Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Costello earmarks bucks for city

(If this was one of those TV commercials for whatever it is, there would be a photo of a buck, as in male deer, here with a tag on his ear or something and Costello standing proudly next to it.)
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State Rep. Mike Costello (D-Newburyport) seems to have come through for us again. That is, if the House budget is approved and adopted. This (in part) from today's Daily News:

NEWBURYPORT — Rep. Michael Costello got several earmarks for city projects placed in the House version of the state's fiscal 2009 budget, which passed the House Saturday.

Good.

The funding, which among other things would buoy economic development programs and help fund transformation of the Kelley School into a youth center, was included the $28.2 billion state budget that now must be approved by the state Senate and signed by the governor.

Yay. Something about Kelley School. Finally.

Critics have called the House budget "not realistic."

Uh-oh. Who are these people? Anyone who could actually vote this down?

Costello also secured funding for Youth Services to explore the possibility for use the Kelley School as a youth center.

Wait ... up there, in that other paragraph, it says it's for the actual transformation. Kind of an awkward sentence construction there, too.

Moak said his administration is considering using the building, which was closed last year as part of a restructuring plan for the school system, for use as a youth enrichment center under a short-term lease that could last two to three years.

Hope the Kelley School Re-use Committee (appointed by the Mayor) is on board with the plan this time.

Another earmark:
Newburyport Shellfish Purification Plant — $330,000

What the heck is that?

3 comments:

sds said...

wow

Anonymous said...

Gillian,

The shellfish purification plant is on Plum Island,and it processes (purifies) most if not all of the clams caught from Boston to the NH border. Please fact check me on this, as its been a couple of years since I toured the plant.

Clams need to be held in tanks, where they process clean water for a number of days until they contain allowable levels of nasty stuff such as fecal cloriform. There is a lab at the plant that tests each "batch" of clams.

Its a good thing.

James Shanley

Gillian Swart said...

James,

Oh, thanks; I had heard about that place but I didn't think it was still open out here. Someone was telling me last year about how once, during a drought or something, the plant inadvertently used up all the groundwater and neighbors at the Point had no water for a day or so!

I thought it was gone because I had no clue where it was ... I looked it up. I have always thought that building was part of the party boat operation.

It is a good thing (I love clams).