The Mayor is running... Pike robbery

Got my invitation to donate to the Mayor's next election campaign. In her message, she states she is working on economic development but we still don't have marijuana retails shops open here. The Cannabis Commission released data that show sales of almost 1/2 billion dollars in sales in Mass. Not a dime of that was in the Ham.

The robbery at the Starbucks on the Pike made front page news with a picture of a masked man holding a gun, but there's no way to identify him or her. The MWDN reported that the perpetrator was seen getting into a black SUV on Audrea Road, it's off Woodland and Brooke. I drove over there today and found a small parking lot, a dozen employee cars, trailers, trash and an open gate to the Pike.
I was under the impression that the Pike had to have fencing along the road so people could not gain access to the Pike. The area seems a perfect spot for the criminally intended to rob the places and an easy getaway route.

More recyling tips for the new year

We thought it would be an appropriate time do produce another recycling do's and don't s show with Stephen Sarnosky from the DPW.

It will air on AF TV on the 26th at 11AM but you don't have to wait to see it.
 https://videoplayer.telvue.com/player/0xevl1Y-G4MlrcS7VDCjMf9uhAElnooJ/media/533351?autostart=false&showtabssearch=true

Cops going to the State Police, Planning Board Loomis leaving

I read today from the Source, 4 cops are leaving for the State Police. Two of the 4 are resource officers. I wonder how they all feel about working for such a corrupt State agency... do they even care? or is it just a chance at bigger pay checks and how much they can get away with?


Leaving for the State Police academy are:

• Detective Francis Torres

• Officer Eric Hayes

• Officer Steven O’Rourke

• Officer Scott Lucas

The  City stands to lose someone with extensive historical planning board knowledge with Ms. Loomis leaving for Lexington. I read a rumor that the Mayor may have had a chance to keep Loomis in the ED department.

Another Trooper indicted for another fraud scheme.

Matt Rocheleau from the Globe writes in today's paper, former State Police Trooper Lieutenant  David Andrade of Westport, who was in charge of the Troop D Dartmouth Barracks, collected 11k worth of paid time off which he was not entitled to, according to AG Healey's office.
This current scheme has to do with holiday-related pay entries of supervisors holding similiar positions from a different group.
The former Trooper was defrauding the State months after the investigation started by the Fed's. His salary last year was around 192k, including 16k in overtime in 2018. He is collecting his retirement of 87k and started working for the agency in 1996.
According to the Ag's office, Andrade falsified entries on his attendance calendars to make it look like he was working on the days he took off.
The new Colonel Mason said they have instituted an explicit requirement that payroll entries can only be approved by a person of equal to or a higher rank.

This new policy makes no sense since we know that high ranking officers approved the fraud to begin with.

Some concerning Mass State news

while I wait for the vote... I thought I'd share a few things that will make you shake your head.
The State agency in charge of issuing state licenses (Division of Professional Licensure), has issued licenses to various people with serious criminal records and even registered sex offenders.
I guess we have to do our own backround checks on people we let in the house.

Our own Suzanne Bump has come out and openly criticized the Governor for not providing enough cyber security to the DOR (Dept of Revenue) to protect of of our sensitive informtion. There's legislation filed that would direct 600 million to IT infrustrucure.

We say good bye to Colonel Kilpin. She gets a nice 6 figure retirement, after 25 years and walks away with 82k in unused sick and vacation time

"Move to strike the last word"

If anyone has been watching the hearing today, please say why you think the two party control is doing us any good.
I'm shocked at what they are doing... ingoring the plain facts and not willing to acept the truth.
Why have we let them do this to our country?

Our Goverment lying about the Afghan war

The NY Times reviewed thousands of pages of documents detailing the war in Afghanistan which concludes that like another unpopular war (Vietnam) high ranking officials have hid the mis-steps and failures of the war, while saying to the public, we were winning the war.
Since 2001, 2,200 US troops have been killed. More than 50K Afghan security forces have been killed.
The US has spent 1 TRILLION dollars, 133 billion for reconstruction, 83 Billion of training army and police forces.
The similarities to the Vietnam conflict are striking as it was only later after thousands had died and thousands wounded did Americans get the truth that the war was un-winable.
No wonder why many Americans don't believe a word that comes from our elected leaders.

