The Corruption of Casinos is Pervasive

This is a devastating article coming out of the Globe today on the casino industry in Massachusetts.

The ultimatum reveals the administration’s dissatisfaction with Fall River officials, who over the past several years persuaded the state to invest more than $50 million in road improvements and other upgrades for a planned “BioPark’’ — only to see those city officials on Monday instead endorse construction of a casino on the site.

Patrick’s top economic aide, Gregory Bialecki, said his office was not briefed on the casino proposal before the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe unveiled it.

So, here's what we have here: Corrupt politicians in Fall River, who are deeply embedded with all sorts of parties who wants casinos in that area, including this particular tribe in question, took $50 million in state funding dedicated toward a "Bio Park" and instead, pulled the carpet right from under that state investment, and will try to use that Bio Park's land for a tribal casino, instead.

When the tribe was asked if it would pay the state back, as the administration is demanding, here's what they said:

When asked if the tribe would reimburse the state the $35 million for the highway ramp, a Wampanoag spokesman would say only that the ramp would benefit other property owners in Fall River, not just the casino.

So, that's a no.

This is bull shit. Why are we, as a state, allowing ourselves to get involved with these corrupt and greedy asshats? Not just tribal interests and their corporate backers, but also the race tracks and any other parties trying to bid for a Massachusetts casino. They're all the same. They're all a threat to this state.

And just so people don't think this isn't a matter of Fall River being worried about making sure this Bio Park is used, UMASS Dartmouth was already planning to invest tens of millions of dollars in the park. How is that looking, now, you ask? Well, here's Chancellor McCormack.

Meanwhile, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth chancellor Jean MacCormack released a letter in which the school indicated it would pull a proposed biotechnology research facility that was also slated for the BioPark site. The state had already committed to spending $15 million for the facility, as well as another $2 million in road upgrades to support it.

“The City’s decision to abandon development of a BioPark in favor of a resort casino profoundly affects the university’s decision-making about a suitable location for our facility,’’ the UMass letter said. “Any delay in starting the project triggers a risk that state funding might be rescinded, so timing is important.’’

UMASS Dartmouth has an absolutely wonderful science program -- my best friend went through it and for the past 3 years has been doing cutting-edge research at a Harvard Bio-Lab and is now going for her MD. The University just built a high-tech botchelism lab, funded through bio-terror federal funds. There's all sorts of good stuff going on there -- and this Bio Park would have been a great opportunity not for the University, but the entire region as well.

This is exactly the kind of investments the city of Fall River needs to get back on its feet and prosper. Instead, it's doing everything it can to throw the opportunity away and build something that will suck whatever life's left in the city and region. It's quite fitting that the city and tribe has just done this in about the most underhanded way possible, in complete secrecy, after the state has invested tens of millions, with plans for tens of millions more. The people of Fall River better get rid of their creep mayor, or the chances of them ever getting the kind of investment that was going toward this Bio Park will be gone. This sort of duplicity puts everything at risk for that region.

Finally, for the State of Massachusetts, we must remember that if there's even 1 single, legalized slot machine in Massachusetts, the tribal casinos will have a back door into this state sooner rather than later. Once we build a casino or racino, the game's over. Those six planned ventures by Speaker DeLeo could easily become twelve, with two of them from our current recognized tribes, and another four from unrecognized tribes in this state which are currently trying to gain federal recognition.

PS: I feel for the region and UMASS Dartmouth for what looks to be a massive loss of opportunity for all involved, but with the University's support of Clyde Barrow, who's in turn propped up casino interests in the South Coast like none other, the University was kind of asking for it. If you sleep with the dogs, you get up with their fleas, as the saying goes.

Update: At least there's four rational city councilors in Fall River, but they need to oust this idiot Flanagan.

Boston Herald Goes off the Deep End

In what should be a shocker to no one, today's Herald editorial jumped off the deep end, coming out strong against a UMASS Dartmouth Law School, with the kind of hyperbole rarely out seen outside of tabloid "journalism." Saying the "skids are greased," they launch an attack at Chancellor of UMASS Dartmouth, Jean McCormick, the UMASS Board of Trustees, Romney-appointed UMASS Prez Jack Wilson and Governor Patrick. Notably missing is almost any reason why they think a UMASS Law School, focusing on public law at reasonable in-state tuition, would be such a bad idea.

A lot of the editorial doesn't even make sense. For example:

But when there are agendas at work - and make no mistake there are - you just can’t keep a bad idea down.

Please, Boston Herald, pray tell, what "agendas" are there at work? UMASS Dartmouth wanting to become a more prestigious public school? The UMASS system wanting a law school? The agendas here seem to be of the noble variety.

The Herald goes on to bash this idea as a bad one, because it failed in 2005. Of course, the only reason why the law school failed to earn the votes last time is because BU, Northeastern, Suffolk and several other high-priced law schools screamed bloody murder. Seems they think a neighbor on the block that costs half as much (literally) may just put a dent into their profits. That was the real hidden "agenda" last time -- the agenda to stop a public law school, led by the private ones.

It only gets more absurd from there.

And the only thing that has changed since 2005 is the state of the Massachusetts economy. In case President Wilson hasn’t read the papers lately, the economy has tanked and it’s not getting any better very soon.

