A Truly Local Paper

The Daily News surprised me this morning with its endorsement of Obama for President.

It's safe to say the paper's editorial stance has leaned more toward the right as of late. Some of that might have emanated from its affiliation with the Lawrence Eagle Tribune, a staunch GOP newspaper.

I couldn't believe any relation of the Trib would endorse a Democratic nominee. I certainly couldn't see the Trib wandering far enough off the reservation to endorse a supposed socialist.

And I was right. The Trib endorsed McCain a few days ago.

But our local paper saw things differently. Anyone familiar with this blog might guess that I agree with the Daily News' conclusion. I'm an Obama guy. You'll see me (and 1,000 other people) driving around Newburyport in a Subaru with an Obama magnet plastered on my car's tail.

While I'm pleased the local paper's opinion fell in line with my own, I'm even more excited by the realization that our Daily News has such a great degree of editorial autonomy, particularly with such a high profile endorsement.

The conflicting endorsements clearly show that the News not only is free from the Trib's influence, but that Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., which owns both papers, didn't issue a chain wide endorsement.

This is good news for the local guys. Truth be told, I was never really got comfortable with the Eagle Tribune's (or Evil Tribune as we called it back in The Day we competed for stories) ownership of the Daily News.

I still saw that paper as the competition, although I acknowledge the fiscal wisdom behind the roll up of local papers.

I certainly wasn't happy with all the changes made after the acquisition, but I concede that the deal led to the introduction of nice and talented folks (who aren't evil at all) to the pages of the Daily News.

But I just never liked thinking our local folks had to take marching orders from someplace else. The endorsement makes it clear that they don't.

Nice to see.

Congrats to the Daily News

The local daily picked up a first place finish for its Fighting the Tide series.

I find it a tad ironic--or perhaps just humorous--that the recognition for the series on the coastal erosion on Plum Island came from the Inland Press Association.

Anyway, a win is a win. Congrats.

ACK!

Here's an interesting article from the Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror. It suggests that construction work is slowing down at a couple one of New England Development properties. The project manager denies there's a slowdown.

If the slowing economy is stifling the sale of luxury condos on Nantucket, then I can't imagine how things look for the city of Newburyport.

Question 1 Meeting

Ed Cameron has posted some information about the upcoming informational meeting on Question 1.

I've got nothing much to add at this point. Soon, I hope.

But I'm with Ed.

Go Phillies

Technical Difficulties

Apologies for the silence, I've been having some hardware issues.

Retail Woes

Interesting article about the vacancy rates in other Eastern Massachusetts towns, mostly south west of Boston.

Karp Concerned

Steve Karp tells Womens Wear Daily he hasn't seen things this bad in his 30 years.

Developer Stephen Karp has built 60 percent of New England’s malls — about 25 million square feet of selling space. The chief executive officer of the New England Development Co. has seen booms and busts — but nothing tougher than the current economic crisis.

“This is the worst I can remember in 30 years,” Karp said during an interview at company headquarters in Newton, Mass. “There is no availability of capital. Banks usually are in a position to lend, but now capital is simply not accessible. And there’s no exit market. There are no buyers. Everybody is afraid to make a move. We are stuck until the market reestablishes itself.”

Speaking of Rosie's

Someone should tell the Portsmouth Herald that Rosies closed down several months ago.

I certainly hope someone alerted the DJ.

Comments

I don't know why, but Blogger isn't alerting me when comments need to be posted. If you're posting, and not seeing, let me know.

Thanks

Rosies

Word on the street is that either a Pizzeria Uno, Pizzeria Regina, Pizza Hut or Bertucci's will open in the old Rosie's space.

Nah, I'm just kidding.

But what should go there? Any suggestions out there. What does downtown Port need?

Time is on our side

The Daily News' lead story today suggests that Steve Karp won't be coming forth for any plans for another year. (Can't find it on the web site.)

Seems to me that could easily be interpreted as, "We have no clue when we'll be building."

And who can blame him. Things need to settle down..

