Blogs
Northampton developments: Barrett Street Marsh in jeopardy
As a Northampton resident I think it is important to use specific examples to illustrate where we as a city can do better. Unfolding before us now is an interesting sequence of events with regards to the wetlands ordinance and a residential development proposal.What...Announcing Northamptonist, a new weblog and twitter launched by Northampton resident Paolo Mastrangelo
Utilizing Twitter Paolo can send live reports while out in the field. He describes Twitter as a free online service which enables people to publish text from mobile phones or instant messages to a Twitter page online. Paolo created two sites Northamptonist blog a...Water-water everywhere…
Mayor Mary Clare Higgins and the city of Northampton have been in the news recently as Northampton moves ahead with plans to expand its regional landfill over the Barnes Aquifer, a potential water supply of four communities. At the same time Northampton is...Hilton Garden Inn taken lightly
Looks like I’m going to have to brush up on my satire.For those interested in the Hilton Garden Inn planning process, visit the Masslive Local Buzz civics section here for their, "Political theater review." For the complete photographic analysis of the...The education of Northampton's officials by NEMO
The Kohl condominium proposal for the North Street area of Northampton promises to add impervious surfaces to an area lacking any currently. Is this a necessity? Maybe not. According to the University of Connecticut’s Planning for Stormwater website, Nonpoint...Community Preservation Act-is law unfair to poorer communities? Long time partisan of the CPA Gerrit Stover clarifies history of the act
Yes, sort of. An article appears in the September 2 Sunday Republican regarding the impacts of the Community Preservation Act on poorer communities. Political action doesn’t always originate with politicians however. As with any campaign hard work and diligence...Northampton wetlands ordinance tabled until September 20.
After learning that the Northampton Conservation Commission scheduled a vernal pool work-group meeting for Tuesday, September 11, 2007 @ 4:30 PM in the city hall hearing room located on the second floor at 210 Main Street, the city council voted to table the wetlands...Sammy's Big Night
“Sammy’s Big Night” Concert Thursday, September 20th @ 7 pm An intimate night of exceptional music featuring performances by: John Gorka Cliff Eberhardt The Nields The Young At Heart Chorus The Drunk Stuntmen The O-Tones The Kitchen Table Leah Kunkel...Paolo Mastrangelo has the scoop on newly formed Pulaski Park redesign committee
Paolo posted this entry Saturday on the Paradise City Forum listserv:"There should be much news about this soon from the local media, or atleast I assume there will be. This is big news to me, news of ageneration. I have posted the committee members names and...Hilton Garden Inn special permit /site plan appealed by two plaintiffs
According to the Northampton City Clerk’s Office, on September 4, 2007 Attorney Michael Pill filed an appeal on behalf of Robert G. Curran, Jr., owner of the Round House office building and on September 6 Bruce E. Falby filed an appeal on behalf of the New South...Doug Kohl reduces “footprint” of subdivision proposal due to the discovery of vernal pools in the North Street area wetlands
Concerned about public perception of his subdivision proposal thus far, real estate developer Douglas Kohl invited me to take a tour of his North Street area property in order to clarify his point of view. For about three hours on September 6 we traipsed around his...Bar Harbor, Maine: a city that relies on tourism
During the summer of 2007 I was fortunate to have visited Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park, both located on Mt. Desert Island.downtown Bar HarborFor what it’s worth I was impressed by the area and the polite welcomes the locals granted us. They seemed...Interested in the future of Northampton's Pulaski Park? Join the park's new online discussion group now!
The new committee established to refurbish and redesign Pulaski Park has created a Google group email list and is looking for people to share their views and ideas. Visit http://groups.google.com/group/pulaski-park and click on the "Join this group" link...Northampton citizens campaign to protect their urban wetlands, prevent flooding
Press Release: Citizens of Northampton, MA, are campaigning to preserve the buffer zones around the city’s urban wetlands from development. Northampton has a proud tradition of environmental stewardship and sustainable growth, but on October 4,...Northampton plays host to Lt. Gov. Murray's listening tour by Paolo Mastrangelo
Check out Northamptonist’s coverage of Murray’s visit at the link below.http://www.northamptonist.blogspot.comNorthampton's government does not ensure access to policy formulation for the “powerless”
In the (essentially) one-party city of Northampton, Massachusetts zoning regulations were ratified in September 2006 on behalf of Smith College, an elite private nonprofit corporation with more than one billion dollars in endowments. An issue area known as an...Northampton wetlands ordinance ratified by 7-2 vote of city council, city to look at “best practices”
Last night the city council approved the creation of a wetlands ordinance for the city despite major disagreement lingering as to whether or not this will help or harm local wetland areas. James Dostal and Ray "Ish" LaBarge cast the two dissenting votes....Branding Northampton, will BID have unintended consequences?
