Blogs
Hamp Planning staff endorses Kohl development on North St.
From a Planning Dept. staff report prepared by Carolyn Misch and approved by Wayne Feiden to the Planning Board on March 26. To see the latest plans visit NorthAssoc.org: Conformance with Sustainable NH: This is in-town lot abutting the rail trail that will have...Bardsley a candidate
It's official, Northampton city councilor at large Mike Bardsley has declared his candidacy for mayor. Of course as soon as he takes out nomination papers some will opine that he is grandstanding and a political opportunist as opposed to a willing public servant....Lawsuit poised to challenge validity of Northampton BID
Caty Simon of Poverty is Not a Crime posted an entry this morning regarding a lawsuit opposing Northampton's Business Improvement District or BID.Read the full entry >>>>> Lawsuit poised to challenge the validity of the BID. Some excerpts:Alan...Account of a mayor's budget meeting-first hand!
A few days ago I penned a blog regarding Pam Schwartz's candidacy for Ward 4 city council, a seat being vacated by councilor Narkewicz. In that post I commented on second hand reports I'd received regarding the budget meetings turning into as I called them, de...The Kohl condo proposal and the Struggle Over the Meaning of Infill
by Adam Cohen. Back in June 2007, Doug Kohl’s Kohl Construction gave a presentation at Bridge Street School. He proposed to build 31 condo units in the woods between North Street and a new bike trail in Northampton. Today, many Conservation Commission and...Klaus A. Becker to perform at Smith College May 8
Keyboard artist Klaus A. Becker will be performing "A Dance on the Keyboards" May 8th at 7:30 P.M. in Helen Hills Hills Chapel, Smith College, Northampton. An accomplished concert performer on both piano and organ, he will be bringing together these two...New videos of Meadowbrook fire and its aftermath by RJ
Monday's fire has left numerous families without a home. If you can help, contact the Red Cross to make a donation athttp://www.redcrosspioneervalley.org/donate/ "rjisinspired" posted these videos on Youtube of the Meadowbrook fire and its aftermath....Call for artists to benefit Swaziland AIDS orphans
Nonhle is one of over 1,000 AIDS orphans that Young Heroes Foundation, a Northampton-based nonprofit, supports in Swaziland – the country with the world’s highest rate of HIV. Nonhle This year, to make the Day of the African Child into a day of action on...Higgins gambling on a municipal budget
Northampton is caught in a downward fiscal spiral and some are content to frame its context as one of outside forces imposing their will on the city. Blame is cast on the national economy, cuts in state funding and rising health insurance costs. It's too bad...The future of newspapers
As senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and represenative John Conyers (D-Mich.) prepare for hearings on saving the newspaper industry, newspaper designer Jacek Utko has succeeded in breathing new life into a declining but not dead trade. But can an industry beholden to...Silva seeks Ethics Commission ruling on pro-override organizing activity
Former Ward 5 city council candidate Kathy Silva has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission regarding the formation of the pro-override city committee in Northampton. The text of that complaint is included below: Massachusetts Enforcement...Gilbert Allen Smith, alleged deadbeat dad taken into custody in Virginia
According to Northampton resident Mary Likins, Smith was apprehended last Thursday in Petersburg, VA. Smith owes Likins more than $44 thousand in back child support payments and Likins spoke out publicly regarding her family's situation a short time ago. Smith was...Bike repairs and the Manhan Rail Trail
As I walked downtown last Saturday afternoon to get what's left of my hair cut I happened upon Ruthy Woodring of the Pedal People. Ruthy was offering free bicycle repairs and maintenance in Pulaski Park. Ever cordial, Ruthy let me take a few pictures to share with...Cycle Interactive Documentary Project by Dani Slabaugh
Hampshire College student and artist Dani Slabaugh had her interactive art display set up in Pulaski Park on April 26-27. Through headphones patrons could listen to bicyclists describe in their own words why they bike and why they feel that it's good for the...Higgins groupthink breaking bad
The Boston Globe is reporting on a dismal future indeed for the state's fiscal capacity. Years of a contracting budget scenario are projected. During times like this communities must scale back ambitious plans that don't contribute to the bottom line....Bikers of all varieties to support Steph's Wild Ride June 6
Stephanie Micka Steph's Wild Ride is a new organization created in memory of local resident Stephanie Micka who succumbed to cancer not long ago. Her family and friends are devoted to keeping Steph's memory alive while working to help others fight cancer....May 20 a popular day for a meeting
The Paradise City Forum's listserv is hopping today with city meeting notices and May 20 seems to be the day for municipal meetings. Meetings for that day include:Neighborhood meeting for Hospital Hill neighbors @ 6:30 PM at 375 South Street, aka Cahillane Motors....Heigh-Ho, Gazette digs for Higgins
The Daily Hampshire Gazette is ramping up its presses for the upcoming mayoral election in Northampton but I'm not sure what we're reading is objective reporting. Make no mistake about it, Redoubt and its host The Valley Advocate have been critical of the...City scores $181K in federal Recovery and Reinvestment funds for James House, $20K for Planning Dept.
