Thursday, July 27, 2006

Cool Heads in a Crisis

By now most of us have heard of the shooting that took place on Sycamore Street today near Superstar Video. While the details of the event are starting to be reported, what has not and probably will not make the news is the fact that Glendale Park was full of kids participating in the City Works program. The counselors in the program -- all of them barely more than kids themselves -- acted with calm and cool heads, gathered the younger children together and got them to the safety of the firestation across the street.

So many times we criticize our young people and fail to recognize their ability to step up and be responsible. We were lucky to have just such young people in the park today.

All the Mayor's Men

In 1971, John Dean, White House Counsel to Richard Nixon sent a memo to Laurence Higby, Chief of Staff to HR Haldeman, which stated in part, "This memorandum addresses the matter of how we can maximize the fact of our incumbency in dealing with persons known to be active in their opposition to our Administration, Stated a bit more bluntly —how we can use the available . . . machinery to screw our political enemies." Given the current state of affairs in the Hanlon Administration, these words could just as easily be coming from the twisted mechanism working at City Hall. This is an administration seemingly bent on revenge and fueled by paranoia that would rival the Nixon White House. Hanlon has gathered together his own version of Haldeman, Erlichmann, Mitchell and Dean in the form of Ravanesi, Andrew, D'Angelo and Kryzovic. The only person missing is the one filling the role of Charles Colson, the man who compiled Nixon's Enemies List, although an argument could be made that the role of Colson is being played by someone occupying an office on Vine Street.

Coming from a man who pledged during his inaugural address to work to bring the city back together, the past eight months have been a huge disappointment to many. The obsession of this administration to trash the reputation of the former Mayor and anyone associated with him is a sad commetary on a career that has spanned many decades of public service to the City of Everett.

Don't misunderstand us -- if there was some "wrongdoing" during the Ragucci administration, the taxpayers should know what that is. But Hanlon's appearance before the Board of Aldermen requesting $60,000 for a "forensic audit" of the city's books was suspect at best; when asked what kind of evidence the Mayor had to indicate that a deeper probe was needed, he said "I'm not going to tell you that . . . believe me, you don't want to know." One almost expected him to say "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Hanlon claims glaring irregularies but would not elaborate -- or even give a general idea -- of what those irregularities might be. For $60,000, the taxpayers deserve more than that.

Hanlon may also want to take another scenario into consideration. Depending on how far back this audit will go -- and one has to assume a "forensic" audit would cut pretty deep -- if there are improprieties found, he may very well find his own advisors implicated. Let us not forget that the aforementioned "Mayor's Men" were at one time associated with the Ragucci administration.

Nixon's paranoia and thirst for power were his ultimate downfall. It would be very sad if Hanlon allowed those same qualities to shout down his own better angels and make him, in the end, a caricature of himself.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Kudos to Alderman McGonagle

If you saw Thursday's Everett Leader Herald, you saw an open letter to the citizens of Everett from Alderman Joe McGonagle addressing the criticism leveled at some members of city government for questioning the recently passed FY07 budget. Alderman McGonagle defends the questioning of the budget, citing (as we have here) the number of new hires and salary increases that served to inflate the budget. He takes to task the notion that the questioning of this budget was politically motivated and points out that the additions to the budget necessitated clarification.

We applaud Alderman McGonagle for standing his ground and defending the actions of the few who had the courage to ask tough questions. A few of our readers commenting on this topic have noted that the budget was passed and the questioning was much ado about nothing. We disagree. The questioning was necessary given the number of increases and the haphazard way in which the budget was prepared. Alderman McGonagle and some of the braver members of city government understand what the average taxpayer is facing today; increases in taxes only add to the misery at the gas pump, the utility bill and water bill. The increases in this year's budget seem particularly excessive, as Mr. McGonagle reported, with raises ranging from 6% - 18%, and 34 new hires. Alderman McGonagle also pointed out the total increase in combined Personal Services Salaries was $1.9 million, and there are still union contracts that remain unsettled and will need additional funds.

As Alderman McGonagle stated, "This budget will surely increase taxes significantly." It's hard to argue the point.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Where's Jack?

Welcome to the Hanlon Administration Circus. See if you can see "Jack." He used to work in the procurement office. Jack's not working there any more, after being unceremoniously fired for following state law. It appears that he wouldn't "roll" the trash contract as directed by the Administration. Jack takes his marching orders on procurement issues from the Inspector General's office.

During the budget hearing, it was clear that no one really knew what was going on. Department head Jerry Sheehan announced that the contract had been "rolled," saving the city money. Budget Director Janice Vetrano stated that the contract was awarded to the low bidder, Capitol, which also happens to be the vendor that currently holds the contract. The irony of the whole story is . . . as it turns out . . . the contract actually was sent out to bid, exactly as Jack had advised the Ringmaster of the circus that it should be. So, essentially, Jack was terminated for doing his job and doing it properly.

Can you find Jack? No? Well, don't worry. Jack will get the last laugh.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Congratulations, Italy!!!!


Congratulations to Italy, and to our Italian American readers, on your well earned victory in the World Cup!!!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Independence Day 2006


On July 4th, 2006, we celebrate 230 years of independence from England. The Revolutionary war that gave us our independence began as protest movements against a series of taxes on tea, glass, paint and lead to cover English war debt and the cost of protecting the colonies, as well as a provision that mandated the forced housing of British troops in America by colonists. The ensuing boycotts, crowd actions and riots led to the formation of the Sons of Liberty, a group of local leaders and merchants opposed to any taxes or action by England without colonial representation at Parliament. Despite the best efforts of the Sons of Liberty, including Benjamin Franklin to remind King George and Parliament of the rights of the English people living in the colonies, a series of laws to squelch dissent and raise taxes were put into place, igniting the smoldering rebellion in the colonies into a fire storm.

It was a classic "David and Goliath" matchup from the start. The colonists were mostly farmers
and laborers, uneducated in the "art of war," and unprepared to take on the prevailing super-power of the day, England. By nearly any measure, England should have been able to crush the rebellion with its superior military strength on both land and water. Yet, from the first major battle on June 17, 1775 through April 11, 1783, when the Continental Congress declared the end to the Revolutionary War, the right to self-determination, freedom, and equality was the drumbeat that inspired these poor farmers to take up arms and persevere until the end. While many feared that this newborn republic would return to a monarchy of sorts, democracy has flourished (despite a few bumps in the road) and the belief in liberty is more than just a dream, it is firmly encoded in our national DNA.

Happy Independence Day, Everyone!!!