It's been over seven months since we communicated. Apologies for the absence, but there is more to life than blogging about Mendon although that is very dear to my heart. Thanks to the 40 or so people who have checked in every week to see if the blog was active.
I am open to any suggestions for a starting point. What's on your mind?
HG
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Friday, December 15, 2006
"looked at them menacingly"
Oh really! A mighty sensitive bunch up at Miscoe, don't you think? It adds new meaning to the rhyme, “no more teachers, dirty looks”
If in fact the details of this story are correct as told by Cheryl Powers to the MDN, we all have a lot to worry about. Change the time and place and this story could have come out of the Stalinist era in the old USSR. This is just another reason why government schools are a problem.
A gun? What gun? A middle school student says someone has a gun and a full-scale invasion of privacy is unleashed! Certainly an investigation was warranted but unless there is far more to this story the reader is forced to the conclusion that a paranoid school administration backed by an overzealous police department trampled on the civil rights of citizens. This is particularly egregious given the age of the child.
If in fact the details of this story are correct as told by Cheryl Powers to the MDN, we all have a lot to worry about. Change the time and place and this story could have come out of the Stalinist era in the old USSR. This is just another reason why government schools are a problem.
A gun? What gun? A middle school student says someone has a gun and a full-scale invasion of privacy is unleashed! Certainly an investigation was warranted but unless there is far more to this story the reader is forced to the conclusion that a paranoid school administration backed by an overzealous police department trampled on the civil rights of citizens. This is particularly egregious given the age of the child.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Fiscal Irresponsibility
Well it’s that time of year when the Board of Selectmen set the tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year. Look for some interesting things here.
Will Momma Cutler get her way and push an onerous tax increase on local businesses?
What will happen with Free Cash? Last year the town had $600,000 and they spent every dime. This year they have about 15% of that amount and all departments are waiting like a nest full of hungry robins.
Will the Assessors raise property values even thought prices are down by 10-15%? Milford did. The rubber will meet the road this year. The BoS has spent wildly with the blessing of the Finance Committee. The only place left to get money from is your pocket.
A suggestion, watch or attend the selectmen’s meeting Wednesday night. If Opie and the DJ cave in to Big Momma we are all going to pay more for our front row seats at the circus.
Will Momma Cutler get her way and push an onerous tax increase on local businesses?
What will happen with Free Cash? Last year the town had $600,000 and they spent every dime. This year they have about 15% of that amount and all departments are waiting like a nest full of hungry robins.
Will the Assessors raise property values even thought prices are down by 10-15%? Milford did. The rubber will meet the road this year. The BoS has spent wildly with the blessing of the Finance Committee. The only place left to get money from is your pocket.
A suggestion, watch or attend the selectmen’s meeting Wednesday night. If Opie and the DJ cave in to Big Momma we are all going to pay more for our front row seats at the circus.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
2006 Election Post Mortem
The following post was left on the last thread:
Anonymous said...
Hey Gardens! Off subject but after yesterday's election you must be down right petrified! All hail the new order! Yipeeeeeee!
November 08, 2006 4:21 PM
Although the post is somewhat childish it provides an opportunity to comment on the election. We will finish with the effects of Tuesday on Mendon so this will be local.
The first thing to say about the mid-term election is that the Republicans had it coming and they got it in spades. Good for the electorate. The republican party had promised for years that they would clean up the government and end the waste, fraud and corruption that the democrats had cultivated for themselves with exclusive control of the congress for decades. What they did in fact was enlarge the feedbag to include their own special interests and began to squander our money at an unprecedented rate. The republicans proved they were/are no better than the democrats at good, honest effective national government.
Enter Election 2006. Voters turned out in huge numbers nationwide and changed the face on national politics. They voted for moderate democrats and republicans. The margin was razor thin in most races. Tuesday was the return of the middle class to the polls. Tired of the far left and far right the voters went right down the middle. The collective message from the people was: Most of us are in the middle and that is where we want you. Yes the war had a lot to do with it but only in getting middle America to the polls.
The Democrats should have been more careful in what they wished for. They own it all now and everyone is watching. 2008 is just around the corner and the moderate republicans will be looking to take it back. Look for Mitt Romney to emerge as the favorite next year. His platform will be inclusive and positive. If the democrats waste their energy on endless hearings, witch hunts and in fighting while not addressing the nations problems, Romney and the moderate middle will toss them out on the street in 24 months. You heard it here first.
