantry run out of Swampscott? One runs out of the basement of St. John's on Humphrey St. As with larger pantries and kitchens like My Brothers Table, it's open to anyone who has needs and operates out of the generosity of the community.

It's sad to admit, but Swampscott has a problem with hunger. We'd like to think we're immune to something like this, but there's a lot of people who have lost jobs, on fixed incomes or are otherwise struggling who are having trouble putting food on the table.

The Swampscott Town Democrats, of which I am a member, is sponsiring a food drive for the pantry for this entire month. We're collecting canned goods at the library. So if anyone has some extra cans laying around and isn't using them, please consider making a donation. Every little bit helps.

Ehrlich Donating her Raise

2009-01-09T18:37:00.001-08:00

Cool.

Time to Close Towers School?

2009-01-06T17:38:00.001-08:00

They're bleeding so bad that I just saw an online ad they posted on the Bay Windows, a popular glbt newspaper. Meanwhile, kids are screaming to get into charters in such places as Boston.

If that school is such a mess and they're bleeding students so badly, why bother keeping it open when there's the already very respectable Marblehead and Swampscott school systems those kids could be attending?

Don't Let the North Shore Music Theatre Close

2008-12-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

Horrible news. I love North Shore Music Theatre. I go to see one or two shows there a year, on average. They put on fantastic productions that are really top notch. The best show I've ever seen - and I've seen my fair share - was their production of Aida a few years back. I loved Singing in the Rain there - and their yearly showings of A Christmas Carol is a perennial favorite. Their theatre is absolutely unique, there's only two or three like it in the entire country, yet it really works and ensures that every seat in the house is a good seat.

It would be horrible for the community if NSMT is forced to close its doors. It sells out many of its shows; it's another case of debt that's hurting them, amid a bad climate. The debt didn't come from them making bad decisions as a nonprofit corporation, though: it came from a fire that caused millions upon millions of damage, only some of which was covered by insurance.

Operating since 1955, North Shore Music Theatre has evolved from a summer stock house into the largest nonprofit theater in New England, with 350,000 patrons annually. The theater has been recognized by the Boston Business Journal as the second-largest performing arts organization in the state based on audience size (after the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops combined). It has received multiple Elliot Norton Awards and this season presented seven musicals, five children's shows, and several celebrity musical and comedy concerts, in addition to hosting a large educational program. This year, the company's annual budget was $13 million.

Can we really let this theatre go under? It's a huge part of Massachusetts and is absolutely irreplaceable. They're asking people to go to their website and donate funds - or, better yet, buy a ticket to their current show, Disney's High School Musical 2, which would be a fantastic post-Christmas present for any kid or teen. Youth tickets are just $25. If they sell out the show, they'll raise enough for the short term, to give them time to raise the rest over the long haul. But if you're not interested in the show, send them $100, 50 or 25 bucks. It's as worthy a cause as there is to be found.

This economy is a killer. We must protect our important institutions, nonprofits and favorite local stores by making sure we don't forget about them in our attempts to cut costs. Yes, our funds are low too, but we can't let them go out, because it wipes off years of hard work and success right off the books - and that's not always replaceable, at least not for decades. So, please, do what you can - buy a ticket to the show or send them a few dollars so they can raise what they need for now in this perilous economy.

Here's some of NSMT's excellent recent productions.

Hairspray:

The current show, Disney's High School Musical 2:

Les Mis:

A Christmas Carol:

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee:

Singin' in the Rain:

New "Save the Schools" Site

2008-11-25T11:47:00.001-08:00

Click here. Parents, teachers, residents and anyone and everyone who's interested in our town's budget problems and how we can work together in common cause to save the schools should click that link.

A Vision for Swampscott

2008-11-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

I never got to posting my notes from this week's Town Meeting, but there's plenty on it here and here. The major piece of news is that Swampscott will allow the sale of the old Temple, old Greenwood Ave school, the old senior center and old fire station. That's a lot of old that's about to get new - or should I say renewed? - potentially bringing in over $5 million to the town, with over $500,000 a year in property taxes when these properties are redeveloped.

All of this is good news. We'll have more resources to deal with our problems, hopefully with several other solutions coming down the line, too. Swampscott is poised to rebound from the past few years of fiscal turmoil. Hopefully, that means we'll rebound from the bad blood and anger that's festered in the town as of late, too. But what's the end goal? What's the long term vision? Coming up with a vision for the town is paramount to improving our community, becoming the kind of place we want to be.

So, what is Swampscott? Whenever people discuss the town, it's usually in comparison to some other town. Marblehead is the usual victim. Lynnfield's been a frequent target too. Wayland's popped up now and then, as well. While some of the demographics of Swampscott are similar to Marblehead, our towns really aren't very similar. Marblehead is closer to Newburyport than it is Swampscott, if we want to talk town character. Marblehead, unlike Swampscott, is a destination town - which isn't anything near as good as it sounds. Why? People have to wake up one day and decide to say to their friends or their spouse, "I want to go to Marblehead," then drive there and find a parking space. In other words, people have to want to go to Marblehead. People just drive through Swampscott, whether they want to or not.

Comparing Swampscott to Lynnfield is even more laughable. The towns couldn't be more different. Sure, there's around the same amount of people living in Lynnfield as Swampscott and, sure, a similar student body. Honestly, the median family incomes aren't too far off either - Swampscott's median family income is $72k, Lynnfield's is $80k. However, aside from that, the two towns are completely different, with Swampscott being an incredibly dense and far more diverse community than our more conservative, wealthier neighbor to the west.

So, what is Swampscott? To have a good vision, we need to focus on and improve our strong suits. First, Swampscott is a nexus that connects several large communities together. Second, we're a densely populated, small town with almost unlimited means for transportation and quick access to Boston and the entire North Shore. Swampscott has buses, the train and is highly walkable. Moreover, most of the town is in walking distance to what is truly our best assets - our beautiful beaches and assortment of restaurants and other small businesses. Third, we're an economically diverse town with some of the wealthiest residents of the state, as well as people who live on fixed incomes or are decidedly working class. As such, we have million dollar houses and affordable houses and everything in between. Wrap that entire package up with our rich history and strong community and there's no doubt that Swampscott's a clearly unique town with many assets and potential to be better.

If Swampscott were to be compared to any other town in Massachusetts, one of the best is honestly Brookline. Like Brookline, we have great public transportation, with walkable neighborhoods and a variety of options for entertainment, restaurants and shopping. We're smaller and less affluent, but we're also far more affordable. Plus, we have the beach. In fact, that's what I like to tell people when they ask me about Swampscott, "it's like Brookline, but with a beach."

In order to become a better town, we need to focus on those assets. We need to continue to foster small businesses across the town, making sure they have the tools they need to compete and thrive. We need to improve our already good transportation options, perhaps even further opening access to our beaches and small businesses by emphasizing biking for those who live just a little too far away to walk downtown. Bike lanes are cheap and help reduce traffic, as Humphrey and other major streets are repaved, bike lanes should be added. The plan for the police station, which would also open up a pathway to the beach, is another high priority in improving our town's natural assets.

Most importantly, though, we need to keep our schools strong, so they don't erode before things get better - even if that means trying to pass an override to hold us over. Otherwise, Swampscott's modus operandi is at risk and this whole vision thing is moot. We're going to be facing more challenges ahead over the next few years, but solutions will be on their way, it's just a matter of making it to the finish line without keeling over. The sale of these buildings in town will soon net us around $500,000 a year in new revenue. Governor Patrick has several proposals that could benefit the town, including a 1% meals tax option that could net the town at least $330,000 a year in new revenue. We're set to receive our fair share of Chapter 70 within 2 years, which will net us another $500,000 or so. Even President Obama and the US Congress could save us funds by taking up health care in 2009. For example, Obama has called for making insurance companies cover autism expenses, instead of schools, which would save this town tens of thousands a year, alone.

Hopefully, that's just the start of it. But if we close Hadley or strip an entire program from our schools - and lose all that institutional memory - it'll take years or decades to recover, even when things get better, if we ever really can. There's too many towns like Swampscott that are struggling to no end for things to remain the same. Too many cities and towns know that their heading in the same direction - and soon. Hopefully the people of Swampscott have the vision to see that.

If Question 1 Passes

2008-10-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

I just saw this website and the numbers are terrifying. If Question 1 passes, here's the estimated cuts to town services:

Detailed breakdown [of cuts to state aid]

Municipal
Public safety and other aid
Total aid: $1,842,843
Estimated cut: $1,192,774
Percent cut: 65%

Road/bridge construction and repair
Total aid: $233,901
Total cut: $151,392
Percent cut: 65%

Total municipal aid: $2,076,744
Total municipal aid cut: $1,344,165
Total Percent Cut: 65%

School district: Swampscott
General education aid (Chapter 70): $2,701,925
Estimated Ch. 70 cut: $2,701,925
Estimated Ch. 70 aid cut percent: 100%

Special education total aid: $440,738
Estimated cut: $285,266
Estimate percent of cut aid: 65%
Other aid, including grants (est.): $627,143
Estimated Cut: $401,634
Total estimated percent cut: 64%

Total state aid to schools: $3,769,806
Total estimated cut: $3,388,825
Percent of total estimated cut: 90%

What's all this mean? If question 1 passes, we're screwed. I have a friend who recently said, "if passed, your chapter 70 problems would seem cute and simple." He was right. Vote no on 1.

The Budget Mess and How to Solve It

2008-10-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

[Update: I got some numbers mixed in up reading all the comments and articles at the Reporter -and things were actually more bleak than what I originally thought. I've updated the blog to reflect that. My apologies.]

