Editor’s Note: Quotables is an occasional feature showcasing some of the snappiest and interesting things Valley folks said in the press in the past week.
“I don’t feel that a cartoonist should have to live in fear for what they do. The artists should have the right to make their cartoons without fear of retaliation.”
— Cartoonist Casey W. Coller of Shelburne Falls on the massacre of 12 journalists at French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo, The Recorder
“We’re thriving and strong — just not in Greenfield”
— Peter Langolis, owner of The Smithsonian Cafe and Chowerderhouses in Northampton and Hatfield about the recent closing of his Greenfield eatery, The Recorder
“We respect the police. We get compliance checks. They’re good for business, good for the town, but was it a fair test? Or was it entrapment?”
— Maureen McGuinness, co-owner of Roberto’s Restaurant in Northampton. The restaurant is among seven establishments caught in a police sting testing alcohol sales to minors, Daily Hampshire Gazette
“I got tired of being the token poor person. They were playing at it, but I really was poor. So I kind of branched out.”
— Michaelann Bewsee, founder of ARISE for Social Justice, on being an activist before ARISE, The Republican
“We’ve been fighting this damn thing since ’75. … It’s a marvelous victory, and its been a long time coming.”
— Peter Tusinksi of Leyden at a “victory” party for the closing of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, The Recorder
“It is difficult to keep from getting burned out.”
— Peter Vogel, owner of Faces in Northampton on closing his store, Daily Hampshire Gazette
“Will it have a causal effect? Obviously not. But what it will do is reverberate.”
— Patricia “Paki” Wieland of Northampton on formation of the “people’s congress,” a gathering of locals interested in discussing the pressing issues Congress ignores, Daily Hampshire Gazette
Businesses are “going to be hiring less kids because now there’s less money to train, there’s less money to teach them how to be good at customer service, good workers, to understand the benefits of learning to do a job well done.”
— Judy Herrell, owner of Herrell’s Ice Cream in Northampton on raising the state minimum wage from $8 to $11 by 2017. Herrell says there should be an exception to the minimum wage for teenage workers, The Republican
“I just got elected unanimously. Did you miss that?”
— State Senate President Stanley Rosenberg’s response when asked by a reporter whether he needed to reassure colleagues that his partner will not influence his politics, Daily Hampshire Gazette
