News opinion 2008-06-09 Andanh.com

Amesbury misses opportunity to save money Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:30:00 EDT
There's no magic bullet to fix the money problems that local communities face, but there's at least one solution that can bring real savings.
It's called the Group Insurance Commission, or GIC. It's a state health insurance program that Gov. Deval Patrick opened up last year to local governments. Why? Because it offers them a chance to save money on health insurance.

As I See It: Gimme a break! Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:29:00 EDT
I don't know why I am even asking for your opinion. It's none of your business, anyways. But, heck, I need some friendly advice on this one. Would you give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down on this? No need for actual correspondence. Just think it. I'll get the message.

Letter: We are Byfield proud! Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:28:00 EDT
To the editor:
Quintessentially homegrown, the 10th annual Byfield Days Celebration delivered food, games, musical entertainment and a whole lot of fun for the families and friends of the Byfield community.

Letter: Lions Club supports many worthy causes, charities Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:27:00 EDT
To the editor:
Newburyport Lions Club closes out their fiscal year (2007-2008) with the following donations to worthy causes and charities:
Yankee Homecoming Fashion Show 2007; donated food for Air Force Band at Yankee Homecoming Festival 2007; donated food to Salvation Army; Joan Purdy benefit dance; clean up park for Newburyport library; free eye exams and glasses for needy patients; donation to Salvation Army for Thanksgiving dinners; Bresnahan School "Caring Community Fund"; Pioneer League Softball Team; Red Stocking program at Community Service; Hope Community Church; sponsored free community Thanksgiving Dinner; two NHS scholarships; Lazarus House for Lawrence fire victims.

Letter: Thanks for helping with Trav's Trail Run Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:26:00 EDT
To the editor:
On Sunday, May 18, the eighth annual Trav's Trail Run was run at Maudslay State Park on the 3-mile Travis Landreth Cross Country Course. Travis was a Newburyport High All-Scholastic distance runner, an All-American at UConn and a member of multiple national teams. He was training with the NIKE-sponsored Farm Team in California, while pursuing his dream of becoming an Olympian at the time of his death. Travis was an inspiration to all who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Bill Plante's North Shore: The challenge is to hold on to Hillary's supporters Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:33:00 EDT
"I thought you'd be a no-show again," Big Freddy said as I joined him after missing him last week.
"Had the pip," I said.
"Ah, the pip," Freddy said. "Tricky stuff, the pip. Sneaks up, takes hold, and lets go when it feels like it."

Taylor Armerding: Abstinence has a place in teen sex debate Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:33:00 EDT
Sex.
OK, now that I have your attention, I don't want to overpromise. This is not about titillation. This is about the endless, circular debate over what to teach our children.
It's clear that, at one level, we're teaching them well. They have all the information they need to be, as the social workers say, "active." They know every detail about stuff that most of my peers and I only vaguely understood at age 12 and 13.

David Shribman: Kennedy dynasty still has power to shape nation's history Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:33:00 EDT
The last brother is gravely ill, prompting an outpouring of acclaim, even from precincts that seldom have praised him.
The Democratic Party is in a swivet over remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton made about the second brother, whose June triumph in the tumultuous year 1968 was undone by his June assassination. A sad spring anniversary — 40 years ago this week — approaches, dreaded by many of the victim's aging acolytes, their idealism undiminished, their hero's promise never realized.

Sweet 17? Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:34:00 EDT
They were chanting it at Fenway Park in the middle of Tuesday night's baseball game.
No, it wasn't the usual rude insult aimed at the Yankees. Rather, the fans were shouting their encouragement to the NBA's Celtics who last night resumed their storied rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Shack site is not a home site Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:01:00 EDT
To the editor:
The last clam shack on the Merrimack at Joppa is no more. On its site is a summer cottage complete with a cantilevered deck over the gravel beach. New siding, windows and a metal kitchen chimney give it the class a shucking shack never had. Mr. Roland, the builder, has offered the city an agreement to preserve what he has done, based not on the sight but on the site. (Seriously.) His request for an occupancy permit means granting variances to reasonable stipulations in the zoning codes which have been violated. And the site, to boot, is far too perilous to pedestrians, bikers and routine traffic on the narrow curve in the road. An approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals at its meeting Tuesday, June 10 would be a farce, at best, and could be a tragedy, at worst.