Jim Pillsbury's 9th annual Holiday Special

Tune in today at 6PM or on the 11th at 7:30 PM to see Santa and Mrs Claus, New Sound Assembly Chorus and Women of Note Chorus along with a bunch of adorable children. This is produced by professionals and local volunteers and is without commercials.  Great whole family entertainment.

RCN Channel 3, Verizon Channel 43, and Comcast Channel 9.

Also on demand at:

 

 https://videoplayer.telvue.com/…/994DtmGEsi0V…/media/528748…

no more plastic bags in 2021... 10 cents per paper bag

FRAMINGHAM – The Framingham City Council passed a bag ordinance that will charge 10 cents for paper bags at stores in the City, and ban all plastic bags.

The vote was 10-1. District 4 City Councilor Mike Cannon was the lone vote against. He chairs the City Council’s Economic Development subcommittee.

The driver for the bag ordinance was District 8 City Councilor Judith Grove, who chairs the City Council’s environmental subcommittee and an Environmental Task Force.

The new bag ordinance will go into effect on January 1, 2021.

The new law bans all plastic bags except for produce bags at retail and grocery stores. The new ordinance does not apply to restaurants, who use takeout bags.

Town Meeting passed a thin-film single-use bag ban that began January 1, 2018.

But since that was implemented, Councilor Grove has been advocated for adding a fee for paper bags to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags to stores when they shop.

The new ordinance approved Tuesday night adds a 10 cents per bag fee for paper bags. The fee will go to the retailer.

New ordinance “mandates that stores shall make available for purchase a reusable checkout bag or recyclable paper bag for a charge of no less than $0.10.”

The ordinance also mandates “all moneys (sic) collected pursuant to this section shall be retained by the store.”

District 3 City Councilor suggested an amendment to the ordinance that allowed for those on government assistance to be exempt from the 10 cents per bag fee. The amendment passed.

City Council Chair Dennis Giombetti requested an amendment to start the new ordinance in 2021 as opposed to July 1, 2020, to allow time for a full education plan for residents and businesses. The amendment passed.

Work on this new bag ordinance started earlier this year.

The Environmental Task Force was created to evaluate the City of Framingham’s Plastic Bag Reduction Bylaw for the purpose of determining if the bylaw is having its intended effect, and to propose to the Mayor and City Council any changes to the existing bylaw.

The 7-member Environmental Task Force began its evaluation in February of 2019 and completed its evaluation in June of 2019.

Environmental Task Force Members included the City’s Recycling Coordinator Stephen Sarnosky Councilor Judith Grove, Councilor Margareth Shepard, the City’s Sustainability Coordinator Shawn Lutz, Adam DiPersio from the Framingham Public Health Department; James DeMeo, from Framingham Inspectional Services; and Larry Stoodt, a Framingham resident and environmental advocate

ME's office continues to lose credibility

Thank Matt Stout from the Globe for uncovering this latest blunder.

Despite fabricating degree, top official in medical examiner’s office promoted back into management

By Matt Stout Globe Staff,December 4, 2019, 8:35 p.m.

A top official in the state medical examiner’s office, who was demoted last year amid revelations she claimed to have a psychology degree she never earned, has been promoted to a management role overseeing staff across the state for the agency, and at a higher salary than before she was downgraded.

Lisa Riccobene — a handpicked top aide to Dr. Mindy Hull, the state’s chief medical examiner — was last month named the agency’s chief administrative officer. She supervises support staff in all of the agency’s facilities, including its Boston headquarters.

The new title, which she assumed in early November, closely mirrors the one Riccobene held before state officials last year suspended and demoted her to what they called a non-supervisory role. It came after the Globe reported that she claimed to have a master’s degree from Northeastern University, though the school had no record of it.

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At $115,000 a year, Riccobene’s new salary is actually higher than the $112,000 she previously made as the director of administrative services for the agency, which is responsible for investigating violent and unexplained deaths throughout the state.