The good news is this gives the mayor time to hire a new planner and pull together a parking plan.

The bad news is the former is far more likely to happen than the latter.

Sign of the Time

Nick's Pizza, no doubt in response to khakification of the city's pizza community, is having a new sign installed this morning.

No word on whether or not they'll fix the jukebox.

I liked the old sign just fine, but change is inevitable.

Mayor Reaches Out

I heard the Mayor Moak is meeting with the Mother's Club tonight to go over the debt exclusion. This meeting comes after he makes a presentation at the Newburyport Public Library, which starts at 6:30.

I'm glad to see the mayor isn't just holding public hearings, hoping the community will come to him. He's gotta go retail to sell this to folks.

He's got a big job ahead of him, but this is a smart way to go about it.

This Will Help

Boy, my timing stinks.

The Triton School Committee approved it's solar deal today, according to the Daily News. I don't have time to get into the article, but I think the details of the deal are the same.

The article some complaints from another vendor who says they could have offered the city and school a better deal on electricity. But the school district's business administrator Brian Forget told the committee he checked all the facts and figures and Triton--and presumably Newburyport--was getting the best deal. I'm not sure what to think.

It also included this nugget at the end, which I still don't quite understand.

In regard to the ethics question involving Wootan at Triton, Forget said he had discussions with an investigator with the State Ethics commission this week, and after explaining to her what Wootan had done on the school's behalf while under the employ of a company potentially benefiting from the work, the investigator
told him Triton wasn't at risk.
"Given the details, she said first of all this is an issue with this individual — it's a reflection on him, not on you as a district," Forget said.
Forget added the investigator told him in extreme cases the ethics commission would recommend this person be removed from the process, which Forget said Triton has done.
"He's still involved in the details, but in terms of making the decision, he had zero input with the decision," Forget said.

I'm not sure what "at risk" means. I also don't understand how the issue can be with the individual and not the government body. I suppose that means that any penalty would be paid by the individual, but I'm not sure.

I also don't know how that jibes with the state law I quoted in the below post.

As a taxpayer, I still think the disclosure should have been in place. Perhaps my naivete is showing.

But this should soften some criticisms and lend support to those defending the deal.

Solar Express

I know I'm late on this, but I did want to chime in on the solar deal.

I'm glad the Daily News has taken a long, hard look at the solar panel fight. I won't repeat the entire story. Just read the editorial, articles and items from the mayor that run along the side.

Bottomline, Jeff Wootan, the city's representative, as well intentioned as he might be, stands or stood to benefit from the contract he helped negotiate on the city's behalf.

According to the News, he led the city's negotiations with with one company, EyeOn, while also entertaining--or at least discussing--a job with an EyeOn subcontractor, Integrated Energies, that will install the solar panels. Incidentally, Wootan had a hand in launching Integrated Energies earlier this summer.

If this is the case, and no one has disputed it, it's clearly a conflict. I'm not saying it was his motivation, and I can't say a huge windfall--if any windfall--will come his way as a result. Doesn't matter. This is still a conflict that should have been disclosed.

I know the Mayor and other officials say don't see a conflict, but frankly their opinion doesn't matter. To me, the state law is pretty clear.

"Unless you make a proper, public disclosure — including all the relevant facts — you may not take any action that could create an appearance of impropriety, or could cause an impartial observer to believe your official actions are tainted with bias or favoritism."

The missing disclosure, which reportedly was filed after the Daily News started asking questions, takes on even more importance since this deal has been rushed through without the standard competitive bid process.

What's worse is that this connection would have gone unreported if not for the Daily News hadn't been poking around.

Any outrage about this is clearly muted by the fact that we're talking solar power (who doesn't love that) and that the city is spending grant money rather than it's own (at least that's what I've been told.)

I wonder what the reaction would be if a representative of the school department negotiated a city contract with vendor while discussing employment with the same company.

We can argue as to whether this was a wise business practice. Critics--mostly anonymous commenters on the Daily News site--worry that the city didn't get the best deal. The Mayor insists he had to rush to take advantage of state programs and grants to pay for the project. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

But I don't think there's much doubt that politically this is a mistake. Folks on the fence will be looking for any reason to reject next month's debt exclusion. I'm sure, for some, this became one.