Honestly, I'm not even going to link to the Reporter, and all the many budgetary articles (and sordid comments) that go along with it. We all know the budget problems - and they're not good.

Let's just deal with the facts:

Fact Number 1. We're facing a budget shortfall of around $1.3 million. That's a pretty hefty number, but not so huge that it can't be tackled in a way that can save this town's elementary schools - the one area on the MCAS where Swampscott scores among this state's elite.

Fact Number 2. The town unions voted against the GIC, which would have saved around $500,000 a year. That doesn't make them "greedy," just shortsighted. There are very real reasons for the union to vote against the GIC, but they still missed the bigger picture. It would have been a quid-pro-quo they could have collected on in the future, when times were better. Plus, it would have saved jobs. Most importantly, it may have healed the bad blood between the town, its elected officials, administration and teachers. That bad blood is making this entire town stink.

Fact Number 3. We're sitting on two properties worth approximately $5 million combined, along with several others that will be sold off. The sales can't be used on the general budget, but the property taxes they'll bring can be used for those purposes. How much will those property taxes be worth? If town meeting passes the recommendation, they'll be in excess of $500,000 - going a long way toward solving our fiscal woes. If Town Meeting doesn't pass the recommended plans, it will be just as damaging to the town as the town employees voting down the GIC.

Fact Number 4. If $1.3 million or something close to it is what it'll take to keep Hadley open, that's a few hundred dollars per taxpayer over an entire year. That's not a huge number to keep our integrity and maintain our record of elementary-level excellence. At worst, Swampscott is set to reach its fair share of Chapter 70 funds in two years - which will mean hundreds of thousands more in school spending. It won't be that much longer before the town will get the $500,000 annual income in property tax revenue from the Greenwood/Temple projects. This isn't a time for any nuclear options, such as closing Hadley, but rather it's a time to do what it takes to stay affloat - the metaphorical need to work overtime, not declare bankruptcy and foreclose on the house.

Conclusion: If we have to lay off a few town employees, we can always hire more in a few years, when our fiscal situation is better. We can't always open up a new school. That's the biggest reason there is to do whatever it takes to keep Hadley open.

It'll take some time to sell the town's vacant properties, but not so long that they couldn't make a difference in next year's budget (even if its number will be significantly reduced compared to what they'll bring in 5 years from now). That could help alleviate some of this pain, though only a small fraction. Thankfully, despite the the state's fiscal difficulties, our local aid won't go down in next year's budget - as politicians will be loathe to reduce municipal aid. All this means better days are ahead, but Swampscott needs vision and courage to get there.

Blaisdell's Debate Issue

2008-10-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

There isn't going to be a debate for this district's state rep seat, though there were 4 or 5 in the special election just a few months ago, with the same candidates. The question is why? John Blaisdell, though he won't admit it now, made the reasoning crystal clear.

In today's Lynn Item:

Blaisdell said it didn’t matter who generated the questions as long as the questions were “of substance” and candidates have an opportunity for rebuttal.

Here's what he said in the same paper back in September:

If it's not a Lincoln-Douglas style debate then there will be no debate.

So, which is it? If Blaisdell wanted a debate, he should have been willing to compromise much sooner than he did. It would have helped if he didn't try to use the debate as some sort of wedge or manufactured issue to score a few political points. This is not behavior befitting of a public official.

The Temple Property Meeting

2008-09-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

I went to tonight's meeting on the Phillips Ave. Fire Station and the old Temple property that town's looking to sell. Suffice it to say, Swampscott should be proud of the work the committee did in both weighing the needs of our town with the neighbors. Their proposal will significantly help this town, without a lot of the pitfalls of projects of this size. Some of the specifics below, along with my general thoughts toward the end.

First, for the Temple property, they've considered all the possibilities– office space, single family units, town homes and condos. I played devil's advocate and challenged for some price comparisons on all the various plans and not only does their recommendation make sense from a residential point of view (ex. smaller impact on the neighbors), but also in terms of bringing in the biggest bang for the buck.

Since the town owns the property, it has a large degree of control over what can be built on it – and town residents rejoice, the ugly, completely paved parking lot at street level will be a thing of the past. The proposal is for half the parking to be under the buildings with a small lot in back. Each unit will have two parking spaces, so there shouldn't be any spillover parking.

Furthermore, the height of the proposed zoning will only allow for construction that's almost exactly the same as the current temple's main structures (significantly less than the 50+ foot sanctuary jutting into the sky). Any construction will have to be set back a complete 40 feet from the street, twice the average Swampscott home, and 20-40 feet from the nearest neighbors (maintaining or expanding on the Temple's status quo). Architectural designs will be required to prevent construction from looking like big, ugly blobs - staggered units that make the condos look more like the rest of the neighborhood. Moreover, the maximum mass of the construction will take up only 2-3% more of the grounds of the property than the Temple, with the likelihood being that there would be two small buildings occupying the space. Builders could build less than that, which is certainly possible if they want to go very high end.

So, these buildings are going to be prettier, set further back and be less intrusive than what's already there – and did I mention it's going to rake in the dough? Let's talk dollars and cents. The recommended Temple proposal will net this town $3 million with the sale alone. Of course, it all depends on the market, but according to the committee, their estimates are conservative and it could be more. Anything close to three million, in this market, is fantastic and will allow the town to recoup most or all of its investment in buying the property to begin with. Furthermore, the tax revenue the Temple project would bring in alone would be in the magnitude of $270-300 thousand dollars a year. To put that in perspective, that will pay for 5-8 teachers and account for half of what the state should be paying us in additional Chapter 70 funds.

Some residents were worried about other factors. What if a big developer tries to use Chapter 40B affordable housing laws to build some monstrosity? No worries. The town owns this property, so we get a great deal of control over what can be built there. In a process that's called RFP, proposals can be sent to the town, matching the guidelines set by the town, and the town can then pick and choose which proposal best matches its needs and desires. If we don't like any of the offers, we don't have to accept any. Hence, we're going to get beautiful buildings that will make great additions to the town of Swampscott - in addition to going a long way to solving our fiscal problems.

Some people were a little concerned that we wouldn't be getting much money from the Phillips Ave. Fire Station – which is expected to sell, at a conservative estimate, for around $160,000-200,000, providing $8,000-10,000/year in property taxes. The reason for the low sales figure is because considerable work would have to be done to make the structure habitable for residential use. Rehabbing the old Fire Station would actually cost more than knocking it down and starting from scratch, so whoever buys it will likely be paying for the land more than anything. Yet, who knows, maybe the historical value and the market for unique, architecturally significant homes will drive the price up? It's certainly possible.

I asked how much more we could expect if we allowed developers to knock it down, the committee said the difference wasn't great. So, the committee got it right: better to maintain a historically significant structure that would appeal to someone who would want to restore an old town gem than to allow some ugly McMansion to be constructed that would likely be far more intrusive to the neighbors.

So, here's my general impressions of the evening:

The committee did a fantastic job, especially considering that they both had to appease neighbors and make sure we do what's right for Swampscott. More green space, less ugly paved, street-level parking and significantly more revenue for the town. This is win, win, win.
I can't believe we're actually going to be able to recoup most/all of the costs of the Temple when we bought it. I thought we'd lose millions!
For the few complaints that may come from direct abutters: One section of this town just had to deal with the very real 'change' of losing a beautiful, expansive park and gaining a massive new high school most neighhbors did not want, in a very divisive, close election that pitted neighborhood against neighborhood. They were called NIMBY and cheap. Any complaints from direct abutters now is utter nonsense in comparison.

Given the fact that the Old Temple/Temporary Town Hall had tons of traffic and is a monstrosity, this project will actually be less intrusive on the neighborhood and town, while providing a lot of upside. There's going to be less traffic (IMO), fewer/no children (the Temple had a robust Hebrew School and these are going to likely be 1 bedroom condos) and will remove the unsightly parking mess there. We all have to sacrifice for the town, many sacrificed much more, and the construction of this entirely reasonable and well grounded proposal will go a long ways to solving this town's fiscal problems. As far as I'm concerned, because of effort the committee took in their plans to mitigate neighborhood concerns while honoring this the necessity to act on this town's great needs, NIMBY arguments are not allowed.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend Tuesday's meeting – which discussed the proposals for Greenwood Ave (the old middle school/high school), but more information about that is available at the Reporter. The Reporter, of course, has more on tonight's meeting on the Temple. Suffice it to say, the committee wants to maintain the historical integrity of the original structure, which is nice: this building actually is historically significant. While changes will obviously have to be made (the structure is huge), the original building will be kept and a proposed second building would have to use materials in keeping with the original. While the same number of units will likely be built at Greenwood Ave as the Temple, the value isn't expected to be as high - but combined we're talking about an additional $500,000 a year in taxes and around $5 million infused into our town for infrastructural improvements (likely paying for a new police station).

Slightly off topic comment: I'd much rather live on Greenwood Ave! With its beach views and just a short walk to the water and great restaurants that litter Humphrey Street, they're going to be some of the hottest condos in town. Plus, not only will they be cheaper than the Humphrey St. units, but they'll have tons of history and culture.

Missing Dog in Swampscott

2008-09-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

A neighbor of mine has a dog, named Junior, that escaped from its yard today, 9/11, and has not been found yet. It's a terrier that looks something like this:

Source.

This is not the dog, it just looks similar - with black and tan fur. It's listed as a Yorkshire Terrier on the missing sheet, but I actually think it's a Silky Terrier, because it weighs 15 pounds (people often think Silky's are Yorkshires, but Yorky's weigh 4-6 pounds). It's a wicked cute, friendly dog - both the breed and this one in particular.