PUBLIC NOTICE DRAFT SUBSTANTIAL AMENDMENT TO THE 2008-2009 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN UNDER THE CONSOLIDATED PLAN FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT- RECOVERY FUNDS (CDBG-R) The City of Northampton receives Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding each year as an...Please keep your sewer out of my residence! Steve Susco
Longtime Northampton resident Steve Susco addresses Northampton mayor Mary Clare Higgins and the city council regarding sewer back ups into his home. (Meeting excerpt courtesy Northampton Community Television and camera operator Dann Vazquez.) In an interview at his...Northampton's residential tax levy increases 61% between 2000 and 2009
A few days ago I penned a blog on the tax levy increases for single family parcels in the city of Northampton. Upon further examination I found more information in plain view on the state's website regarding all of the classes of property in the city, and their...Northampton BID melodrama hits the big time
Northampton's Business Improvement District was featured recently on MSNBC, the professional home of Northampton's favorite daughter and liberal talk show host, Dr. Rachel Maddow. Besides a factual error in stating that Northampton is located in the...W3NA tax increase forum draws 50
Since the local media continues to booster Mayor Higgins' position on the override I'll go with the flow on the topic. I attended last Monday night's override forum held at Bridge Street School and in my view there was no clear winner, if you'll pardon...Northampton area residents respond to California court ruling on gay marriage
Video courtesy Dan-X and YouTube.Resident Ben Spencer on Hospital Hill's bike path extension-submitted to Gazette
Manhan Rail Trail Extension to Village Hill Northampton: Yesterday I was contacted by Wayne Feiden , the Director of Planning and Development for Northampton and Ward Four City Councilor David Narkewicz regarding my concerns over the Manhan Rail Trail Extension to...If approved, Northampton's tax override will perpetuate the political status quo
As the days dwindle down toward the June 16 vote on Northampton's proposed tax increase, the hysteria is building. In the Boston area the trend is that a majority of municipalities attempting local tax increases are successful. Eleven out of sixteen communities...Welcome to Village Hill Northampton by Benjamin Spencer
From the South Campus of Village Hill the views of the Pioneer Valley and the Holyoke and Mount Tom Ranges are stunning. Unfortunately, the Planning Board's decision to accept the site plan presented by Kollmorgen at their June 11 meeting means these views will...Hilton Garden Inn update from Gene Tacy
Northampton Hilton Garden Inn, an official's version
Below is planning director Wayne Feiden's presentation as delivered to the city council on Thursday, June 18, 2009 regarding the status of the Northampton Hilton Garden Inn. (About 65 minutes. Here's a tip, play them all at once to save time! If you are...Higgins' proposal a policy paradox
The following are excerpts from a June 9 budget briefing. It appears that Northampton mayor Mary Clare Higgins has no long range plan to fund her proposal to spin off from the Office of Planning and Development (OPD) a new department of Community and Economic...Dostal out, Dnark back in
An anonymous tip left this afternoon on my home telephone indicates Northampton at large City Councilor James Dostal has announced he is not going to run for re-election. In his place Ward 4 City Councilor David Narkewicz has announced he will run for the vacated...local Northampton blogs on the move
New reports have hit some other local blogs recently.Check out Mary Serreze's for updates on Northampton's negative pension fund performance which turns out to be a positive. The city's -19% performance is the best of the worst I suppose, but it's...Kollmorgen's TIF, the taking of prosperity?