A group of downtown business owners is lobbying to create a Business Improvement District [BID] in Northampton that requires City Council approval. Touting an annual budget that approaches $1 million, they cite aggressive panhandling as a chief concern among downtown...Northampton candidates to debate Wednesday October 17 @ Feiker School on Riverside Drive @ 7 PM
The Bay State Village Association is hosting a candidates debate WednesdayOct 17 at the Feiker School on Riverside Drive starting at 7 PM. The debatestarts with the contenders for the Ward 5 council seat, David Murphy andKathleen Silva, who will answer questions...Metcalfe Hilton Garden Inn redux
Well its nice to see on the Planning web page some added rendering of theHotel site plan trying to show us all better what is possibly going tohappen around it.(Right click on the photo above and then click on "save picture as." Once saved on your computer...Northampton Community Television Open House November 3 @ 1-4 PM @ 380 Elm Street
NCTV Northampton Community Television 380 Elm Street, Northampton, MA northamptontv@gmail.com Dear Community Member: We would like to introduce ourselves to you, and we would like to invite you to our open house on Saturday, November 3, 2007. Northampton Community...Northampton's blurred vision on King Street development
As a supporter of the Big Box retail ordinances about five years ago, due to concerns about traffic proliferation in the city, it is disturbing that few proposals have materialized under this zoning. The new owners of the former Hill & Dale Mall are rumored to be...Central Business Architecture Committee continues public hearing on hotel until November 27 in hearing room 18 of City Hall
The CBAC continued the hearing on the Hilton Garden Inn after suggesting improvements to the hotel and garage. Shardool Parmar said he needed time to think about the proposals, which included altering the Pulaski Park entrance, the roof-line, and the garage exterior....Citizen group spurs best practices discussion in Northampton
To: Members of the City CouncilRe: “Best Practices” Agenda ItemFrom: Deb Jacobs, Mary Kasper, Michael Kusek, Bob Reckman, Betsy Siersma, John Sinton, Fran VolkmannDate: October 11, 2007Cc: Mayor Clare Higgins, Lyn SimmonsOn Sept. 24, 2007, we submitted a...Working session on best practices resolution November 8 @ 6 PM @ Bridge Street School-see comments
Ward 4 City Councilor David Narkewicz submitted the following resolution to the city council proposing to amend the citizen’s resolution from two weeks prior. After an hour of contentious debate, the matter was tabled until November 15, 2007. Original resolution...“When the conditions warrant it, the people will act”-Ed Hagelstein plus 20 questions to ponder
The recent proposal brought forth by a group of residents concerned with the city following best practices reveals a schism among the electorate. There is a feeling among some, that is being more than whispered about, that things aren’t quite right in the...It's the school system stupyd! Will write-in candidate Gene Tacy up-end Higgins to become Northampton's next mayor?