Letter: Lots of things to complain about Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:01:00 EDT
To the editor:
I wrote to this paper two weeks ago — complaining about things as I usually do. Lot to complain about in beautiful downtown Newburyport, which everyone seems to adore but go elsewhere to shop and dine and whatever else they can think of.

Letter: Town paying some employees too much Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:01:00 EDT
To the editor:
Salaries are a real issue in Amesbury. For example: the previous DPW director earned $75,200. The new director will earn $95,600 plus a $6,000 stipend for using his own vehicle totaling $101,600. Yes, the mayor will state he saved money by replacing the engineer with a non-licensed engineer ($60,000) and intern ($15,000) who will work under Mr. Desmairais' license. The superintendent of operations has now been changed to deputy director of public works with a salary change $65,900 to $80,651.

Bill Plante's North Shore: Time for candidates to face the real issues Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:01:00 EDT
And so we come to the end of the beginning, but the memory lingers on.
It was all so exciting back when the Obama-Hillary struggle to become their party's candidate for the presidency began. For the first time in our history, a woman and a black man had been chosen by one party to contest to become its candidate for president. At least in this instance, that had seemingly erased prejudice.

Put up numbers, take down signs Monday June 9, 2008
I want to mention two items, one very important, one just common sense.

You get what you pay for with school budget Monday June 9, 2008
I was disturbed by an odd juxtaposition in your recent editorial entitled "Balancing act / school budget puts focus on superintendent search" (Telegram & Gazette, May 29). In one paragraph you write, "A key challenge for the next superintendent will be to formulate and carry out creative strategies for deploying limited funding and capital resources for optimum educational effectiveness." Oddly, in your very next paragraph you suggest that a salary "well over $200,00

College renovations are commended Monday June 9, 2008
Congratulations to the College of the Holy Cross for the recent renovations and year-round care of the Fitzgerald Square (College Square) Veterans Honor Roll Monument.

Two roads diverged ... Monday June 9, 2008
Robert Frost might have been tempted to tweak his famous lines about home if he'd known.

Not enough Monday June 9, 2008
The House got it partly right Wednesday night, adopting a bill to impose mandatory minimum sentences for crimes of aggravated child rape. The new category of aggravated child rape would cover offenses involving authority figures; or use of a weapon, drugs or alcohol.

Divisiveness mustn't be tolerated Monday June 9, 2008
With its recent endorsement of the notion that all persons of Middle Eastern descent are terrorists or potential terrorists, Dunkin' Donuts has not just slapped all Arab-Americans in the face, it has insulted all Americans who are appalled at racism and the politics of divisiveness. At least we now know where that particular corporation stands. I suggest that we now let Dunkin' Donuts know where we stand, and to just say no to blind hatred, ethnic stereotyping, fear mongering and, of course, to

Current Democratic Party schisms not really new ground Monday June 9, 2008
We've seen before this kind of bitter infighting - the charges of sexism and counter-charges of racism following the suggestion by some of Hillary Clinton's backers that they will not support Barack Obama in November.

LETTER: Flouting rules sets poor example Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Flouting rules

YOUR VIEW: Friends of Buttonwood portrayed unfairly Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

If your outrageously titled "'Friend' or Foe?" article on the Buttonwood Park sign issue ("City takes a backhoe to kids' sign," May 29) wasn't bad enough, your publication on May 31 of ill-informed comments from your online SouthCoastResponse forum, and...

LETTER: Research background of candidates Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Research candidates' background

The quotable voice Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

"As much as the United States tends to think that we are always so progressive and on the cutting edge, I think we're really behind when it comes to women in politics."

LETTER: Dutra would be an asset to committee Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Dutra would be

NATIONAL VIEW: Let the bells ring Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Same-sex marriage in California will undoubtedly make life more complicated for many other states. That's their problem, not California's, where the state Supreme Court should let the marriages go ahead this month as planned. Gays and lesbians have...

LETTER: Reveal city's back-room deals Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Reveal city's back-room deals

FROM THE EDITOR: Heart went out of this place Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Most of us could leave our jobs tomorrow, and our employers would quickly hire someone to replace us, and within a few days or weeks, all would be as it was.

