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.

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.

On Wednesday the 26th of August, at 7 pm, the owners of the property next to Exit 1 (The Gingerella’s) and Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores are going to appeal the Planning Board’s decision to deny the development of a truckstop at Exit 1.   We will be back in the Ashaway Elementary School.

So, we’re going to have to do it all over again.  Get as many people as you can together to go sit at the meeting, even if you don’t voice your displeasure, the presence of so many people sends a very clear message.  I think the total last time was 170 people?  Let’s see if we can do as well this time.

It’s a pain, I know.  But it needs to be done.

I’ll see you there.

I’m busy during the summer and Hopkinton is pretty quite this time of year so I won’t have much to post for the next couple months (or the last one).

But I had to comment on President Obama’s stupidity.  In remarking on the Cambridge Police’s performance he has made a major error.  Obama said the Department had acted stupidly in arresting Henry Gates on his front porch.  I reiterate:  The President of the United States called a local PD stupid for making a routine arrest.

I have no love for the police.  In Hopkinton especially, we have too many of them.  And if you read my previous posts, it appears that the HPD (the Chief in particular) has been up to some pretty unsavory business.   But I recognize the importance of the police in general.   I am not interested in being a cop.  So I pay taxes so someone else can do that job.  And they have a hard job.  And some of them are bullies.  And some of them are jerks.  But when one of them, jerk or not, shows up at my house to stop someone from breaking and entering, misunderstanding or not, I am not going to abuse that cop.  I will probably thank them.

Whether Crowley acted appropriately is not important.  He acted within his discretion.   He may have pushed the bounds of disorderly conduct but he didn’t break the law.   He had an irate man on his hands so he dealt with it.  Henry Gates, on the other hand, is a self-righteous asshole.  I know nothing of the man and his politics but I know an idiot when I see one.  Henry Gates is one of them.

Some rules all Americans should know:

1. Be polite when the cops come knocking to protect your property and person.
2. Don’t call a cop a racist just because you are a different race from the cop.
3. Don’t yell at a cop.  Ever.  It just pisses them off and results in your arrest.
4. After giving your identification, don’t ever step onto the porch with a cop.  Stay in your home and shut the door calmly and politely if you do not want to interact with said cop.  Reference your lawyer.  They WILL go away.
5. If you are the President of the United States, shut your goddamn mouth when you have no idea what you are talking about.
6. If you are the President of the United States, say you are sorry when you act like an idiot (i.e. calling cops stupid).  We will forgive you.  But if you insist you were correct, we will be happy to vote you out of office in 2012.

I voted for Obama.  Despite the stupidity of Gates and the, shall we say, aggressiveness of Crowley, Obama is the one who screwed the pooch.  And I did not vote for a man who cannot say he is sorry, that guy was supposed to be McCain.  Obama is the only one who clearly made a mistake by speaking on a subject where he was 1. biased and 2. completely unaware of the facts.  He still has not said he is sorry.  And 41% of Americans agree with me.  Mr. President, just say you are sorry.  No one cares about a stupid beer summit.  We want humility.  Have a little mea culpa.

In other news:  The truck stop was halted for now.  200 or so people showed up to fight it.  Great job!

And the Town Council approved the HPD’s most recent contract.  It seems fine.  I don’t really care.  If we could dump 4 cops I’d be thrilled to offer each remaining cop a 5% increase per year.  Oh, and we would have to boot the Chief out of the union.

I’m not sure which applies to this letter to the editor in this morning’s Westerly Sun:

Love’s Travel Center would be positive for area

I grew up on a farm on West Street, Ashaway/North Stonington. I lived in that area for 30-plus years, so I was only a mile or two from Exit 1. I know and love the area. It is where I consider home.

I am a real estate agent, and I am involved in the sale of the property proposed for the Love’s Travel Center at Exit 1, and I support the project. I know what many people might think: “she is commission driven,” and although I will benefit financially from this sale, it is more than that. With the economy in the dire straits, homes are being boarded up, fore closed on, and short sales are happening everyday in our area, I do not understand why some in Hopkinton would want to reject the positive growth that the Love’s Travel Center will bring to the area? Love’s has of fered a lifeline to our community, with tax revenue, tourism traffic, jobs and potentially much, much more.