In light of the recent Kollomorgen TIF agreement I've reprised an earlier blog regarding Tax Increment Financing and Wright Builders. There is no meeting Thursday night to be clear and Wright Builders was granted TIF status. I've also included a sampling of...Councilors Bardsley and M. LaBarge move to put landfill expansion on public ballot
Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JULY 3, 2009 On Thursday, July 2, 2009, At Large City Councilor Michael Bardsley and Ward Six City Councilor Marianne LaBarge submitted an Order to be place on the agenda of the meeting of the Nothampton City Council scheduled for...Green Street Cafe saga continues
According to a letter I received today dated July 4, 2009, Smith College has rejected an offer from one of its graduates to save the cafe from extinction. Northampton resident Jan Carhart-'75, is willing to take responsibility for the Cafe's past rent due if...Northampton Design Public Forum July 27
Leeds, Baystate and Florence July 27 at 7 PM at the Florence Civic Center next to Lilly Library. The Northampton Design Forum, in cooperation with the Baystate Village Association, Florence Civic and Business Association and the Leeds Civic Association is sponsoring a...Water Not Waste launches to Save Barnes Aquifer
The following material is from Water Not Waste's website. WNW is a new citizens' group committed to preserving the quality of the Barnes Aquifer in Western Massachusetts. They oppose the expansion of the Northampton Landfill over this aquifer. Their current...Northampton's meals tax–Where's the beef?
Well Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins finally got her way–the state has approved a local option meals tax of .75% or seventy-five cents tax on a one hundred dollar meal. Higgins has made this one of the hallmarks of her administration. Going back half a...Can Northampton handle the truth over public process?
Some recent scuttlebutt going around the city concerns a potential violation of the state's Public Records laws. It is alleged that public records pertaining to the executive sessions on the landfill settlements were destroyed, before the meeting minutes of said...New England Grass Roots Environment Fund application deadline approaching
This source of funds could benefit some recent activities in the city, like refuse recycling at the landfill, the Barrett Street Marsh beaver woes, the Bleiman land gift or the preservation of the North Street wetlands among others. I’m sure the Broad Brook...Should City Council pass landfill decision to Planning Board?
A few days prior to the recent July 30 special city council meeting regarding a citizens' intitiative to place a nonbinding public opinion advisory question before the voters the Daily Hampshire Gazette's editors presented the public its own red herring by...WNW hosting meeting tonight, signatures needed
Water Not Waste is hosting a meeting this Wednesday, August 5th, 7 p.m. at the Florence Community Center located at 140 Pine Street, in the auditorium, about the petition drive underway for a referendum vote on expanding the Northampton landfill over an acquifer. From...Green Street Cafe
The following was sent to me by the owners of the Green Street Cafe in response to a recent blog I posted. Daryl: We would love to lay to rest the issue of the closing of the cafe in 2007. The reason the cafe was closed was building code violations that were the...RIP: Ray LaBarge
I met Mr. LaBarge when I was a kid. He visited my home in North Hatfield to, "work on the pipes," he said. He was there to install a new kitchen faucet. "Ish," short for Ish Kabibble, as he was known, was an all around fix-it man type with a gruff...Engineer Michael Pritchard on safe drinking water
Those who can afford to reside in the Northampton area enjoy a fine quality of life for the most part. With natural resources abounding people flock here to live and enjoy the amenities which include ample drinking water and convenient trash disposal. But what if a...When summer's gone, where will we be? … The Doors
Ho hum, we see that public records were indeed destroyed by Northampton's clerk of the city council, apparently at the behest of Northampton's former city solicitor Janet Sheppard or at least with her knowledge. In a moment that could be classified as...Alleged Am B Care employee comments anonymously on Masslive
Ran across this the other day on Masslive's anonymous Northampton forum regarding the city's contract with Am B Care. Whoever you are, thanks for sharing. In the interest of being honest and open, let me first disclose that I am an employee of Am B Care...Shall the city dump 2.8 billion pounds of trash over the Barnes Aquifer?
