New Sheriff in Town

Hopkinton has chosen a new Police Chief, Lt. David Palmer of the RI State Police.  If you recall, our current chief announced his retirement in July and has been taking vacation ever since, with our Town Manager (who I believe used to be a chief somewhere in northern RI) serving as interim.  Palmer is stationed in the Scituate barracks and has served in the RISP for 25 years.  As a trooper, he also served as the interim chief of the RI Capitol Police and interim chief of the North Providence Police.  Coming to Hopkinton will probably be quite a change for Palmer, his most recent job with the RISP was management of the State Police Major Crimes Unit.  Before being promoted to Lieutenant, he served as a detective with the RISP where he worked with drug-sniffing dogs and narcotics investigations.  He will begin in January, when Chief Scuncio officially retires.

Palmer appears to be well respected within administrative circles, being called upon repeatedly to fill in leadership gaps.  Hopefully he will serve us well.  I should point out that like Scuncio, as a retired RI trooper, he will receive a pension for his RISP service and will also be eligible for a pension for Hopkinton service.  I do hope the Town Council can keep the new chief out of the union.  Despite being the top manager of the Hopkinton PD, Scuncio was a member of the union (the only chief in the state to belong to a departmental police union) and was entitled to all the protections the union provided.

Things I Find Offensive: Frank T. Landolfi

So I’ve been spending my time elsewhere and today, in my mailbox, is a flyer for Frank T. Landolfi, running for Town Council.  The entire purpose of the flyer is to take two comments made on this website, purportedly by Ed Gaul, in November of 2010, and distribute them as widely as possible- presumably in an attempt to discredit Gaul.  Now, admittedly, Gaul rakes Landolfi over the coals in these comments (The Landolfi flyer is HERE, if he feels he can distribute comments made “publicly” on my blog, I can distribute a flyer that he “publicly” put in my mailbox).

I read and reread these comments. Here is my analysis:

1.  Firstly, Landolfi states, “Please note: The following comments were posted on a public website. All grammatical errors and statements are from the original text”   Well, this not quite true, I control the content here, it is not public by any means, I delete stupidity all the time and opposing opinions that bore me. Publicly available, yes.  Publicly controlled, no.  Secondly, while he did leave in the grammatical errors, Landolfi also italicizes and highlights two sentences he finds particularly damning (I know Landolfi did it because the original posts are on this site).  I personally find this dishonest, misleading if nothing else.  And I am seriously considering a copyright lawsuit.  People sue for the copyright of internet content all the time.  And win.  Just because it is on the internet does not mean it is public domain. I wonder how a copyright lawsuit would effect Landolfi’s future war chest and credibility?

2.  Landolfi’s flyer is juvenile.  Gaul called Landolfi names on an internet blog that NO ONE reads (I don’t kid myself, this is a place for me to vent and scream into the abyss, nothing more).  In retaliation, Landolfi spent hundreds of dollars printing up and distributing flyers to discredit Gaul.  Frank, what are you, 12 years old?  I mean really, this flyer makes you look like a pissing and whining kid.  Just sad really, to see you shoot yourself in the foot like that.  Get over it, grow up.

3.  Gaul doesn’t actually say anything that isn’t true.  He thinks voters in Hopkinton are apathetic.  He is correct.  They are completely and totally apathetic. No body in this Town votes, our turnout is very low. Did your tax bill go up another $200 this year?  Mine did.  That’s something like 10 years running.  Gaul points out that as the state cuts it budget, Hopkinton is doing the opposite.  Also true.  He calls Hopkinton residents stupid.  Well, not a great political move but I think he’s also correct on that score.  I mean, they have to be stupid to let the former Police Chief continue his shenanigans, let the Town Council continue to raise our taxes and hire people into Town Hall and fall for all the other crap like the movie studio, truck stop and Exit 1 development that has had NO IMPACT on increasing our revenue, right?

4.  No matter what Gaul said, I find Landolfi’s tactics just plain foul. They stink.  They smell like cow patties and chicken turds.  It’s a nasty, obnoxious thing to do I wouldn’t vote for Landolfini if he paid me.  I don’t want a mudslinger in Town Council.  Sometimes you gotta do nasty things to get stuff done, but this is public nastiness and I find it unbecoming.