Colbert To Leave Town

Sad to read that Nancy Colbert, the city's planning director, is heading out of here, taking a job as town administrator in Boylston.

Only spoke with her once at the Karpalooza back in March, but I never heard a bad word about her.

I liked knowing she was in the planning and development office if and when Karp comes forward with something. Good hire by the mayor.

I'd link to the article, but I can't find it on the Daily News web site. So I linked to Stephen Colbert's roasting of President Bush in 2006 instead.

The Hines Bridge

I can understand why people might thing three-plus years is a long time to fix the bridge. But I can offer one blogger's assurances that the closure of the bridge won't keep me from Flatbread's or the Barking Dog.

I'll take Routes 95 or 1. It ain't no big deal.

Shhhh

Things have been unusually quiet around the local blogosphere. If we're on strike, no one told me. I've just been busy with work and life.

But I have to admit, this world financial crisis is like a major distraction.

On one hand, all the turmoil seems so far away, particularly as the media focuses more on the impact on Wall Street than on Main Street (or State Street in our case.)

But this obviously isn't some storm that won't find it's way north. This one hurts and will continue to hurt for a good long while. (According to the NY Time article I just posted, yachts will be the first luxury items that the Wall Street types will sacrifice. I suppose high end sofas and $600 suits might be on the list somewhere.)

I don't draw a great deal of comfort from the Current's proclamation that our local economy is on sound footing based on the strength of our three local banks. I'm not so sure we have a local economy any more except for the downtown retail sector. Most of the people I know either work outside of Port or work for companies outside of Port, and there's some significant concern out there.

Anyway, this is harsh talk for a Monday. I just meant to check in to let you know this blog lives. I've just had a hard time really giving serious thought to how many parking spaces should be on the waterfront while Wall Street burns.

If you've got any thoughts to add feel free to chime in. That's what we're here for.

Tom Salemi

Tom is a husband, father, and avid follower of municipal government. A journalist, Tom has written about city and town governments for the Daily News and several other community papers. He still writes a blog, www.NewburyportPosts.com on business and government issues. Before moving to Newburyport, Tom served as chairman of the Sutton Planning Board.

Tom Lyons

Retired Teacher of Government and History at Phillips Academy. Active in Newburyport’s Commission on Disabilities, Council on Aging & Newburyport Learning Lyceum. Education; Harvard – BA, MAT. "I am eager listen to the public, learn, and work with others, to provide a thorough and open review of our Charter.”

Steven Cole

A Newburyport native and School Committee member since March 2004. Cole, a consultant, looks to integrate performance with results. He has led consensus work as a state quality award examiner. “I hope to serve as a commissioner to help define a clear and dynamic Charter for Newburyport’s future.”

Shelia Mullins

Be open minded

Give a systematic examination of the options

Be thorough in my assessment of long-term implications

Have continued involvement in the local political process

Bring a collaborative process viewpoint

I ask for your vote & thank you in advance. For more information visit www.sheilamullins.com

Roger Gagnon

Reviewing the City’s Charter requires a thoughtful process. As a local historian and History teacher, I have the knowledge and temperament needed on the Commission. If elected I would have an open mind, realizing the impact any changes to the Charter will have on our City. I ask for your vote on November 3rd.

Paul Bevilacqua, PhD

Paul retired as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Northern Essex Community College in 2006. While there he taught government and history. Currently a volunteer consultant with Executive Service Corps, working with non-profit groups, focusing on governance and strategic planning. “I come to into this with no preconceived notions of a preferred result."

Olga MacFarlane

NHS graduate, former college teacher, Human Services Manager, research projects supervisor, Senior Center Director, member of non-profit boards, and has completed multiple studies for the League of Women Voters. Current president; Friends of the Council on Aging. Olga is open-minded and seeks consensus. “The City Charter must be reviewed for currency after 90 years.”