I spent an hour or so tonight looking for it, after I saw all the signs posted that its missing, because I have basically the same kind of dog - except that mine's a female. They're by far my favorite breed - spunky, friendly, they're just gorgeous dogs. It hit so close to home that it's missing. My dog's escaped from my yard a few times and each time I've been in a panick. Luckily, she's never gone far. It's tough to make yards escape proof - they always manage to find a way. I couldn't think of that many things that would be more horrible than losing my dog.

If people see a dog off the leash that could be Junior, the missing terrier, please grab it and either get in touch with the owner or call the police. If anyone sees any barking or yelping, but can't see the dog, then try to investigate it. Often times missing dogs (especially small onees) can get stuck in some of the darnest places - storm drains, garages, all over. I tend to notice that my dog, when she's scared or hurt, has a very, very high pitched yelp that doesn't sound anything like a bark and isn't particularly loud. Given that the dogs are similar, I wouldn't be surprised if this dog has a similar yelp.

It was last seen in its yard, which is on the corner of Buena Vista and Burpee Road - right near Machon school, new high school and the Projects. If anyone reading this lives in the area, or if anyone in Swampscott or the nearby areas of Lynn see the dog (it's very close to Lynn by Eastern Ave.), grab it if you can, or email me or call the police. I forgot to copy down the owner's phone number, but it's just around the corner and I'll get right in touch with them if I hear anything.

Update: 3 days later and the signs are down. I don't know if it was the rain, or if my neighbor gave up, but I'm going to choose to think the dog was safely found and hope that I see him leading his leash on a nice walk through the neighborhood very soon.

Tap Water: Cleaner, Fresher, Better, Cheaper

2008-08-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

Today's such a hot day - and I've been drinking practically gallons of water to stay hydrated - that I figured I'd post locally what I've posted about at my political blog on occasion: don't buy bottled water, drink it straight from the tap. We're lucky to enjoy some of the best tap water anywhere - the Quabbin Reservoir is consistantly named among the best in the country. Tap water is more heavily regulated than anything you'll find in a bottle, plus the fact that buying just one bottle of water would pay for all the water you could drink for an entire year if from the tap.

The annual cost of drinking water only based on the commonly recommended 8
glasses of water per day intake (1/2 gallon x 365), would be:
$0.84 for Tap water (that is, 84 cents)
$27.38 for Filtered Tap water (on-going basis)
$91.25 for the least expensive bottled water tested
$1029.30 for the most expensive bottled water tested

With rising gas prices and the inflating costs of nearly everything, from bread to milk to heating oil, if anyone's looking for somewhere where they can save a few hundred dollars a year to offset the difference, look no further than switching to the tap.

Don't worry, you don't have to sacrifice taste or quality: Swampscott's tap, as with nearly all of Massachusetts, is cleaner and better for you. Heck, when you drink bottled water, you're usually drinking tap water anyway: bottled water plants suck up our tap water, distributing it across the country. It's actually an environmental disaster. The bottles themselves use large quantities of oil to produce (to make the plastic) and the bottling plants consume water that local communities desperately need.

Furthermore, the filters these companies use take out the good stuff in our water (minerals our body wants), while our tap water keeps those minerals while adding things that we need to remain healthy and strong. Not to mention, the bottles themselves can fester disease: water that stays bottled and stagnant, instead of constantly flowing in our pipes, is actually a good breeding ground for bacteria.

Bottled water is one of the most successful marketing jobs done ever. It's become an industry that makes billions - by getting us to pay for something we could be getting for free. We've been convinced that the tap's bad for us, or not cool and hip, or something to be sneered at akin to how many feel about public transportation (a whole other topic for a whole other post). Suffice it to say, if you're worried about being cool and hip, go buy a cool and hip water bottle, and partake in the pipes that connect us all, defining us as a civilization, where all we have to do to quench our thirst is pull a magic lever that fills our cups as often as we need. Tastes good.

Lastly, my favorite comic's views on the matter:

Wicked Sad

2008-07-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

Casey C. Washburn, 24, of Swampscott, beloved son of Ken and Kerry Washburn, brother of Melissa Capuano Leone of Swampscott and Peter Capuano of Charlottesville, Va., died of a drug overdose on July 24, 2008. He was much loved by his grandmother Marie Washburn and his many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, friends and the family dog, Virgil.

I went to school with Casey from Kindergarden to my High School Graduation. We even went through CCD at St. John's together. He was legitimately a very nice, hilarious, easy going guy. I can't believe it. I will definately miss Casey. My sympathies and thoughts go out to his family, one of the nicest in Swampscott, and all of Casey's many friends.

Global Warming Forum at Library

2008-07-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

Rep. Ehrlich and Environment Massachusetts are hosting a Global Warming forum at the town library on July 17th, 7pm. I quickly wrote out a copy of the notice, since the original was PDF.

How Massachusetts Can Become a Leader in Global Warming Solutions
A Conversation with State Representative Lori Ehrlich and Environment Massachusetts
July 17, 7 p.m. Swampscott Public Library
61 Burrill Street, Swampscott, Massachusetts 01907

Representative Lori Ehrlich and Environment Massachusetts, an environmental advocacy organization, are hosting a community meeting on the Global Warming Solutions Act and other key environment legislation on July 17th, 2008 at 7pm in the Swampscott Public Library.

Global Warming is a serious problem facing Massachusetts and the rest of the world. Every state should be doing their part to curb emissions and move to a clean and renewable energy future.

Please join Representative Ehrlich, Environment Massachusetts, and concerned citizens to discuss how to organize around S.2540, The Global Warming Solutions Act. State lawmakers need to hear from community members now to help ensure the passage of this critical legislation before the end of this session.

For more information contact Winston Vaughan at (617) 747-4447 or WinstonATEnvironmentMassachusettsDOT org.

I plan on attending - hope to meet some fellow concerned citizens in the community there.

$100,000 for Swampscott

2008-07-13T23:22:00.000-07:00

Swampscott's getting $100,000 to fix parts of the beach along Humphrey street, via the state's budget, due in large part from a lot of hard work coming from our elected leaders representing this town.

The Governor vetoed $50,000 of the funds originally set for Swampscott, which would have totaled $150,000, but it's still going to make for a lot of improvements along our portion of the beach. The remaining $50,000 could be reinserted to the budget if the State Legislature is able to override the Governor's veto, which is a definite possibility.

There's a lot more work to be done in terms of state funding for the town, especially Chapter 70, but it's good to know we have strong leadership fighting for our interests every day.

Long Overdue

2008-07-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

The Swampscott Reporter finally adopted a new comment process, where writers must register before they can post their 2 cents. That will go a long way toward solving the poisonous atmosphere on the website.

However, it's still not "Mission Accomplished" for the Swampscott Reporter. Just as a newspaper carefully guards its letters to the editor section, it must make sure that at least certain standards are met in the comments. If users are to be able to use the town newspaper as their soapbox, doubly tall, then they should have to abide by the same kind of standards of decency present in the letters.

Happy 3rd of July

2008-07-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Great fireworks, lots of people, fun times... is there a better time to live in Swampscott than around the summer holidays? Nearly anyone in town can take a quick walk to the beach, see the fire works, buy a strawberry shortcake at the Strawberry Festival, go to Popo's or Red Rock.... endless possibilities.

The town would do well to attract more summer walkers to take advantage of our coastal perks - perhaps public bike racks, more summer activities and live entertainment, a summer series of local bands at the gazebo, for example. Hey, we may as well. Anyone want to start a new committee? LOL.

Also, here's my annual summer Independence Day post on my political blog, Ryan's Take.

Today's Parade: Huge Success

2008-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

Some random notes which add up to why it was so awesome:

I marched with the Town Dems, just behind the bagpipe band and in front of youth soccer - good music and plenty of cheers from the crowd throughout.
The Town Dems ran out of Obama stickers midway through the parade - they were hot tickets!
The weather held off just in time.
Lori Ehrlich was one of only two elected officials to actually bother showing up to march. Kudos to she and her family!
Hundreds came out, despite the ugly clouds.

That's got to be a huge success, by any metric. My only regret: with the weather turning sour, I missed the strawberry shortcake!

If anyone's feeling extra motivated by the Town Dems in the parade and wants to become involved, there's a potluck cookout July 9th at 6:30pm. Email me for more information. It's a good chance to meet everyone, feel a part of the community and learn ways to become more involved.

Snafu? Fire Truck Hiccup

2008-06-10T01:32:00.001-07:00

This is beyond frustrating. At town meeting, one of the more inspiring moments was when we decided to be more intelligent and creative as a town, trying to use a debt exclusion to pay for a much-needed new fire truck. To put it simply, a debt exclusion is a vote by the town to pay for the object (in this case, a truck) in one year - instead of paying interest and taking on more debt. The town would have to vote on it, but given that it would save us all money in the long run and the town was going to buy it no matter what, it was a brilliant idea.

Except, the truck costs more than the money Town Meeting allotted - per the first link.

Maylor noted that Medford just bought a truck for $328,000, others paid up to $475,000 and Marblehead spent $390,000. And given that all those fire trucks have the same engine and power train, he said, “I don’t think it’s really a question of longevity.”

Selectman Adam Forman asked why Carmody didn’t stand up at Town Meeting and say something. The chief said he’s not a Town Meeting member, but was hoping somebody would ask the chief’s opinion. Nobody did.