And that's a reason to oppose an accessible, affordable law school?

From there, the Herald goes on to distort the truth. They say the law school "basically wants to give itself away to UMASS." However, that's misleading at best. The law school wants to become part of a major university system so it has the increased resources to become academically competitive. UMASS wants a law school so it can be a more competitive major university system in this country. Herald Board: That's why they call this thing a "merger," jackasses.

The Herald then decides swim deeper, saying the state can't afford this.

Wilson is singing the same old song about what a wonderful asset this will be and how it will eventually make money for the system. That, of course, is predicated on it enrolling nearly twice as many students as the school now serves and that wouldn’t happen unless it got American Bar Association accreditation.

Which the University says it would do in a matter of years.

What Wilson and his enabler UMass/Dartmouth Chancellor Jean MacCormack don’t like to talk about is the millions of dollars it will cost to get ABA accreditation by upgrading the school’s facilities, library and its faculty.

Really? They don't like talking about it? Have ya asked them? The fact of the matter is that while this would cost the school some money, it would cost the state diddley squat. The university has the access to the cash to make this happen. They've had that cash for a long time. Making it happen will make the University a more prestigious public school across the entire country, which in turn would make more people want to go to it.

There are a lot of people in this state, many of them who probably buy ads in the Boston Herald, who are terrified of the UMASS system becoming the type of University system that you find in North Carolina, California and elsewhere: elite, public colleges that are affordable and accessible to in-state students. UMASS has already made many leaps and bounds, getting a law school and making relatively small investments in it would go a long way toward reaching the finish line. The real agenda here is keeping UMASS down. Unfortunately, the same forces that have been successful in that quest for so long are losing the public fight, which is probably why this Herald article tries so hard in its own deranged way at grasping for straws.

Deval's Economic Development

Good news.

Governor Deval Patrick’s administration will spend hundreds of millions of dollars this summer building roads and highway ramps for at least five struggling private developments - from the former Naval air station in Weymouth to Somerville’s Assembly Square - in hopes of jump-starting construction and the local economy.

The money, a combination of federal stimulus money and state funds, will not go directly to the private developers, but rather for public works that Patrick aides said they expect will make it easier for companies to arrange financing in otherwise tight credit markets. That, in turn, would kick off construction of the planned office parks, shopping centers, housing, and hotels that will create new jobs.

The better news is just where these projects are proposed -- these are places ripe for job growth, many of which have a particular need for good jobs.

Although more projects may be chosen later, the ones already approved include not only SouthField in Weymouth and Assembly Square, but a new business park in Fall River that will recruit biotech companies, the Westwood Station project, and Waterfront Square at Revere Beach.

I'm particularly excited about the Fall River and Revere projects. Revere's project will be right across the street from Wonderland. There's a Blue Line station right there and plenty of further development opportunity, quite likely in Wonderland itself (it is closing, after all), which may be spurned on by these investments. Fall River is just an economically depressed city - the family median income is around $25k. It needs those jobs desperately. The thing about Fall River (and New Bedford) that makes it a great place for entrepreneurs is that the property there is dirt cheap - way cheaper than the rest of the Massachusetts, cheaper than the Tri City area in NC that's been siphoning off some biotech jobs. It's also close enough to the Boston area that it still has access to recruiting the top talent in the US for biotech or other high-tech jobs, not to mention a great university next door (UMASS Dartmouth), as well as plenty of Universities in Rhode Island, in and near Providence.

Here's hoping two years from now we can see tangible results from these major economic developments. It's just a start, but it's an illustration of the fact that Deval Patrick and his administration are serious about making sure the economic success that Boston's enjoyed over the years will finally be distributed throughout the state, in all our gateway and former mill cities that have been struggling for decades.

What's Missing From Clyde Barrow's Resume?

I recently took a stroll along Clyde Barrow's online resume, Director of UMASS Dartmouth's relatively new Department of Public Policy program.

He lists his past 20+ years of work:

Professional Career

Director, Center for Policy Analysis, 1992 – present
UMass Dartmouth

Chair, Department of Policy Studies, 2005 - present
UMass Dartmouth

Chancellor Professor, Policy Studies, 2004 - present
UMass Dartmouth

Professor, Political Science
UMass Dartmouth, 1996 – 2003

Associate Professor, Political Science
UMass Dartmouth, 1990-1996

Assistant Professor, Political Science
UMass Dartmouth, 1987-1990

Visiting Assistant Professor, Political Science
Texas A&M University, 1985-1987

Visiting Assistant Professor, Social & Policy Sciences
University of Texas at San Antonio, 1984-1985

But leaves a few things out. Things that used to be there - as recently as 2007.

According to a copy of Barrow's resume that is attached to the CFPA's website, he was hired by the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head in 1995 to conduct what appears to be his first patron origin analysis at Foxwoods. In 1999, according to the CFPA's website and his resume, Barrow conducted a casino study for The Visions Group, which, according to a 1999 New Bedford Standard-Times article, was "a team of developers who hope to build a $300 million casino in Salisbury."

Last time I checked, one of the most important aspects to academia is integrity - which includes disclosing potential conflicts of interest. Revoking disclosure of work on a public resume when your work makes you a public figure in that field is intellectually dishonest, especially when that information was there before an embarrassing story in the media.