OUR VIEW: Finally, a governor who gets it Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Gov. Deval Patrick so far has made good on his promise to pay attention to the needs of SouthCoast residents, who have witnessed a generation of Massachusetts chief executives lie to us about their plans or ignore us entirely.

OUR VIEW: Police displayed courage and compassion Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Local law enforcement officers last week displayed the kind of courage and compassion that private citizens so often take for granted.

YOUR VIEW: Wind will power our future Sat, 07 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

The United States can increase its use of wind power over the next two decades to supply 20 percent of the nation's electricity without any technological breakthroughs, according to a first-of-its-kind report issued by the U.S. Department of Energy last...

NATIONAL VIEW: Race and the general election Sat, 07 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Keisha Brown, 21, of Chicago, exultant after Barack Obama secured the Democratic nomination, told The Washington Post, "Everything will be different now."

LETTER: Friends' role more than just 'helpful' Sat, 07 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Friends more than 'helpful'

GUEST VIEW: America is now the Promised Land Sat, 07 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

To me, the thought is almost overwhelming. The skepticism that I have harbored my entire life, as a former activist to a current educator, has been tempered.

LETTER: Government cheats seniors on benefits Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Government cheats seniors on benefits

LETTER: Meeting was not properly posted Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Posting mistake acknowledged

LETTER: Planning Board keeps records under wraps Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Planning Board keeps records under wraps

YOUR VIEW: Living with the consequences of teen violence Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

I am the mother of Tom Reynolds, who was stabbed to death on May 28, 2006, in Fairhaven.

Ban trans fats Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

The proposed ban on trans fats in restaurant food is not about restricting consumers' right to eat fries and doughnuts. It's about a harmful substance easily replaced with other oils.

YOUR VIEW: Youth employment benefits the whole community Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

Last year, Gov. Patrick asked Attorney General Coakley to co-chair the urban violence subcommittee of the Anti-Crime Council. The subcommittee includes leaders from law enforcement, including Chief Ronald E. Teachman of the New Bedford Police Department,...

Seize the day Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

An editorial board member had tooth work in the next town over from his home and, when he was done, gums still gritty with polishing powder and the jolt of wintergreen stimulating his brain, got to thinking: The car inspection sticker is due this month.

Options in child-sex prosecutions Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

I write to express the unanimous support of the Massachusetts district attorneys for an "Act to Further Protect Children.

Harwich leaders sneak in a sand trap Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00 EST

The section of Harwich's town charter that addresses its golf committee, Chapter 7, Section 13, provides as follows:

Sen. Kennedy returns home to Hyannis Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:06:48 -0400
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy returned home to Hyannis Port just before noon today, a week after Duke University doctors operated on a brain tumor that had caused the state's...

Pumped up gas prices not coming down anytime soon Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:56:01 -0400
Hold on to your wallets - the pinch at the pump hit an unprecedented $4 a gallon nationwide yesterday and there's no end in sight for soaring gas prices. Drivers...

Forsaken, found, reborn Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:29:30 -0400
NEWTON - The smell of bacon and eggs still hung in the air as five people joined hands with her in a circle and began to pray deeply. Despite early morning rain, it was...

Heat tightens New England electricity supplies Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:41:51 -0400
HOLYOKE - A heat wave has sharply reduced a surplus of electricity in New England as people use more energy to cool down. The operator of New England's power grid...

Matterazzo: Entwistle said he 'left' wife and daughter side-by-side Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:28:17 -0400
WOBURN - In a "whimpering" series of calls, Neil Entwistle told his father-in-law to bury his murdered wife and child side-by-side because that's the way he...

Heroic Hub cop gets in on the action Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:19:14 -0400
Boston police Sgt. Michael O'Connor usually stays behind the scenes of the Hollywood blockbusters filmed in the Hub, but yesterday he nabbed a starring role in a real-life...

NH man drowns in Mass. pond Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:03:57 -0400
TEMPLETON - A New Hampshire man drowned while trying to swim across a pond in Massachusetts during the weekend. Templeton Police Chief David Whitaker said 20-year-old Ryan...

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