But back to you. Do you think the tribe will eventually get a casino?
My own feeling is that the odds of the tribe getting land taken into federal trust(aka reservation land, aka fee to trust land) is exceedingly slim for the foreseeable future. In the highly unlikely event that they do get trust land, the market will be saturated or could be made poisonous by changes to the casino law. According to my friends at Reel Wamps, tribal debt is running high as is dissatisfaction with the Cromwell regime by tribal elders.
One thing that wouldn’t suprise me is to see the tribe come back to Middleboro with a new offer. Time is very short to hit the deadline in the casino bill – July 31, 2012. In that time they have to buy land, have a vote in the host community, negotiate a compact, and make all sorts of financial disclosures. If they can’t get all that done, I could see them coming back to Middleboro and failing miserably. The land in Middleboro needs to be commercially zoned by way of a two-thirds vote a town meeting. I don’t believe the land would make it past MEPA, and frankly Middleboro has been burned once already by these guys. They still owe us at least $500K in planning money and the original deal included payments that were about one-third of what they should have been.
Winter sucks less … a lot less … if you have outdoor activities to do. That’s what I’ve found anyways.
I was never into downhill skiing – and even if I was, it’s not something the average person can do very often. Skating is good but it is rare that you have good ice – or any ice – outside a skating rink. Hiking and running are good and some years the weather really cooperates. Up until recently, I was running regularly – sometimes in shorts. Mountain biking is fun year round but like hiking and running it comes to and end when the snow comes.
Enter snowshoeing.
I always thought I’d like since I enjoy cross county skiing. Last year I went one time with a buddy who had an extra pair and really liked it. I bought a pair of Tubbs Timberline snowshoes. They ran about $120 are are probably lower middle of the range.
The Middleboro Conservation Commission has an opening for a new member. One of my secret sources from the bowels of town government outlined the time commitment and responsibilities and some general information about the ConCom. Step up and help out
It is an appointed position and one would become a voting member Read more…
Now you should be asking yourself: “Why the heck would I want that when I can buy a cheap laptop for a little more?” To which I will answer: DO NOT buy a Chromebook if you need any of the programs I mentioned. However, if you want a device that is simple, small, light, well made, good value, lightening fast, secure, has fantastic battery life, and is optimized for using the Internet — the Chromebook is a great device. Santa Claus was good enough to bring one to my youngest son Zach for Christmas and I have to admit that I am very jealous. In fact, I’m writing this column on it right now with Google Docs. The machine goes from off to login in about eight seconds and from login to fully on the Internet in another six seconds. When you open the cover, the thing POPS to life almost instantaneously. I haven’t had a problem viewing any web site — Facebook, YouTube, Hulu, Gmail, and the dozen news sites I routinely read all work just fine as does Amazon and the on-line shopping sites I use.
I haven’t added a post in awhile and I am hoping to comment more in the coming New Year. I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday Season and Santa was good to everyone.
On Sunday January 8th, I am co-hosting along with Allin Frawley and Al Rullo a Meet and Greet for Congressman Bill Keating. As many loyal readers may be aware, Massachusetts lost a Congressional seat and the Commonwealth was redistricted by the State Legislature. In the fall, Bill will be running for a district that includes most of his current area along with new cities and towns that include Middleboro.
I have known Bill for well over 20 years and he is a great person and an incredible public servant. He wants to get to know his new area and try to understand the issues and concerns of those communities. We wanted to create a forum for him to come and hear about Middleboro.
The event will start at 2:30 and be held at the Flat Iron Café. Pizza and soft drinks are free and a cash bar is available. This is a family friendly event, so please stop by and say hello. If you have any questions, just let me know.
I just bought a Roku 2 XD. It is a set top box that gives you content over the Internet – movies, TV, news, etc. There are a ton of channels – I’m still going through them all. I expect that there are some free gems – but to really make use of the device you need to pay for premium content from Netflix and/or Amazon and/or Hulu Plus. I got all three so I can see what combination gives me reasonable content. The device is tiny, cheap, and setup was a breeze.