5.  Why does Landolfi want the be a Town Councilor so bad that he feels it necessary to smear and retaliate against Gaul?  What do Town Councilors make, a $10,000 stipend?  The guy’s a loan officer at a bank.  He must make at least $100,000K?  $75,000K?  Dude, find a better second job than Town Council.  So what is his real motivation for wanting to be on the Town Council, a motivation so serious he needs to smear Gaul?  He does appear to be in Gilman’s pocket, remember that guy?  Search the site, we’ve talked about him in the past, if Hopkinton has a political machine, he is part and parcel of it.

I’m not voting for this guy.  You can do what you want but someone that puts this much effort into being publicly nasty to someone else is not someone I want on the Town Council.  What if he decides you are his next target, what is he going to do to you? What flyers are you going to find in your mailbox?  What front page articles has he conveniently gotten the Westerly Sun to publish (the Sun is yellow journalism garbage at its worst, they do this all the time)?  This guy reminds me of Cordone- good riddance to that bad rubbish.  We don’t need another one of those guys on the Council- Cordone was also a Gilman acolyte and perpetrated the same type of dirty tricks thought up in the same back room.  We just just don’t need any more of that in Hopkinton.

It Just Gets Tiresome

The fact is that nothing in Hopkinton ever changes.  And I’m just tired of tilting a windmills. It probably will not surprise the reader to know that I fight a lot of battles.  Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I put on is my armor.  Obviously, its a metaphorical armor, a mental armor, an invisible armor, borne of my own internal fortitude and sheer will not to be crushed by the stupidity, arrogance and corruption I seem to stumble upon at every turn.  Needless to say, it’s hard work not getting your ass kicked every day.

So what should I do about this stupid town?  The only real solution is to find a bunch of people who happen not to be retarded and hound them into running for every elected position and get them to appoint their non-retarded friends to everything else.  But you know what?   The people that should be running the town are hiding.  And that’s because they are the smart ones.  Only dumb people run for office willingly.  It is the only explanation for wanting to be abused with every phone call. But every once in a while, someone who should be elected gets pushed into running.  And if they do happen to get elected, they just get crushed by overwhelming stupidity.  Hats off to you, Gary Williams- among others.

I’ve gotten a bunch of emails over the past 6 months asking me if the site is down.  No, it’s not down.  I have just given up.  If you find something truly compelling, send it.  If it moves me, I’ll post it.  But once again, nobody ever got anything pissing into the wind (except wet) and I’m sick of smelling like urine.

It’s That Time of Year Again

Election season.  The time of year where we exercise our democratic right.  Or not.

This year, as two years ago, we have 7 candidates for Town Council.  They are:  Barbara Capalbo, Jonathan Osborne,Scott Hirst, Frank Landolfi, Edward Gaul, Thomas Buck and Sylvia Thompson.  To my considerable surprise, Beverly Kenney has decided not to go for a third (or is it fourth?) term.  She is running unopposed for Town Moderator.  I have no idea what the point is of her bothering- sheer boredom?  Since no one went to the Financial Town Meeting, I guess everyone is pretty happy with the crappy state of affairs in Hopkinton.  Did anyone even bother to vote for the budget?  Barely.  Anyway, I expect that Capalbo, Buck and Thompson will remain on the Council.   Landolffi replaced our best friend Felkner when he decided he had better things to do so he’ll probably stick around too.  Although, he doesn’t have the same name recognition as the others.  The race is probably between Osborne, Hirst and Gaul.  Hirst has been on the Council in the past but was shut out last time around and I don’t know anything about Osborne or Gaul.   Anyway, I guess the point is that nothing is going to change in good old HopTown any time soon.

The School Board may be a more interesting race but probably not.  Ure, Abbot and Petit  are running so there will be one open spot for Blau, Swann and Kenney.  I believe Gregory Kenney is Beverly Kenney’s husband so I guess that means the status quo.  I don’t know anything about Blau but I have heard that Swann is frustrated with Chariho but to what extent I’m not exactly sure.     All in all, I don’t expect much to change.

