Speaking of putting a traffic circle at the intersection of Triangle and North Pleasant streets so drivers in Amherst can contemplate the Bank of America kiosk from different angles?
Is that really the most important traffic issue in Amherst? While so many of us heading south on University Drive line up for the privilege of turning left onto Amity Street or right onto Rocky Hill Road?
And while I’m at it, how many of you have serious parking issues in “downtown” Amherst sufficient enough to call for proposals for yet another dark, underground parking garage where most women I know fear to lay tread?
I have been here continuously since 1999 and have always found a parking place. Sometimes I have to walk 50 to 100 yards to my goal. Can’t have that? Yes, I’m the guy who was crabbing about speed bumps last August. Believe me, it’s all connected.
Robert Neill
Amherst
Amherst has a strong agricultural history and our farmers continue to be resilient innovators and passionate about learning and helping others.
This past Tuesday, at the Agricultural Commission potluck, members of the community and the Amherst Ag Com gathered to celebrate the life of Pat Wagner, who dedicated herself to the 4-H, the regional farmers and the town of Amherst. Stories were told and thanks given to Pat’s tough kindness and her incredible energy and organization.
The second part of the evening featured four presentations given by Ag Com members: Shannon Nichols on her trip to Nicaragua, Joe Swartz on his hydroponic greenhouse work, Glenroy Buchanan on his work with migrant workers and growing specialty international crops and Ronnie Wagner on her trip to the Netherlands to learn about their agricultural systems.
I have been sitting around the table with these people for three years and it was wonderful to hear about their expertise and see their photos.
I would also like to thank Atkins for their food donations to the potluck and their ongoing support of local farmers.
My take away is this — we should all be grateful for the people who dedicate their lives to growing us healthy food. Please thank your local farmers and support them by buying their products and helping to preserve our farmland.
Rebecca Fricke
Amherst
I have lived in Amherst since 1970 and when I retired in 1992 Sara Wolff and I decided that Amherst was close to an ideal place for our remaining years.
I was privileged to serve as a Town Meeting member for Precinct 9 and felt, as I still do, that for all its inefficiencies, Town Meeting is democracy in action.
As an immigrant (many decades ago), I’ve always valued representative democracy and Town Meeting is democracy at the grassroots. A mayor and council may or may not be representative but Town Meeting is sure to be.
Michael Wolff
Amherst
We have been hearing a lot about single-payer health care in the election rhetoric. When I first heard of it in about 1990 I thought it was “pie in the sky.” How could we cover everyone without breaking the bank? I have since learned that having a system where everyone is covered would save a lot of money because everyone would be in the same insurance pool. There would be no need to classify who had what policy and what was covered.
There would be no need for insurance companies and their extra costs that add nothing to health care. A local family physician recently stated that billing and follow up with insurance companies consume 45 percent of the cost of her practice.
The government would not own or run health care facilities but would regulate them to maintain quality and keep down costs. Bulk purchasing would lower the cost of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.
With everyone, including our legislators, in the same pool, there would be incentives to keep up the quality. Insurance company employees would be retrained for other jobs of a similar nature. There would be no co-pays, deductibles, or co-insurance so we would all benefit. We would each have an insurance card that would entitle us to all our health care including mental health, eye care, hearing, dental, and more.
The state and its municipalities would gain too: from the savings on health insurance for their employees, they would have more funds to spend on schools, badly needed infrastructure repairs etc.
How would all this wonderful care be paid for? By taxes that would be less than we are paying for health insurance premiums, co-pays.
Businesses would benefit too by not having to provide health insurance for their employees. If this sounds good, please attend the hearing in Gardner Auditorium in the Statehouse in Boston to support the bill H.1026, S. 579, “Medicare for All in Massachusetts” on March 22 at 11 a.m. If you cannot attend, write to your legislators urging them to pass these bills.
Alice Swift
Amherst
Here’s a footnote to the WMUA debacle.
WMUA’s Nine Volt Heart radio program has moved to WXOJ-LP 103.3 FM, “Valley Free Radio.” Ed Malachowski is spinning contemporary bluegrass music and alternative country music. Fans of Nine Volt Heart know that Ed was the only community DJ to accept the 4 a.m. time slot that he was given last September. He lost his show altogether in January. Nine Volt Heart focuses on the local music scene,
Ed and I are UMass communication alums, and we’d hoped for the best at WMUA. Ed faced the cancellation of his show with grace. His dedication to local musicians and music venues has not diminished. To reconnect with Nine Volt Heart, tune in Saturdays from 3 to 5 p.m., or stream at valleyfreeradio.org.
Margot Malachowski
Montague
On March 29 Amherst votes yes or no on creation of a Charter Commission. Whether you vote yes or no, you should choose nine candidates, from a pool of 19, who will serve if the vote for a Charter Commission passes. When the Amherst for All group was collecting signatures, the petition read to revise Amherst’s “present charter or adopt a new charter.” Many who signed were assured that the goal was to study the existing charter alongside potential alternatives, and then decide what, if any, changes were needed. Possibilities discussed included small modifications to the present system, such as changing the size of Town Meeting.
Then Amherst For All with its more measured tone morphed into Amherst for Change, and all nuance disappeared. Now they support nine specific candidates — only those nine who are for “real change.” The rest of us are dismissed as “defending Town Meeting and our current, flawed system” —even though I believe that some change might be beneficial.