Initially I was going to get a Blue Ray DVD player since they also include Internet content. I figured I could replace my DVD player and avoid having an extra device in the chain. As it turned out, the Roku was too cheap to pass up and seemed to have far superior content to Blue Ray and other set top boxes I looked at.
I know a couple/few people that have owned Roku devices and would welcome advice, tips, channel recommendations etc. I’d love nothing more than to ditch cable completely. The last time I checked I think we were paying something like $80 per month – about the same as the Roku cost. I could buy one for every TV and spend about $28/month for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon and have more stuff than I could possibly ever watch. There would certainly be some holes but it is tempting all the same.
I’d like to hear people’s thoughts on the Roku and similar devices: What do you think of the content, what would you recommend, other devices, etc.
This week’s Gazette offering is a review of the columns I wrote in the last year. Bumpkin’s Corner graces the Middleboro Gazette every two weeks – its mission is to alienate every resident of Middleboro and Lakeville. I’m well on track to accomplish that goal with my incite insight on town politics.
Of all the issues covered in the last year, I would like to see Middleboro take a closer look at switching town employees and retirees to GIC and investigate the efficacy of expanding the use of call firefighters. Does the Quinn Bill still make sense? Are we getting the best bang for our buck with capital spending? As the old saying goes, if you watch your pennies the dollars will take care of themselves.
The biggest controversy of last year was the Safer grant in my estimation. We all agree that Middleboro has a manpower shortage in the fire department and I think we should explore the expanded use of call firefighters. Since the SAFER grant was rejected, the prospect of adding over $1M in full time career firefighters is a non-starter. If we truly have a safety issue – the only viable alternative is expanded use of call firefighters.
I also want to see us look at adopting GIC. I’d have to see the numbers to believe that it wouldn’t be a benefit – particularly the savings that would be achieved by switching retired town employees to Medicare as required by GIC.
Earlier this year I wrote a three-part gripe about the Middleboro school system and ended up looking for some resources to supplement my kids education at home. We used Study Island – an online MCAS test prep site – which I found pretty good at test prep but not really great at teaching the material. That only makes sense because teaching the material is not the goal of the site. A few months ago I stumbled on Khan Academy (thanks Dave D.) and I have to tell you that this site is nothing short of unbelievable. They have thousands – literally thousands – of video lessons covering dozens of subjects. We’ve been using it for a month or so – both kids like it about as much as you could expect. Jake is doing Algebra this year and has gotten a little behind. Last night we covered Equations 2, Equations 3, Linear Equations 4, and Solving Inequalities. Zach and I are working on percents, decimals, fractions and stuff like that.
The site is totally free and you can login with your existing google or facebook account. Amazing. Here is a talk by the founder if you’re interested – or just check out the sample video below.
Gotta love the live human lips superimposed on the minimalist animation. Sadly I can remember watching old Clutch when I was very young. It was made in 1959 and probably primitive even by the 1966 standards – when I was watching it.
Check out the look on Romney’s face when he challenges Perry to a $10,000 bet. His face has raging ***hole written all over it. This is one of those “Duke in tank” moments. It’s all over Mitt.
A while back I explained why I thought that the legalization of casinos in Massachusetts would not lead to a casino in Middleboro – tribal or commercial. There is 50 foot brick wall between the Mashpee Wampanoag and a tribal casino and that wall has Carcieri v. Salazar spray painted on it — just to left of “for a good time call Bumpkin”.
Nearly every news article on casinos in Massachusetts have been woefully uninformed on the mechanics of tribal gaming. Finally in today’s Globe, Paul McMorrow has an article with a more sober view on the likelihood of a tribal casino.
Angry bumpkin will be back in full force this week in my Gazette column this coming Thursday. It will discuss the gutting of the grammar school music program and general failure of the schools to change their utterly unacceptable MCAS scores.