If there is one lesson to be learned about politics in general and specifically in Northampton, it is the necessity of candidates to cater to members of special interest groups. Though some candidates will attend the local ribbon-cuttings or otherwise tromp around...Paradise City Forum marks six years
Dear Community Member, Today marks anniversary number six for the Paradise City Forum. At Paradise City Forum’s main website is available a Word document containing the most current State of the Forum report. Highlights include statistics regarding the growth...Paradox in Northampton Best Practices committee formulation
If a Northampton resident contacts his/her council member requesting a particular action, and that council member says, "no," where does that leave the resident? Not represented. If that council member says, "yes," as Councilor Bardsley did when...Northamptonist Paolo Mastrangelo on the homeless and
Northampton’s Director of the Council on Aging has replied to Northamptonist regarding Gene Tacy’s exclusion from Eldervision (a municipal newspaper for the elderly) during this fall’s election. As a city employee the director of the COA answers...Northampton Compromise Resolution Promoting Best Practices in Decision-Making passes first test, approved by unanimous vote
Council President Bardsley, Fran Volkmann, and Ward 4 Councilor Narkewicz met on Sunday evening to finalize the compromise resolution the City Council asked them to bring back to the Council by November 15, 2007 when the matter was tabled on October 18, 2007....Man down in Northampton's Pulaski Park
On Tuesday morning at about 8:35, November 13, I meandered to the PVTA bus stop near the Academy of Music and Pulaski Park in order to catch the Express over to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. There were about twenty of us milling about and commuter...WATCH VIDEO COVERAGE OF Northampton's Smith College taking down a neighborhood in Northampton
Commencing in 2007, Smith College began preparations to construct Ford Hall, a new $65 million Science and Engineering building for women. Located on Belmont Avenue in the Green Street neighborhood of Northampton, Mass., Smith first had to remove four residential...Accusations of Racism causes student unrest at Northampton's Smith College
The media is reporting on the fallout of a "black face" racial incident that occurred at a Smith College "celebrity rehab" party last Friday.Smith College’s Daily Jolt has experienced dozens of entries regarding the incident. Read more here:...Northampton's Hilton Garden Inn and Pulaski Park concurrent planning processes move forward
As you can see below I’m no Tris Metcalfe, but I’ve spliced together the two schematics that are being proposed for Pulaski Park and the Hilton Garden Inn respectively, in order to give you a better idea of what is being planned by a volunteer board and a...From Valley Free Radio's Mary Serreze: Listen to audio of Hilton Garden Inn developer Shardool Parmar at the Central Business Architecture meeting of Nov. 27, 2007
Click here for audio of Shardool Parmar. It’s about 20 minutes long so the download should take several minutes with DSL or Broadband. Media Player required.Click here for audio of the CBAC discussion. 26 minutes.Click here for Mary’s questions. 10...Former Northampton HR Director Teres & former Assistant HR Director Acquaro on Higgins' group health insurance policy-GASB 45 Accounting Standards on this week's Finance Committee Agenda
Dear Mayor Higgins: A short while ago I received copies of correspondence between the City of Northampton and former Director of Public Works, Sam Brindis. The subject of the correspondence was your determination that he and approximately ten other former employees...Smith College taking down Northampton's Green Street neighborhood-VIDEOS
Here is some of the imagery of the transformation of the Green Street-Belmont Avenue section of Northampton. Smith College is reordering the area to make way for Ford Hall, a new Science and Engineering Center for women. Below are YouTube videos from Jeff Massimino,...REPRISE: Former Northampton cafeteria worker loses health benefits without notice
As might be expected my reports on Mayor Mary Clare Higgins’ health insurance policy change drew a couple of inquiries. One came from Doris Montgomery, long time Florence resident. Apparently Ms. Montgomery served the city for eighteen years as a cafeteria...REPRISE: Citing long time practice as “folklore”, Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins cancelled group health insurance coverage for an unspecified number of people
Read interview transcript here: Ordinarily when a politician makes a decision that saves taxpayers money it quickly becomes news with all the requisite self-congratulation and back-slapping for a job well done. This was not the case, though, when Northampton Mayor...The beat goes on: GASB explained, Best Practices amended at the last minute, without citizen input
There was a GASB financial expert present at the December 6 City Council meeting, and each Councilor has received the Teres letter, as posted on Northampton Redoubt, regarding the mayor’s new health insurance policy and its retroactive nature. However, none of...David Narkewicz, Marianne LaBarge, and Bob Reckman plot to fix council vote
I was working on my laptop the other night when the message below came in. It appears as though Ward Four Councilor David Narkewicz, Ward Six Councilor Marianne LaBarge, and Ward Three Councilor Elect Bob Reckman have been communicating with other City Councilors...In Memory of William Crook, Rest in Peace Pete
