Saturday, May 18, 2013
Recap and analysis of the week in state government.
Like pieces of a puzzle that don't quite fit together yet, the Big Three may have been separated at birth, but with each incremental step their destinies seem to grow more intertwined. No, we're not talking about those Big Three - Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker Robert DeLeo - though they play major character roles in this thickening plot. Instead, three bills have come to define the early months of the 2013 legislative agenda and resolutions on tax hikes, local road funding and the annual state budget continue to be elusive and dependent on one another. Patrick spent the early part of his week welcoming British Prime Minister David Cameron to Boston for a few quick meetings and a visit to the Copley …
Friday, May 17, 2013
One Town Meeting article wants you to say "no."
In 2010, the United States Supreme Court -- in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission -- ruled that many parts of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign reform law were unconstitutional and effectively removed campaign fund limits from corporations and other organizations. In 2012, while being heckled about allegience to corporations, Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney replied, "Corporations are people, my friend." In the past few years, the idea of "corporate personhood" -- that corporations are entitled to the same constitutional rights as individual people -- has been the subject of intense debate. Congressman -- and Senate candidate -- Ed Markey has made repealing Citizens United a key theme of his political career, even …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
They are tasked with helping the night move more efficiently.
For last year's Town Meeting, newly-elected Town Moderator Mark DiSalvo introduced "citizen advocates" to help in the process and make things run smoothly for attendees. And this year, they will be back. "In the past we have all heard of citizens intimidated by the Town Meeting process and I want to remove all obstacles to any citizen’s desire to express their thoughts and beliefs," DiSalvo said. One major role of the citizen advocates is to help citizens word their amendments. In past Town Meetings, they would have experienced people do that for them with the moderator. Now, the moderator can refer a voter to one of the citizen advocates help correctly form the amendment and present it properly before the meeting. "People don’t even need …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The winning proposal seeks to tear down the school.
Selectmen voted 4-1 Monday night to approve a proposal to purchase the Bradstreet School property and demolish the school building to build mixed-use retail and residential units. Hearthstone's Option 3 was the one most appealing to selectmen, at $300,000. "I was very impressed with Heartstone Realty, Option 3, because it's the only one that takes Saunders Street into consideration," Selectman Tracy Watson said. "And what really impressed me was their vision for the future of the area." This plan maintains the streetscape and brings in more retail and office space and fewer residential units than the previous option. It calls for an enlarged plaza area and retail space along Main Street, 9,500 square feet of office space on the second …
Monday, May 13, 2013
After a year of discussion, a proposal has been advanced.
Selectmen voted 4-1 Monday night to declare a developer's plan to purchase and renovate the Bradstreet School property as a "preferred development." And that Hearthstone Realty's Option 3, with Oakgrove as second-place. So it looks like the Bradstreet School will come down. The Hearthstone plan maintains the streetscape and brings in more retail and office space and fewer residential units than the previous option. It calls for an enlarged plaza area and retail space along Main Street, 9,500 square feet of office space on the second floor, 6 townhouses and 6 flats, and 73 total spaces. The second-place developer, Oakgrove Residential Inc. -- which is currently working on restoration of mill buildings along the Shawsheen River in Andover…
Having trouble finding a sitter for that night?
Town Meeting will once again offer child care, Town Moderator Mark DiSalvo announced. Community Programs offered the service at last year’s town meeting, and DiSalvo said that all future town meetings will likely offer it. "In order to have a truly open Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 21, all parts of our community need to have the opportunity to attend the meeting," DiSalvo said in a statement. "This assures that parents with younger school age children will have that opportunity." Community Programs will have on-site child care at North Andover High School on May 21 and also May 22 if necessary. It is provided to all school age students Kindergarten through 5th grade. Students will have the opportunity to complete homework assignments and …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Recap and analysis of the week in state government.
Massachusetts' problem is now Virginia's. After a macabre, around-the-clock stakeout of a Worcester funeral home this week by frenzied reporters and furious protestors, the remains of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev were secreted out of central Massachusetts and buried in a small Muslim cemetery in rural Virginia. No cemetery in Massachusetts, or public official for that matter, wanted Tsarnaev's body. And Gov. Deval Patrick just seemed relieved the tense standoff was over. "No. I have enough to do," Patrick said, when asked if he wished he had gotten involved to end the theatrics sooner. The April 15 attacks on the finish line of the Boston Marathon threw Beacon Hill policymakers off stride, quieting the raging debate …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Congressman leads Gabriel Gomez by 17 points.
A new Suffolk University/7NEWS (WHDH) poll shows a strong lead for Democratic Congressman Edward Markey over Republican businessman and former U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez in the race for the U.S. Senate special election. The poll of 500 likely voters has Markey at 52 percent and Gomez at 35 percent. Eleven percent of voters in the poll were undecided. A third-party candidate, Richard Heos of the Twelve Visions Party, got 1 percent and another 1 percent refused to respond. David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, said along with the announcement of the poll that Markey has "a large lead over his Republican opponent who voters are unsure about." Indeed, 32 percent of those polled said they'd …
The following was submitted by the League of Women Voters.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, May 9
Haven’t been to many meetings over the last year? Not sure how the town’s FY14 budget is looking? Wondering if any of the zoning articles affect your neighborhood? Or have you been paying attention and want a quick review to prepare yourself to vote? Watch the 2013 North Andover Town Meeting Preview. A collaborative effort put forth by the Town of North Andover and the Andover/North Andover League of Women Voters along with NACAM to make getting informed and engaged easier. Watch this one program and find out about the town meeting process, on what articles we will be voting, the FY14 budget, and our town’s capital improvement plan’s proposed next steps. You can catch it on NACAM’s Access stations (Comcast 22 and Verizon 24) on …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The program, funded by a local family, was launched in memory of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting victims.
Phil and Judy Rohn wanted to do something to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy, so they provided $2,600 to fund a gun buy-back program at the North Andover Police Department on a Saturday in March. That program managed to bring in 27 guns that day. People who dropped off guns were given gift cards, the ammount of which depending on the type of gun dropped off. "These handguns, rifles and shotguns will now be destroyed and never fall into the wrong hands. Their commitment to public safety and honoring the Sandy Hook victims is admirable," Police Chief Paul Gallagher wrote to the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager Andrew Maylor requesting they recognize the Rohn's success. And at their meeting Monday night selectmen honored the …
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David H. Cheresh
4:53 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
PODESTA reminds me of "THE SMOKER" on the "X-FILES." more ›