Tea Party Snubbed

Tea Party protesters in Springfield in April.

A local organization closely identified with the so-called "Tea Party" movement has been turned down by all the candidates but one in a forum intended to educate the public about the state representative race in the West Springfield/Chicopee area. According to the following press release:

Rep. Don Humason and candidate Vogel.

State Representative Candidate Dean Vogel will be the sole candidate to participate in a forum hosted by the Chicopee area group of the Western Mass 912 Project.

Vogel is one of three qualified candidates vying for a vacant seat in the 6th Hampden District, which includes all of West Springfield, and parts of Chicopee and Springfield. The Candidates’ Forum will take place June 3 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the new Chicopee Public Library on 449 Front Street. It is a non-partisan event that is free and open to the public.

According to Barbara Perez, event coordinator and area facilitator of the Chicopee group, the forum is designed to educate the public about important issues, and to learn about the candidates so we are better informed when we go to the polls to vote.

According to Perez, members of the group are pleased that Vogel agreed to attend the forum. Formal invitations and calls went out to all the candidates, she said. But the other Republican, Greg Neffinger, and the Democrat, Michael Finn, declined to attend.

“Dean will have ‘the floor’ all to himself,” Perez said. He will have the opportunity to define himself and the campaign in contrast to the other candidates.”

Congratulations to Vogel for having the courage and integrity to meet with all of his potential constituents in order to appraise their views, and shame on the cowardly Neffinger and Finn for not doing the same.

Meanwhile, the Northampton Democrats were doing grassroots outreach this morning downtown.

 



The weather was gorgeous as I crossed the Calvin Coolidge bridge yesterday on the bus.

The other night however a violent storm passed through the Valley, causing this tree to fall and block the woodland way into downtown Northampton.

Of course, being an intrepid traveler, I found a way around the tree through the woods. However, there was no way for cars to get around this fallen tree on Calvin Terrace.

On the UMass campus a tree by Herter Hall was knocked over.

 



Even the grass was torn up.

 



The national situation ain't so good either.

 



Jorma Kaukonen was in Northampton last weekend. Here is his diary entry.

Sunday, May 16, 2010 Northampton, Massachusetts
Alrighty then... Quite the hectic day today with non-stop traffic from Wilmington, Delaware almost to the the Northampton exit. Once at the iron Horse, we rushed through sound check, ate and hit the stage. Here is our set list:

The Iron Horse
Northampton, Massachusetts
Sunday, May 16, 2010

First Set:
1. Been So Long
2. There’s A Bright Side Somewhere
3. Prohibition Blues
4. Izze’s Lullaby
5. I Belong To The Band
6. Uncle Sam Blues
7. Sea Child
8. Full Go Round
9. I Know You Rider

Second Set:

1. Serpent Of Dreams
2. The Terrible Operation
3. Trouble In Mind
4. Things That Might Have Been
5. 99 Year Blues
6. River Of Time
7. More Than My Old Guitar
8. Good Shepherd
9. Genesis
10. Nine Pound Hammer
11. Encore: Come Back Baby

 

Low BID

Poor Turnout But a Good Time

 

Pulaski Park bus stop graffiti

 

The rally in opposition to the Business Improvement District (BID) last night was something of a dud. Not many people showed up, and even the official Poverty Is Not a Crime banner (below) which has appeared at all previous rallies was missing.

Still, it's always good to see activists in action, whatever the numbers.

The littlest protester was Laranetta - age one week old.

Writer and radio personality Mary Serreze came by on her bike.

Also there was Northampton's sweetheart Kelsey Flynn.

It wouldn't be Northampton without dining suggestions. 

The real celebrity appearance however was the arrival of the King of the Panhandlers Motown Bernie, shown here with protest leader David Beyer.

Chanting and waving signs, the small band headed towards the municipal office where the City Council was meeting.

Once inside, the protesters lined the back wall of the Council Chamber.

This was the first City Council meeting in Northampton I've ever attended. I went to plenty of them in Springfield, and as in Springfield, Northampton has a public speakout before the meeting begins. However in Northampton the public speakout period is televised. In Springfield the local machine wouldn't allow it, lest subjects be raised, views expressed and facts be revealed that they did not want known to the wider public.

Here is Motown Bernie addressing the Council.

Sadly, the whole protest had an air of futility to it. The BID has already been approved, and everyone seemed at a loss as to how to stop it from being implemented. There was hope that at some point the Americian Civil Liberties Union might get involved, but until then it looks as though the pro-BID forces are victorious. 

Around Amherst

It's raining like mad today, which makes me yearn for the peaceful sunny moments I spent earlier this week at the Amherst Resevoir. 

At UMass I like the new landscaping going on behind the science buildings.

This parking lot definitely was not here when I was a UMass student.

 



People sometimes ask me what has changed the most about UMass since I was a student in the late 70's. They're surprised when I reply, "All the new parking lots." When I was a student going without a car was just one of the sacrifices you were expected to make for your education. The idea was that you would walk today to get the education that would buy you a Cadillac in the future. Damn we were gullible in those days.

Today almost every student has a vehicle, and actually in my day there were in fact some students who had cars. They were mostly girls whose rich daddies bought them for them as high school graduation gifts and who covered all the bills. Those girls had lots of dates, even if they were fat and dull. 

 

Two Artifacts From 1985

Robert Hunter and Jorma Kaukonen in New York City; plus a ticket for the Dead in Worcester.