Ahoy

Is it a slap in the face for the Harbormaster to spend $86,500 on a new boat while times are so bad?

This is the debate that was in City Council tonight.

The Harbormaster Dept. is another of them there enterprise accounts so the city cannot avail itself of the proceeds of its enterprise.

There was this long debate about how enterprise depts. are not supposed to run at a profit. So how did the department accumulate $450,000 in its free cash account?

Well damn. I guess being in the harbormaster biz is very lucrative.

The dept. is getting the boat. It sounds like they need it.

Sure and be-gone

Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of these equally tired St. Patrick's Day luncheons?

I've been waiting for 2 weeks for Sen. Baddour to return my phone calls and here I see him on the front page of the Daily News, goofing off ... oh, he's so busy ...

Popular material included the recent cuts to the Amesbury Health Department by Kezer, Kezer's purchase of iPhones for city department heads and ongoing negotiations by Moak to cap the Crow Lane landfill.

"I wanna wake up in a city that doesn't reek," Cullen sang to the tune of "New York, New York," presenting Moak with a Jolly Roger flag, a reference to the skull-and-crossbones flag hoisted at the landfill by owner New Ventures.

Poking fun at the ongoing appeals and lawsuits filed by Newburyport City Council Larry McCavitt and his waterfront preservation committee, Cullen noted the differences between McCavitt and City Council President James Shanley. Questioning what the product would be if the two were to combine talents, Cullen held up giant photographs of the councilors, transposed with the other's hair, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Gee, I'm sorry I didn't get to cover this - only because I would have paid to see McCavitt's hair superimposed on Shanley's head ...

And speaking of health departments ... I hear (haven't read it yet, although I guess it has been written) that Jack Morris does triple duty: here, in Salisbury and now in Amesbury.

Do these communities pay 2/3 of his salary, I wonder?

Big trouble in little Newburyport?

This speaks for itself, from today's Globe:

Last Friday, Governor Deval Patrick announced that he was cutting local aid to cities and towns by $128 million for the current fiscal year, and he proposed an additional $375 million cut for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The cuts are part of Patrick's larger plan to close the widening state budget gap and craft a balanced budget for next year.

Saving myself

I keep thinking about that place of my former residence, Flint, Michigan.

I don't want to go back there; I just keep thinking about how different my life might be if I'd stayed there.

So I was reading on Flint Expatriates about something activist film maker Michael Moore said recently, in an interview with Media With Conscience:

Well, that distresses me to no end to even think about that, that it’s almost twenty years since Roger and Me, and I was saying this twenty years ago, that, you know, unless we get a handle on this, things aren’t going to get any better. And they didn’t. They just continued to get worse. If you go back and look, actually, at Roger and Me now, Flint, Michigan looks pretty good. Even though 30,000 jobs at that time had been eliminated, there were still 50,000 people working there. I think the last number I saw is that there’s somewhere between 11,000 and 13,000 people working for General Motors in Flint now, so almost 40,000 jobs less in Flint since I made that film. So it’s—I just can’t tell you how distressing that is for me.

It's almost as if I still live there, in some ways. But - if I did, I would maybe own a home (Pedro would be pleased) and have a job. Not the job I love and probably not this blog, but ...

This morning I woke up in tears because of a dream I had about being unfairly (or not) chastised by police officers dressed in band uniforms. Is there a connection?

I've been gone for a while because certain entities that shall remain nameless had a problem with my blog, my writing for "competing" publications ... and I sold my soul for the boost to my resume.

Needless to say, so far things have not turned out as planned. I'm going back to doing what I want to do (within reason, of course) and not what others dictate to me.

Question 1

Check out City Councillor Ed Cameron's blog, in which he posts about Question 1 (eliminating the state income tax).

Ed points to this editorial in today's New York Times. This is the opening paragraph of the opinion:

Next month, voters in Massachusetts will face a tempting ballot question: whether to eliminate the state’s income tax. This is a reckless proposal that would hurt all taxpayers. Voters should reject the idea.

Ed also has some more information about the question, which surely is of importance to all of us here in Massachusetts, including this:

Please join the local Democratic Town and City Committees of Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, and West Newbury at an information session on Thursday, October 23 at 7PM. The nonpartisan event will be at Newburyport City Hall and is open to all voters: Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Your neighbors and your elected officials will discuss the impacts of Question 1, the ballot referendum to eliminate the State Income Tax.

Thank you all.

Obama and introspection

A while ago I watched Obama deliver a speech in Wisconsin. I had an epiphany.

It wasn't anything about his political position, though. It was him talking about how hard-working Americans are.

And I thought, "Wow, do I work hard? Honestly and truly, do I work hard?"