Kenneth Woods

A Newburyport resident since 1996, married with a daughter attending Bresnahan School.

Kenneth A. Woods PE Ltd provides structural engineering and architectural services to commercial, institutional and residential clients. “As a business owner, I am interested in researching forms of government that may produce fiscal efficiencies – more bang for our buck if possible.”

Kathleen Bailey

2009 Yankee Homecoming Chairwoman. “I bring a love of Newburyport, energy, dedication, and thoroughness of vision to investigate all options for Newburyport’s near and long term future governances.” 20 years as a corporate relocation professional. Attended Michigan State University, graduated SUNY New Paltz. Two adult children, one granddaughter. For more information - http://kathleenbaileycharterreview.typepad.com/.

Janet Marcus

As an attorney, former history teacher, and avid volunteer, with degrees from Cornell, Harvard, and Hofstra, I have the training and experience to be able to contribute to the charter review process. Newburyport service includes NRA chair, Maritime Museum board, presidency of the Anna Jaques Aid Association, and membership on the hospital board.

Jim Stiles

Former Mayoral candidate, Jim is active in local issues, including Newburyport's Energy Committee. He attended Marlboro College, then MIT, where his studies included organizational design. His work experience includes technology companies, a university, construction companies and an environmental investigations firm. He has served on boards of non-profit and for-profit organizations. Jim wants to increase citizen participation in local government.

Hugh Kelleher

• Chair, Tree Committee
• Executive Director, Plumbing Contractors of Greater Boston
• Trustee: $200+ million pension / benefit funds
• Graduate Harvard College, High Honors
• “Newburyport’s governmental structure is flawed. What $54 million business selects a new CEO every two years? Let’s create a system that improves management.”

Doug Locy

“We need the best government structure available to address the more complex challenges our City faces. I will commit the time and due diligence to deliver a charter that positions our city for the future, employing my 35 years of organizational and leadership skills from industry and 18 years of voluntary service on City boards.”

David Clarridge

South End, “Joppa” Resident since 1971. Retired HS Social Studies teacher, interested in all levels of government. Past active involvement in local, State and national political issues and campaigns.“I approach Charter Review with an open mind, and look forward to working with other volunteer Commissioners who will approach this task with dedication and cooperation.”

Cynthia Muir

Cynthia is married with three children. Founded and operated a tutoring agency for 10 years, worked for the Commonwealth as a child welfare supervisor and systems analyst, and has served on boards of social service, civic and educational institutions. Presently she volunteers as an archivist in the City Clerk’s Office and the Custom House Museum.

C. Bruce Brown

Plum Island resident for over 40 years. City Councilor for 16 years. Involved with urban renewal and past chairman of the Waterfront Park. Currently serving on the Newburyport Housing Authority. My advertising company serves many clients in the Newburyport area. Retired from Prudential Insurance, and Air Force Veteran.

Bruce Vogel

A two-term City Councilor, Bruce served on the Planning and Development and City Finance Committees.  He was a signing member of City’s Strategic Land Use Report, and served as chairman of the Newburyport Youth Commission.  “I would like to use my City experiences to focus Charter Review on efficiency and vision for the future.”

Bruce Menin

Parent, educator, writer, non-profit administrator and 20 year Newburyport resident. Elected School Committee member since 2001. Member of the City’s Revenue Task Force. “I believe an open, constructive conversation about how we govern ourselves is overdue. The process of governance must be accountable, efficient and transparent. Government should, can and must work for us.”

Bonnie Perkins

I have a sincere interest in the future health of Our City Government. I am a 20 year resident, mother of 3 children in the school system & employed for 15 years at Alden Merrell. Also a past owner -Teaberries Fine foods, State Street. BA, Hobart.

Certified Personal Trainer, CPR Instructor & Triathlete

Alexander Warren

Newburyport’s charter must help the city find able people and retain them in leadership positions, people with listening ability, with the capacity to empathize, with the managerial training and experience to address our future multiple conditions, with speaking ability, people able to lead while serving the public’s need.