Talkback
Published on September 05, 2008
Published on September 05, 2008
Why is Weiss intent on demonstrating the SB vote
to change the election day
is justified by fair election principals?
Furthermore,
the justifications
are as clear as mud
and he knows it.
Ask him.
Does the precedent relate to
scheduling town elections so that the university and two colleges are in session when the deadline for papers occurs? When the deadline for voter registration occurs? When the election occurs?
Does the town of Amherst have an obligation to schedule so that incoming 1st year students (about 1/4th of all students) have an opportnity to register or file papers and file papers? Can elections be held in January when some of the students are away?
So Weiss has spent time and energy to benefit what, his personal political needs? Why not sort out the precedent and write a memo to the Select Board file so that it can be documented like a cookbook recipe?
O'Reilly Thursday, Sep 04, 2008 at 10:23 PM
This story has 1 comment so far
Published on September 05, 2008
Wow, reading Mary Carey's reporting, the school board seems like a regular Peyton Place.
Does the school board have the authority to secure the data-driven metrics Sanderson has requested? If so, then DO IT, Why wait? It's only our childrens' education that is at stake.
This group needs to learn how it can work together. That is an internal issue and not a policy issue.
There is no reason a meeting to work this out must be done in public. In fact, public scrutiny would likely render the effort a failure.
When there is discord and dissatisfaction on a board that affects their progress, it can also be traced back to the skills of the chair, so maybe there's an opportunity there to employ more effective guidance from the chair.
None of the specific objections raised in the article are insurmountable. Take them into account and get this thing off the dime.
O'Reilly Thursday, Sep 04, 2008 at 09:45 PM
This story has 1 comment so far
Published on August 29, 2008
Congratulations, Mrs. Abrams!
- Ted Grozier, great-grandson of Edwin Atkins Grozier
Ted Grozier Monday, Sep 01, 2008 at 05:30 PM
This story has 1 comment so far
Published on August 29, 2008
"We were stunned by Mary Carey's recent article..."
Really?! Stunned?!!! Huh.
Never-the-less, even the Iraq war veterans understood what you did was wrong.
"Robert McAllister was among the first American soldiers to enter Iraq - by parachute two days after the war started in 2003. He came home over a year later, wounded, with Army Accommodation and Purple Heart medals as well as the Bronze Star with Valor."
"McAllister said he felt a duty to the public to report that some of the people who marched behind an Iraq Veterans Against the War banner in Amherst's Fourth of July parade this year, were not actually Iraq war veterans."
"As a decorated Iraq war vet I found it ~~~~~nauseating~~~~~," McAllister wrote in a letter to news outlets."
"He questioned why Albert N. Sanchez, of Northampton, an Iraq veteran who leads the local Iraq Veterans Against the War contingent, would have sanctioned the action."
And here's the bottom line:
"I understand his concern," Sanchez said of McAllister. "~~~~~~I would be upset too.~~~~~~~~"
Why can't you understand what you did was wrong?
As you said:
"Instead of trying to find a non-existent scandal..."
If we were talking about non-veterans joining a pro war veteran march you and your leftist, elitist comrades would be calling for revolution in Amherst!
Do everyone a great big favor and move along... You've drawn attention to the nothingness of your agenda, your selfishness and see through Iraq war spin... nothing else.
And YES it is totally nauseating.
As you said: "If we had been "allowed" to exercise our First Amendment rights instead of being threatened with court action..."
Sounds to me like you tried to force your way into the parade.
Next parade time do yourself and your children a favor... try to force a little day-light into that brain space... the change you try force us to believe in is needed, inside your own head.
Gibber Monday, Sep 01, 2008 at 02:48 PM
This story has 1 comment so far
Published on August 29, 2008
"We are happy we don't have many medical emergencies, but when we do, the training our staff receives has in some cases saved lives," Shumway said.
But in this case, the carpenter with the deep cut in his finger would probably not have bled out.
sneaky Friday, Aug 29, 2008 at 09:02 AM
This story has 1 comment so far
Published on August 29, 2008
Town Manager Larry Shaffer said department heads will be happy to talk about how their missions are being compromised by ongoing funding issues.
Once again, it is very hard to penetrate the extent to which tax revenue is down and/or department budgets are up.
Hard clues about the cause of town government departments' "missions being compromised" are not to be found in this article.
Maybe the best way to interpret the town manager's statement is that initially the town manager didn't want the SB board meeting directly with department heads.
I would feel better about the town manager if he could provide the SB with data on the departments and valued judgment about the departments' frugal application of financial resources, rather than have the SB probe each department on their own.
Neil Friday, Aug 29, 2008 at 03:39 AM
This story has 1 comment so far
Published on August 22, 2008
those who think that the presence of coyotes is benign should read the study out of the Hopland Research Center documenting the increase in aggressive behaviors in coyotes in the absence of deterrents. by all means keep your pets inside. also your small children and eventually, we can all stay in so that coyotes can do as they wish. those of you with farm animals, well tough darts i guess.
people who believe that coyotes are a part of the natural ecosystem in the northeast are not technically correct. the coyote is a native of the prairie that has expanded its range nationwide by following the travel corridors built by humans, and in that sense can be considered an invasive species. funny how the wildlife management community wages war on botanical and marine invasives and does nothing about invasive terrestrial predators.
fran Wednesday, Aug 27, 2008 at 01:11 PM
This story has 4 comments so far
Published on August 22, 2008
hey where do I get info to join the next march? I'm not a vet of this war but am a veteran nonetheless. This war is ridiculous and Bush lied to the American public!
Texas Vet Monday, Aug 25, 2008 at 10:51 AM
This story has 4 comments so far
Published on August 22, 2008
Aren't these coyotes just trying to manage the overpopulation of humans?
Sure it's a fair question for elected officials but we are talking about a school board and not town governance.
It's too bad subordinate issues like Joel's question about which board members have kids in which private schools and WHY ends up sucking the oxygen out of the room, when the oxygen could be used to discuss issues that directly affect the quality of the schools.
Let's work on keeping the agenda productive please.
O'Reilly Friday, Sep 05, 2008 at 02:01 AM