Some interesting ideas I've come across that I thought might be good for Boston and MA:
1) Drunk driving license plates: If someone is convicted of being a drunk driver the Registry will for a number of years make them register their car with license plates that indicate they are drunk drivers. Positives: public humiliation will hopefully be a deterrent, other drivers can be more aware of them. Negatives: The rich can set up trusts and corporations to get around this.
2) If a student drops out of high school they lose their license to drive. They can not receive a license unless they are in school, or have passed a GED.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Scuttlebutt among the no power council
Word on the street is that Larry Dicara will resign from the board that advises on salary compensation. I loved Mike Ross's quote about how any person qualified to advise on those matters already would have business with the city. It reminds me of those maps "a Bostonian's view of the world" that have a Big Boston, slightly big Cambridge, tinier New York, and a far off California, china, etc....
Somehow, I personally believe that in Boston there is professional whose job is to know about salary compensation who doesn't have his hand in as many pies as Larry Dicara does at City Hall. Many of the Big Accounting firms have people whose job it is to assess salaries. The world of Boston does not revolve around City Hall, it puts up with it getting in the way of doing good things in business and in the private sector way too often.
Half an hour before the city council was going to have its hearing on salary increases it cancelled it. What was that all about??? Word is that the city council is afraid of the state ethics commission. I'm not sure why.
I am trying to get a street permit for our neighborhood associations annual fair. I called our neighborhood liason, who didn't get back to me for over a week, so I called again. He gave me the name of whom I had to call.
I called them, and they told me they were the wrong person, and they told me who to call.
I called them, and they told me they were the wrong person, and they told me who to call.
I called them, and they told me they were the wrong person, and they told me who to call.
I called them, and they said to write a letter.
What we should do, is what a neighborhood group in Dorchester did last year. They were unhappy with the Mayor about something, so they just didn't even bother getting a permit and shut down three streets on their own. A lot of people come to that annual picnic, so they were a bit apprehensive but they figured the Mayor would show up.
Sure enough he did (since it was an election year) and nothing happened. Why play by the rules? City Hall doesn't, and they only enforce ones that help them personally. So much for the rule of law....and we wonder what message that sends to our kids and teens, and wonder why they don't talk to the authorities.
Somehow, I personally believe that in Boston there is professional whose job is to know about salary compensation who doesn't have his hand in as many pies as Larry Dicara does at City Hall. Many of the Big Accounting firms have people whose job it is to assess salaries. The world of Boston does not revolve around City Hall, it puts up with it getting in the way of doing good things in business and in the private sector way too often.
Half an hour before the city council was going to have its hearing on salary increases it cancelled it. What was that all about??? Word is that the city council is afraid of the state ethics commission. I'm not sure why.
I am trying to get a street permit for our neighborhood associations annual fair. I called our neighborhood liason, who didn't get back to me for over a week, so I called again. He gave me the name of whom I had to call.
I called them, and they told me they were the wrong person, and they told me who to call.
I called them, and they told me they were the wrong person, and they told me who to call.
I called them, and they told me they were the wrong person, and they told me who to call.
I called them, and they said to write a letter.
What we should do, is what a neighborhood group in Dorchester did last year. They were unhappy with the Mayor about something, so they just didn't even bother getting a permit and shut down three streets on their own. A lot of people come to that annual picnic, so they were a bit apprehensive but they figured the Mayor would show up.
Sure enough he did (since it was an election year) and nothing happened. Why play by the rules? City Hall doesn't, and they only enforce ones that help them personally. So much for the rule of law....and we wonder what message that sends to our kids and teens, and wonder why they don't talk to the authorities.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Going's on, opening day
didn't get to goto opening day today, down in new orleans, but the sox won there is hope.
Nice to see the politicians burying their heads in the sand and circling the wagons:
Tobin "nitpicking", Flaherty: " judges make mistakes, we'll see if there are any appellate issues"
Here's a prediction: In a million years, Flaherty & Co. won't appeal this decision, they want it gone and buried. They are guilty and they know it. If Flaherty appeals this decision, I will personally call him up and offer to write a check for $1000 to his favorite charity. As the judge noted, there is no legal basis for their arguments.