As a realtor, I very rarely show a home in Hopkinton without the first response from the buyer being “property are taxes too high.” Last week, I was fortunate to take a contract on a home on Cedar Knolls Drive by encouraging the buyer to consider Hopkinton because of the “growth on Exit 1.” I explained to my buyers, it is my understanding that growth around Exit 1 such as Love’s should help bring down the tax rate because they will pay taxes and not add one new student to the schools or need to add any additional town services. They will just create jobs and pay taxes, I consider this a win, win for every one!

I think Love’s is a positive for this area, and I think we should welcome them with open arms. We should thank Love’s for choosing us as their destination stop, and for providing a gateway to South County, Westerly and our wonderful beaches!

Sandra Bliven e-PRO certified agent Coldwell Banker Cahoone Westerly

So let me break this down into the applicable facts:

1.  This is the real estate agent who will garner an enormous commission from the sale of these 18 acres.  Let’s assume those 18 acres are worth $500,000, conservatively.  If this agent has negotiated a 3% cut, she’ll get $15,000.  6% is a standard commission, amounting to $30,000.  And the property is probably worth more than $500,000.  SANDRA BLIVEN IS MAKING A KILLING IF THIS HAPPENS.  She can deny her bias, but are you stupid enough to believe her?

2.  We will get $50,000 in taxes.  If the Town Council had any balls, they could cut that amount without breaking a sweat.  They do not have any balls, I have already discussed that issue at length.  That $50,000 in taxes amounts to a $0.01 per thousand decrease in your taxes?  Your taxes are based on $17 million.  $50,000 is a drop in the bucket.  And if state aid dries up, your taxes will be based on $23 million.

3. Tourism?  Is this woman a liar, a fool or a scroundrel?  I have travelled the country.  When I travel the country, I stop at a truckstop to get gas, food and get back on the highway.  No one who stops at a truck stop stops there to see the sights, especially not in podunk Hopkinton.  Oh, ah, look at the fantastic tree!  Is it possible this woman is mentally retarded?  Or maybe she just wants her $30,000 commission?  

4.  Jobs?  Ok, 5 people to run the Arby’s and a cashier for the pumps. All of them getting paying minimum wage.  Now that’s a real investment in job creation!  

5.  Even Vinnie Cordone, that hack of a former Town Councilor, the boob responsible for the idiotic “development” at Exit 1 that has generated no new jobs and little in new tax revenue OPPOSES the Truck Stop.  And if he can finally come to his senses, is there anyone left to fool?

6.  No new services?  A truck stop just screams, “we need more cops”!  When people stop in Hopkinton, traveling I95, you get all kinds of people.  You get families, your get RV’s, you get the elderly couples and you get the drug runners, pimps and prostitutes.  A truck stop in town is going to REQUIRE us to have more cops.  And since each new cop costs $60,000 to $80,000 for salary and benefits, we end up paying more taxes to have a truck stop in town!

7.  Sandra Bliven “loves” the area, she grew up here.  But she doesn’t live here now, does she?  She lives in Westerly.  She doesn’t really care what it looks like or sounds like or smells like in Hopkinton.  Come on, are you fooled by this load of crap?  I certainly am not.  She is interested in her commission.

In conclusion, don’t be fooled.  A truck stop is an assinine idea.  It is the next step on the slippery slope into turning Hopkinton into industrial Cranston or Warwick.  Let’s put a stop to this now and show Sandra Bliven that her greed has no place in Hopkinton.

Because so many people showed up to protest the Truck Stop at Exit 1, the meeting was put on hold to accommodate everyone.   Town Hall holds 73 people.  A good bit more than that showed up for the meeting.  While that is good news, the bad news is we all have to show up again on July 1st, when they find a bigger room for the meeting.

According to the Sun,

  ”Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores, of Oklahoma, is pitching plans for a 145-space truck stop with fueling stations, an Arby’s drive-thru restaurant and convenience store for the 18-acre site.  Planning Board Chairman Alfred W. DiOrio said he was “thrilled” with the turnout, but suggested postponing the meeting to a larger to-be-determined venue because members of the public have the right to be present for hearing.”

So that is exactly what we’ll end up with if we don’t go back on July 1st.  Oh, and lets not forget the aquifer full of diesel….