UMASS Shakeup Shakedown

Governor Patrick's shaking up the UMASS Board of Trustees, ousting current chair and Romney appointee, Steve Tocco, replacing him with what surely must be a compromise to get the whole thing done, current vice-chair and also Romney appointee, Robert Manning. However, while Manning was originally appointed by Romney, he doesn't come with the same baggage conficts of interest, such as Tocco's higher-ed lobbyist background.

Furthermore, Patrick's must be happy to have someone appointed to chair the board that he helped get there - and who would help defend any serious university reform coming out of Patrick's office. It's not inspiring that Manning voted against the proposed UMASS Dartmouth law school acquisition in the past, but I'd be at least hopeful Manning will switch votes if it comes up again. It's only a matter of time before there becomes a UMASS law school at Dartmouth (it just makes too much sense), no matter how much Suffolk, BU and Northeastern kick, scream and cry.

Finally, readers will note that this is actually an important development. The UMASS Board of Trustees is far more influential to the system than most similar boards across the country.

Deval's Good Idea: Remove Tocco

Let's get the Romney stench out of the UMASS system - something Governor Patrick is trying to do. There are all sorts of good reasons to get rid of Tocco, but the best is because Tocco's the sleazeball that orchestrated the ouster of everyone who supported a UMASS Dartmouth law school. Governor Patrick supports the law school; certainly, thousands in the South Coast (including me, when I was there) spoke to him personally about that issue. It's very important for the region - and state - to have an affordable and one day high-quality institution for public law, which the proposed school UMASS would merge with happens to specialize in. It would take a few years to bring the school up to par, but with a tuition set at $19,000 a year, it would open the doors to law school to millions in this state that would otherwise be unable to afford it.

I know, just what this state needs - more Esquires, right? Well, when their specializations would be in public defense and prosecution, it sounds good to me.

This Year, Let's Skip the Violence

The UMASS Dartmouth police have released their 'official plan' to combat fun after any playoff victories under the guise of, I don't know, rowdy behavior. Of course, they say that the World Series year resulted in $100,000 extra dollars in damages and police costs. Yet, $30,000 of that was sent to the town of Dartmouth to reimburse their coffers for police overtime costs. How much more of that 100k was spent to bring on a gazillion State Cops? Probably at least another 50-60k, because there were upwards of a hundred of them - each night. My guess is that all that "rowdy behavior" last time around resulted in less than 20k in actual damages, which may or may not have occurred if the police weren't acting like such tight-fisted ass... never mind.

Meanwhile, the cops were employing the same 'less lethal' tactics that resulted in an innocent girl being killed in Boston, rubber bullets galore. I personally know of at least one person that ended up going to the hospital because of the actions of those cops that night. That night they literally shot the messenger - the college newspaper's reporter, who was covering the story, was the one who ended up with huge welts at the hospital.

Why is it that large crowds of police officers tend to end in needless police brutality more often than not? Do we need to send our troops to Europe to learn how to handle masses of gathering people? Considering our First Amendment gives people the right to peaceably assemble, it sounds like an important priority. And if there just so happens to be a few arses on any given night, it doesn't give cops the right to swarm in and harm everyone.

To make sure a Red Sox victory celebration doesn't get out of hand, UMASS (and Boston) just needs a few patient officers patrolling the crowd and handling individual circumstances as they come up. Just because a few jerks start tipping a van doesn't mean you spray rubbers into the crowd - that will only serve to really make things dangerous. Just ask Victoria Snelgrove.

Oh, Yea, Trust This Man on Casinos!

Clyde Barrow: Professor of "I Love Casinos 101" at UMASS Dartmouth.

Thanks to a great blog from David, I found an even more important article from the Weekly Dig: "The argument for casinos ain't nothing but a mathquerade," the subtitle says. And you know what? It's true. The article - and David's blog - focuses on a man I've written about on several occasions, Clyde Barrow, a Professor from UMASS Dartmouth. He's the man, as David, the Weekly Dig and my last link points out, who's largely behind Patrick's casino plan. Just how close are Barrow and Patrick's plans? Here's the Dig:

Barrow's blueprint called for "three commercial resort casinos," to be situated in Suffolk Downs, southeastern Massachusetts and western Massachusetts. It promised that, collectively, the casinos would generate $1.5 billion in revenue and create 20,000 jobs. It recommended a 27 percent tax rate on gaming revenue, which would generate "over $400 million" in revenue for the state, half of which would be spent on local aid. It suggested that the state charge $600 million in casino licensing fees every 10 years. It also recommended that the casinos allocate 2 percent of their gross revenues to offset the costs of communities near the new casinos....

Patrick... deliver[ed] a gambling plan remarkably similar to Barrow's proposal: He recommended three casinos taxed at 27 percent, and said the state would reap $400 million in new tax revenues, $600 million in 10-year licensing fees, 20,000 jobs and a 2.5 percent allocation of gross funds to local communities.

Even more shocking is the fact that Patrick's staff put warning labels all over Barrow's casino report, which offered many of the suggestions Patrick went with. The staff's warning?