-------------------The Local issues: We said early on that Patrick was a bad choice for Massachusetts. Now you will see what we meant. Look for the following things to happen:
The New England Home for Little Squanderers (Mass Legislature) will with Patrick’s blessing begin to pass exceptions to Proposition 2 ½. One by one they will happen and the result will be that Prop 2 ½ will be gutted and your property taxes will begin to rise. Within a few short years the will soar and be on a par with Rhode Island. Count on it.
The Moonbat lefties on Beacon Hill will with PB (Patrick’s Blessing) push through “reforms” that make residence here for Illegal aliens even easier. That coupled with universal health care and generous housing and education benefits will explode the state population and your wallet at the same time. If you object you will be called a racist. Look for playing the race card to be the pass time of choice here in the Bay State.
These things are just the beginning. Patrick sold his soul to the teachers unions, Bechtel Parsons and the Bulger wing of the Winter Hill Gang and they all expect payback.
There is no watchdog anymore, only the lap dogs are left. You wanted one party rule with no checks and balances back in Massachusetts and now you have it… and it’s going to hurt.
Anonymous said...
Hey Gardens! Off subject but after yesterday's election you must be down right petrified! All hail the new order! Yipeeeeeee!
November 08, 2006 4:21 PM
Although the post is somewhat childish it provides an opportunity to comment on the election. We will finish with the effects of Tuesday on Mendon so this will be local.
The first thing to say about the mid-term election is that the Republicans had it coming and they got it in spades. Good for the electorate. The republican party had promised for years that they would clean up the government and end the waste, fraud and corruption that the democrats had cultivated for themselves with exclusive control of the congress for decades. What they did in fact was enlarge the feedbag to include their own special interests and began to squander our money at an unprecedented rate. The republicans proved they were/are no better than the democrats at good, honest effective national government.
Enter Election 2006. Voters turned out in huge numbers nationwide and changed the face on national politics. They voted for moderate democrats and republicans. The margin was razor thin in most races. Tuesday was the return of the middle class to the polls. Tired of the far left and far right the voters went right down the middle. The collective message from the people was: Most of us are in the middle and that is where we want you. Yes the war had a lot to do with it but only in getting middle America to the polls.
The Democrats should have been more careful in what they wished for. They own it all now and everyone is watching. 2008 is just around the corner and the moderate republicans will be looking to take it back. Look for Mitt Romney to emerge as the favorite next year. His platform will be inclusive and positive. If the democrats waste their energy on endless hearings, witch hunts and in fighting while not addressing the nations problems, Romney and the moderate middle will toss them out on the street in 24 months. You heard it here first.
-------------------
The New England Home for Little Squanderers (Mass Legislature) will with Patrick’s blessing begin to pass exceptions to Proposition 2 ½. One by one they will happen and the result will be that Prop 2 ½ will be gutted and your property taxes will begin to rise. Within a few short years the will soar and be on a par with Rhode Island. Count on it.
The Moonbat lefties on Beacon Hill will with PB (Patrick’s Blessing) push through “reforms” that make residence here for Illegal aliens even easier. That coupled with universal health care and generous housing and education benefits will explode the state population and your wallet at the same time. If you object you will be called a racist. Look for playing the race card to be the pass time of choice here in the Bay State.
These things are just the beginning. Patrick sold his soul to the teachers unions, Bechtel Parsons and the Bulger wing of the Winter Hill Gang and they all expect payback.
There is no watchdog anymore, only the lap dogs are left. You wanted one party rule with no checks and balances back in Massachusetts and now you have it… and it’s going to hurt.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Press 1 for Nobody
We blogged about the travesty of the BOS ignoring the DOR report nearly one year ago. You can review what we said here, here and here. You can read the DOR report here.
Basically we said at the time that ignoring the DOR report and hiring another toothless Administrative Assistant would be a waste of money. That was, as it turns out, a major understatement.
The current AA, Michael McCue has become a $63,000 perk laden virtual no-show. In the style of the typical cheesey bureaucrat he is rarely in the office, and does very little when he is there. This is only slightly mitigated by the fact that avoiding Mother Cutler is job one for Mike and everyone else for that matter.
So what has happened under McCue’s “leadership”? The inmates are running the asylum once again. Phones ring and no one answers. Messages left are never returned. Offices are closed at the whim of the employees who work in them. Coffee breaks are boisterous talk orgies that go on for more than an hour a few times a day and are only broken up by lunch. This leaves people who need town hall services wandering about the building too intimidated and embarrassed to ask for assistance.
The selectmen are clueless or complicit in this depending whom your talking about. Lawney Tinio regularly attends these daily hen parties. Any party works for Lawney. David Breen is clueless; he still thinks this is some kind of college class, a workshop that really doesn’t have any real consequences. Note to David: If not you, who? If not now, when? Cutler on the other hand despises the town hall employees and makes their life difficult at every opportunity. This further exacerbates the “us against them” mind set that fuels the current morass.