Well, I don't know. What I do know is that I obviously don't work hard enough.

Because it seems no matter how hard I work, I don't make enough money.

I blame all those men who passed through my life and did not offer to save me from myself by entering into holy wedlock with me ... (I'm kidding) ...

Oh, and by the way, I think it was X who turned me on to Keith Olbermann. Thanks, X! I love Keith Olbermann now. I want to bear his little left-wing offspring.

By the way x2, introspection is a good thing. I'm seeing an awful lot of people lately who don't practice it.

Hello again

So people are calling, people are writing ... OK, one person in each case.

I am alive and reasonably well. Last week I had three deadlines for three different publications (Merrimack Valley Magazine, North Shore, and the Globe North) so I ... I ... OK, I had enough time to post.

Two things:

One, I really have been sick, and I've been sleeping A LOT.
Two, I really have been totally engrossed in this presidential campaign and the economy.

Three things-

One or all of the aforementioned publications might have an issue with the blog, and/or one another. This freelancing thing ain't easy.

So like Joe Biden, I may have to rein myself in somewhat.

Knowing me, you know what a struggle this ordinarily would be, if I weren't so enraptured with the 24-hr. news cycle on cable. And, you know, eating.

I actually get annoyed when one of the cable news outlets puts on some pre-taped programming. Except Fox News, when commercials and other programming save me from throwing something at the TV.

Not my food, though. I'm guarding that with my life.

By the way, I actually did throw something at the TV once, when President Reagan was speaking, back in the 80s. I think it was when he was claiming that the homeless on the White House lawn were just camping ... or was that a Doonesbury joke? All I remember is that he was talking about the homeless.

Whatever - luckily what was in my hand at the time was a plastic bottle of saline solution that I had just used to moisten my contact lenses ...

I've been sooooo sick

This could be a deal breaker between me and Plum Island: allergies.

If allergies are what have laid me so low since the end of last week. I've been coughing so much that it hurts.

This means I've had endless hours half snoozing on the couch with cable news channels playing in the same room, pretty much non-stop.

I want to know where all the money is coming from that will supposedly "rescue" the financial institutions!

Who was there to bail me out? I didn't even take the offer of a sub-prime mortgage because I knew I could not afford it ...

By the way ...

Question:

How on Earth can you regulate greed?

I remember for years hearing the sentence, "As goes General Motors, goes the country," or similar words.

Well we all know how GM goes - it done went (to Mexico).

This whole bank/mortgage/investment firm deal is freaking me out.

Scary

What seems like ages ago now, I worked at an investment company. The economy was impressive (Clinton was President).

I had some income that I was actually able to invest. My boss, the president of the company, told me not to invest in stock market because it was too high.

I did not listen to him.

The guy in charge of stock investments at the company told me to buy, buy, buy. Buy CMGI, he advised me.

Him I listened to.

Years went by and I contributed to my IRA like a dutiful person bent on having a secure retirement. And I kept buying stocks.

This year I had to cash in my IRA, and as it turns out, it was probably a smart move. God knows what it would be worth today. It was worth only 2/3 of what it started out when I cashed it in. I still have most of the stocks, but I have not looked at their value for about 6 months.

I cried last time I looked.

I am not an economist (I actually dropped economics in college because it bored me to tears).

I don't care whose fault it is that stocks are plummeting.

I just want to know that I have some kind of future that does not include living in the home of one of my married sisters.

No GIC again?

Incredibly, it's been a year since the mayor was unable to get the city's unions to join the Group Insurance Committee (GIC).


Since I've not heard word one about it in several months, I'm assuming it's a non-issue again this year.


It's going to be difficult to convince people to vote for a debt exclusion when the appearance at least is that the city did not push the GIC in to the hilt.


Did I mention that I used to be on a bargaining unit, when I lived in Michigan? Well, I was.


The place I worked, a community college, had a professional negotiator up against us little non-professionals.

Maybe the city should consider such a person, if they don't already have one. I haven't a clue.

Save Flint and buy a house

Gordie Young, the Flint expatriate who authors the eponymous blog, has had some thought-provoking posts recently.

There are a lot of houses up for grabs in Flint (and in Detroit, for that matter, where I hear mansions are going for $1 - but you have to pay the back taxes).

It seems that other Flint expatriates are actually buying houses in Flint, from afar, to help stop the blight of absentee investors, slumlords and urban decay.

Yesterday's post on out-of-town property owners in Flint looked at some of the negative aspects of absentee investors. It prompted Flint Expatriate Sarah Swart to comment: "I'm wondering if any of these out-of-towners (which, remember, are only one of numerous OOT options, including bank ownership) are actually expats. Personally, I am tempted by the $900 home in Carriage Town and by one on Forest Hill Ave listed for $4,000. I'm not a real estate investor, I'm pro-local and -civic action, and I'm very tempted.