Dave Bowen of the Capital Improvement Committee then spoke, explaining that his group asked the chief if he could get a fire truck for $300,000.

“He said yes and didn’t come back to say we can’t use that truck,” Bowen said. “It’s customary for the Capital Improvement Committee to ask if we can get it for less.”

Apparently, the Fire Chief was at Town Meeting but didn't feel like he could 'speak up' when the question was under debate - because he's not a Town Meeting member. That's being awfully timid, considering we had a number of non-Town Meeting members address everyone on both nights, including before the debt exclusion debate even began. Furthermore, the question of whether or not $300,000 was enough came up during the debate. The Chief had a duty to speak up.

Comments vs. Blogs

2008-06-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Diarist Sean Roche, of the popular blog Blue Mass Group, had an interesting post a few days ago on a subject very near to Swampscott. Lincoln-Sudbury's Superintendent, John Ritchie, used part of his commencement speech at their school's graduation to courageously tackle the anonymous postings of adults in the community, imploring his students never to stoop to their level. Specifically, he said:

Here's my advice: if you ever find yourself in a position where you are writing things for public consumption that have no intent other than to cause pain or cast aspersions on people, call people's character into question, question their ethics or honesty - and you're afraid to sign your name because if anyone ever knew it was you writing it, you'd be ashamed and embarrassed, you're on the wrong track.

Those are good words to live by. Unfortunately, Roche took offense to Ritchie's comments because the Superintendent blamed it on "the blogs." However, that doesn't take away from Superintedent Ritchie's case, as I suggested in Roche's diary: Superintendent Ritchie's only mistake was to confuse blogging with commenting. Unfortunately, it's an all-too common confusion.

As someone with some experience in both local campaigns and blogs, I hear time and time again people talking about comments on WickedLocal and other community papers as "the blogs." It's a dangerous precedent that must be kept in check, immediately. Unlike WickedLocal comments, blogs are actually held accountable - people have to sign in, build reputation and live by what they say. Anonymous comments on community papers are poison precisely because they aren't blogs: there's no signing in, so people can create new user names every time they post. Furthermore, there's no good way to keep track of anonymous comments, whereas blogs live online (and are easy to find) forever. The result is anonymous commenters aren't afraid to say anything, no matter how mean or vile, or whether or not it's backed up with facts. People say whatever they want because they're not held accountable, leading to such putrid words that Swampscott's own WickedLocal shut down its comments for months.

It's easy to see where the confusion grows: most of the population's never been to a blog; people just think any online commentary is simply 'blogging.' It would be nice if we could chalk this up to one big confusion, but by allowing this misunderstanding to take place, the reputation of blogs as useful tools is being sullied, all the while the real culprits are free from actually fixing the problem.

The problem is greatly exacerbated because, ultimately, this is about good journalism. The Swampscott Reporter wouldn't allow people to say anything they wanted in letters to the editor or the opinion section, so why should their comment section be treated any differently? Accountability in newspapers matter, perhaps more than anything else, and they're letting their good names be dragged through the mud because they haven't caught up to the Web 2.0.

So, what the heck are we going to do about it?

What are the problems?

Anonymity.
Unaccountability.
A general ignorance about the web 2.0.

What are the solutions?

Solving anonymity: the universal acceptance of 'signing in.'
Solving the accountability gap: the universal promotion of online meritocracy; making newspapers buy into the importance of building user-name reputation.
Solving Web ignorance: education. Everyone should know what a blog is versus a comment versus an Internet forum.

The last action item becomes important because when people keep confusing the comments and blogs as they are now, there's not going to be any progress in fixing the problem. Just like you can't cure the cold with antibiotics, we can't cure the problem of unaccountable commenters at newspapers if the population at large thinks it's 'the blogs.' Doctors go to med school for years so they can tell the difference between a cold and the flu - luckily, people should be able to know what a comment is versus a blog in around two minutes. Newspapers have no real incentive to fix their comment sections if people think there's something wrong with 'the blogs,' so let's get that step right: they need to bring accountability to their newspapers.

All of this becomes vastly more important because there's an intrinsic value to blogs: they cover events that newspapers can't cover and they democratize information. If the vast majority of the population doesn't value the medium of blogging, it's only going to be that much harder to sustain the progress that the blogosphere has been able to spearhead. Most importantly, when it comes to being online, while being anonymous can be a good thing, being unaccountable is never acceptable. The progressive blogosphere is built around that premise, but it can't rest until it's a universal standard all across the Internet.

Note: Parts of this blog were originally posted on my primary blog, Ryan's Take.

Town Dem Meeting

2008-06-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday, the 11th, at the Town Library, 7pm on the top floor.

The Skunks are Out!!

2008-05-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

My poor dog, Snickers, a Silky Terrier, was sprayed by a skunk tonight. Not fun!! I always check outside for skunks before I let her out, unfortunately not all the members of my family are as careful. After a full bath, a little peroxide and tomato juice (better she smell like tomatoes than skunk), she was alright. I can't say the same thing about my house though - the whole place stinks!

Town Meeting, Night Two

2008-05-07T01:09:00.000-07:00

Amazingly, Town Meeting accomplished all of its goals tonight, even if some of them were altered. Most of the night consisted of routine tasks that require votes every year and move quickly, but there were a few highlights for the night.

Capital Expenditures: these are bonds that Town Meeting approves which don't require a Proposition 2 1/2 override. They have to be paid in ten years time, accrue interest mounted to the debt and are typically meant for minor and medium projects such as road repairs and new town vehicles. This year, there will be one new police car, a new roof for Clark, as well as some radios of the non FM variety for Police and Fire. Overall, Swampscott agreed to take on nearly $2 million more in debt of this variety.
Debt Exclusions: a fairly new phenomenon in Mass Municipalities, this is the process of proposing one-time fees to voters that they can approve at the ballot box to fund specific projects, instead of creating the less transparent and more expensive Capital Expenditures. Taxes go up for one year to pay for the project(s), then they go back down the next. A brand-new concept for Swampscott, it truly harkens back to the days of early Colonial America, when New Englanders paid for things as they were needed. If a town needed a new bridge, for example, Town Meeting would assemble and vote on it. If it passed, a levy would be created to specifically pay for the project over the next year or two. After the project was paid for, the levy would end. When the British Government tried to move away from that system, the American Revolution began. [See Boston Tea Party.]

Obviously, the scale of operating society today is different - but the idea of having an election to raise local revenue for necessary expenditures on a one or two year basis, instead of issuing a bond and leaving it for future generations, is a noble one - not to mention both more democratic and transparent.

This year, assuming the Board of Selectmen approve the question, voters will be given the chance to vote for a one-time fee as part of their taxes that would cover a new fire engine, replacing the Fire Department's 1988 classic, as well as repave 12 of the worst roads across town. Town Meeting will pay for both either way, but if voters approve the Debt Exclusion, they'll save over $200,000 compared to paying for those items using bonds. The roads will collectively cost $150k and the Fire Truck $300k, costing the average voter an additional one-time fee of $58 in their property taxes, the savings of over $200,000 comes from not having to pay the interest on unnecessary bonds.

Editorial Note: Several Selectmen were afraid Debt Exclusions would be too confusing for voters -would it be seen as an override? And, if it would, would it prevent voters from approving the real override that will come either next year or the one after? Of course, that's a low opinion of voters given the fact that the Fire Truck will cost a one-time fee of $58 next year if passed at the ballot, or far more if they don't.

Instead of taking leadership on educating voters about the simplicity and transparency of this new process, several Selectmen sheepishly argued to just make them Capital Expenditures, the money savings be damned. That's a funny comment coming from that group, all of whom talk about being "creative" in looking for ways to save money. Isn't this a creative solution that at least merits a try? Selectmen should know all people want is a transparent government - to know where their money is going. Capital Expenditures is the antithesis to that: it's exactly the kind of thing people don't like about government. They're less transparent. They're debt towns will pay for a decade later and, in the long run, they cost way more money than paying for them up front. People don't have the chance to approve Capital Expenditures and often questionable items are included (such as text books). Convincing people there's a better way won't be difficult, but it will take leadership that the Board of Selectmen will have to grow into - to put it nicely.
The Town Building Oversight Committee. The night's second big event was approving the Town Building Oversight Committee's creation, discussed in yesterday's blog. Thankfully, a compromise was reached before Town Meeting's second night began. The Selectmen gave up the rights to make the committee an Advisory Committee in exchange for defining how the Committee will be comprised - which will include 7 members, one of which will come from the Town Finance Committee, the Board of Selectmen and the current Town Building Review Committee. Other members will be residents appointed by the Moderator and Selectmen. This committee will have authority to propose guidelines for what can be developed and built on the old Middle School, the Phillips Beach Ave Fire Station, the former Sr. Center and the Sewage Pumping Station on Highland Ave. A report on their findings is due no later than Nov. 15th, at which point Town Meeting reconvenes to take action.
My Final Note: Voters should insist on being involved in the building oversight process. Go to the public meetings; its imperative committee members know how residents feel, making those the #1 priorities, even beyond land value and future property tax receipts. For most residents, surprising would be putting it mildly at just the taste of what could come given the Building Review Committee's report last night. Picture more than 40 units of luxury living on the old Temple Grounds, comprising at least four stories, or the core of the old Middle School's demolish in favor of two structures on the same property, with even more units than the Temple. Not pretty at all.

Especially in this soft residential market, Swampscott could use more commercial base - not residential. Wouldn't it make sense to at least explore the option of turning the old Temple site into quiet office space - after all, that couldn't be any busier thanTown Hall, located there for the past year. Office space will certainly be less busy than the former Temple.