What a mess. All the while the point man (McCue) is MIA most days except on pay day. It’s your money… do you care?
Basically we said at the time that ignoring the DOR report and hiring another toothless Administrative Assistant would be a waste of money. That was, as it turns out, a major understatement.
The current AA, Michael McCue has become a $63,000 perk laden virtual no-show. In the style of the typical cheesey bureaucrat he is rarely in the office, and does very little when he is there. This is only slightly mitigated by the fact that avoiding Mother Cutler is job one for Mike and everyone else for that matter.
So what has happened under McCue’s “leadership”? The inmates are running the asylum once again. Phones ring and no one answers. Messages left are never returned. Offices are closed at the whim of the employees who work in them. Coffee breaks are boisterous talk orgies that go on for more than an hour a few times a day and are only broken up by lunch. This leaves people who need town hall services wandering about the building too intimidated and embarrassed to ask for assistance.
The selectmen are clueless or complicit in this depending whom your talking about. Lawney Tinio regularly attends these daily hen parties. Any party works for Lawney. David Breen is clueless; he still thinks this is some kind of college class, a workshop that really doesn’t have any real consequences. Note to David: If not you, who? If not now, when? Cutler on the other hand despises the town hall employees and makes their life difficult at every opportunity. This further exacerbates the “us against them” mind set that fuels the current morass.
What a mess. All the while the point man (McCue) is MIA most days except on pay day. It’s your money… do you care?
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Business Beware
Here we go again. Sharon Cutler is "leaning" toward a duel tax rate in Mendon. What this woman doesn’t know would fill lake Nipmuc.
A duel tax rate, one for residential and one for commercial properties would establish a higher rate for business and lower the taxes that home owners pay. Sounds good (for home owners) until you look into it. The fact is that there is not enough commercial tax base in Mendon to offset the residential rate in any meaningful way. To have an impact on the residential rate local business would suffer under a huge increase in property taxes.
Boards of selectmen going back to the early eighties have looked at this idea. The conclusion has always been the same; it's a bad idea. It does nothing for home owners and will drive the Mom & Pop operations out of town. Other than one car dealership all we have are Mom & Pop businesses.
Lets hope that Mother Cutler doesn’t drag her apron string boys down the road and get them to indorse this dumb idea. If the BOS wants to help homeowners they can start by listening to the Finance Committee and tightening the belt. Stop trying to buy all the real estate in town and follow the law by putting contracts out to bid.
A duel tax rate, one for residential and one for commercial properties would establish a higher rate for business and lower the taxes that home owners pay. Sounds good (for home owners) until you look into it. The fact is that there is not enough commercial tax base in Mendon to offset the residential rate in any meaningful way. To have an impact on the residential rate local business would suffer under a huge increase in property taxes.
Boards of selectmen going back to the early eighties have looked at this idea. The conclusion has always been the same; it's a bad idea. It does nothing for home owners and will drive the Mom & Pop operations out of town. Other than one car dealership all we have are Mom & Pop businesses.
Lets hope that Mother Cutler doesn’t drag her apron string boys down the road and get them to indorse this dumb idea. If the BOS wants to help homeowners they can start by listening to the Finance Committee and tightening the belt. Stop trying to buy all the real estate in town and follow the law by putting contracts out to bid.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Back to Local Issues
These two pictures were taken on the same day, 15 minutes apart.The top photo was taken in Mendon, the bottom one taken in Uxbridge.
Why the huge disparity in price? It has always been this way. Mendon gas prices are consistently 10-20% higher than the lower prices in the area. The argument has always been that Mendon has no self-service gas pumps. If that were true the price in Milford (also a full serve town) would be as high as Mendon but it is not.
This may not be a huge issue for you but there is another consideration. We are under the impression that all the gasoline used by town vehicles is purchased in Mendon. That is a lot of fuel when you consider police, fire and highway.
Questions: Does the town get a break on the price? If so how much? If not, why not? We will reserve judgment on the possibility of a sweet heart deal here but given the fact that the town’s bill for gasoline each year must be somewhere north of $25,000, by law it should be put out to bid. Anyone know if we bid gas out? Our guess is there are no bids, just a handshake and a wink.
---------------------
TRASH: On another local issue we are asking if anyone is having a problem with trash pick-up. We have gotten 3 emails in the last week complaining about trash pick-up or the lack of it. Is this a widespread problem?
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