You're not alone, Sarah. I've been tempted as well. And in the past week I've had the chance to reconnect with another Flintoid who has already taken the plunge ...

Yes, that Flint expatriate Sarah Swart is my sister, the one who lives in Gloucester. If I had the money, I would do it.

Consider this: the University of Michigan has a branch in Flint. It was just a tiny satellite when I lived there and shared buildings with the community college, but now it is a huge presence.

Add this (also from Flint Expatriates, but reported in the Flint Journal): Although the count won't be official until September 10, UM-Flint is on pace to have the largest first-time freshman class in school history. With 890 freshmen, the class is 42 percent larger than last year.

A 42 percent jump in freshman enrollment. Flint could go from being a blight on the landscape to being a 'real' college town, such as Ann Arbor! Imagine that.

Where General Motors abandoned Flint, my alma mater (go blue) is picking up the slack. Or at least that's how it looks from over here.

And don't forget the Swedish biogas facility and the factory under consideration to build engines for the new Chevy Volt. (The location of the biogas facility, by the way, was suggested to Swedish officials by yet another Flint expatriate, the U.S. ambassador to Sweden, Michael Wood.)

The Concept Chevy Volt, with its revolutionary E-Flex Propulsion System, will be different than any previous electric vehicle because it will use a lithium-ion battery with a variety of range-extending onboard power sources, including gas and, in some vehicles, E85 ethanol(1) to recharge the battery while driving (from the website).

I'm taking heart that Flint is poised on the brink of an upswing. Sadly, the city leaders seem to be asswipes.

But look at the expatriates turning out to help the city. I did not grow up in Flint - we moved there after I graduated from high school and then I took off for Ann Arbor - but my Swart siblings did.

And yet, I would do it, if I could.

Licorice & Sloe to close

I just got the email from Bil Silliker telling his - well, interested parties, I guess - that he and his wife have decided to close up for good on Sept. 28, or sooner. They have to sell off their tea inventory.

Unfortunately a recent decision by the city council of Newburyport to deny us the use of a sign that has been vital to our business has had an even greater impact on our bottom line than we had anticipated. We’ve watched August’s numbers fail to meet those of recent months and more specifically one of our greatest weekends of the summer has typically been Labor Day weekend and this year it has been abysmal.

My recent departure from the business as an attempt to support our family through what we expected to be a tough time has forced our labor costs up to a point where we can’t possibly sustain the needs of the business.

Licorice & Sloe was a one-of in Newburyport, a tea bar. I know it was on the expensive side, but that's life here now.

It's a shame when any business closes down, and I'll feel this one. I really liked it there.

High gas prices = lives saved?

I found something interesting in the Flint Journal, gods love 'em.

It would appear that there is a direct correlation between the price of gasoline and traffic fatalities, nation wide. (Read the full story here.)

This year, gasoline climbed over $4 a gallon, and the traffic death toll -- according to one study -- appears headed to the lowest levels since Kennedy moved into the White House.

No, Ted Kennedy has not moved into the White House; they mean JFK, if you can believe that.

The institute's study -- which covers 12 months ending in April -- found that as gas prices rose, driving and fatalities declined. The surprise, said Professor Michael Sivak, author of the study, was the huge decline in fatalities in March and April as gasoline prices surged above $3.20 a gallon.

Based on my own observations, I don't see this. It seems to me that people still drive like maniacs, and there are just as many cars on the road as ever.

But then, I'm not on the road as much myself. There are days when I don't drive anywhere.

Sivak predicts that highway deaths this year will drop below 37,000 for the first time since 1961 if the March and April trends continue. The government motor vehicle death count for 1961 totaled 36,285. The number of highway deaths peaked in 1972 at 55,600, then generally declined over the next two decades. For the past several years, the number has hovered above 42,000 a year.

It seems two demographics most responsible for car crashes - teens and senior citizens - are also the most affected by the high prices of gasoline.

Federal data also show that driving declines have been more dramatic on rural roads, which have higher accident rates than urban highways.

A little know fact is that urban highways, unlike rural roads, are built to handle speeding vehicles. *ahem*

Anyway, it's interesting that with all the highway safety stuff that's always shoved down our throats, all it took was some fiscal mismanagement to solve the problem.

So ... does this mean Bush is really a genius?

Well, the reduction in revenue from the gasoline tax is having an impact, but it seems there is/was a lot of pork in there that can be cut out with no lasting or drastic effects.

As long as the Whittier Bridge gets fixed, that is.