None of this is to say the Review Committee's report didn't show promising results of what's to come - indeed, it was downright optimistic. One of their suggestions, for example, was to promote the idea of trimming the old Middle School back to it's historical original, a stunningly beautiful building. It may be too small for what developers would want, but definitely is the basis for a project Swampscott residents could be proud of.

The committee's best idea was to expand the use of our town's pumping station. Specifically, land could be cleared to add space for parking and Whale's Beach access, as well as a new police station. The best part is it collectively represents a strategy for improving Swampscott's downtown - highlighting Swampscott's connection to the beach. It could do the nearly moribund downtown a great deal of good, making the area somewhere Swampscott residents congregate, at least in warm weather.

However, all of the good ideas make it even more imperative that residents become involved (even good ideas can fail). The night's common theme among speakers: once these buildings are sold and changes made, there's no going back. This is a once-in-a-generation question for town residents; most communities wish they were this property rich, with options and tools to combat the difficult problems that arise. Town Meeting members in large numbers concur that it's important Swampscott consider what could happen in the future before we make rash decisions now, hence the creation of the new committee. But the answers to these questions don't rest solely in the members who will be appointed to the Building Oversight Committee. The answers come collectively, from town residents being engaged in the process and making sure the committee does right by the people of this town. If we don't become engaged, we'll get what we deserve - and the town may very well be worse off than we are now.

Town Meeting, Night One

2008-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a rundown of the first night of Swampscott's Town Meeting. Tune in for tomorrow's installments here as well.

First up, the moderated opened Town Meeting. New members (including me) were sworn in. A reverend from one of Swampscott's churches lead us in prayer (why we need to ask Jesus to bless us, I don't know, but I found the whole "tradition" offensive). Representative Lori Ehrlich came to thank the town, as well as quickly discuss some of the things she's done while in office (including $350,000 for Humphrey Street - if it gets through the Senate). Various town committees reported on their year's work, some details below.
The K-8 Master Plan. Quick run through by the Committee's chair. Readers will note I recently discussed the Master Plan on this website. The only news is that the committee suggested the Grade-Level 1 option, which would turn Clark into a Pre-K/K building and house grades 1-4 at Stanley. Editorialized Comments: They're selling it as a means to increase "parity," which is silly given the overall quality of Swampscott's elementary schools (among the best in the state - all of them). "Parity" is really a creative disguise to save money, at the cost of Swampscott's K-4 educational quality.

Ultimately, all of Swampscott's elementary schools excel at teaching kids - the only disparity that exists are the kids who get the teachers who are right for them, versus the ones who don't - and that kind of disparity would continue to exist at whatever new schools we build. Smaller schools have been proven just as important as smaller class sizes in the K-4 age group, which makes a lot of sense when looking at Swampscott's MCAS scores. With Swampscott's elementary education system among the best in the state, why destroy the neighborhood-school model? It can only dampen the educational standards, whether or not the buildings our kids use are shiny and new.
Bylaws. The town's committee on updating the bylaws attempted to do two things: fix what they suggested were 'inconsistencies' and 'typos' in the town's bylaws, as well as offering a motion to change the bylaws to insert a clause that would force town citizens to shovel sidewalks.

The first amendment - which promised to be a quick exercise - proved to be much more daunting than it looked. Yes, the committee fixed typos and inconsistencies in the bylaws, but they also changed certain aspects of the bylaws that went above and beyond the committee's purview. The worst offender was a change in fees for violating certain town codes - which originally were to be 'no more than $50,' but would have become 'no less than $50' - for each offense. Under state law, that would mean that the town could penalize people up to $300 for each offense if those codes were violated. An amendment passed which would make each violation be exactly $50 per offense.
The second amendment, on snow removal, was effectively killed. Proponents wanted to make sure town sidewalks were properly shoveled, opponents said that the change was unfair because not everyone is physically equipped to shovel and can't afford the unfunded mandate of paying for the walkways to be cleared. The Committee Chair also said that the town technically owns the sidewalks and referenced the fact that in other towns, the town itself pays to clear major sidewalks, especially those on busy streets and streets used by kids walking to and from school.

Buildings. The committee reporting on what to do with the town's many properties gave focused on several buildings: the Phillips Beach Fire Station (currently used as the town's ambulance service), the Humphrey Street pumping station and the current police station. Its suggestion was to sell the Phillips Beach Fire Station, use the Humphrey Street property for a new police station and to lease out the current police station as the new town ambulance service, conveniently located next to the fire department. Additionally, it was recommended that the old middle school be sold.
The Night's Wrap Up. On the whole, there was little contention over the sale and reuse of the town's buildings, but the night ended on a heated exchange when the building committee suggested the creation of a new committee to have oversight of how the buildings could be sold - including the creation of new town bylaws that would be up for approval by Town Meeting, likely in the fall.

Several Selectman came out against the proposal, insisting they retain the oversight of those matters. Instead, they offered an amendment to create an advisory committee instead. Multiple people spoke out in favor of both options and the crowd went back and forth, however momentum in the crowd seemed to shift when one of the building committee members came out and said their process was necessary to avoid another Temple scenario - where the town purchased only a part of the old Temple property, when members of Town Meeting thought the entirety was purchased. Given the applause in the crowd, it seemed Selectmen's amendment would fail and an Oversight committee would be created, but the Town Selectmen were given a reprieve because, as the clock turned to 10:46, people were anxious to leave and voted to table the decision for Tuesday Night.
My Final Comments: There was some dispute as to whether or not the Selectmen must come back to Town Meeting before a sale could be finalized, but it makes more sense to create an independent authority to come up with suggestions for town meeting (read: the Oversight Committee). The Selectmen would still be given great weight in the process, since they'd be the people selecting who would serve on that committee, but ultimately they wouldn't be able to steamroll a decision on the town.

Given the language in the Town Meeting Warrant of the sections on actually selling the buildings in question, there was nothing to assure that the Selectmen be forced to come back to Town Meeting before a sale was finalized - as they tried to say there was. Furthermore, even if they did come back, what's to prevent them from still steamrolling their wishes since they could essentially suggest Town Meeting sell the buildings as they see fit, or else they'll lose the deal negotiated by the Selectmen. It's better to set the conditions to those deals first, so that tactic can't work, because these significant properties ultimately impact the character of Swampscott.

This could be especially important for the Old Middle School, which is well over a hundred years old and represents the highest point of town. Residents can easily see it from as far away as the hills by the old Machon. Elected leaders, professional athletes, actors and CEOs have come out of that building in its 100+ years of existence, so it's only right that the citizens of this town have some more say in how it - and all of the other town property in question - can be sold.

Finally, if Town Meeting is extended to Wednesday (even though we were repeatedly told we'd finish by Tuesday night, that's not going to happen), I won't be able to go given the fact that I previously agreed to a job interview, meaning I won't be able to give a report. If any Town Meeting members will give their own rundown on Wednesday's happenings, let me know. I'll be delighted to post it! Town Meeting is exceptionally important - and rarely covered in the Reporter - so it takes true Citizen Journalism to make sure people have access to what's really going on.

Sorry State

2008-05-03T14:03:00.001-07:00

My "ten minute campaign" for Town Meeting, as my mother called it, won a 3-year term in Precinct 1 as a write in. I got exactly four votes - the members of my home and some from next door. That's not such a bad thing for a 1-year term, because Town Meeting should be super easy to get on, but the fact that four votes ended up getting more than a 1 or 2 year term is a bit sad.

K-8 Master Plan, Today's Election

2008-04-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

In preparation for today's election, I read the Reporter's Q&A with all of today's candidates. There will be no endorsements from this site, don't worry. However, I'm very glad that Maureen Thomsen pointed readers to the town's K-8 Master Plan, thus accomplishing more than the Reporter has all year in one sentence. With just that move, she's earned my vote - albeit there's only two people running for two positions, so that's not a huge accomplishment in and of itself. That said, here's my brief summation and opinion of the 3/11 Master Plan, feel free to argue and bicker my points, as well as provide your own thoughts, news and commentary, in the comments.

The Master Plan

Basically, the Master Plan boils down to 3 major options, with slight variances in each group: Do we want to organize our town with neighborhood schools, grade-level schools or consolidated (read: huger) schools. Educationally, the first option is definitely the best model. From grades K-4, it's shown that not only do class sizes make a huge educational difference, but school sizes do too. After around the 4th or 5th grade, both school size and class size become less important, as access to better and broader classes become far more meaningful than the sizes of a class or building.

The Best Option for Swampscott: To that end, the N1 (first option of the neighborhood group of plans) is by far the best option for the students of this town. It would ultimately cost the town about $10 million more than the other plans, but what's $10 million when the other plans will all cost the town upwards of 45-50, after state reimbursement. If we're going to spend the money, let's do it right.

The Best Option for Clarke-School Students/Parents: Other "neighborhood" options involve closing Hadley, which can mean a variety of things. N6 was a great option for selfish reasons - since the increase in school size would be almost entirely absorbed by Stanley/Hadley students (Clarke having a modest 270 students compared to Stanley at 680 in that scenario, both K-4 schools in the option). N6 is still a good option for the town, because the class sizes would still be small and it would save $10 million compared to N1, but it's not the best option for the students who would be sent to the new Stanley, in that hypothetical scenario. The other neighborhood options only get worse from there, for everyone, though many of them are still better options than the ones below.