"As most of you know, the work of Professor Barrow and The Center for Policy Analysis at UMass Dartmouth is not without some controversy, and many opponents of expanded gaming question the rigor of the economic analysis and the independence of the organization given its pro-gaming recommendations. All that being said, we wanted to circulate the report for your convenience since some of you have seen mention of it in the news and had asked for a copy."

Shouldn't we trust that guy? Shouldn't we trust someone who's resume includes, according to the Weekly Dig, working for the Aquinnah Wampanoags Tribe of Gay Head? If that isn't enough, he was also commissioned by a group that wanted to build a $300 million dollar casino in Salisbury. Shockingly, though, not even some pro-casino people trust Barrow's methodology. As the Dig reports, the chairman of the Aquinnah Wampanoags at Gay Head, said Barrow's methodology is "long on assumptions that weren't really articulated." Ouch. Here's an important note to everyone: just because he works for UMASS Dartmouth, doesn't mean he's an honest broker of information. As much as I love my Alma Mater, that school (and region) is teaming with people who crave a South Coast casino and will do anything to get it. Barrow's just a convenient source to help their effort.

Unfortunately, help their effort, he has. Somehow, he's hoodwinked Governor Patrick - I wonder if our Governor knows about all of Clyde's past connections to casinos? (I bet by the end of the day, he will.) He's one of the media's go-to guys for pro-casino quotes, hiding behind his University position to make it sound as if he's a completely neutral figure in this debate. Um, no. Furthermore, his papers not only include dubious forms of data collection, but in their general praise of casinos, they ignore things like income redistribution, economic impact of addiction and the effects casinos have on local economies. How else could they so glowingly endorse casinos in Massachusetts? (They couldn't.)

Finally, to show how important this guy really is to the pro-casino forces, a lot of these pro-casino numbers people keep throwing around come directly from Clyde Barrow. Barrow's continued to claim that Bay Staters spend 1.1 billion a year in Connecticut's casinos. Scary that we're losing so much money? Well, only in the way that "Scary Movie" is after people read how he came up with those numbers. That movie became a major comedy satire hit - and so has, apparently, Dr. Clyde Barrow.

What he calls "patron origin analysis," I call "counting license plates." He's gone to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, counted the license plates in their lots and used that to determine how much Massachusetts citizens were spending in Connecticut. That's the source, as the Weekly Dig points out, of his 1.1 billion dollar figure. Because there are no local senior citizen groups that regularly take busses to Foxwoods, ever. And there's no way that local residents, who are twice as likely to be addicted (and addicts/frequent regulars account for 20% of a casino's profits), would ever screw skew the data.

David over at BMG, who's supported casinos all along, now seems like a skeptic.

Ugh. If totting up the number of out-of-state license plates at Foxwoods is really the only basis for estimates of how much money we're sending to Connecticut each year, then this is my stop -- I'm off the train.

Well, Mr. Kravitz, we're glad to have you. David went on to criticize Patrick's administration for not doing their homeworking on verifying the information they've completely trusted. They've done little to validate Barrow and others in their quest to see if casinos are right for Massachusetts. David is right - the Patrick administration's efforts aren't "good enough." In fact, the their efforts are downright bad. I'd blockquote the Dig more, but I've already reached my legal limit (3 paragraphs). Suffice it to say, the Patrick administration did no original investigation of its own - instead, they relied on the research of others. According to the Dig, they did "little to distinguish dubious casino-funded studies from other, more authoritative sources," which allowed Governor Patrick, "to ignore anything he didn't want to know."

That's not the Governor I worked so hard to elect. Casinos will change the Bay State forever. The administration owes it to the people of Massachusetts to do a comprehensive review that includes, for instance, a real price check on just what we're getting. The Dig's made it abundantly clear that review hasn't happened in any way, shape or form. This is truly the first real, major mistake of the Patrick Administration. Let's hope it's his last - and he changes course quick to correct it.

UMASS Making Changes Where it Matters Most

UMASS Dartmouth has some plans for big changes.

The Public Affairs Office is constantly working with the PublicationsOffice; Web Design; and Facilities, Planning and Construction to strengthen the UMass Dartmouth brand. This summer, our collective activities haveincluded new parking and building signage, new campus maps, updateuniversity style guide, and updated web sites.

By committing to standards for communicating with the campus and community through various media, we strengthen the university. Your understanding of the style guide is critical to this effort. Much research and design hasbeen invested in this effort.

No wonder parts of the campus have been shut down for fear that they'd collapse. They've got to stay focused on the pretty logos.

UMASS Casino Study Neglects to Mention...

Professor Barrow, of UMASS Dartmouth, has come out with a study that suggests Massachusetts would be best served - in generating income revenue - by allowing three casinos in the state, two of which would be operated by native tribes. Huh? Maybe Professor Barrow should read my blog, where I've repeated the very basic and simple fact that Massachusetts has almost no control over the volume of casinos built in this state: either we allow no casinos with slot machines, or the federally-recognized tribes in this state will have no real restrictions against the number they'd build.

Furthermore, the study goes on to suggest that the best locations for casinos in Massachusetts would be Boston, New Bedford and Springfield, yet tribes have no reason to be compelled into building them in any one particular area. I'd find it hard not to believe that the tribe from Martha's Vineyard wouldn't want to take advantage of the summer tourism (and attract a wholly new clientele) by building a casino on the island, perhaps in addition to building one in the Springfield or Boston area.