The real fun is going to be in Charlestown.  Both Mr. Magoo (James Mageau) and Clifford Vanover are running for the Council.  I can’t even imagine what would happen if the two of them ended up on the Council together.   But I am not sure that as dumb as everyone in Charlestown is, they are going to let Mageau have another chance on the Council.  I could reiterate the whole stupid escapade that was his first term but is that really necessary?

I’m going to grab my popcorn and watch the fireworks.

I Guess We Just Don’t Care

A week ago the Town held our Financial Town Assembly.   It attracted 20 residents.  There are 8,000 people in Hopkinton.  The town tax rate was set to increase by 8-9% and only 20 people showed up.  This is probably the saddest commentary on the apathy that inflicts this Town, sadder than anything I’ve seen in the past decade- although the ongoing scandal in the Hopkinton Police Department that seems to never make the newspapers is also quite telling.

We find out now that the Town Council has been able to shave a little more off the budget and the tax rate will only increase by 5.7%.

Two questions arise:

1.  The citizens obviously don’t care.  No one could be bothered to show up to the meeting so why did the Town decide to cut the budget a little more?

2.  Why couldn’t the Town make these cuts in the first place?

I don’t really have an answer to either question.  I suspect that the answer to #1 may be that the Town was unsure it could get a waiver to increase taxes 4-5% above the state cap.  Assuming this answers question #1, it also answers question #2.  There is another scenario.  This one is a bit more cynical:  Perhaps the Town could have cut the budget by the Financial Assembly Meeting but felt it would look better (and look like they were doing their jobs) if they put in some EXTRA effort after the fact.  I’m not sure what the answer is.  I am surprised that the Town could change the budget after the Financial Town Meeting. I would have expected that there was a prohibition against that.  I guess not.  The Town Council, Manager and Finance Director had all Spring to cut the budget to the bone.  They waited until after the FTM to do it.  Lazy, lazy, lazy.

As a final shot across the bow of the collective Town Council, I would like to argue that they still have not done enough.  Consider that the Town is going to allocate $100,000 of left over FY 2010 funding to expand the Town Hall.  This will mean that instead of being in 3 buildings, all Town offices will be in 1 building.  Thats just great. But if they used the $100,000 for the next budget instead of frittering it away, the budget increase would be even less.  In the worst economic climate since 1929, the Town of Hopkinton is embarking on a project to expand Town Hall.  Most of us use the roads.  They’ve cut $50,000 from the resurfacing budget yet decided a larger Town Hall is a critical need.  When was the last time you went to Town Hall?  When was the last time you cared that you had to go to 2 Town Buildings instead of 1?  It seems pretty darn wasteful and foolish to me.

The Good News: They Are Going To Kill Us Slowly….

As more details become public, it looks like the $7 million cut in Chariho funding is going to be phased in, over 10 years.  So the good news is, we won’t take the whole hit in a single year (although frankly, it would not have surprised me to see such a move from the state).   The bad news is that with the municipal budget likely to continue its own increases, it still means an easy $100-$200 tax in crease every year until forever.  Or until we go bankrupt and the whole system crashes.  Wa-ho!

Felkner Resigns from Town Council

Is this a surprise to anyone?  While he was on the School Board he rarely showed up.  While he was on the Town Council he rarely showed up.  If you can’t make the commitment, don’t commit.  This is what we call a “flash in the pan”.  A lot of noise, a lot of hoopla and not much substance. And your taxes are still going to go through the roof….

Hopkinton Gets Screwed Again

I have not had much to say for the past 6 months or so.  Frankly, Hopkinton is a lost cause.  I repeatedly see the Town Council and School Board continue to run their appointed charges like a pack of drunken monkeys.  And I’m just tired of pointing out their stupidity.  I’d rather spend my time doing something productive.  But I feel I should point out a most recent case in point:  The new HPD contract.  Tom Buck was apparently a primary player in the negotiations that led to the new contract, and a slew of raises for the HPD.  No one is giving raises in this economy.  No one.  State and local governments across the country are cutting salaries.  But not Hopkinton! Hopkinton can apparently afford to pay money out the ass.  In fact, the newest figures suggest that our taxes are set to increase by about $1 per $1000 in the next budget cycle.  So the average homeowner can expect to pay at least an additional $250 a year.  This year.  I’ll be paying a little more myself, FYI.