Intriguing options: All of the grade-level options were interesting in that they would certainly bring complete parity to Swampscott schools, since the entire town would send students of particular grades to particular schools, but ultimately there are three reasons why the current grade-based proposals in the Master Plan don't make sense and would be unpopular: First, the school housing grades 1-4 would be huge, almost 700 students, meaning there'd be no educational gain. Second, building a Super Stanley, to house those 700 students, wouldn't represent any meaningful savings compared to other options. Most importantly (for the voters who would pass this, anyway), it would mean an extra trip for Mom and Dad, or an expensive bus system to be paid Mom and Dad yearly. Creating a grade-based system is certainly intriguing, but these options need tweaking.

Bad options: Consolidation. The consolidation plans aren't going to save anywhere near as much money as people would like, for the simple fact that such a plan would require a town bus system that ultimately would come out of the pockets of parents, and certainly deprives this community of it's biggest plus: an actual community feel in its public schools. Even worse is the fact that construction costs would be just as large as any of the other projects and even more disruptive since these would be large-scale projects. Consolidation would also mean operating two very large K-8 schools, which is just a bad idea from an educational standpoint, as well as fostering a greater likelihood of disparity.

Whelan's Appeal and the Solution

2008-04-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, School Committee Chair David Whelan sends out a mass email essentially about how Swampscott is continually screwed by the State of Massachusetts in Chapter 70 funds compared to other cities and towns across the Commonwealth. We receive less money per children than towns that are comparable to us. Often, even wealthier communities than Swampscott do better in terms of Chapter 70 funding per child. Whelan almost always has a solid point, and the most recent email - "Another View of Chapter 70" is no different, but ultimately David's line of argument is doomed to failure.

Here's the gist of what he has to say:

How does Wellesley with almost three times the income per today’s Boston Globe get $105 more per child? How does Lynnfield get almost $600 [more] per child given their similar level of income per the referenced Globe article?

Of course, as I've said, at no point is David actually wrong. There probably aren't two people in Swampscott who don't get that. Unfortunately, though, while David is right on the merits, his argument fails to overcome two fundamental flaws. The first is that there just isn't enough cookies in the cookie jar to go around since Celluci drove through this state's last major tax cut. No matter how the cookies are divvied up, there are going to be some towns and some kids who get screwed over. Heck, even the towns that do 'well' in Whelan's analysis are facing tough economic times - despite the fact that they benefit from the overly-complicated and fundamentally flawed Chapter 70 formulas. The fact that every city and town across Massachusetts is facing similar problems with the current formula means that there isn't a huge incentive for rank and file state legislators to fix Swampscott's problems - because in order for Beacon Hill to fix our problems, it's going to have to fix the bigger ones first (lest other towns register similar complaints to our current ones).

The second flaw, the one that fatally wounds David's argument, is the fact that by comparing Swampscott to Lynnfield, Marblehead and others, he's actually pitting cities and towns against each other. For too long, that's how politics has worked on Beacon Hill - and as long as that's the way things work there, Swampscott is always going to be one of the big losers. Swampscott will just never have enough leverage to receive more than its fair share; it'll take another 3 years to receive just the 17.5% Chapter 70 funding (which is what David is asking for). David's arguments, while correct, end up in dividing his own natural base to be conquered - manipulated only by human nature. Bigger cities and towns, with more political clout than a freshman legislator, don't even have to work hard to protect the status quo, because natural allies like Swampscott, Marblehead and Lynnfield are already feuding.

A far more effective way of addressing the problems of state aid funding (or a lack thereof) is in underscoring its universal problems - which, if solved, would do even more to address the current nightmare than reforming Chapter 70's formula for every town. Each and every town across Massachusetts is facing difficult economic times - some far worse than Swampscott (and that's saying something). Ultimately, the real solutions to our economic problems are solutions that will positively effect each and every municipality across the Commonwealth - from Swampscott to Lynn to New Bedford to Pittsfield.

A Better Way

So, Ryan, if David's wrong - what should Swampscott be doing? Of course, that's the big question, isn't it? Well, Swampscott needs to work with municipalities that are facing similar problems - which is certainly something David is trying to do - but that alone isn't a winning coalition. Small, fairly-well-to-do towns that don't receive their fair share aren't going to overcome the stink at Beacon Hill. Does anyone honestly think there are state legislators who serve these towns that don't want to see Chapter 70 changed? Maybe some could do more, but if only towns like Swampscott represent the coalition for change on Chapter 70, we're tilting at wind mills.

Furthermore, since there just isn't enough money to go around, Swampscott's gains would be Lynn's detriment - and I don't think there's a whole ton of people in this town that think urban communities have too much money to fund their schools. Neither do towns that are similar to Swampscott, yet aren't screwed over by Chapter 70: they're facing difficult times too. It should be obvious that picking fights among communities facing similar problems, even if some are facing stiffer consequences, isn't a winning strategy for change. It would make more political sense to create larger coalitions and go after common solutions.

The biggest political winner, in my book, would be to create a .5%-1% income tax increase specifically geared toward funding schools across Massachusetts on a per-child basis. Every city and town would stand to benefit and it would be more than just a band-aid approach to a solution. It would also benefit towns like Swampscott most - it will act as a security net for when municipalities eventually get screwed over by arcane educational formulas, with little means for state recourse. At some point, most every city or town is going to get screwed over by difficult-to-understand and even-harder-to-change formulas, so every city and town stands to gain by a larger base funding mechanism.

If school committees across the Commonwealth came out in favor of such a measure, it would be a solution to the problem that everyday legislators could get behind. Ultimately, any state legislators fearing the T-Word could just blame it on Celluci, to boot, because he's the one who set Massachusetts up for failure by pushing through tax cuts that were too steep to meet core services. Restoring just some of them could fix the failed experiment while keeping the state fiscally grounded with a still-modest income tax rate compared to the other 49 states in the union. What other solution exists that won't set up scenarios where cities and towns become too busy fighting each other to work together, that actually addresses the revenue problem and does so in a way that would be quick to implement and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg? I'm all ears.

Town Dem Potluck

2008-04-09T18:39:00.001-07:00

The town dems are having a potluck for new members (me included) on Sunday at 6pm. If anyone's interesting in joining the town committee, this would be a good time to meet everyone and see what it's all about. Plus, it's good to be a part of the community. I know this is short notice, but if anyone would like to come, email me over the next day or so and I'll forward your name and number to the hosts.

Cuts Not Fun

2008-04-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

I don't envy any of the decision makers deciding this current budget, but they have to be done without axing the truly core services - and not just Math, English and Science - but what keep students going to school. Unfortunately, while the Super says he gets that, big chunks of the what keeps kids in school are up on the chopping block anyway.

"I love tech ed," Malone confessed. "If it wasn't for tech ed, I wouldn't have made it through high school. It's unfortunate something popular is on the chopping block, but these are the hard decisions we have to make.”

Add band and other important classes to that list. Yet, the most disturbing thing about all of this is - again - is that Swampscott faces another budget battle without all the facts in advance. Last year, parents didn't know Machon would be shut down until months before classes closed. This year, there were "discrepancies ... found in personnel and payroll files" and suddenly, the town was in debt hundreds of thousands more. Not good enough.

How can the town even have the kind of time to get creative, or entertain an override, if it doesn't have all the facts ahead of time? Heck, it wasn't long ago that headlines paraded the (typically no good) Swampscott Reporter saying all our problems were solved, since the health care plan wasn't going up. Whoops.

So what should the administration cut? First off, Paul Maguire's right: stay away from core programs and their teachers. As much as they're needed, cuts to administration, new textbooks and professional development should be first.

Then, if that isn't enough (and it probably won't be), members of the town are unfortunately going to have to ask themselves "what's our top priorities?" Obviously, that starts out with Science, Foreign Languages, History, English, Math and Health/Phys Ed. However, it doesn't stop there: music, art, tech, and business (computer) classes are right up there too. Why? While each alone doesn't cater to everyone, together they make a huge, meaningful impact in each and every student's ability to get through school and learn their math and science. A base level of all of those programs need to be there.

Unfortunately, that means there's not much room for cuts - except in how those classes are taught. Now, since when I graduated in 2002 - and there were seemingly endless amounts of AP Classes (many of which I took) - I hear there are far fewer. However, even more unfortunately, there may need to be even less. No matter how anyone looks at it, having extra AP classes aren't as important as making sure there's enough educational diversity and opportunity at school to keep students happy and learning. Even if a student is taking American History, instead of AP History, they're still learning about our founding fathers.

Plus, on a per student basis, teachers could give those who are interested in taking the AP exam extra work for preparation. It isn't ideal, but students don't have to take an AP class to take an AP exam. So, if there have to be teachers laid off and classes that need to be cut from the budget, the classes that are needed least are the ones that should be first to go - and those classes don't include the musics, arts and techs. Of course, all these classes are needed - and these were all classes I took not too long ago - but music and art can't be viewed through a different lens when, on the aggregate, they do the same thing and mean the same thing, even if its to different people.

In the meantime, let's all call our state legislators and ask them why we're still stuck at a 5.3% income tax rate. It's clearly not working and hasn't worked for even a year since its implementation, in good economic times or bad.

Swampscott School Confusion

2008-01-30T19:45:00.001-08:00

I love the new high school, which is much better than the Old High School, but not that old high school, which used to be the old middle school. Now the new middle school is the old high school, but that used to be the old, new middle school. And now it's back to being the new middle school.

I bring this up because I think it's humorous people are now calling the current middle school the "old high school" instead of the Middle School. It's especially ironic considering the new middle school is the very same building as the old middle school, the only difference being a newer wing from what was the old high school before it became the new middle school. Again.

I think we should hold a special Town Meeting session to figure out the appropriate naming convention for all Swampscott schools...