Follow up is important

Saw and spoke with Jean Foley Doyle at our special writers' group garden party this evening. Thanks to Anne Easter Smith for opening her home and garden to us all (and happy birthday again, Skye).

She said that the stadium was built before the war, but was formally dedicated as a war memorial after the war ended - in 1946. (Which Tom Salemi previously wrote about, and quoted from her book, "Life in Newburyport, 1900-1950.")

So nothing new to add, but since I said I'd ask, I'm reporting back.

And I was all excited

I also found this in today's Current - a list of state funds targeted (by our local delegation) for projects in our city, if, I assume a bond is sold, and the governor's office approves:

· $1.8 million for the Port of Newburyport, including commercial fishing improvements, marine transportation improvements, marine educational facilities, a fish market and other improvements related to tourism and economic development
· $2.8 million for improvements and repairs to the Newburyport Boardwalk
· $1 million for Waterfront Park in Newburyport
· $1 million for dredging and jetty repair in the Merrimac River
· $150,000 for repairs to and new floats at the Cashman Park boat launch in Newburyport
· $40,000 for the rehabilitation of the Joppa Flats boat launch

Is the $1 mil targeted for the new park, or Market Landing Park?

“Not unlike our roads and bridges, it takes significant capital investments to maintain the critical environmental resources that make this area a wonderful place to live,” said Sen. Steven A. Baddour. “I’m happy to see that the commonwealth has made this long-term commitment in the area of the environment and natural resources. Rep. Costello and I will work over the next several years to demonstrate the importance of each of these projects.”

Well, it's that last sentence that says it all, right?

There was also this story in the Current, listing $1.2 mil for a senior citizens center and $500,000 for the high school stadium, among other projects in the area.

I wish there could be more explaining in these stories.

This is incredible

While the United States is spending billions to 'help' in the reconstruction of Iraq, that country will have amassed an $80 billion budget surplus over the last four years.

This from CNN:

Baghdad had a $29 billion budget surplus between 2005 to 2007. With the price of crude roughly doubling in the past year, Iraq's surplus for 2008 is expected to run between $38 billion and $50 billion, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The United States has spent "about" $48 billion toward reconstruction since 2003.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, said Tuesday's report "is going to make a lot of American families very angry."

Huh, ya think so?

Adding insult to injury is this concluding sentence in the report: The export of crude oil accounted for 94 percent of Iraq's revenues from 2005 to 2007, the GAO reported.

I got nothin' else to add.

Warning: starfish not good for dogs!

I heard on the radio on my way home from downtown earlier that there is a big problem in the Caribbean: people using starfish as dog toys.

The problem has 'surfaced' on Grenada, where dog owners are plucking starfish out of the water and throwing them like Frisbees, for their dogs to catch. (Read the full story here.)

Most important, according to this info I found on The Echinoblog, ingesting starfish might be toxic to animals. In short, a dog ate a dried ornamental starfish and suffered from vomiting and sustained seizures; the dog had to be euthanized.

Island officials are launching a campaign to stop this practice, by the way, which usually involves the starfish being left on the beach to die, which apparently is also stinky.

So keep this in mind if you think a starfish is a fun doggy toy, or even if you have dried starfish in your home and also own a dog.

Bob Lobster in a groove

I was naughty and went to Bob Lobster for fish & chips yesterday.

The last 2 times I've been in there, there have been literally hoards of people there. That's good!

My only complaint is, you seem to get less fish in the fish & chips these days. I used to get 2 meals out of one order a year ago.

That, I hear, is how restaurants are dealing with the economic crunch - not by raising prices drastically, but by reducing portions.

That being said, it's still damn tasty fish & chips. And why should I expect to get 2 meals anyway?

Demographic inversion

Over on Flint Expatriates, Gordie Young has an interesting post about demographic inversion.

This is where the affluent are returning to live downtown rather than fleeing to the suburbs. The article upon which the post is based is from The New Republic.

I don't know if I agree totally with what the author of the article is saying, but it does make one pause. Newburyport is not as large as the cities cited, but we are due for a demographic inversion, right? (If one has not already taken place.)

... Demographic inversions of one sort or another are occurring in urban pockets scattered all across America, many of them in seemingly unlikely places. Charlotte, North Carolina, is in the midst of a downtown building boom dominated by new mixed-use high-rise buildings, with office space on the bottom and condos or rental units above. Even at a moment of economic weakness, the condos are still selling briskly.

But back to my question from 2 paragraphs ago. The people who are moving into these condos in the paragraph above work in the city where they live.

Gordie Young proposes that it's possible this trend could spread to smaller cities, but Newburyport is a pretty small city.