Next year, the state of Rhode Island plans to cut Chariho’s state aid by $7 million.  Since we get $14 million, that is about a 50% cut.  So, next year, you can expect your taxes to increase easily by $750.  Really.  That $7 million will be split about 3 ways, so Hopkinton will need to come up with an additional $2.5 million or so and that boils down to approximately $750 for a $250,000 household.

Well, with all our very useful Town employees and our over-rated police force, my guess is that we will actually be paying a solid $1000 more per year.

According to the Chariho Times , the town manager says, “The town is continuing to seek financial relief from Chariho to reduce the town’s contribution, which would in turn lower the property tax increase,” McGarry said.  Is he stupid or is it just because he is new?  Dumbass, you ain’t getting squat from Chariho!

Can you afford your taxes to jump $1000 a year?  I can.  I’m a rich guy.  It pisses me off, I’d rather buy $1000 in Century Aluminum stock.  I’m also a big fan of Cheniere Energy lately.  Solid dividends and a $3-$4 increase in share price over the past few months.   But you’re not a rich guy.  See what you get when you vote dopes into office?  My recommendation is to 1. Vote down the new budget and 2. Vote in some new Councilors that will cut and slash the town budget with reckless abandon.  Otherwise, I see a tax lien in your future.

Hopkinton Town Council Stupidity

The new prinicpal at Ashaway Elementary realizes that the bus situtation at the school is a problem.  It has always been a problem.  So he has asked that the Town Council temporarily restrict parking on Hillside Ave so they can make the bus drop-off and pick-ups safer and more comfortable for the kids.

“As recommended by your teacher, you have a great night’s sleep and a good breakfast, ready to take the state test,” Morrone wrote. “As you get off the bus, you get very wet walking the long distance to the school. You feel uncomfortable, and your whole mood is thrown off now and you have to take this big test. I would not do my best, and I’m sure others would not either.”

Our brain surgeon of a Town Councilor, Tom Buck, responds by saying,

“My son walks to that school,” said Buck, a Church Street resident. “My daughter is supposed to walk to that school. And you’re worried about kids walking 100 feet? I just think that’s a little extravagant.”

Well then, perhaps the bus should pick up Tom Buck’s kids so that all the students are treated equally?  Or maybe all the kids should walk in?  Or maybe we should get rid of all the buses and have parents drive in every kid and we can save some cash on transportation?  And why should we even bother stopping for busses anymore?  I got places to go and following a bus though its stops is slowing me down!  The argument that, “I don’t get it so no one else should get it” is foolish and assinine.

Buck said that as it stands now, with the buses already moving on the streets,

“In essence, you justifiably by law shut that road down”

This would be because a bus on the street picking up students has its lights flashing, it cannot be passed and the road is shut down. So why not restrict parking, get the buses into the lot and the road will no longer be impassable?  Duh.

The only person making real sense here is Thompson, who said,

…the council will do “whatever it needs to do” to protect the safety of the students, “regardless of what residents like or say.”

In a society, governed by laws, was all make compromises and submit to the whole for the good of all.  It’s why we have laws, zoning requirements, septic regulations and car inspections.  We all own property and we all have to follow the laws, that are there to protect us all.  Hillside Ave is pretty narrow anyways, as are all the roads in Ashaway Village.   There probably should be NO PARKING on any of those streets.  Suck it up you surly Hillside Ave residents.

How is this better?

The governor offered the state employees 12 days of furloughs 2 weeks ago.  For 12 days, they had to go home and not get paid.  The unions said no, and his offer turned into layoffs.  Now frankly, a negotiation is not about making the deal worse everytime you go to the table.  You’d never sell a car that way.  But OK.  The unions caved and it looked like the new deal was going to be 8 days this year, 4 days next year with no pay.  BUT you still had to come to work!  How is being not paid to work better than not getting paid and staying home?  I’m no fan of either Council 94 or Carcieri, but Carcieri is being pretty nasty about it.  Obviously the legislature plays a role too, but I just don’t understand  how you can call any of this a negotiation.