I rarely agree with the pro-casino side, but here's one quote where I do:

Mr. Ferson didn't dispute Dr. Barrow's findings, saying, "New Bedford would have been great." But Dr. Barrow's conclusions are "theoretical and hypothetical," Mr. Ferson said. "The tribe has to deal with the reality of putting the land package together, and that didn't come together."

Thanks Professor Barrow for an interesting read: next time, add a few real-world facts to your studies of casinos in Massachusetts. The only control over them is whether they'll exist or not - and that's where the conversation has to begin. Where that conversation should end is whether or not increased revenue from casinos is worth it to begin with: that 200-600 million a year in state revenue may barely pay off the state's infrastructural costs in these projects' constructions.

Patrick to "Take Over Review" of UMASS System

Governor Deval Patrick's educational task force will "take over the review" of the UMASS system, but recognizes President Jack Wilson and the Board of Trustees as the ultimate authority in making personnel changes.

Patrick's spokesman Kyle Sullivan said the Readiness Project is the "appropriate forum" for a review. "There is no need to duplicate efforts."He added, "nothing that we announce today or that we review over the next few months will take away from the authority of the president to make the personnel changes that he is empowered to make."

Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat, said taking control of the review is "a big step forward." He said he and other Lombardi supporters lobbied Patrick to step in.

Ryan's Take? Great news.

A number of groups, people and organizations were looking for Governor Patrick to step into the UMASS debate, but it seemed as if he wanted to focus on his current battles - like passing the Municipal Partnership Act - rather than step his feet into even more boiling water. By taking over the review process, but seeding ultimate authority to President Wilson on "personnel," Patrick is jumping in with two feet on the ground - sure, he's getting wet a little, but the water's luke warm. Come on in! Now that the UMASS media circus is over, this is a way to get involved that isn't stepping on anyone's feet. Furthermore, for the people who were afraid Wilson was going to bring wrack and ruin to the system, they can set their minds to peace. Wilson won't subvert this entire process and ignore the committee's principal decisions, especially given the fact that doing so could bring a more direct response from the Governor.

Ultimately, by having Patrick's committee reexamine Wilson's plans and examine the UMASS system itself, it will bring more legitimacy to the process. The big criticism against Wilson's announcements were the tactics involved in coming up with the decision - the planning was all behind closed doors, no one knew anything that was going on and a lot of big decisions were made without any real input. Now, Patrick's committee is going to have until March to investigate all aspects of the UMASS system - as a part of this state's entire public education system. Just as with any Patrick committee, I'm sure there will be lots of chance to gather input from a wide variety of sources involved.

Many of Wilson's goals are ideal: of course, UMASS should be streamlined. Of course, the system should be made more efficient. However, many of his proposals - such as making the President of the entire system also be the Chancellor of UMASS Amherst - don't seem to accomplish that. The President of the system and Chancellor of UMASS look like two heavy loads - loads that shouldn't go in the same wash. Furthermore, while each campus at UMASS should act as a part of the greater system, all of them also have their own character and should not be subservient to Amherst.

The Amherst campus is called the "flagship" by many, but that should have more to do with its actual size than academics. Indeed, many of the UMASS Campuses have programs that stand out beyond Amherst's versions of them - such as Dartmouth's Engineering and Nursing degrees. Changes to the system shouldn't make any of the campuses feel threatened in that regard. None of the campuses should be satellites to UMASS Amherst.

It's important that reform be done in a way that none of the state's Universities feel threatened or targeted. It's important that a vast majority of the faculty be behind the reforms, which means they'll need to be given the chance to weigh in. Students and alumni, too, should have the opportunity to make recommendations. It's amazing what students and alumni get that administrations on campuses don't. Governor Patrick's intervention here can only help calm the storm, especially at the Amherst campus, as well as give UMASS more time to create new and legitimate reforms that everyone, from students and faculty to President Wilson, can get behind.

Health Benefits at Cities and Towns

The New Bedford Standard Times wrote an editorial today on health benefits at South Coast municipalities that was high in opinion, light in fact. I figured the editorial would suggest towns and cities shift the plans from being town based to joining the state plan, as both Speaker DiMasi and Governor Patrick have suggested in varying degrees. While the state plans seem very good and are a great deal cheaper, many unions are wary of leaving the current status quo - which is a mistake. Yet, that's not what the editorial was about.

Cities and towns can no longer procrastinate reforming their salary and benefit structures. When the public sees 90 percent of a worker's health benefits covered by tax dollars, they don't care that the employee might be accepting a lower salary than he or she could make in the private sector.

Really? 90%? What towns offer those generous benefits in the South Coast?

The paper never says. Instead, this is what we're offered:

Two SouthCoast towns pay 90 percent of the cost of an HMO plan, he said, but he would not name names.

Well, geez, that's informative. The only municipality we really learn about is New Bedford, which pays 75% of the health benefits - what the paper said, at an earlier point, was around average for private businesses.

Anyone else find anything wrong with this?

Well, the pattern is repeated:

They should also rethink what Mr. Corcoran described as the historic justification for sweet public benefits packages: the assumption that a public employee sacrifices the higher salary he or she could make in the private sector.