Only in Swampscott...

I'm Joining Ehrlich's Campaign Team

2007-12-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

To make a long story short, I'm joining Lori Ehrlich's campaign team as Field Director. Click the first link to read more about why. Also, here's Lori's website. She just launched it, so more will be coming soon.

Also, in the interest of keeping this site somewhat balanced, I'd love to have additional writers to keep readers up on what's going on in Swampscott, from a multitude of perspectives. I originally envisioned this site being that way, but just didn't have the time or connections to publicize it, being away at college for a few years. But now I'm home, so write away.

Doug Peterson's Seat

2007-11-12T21:38:00.000-08:00

As I'm sure most people already know, long-time Representative Doug Peterson is stepping aside to become the state's Secretary of Agriculture. And that opens up a whole, exciting can of worms: an open seat! Of course, there are lots of people who want the job, from the Cassidy Family (whichever of them decides to run) to Marc Paster. I don't know about other town residents, but as a life-long resident of Swampscott, I'm ready for some fresh, new leadership.

So, I'm throwing my early support behind the highly qualified activist and small business owner Lori Ehrlich. She was born in Lynn, raised in Swampscott and currently resides in Marblehead - so she has all her tracks covered. Furthermore, what's she's already done for the environment is pretty astounding. Her top three priorities as a state legislator would be as follows:

1. Increase local aid for education and other expenses.
2. Create strong policies for public health and the environment.
3. Create a stronger environment for small businesses.

Sounds pretty good to me. Check out dozens of Lori's articles over at where she frequently writes, TruthandProgress.com.

Things Looking Bleak Next Year, Too

2007-09-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

We shut down our best performing elementary school this year, along with laying off around 35 people in the Swampscott school system. So everything's going to be fine for next year, right? Things couldn't possibly get worse? Wrong. I just received next years projections and if Swampscott's taxes go up 2.5%, the maximum amount without an override, we'll be at least $880,000 in the whole. I don't see how Swampscott makes up that money without at least any additional support from the state. If the state increased Chapter 70 funding to previous levels - and the base level most towns in the state receive (around 17%, compared to Swampscott's ~14%) - it would mean more than $500,000 dollars for the town. If the state doesn't increase it, I don't know how many more cuts the system can take without making a mockery of the education I received as a member of the Class of 2002.

Why Aren't We Helping Saugus?

2007-09-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

I just blogged about the situation in Saugus, where their library has been stripped of state certification and can't receive any state funding. They're no longer eligible to be in the North Shore book swap program, among other things. Their library is in danger of being shut down permanently, because they're running out of funds. Only one city, Lynn, has offered to help Saugus, by allowing their residents access to borrowing books. Why not Swampscott?

Would it really be all that burdensome to allow a few Saugus residents access to our library? It could have very well been our town that slashed funds to the library to the extent that it couldn't stay open. It may be our town in the future. We ought to set the precedent that each community in the North Shore will help one another, if it's needed. Instead, we're practicing Social Darwinism at the municipal level. Not only do we put our future at risk by being so selfish, but there are going to be a lot of children in Saugus who can't even go to a library. That's not right.

McGee and Casinos

2007-09-19T14:39:00.001-07:00

I called both Senator McGee and Representative Peterson today to see where they were on the whole casino issue (and to urge them against casinos), and McGee had an interesting response. He hasn't made a position yet and is open minded on the subject - and he wants phone calls. If anyone wants to call him, here's his Beacon Hill number: (617) 722-1350.

He will be an important voice in this matter as his district is right next to Wonderland Park, where a casino has been proposed, and there's already a casino running out of Lynn (Horizon's Edge).

Read this for more on why casinos are bad for Massachusetts. And remember that one of them will be built very close to Swampscott, probably in Revere. We will absolutely feel its effects.

PS: I've been meaning to write about the new school for weeks. It's absolutely beautiful, as I expected it to be. If I had one complaint, it's that the library is very small, but the fact that there are multiple computer labs (including a language lab) makes up for that. It's important that when you spend a lot of money on a project, you build it right... and it seems like Swampscott has done that.

Conversation with SC Chair, Dave Whelan

2007-08-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to update this blog forever, but between my main blog, rather large assortment of friends and family - and no doubt some laziness - a particular story was never written when it should have been. In any event, I've been having some chats with the School Committee Chair, Dave Whelan. While I may not agree with everything he's said (for example, that Swampscott wouldn't have passed an override to save Machon - we just don't know), most of what he's said makes sense. Here's his general thesis.

As you probably know Swampscott (and Nahant) are two of the 50 or so communities that receive less that the allotted 17.5% reimbursement rate under chapter 70. That rather remarkable bit of inequity costs the Town of Swampscott over $500k in educational aid.... It should also be noted that we have been living with this inequity for years. While this issue is not the sole reason for the financial crunch that we deal with here in Swampscott, it surely has not helped.

Whelan also forwarded me a few different statistics, though I'll admit a few of them can't be opened because I don't have Microsoft Excel. However, one of the interesting lists he sent over shows all the towns that receive less than the 17.5% standard state reimbursement rate. Why is it so interesting? Lynnfield and Marblehead aren't even on that list - meaning, they receive at least 17.5%. Don't they have higher median family incomes and property values? Yes.

Swampscott, meanwhile, receives the same rate as Concord, Massachusetts. Concord isn't just an historical town, it's also a very well-to-do town, with a median family income of almost $116,000 - $33,000 a year more than Swampscott's median family. Furthermore, people will note that almost all the towns that are struggling the worst this year are on this under-17.5 list: Saugus at 16.2, Stoneham at 14.6, Gloucester and others. It isn't a coincidence that most of these towns are facing large layoffs, school closings and fee hikes, just inan attempt to keep up.

Whelan largely blames Peterson, McGee and other local State Representatives and Senators. They are the ones who create these formulas and certainly, he notes, and by just about any count Swampscott does not receive its fair share. Certainly, no one is clear of any blame, but it's not as if Peterson and McGee are trying to keep Swampscott down. It's just a difficult issue to build a coalition around when so few towns are unfairly impacted like Swampscott and Nahant. It's going to take a lot of work to convince the majority of the state to change the formula, but it's a worthy goal - and the quicker it happens, the more teachers and schools Swampscott and other towns will save.

A lot of people may ask why Swampscott deserves more than 14.3%: after all, just look at all the ~~million~~ five million dollar homes on the beach. The town may be wealthy, but certainly not as wealthy as most of the other towns sharing spots on that list: just go to Metrowest and almost every city or town has at least the same median family income and property value. Heck, toss out the few families living on the ocean in Swampscott and things would be a lot different: most of Swampscott, contrary to popular myth, is very middle class (not that I have to tell most residents that). We may be lawyers, but we're also teachers, nurses and police officers too. Heck, Massachusetts is so expensive nowadays that even many practicing lawyers and doctors are within the boundaries of the middle class.

I don't know the specifics of what any of the answers are - it's a real complex problem that calls for real experts, of which I am not. Furthermore complicating the problem is the fact that restoring Chapter 70 funding is only a band aid solution. If Swampscott had the extra $500,000 this year, maybe we could have saved Machon - but what about the year after that? What about the next elementary school, next year? A lot of people in this town want to close Hadley, as well. The real reason Swampscott, as well as most other towns in Massachusetts, are suffering has everything to do with rising rates of health care, oil and special education costs. It's different problems, for a different blog, yet helps explain just why most towns in Massachusetts are struggling to keep up. Until we tackle those problems, as a state, Chapter 70 is an issue we can wrack our brains over all day, yet will be a small piece of the pie compared to a few more years of 10-15% rising rates at Blue Cross, Blue Shield.

Baker's Out?!

2007-03-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it.

Then again, I probably can.

“My job is becoming more and more demanding,” he said of his position as president and CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. “I don’t believe in walking away from a job half done, but I don’t feel I can throw myself as fully into this task as it requires.”

No doubt he's busy. Good on him for not committing to more than he could handle.

However, that leaves two incumbents not running for reelection - and a third who is apparently thinking of leaving the board as well.

In a nod to Town Administrator Andrew Maylor and possible sign of things to come, Paster added, “I believe we have one of the best financial teams in this state, led by Mr. Maylor. If for some reason I choose not be a selectman after this year is over, I know I’ll leave the town in good hands.”

Imagine, Swampscott without a prominent Paster?

Cable... and Competition?

2006-11-28T23:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a novel idea: more than one cable provider in Swampscott. Isn't that an oxymoron? It looks like Comcast is going to have some competition, with Verizon trying to scoop up costumers. Look forward to all sorts of deals to get costumers to switch, only to see rates rise about a year later. Hopefully it'll end up like credit cards - where you get a new 0.0% APR for six months card sent to you about three times a week. Then again, maybe not: it could be more oil company than actual competition.

There are a few interesting tidbits from the story, such as the fact that only 82% of the town will be able to get Verizon. If you're one of the unlucky 18%, here's why:

Jim McGrail, a consultant for Verizon, said the plan (and the contract) calls for having Verizon service available to everyone who gets cable from utility poles within a year. He said that's 82 percent of the town. It may take longer for that 8 percent served by underground cables and the 10 percent who live in large condo and apartment developments, where underground service has to be negotiated with the land owners, but the goal is still to get done within five years, probably sooner.

Lastly, the issue of public access TV was featured early in the Reporter article,

Nary a dissenting voice was heard during a public hearing prior to approval of the Verizon license. Herb Belkin said approval was "a no-brainer" while Ed Robinson said the company should provide "public access" channels, allowing any resident to bring a tape to the company and have it cablecast through Verizon. He presented a petition asking selectmen to gain such access through both Verizon and Comcast, something Town Administrator Andrew Maylor agreed the town does not have now.