That's what 50,000 tons per year equals after 28 years, the projected life of the proposed expansion. Below the BPW + City Council joint conference committee discuss city landfill question.Video courtesy North Street Neighborhood Association As of Monday citizen...Ground Zero, NYC, August 2009
Took a day trip recently to New York City. Toward the end of the day we visited Ground Zero. It was the first time I've been there after the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks. The site is pretty well cleaned up and reconstruction is well under way. You...Fear of what?
Fear is an intersting thing. Fear can make people act irrationally or heroically and in some cases maybe both. When it comes to politics, fear is no less an influence than money or ego. When it comes to the Michael Bardsley mayoral campaign I've noticed fear...Ward 7 candidates to square off tonight
The three candidates for the Ward 7 City Councilor position, Gene Tacy, Deb Jacobs and George Russell, will participate in a forum to be held at the Leeds Grammar School on Wednesday September 9 at 7:00 p.m. The Florence Business and Civic Association and the Leeds...From Benjamin Spencer
HOLYOKE RANGE MEMORIAL When: Sunday, September 13th from 6-8PM. Where: Village Hill Northampton, Route 66 Sidewalk Come see the sunlight shine on the Holyoke Range as the sunset glows to the west. Take one last look at the magnificent view of the entire Holyoke Range....Public process/records errors continue
The Menino administration of Boston is under fire regarding the deletion of public records in the form of emails reports the Boston Globe. Apparently this is a routine practice in that city. Several challengers to Menino in the upcoming election are calling for an...CITIZENS' LANDFILL QUESTION MAKES BALLOT-Bardsley and Tacy win primaries
With a week to spare Mimi Odgers of Water Not Waste reports that Northampton City Clerk Wendy Mazza has certified 1,993 signatures to date for the citizen initiated landfill question. This means the question will appear on the municipal ballot November 3. Odgers said...Landfill question letter submitted to Gazette by Andrew Woodland
To the Editor (submitted Sept. 15 via email): Ward 3 City Councilor Bob Reckman today submitted a proposed amendment to the landfill expansion referendum language. While I applaud the council’s effort to put this issue in front of the citizens of Northampton,...Residents file protest petition
About 27 property owners in the Glendale Road area of the city filed the following protest petition (PDF) last Thursday to the City Council. It is their belief that the petition will require a 3/4s vote of the City Council in order to alter the heavy public use zoning...Unflinching, Susco is mad as Hell
Well, Northampton resident Steve Susco (below) let Mayor Higgins and the City Council, as well as the public, know how he feels. He is tired of raw sewage bubbling up in his home. The story did not garner much media attention until the squeaky wheel amplified its...Higgins' tagteam Dwight and Baskin come out swinging in cyber attack on Bardsley-rated XXX
Here are excerpts from recent email exchanges between Northampton Mayoral frontrunner Michael Bardsley and incumbent Mary Clare Higgins. It concerns a Bill Dwight email Lisa Baskin and Paul Spector circulated to an unknown number of email recipients the day after...Ward One race, it's Carney vs. Vidal-McNair
Maureen Carney is not new to the Ward One voters of Northampton. She has served as the Ward One City Councilor since WHMP radio talk show host Bill Dwight hand-picked her as his successor several years ago. According to her website she feels she has the experience to...E-Edition
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