"Pete"William Gregor Crook IIIJuly 18, 1953 – October 11, 2007The FlumeFranconia, New Hampshire****HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**** courtesy Easthampton Kiwanis Club
Caught on a hot tin roof…Narkewicz and Reckman take to the friendly air waves
"What’s that smell in this room?" The late great Burl Ives referring to mendacity in his performance as cancer stricken Harvey "Big Daddy" Pollitt in Tennessee Williams’ Oscar nominated 1958 movie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Apparently...Tour the Pleasant Street Theater courtesy Jeff Massimino
Jeff took these pictures recently and agreed to share them with Redoubt readers. Thanks Jeff. The Pleasant Street Theater blockWelcome to the Pleasant Street Theater The Main EntranceThe Concession standThe lobby archEmpty movie poster casesLittle Theater entranceDown...Northampton's Urban Planning, Public Policies, and Urban Ecology: Douglas Kohl's North Street area Condominium proposal spurs lively discussion on Paradise City Forum
It’s great to read everyone’s posts on the Paradise City Forum listserv regarding the North Street Condominium proposal and Smart Growth. In my view it would help to integrate the three different though not necessarily exclusive components I’ve been...Northampton's 2008 Inaugural ceremony and first meeting of the new city council
Mary Serreze of the Community Radio Hour on Valley Free Radio attended the first meeting of the new Northampton City Council held a few hours after the inauguration and provides podcast coverage of the meeting as recorded by volunteers from local Cable Access Channel...Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Monday January 21, 2008
“A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: ‘This way of settling differences is not just.’ This business of sending men (and women) home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically...Northampton and the Open Meeting Law
Pepyne prepares Powerpoint presentationAt an Open Meeting Law primer held Thursday evening January 10, 2008 during the Planning Board meeting, Northwestern District Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Pepyne provided a Powerpoint presentation. The purpose of the law...Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Cynthia Pepyne rules Reckman not guilty
According to a letter dated January 11, 2008, Assistant Northwestern DA Pepyne has ruled that there is no evidence that Northampton Ward Three City Councilor Robert Reckman is guilty of serving as an, "intermediary for communication amongst city council members...Northampton Ward 7 City Councilor Ray LaBarge alleges discrimination in council appointments
Councilor LaBarge said in a recent telephone interview that he believes he has been discriminated against with regards to his removal from appointment to the city’s Ordinance Committee. According to LaBarge, newly sworn in City Council President Jim Dostal told...To appeal or to not appeal…
Let’s examine what we do know regarding the leaked Reckman email of December 6, 2007:The following is a quote from the first letter of inquiry Pepyne sent to Reckman:"Deliberation outside of an open meeting, including deliberation in serial fashion or...Pioneer Valley Guildhouse announces general public forum for residents of Northampton and the valley on Monday January 21 @ 4 PM @ Florence Civic Center
If you could tell 100 residents of Northampton one thing, what would it be?Monday January 21, 4pm, Florence Civic CenterPark St. Florence (near the Lilly Library) Doors open at 4pm, when people can come in and help themselves to food,sit down and talk. After about...Amherst's Twenty-Fourth Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Breakfast, Northampton resident Michael Bardsley recipient Citizen's Award
Amherst Regional Jazz WorkshopTommy Benfey, Nick Adolph, Nicholas Reyes, and Sarah Horowitz8th Grade Art I have a dream… Martin Luther King, Jr. Citizen’s Award recipient Michael Bardsley with State Representative Ellen Story Dr. Thomas W. Cole, Jr.,...Upcoming meetings of Citizens United for a Healthy Future regarding Northampton's landfill expansion
Hannum Brook Press Release: Monday, February 4th, 2008 from 7 – 8 PM Wednesday, March 12th2008 from 7 – 8 PM SAVE THE AQUIFER – PROTECT DRINKING WATER – STOP THE NORTHAMPTON LANDFILL EXPANSION WHO: Citizens United for a Healthy Future...Ethics breaches a significant problem in government that might worsen, Northampton is no exception
Recent events in Northampton regarding best practices and possible open meeting law violations have caused some members of the community to question local government ethics. This issue is not confined to Northampton, but is widespread and common. Today’s edition...Academy of Music looking up
Recent media coverage extols the resurgence of Northampton’s Academy of Music. Let’s review how it’s going.The municipally owned Academy’s self perpetuating Board of Trustee’s is not answerable to the general public in a significant way....Best Practices committee appointees and how members of the city council voted
Committee appointees and votesBelow are listed the citizen appointees for Northampton’s ad hoc Best Practices Committee and the number of votes they received. The two councilors LaBarge and Bardsley had identical ballots. Councilors Carney and Murphy voted...E-Edition
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