Had a nice talk with Michael Jonas, in our conversation it came up about the role of the media. I had the same conversation with an ex-globe writer a couple days ago. The Globe just is not the paper it once was. Why did citizens bring suit to get access, that is the media's job. In year's gone by, the editors would fight these fights, now they acquiesce to the powers that be. We needed an affadavit from one of the reporters about what they had seen, and although he was willing, the paper's lawyers refused to allow him to write an affadavit just about what he had seen. We live in scary times when the press is afraid of the powers that be.
Then they feel better about themselves by mocking politicians, such as today's Globe article about the candidates for Scappiccio's seat. My hat is off to all of them for going out and collecting the signatures and trying to make a difference. But no, the Globe didn't really delve into any of the issues, they just wrote a human interest piece trying to paint some of them as wacky.
As TR wrote, it is easy to sit on the sidelines but the true champions are those that take the risk and get involved.
I've been a bit down lately, my baseball team has had a number of equipment items stolen, both Clara and I had our cars broken into and stuff stolen, murder 200 feet out our backyard, and one of my workers in New Orleans was beaten up and robbed last Friday. It is sad to see the criminal element returning to Nola. It is palpable, tangible. There are jobs with every business down here, what type of person robs in a city that has already had almost everything taken.??? It really gets to me, and I start feeling about not caring about my fellow man, and just trying to do the best for your immediate family and friends. But in my heart, I feel that myopic attitude eventually leads to the type of quagmire that is the middle east. But it is hard sometimes.
On a positive note, we've started practicing with my defending champion Giants. One of the things I love about coaching 6 to 10 year olds, is there is always something new. This year I have a kid that can throw with both his left and right hands, BUT,....he can't catch with either one!!!
Also, nice talk with Matt O'Malley. He is working for Andrea Cabral on legislative matters, and is not the campaign manager for Mr. Ryan running for Scappiccio's seat. It was incorrectly reported in some papers.
My doctor, the incredibly competent dr. heyward has given me a clean bill of health! woohooo!
Think BIG!!
Nice to see the politicians burying their heads in the sand and circling the wagons:
Tobin "nitpicking", Flaherty: " judges make mistakes, we'll see if there are any appellate issues"
Here's a prediction: In a million years, Flaherty & Co. won't appeal this decision, they want it gone and buried. They are guilty and they know it. If Flaherty appeals this decision, I will personally call him up and offer to write a check for $1000 to his favorite charity. As the judge noted, there is no legal basis for their arguments.
Had a nice talk with Michael Jonas, in our conversation it came up about the role of the media. I had the same conversation with an ex-globe writer a couple days ago. The Globe just is not the paper it once was. Why did citizens bring suit to get access, that is the media's job. In year's gone by, the editors would fight these fights, now they acquiesce to the powers that be. We needed an affadavit from one of the reporters about what they had seen, and although he was willing, the paper's lawyers refused to allow him to write an affadavit just about what he had seen. We live in scary times when the press is afraid of the powers that be.
Then they feel better about themselves by mocking politicians, such as today's Globe article about the candidates for Scappiccio's seat. My hat is off to all of them for going out and collecting the signatures and trying to make a difference. But no, the Globe didn't really delve into any of the issues, they just wrote a human interest piece trying to paint some of them as wacky.
As TR wrote, it is easy to sit on the sidelines but the true champions are those that take the risk and get involved.
I've been a bit down lately, my baseball team has had a number of equipment items stolen, both Clara and I had our cars broken into and stuff stolen, murder 200 feet out our backyard, and one of my workers in New Orleans was beaten up and robbed last Friday. It is sad to see the criminal element returning to Nola. It is palpable, tangible. There are jobs with every business down here, what type of person robs in a city that has already had almost everything taken.??? It really gets to me, and I start feeling about not caring about my fellow man, and just trying to do the best for your immediate family and friends. But in my heart, I feel that myopic attitude eventually leads to the type of quagmire that is the middle east. But it is hard sometimes.
On a positive note, we've started practicing with my defending champion Giants. One of the things I love about coaching 6 to 10 year olds, is there is always something new. This year I have a kid that can throw with both his left and right hands, BUT,....he can't catch with either one!!!
Also, nice talk with Matt O'Malley. He is working for Andrea Cabral on legislative matters, and is not the campaign manager for Mr. Ryan running for Scappiccio's seat. It was incorrectly reported in some papers.
My doctor, the incredibly competent dr. heyward has given me a clean bill of health! woohooo!
Think BIG!!
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