Those days may be gone, at least in some fields. High-level public workers on the SouthCoast often make more than $90,000.

Well, yes, a high level worker may make $90,000 in Dartmouth - but there are also high level business executives or entrepreneurs living in Dartmouth probably earning several million dollars a year. More importantly, the vast majority of public workers in the South Coast area make far less than $90,000 - the vast majority less than half that sum. If most public employees were making close to $90,000 grand, the paper may have a point. Unfortunately, the paper doesn't.

Deval at Dartmouth: Being the Governor We Elected

This quote pretty much sums up why I voted for the guy.

Michael J. Gagne, the town's executive administrator, said it marked the first time in his 27 years in local government that a governor came to Dartmouth to discuss local issues and answer questions.

Our Governor came to Dartmouth to spend some time with local elected leaders to discuss local problems. Imagine that? Before I read the entire article, I commented to my roommate, "Can you ever imagine Mitt Romney - or any Bay State Republican Governor - doing that?" Then, about ten seconds later, I laughed: according to Michael Gagne, the answer would be an authoritative NO!

We, the voters, elected Deval Patrick for two reasons: to actually show up and listen to what's going on, instead of just playing Mr. Governor and showing up for photo ops during disasters, and to come up with innovative ideas to actually - you know - solve problems (and use his bully pulpit to actually help pass them). That means a Governor has to stay in tune with the people and then actually do something about what they have to say.

Fortunately, at Dartmouth, Governor Patrick did both things. He's come to offer what help and services he can to a town struggling to pay the bills (and a relatively affluent one at that) and he just so happens to have an idea that could help the situation: his Municipal Partnership Act.

The plan includes several measures that are attractive to Dartmouth officials, including a 2 percent local meals tax option that would translate to $1.1 million in new revenue for the town.

Dartmouth is also eyeing an increase in the hotel and motel room tax and the removal of the 1915 telecommunications tax exemption.

But the governor said there are other components to his plan that would help Dartmouth and other communities.

They would be eligible to transfer their pension plans and group insurance programs into the state system under the governor's proposal.

Imagine that? A 2% tax - which would be optional for Dartmouth - could help the town raise upwards of $1.1 million dollars. For a town of a little more than 30,000 people, that's a lot of money. Most importantly, it's not an unfair tax: my dinner tonight at Texas Roadhouse would have cost 76 cents more - something even I can afford.

Sort of like a sappy commercial: for just 76 cents a day, little children in Dartmouth will get to go to school and continue to learn instruments and everything! Wow!

The Municipal Partnership Act clearly won't solve every problem, but it's step one in revamping Massachusetts for the 21st Century. If Governor Patrick's recent visit to Dartmouth is any indication, steps two and three will be right on their way as soon as the Municipal Partnership Act is passed.

Scandal at UMASS

I hereby deem this mess at UMASS a scandal. Everyone needs to go click that link and read that article - it's the best one I've read from the Boston Globe in a very, very long time. It's funny, too, because UMASS President Jack Wilson seemed to be wanting a new job this whole time: head of Amherst and the entire system. If the professors at UMASS Amherst have their way - the one's who voted No Confidence with him in the room by a margin of more than 200 to 1 - he'll be getting that new job very shortly, a la President Summers. In fact, my sources at UMASS Dartmouth have dug up a letter reported to be from Mr. Wilson.

Dear Trustees, Faculty, Staff, Parents, Voters, Construction Workers, Former Politicians, Current Politicians, Janitors, Lunch Ladies, Mitt Romney and ah, yea, maybe students...

I have notified the UMASS Board of Trustees today that, in leau of controlling the universe entire system's every job, I'll merely accept control of just Amherst, the entire UMASS system and other such things - provided that I also get control of Worcerster and Boston and maybe the schools that aren't included in the UMASS System (and probably some high schools as well, they call the head of Boston Latin a Dean, right? I want that title too!). However, no one should worry, you won't have to call me Chancellor at Worcester and Boston.... "Mr. President/Chancellor" will suffice.

People also tell me that there's this thing called "UMASS Dartmouth," but that's a vicious rumor I can't confirm. If it's true, I'll let that person who already is in "control" there keep it - because the South Coast is a mysterious place and I can't really be expected to go there, now can I? Do they even make maps to get there? Can I call triple A? Furthermore, Lowell's just been given to soon-to-be President Marty Meehan and he scares me, so I'll leave him alone too.

Now, rumor has it that at a recent meeting at UMASS Amherst, Professors gave me a 214 to 1 vote of "No Confidence." I care very deeply about the people at UMASS Amherst, that's why I want to control them and make all the other campuses irrelevant focus my time there. I can neither confirm nor deny what that vote actually was about, because I don't listen to faculty, but I'm sure it isn't possible that they really voted against me. After all, I was put in place by the Great Mitt Romney - and everyone just loves him! Seriously, that guy knows what he's doing! He should be President of the United States or something. Then, maybe I could get an even better job!