Ed's been great on public access TV - and having seen some of the wide selection and opportunities Cable TV has presented as a blogger (I've been on Public Access TV in New Bedford, Worcester, Fairhaven, etc. to discuss the Massachusetts Governor's race and blogging), I think it's something our town definitely needs. People should email Town Administrator Andrew Mayor (amaylor@town.swampscott.ma.us) to complain.

Traffic Light Cameras = Bad Idea

2006-11-01T05:35:00.000-08:00

Swampscott selectmen and their Committee to Study Red-light Cameras disagree on the merits of Article 4 of the upcoming special Town Meeting, which was approved for the warrant by the selectmen Oct. 18.

The article will ask Town Meeting for approval of an automated red light enforcement system, a photographic monitoring system designed to enforce red light traffic laws in town by taking pictures of offenders' license plates.

I appreciate the fact that the Selectmen want cameras at traffic lights, but they're a bad idea. Whether Selectman Paster is right - that cameras will be a "deterrent" to bad driving - shouldn't matter. Civil rights trumps bad driving - and who wants Big Government looking in on our every move? No thanks!

Town Meeting should vote against the proposition. I only regret that I'm no longer a member.

Campaign Contributions in Swampscott

2006-10-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

For a few minutes of fun, check out who's donating what and how much to political candidates and Political Action Committees from Swampscott. For example, resident Selectman Charles Baker has donated over 3,000 dollars to the Republican State Committee. He's donated thousands to Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey; he was even a fan of Tom Finneran.

Robyn Clarke's a fan of Frank Cousins, while Janis Cotter really likes Tom Reilly. Nathaniel Dalton really, really, REALLY likes the State Republican Party - he's donated $10,000 since 2005. Yikes. (Hey, Mr. Dalton, my student loans are getting pretty high in case you want to donate to Ryan's PAC E (Paying All College Expenses). Former School Committee Member - and member of the Finance Committee - Arthur Goldberg must really like people with the last name Goldberg, Lt. Governor candidate Deb Goldberg got $200 of his money. However, Mr. Goldberg didn't like Deb as much as James Rudolph - who gave a thousand bucks to Deb.

The Deligiannides have each contributed $500 to Deval Patrick's campaign; I hope they both got a button. Mrs. Demakes, a homemaker, likes Christy Mihos - to the tune of $500 - while self-employed Mr. Demakes likes Christy Mihos and Deval Patrick to the tune of $500 each (so I guess he just really doesn't like Kerry Healey). My old basketball coach's wife, Barbara Klein, tossed $1,000 over to Mitt Romney.

The Eastern Bank PAC had some interesting donations, as well as C&L Package Store. Eastern's PAC kind-of, sort-of liked Speaker DiMasi - to the tune of $250, but they gave $500 to the Speaker's PAC. Isn't it fun when PACs give to PACs who give to PACs? Whoever knew that laundering money could be legal? The packy, on the other hand, had the audacity to donate $1,300 to "Stop Alcohol's Further Extension to Youth (SAFETY)." Somehow, I think if the owners of C&L were all that concerned about the kids, they'd stop selling alcohol altogether. After all, it's not the Supermarkets that are selling to kids in Massachusetts nowadays. (Note to readers: I've purchased a few beverages here - and was never carded. Considering I'm 22, that seems like an issue.)

Finally, for those who are curious, you can find both me and my mother on the list: I gave $10 to Deval Patrick, my mother $35. That's the kind of political contributions that I think are healthy: enough to show you care, but not enough to influence any votes.

Charley Baker's Op-Ed

2006-10-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

Charley Baker (R), Swampscott resident and Selectman, had a heavy-handed op-ed in today's Globe. He isn't really friendly to any of the candidates, including Republican Kerry Healey, essnetially saying they're all being dishonest about the fiscal situation; it's much worse than it looks, he writes.

The stunning part about the OP-ED is a lot of Republicans were trying to get him to run for Governor earlier in the year - to challenge Kerry Healey to a primary fight. However, her superior resources and status as Lt. Governor scared him off - maybe the idea of facing a tough Democratic opponent after a nasty Republican primary couldn't have helped.

I bet he's kicking himself now... Kerry Healey's candidacy has just been utterly abysmal.

Come On, Swampscott

2006-09-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

It's quarter of 11 and not a single one of our six pricincts have been reported! What's up with that?!

It doesn't matter, Deval won!

Swampscott and Renewable Energy

2006-09-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

Luckily, in Swampscott, some of our elected officials care about the energy crisis. Representative Tierney held a forum in August about the very topic,

Congressmen John Tierney (D-Salem) hosted his third energy forum last Wednesday, this time focusing on educating members of municipal governments from around the North Shore of ways in which they can save both energy and money.

Tierney's keynote speaker gave easy advice anyone could use to reduce energy consumption.

One way White suggested to achieve superior energy performance was by taking the Energy Star Challenge. Energy Star, a joint program of the EPA, challenges building owners to improve existing building efficiency by 10 percent or more. To help with achieving this goal, Energy Star offers a tool called "Portfolio Manager" to structures such as schools and office buildings, which helps set goals, measure progress over time and recognize high performance buildings.

I applaud Tierney for focusing on the energy crisis; however, I think more needs to be done. Conservation can get our country far, but it can't make us to complete energy independence or create perfectly clean sources of electricity.

However, we have the technology to do it. Here's a video of how the Boston Harbor Islands have become completely energy independent.

Why don't we have this technology in Swampscott? Residents need to come together and organize - create an organization dedicated to green energy in Swampscott. We need to get people to build solar panels and, hopefully, for the town to build windmills.

For many residents of the town, placing solar panels on their house is affordable - and would reduce an electric bill by at least half - even in New England. More importantly, it's a way for people to say - in good conscience - that they're doing 'their part' to save our world. We have the technology and it doesn't have to be an eye-sore; many solar panels can be create to conform to the house or be barely noticable.

Furthermore, the town needs windturbines. Just two or three wind turbines would likely power schools, town hall and other important buildings - we'd be a completely green town when it came to public power. While space is tight in Swamspcott, there must be places to erect these technological marvels.

Wind turbines aren't just about green energy, they're about saving money and becoming energy independent.

Hull hopes to save another $500,000 on electric costs, having already powered its streetlights and stoplights for free.

Massachusetts municipalities and colleges are increasingly stepping into the void, planning to erect wind turbines one or two at a time to shave their energy costs and take advantage of a state program that rewards green energy producers.

At least a half-dozen Massachusetts cities, towns, or colleges are trying to build wind turbines to temper the rising costs of electricity.

Swampscott needs to be part of the solution - we need real leadership on a global problem. The truth is Swampscott could be a huge leader on this issue if we work now - because of state aid, it won't cost us nearly as much - and through the years we'll truly reap the rewards: potentially millions of dollars saved and using technology to help better our future.

''Any one project will make only a small difference," said Warren Leon, director of the Renewable Energy Trust, a division of the collaborative. ''But if five years from now there are community wind projects up in 15 or 20 communities across the state, collectively that will make a meaningful difference. On average, each project will probably generate enough electricity for close to 1,000 people."

Swampscott Resident Named to UMASS Board of Trustees

2006-09-02T00:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Governor Romney nominated "investment company president and University of Lowell alumnus Robert J. Manning of Swampscott" to serve on the UMASS Board of Trustees. While many residents will probably appreciate the pick, as a UMASS Dartmouth student I have my doubts.

Mitt Romney's nominations (and lack thereof) seem to be tied to those who do not support a UMASS Dartmouth merger with the Southern New England School of Law.

Mr. Karam said Larry Boyle, the only board member Gov. Romney did reappoint, was against the merger between UMass Dartmouth and SNESL to create a public law school.

All of the other board members not being reappointed favored the merger, he said. They were Dennis G. Austin of Duxbury, Edward A. Dubilo of Weston, William F. Kennedy of Quincy, Robert M. Mahoney of Wellesley and Stacey Rainey, a board member who resigned earlier this year.

The merger would mean wonders for affordable access to law school, but the forces of Mitt Romney, Suffolk, BU and other expensive law schools like to force students to pay upwards of $40 grand a year to earn their law degree.

Some would say that's fine, since lawyers make boatloads of cash. However, the SNESL specializes in public law - which does not pay boatloads of cash. While I do not know Mr. Manning's stance on the merger, I would suspect he's against it. Swampscott residents should tell him that's a bad choice as he takes a major seat of importance on the UMASS Board of Trustees.

A New Blog Covering Swampscott

2006-08-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

For almost a year, I've been blogging about Massachusetts politics; I've learned a lot and had a great time doing it. However, having spent my entire life in Swampscott, I really want to blog about this wonderful town too.

I don't want this to be the traditional, opinionated blog. Fisherman's and a Quarry is going to be another outlet for news, both hard and soft, that will provide an alternative to the great people of this town. Most importantly, it will provide an opportunity for residents to have a say in what's going on.

Anyone from Swampscott can write on this blog; it's going to be comprised of Swampscott residents because it's we who have a stake in this town (not the Boston Herald, owners of the Reporter). The only requirements are that blogs be written competently and that things are backed with facts (and preferably links). If anyone is interested in this project, send me an email.

Writers can cover events, news, the school system, building projects and even ideas that will help move the town forward. Hopefully, with a diversity of people writing, we'll get Swampscott-related news that no other media outlet could hope to achieve.