Just a quick thought…

This is something that i’m sure most of you out there will agree with me on. Last night I was unfortunately out driving in those horrible conditions, heavy snow fall, sloppy and very slippery roads. Several times I skidded a bit when turning or pulling out into traffic, and had a bit of trouble stopping without sliding a little. Not a big deal, but certainly it was the kind of night where you being as careful as possible. And then, while driving down high street there I came across, on separate occasions, joggers. Why on earth do people feel the need to be jogging on the busiest road in town in such terrible and dangerous conditions? Can’t they take a day off? Can’t the look out side and say, well, its probably not a good idea to be standing in the street tonight, i’ll make it up tomorrow when the roads are clear and the snow stops falling? Or at least have the common sense to run on the side streets where there isn’t nearly as much traffic? I would hate to see an accident happen because of these die hard exercisers, not so much for their sake, but for the poor person driving that would be involved. I would imagine that it would be the drivers fault, and it doesn’t seem right, not to mention that perhaps in trying to avoid the runner, the driver may get in an accident with another vehicle. I just don’t get it, and it bothers the hell out of me.

Officer in the schools

I was reading today in the Daily News that the city approved the placement of a police officer in the high school. This is one of those things that i’m sort of ambivalent about. Yes, i’m sure their pressence will do some good, but a police officer isn’t going to solve your kids problems, its up to the parents to keep their kids off drugs and alcohol. So i’m fine with it, but i’m not sure how effective its really going to be in preventing these problems. Anyway, the real reason for this post is this, does anyone know exactly what that officer will do all day? Do they just wander the halls and interact with the kids, do they have an office and a bunch of paper work to do all day? I’m just curious as to what the job actually entails, if anyone knows, please share.

Parking

With the recent article in the Newburyport Daily News about the Mayor’s plan to investigate the possibility of building a parking garage at Prince Place, there has been a lot of discussion on the topic.

I have a few thoughts on the subject. First of all, rushing to build a garage simply because the money the state has set aside for it is set to expire is foolhardy.  We shouldn’t build something we don’t necessarily need simply because there is money available for it. That brings me to my second thought, do we really need a parking garage? My immediate thought is no, while extra parking would be nice, it is not a necessity. The only times the lots are really full are during Christmas and Yankee Homecoming, and we’ve been able to make do. (funny how we live in a community full of green-eco friendly people, and yet they all feel the need to drive downtown in their own cars). Parking can be tricky to find, but not impossible. For those that claim we’ll need the parking to help support Waterside West, that is backwards thinking. Karp wants us to build a garage for him, it will allow him to build essentially whatever he wants on the waterfront because we’ll be able to supplement the required parking he’ll have to include. If we don’t have a parking garage, he will be limited in the scope in which he can build, since the only parking he’ll be able to rely on is the parking he includes on his property. This is a very important control that the city should not give up by doing him the favor of building him a garage. The municipal lots are already in use, so he would not be able to rely on parking in those areas. He needs a garage, and we shouldn’t build it for him.

There is also the fact that any parking garage will no doubt mean an associated parking fee. While I don’t mind charging tourists to park downtown, I am absolutely opposed to asking residents to pay to park in their own town. Perhaps some sort of parking permit can be worked out, allowing locals to park in their own city for free, but I doubt it. Now there is also rumors that all municipal lots will start charging to park. This can not be acceptable to any citizen of Newburyport. Imagine having to pay to park downtown to run to the bank and insurance company, or the library. Daily errands will now cost the citizenry a fee? What incentive would someone have to go downtown if they can park at a shopping center for free? What do you pay taxes for if you are going to pay a fee just to park downtown?

Newburyport has long had this problem where they have worked to support the tourists in this town, and by extension, the Chamber of Commerce. Whatever is good for the tourists is good for business which is ultimately good for the Chamber. And because of this the citizen is constantly overlooked. Our city government is charged with putting the citizens first, above all other interests, and creating a parking garage does nothing to benefit the average citizen of Newburyport. Charging to park in the parking lots does nothing to benefit the average citizen. It would however, greatly benefit the Chamber, as we slowly sell out the locals in favor of more tourists.

Anyway, before I get way off track, lets get back to the parking situation. I have no problem with the Mayor investigating the possibility of building the garage on Prince Place, but this is something that should not be rushed simply because the money is burning a whole in our pocket.

Karp-etbaggers

car·pet·bag·ger -

From wikipedia: “Since 1900 the term has also been used to describe outsiders attempting to gain political office or economic advantage, especially in areas (thematically or geographically) to which they previously had no connection.”

From Dictionary.com: “any opportunistic or exploitive outsider”

while this has been a serious issue in Newburyport for a good number of years, it seems even more relevant these days.

Think about it.

KarpTV

I’ve been thinking of what I want to write about Karp and his plans for Newburyport, I haven’t quite decided where to start, but I came across this video of an interview with Stephen Karp done by a local tv show on Nantucket. Pretty interesting, perhaps some foreshadowing…

Karp TV

couple of interesting things that caught my ear:

- “adjust tenant mix”

- “competition for high end consumer”

- if you have questions, Karp would like you to ask him directly, to avoid any rumors…(strange, he makes it awful hard to ask him any questions. Hopefully he’ll have plenty when he comes to visit us on March 13th.)

- “we’re pretty approachable” (WTF?)

And so it begins

Blogs are all the rage now, and while this is not my first, it is the first that actually has some sort of direction and is not just just a random collection of debris from my brain. This blog will focus on issues surrounding my hometown of Newburyport, MA. This blog will feature my own personal opinions, my thoughts, and my feelings on what is happening around town, and as such, they may differ from your own. Keep that in mind, as it was your decision to visit the blog in the first place.

My favorite site to visit is Mary Baker-Eaton’s Newburyport Blog, a first class blog full of insight and opinion. However, I am not trying to mimic her site, mine will feature more of my personal views and probably less news (Mary has a knack of getting tips to larger stories, another reason to visit her blog daily).

Also, the reason I chose a nome de plume is my own, and there is nothing that will be said on this blog that I wouldn’t say to someone over a beer downtown.