I have served this town ever since I moved here in 1965, starting with a committee on the safety of a scientific technique, then 10 years on the Board of Health, a Town Meeting term, and two terms on the Select Board, where I was liaison to at least seven boards or committees. I am running for the Charter Commission with the goal of seeking wide public input into a genuine study of ways to improve local government. Some of my priorities are to make our legislative process more efficient — I am eager to see how much time will be saved in Town Meeting by electronic voting; to ensure that only well-qualified and well-trained individuals serve in top government positions; and to maintain citizens’ ability to petition the government relatively easily for a change they consider important. I want the final charter to be one that is very democratic — one that would be consistent with as our values and with our history of participatory democracy.
Diana Stein
Amherst
We are three fourth-grade girls – Liza, Eliza and Monica – at Crocker Farm School in Amherst. In class we were learning about climate change, and how it is really dangerous. But some people don’t believe that climate change is real, which we find very strange.
Climate change is real, and very dangerous, and it is especially dangerous for our generation, mainly because of rising seas. Now you may ask yourself, “What is climate change?” If you don’t know what climate change is, we are about to tell you.
Climate change is where the air begins to heat up to higher temperatures than ever before. Now what causes climate change? We humans have caused it by doing many things, in fact. We have caused it by burning oil, fossil fuels that release Co2 ( carbon dioxide) into the air and cause greenhouse gases to happen. Greenhouse gasses are when the atmosphere traps the Co2 in the earth making it really hot. Now we will tell you about rising seas.
Rising seas are made by ice caps melting because of the hot weather. When ice caps melt, they melt right into the ocean. Scientists say that ice caps melting at this rate could mean that 75 years to who knows when, big chunks of land will be underwater, like a big chunk of Florida, and almost all of Cape Cod. But that’s just a little bit of what could happen.
Hopefully now you understand that climate change is real, and bad so now you can help try to stop climate change.
You can plant trees and not cut down trees, or you could bike places that aren’t very far, instead of driving. You can also stop using aerosol sprays and use pump sprays instead. Buy appliances that are designed to use less energy, use the air conditioner less in the summer, turn off TV sets, computers and lights when we are not using them. We hope that you will care about global warming because we want to grow up in a world that is safe and healthy.
Liza Beigel
Monica Som
Eliza Tuthill
Amherst
I believe Amherst for All is proposing an unnecessary study of town government. The feeling of this group is that Town Meeting is an inefficient and outdated form of government for Amherst.
These studies and changes have been proposed three times and rejected by voters each time. I believe these studies have been rejected because the Town Meeting is an inclusive, democratic form of government. We all know democracy is inefficient and slow, but it is essential for a strong community. Changing the form of government guarantees nothing. I believe the quality of community life in Amherst is based on participation and the feeling of being part of it, not being excluded from it as might be proposed.
So what would be the benefit ofstudying our form of government? I think this study will result inunnecessary controversy. So please vote no on March 29. Don’t even establish a committee to study our form of government. It is working well for all of us.
Merle Howes
Amherst
The writer served as a Select Board member from 1965 to 1975.
The story “Offshore wind projects see fresh interest,” in the March 4 Gazette, reminds us of the United States’ failure to embrace the economic potential of renewable energy.
It describes one U.S. company facing competition from very experienced companies from Denmark, Germany and Italy in the effort to develop the huge wind resources off the U.S. East Coast. Whether it’s because we continue to look for reasons why climate change isn’t happening, or because it just somehow isn’t “American” to invest in large scale renewables, we have dragged our feet in fields like offshore wind.
Other nations, particularly in Europe, haven’t been burdened by these anxieties and have invested heavily, while European businesses have eagerly developed and are marketing the technology world-wide, and in our region in particular.
Christopher E. Riddle
Amherst
If you are a good citizen like I am — one who thinks she understands the issues and votes consistently, but isn’t quite sure what the Charter Commission in Amherst is all about, then we are in luck. Why? Because the League of Women Voters — in their usual non-partisan and informative way — is sponsoring an educational forum and candidates night on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Amherst Middle School, to enlighten us. We will listen to Michael Ward, director of Municipal Services for Public Management at UMass Boston, explain what Charter Commissions are meant to do and what possible options exist for town government.
And then the 20 residents who are running for nine Charter Commissioner positions will have the opportunity to answer questions. We hope to get acquainted with all of them to help us understand what they each could bring to the Charter Commission.
At the end of the evening we will all feel wiser and better prepared to go on with the next steps in the process: town elections March 29. (This program will also be taped by Amherst Media and broadcast several times.)
Trish Farrington
Amherst
Seeing two “Hillary for President” signs stolen in the night left me with two thoughts. Bullies are, at heart, cowards. And sign thieves don’t realize that they just increase funding for their opponents when signs are re-ordered. Not the brightest bunch of folks. How sad that any American would want to take away the right of another American to show support for a candidate. Bullies always have followers. Hopefully not you.
David Moskin
Hadley
Twas the day after Blarney, and all through the town, not a student was stirring, none making a sound.
Some woke in drunk tanks, others strange beds, most of them suffered, from pounding of heads.
And all through the Valley, locals did quake, in eager anticipation of the coming spring break.
William Servos
Pelham