Anyway, it's very important to me that the Faculty, Staff, Parents, Voters, Construction Workers, Former Politicians, Current Politicians, Janitors, Lunch Ladies, Mitt Romney and ah, yea, maybe students neighbors know that I care deeply about the UMASS Amherst campus. I only want what is best for it. That's why I think we need to oust a guy who's clearly done a good job there. If he keeps doing well, the people of Massachusetts will come to have certain expectations there - and if that happens and they're not met, it may not look pretty. Therefore, I want to do a great job at making sure that doesn't happen.

Some people have "No Confidence" in me. I say hogwash! The only person that matters is me and I have plenty of confidence in that person. It's actually a really great philosophy in life - more people should try it, well, if they actually mattered. Or were me. That's why I just want to inform everyone that I'm here for the long haul - which shall be defined as "when people rise up and loudly call for my resignation." That could NEVER happen - because, like I've been trying to say this whole time - I only have the best of intentions and want to do a great job as head of every Tom, Dick and Harry at UMASS. In fact, I don't think merely being a President and Chancellor is enough. I should be a Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, Administrator, Janitor and Lunch Lady as well.

Sincerely,

President and Wanna-Be Chancellor, Lunch Lady Jack Wilson

P.S. Please don't fire me.

P.P.S. Pretty please!

P.P.P.S. With a cherry on top!

The Globe Published My Letter

The second letter of mine that they've published, this one's on UMASS Dartmouth. Suffice it to say, there's plenty of room for repairs and new buildings on the Dartmouth campus - something a recent Globe article ignored. I appreciate the Globe's original story - and especially the fact that it printed my letter. UMASS Dartmouth often seems like the ignored child, but we have the best engineering and nursing programs in the entire system, as well as some of the strongest programs in areas like art, art education, polisci and a wide assortment of other areas. With a whole host of Master's programs and a growing number of Doctorates, it's important that the infrastructure of our school improve to meet the demands being placed on that. I think the Globe gets that and I do expect more coverage in the future.

UMASS Bill More Daunting Than It Looks

The Boston Globe wrote an article detailing all the repair needs at UMASS Amherst, but they titled it as only UMASS. Well, if it's UMASS repair costs we're talking about, why not throw in the other schools? I couldn't put a price tag on the repairs needs at UMASS Dartmouth, Boston and Lowell, but surely they're in the hundreds of millions. At UMASS alone, part of the science and technology building is condemned - literally. Luckily, it was only the commuter area - and the school doesn't really care about them anyway. They added a table and a few chairs in the hall way for 5,000 plus commuting students who attend UMASS Dartmouth.

The auditorium at UMASS Dartmouth has been broken almost the entire year. How does an auditorium break, one asks? Well, I'll tell you: the lighting is, to put it mildly, fucked up. The "House Lights" are fried and pretty much can't be fixed (warning: link temporary, I'll try to remember to fix it when it goes bad). From the University newspaper, the Torch:

The UMass Dartmouth Main Auditorium is host to many events: Theatre Company and 20 Cent Fiction both put on all their theatrical productions, CAB puts on both Mr. and Mrs. UMD and a host of other organizations hold a variety of events throughout the year — it was even the location for a gubernatorial forum before this year’s election. Every single one of these events for the past couple of decades has run under the glow of an inadequate lighting system.

According to an anonymous source from within the UMD auditorium staff, the lighting system
that is currently utilized has been in use since the auditorium’s birth over forty years ago. “The system was designed to last for twenty years, and it’s been in use for forty,” the source claims. “It finally ended up dying in October.”

The system dying means that the lights themselves have no power, and the dimmers for the lights are broken.

In order to compensate for this outdated setup, portable systems have been purchased to power the auditorium. These portable SAT(short for satellite) packs “were originally purchased as a backup” and since have become the primary source of power.

Well, I can be a second source on that. It's broken. Everyone in CAB, 20 Cent and the Theatre Company has known that for a year. The Theatre Company first realized it when they staged Anne Frank in the fall - and had to be content to do the production with the house lights on. Imagine going to a movie where they didn't dim the lights? No one was happy, including the audience.

They got the backups working for Moby Dick, but those aren't a permanent solution. They're already being fried. It's like driving with a spare tire: they don't last very long. They were designed to work at room temperature, but it reaches 120 degrees where they're situated. Not to mention, since they weren't designed for long use, they're not exactly safe - the picture in the Torch is of the fuse actually melting the cords to the backup lights.

The good news is that if the building burned down, we'd get a new one... even if in a few years. Sadly, at the rate things are going, it's not all that unlikely.

The source expressed fear of this situation saying “before this [the cords melting] happened, a circuit breaker should have tripped...but it didn’t.” The only reason the problem was noticed is because “a SAT pack wasn’t working and we didn’t know why.” It’s unknown if the cord melted due to an electrical fire, or if it was just the heat of the energy flowing through it.

The fix? $300,000 and 2-3 months, months were all events would have to be cancelled. Imagine if the school had to tell the gubernatorial candidates during the debate last year, "sorry guys, our lights are broken, we can't do this?" Sadly, that was almost the case. Oh, and speaking of repair costs, did I mention the University is damn near falling apart and each academic building should be replaced within 10-15 years? Just remember, the cost of building a university is billions, but the return on the investment is priceless.

7 Stitches to Glory

My show opens tonight, the night after a very good dress rehearsal. However, the dress rehearsal didn't end so well - look what happened during the bows sequence at the end.