I would love to talk about how our esteemed Town Manager is leaving (hoo-rah!), but this morning I got a call from a friend, who talked to a friend, who talked to another friend to deliver some bad news. The subject of conversation was the giant truck stop they plan on building on Route 3, right off Exit 1.  Apparently, this thing is in the advanced stages of planning.   The 18 acres directly north of the commuter parking lot are going to be turned into a 24 hour truck stop. 

There a lots of reasons not to let this happen. Can you say crime?  Can you drugs?  Can you say prostitution?  Can you say giant trucks hauling ass through Hopkinton at all hours of the day and night?  They plan on building it on top of our aquifer.  Who pays to truck in bottled water when all of our wells are full of hydrocarbons?  How will we sell our houses when we have no wells?  How much lower would you like you property taxes to go?   And finally, how historic do you think historic Hopkinton will look with acres of trucks on its backdoor?  

In exchange for turning Hopkinton into industrial Warwick, we’ll get a measly $50K in taxes a year. 

How do we stop this insanity?  Show up to the Planning Board meeting at the Town Hall on Wednesday, June 3^rd  at 7pm and raise hell.   Listen, you may like economic development, but there is no good reason for this atrocity.  

This is a stupid, stupid idea.  We need to fight it, we all do.  There are a lot of things that go on in this Town that happen by either fiat or plain apathy.  Don’t let this be one of them.  A lot of Town meetings dont really matter.  But this truckstop does matter.  And this meeting is very important. 

The Planning Board will need all the ammunition we can give them to shut this down.  What we need is a mob.  Apparently there are 3 other cases that night and no one is sure of the agenda, but we need to fill the halls.  Get a baby sitter, get off work, do whatever it take to make this meeting.

I’ve been sitting on this information for at least a month.  Frankly, I was hoping the Westerly Sun would publish it and I could just make snarky comments about it without the liability of being a source.  But the Westerly Sun could not find the truth nor a morsel of journalistic integrity if either bit them on the ass. 

But I can’t wait any longer.

If you recall, our former building inspector (Charles Mauti) sued the Town of Westerly because they improperly arrested him.  It got uglyier but Westerly settled for $100,000 because the WPD had been very, very bad.  One of their Captains retired in the wake of the incident.

Mauti is now suing a lot of people in Hopkinton, including the Police Chief and the Town Manager.  I have attached two documents from the suit that were passed to me off the publicly available PACER database.  To the best of my knowledge, these documents are public documents and I provide them in that vein.  Feel  free to email me if you disagree, I check it once a month.

I have LOTS of PACER documents.  These two are the most telling.  I won’t spoil the details but I have a hard time believing that anyone is going to survive this lawsuit with their jobs intact.  It does explain why DeLibero is trying to get out of dodge as fast as possible.

Main Complaint  

Motion to Extend  

One last irony before you read all the incredibly juicy details: the Sun gleefully published every account of alleged Mauti malfeasance during the time that the fiasco erupted.  In the wake of alleged Scuncio/HPD malfeasance, they have been eerily silent.  I wonder if they have a conflict of interest?  Or any scruples at all?

I got a tip that our favorite Town Manager, Bill DeLibero, is a finalist for the job of Town Manger in Charlestown.    Seems odd to me, that he wants out of Hopkinton so badly.  However, considering the Scuncio/Mauti lawsuit (more details to follow), I guess I am not surprised.  Anyone have any more info on this or is it just an unsubstantiated rumor?  FYI, my source is generally pretty reliable.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see how this shakes out.  My source also says that the official announcement of the finalists is scheduled for May 6th-ish. 

Aside from Mageau, I never paid any attention to Charlestown, I didn’t even realize they were without an Town Manger.  I suspect that without one, their Town has never run more smoothly….

Not a big deal, I do have some more important stuff to post when I get around to it, but I thought that I should mention that I correctly guessed that Chariho would cut a token $200,000 from the budget before submitting it for another vote.  I think the actually amount is something like $238K.  What a joke, har har har.  Unfortunately, the joke is on us.

But I incorrectly guessed that Felkner would return to the School Board.  They picked Georgia Ure instead. She will certainly be contrarian but I doubt it will make much of a difference.  Chariho is impervious to whining and complaining.

Like I said, lots to talk about regarding the HPD and our former building inspector’s suit against them, just enjoying the warm weather for now.