Starting next year, the instrument music program will be done after school – a move that is sure to kill participation and thus destroy all music in Middleboro since the grammar school is the feeder for our middle and high school musicians.
Nothing amuses me more than watching the hordes come out of the wood work for an issue that has zero effect on their daily lives like the kerfuffle over calling a Christmas Tree a Holiday Tree.
You want to call it a Christmas tree – go ahead. You want to call it a Holiday tree that’s fine with me. Heck call it “Billy” if you want to.
Whatever you call it – everybody should spend less time worrying about things that don’t matter and focus on things that do – like local, state, and federal budget deficits, education, the environment, and about a billion other things. It’s nice that people have the limited mental capacity to get worked up over the difference between “Holiday tree” and “Christmas tree”. With a little more intellectual effort we might be able to start addressing the real issues facing the country and the world.
Now that the casino law has passed, I have a feeling of Deja Vu watching various towns react to the prospect of having a giant development dropped on them.
And I pity them.
When faced with the prospect of a something that has the potential to radically alter the character of the town, people get testy. As large developments go, casinos seem to spark more emotions than other projects. Middleboro was torn apart by the proposed Mashpee Wampanoag casino and four years later things are still not totally back to normal. Getting there but not there yet. Myself and my wife were subject to harsh treatment at the hands of pro-casino residents – something I still struggle with.
For towns that are potential casino sites: Strap yourselves in. You’re in for a wild and unpleasant ride as the spectre of money pits neighbor against neighbor and sends common sense packing.
Anti-casino web sites are popping up – including nofoxborocasino.com. They have a good looking web site and a Facebook page with 600 friends. Good luck guys.
We use Lotus Notes at work for mail, calendaring, and other applications. While it may have some non-apparent-to-me value as an application platform, as an email platform it leaves a lot to be desired. My mail quota has apparently been exceeded – leaving me able to receive new emails but not delete old ones to solve the problem using thunderbird via Notes’ half-broken IMAP interface. Lotus notes gives this advice when using the native client.
You have got to be kidding me. It is just this sort of obtuseness that makes Lotus Notes richly deserve its place in the Interface Hall Of Shame.
My column in this week’s Gazette discusses the surprisingly positive experience I’ve had in the Universalist Unitarian church since I started attending earlier this year.
Got this email today. I think the new store is in the former Holly Berries across from Cafe Milano:
Greetings to all you ladies who love jewelry (and spouses who love to buy for your special one) ~
Look no further than Gregory Scot Jewelers on Center St. in downtown Middleboro. This fabulous store is newly opened by Middleboro residents Scot & Allison Dean (who you may know as parents of Ryan, Tyler and Mya).
The store is filled with a beautiful selection, but if you don’t see what you like, Scot will be delighted to help you find that special gift!
Spend your Christmas shopping dollars in Middleboro, it’s convenient and supports the local economy!
A refreshingly simple, concise, clear statement on Occupy Wall Street from musical genius Roger Waters. I do not understand how this movement is being stratified by the right as a liberal movement.
His production of Pink Floyd’s The Wall is swinging through the states for a second pass.
Don't tread on me. Unless I disagree with your right to protest.
When the Occupy Wall Street thing first started, I didn’t pay that much attention. Judging by the name of the movement and the few blurbs I saw in passing on the news, it seemed like a bunch of people who were pissed off that Wall Street, big corporations, and the ultra-rich had undue influence with the government and that it was damaging the country. I knew that almost nobody had been convicted over the financial meltdown that was caused by malfeasance on the part of large banks. The whole message seemed pretty non-controversial and non-partisan to me.
Then the right wing started attacking the movement – and I knew that I had missed something.
Why was the right trying to paint this as a left-wing liberal movement? The same people who are wrapping themselves in THE CONSTITUTION and FREEDOM and the FOUNDING FATHERS were ridiculing the movement and demanding an end to the demonstrations. The right to free speech and peaceful assembly are KEY FREEDOMS protected by the blessed, holy almighty, socialist-hating, CONSTITUTION.