Yet, the show must go on. I have no idea what I'm going to be doing for make up, but there's no good way to hide that thing.

A Day of Silence

Today is the Day of Silence, a day mainly meant for young glbt people and allies to protest for an equal voice at the table. While I am not one to normally think "silence" is the right message, speaking (or not speaking, in this case) in unity can be a very powerful device. I decided to participate this year for the first time ever and in my first class of the day, it actually made a difference. The professor decided to have a moment of silence for the entire class after I passed her the standard note card informing her I was participating and then proceeded to say anyone who wanted to should turn mute with a purpose.

The interesting thing about the Day of Silence is the fact that - if it works - it's not silent at all. It can be very loud and make an impact. The more people who participate, the stronger and clearer that message will be. So, if anyone is able to be silent until 5pm tonight (when the Day of Silence ends), do it. If you can't stay silent, stand up for civil rights at least once today. We're facing a critical period in Massachusetts - the waning weeks before the next Constitutional Convention - and we need everyone on our side strong and active in their convictions. We need to help make an effort to recruit new allies in the efforts of securing civil liberties for all. Today is a day that can make an impact.

Support the Arts by Showing Up

For some reason, during rehearsals for the show I'm in, I've noticed just how much work is actually put into "art" - be it theatre, galleries or whatever. In my case, theatre, there's not just all the (considerable) work actors and actresses put in - but also people who help with all the technical aspects, people who help creating costumes and sets and even people who show up to help usher and otherwise help in some capacity. It wouldn't be exaggerating to say that over 1,000 man hours has been put into the musical I'm in - Moby Dick - and we're just a college theatre company. A similar amount of time was probably spent at any reader's nearest high school production. It's a lot of effort, but there's one thing that makes it all worth it: people showing up.

One of the interesting things about theater at a non-professional level is that it's still tremendously expensive to produce. Despite the fact that no profits are made, rights to a particular show don't come cheap. Costumes and sets take serious cash. In fact, even if every show sold out at my production of Moby Dick (and it won't), the UMASS Dartmouth Theatre Company may just break even. When I did Urinetown: the Musical, which was a professional-calibre show and received overwhelmingly positive reviews, the production was thousands in the red - and it was by all means a reasonably cheap show to put on (our set was fairly inexpensive and only a handful of costumes needed to be rented).

There are two reasons for the redline: there aren't nearly as many people going to these events as one would like - even when we advertise big time, put on a great show and get great reviews. The second is we consider breaking even a luxury: the University is very generous to the Theatre Company, so we're able to have very low-cost tickets. It's just nice to have people show up, but that seems like a tremendously hard thing to do. At $3 and $4 dollars for student tickets and $10 for adults, I don't get it. Why not show up?

Seriously, why don't people who live in a community not show up to their local college or high school production? They're often very good. When I was in high school, our musical productions were about as good as they are at UMASS Dartmouth - and they're pretty darn good here. Tickets are cheap, less than going to the movies or going out to the 99. Is it just that people don't know when these shows are, despite the massive attempts at advertising? Is it that people are out of practice in actually caring about community events? The same could be said for local artists putting on some kind of show, be they dancers, photographers or painters.

People often complain about a lack of activities, but there's so much more going on if people would ever consider getting out of their typical mold. Society would be a better place if more people showed up. Everyone would have more fun, from the audience to the people spending all their time rehearsing, painting or doing whatever. Furthermore, a larger audience would encourage more artistic endeavors and community events - and diversify what's already there. A sense of community is something seriously lacking in America, but it's only lacking because people aren't taking advantage of what's already here and present.

South Coast Commuter Rail is Happening';

Apparently, the Governor stopped by UMASS Dartmouth today - and I missed him! I saw some signs saying "Governor's Parking Space" earlier this morning literally across the street from my dorm, which made me think it had to refer to good ol' Deval - and I was right. I figured he'd be coming around noon, but couldn't find anything to confirm any specific time on massgov or in emails - which was a disappointment.

Anyway, the discussion was on the South Coast Commuter Rail project, something Deval Patrick unveiled today right here at UMASS.

Trains would be rolling to Fall River and New Bedford by December 2016 — nearly a decade from now — under a commuter rail plan Gov. Deval Patrick will announce at UMass Dartmouth today, according to sources familiar with a private briefing by the state's transportation secretary.

Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen also gave SouthCoast lawmakers a new price tag on the proposed extension of the MBTA's Stoughton Line, which originates at South Station in Boston: a whopping $1.4 billion. Previous estimates on the cost of extending rail to SouthCoast were $800 million to $1 billion.

The key to bringing the train to New Bedford and Fall River will be finding a source of money for the project, something Gov. Patrick may elaborate on when he gives a presentation to local leaders at 10 a.m. today at UMass Dartmouth's Woodland Commons Building.

Apparently, I should have read South Coast Today before I left for my first class, because I could have actually gone. Regardless, if anyone knows what happened, please inform readers in the comments. A ten-year time table is half that of Governor Patrick's predecessor. This speech seems as if it was a big deal - there were three television trucks (NECN, Channel 4, Channel 7) still there when I walked by again slightly before noon. Did the Governor reveal anything about funding?