If there is a criticism of the OWS movement, it is that the message is not cohesive and too varied. All true. But the basic message is that the majority of people are being screwed because too few people have too much influence in government. The fiscal crisis of recent years was caused by a systematic dismantling of the financial protections that came into place as a result of the Great Depression. The Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980′s resulted in hundreds? of convictions. The financial meltdown of 2008/9 was many orders of magnitude worse, and yet we have had virtually no accountability for those responsible.
As I said, I paid little attention when OWS started off. Then I saw peaceful protesters being tear gassed, pepper sprayed, and seriously injured by police. I saw the fundamental right of assembly being threatened and ridiculed. And I saw the propaganda wing of the RepubliCorp party working as hard as it could to invalidate the movement. I can accept that you are not receptive to the message. I cannot accept, and I cannot understand how someone can sit on the sidelines rooting for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly to be violently quashed and curtailed.
I’m paying attention now – and I’m on board.
And before you comment on the trumped up charges of poor sanitation, trespassing, and so on: Those are artificial barriers put in place to curtail YOUR right to public assembly.
Nice post from SSCR – acknowledging my column and “paying it forward” by listing/linking to many of the businesses in town.
Class act
My column in this week’s Gazette discusses a very positive experience I had recently buying a custom built computer from South Shore Computer Repair in downtown Middleboro. That dove tails into a case for shopping locally particularly at fine vendors like Mary Barry Massage Therapy who offers gift certificates that make a thoughtful and unique holiday gift.
Our local CPC has had a bit of a controversy already with a former town moderator challenging the legality of the statutory member(Jo) representing the Housing Authority. The CPC statue calls for “a member” of the Housing Authority. Jo is an ex-officio member – she is appointed to the HA not elected. According to Wikipedia, “ex-officio” only describes how a person becomes a member – it does NOT limit their status as a member. This seems to have mostly been resolved with the DOR ruling that the her participation in the committee is proper. We are also awaiting advice from town counsel.
Bottom line to me:
Jo is a MEMBER of the HA – ex-officio or not.
Roberts rules states that ex-officio is a designation about how somebody gets onto a board and is NOT a limit of their participatory rights.
CPC calls for a member of the HA on the CPC
Go to 1
CPA is controversial – I was expecting the controversy to be of a less hair-splitting nature.
I’ve been working on the web site for the Middleboro Community Preservation Committee. We are charged with recommending projects to town meeting for CPA funds. The site was approved by the committee as the official CPC site. Check it out, share, like, follow, and so on.
I’m looking to put together a list of great places in Middleboro for the CPA web site. I’ve always thought the Middleboro town web site should have such a list, but they don’t. The town CPA web site seems like a reasonable place for it.
Specifically I’m looking for public parks, public open space areas. public recreational facilities, museums, etc. If you know of one that I missed, please post as a comment with the
name
location
short description of the site and what it offers.
So far I have
Pratt Farm
Taunton River Wildlife Management Area
Rocky Gutter Wildlife Management Area (could use location/description info)
I’ll be playing with Sixteen Shillings at the Flat Iron Cafe this Friday Oct 21 starting at 8:00 PM.
444 Center Street
Middleboro, MA 02346
(508) 947-3358
Sixteen Shillings is a two piece with Rob Dragunas on mandolin/vocals and me on guitar/vocals. We’re having a lot of fun – and I’m enjoying the change from the solo gigs I’ve been doing for thelast couple of years.
Here’s a fun one – Long Black Veil. Rob and I are very free-form with the breaks, dynamics, and who is playing what lick at what time – which makes for unpredictable results but lots of fun.
Hello everyone. This Saturday, Oct 15th is the last trash pick up for the Middleborough Mess Movers. We will meet in the Town Hall Parking lot at 9:00 as usual and drive over to the VFW on Station ST. to pick up trash. After we pick up trash, we will have a small celebration with cake and awards. Hope to see you there.
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